Fans of the Buffalo Bills have come to expect disaster as the clock approaches triple zero. Seven years of suffering will accomplish that. The sight of Sean McDermott speaking into a headset has become synonymous with impending disaster.
The 2023 season is ending.
The Super Bowl window is closing.
Those who work with the head coach on a daily basis foresaw all of this months in advance, based on their knowledge of how McDermott operates. How visibly worried he becomes in close games. How he has never fully appreciated Josh Allen, a gift from the football gods. How quickly he blames everyone but himself when he loses. That’s why, in June, one coach started with a simple question: “What if they fail again this year?” “What does ownership have to do with Sean?”
Three seconds later, he addressed his own hypothetical.
“If they fail next year, who do you think he’ll serve up first? “Ken Dorsey.”
The coach wasn’t sure how McDermott was going to put Dorsey’s head on a stick. After all, the head coach’s beloved defense has collapsed in four consecutive postseason defeats. The honeymoon phase with fans was over a long time ago, and throwing fingers at his winning quarterback would almost certainly not work now. However, even in June, this assistant knew his former boss would find a way to avoid accountability.
“Watch,” he went on to say, “if they sputter at all during this year, the narrative’s going to be the offense.”
On cue, seeds of blame were sowed from loss to loss, culminating in a heartbreaking 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos on November 13. McDermott did not criticize the jailbreak blitz that set up the game-winning field goal. He also refused to accept responsibility for the Broncos’ penalty of having 12 men on the field, which gave them another field goal opportunity. He gushed about the defense, slammed the offense, and fired Dorsey the next day. He probably didn’t expect to throw this card on the table so quickly. The next 37-point offensive outburst in Philadelphia two weeks later only served to shine a brighter light on Buffalo’s fundamental problem.
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