“My intent in that meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team,” the head coach told reporters on Thursday.
Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott was on the defensive Thursday after it was revealed that in a speech to his players, he used the Sept. 11 terrorist attack as an example of good teamwork.
In an effort to emphasize the importance of unity, he cited the 9/11 hijackers, who killed nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, as an example of everyone being “on the same page.”
The remarks were made four years ago during a team meeting but were not reported until Thursday. In an unscheduled news conference, a somber McDermott addressed them.
“My goal in that meeting that day was to talk about the importance of communication and staying on the same page with the team.” “I immediately apologized to the team after I realized I had mentioned 9/11 in my message that day,” McDermott told reporters.
“Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend,” he said.
The remarks were made in a series of longform Bills articles by journalist Tyler Dunne, who runs Go Long, an online paid football publication. Dunne cites conversations with 25 unnamed franchise sources who have firsthand knowledge of the speeches. NBC News is unable to confirm McDermott’s exact words.
McDermott is known for giving lengthy and often unusual team talks, according to Dunne. McDermott began telling the team about the importance of sticking together one morning at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y.
“But then, sources say, he used an unusual model: the terrorists of September 11, 2001.” He cited the hijackers as an example of a group of people who were able to work together to perfectly orchestrate attacks. McDermott began asking specific players in the room questions one by one,” Dunne writes.
McDermott did not contest the account of his remarks that day.
He stated that he learned about the report from the team’s vice president of communication, Derek Boyko, and felt compelled to address it right away. “When Derek shared this particular piece, I said, ‘Stop right there because this is important to me,'” McDermott said in a statement.
Following questions from reporters during the news conference, the coach stated that he was attempting to emphasize “the importance of communication, and being on the same page as a team.”
McDermott stated that one player at the 2019 meeting complained that his point was not made clearly enough, prompting him to speak with the team again an hour later.
“I brought everybody together and said this was the goal, this was the intent, and I apologize if anyone whatsoever felt a certain type of way coming out of that meeting,” McDermott said in a prepared statement.
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“I apologize to anyone who misinterpreted or did not understand my message.” I didn’t do a good enough job of communicating my message’s intent. That was about the importance of communication and the need for everyone to be on the same page, ironically. So that was and still is important to me,” he said.
McDermott also stated that he would speak to the team about the speech again on Thursday.
“As I mentioned to the team then that I regretted and apologized for me not doing a good enough job of communicating my point, I’m going to do the same with the team today,” he said. “So if there’s anyone new, they understand how important that is to me and my family because it’s an important event, a horrific event in our history.”
On the field, the Bills are 6-6 after an underwhelming season, placing them second in the AFC East and requiring a win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday to boost their slim playoff chances.
Since McDermott’s arrival in 2017, the Bills have risen from obscurity to perennial contenders behind star quarterback Josh Allen. However, they have failed to reach the Super Bowl, and this season’s struggles have raised concerns about his job.
