Coach McDermott discusses nasty comments about Josh Allen, the players going barefoot, and training camp.
Sean McDermott, the Buffalo Bills’ head coach, recently appeared on Good Morning Football (as their No. 1 power ranking head coach) for a highly interesting conversation. Kyle Brandt immediately answered to McDermott’s “How you doin?” by saying he was happy to be speaking with No. 1.
“You know you’re No. 1.” We know you’re number one, and one of the reasons is because you always share information about your family and what you’re up to, coach,” Brandt added. He went on to ask McDermott about his summer activities.
“Yeah, I appreciate you asking,” McDermott answered. “We had a great summer as a family. I travel across the country to football camps with my son, softball tournaments with my daughter, and swim meets with my youngest daughter. “Just a crazy, but fun summer.”
Akbar Gbajabiamila then inquired about the unique environment at St. John Fisher for training camp. “This is wonderful. “I think it’s very unique,” McDermott exclaimed. He then discussed his experiences in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Carolina Panthers, claiming that Buffalo’s camp is unrivaled.
“Just incredible,” McDermott repeated. “It’s an unbelievable opportunity to engage with our fans, almost really on a daily basis and as you guys know, we got some passionate fans.”
When asked about camp’s location, McDermott replied, “We’re really near to Rochester. Pittsford is a tiny town in New York. The village is incredibly lovely and reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. “Just a taste of America, if you will.”
Jamie Erdahl was pleased by Gbajabiamila’s inquiry about the geographical setting of Buffalo’s camp, so he asked McDermott how he was handling this camp differently with all of the new names and personalities on the roster.
“Well, any year you gotta start over, really, from square one and rebuild it,” was his response. “Every year is a new one. Every team is new. We’ve appreciated the challenges as a coaching team, and it’s been great to learn about some of our new veterans’ backgrounds, family lives, and tales. And then we welcome the new rookies this year, lead by Keon Coleman, who is off to a strong start in training camp. To me, one of the greatest challenges of being a coach is putting the pieces together and seeing how it all fits together as we progress through training camp and into the season.”
“Coach, I had to speak up about it last week when Brandon (Beane) came out. Brandon Beane, the GM, spoke about the “anonymous executive” who questioned Josh Allen. I understand you’ve been asked about it. “You don’t want to talk about it,” Peter Schrager said. “How do you deal with situations where there are stories that have nothing to do with your football club but are brought up to you by members of the media because they make fantastic television and radio content? McDermott chuckled and quickly responded:
“So you said it. It makes good news and will undoubtedly attract some listeners,” Coach remarked. “It’s just gossip, and we try not to get engaged in it. I know who Josh is, and that’s what matters. We know who Josh is, as do his teammates. We are really blessed to have a quarterback and a person like Josh in Buffalo, and what an incredible leader he has been!”
Kyle Brandt then went on to say, “Coach, you know John Elway said that his biggest regret was not drafting Josh in that draft when he was in Texas.” What do you recall about that day and night, everything? Where were you in life, and how did everything go down?”
“Right, you never know with where we were drafting if we’d be able to move up in the draft,” a proud McDermott said with a smile. “Things worked out, and we were able to obtain Josh. What a perfect fit, right? There were some pretty good quarterbacks in that draft. I believe Baker (Mayfield) placed first overall. But, regardless of whether we drafted first or not, we were always looking for Josh. I believe that people are most impressed by his rocket for an arm, as well as his intelligence, mobility, and competitiveness. He’s a dog in the field.
But I believe that his fit with the Buffalo and Western New York communities, as well as Bills supporters, is as vital. He’s a guy’s guy, he has that “it” element, and he’s obviously a lot of fun to be around and coach.”
Moving on, Erdahl had to inquire about an intriguing athlete who had lately joined the Bills. “Coach, we love this table. It’s one of the most valuable sections of GMFB, and only one person in the earth has ever placed their bare feet on this table: Mack Hollins. He’s joined your team now. Mack Hollins supposedly does not use utensils, does not eat veggies, and wanders about barefoot. Did you have any stipulations for when he got to Buffalo to say, “Son, this is Buffalo?” You’ll have to wear shoes in December. Walk us through this personality and your approach to Mack Hollins.
Appreciating the query, McDermott responded, “Well I gotta talk to Brandon about that because I’m still… that was something we didn’t know about so I’m not really sure if we’re doing our job on the scouting end of things because those are things we need to know, right?” He continued to laugh, saying, “We now have half of our squad, including our offensive coordinator, walking to our team meeting on campus without shoes or socks. It’s definitely interesting, and the bit about not using utensils… well, I still haven’t figured it out. I am familiar with the concept of “grounding” in terms of shoes or lack thereof. There are no utensils… I’m not sure what the end game is with it. I’m hoping we don’t get into that aspect of what Mack does as well, but he’s been a fantastic addition. He’s a character, as you know, and he provides a lot of energy.
Kyle Brandt concluded the conversation by calling McDermott a patient man for making it through all of his daughter’s swim events and wishing him a “Go Bills!”
