Tyler Dunne story on McDermott - 3 parts, 25 interviews, one damning conclusion

[Billsfan1972]

39 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Hyde was clearly enthusiastic in support. He was the only one we've heard who was considerably enthusiastic.

Why wouldn't it be McDermott has been singing the praises of what a great defense it has been all year while throwing the offense under the bus.

[WotAGuy]

I just read the second part and it is pretty depressing.  My biggest takeaway is McDermott has a lot of good qualities to organize and instill discipline, but he’s so uptight and so bad in pressure situations, it’s hard to see the Bills ever winning a championship with him.  
 

I am definitely pro-Bills and generally give the benefit of the doubt to everything associated with the team, but the evidence presented aligns with the problems we have all seen in late game situations. 
 

The overwhelming evidence of McDermott’s demeanor and decisions far outweighs all the discussions in this thread about players buying trucks for coaches and ill-advised speeches. Sean is tight and fails under pressure. 
 

I have very limited inside info but do have access to a current Bill who recently signed.  He basically has not liked any of his head coaches, except one.  All he will say about Sean is “he only cares about defense”. My takeaway from that is most head coaches are unlikeable personally but their ability to lead players to play their best trumps all the other stuff. I’m doubtful Sean has that ability, in fact he has a penchant for bringing out the worst in his team at crunch time. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

13 hours ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Based on his reaction saying how hurt he was by reading it, my guess is very few if any of the sources actually said any of this to his face in a constructive way, but just a guess. 

Or, a couple did like Daboll, but McD tuned it out and pretended it’s his way or the highway.  He could be that tone deaf in reading a room.

[Billsfan1972]

6 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

I just read the second part and it is pretty depressing.  My biggest takeaway is McDermott has a lot of good qualities to organize and instill discipline, but he’s so uptight and so bad in pressure situations, it’s hard to see the Bills ever winning a championship with him.  
 

I am definitely pro-Bills and generally give the benefit of the doubt to everything associated with the team, but the evidence presented aligns with the problems we have all seen in late game situations. 
 

The overwhelming evidence of McDermott’s demeanor and decisions far outweighs all the discussions in this thread about players buying trucks for coaches and ill-advised speeches. Sean is tight and fails under pressure. 
 

I have very limited inside info but do have access to a current Bill who recently signed.  He basically has not liked any of his head coaches, except one.  All he will say about Sean is “he only cares about defense”. My takeaway from that is most head coaches are unlikeable personally but their ability to lead players to play their best trumps all the other stuff. I’m doubtful Sean has that ability, in fact he has a penchant for bringing out the worst in his team at crunch time. 

All he cares about is defense???  Wow I'm gobsmacked.😜

[PBF81]

13 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

Why wouldn't it be McDermott has been singing the praises of what a great defense it has been all year while throwing the offense under the bus.

 

His position on the Defense uber alles also explains perfectly why precious few top personnel resources have been spent to address our offense after Allen got here.  

 

 

[wppete]

Keep in mind this guy Tyler Dunne hosted a podcast with Isaiah McKenzie. They were very close. I smell a rat 🐀. 
 

 

[FireChans]

3 minutes ago, wppete said:

Keep in mind this guy Tyler Dunne hosted a podcast with Isaiah McKenzie. They were very close. I smell a rat 🐀. 
 

 

He’s so well respected lol, he’s from Bleacher Report!

17 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

I just read the second part and it is pretty depressing.  My biggest takeaway is McDermott has a lot of good qualities to organize and instill discipline, but he’s so uptight and so bad in pressure situations, it’s hard to see the Bills ever winning a championship with him.  
 

I am definitely pro-Bills and generally give the benefit of the doubt to everything associated with the team, but the evidence presented aligns with the problems we have all seen in late game situations. 
 

The overwhelming evidence of McDermott’s demeanor and decisions far outweighs all the discussions in this thread about players buying trucks for coaches and ill-advised speeches. Sean is tight and fails under pressure. 
 

I have very limited inside info but do have access to a current Bill who recently signed.  He basically has not liked any of his head coaches, except one.  All he will say about Sean is “he only cares about defense”. My takeaway from that is most head coaches are unlikeable personally but their ability to lead players to play their best trumps all the other stuff. I’m doubtful Sean has that ability, in fact he has a penchant for bringing out the worst in his team at crunch time. 

Your contact sounds like a team cancer, which is hilarious for an obvious journeyman who has had lots of HC’s.

[Rico]

Just now, FireChans said:

He’s so well respected lol, he’s from Bleacher Report!

