THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - Coach of the Year

[Shaw66]

Lately, I’ve been admiring how elegantly good McDermott’s team is. In particular, I’ve been admiring what a special coach McDermott is.

 

Stop there, just for a moment. I’m not saying McDermott’s perfect, and I’m not here to start a discussion about his strengths and weakness. I’m just looking at the exceptional thing he has done, and comparing it to other coaches and situations around the league.

 

When McDermott came to Buffalo, he took a team with a 15+-year history of failure, a team that lacked any real leadership at the top. Rex Ryan had left nothing to build on in terms of organization. There was some talent, but the overall talent level was thin.

McDermott took the team to the playoffs in his first season, suffered through one tough season, and has been in the playoffs every year since. He’s won five straight division titles. That’s a truly amazing coaching job.

 

“A brutal loss, a volatile locker room, and weird Zoom: Inside the Bears’ firing of Matt Eberflus.” That’s how ESPN introduces a recent lead story. Think about how much different the Bears organization is, right now, compared to the Bills. Think about the dysfunction at the Jets.

 

McDermott took a team in turmoil, turmoil not unlike what Chicago and the Jets (and several other teams, too) are in these days, and immediately took them to the playoffs. He took one year to get Josh Allen acclimated to playing in the NFL, now he has a team that is a solid favorite to make the playoffs every year. 

 

McDermott’s excellence is seen not just in his record. It’s apparent in how his players play. They are focused on their jobs and they do them as well as they can, play after play. They block together on offense, they play integrated defense. They may get beaten on a play every now and then – that happens to everyone, but they don’t confuse assignments, they aren’t out of position, and they don’t run from contact.

 

Look at how they run the quarterback sneak. The Bills are behind only the Eagles in efficiency on that play. Yes, it helps to have a strong, athletic quarterback who, if he weren’t the ball carrier, is big enough to be one of the pushers. Watch instead how the interior linemen always get the push needed for the first down. That’s not easy to do, but the Bills have developed that skill.

 

Look at the way the linebackers and defensive backs cover the entire field. Yes, they give up completions, but they’re rarely out of position. Being in position means at least they can make the tackle, occasionally they can defend the pass, and occasionally they even can intercept. And their spacing is so good that often it’s not a one-on-one tackle, because a second tackler arrives quickly, then a third. That’s quality defensive play.

 

The Browns-Broncos game on Monday showed two teams who are executing at a much lower level than the Bills. Those teams have some good athletes who fly around and make plays, but they lack the consistent excellence the Bills play with. Quarterbacks often fail to understand the defense, make inaccurate throws, take unnecessary sacks. Receivers’ routes leave them closely covered, and the receivers fail to fight for receptions. Defenders are out of position, don’t pursue, don’t gang tackle. Those teams aren’t executing because they aren’t coached to execute at that level.

 

The Bills are executing a plan for a team, not for a collection of players. The players have learned the plan, and newcomers to the team learn the plan within a year or two. Look at Taylor Rapp: A year ago, he wasn’t the stud that I had hoped he would become. He made some plays, but he also missed plays, too. It took him a year to work into the defense. Now, Rapp seems always to be where he needs to be. He understands his role, and he understands that he can trust his teammates to understand and execute theirs. Executing that role allows Rapp’s skills to come out. I’ve been impressed all season by his tackling, and there was none better than his shoe-string play on McCaffrey on Sunday night, except maybe the forced fumble on the goal line later.

 

The Bills execute at an extremely high level, and that is happening because Sean McDermott teaches everyone – the coaches and the players and all of the supporting cast – to do their jobs at a high level. It began the season he arrived, and he’s been raising the Bills’ level of play ever since.

 

McDermott’s done an impressive job, and he hasn’t finished.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[JP51]

4 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Lately, I’ve been admiring how elegantly good McDermott’s team is. In particular, I’ve been admiring what a special coach McDermott is.

 

Stop there, just for a moment. I’m not saying McDermott’s perfect, and I’m not here to start a discussion about his strengths and weakness. I’m just looking at the exceptional thing he has done, and comparing it to other coaches and situations around the league.

 

When McDermott came to Buffalo, he took a team with a 15+-year history of failure, a team that lacked any real leadership at the top. Rex Ryan had left nothing to build on in terms of organization. There was some talent, but the overall talent level was thin.

McDermott took the team to the playoffs in his first season, suffered through one tough season, and has been in the playoffs every year since. He’s won five straight division titles. That’s a truly amazing coaching job.

