Sean McDermott has strong case for major award after dismantling offseason narrative

No one should argue the fact that Sean McDermott is the best head coach the Buffalo Bills have had since Marv Levy. When McDermott arrived, the Bills were a mess from the Rex Ryan era and it only took one season for the Bills to make the playoffs for the first time in 17 years under McDermott.

In the 2017 offseason, the Bills had traded away players like wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Ronald Darby, both who had flashy moments with the Bills in their short tenures. These moves came after McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane showed up and it looked like the Bills were going into a rebuild. McDermott had other plans.

Since the 2017 season, McDermott has led the Bills to the playoffs in all but one season, four consecutive division chmapionhips (soon to be five) and has established himself as one of the few successful defensive-minded head coaches.

In this past offseason, it was a little bit like 2017. After a disappointing finish to the 2023 season, the Bills were heading into an offseason that would shake up the culture that they had built. They released notable players Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Mitch Morse. They also let Gabe Davis walk in free agency and their offseason move was capped off with trading away star receiver Stefon Diggs to Houston.

On paper, the Bills were heading in the wrong direction and it looked like their reign of ruling the AFC East was coming to an end. Once again, McDermott and his coaching staff had other plans. With the bye week over for the Bills, Buffalo is on pace to winning the AFC East very soon and are currently at 9-2 just one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the #1 spot in the AFC. Not to mention, the Bills were the team that gave the Chiefs their first loss since last Christmas.

Sean McDermott has put together a compelling case to win Coach of the Year Award

Let’s face it, the Bills had more criticism this offseason than anything and they have really turned on the jets to put themselves back into the conversation as one of the best teams in the NFL. The Bills lost a lot of talented veterans who helped build the culture that Buffalo has and the roster has had to deal with multiple injuries all season long.

McDermott has had his low moments for sure, but considering what people were thinking the Bills were going to be, he deserves to have his name mentioned in the conversation or even be named the winner of the award.

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