He WAS from Bleacher Report until they laid him off.

[Scott7975]

1 minute ago, FireChans said:

He’s so well respected lol, he’s from Bleacher Report!

 

He is respected. Do you have evidence to the contrary?  All the media I have seen so far has supported him.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

For the people wondering why more players aren't rushing to defend McD...... I know I had lot's of coaches who we thought said or did dumb things.......but when someone from the outside attacks the leader of your team,  that's personal.   We can joke amongst ourselves but that doesn't fly from outsiders.   But the more the players might try to excuse it by discussing the matter publicly........the less it becomes an "us against detractors" motivational tool.   So I think we will see if the team feels that way about McD.  I do think Dunne intended to kick dirt on McD while he was down to help sell subscriptions........but I do think the timing was pretty good to inspire the team to come together if it's possible with this group.   

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, ToGoGo said:

This is going to hurt, but you’re not as good at reading people as you think you are. 
 

McDaniel is an absolute fraud. McDermott is authentic. 
 

What you’re perceiving is a wall that McDermott puts up in front of the blood hungry media. And now you see why. They’ll devour you the second you’re down. 
 

You’re a good poster, but now I’ll be second guessing your posts. REALLY bad take. And I’m someone who does a good bit of people reading in my career as well. 

😂😂😂😂😂

[PBF81]

3 minutes ago, wppete said:

Keep in mind this guy Tyler Dunne hosted a podcast with Isaiah McKenzie. They were very close. I smell a rat 🐀. 

 

Did you actually read the three pieces? 

 

Here's another angle.  

 

Players typically don't say a whole lot of negative things about former coaches and teammates, because they want continued employement.  So the question why they'd do it here springs up.  

 

Buffalo is a special place with a special set of fans.  The region itself is unlike any other in the league.  That seems to translate itself to the players (and coaches) on the team.  

 

It's clear from having read all three parts of that series that even the ex-players here have formed strong friendships with some of the current players and keep in touch, and given Allen, really want them to ultimately succeed under Allen.  A good many of the interviews seem to be from the angle of it's not fair to the players that their own coach is holding them down.  

 

They want to see their friends and former teammates that they're close with win one, AND feel the same for us Bills fans.  Hence, their speaking up.  

 

Just sayin'.  

 

 

[GoBills808]

Interesting to me how folks material I recognize as overtly critical of Allen will go to the mat for McDermott

 

it weirdly lends some secondhand credence to the articles point about their HC/QB relationship or lack thereof

[LABILLBACKER]

22 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

I just read the second part and it is pretty depressing.  My biggest takeaway is McDermott has a lot of good qualities to organize and instill discipline, but he’s so uptight and so bad in pressure situations, it’s hard to see the Bills ever winning a championship with him.  
 

I am definitely pro-Bills and generally give the benefit of the doubt to everything associated with the team, but the evidence presented aligns with the problems we have all seen in late game situations. 
 

The overwhelming evidence of McDermott’s demeanor and decisions far outweighs all the discussions in this thread about players buying trucks for coaches and ill-advised speeches. Sean is tight and fails under pressure. 
 

I have very limited inside info but do have access to a current Bill who recently signed.  He basically has not liked any of his head coaches, except one.  All he will say about Sean is “he only cares about defense”. My takeaway from that is most head coaches are unlikeable personally but their ability to lead players to play their best trumps all the other stuff. I’m doubtful Sean has that ability, in fact he has a penchant for bringing out the worst in his team at crunch time. 

Perfectly said and 100% true. 

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, LeGOATski said:

They published it now because the current climate will foster the most reads and discussion. It's a "kick them while they're down" mentality or maybe more appropriately a "pour gasoline on the fire" mentality, but it's not about derailing the team. It's about getting the most business.

 

You wait until the team is already derailing/losing and the media market is in a frenzy, and then you release the article. Not the other way around. 

 

I understand and actually agree with your distinction.

 

But while the motivation may have  been to gain the most business, the impact could well be to distract McDermott and derail the team.

 

And from a guy who has in the past leaned into cred as a WNY 'native son', that's hard for me (a lifelong and unabashed Bills fan) to take.  I'm actually torn, because in the past I've really respected pieces Ty Dunne has done and I admired his enterpreneurial spirit starting "Go Long".  But I've also had reason to question his methods and the quality of his sources at times, too.

 

This is an interesting piece from a respected journalist Ty Dunne once worked for as an intern, which gives some detail about Dunne's training and background as a journalist, which are...solid. 