 

“A brutal loss, a volatile locker room, and weird Zoom: Inside the Bears’ firing of Matt Eberflus.” That’s how ESPN introduces a recent lead story. Think about how much different the Bears organization is, right now, compared to the Bills. Think about the dysfunction at the Jets.

 

McDermott took a team in turmoil, turmoil not unlike what Chicago and the Jets (and several other teams, too) are in these days, and immediately took them to the playoffs. He took one year to get Josh Allen acclimated to playing in the NFL, now he has a team that is a solid favorite to make the playoffs every year. 

 

McDermott’s excellence is seen not just in his record. It’s apparent in how his players play. They are focused on their jobs and they do them as well as they can, play after play. They block together on offense, they play integrated defense. They may get beaten on a play every now and then – that happens to everyone, but they don’t confuse assignments, they aren’t out of position, and they don’t run from contact.

 

Look at how they run the quarterback sneak. The Bills are behind only the Eagles in efficiency on that play. Yes, it helps to have a strong, athletic quarterback who, if he weren’t the ball carrier, is big enough to be one of the pushers. Watch instead how the interior linemen always get the push needed for the first down. That’s not easy to do, but the Bills have developed that skill.

 

Look at the way the linebackers and defensive backs cover the entire field. Yes, they give up completions, but they’re rarely out of position. Being in position means at least they can make the tackle, occasionally they can defend the pass, and occasionally they even can intercept. And their spacing is so good that often it’s not a one-on-one tackle, because a second tackler arrives quickly, then a third. That’s quality defensive play.

 

The Browns-Broncos game on Monday showed two teams who are executing at a much lower level than the Bills. Those teams have some good athletes who fly around and make plays, but they lack the consistent excellence the Bills play with. Quarterbacks often fail to understand the defense, make inaccurate throws, take unnecessary sacks. Receivers’ routes leave them closely covered, and the receivers fail to fight for receptions. Defenders are out of position, don’t pursue, don’t gang tackle. Those teams aren’t executing because they aren’t coached to execute at that level.

 

The Bills are executing a plan for a team, not for a collection of players. The players have learned the plan, and newcomers to the team learn the plan within a year or two. Look at Taylor Rapp: A year ago, he wasn’t the stud that I had hoped he would become. He made some plays, but he also missed plays, too. It took him a year to work into the defense. Now, Rapp seems always to be where he needs to be. He understands his role, and he understands that he can trust his teammates to understand and execute theirs. Executing that role allows Rapp’s skills to come out. I’ve been impressed all season by his tackling, and there was none better than his shoe-string play on McCaffrey on Sunday night, except maybe the forced fumble on the goal line later.

 

The Bills execute at an extremely high level, and that is happening because Sean McDermott teaches everyone – the coaches and the players and all of the supporting cast – to do their jobs at a high level. It began the season he arrived, and he’s been raising the Bills’ level of play ever since.

 

McDermott’s done an impressive job, and he hasn’t finished.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

I think the two things I like the most are how effective the coach adjustments are at half time and that he has realized he needs to beat KC on his own terms not run out the clock. Excellent synopsis. 

[machine gun kelly]

6 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Lately, I’ve been admiring how elegantly good McDermott’s team is. In particular, I’ve been admiring what a special coach McDermott is.

 

Stop there, just for a moment. I’m not saying McDermott’s perfect, and I’m not here to start a discussion about his strengths and weakness. I’m just looking at the exceptional thing he has done, and comparing it to other coaches and situations around the league.

 

When McDermott came to Buffalo, he took a team with a 15+-year history of failure, a team that lacked any real leadership at the top. Rex Ryan had left nothing to build on in terms of organization. There was some talent, but the overall talent level was thin.

McDermott took the team to the playoffs in his first season, suffered through one tough season, and has been in the playoffs every year since. He’s won five straight division titles. That’s a truly amazing coaching job.

 

“A brutal loss, a volatile locker room, and weird Zoom: Inside the Bears’ firing of Matt Eberflus.” That’s how ESPN introduces a recent lead story. Think about how much different the Bears organization is, right now, compared to the Bills. Think about the dysfunction at the Jets.

 

McDermott took a team in turmoil, turmoil not unlike what Chicago and the Jets (and several other teams, too) are in these days, and immediately took them to the playoffs. He took one year to get Josh Allen acclimated to playing in the NFL, now he has a team that is a solid favorite to make the playoffs every year. 

 

McDermott’s excellence is seen not just in his record. It’s apparent in how his players play. They are focused on their jobs and they do them as well as they can, play after play. They block together on offense, they play integrated defense. They may get beaten on a play every now and then – that happens to everyone, but they don’t confuse assignments, they aren’t out of position, and they don’t run from contact.

