Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott nearly talked his way into trouble again on Tuesday while discussing his team’s performance against New England Patriots.
The Bills struggled to break down the Patriots on Sunday despite being strong favorites for a heavy win, eventually recording a 24-21 win.
Reflecting on the game Tuesday, McDermott stopped himself using an analogy about flying after comments he made in 2019 about 9/11 emerged in 2023, causing outrage and forcing the Bills head coach into an apology.
As first reported by Go Long, McDermott used the attackers on 9/11 as an example for people coming together at a 2019 training camp. Four years later, when that aspect of his speech became public, McDermott apologized unreservedly at an unscheduled press conference.
‘I regret mentioning 9/11 in my message that day and I immediately apologized to the team,’ McDermott said in December 2023 Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.
‘It was mentioning 9/11 in the context of the team meeting. The goal of the team meeting was the importance of communication and being on the same page as a team.’
Sean McDermott was asked to give his impressions of the #Bills first half performance against the Patriots. He was about to use an airplane analogy, but stopped himself short.
If you don’t learn from the past you’re doomed to repeat it #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/yK05boUtHF
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) December 23, 2024
Now on Christmas Eve, McDermott was discussing what frustrated him about the Patriots win.
‘Um, let’s see, I was about to use an airplane flying analogy but I’ll stay away from that,’ he said.
The report from Go Long last year said: ‘He (McDermott) told the entire team they needed to come together.
‘But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on September 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection.
‘One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. “What tactics do you think they used to come together?”‘
This year, even after the narrow win over the Patriots, McDermott and the Bills are enjoying a brilliant season.
They are among the favorites to reach the Super Bowl and Sunday’s Patriots win leaves them 12-3 and AFC East winners. Quarterback Josh Allen is a leading contender for the MVP award, too.
The Bills are back in NFL action on Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.