 

As Pollack points out:

Quote

It should be noted, Dunne is no longer a member of the Bills media corps. He’s not credentialed by the team … no game-day access to the press box nor the media room during the week.  Technically, he’s not a member of the press, but rather a private entrepreneur.  That’s what makes his pieces so impressive … all those interviews were tracked down off-site with cooperative sources. But he also had one advantage … he didn’t have to name them. 

 

Quote

Had Tyler worked for a newspaper, no way would that amount of anonymous sources, if any, have appeared in print. There would be overwhelming concern about liability issues.  Dunne bet on himself and his confidence that those sources were beyond credible, despite their understandable request for anonymity.

 

It's actually an interesting bet, because there are potential liability issues there.

 

I think this has been linked here, but in 2016 at Bleacher Report, Dunne did a rather damning piece on Aaron Rodgers:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2676645-can-aaron-rodgers-be-the-type-of-leader-the-packers-need

 

It contained stuff like this:

Quote

Jermichael Finley, a former tight end with the Packers, (...)  flat out said Rodgers "wasn't put on Earth to lead."

"In my opinion, he's a different guy," Finley said. "I didn't really know how he showed his leadership. He wasn't a vocal guy. He really wasn't a hands-on guy. To tell you the truth, it was all about his game and his stats in my opinion. ... He was a guy that kept it all in. He kept grudges close to his chest. If you did something, he never really let it go. He always kept it close to his heart.

"I just don't think he was a natural-born leader. He wasn't put on Earth to lead."

Finley wasn't finished there, either. He also said Rodgers "is so scared" of various players and "goes into his little shell" when things go wrong before calling Rodgers "self-centered." Yikes.

"But Aaron Rodgers is so scared of what guys are going to say that he doesn't say nothing at all," Finley said. "He doesn't get vocal. He goes into his little shell. He's not a guy who hangs out with the fellas. He's real self-centered."

 

Finley put his name on these criticisms of Rodgers, but not everyone in Dunne's story did. An anonymous source "close to the quarterback" called the Packers superstar a "f---ing head case" who is "so arrogant and prideful that he thinks he can separate his personal life from his professional life."

 

Quote

The full, scorched-earth quote from Dunne's article:

"There's no explanation for him playing any worse," said the source, who wished to speak under the condition of anonymity. "People are trying to figure it out. He's a !@#$ head case. He knows he's doing the wrong thing, and he's so arrogant and prideful that he thinks he can separate his personal life from his professional life, even though all of us know that's impossible. You can't do that. You can do that in little spurts, like when Brett Favre went out and played amazingly when he loses his Dad. But when you're talking about real situations that aren't all of a sudden circumstantial and you !@#$ over good people, people you're supposed to love, it's a s--tty thing to do and you're going to get humbled.

"You can't live like that, man. The people who live like that end up getting f--ked over. That's kind of what's happening here, but he's so prideful and will never admit he's wrong. Ever."

 

It's worth noting that since that 2016 piece damning Rodgers as an arrogant self centered prideful prick who can't lead appeared, Rodgers has had 4 pro-bowl appearances (FWIW), two 1st team AP all-pro (means a lot more), and two "League MVP". Green Bay went on to appear in two Conference championships and a Division round, but did not reach another SuperBowl.  (I thought one of the conference championships was heavily influenced by the referees to favor Brady)

 

Rodgers, of course, was not pleased by the piece and referred to it as a "smear attack".  Similar to this recent piece, it contained some incidents which are probably factual and accurately recounted, some opinion and interpretation of those instances (with some anonymous sources), and Dunne's interpretation or slant.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Beck Water

[wppete]

1 minute ago, PBF81 said:

 

Did you actually read the three pieces? 

 

Here's another angle.  

 

Players typically don't say a whole lot of negative things about former coaches and teammates, because they want continued employement.  So the question why they'd do it here springs up.  

 

Buffalo is a special place with a special set of fans.  The region itself is unlike any other in the league.  That seems to translate itself to the players (and coaches) on the team.  

 

It's clear from having read all three parts of that series that even the ex-players here have formed strong friendships with some of the current players and keep in touch, and given Allen, really want them to ultimately succeed under Allen.  A good many of the interviews seem to be from the angle of it's not fair to the players that their own coach is holding them down.  

 

They want to see their friends and former teammates that they're close with win one, AND feel the same for us Bills fans.  Hence, their speaking up.  

 

Just sayin'.  

 

 

I read the article and watched all the Interviews he has done since. Very sketchy. 

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

If that article is the best example of players supporting McD, then McD is sunk. And all this article talks about is McD again addressing his 9/11 speech with the team.