 

Look at how they run the quarterback sneak. The Bills are behind only the Eagles in efficiency on that play. Yes, it helps to have a strong, athletic quarterback who, if he weren’t the ball carrier, is big enough to be one of the pushers. Watch instead how the interior linemen always get the push needed for the first down. That’s not easy to do, but the Bills have developed that skill.

 

Look at the way the linebackers and defensive backs cover the entire field. Yes, they give up completions, but they’re rarely out of position. Being in position means at least they can make the tackle, occasionally they can defend the pass, and occasionally they even can intercept. And their spacing is so good that often it’s not a one-on-one tackle, because a second tackler arrives quickly, then a third. That’s quality defensive play.

 

The Browns-Broncos game on Monday showed two teams who are executing at a much lower level than the Bills. Those teams have some good athletes who fly around and make plays, but they lack the consistent excellence the Bills play with. Quarterbacks often fail to understand the defense, make inaccurate throws, take unnecessary sacks. Receivers’ routes leave them closely covered, and the receivers fail to fight for receptions. Defenders are out of position, don’t pursue, don’t gang tackle. Those teams aren’t executing because they aren’t coached to execute at that level.

 

The Bills are executing a plan for a team, not for a collection of players. The players have learned the plan, and newcomers to the team learn the plan within a year or two. Look at Taylor Rapp: A year ago, he wasn’t the stud that I had hoped he would become. He made some plays, but he also missed plays, too. It took him a year to work into the defense. Now, Rapp seems always to be where he needs to be. He understands his role, and he understands that he can trust his teammates to understand and execute theirs. Executing that role allows Rapp’s skills to come out. I’ve been impressed all season by his tackling, and there was none better than his shoe-string play on McCaffrey on Sunday night, except maybe the forced fumble on the goal line later.

 

The Bills execute at an extremely high level, and that is happening because Sean McDermott teaches everyone – the coaches and the players and all of the supporting cast – to do their jobs at a high level. It began the season he arrived, and he’s been raising the Bills’ level of play ever since.

 

McDermott’s done an impressive job, and he hasn’t finished.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

God, I love the Rockpile Review which always places it back into perspective vs. nailbiters.  Thanks Shaw.  Amen.  I appreciate a balanced review, yet reminding us of the league, our past, and what’s been made since 2017!

[dock581]

A great summary Shaw. As someone who has been  fan since 1948 I think  the job McD and Beane have done this year with all the turnover and injuries on defense have defied all expectations both of gurus and even the most rabid fans. He won't get it but McD deserves Coach of the Year. We are very lucky to have him

[boater]

32 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

The Bills execute at an extremely high level, and that is happening because Sean McDermott teaches everyone – the coaches and the players and all of the supporting cast – to do their jobs at a high level. It began the season he arrived, and he’s been raising the Bills’ level of play ever since.

 

McDermott’s done an impressive job, and he hasn’t finished.

 

Remember how doomsday some people around here were when we lost 2 in a row? They wanted to run McDermott out of town.

 

They were mouthy then, but you don't hear much from them these days.They should come forward and own it.

[Heitz]

Soooooo, we’re not firing him? 🤔🤔🤔

[Gregg]

2 minutes ago, boater said:

 

Remember how doomsday some people around here were when we lost 2 in a row? They wanted to run McDermott out of town.

 

They were mouthy then, but you don't hear much from them these days.They should come forward and own it.

 

I don't know if the fans wanted to run him out of town when they lost 2 in a row. It's the playoff failures over the years as to why some fans (me included) wanted a change. It doesn't matter what we (fans) think as Terry loves having McDermott as his coach, so he isn't getting fired. He has done a fantastic job this year. I never thought they would be 10-2 and have the division clinched by 12/1 in what was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year. But at the same time both he and the team will be judged by what happens in Jan/Feb by fans and media. They need to produce when it really counts.

[notwoz]

54 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Lately, I’ve been admiring how elegantly good McDermott’s team is. In particular, I’ve been admiring what a special coach McDermott is.

 

Stop there, just for a moment. I’m not saying McDermott’s perfect, and I’m not here to start a discussion about his strengths and weakness. I’m just looking at the exceptional thing he has done, and comparing it to other coaches and situations around the league.

 

When McDermott came to Buffalo, he took a team with a 15+-year history of failure, a team that lacked any real leadership at the top. Rex Ryan had left nothing to build on in terms of organization. There was some talent, but the overall talent level was thin.

McDermott took the team to the playoffs in his first season, suffered through one tough season, and has been in the playoffs every year since. He’s won five straight division titles. That’s a truly amazing coaching job.

