Few NFL teams in recent years have seen their season end in greater disappointment than the Buffalo Bills.
While Josh Allen and the Bills have been unsuccessful in making it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1994, head coach Sean McDermott expressed supreme confidence that they’ll not only make it back but will also eventually bring a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo.
Pain Kicks in for Bills’ Sean McDermott When Playoff Results Mentioned
Making his way to the NFL Scouting Combine this week for the eighth straight season as HC of the Bills, McDermott is fully aware of his 0 for 7 statistic.
In seven seasons under McDermott, Buffalo has never reached past the AFC Championship Game.
“You can’t listen. I believe we’re doing things the right way. You only fail if you quit, and I’ve never done that,” McDermott said to The Athletic’s Tim Graham.
“It’s not a matter of if. It’s just a matter of when,” McDermott said of winning a Lombardi Trophy.
In fact, since 2020, three of Buffalo’s last four playoff losses have come at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Their most recent is probably the most devastating.
“Oh jeez,” McDermott said, sounding more of a groan than anything.
It was pointed out at the hotel lobby bar where McDermott is staying for the Scouting Combine that the television was showing the greatest games performed from this past 2023 season.
At No. 2?
The Bills’ agonizing 27-24 loss in the Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium.
“It’s painful,” McDermott said, watching for a bit.
McDermott even watched the crowd’s somber reaction after Tyler Bass’ kick that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter swerved wide right by a mile and more.
When Will the Bills Reach the Top?
Many would say there is one individual — whose name will soon get put in the Hall of Fame — that has been McDermott’s worst nightmare as of late.
Andy Reid.
Nonetheless, when Reid was at the controls in Philadelphia, the Eagles did not win a Lombardi Trophy.
What soon happened?
Reid was terminated in 2012, became the next HC in Kansas City, and his coaching career soon flipped after the arrival of Patrick Mahomes.
McDermott is in a similar boat.
He has a superstar-like quarterback in Josh Allen — who has shown he can put his team on his back and direct the Bills in a positive path — and the higher-ups in Buffalo believe McDermott is the guy to take the organization to the promised land.
“The only thing left to do for us at this point is win an AFC Championship and win a Super Bowl, which is pretty darn good,” McDermott voiced to Graham.
McDermott’s tenure thus far in Buffalo has not been a failure whatsoever.
Before his arrival in 2017, Buffalo had not sniffed postseason play in 17(!) consecutive seasons.
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They have made the tournament in every season but one — Allen’s rookie year.
Buffalo also went a quarter century without capturing the AFC East title but has won the last four in a row.
If McDermott were sitting here right now, he’d say one word: Patience.
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