 

 

Ok, so Hyde, which we already knew. Let's see what the Offensive players have to say in pouring out support and love for their coach...

 

 

Nothing major from Sherfield there other than stating the obvious. We know McD doesnt support terrorism.

 

How about from the rook...

 

 

Hmm, how about from the vet Latavius Murray...

 

 

Ok, so a whole lot of talking about McD again addressing the speech from 2019. But not a single quote about how wrong the article is, and nothing about it misrepresenting McD or how the players feel.

 

Maybe they just weren't asked the right question. But I've had great bosses/leaders and if something like this came out about them, I would be front and center to whoever would listen railing against the BS.

 

Reid Ferguson had the most supportive quote

 

 

Yeah that article if anything looks worse for McDermott IMO. The team is not rallying around him. Everyone interviewed clearly feels awkward and is trying to find the right words to describe such a bizarre event.

 

I don't think the players on the roster outright hate him at this point, but I do think they are just tolerating him.

[PBF81]

6 minutes ago, Rico said:

He WAS from Bleacher Report until they laid him off.

 

I have a little bit of knowledge with the situation, unless I missed something, he was incredibly popular so he decided to break from there to attempt to make some money for his work, as he should do, like anyone.  

 

Do you have some info that they banned him and told him not to return?  

 

 

3 minutes ago, wppete said:

I read the article and watched all the Interviews he has done since. Very sketchy. 

 

Well, the article was actually three lengthy pieces.  

 

 

[FireChans]

6 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

I understand and actually agree with your distinction.

 

But while the motivation may have  been to gain the most business, the impact could well be to distract McDermott and derail the team.

 

And from a guy who has in the past leaned into cred as a WNY 'native son', that's hard for me (a lifelong and unabashed Bills fan) to take.  I'm actually torn, because in the past I've really respected pieces Ty Dunne has done and I admired his enterpreneurial spirit starting "Go Long".  But I've also had reason to question his methods and the quality of his sources at times, too.

 

This is an interesting piece from a respected journalist Ty Dunne once worked for as an intern, which gives some detail about Dunne's training and background as a journalist, which are...solid. 

 

As Pollack points out:

 

 

It's actually an interesting bet, because there are potential liability issues there.

 

I think this has been linked here, but in 2016 at Bleacher Report, Dunne did a rather damning piece on Aaron Rodgers:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2676645-can-aaron-rodgers-be-the-type-of-leader-the-packers-need

 

It contained stuff like this:

 

 

It's worth noting that since that 2016 piece damning Rodgers as an arrogant self centered prideful prick who can't lead appeared, Rodgers has had 4 pro-bowl appearances (FWIW), two 1st team AP all-pro (means a lot more), and two "League MVP". Green Bay went on to appear in two Conference championships and a Division round, but did not reach another SuperBowl.  (I thought one of the conference championships was heavily influenced by the referees to favor Brady)

 

Rodgers, of course, was not pleased by the piece and referred to it as a "smear attack".  Similar to this recent piece, it contained some incidents which are probably factual and accurately recounted, some opinion and interpretation of those instances (with some anonymous sources), and Dunne's interpretation or slant.

Just like that piece, there’s enough smoke to think there’s something there, but too much anonymity and too many of those sources trying far too hard to support Dunne’s thesis.

 

I stand by its a little bit of a hatchet job

[Beck Water]

1 minute ago, GoBills808 said:

Interesting to me how folks material I recognize as overtly critical of Allen will go to the mat for McDermott

 

it weirdly lends some secondhand credence to the articles point about their HC/QB relationship or lack thereof

 

This honestly, makes no sense at all.  Sorry.

 

1) criticizing a self-published "pay to view" article which appears to be a mixture of fact, observation, and Dunne's slanted interpretation quilted together from anonymous sources is not the same thing as "going to the mat" for McDermott (which I take to mean defend him, no matter what)

 

I'm not surprised that you wouldn't recognize the difference, because historically, when someone defends a player, coach etc from what appears to be over-the-top or unjustified criticism, others here will call them "lovers" "fanboys" "defenders" blah blah.  The nuance that one can simultaneously perceive faults or accurately critique while objecting to exaggeration, slant, or bias appears lost, and I could be mis-remembering but I believe you're one of the people it's lost on.

 

2) one can critique Allen, like any player, and simultaneously be willing to also defend him against what appears to be over-the-top or unjustified criticism, just like any other coach or player

 

How this somehow lends "secondhand credence" to Dunne's article, is a mystery to me, but You Do You.