 

“A brutal loss, a volatile locker room, and weird Zoom: Inside the Bears’ firing of Matt Eberflus.” That’s how ESPN introduces a recent lead story. Think about how much different the Bears organization is, right now, compared to the Bills. Think about the dysfunction at the Jets.

 

McDermott took a team in turmoil, turmoil not unlike what Chicago and the Jets (and several other teams, too) are in these days, and immediately took them to the playoffs. He took one year to get Josh Allen acclimated to playing in the NFL, now he has a team that is a solid favorite to make the playoffs every year. 

 

McDermott’s excellence is seen not just in his record. It’s apparent in how his players play. They are focused on their jobs and they do them as well as they can, play after play. They block together on offense, they play integrated defense. They may get beaten on a play every now and then – that happens to everyone, but they don’t confuse assignments, they aren’t out of position, and they don’t run from contact.

 

Look at how they run the quarterback sneak. The Bills are behind only the Eagles in efficiency on that play. Yes, it helps to have a strong, athletic quarterback who, if he weren’t the ball carrier, is big enough to be one of the pushers. Watch instead how the interior linemen always get the push needed for the first down. That’s not easy to do, but the Bills have developed that skill.

 

Look at the way the linebackers and defensive backs cover the entire field. Yes, they give up completions, but they’re rarely out of position. Being in position means at least they can make the tackle, occasionally they can defend the pass, and occasionally they even can intercept. And their spacing is so good that often it’s not a one-on-one tackle, because a second tackler arrives quickly, then a third. That’s quality defensive play.

 

The Browns-Broncos game on Monday showed two teams who are executing at a much lower level than the Bills. Those teams have some good athletes who fly around and make plays, but they lack the consistent excellence the Bills play with. Quarterbacks often fail to understand the defense, make inaccurate throws, take unnecessary sacks. Receivers’ routes leave them closely covered, and the receivers fail to fight for receptions. Defenders are out of position, don’t pursue, don’t gang tackle. Those teams aren’t executing because they aren’t coached to execute at that level.

 

The Bills are executing a plan for a team, not for a collection of players. The players have learned the plan, and newcomers to the team learn the plan within a year or two. Look at Taylor Rapp: A year ago, he wasn’t the stud that I had hoped he would become. He made some plays, but he also missed plays, too. It took him a year to work into the defense. Now, Rapp seems always to be where he needs to be. He understands his role, and he understands that he can trust his teammates to understand and execute theirs. Executing that role allows Rapp’s skills to come out. I’ve been impressed all season by his tackling, and there was none better than his shoe-string play on McCaffrey on Sunday night, except maybe the forced fumble on the goal line later.

 

The Bills execute at an extremely high level, and that is happening because Sean McDermott teaches everyone – the coaches and the players and all of the supporting cast – to do their jobs at a high level. It began the season he arrived, and he’s been raising the Bills’ level of play ever since.

 

McDermott’s done an impressive job, and he hasn’t finished.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were every-day people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

Amen!!!

[amprov56]

3 hours ago, boater said:

 

Remember how doomsday some people around here were when we lost 2 in a row? They wanted to run McDermott out of town.

 

They were mouthy then, but you don't hear much from them these days.They should come forward and own it.

I sure do and they remain lurking in the shadows waiting for the moment to return!

Edited December 4 by amprov56

[Forward Progress]

The coach of the year award doesn't go to the best coach... it goes to the coach of the team that most exceeded pre-season expectations.

 

Daboll won it in 2022, now he's on the hot seat

Vrabel won it in 2021, fired at the end of last season

Matt Nagy won it in 2018, fired two years later

 

Are these coaches better than Andy Reid, who won it once in 2002 with the Eagles or McDermott who has not won?  Absolutely not!!  

 

If you are the coach of a team with playoff expectations (even if the expectations are because of your coaching), you won't win this award.

 

Just like the NFL MVP, coach of the year is another narrative award.

[BigAl2526]

2 hours ago, Forward Progress said:

The coach of the year award doesn't go to the best coach... it goes to the coach of the team that most exceeded pre-season expectations.

 

Daboll won it in 2022, now he's on the hot seat

Vrabel won it in 2021, fired at the end of last season

Matt Nagy won it in 2018, fired two years later

 

Are these coaches better than Andy Reid, who won it once in 2002 with the Eagles or McDermott who has not won?  Absolutely not!!  

 

If you are the coach of a team with playoff expectations (even if the expectations are because of your coaching), you won't win this award.

 

Just like the NFL MVP, coach of the year is another narrative award.

