The lessons learned with the Carolina Panthers for Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane should help the Buffalo Bills this year.
The hype is undeniable for the Buffalo Bills this year and they are regularly discussed as Super Bowl contenders. It is certainly understandable after the season they had last year with a 13-3 record, an AFC East division crown and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.
They are entering this season with almost the same starters and the belief is this team can be better with Josh Allen a year older, a deep wide receiver group led by Stefon Diggs, and an improved defensive line with players like Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham, and Efe Obada.
However, Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have seen this story once before from their time with the Carolina Panthers as Aditi Kinkhabwala with NFL Network noted this morning.
#Bills GM Brandon Beane and HC Sean McDermott went to a Super Bowl together w/ Carolina. Beane told me this off-season, the two men have spent a lot of time talking about the lessons from that time. #PITvsBUF pic.twitter.com/tdMxooIsQS
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 12, 2021
In 2015, the Carolina Panthers had a remarkable season going 15-1 with Cam Newton winning the MVP, and reaching the Super Bowl. While they ultimately didn’t win, falling to the Denver Broncos by a final score of 24-10.
While the Carolina Panthers did lose Josh Norman, who at the time was playing at an All-Pro level, they did expect to improve in other areas, like getting Kelvin Benjamin back (who had over 1,000 receiving yards the last full season he played in 2014).
These were the only big changes as they brought back their core group of players like Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Ryan Kalil, Luke Kuechly, and Thomas Davis. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they got off to a slow 1-5 start and were only able to play .500 football the remainder of the year to finish 6-10.
As Aditi Kinkhabwala notes, this is what McDermott and Beane have been focused on this offseason and what they communicate to the players. She said the message was “we may have better talent but may not have better chemistry.”
The fact that Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have seen this first hand should help them lead the Buffalo Bills this season and avoid that letdown of a season the Panthers had the year after their Super Bowl run.