National Football League

Tyler Dunne on Sean McDermott, Bills exposé: 'You've gotta overcome your own head coach'

Updated Dec. 10, 2023 1:49 a.m. ET

The NFL world was rocked Thursday upon the publication of a long-form exposé about the Buffalo Bills, and in particular head coach Sean McDermott, on Substack by independent journalist Tyler Dunne.

The three-part article contained several negative anecdotes about McDermott from his seven seasons with the Bills, most notably one from 2019 in which he attempted to use those who hijacked planes and committed acts of terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001 as a positive illustration of teamwork.

McDermott emotionally apologized for the comments during an unscheduled media appearance Thursday, saying they were addressed at the time and were addressed again that day after the quotes were made public.

In an appearance Friday with Colin Cowherd on "The Herd," Dunne said his report about McDermott, which the head coach also criticized Friday as a "dissappointing" and "hurtful" attack on his character, came from talking to 25 players, coaches and staff members from around the Bills organization.

"There is an atmosphere, day-to-day, that as one assistant coach put to me, ‘You're not just playing [another] team on a Sunday, you've gotta overcome your own head coach,'" Dunne said. "There's a lot that goes into it."

Another anecdote from Dunne's report about McDermott said the coach had a very negative reaction when, in 2020, Bills wide receivers joined together to buy their wide receivers coach, Chad Hall, a truck for Christmas.

The video went viral at the time, but it prompted a comment from McDermott to his assistants according to Dunne was colder than a Buffalo winter storm, as McDermott told the group that he pays them to coach the players, not be their friends.

"That's unheard of, I mean, it's unbelievable," Dunne said of the Bills receivers' gesture. "And then Sean McDermott turns it into the most negative thing possible. Multiple coaches told me it was a dark day at One Bills Drive [the team headquarters]. Just one small example, I guess he didn't really like the relationships that these position coaches kind of had with their players. They thought there might have been a little jealousy there. Just a needless war fought within [the coaching staff]."

Dunne also claims McDermott is also responsible for the Bills' inability to win close games, not just indirectly but, in the most famous instance of Buffalo failing to do so, directly. According to Dunne, McDermott seized defensive play-calling duties from then-defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier late in the fourth quarter of the Bills' Jan. 2022 divisional round game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense famously assembled a game-tying field goal drive even though their possession started deep in their own territory with just 13 seconds left in regulation, thanks in large part to the soft, conservative coverage that the Bills secondary played against the Chiefs' wide receivers. Dunne cited multiple sources as well as broadcast video of the drive that shows McDermott frequently speaking into his headset during the sequence. The Chiefs later won the game in overtime.

"That might have been the moment that broke the team," Dunne said. "That moment was never really dealt with within the building, several players and coaches said."

Frazier, who stepped down from his position after the 2022 season, was harshly blamed by outside analysts for the Bills' crunch-time defensive failure. Dunne said McDermott did little to change that perception.

"He [told the assistant] coaches the next day, ‘You guys gotta just figure it out,' then leaves," Dunne said.

Tyler Dunne exposes Bills HC cracks in 'The McDermott Problem'

Those issues have extended into this season, with the Bills now 1-6 in overtime under McDermott (and 0-6 with Josh Allen playing quarterback). All six of the Bills' losses this season have also been one-score games.

"You can take a big-picture look to the point where, you've got Josh Allen, you've got this freak show quarterback, only two or three people on the planet can do what Josh Allen does," Dunne said. "Yet there's a reason late in games, he produces what should be a game-winning drive and Sean McDermott and the defense get tight. That's the word I hear a lot — I hear ‘robot' and I hear ‘tight.'"

Several other members of the Bills defended McDermott on Friday, including longtime safety Micah Hyde and general manager Joe Schoen. McDermott's job with the Bills is not in danger, according to a report from The Athletic.

"I get it, he has every right to defend himself," Dunne said. "I'm just relaying specific stories that were shared by not one, not two, not three [but] many people in the building."

The Bills revisit the ghosts of that playoff failure when they again face the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

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