Absolutely agree.  I think McDermott is a top three coach in the NFL, and this year he might be the best, but I don't expect him to win the award.  In addition to your criteria for receiving the award (exceeding preseason expectations) it also helps to have an impressive year over year improvement.  That is probably the factor that hurts McDermott.  The Bills have won the division five years in a row now.  Buffalo actually has exceeded preseason expectations this year as many observers nationwide expected Buffalo to slip significantly this season, some even expecting Buffalo to end up third in the division.  Still, there are several teams that have greatly exceeded preseason expectations and have significant year over year improvement.

Edited December 4 by BigAl2526

[Shaw66]

23 minutes ago, Forward Progress said:

The coach of the year award doesn't go to the best coach... it goes to the coach of the team that most exceeded pre-season expectations.

 

Daboll won it in 2022, now he's on the hot seat

Vrabel won it in 2021, fired at the end of last season

Matt Nagy won it in 2018, fired two years later

 

Are these coaches better than Andy Reid, who won it once in 2002 with the Eagles or McDermott who has not won?  Absolutely not!!  

 

If you are the coach of a team with playoff expectations (even if the expectations are because of your coaching), you won't win this award.

 

Just like the NFL MVP, coach of the year is another narrative award.

Good stuff.

 

Amazing that Reid hasn't won it in Kansas City.  

 

Stefanski has won it twice

[Irv]

I like the way he and his staff get average players to play above average.  Look up and down the depth chart and you'll see a lot of examples.  We're lucky to have the guy.  Remember Rex Ryan?  Night and day.  Somehow needs to figure out how to stop the big runs.  But having a great year.  Also seems to be a downright great human. 

 

Go Bills!    

[shane nelson]

Agree 1000% he took a scrape pile and made it a winner.  His winning percentage is 642%, highest in Bills history.  Yes he has his flaws, but all coaches do.

 

What impresses me the most, even when he had an inexperienced team, is how he prepares after a loss.  His teams almost always bounce back.

 

Now just 1 big hurdle to cross

[TheCockSportif]

I agree with most (if not all) of this, @Shaw66.  I kinda felt that the Bills would be rough this year, perhaps missing the playoffs, and I'm more than happy to be wrong.

 

While not a fan of McD, I've also noted that I don't think that he's a clown, that he's built a great culture, and that players actually want to come to Buffalo for a change. 

 

This season has been a refreshing surprise, but McD needs to get over the hump in the playoffs.  The 2019 and 2020 exits were expected, and it was (comparatively) not that big of a deal: The Bills were on the rise for a change.  Everything 2021 and after just guts you -- the subsequent regular season gaffes just seem to reinforce the notion that this team hasn't been good enough -- and you kind of look at McD and wonder if there are better options.

 

As others have stated, CoY is kind of a consolation prize, so let's not do that.  Let's just win the SB.

[ganesh]

> McDermott took a team in turmoil, turmoil not unlike what Chicago and the Jets (and several other teams, too) are in these days, and immediately took them to the playoffs. He took one year to get Josh Allen acclimated to playing in the NFL, now he has a team that is a solid favorite to make the playoffs every year. 

 

The only blemish in McDermott's coaching is his playoffs record....I hope this years team is a solid favorite to make and win the superbowl this year and every year from now.  

 

McDermott is a great coach in the regular season but needs the same consistency and courage in the playoffs.  Of course, his team has been hit by bad injuries to critical players in the playoffs, but so are other teams.    

 

This is the year for him and Allen to know off that moneky off their shoulder of winning deep in the playoffs.

 

As Pegula said in the locker room on Sunday Night..."We got five...we need to get that one".    The owner of the building has spoken. Go Bills !!!

Edited December 4 by ganesh

[Wacka]

Doubters trust the process now! 

[Richard Noggin]

Brady has really meshed with Kromer, among other offensive assistant coaches. You can probably attribute some of that to McDermott's longstanding and now kinda prescient desire to field a balanced offense capable of running the ball (specifically with zone concepts) downhill. He let Daboll run the show in a slightly or hugely different manner for a couple years there, but his vision for winning football has come back into favor this season especially. Think Detroit, Philly, Buffalo. 

[Buffalo ill]

I like what I'm seeing, but pump the brakes until the season is wrapped up.

[stuvian]

We have to admit to ourselves how good we have it now. We have a winning culture. Our players play with the psychological mindset of knowing how to close out a win. McDermott gets pressure on opposing QBs without a dominant DL. Becoming a run first offense has helped us immensely on both sides of the ball. I probably say this every year but this might be McDermott's finest coaching job yet.