Sean McDermott Allegedly Cited 9/11 Attacks To Motivate 2021 Bills

It doesn’t seem like Sean McDermott will lose his job this season even if the Bills miss the postseason, but a story from a three-part feature could change that.

Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD.com on Thursday released a three-part series documenting multiple issues that arose during McDermott’s tenure as Buffalo Bills head coach.

The second part of the series delved into the bizarre ways McDermott would try to motivate his team. And his attempt to motivate the Bills during training camp in 2021 might be the most insensitive if true.

“At St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., McDermott’s morning address began innocently enough,” Dunne wrote, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “He told the entire team they needed to come together. But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection. One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood.”

There was no mention of what prompted McDermott to cite the 9/11 attacks, but the message was not received by all players.

“I don’t know why he’s that awkward but his social skills are lacking,” an unnamed player told Dunne, per Pro Football Talk. “Maybe he’s just wound-up thinking about ball. You’ve got to talk to the team every day. That’s one where maybe he heard it on a podcast. Next episode! That’s not the one to lead with. He was trying to bring the team together. It was a horrible, horrible reference. He missed the mark.”

Fans probably would agree with that assessment. Team president Terry Pegula reportedly has no plans on firing McDermott, but if video of the head coach’s speech citing the 9/11 attacks were to be released, that could change.