Buffalo Bills: Sean McDermott was nearly the head coach in Cleveland

A recent article detailed the dysfunction of the Cleveland Browns. Buffalo Bills fans may find one particular part of the story interesting.

There is no such thing as a dull day for Cleveland Browns fans.

That remains true today after ESPN’s Seth Wickersham dropped a long piece on the dysfunction of the franchise.

It is an interesting read for any NFL fan, but one part in particular is interesting for Buffalo Bills fans. It has to do with the Browns’ coaching search back in 2016.

"After a few rounds of interviews, the brass voted. It was 4-1 in favor of Sean McDermott, the Panthers’ defensive coordinator, a coach who had crushed his interview and was known to be open to new ideas."

That one vote against Sean McDermott came from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. He instead decided to hire Hue Jackson in what is now seen as a disastrous move.

McDermott remained in Carolina for one more year before being hired by the Bills.

It is interesting to see how a bad move by the Browns can affect other teams. The Browns hiring McDermott would have completely changed things in Buffalo, and who knows if a different first-year coach gets the team to the playoffs in 2017. Or if that same coach even lasts two full seasons.

One team’s dysfunction can alter the future of other franchises, and the careers of coaches. McDermott may have already been fired by the Browns if he was hired there back in 2016. Instead, he is settled in with the Bills, hopefully for many more years to come.

I would recommend reading Wickersham’s entire piece if you want to learn some truly alarming facts about the Browns. There is some stuff in there so ridiculous it is hard to even believe.

That includes the decision to go against the vote and not hire McDermott. I’m sure McDermott is rather pleased with the way things turned out. Sometimes being passed over for one job can lead to a great opportunity elsewhere.