Getty Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2023.
After leading the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs for four straight seasons and turning the team into perennial Super Bowl contenders, head coach Sean McDermott could be on the hot seat before the next season ever starts.
McDermott came under criticism this week for his handling of wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ one-day absence from the team’s mandatory minicamp. After saying he was “very concerned” that Diggs was not at practice on June 13, McDermott walked back the statement the next day and said his absence was excused.
FS1 analyst Colin Cowherd believes the incident was an indication of a bigger problem with the Bills head coach.
“Sean McDermott, last chance,” the pundit said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on June 14. “He’s the issue. I watched him get out-coached by (Miami’s) Mike McDaniel three times.”
Colin Cowherd Calls out ‘Rigid’ Sean McDermott
Cowherd noted that the Bills appeared poised to challenge Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for supremacy in the AFC, but he said the team instead has taken a step back while Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have surpassed them as a contender in the conference.
“Where is Josh Allen? With a rigid defensive coach, fifth year, can’t get the offensive line right,” Cowherd said. “Last year, if you took out Josh Allen’s rush yards, [they still have] a crappy run game … Josh Allen is running too much, getting hit too much.
“Now the star receiver is unhappy and they can’t develop a second receiver. Gosh, I wonder what it could be? The defensive rigid, conservative head coach Sean McDermott.”
Cowherd said that McDermott is the main issue with the Bills, noting that the team’s offensive line has yet to develop in his five years as head coach — all while McDermott has placed a higher priority on the defensive line.
Sean McDermott Under Fire for Stefon Diggs Situation
While Cowherd’s criticism of McDermott centered largely on his ability to get the team over the hump in a competitive AFC, a number of fans took aim at the Bills coach for his role in the controversy with Diggs this week.
The main issue was with McDermott’s mixed messaging, as the Bills coach starting the week by saying he was “very concerned” about the receiver’s absence but explained the next day that Diggs had been excused from practice after reporting to the team facility and undergoing a physical in the morning.
“Bills ownership and PR obviously didn’t like the mess McDermott made by going public with his ‘concern’ about Diggs. He is now in damage control,” one fan tweeted. “Like the Wizard of Oz he doesn’t want you to look behind the curtain he pulled back.”
The team appears to be trying to put the controversy behind them. Veteran center Mitch Morse pushed off a question about whether Diggs has been a distraction to the team, saying he was focused on his own job and confident that Diggs would work through whatever issues he might have.
“We let the people do what they do,” Morse said, via a video shared on Twitter by reporter Dan Fetes. “I love Stefon Diggs, [but] I’ve got s**t to do. I’ve got to come out here and do my job. I want Stef and everyone to be the happiest version of themselves. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve been around. I also think that they’re working through it, doing the things they’re supposed to do, which is to have possibly uncomfortable conversations, have some candidness which can be hard at times.”
