Dec 30, 2018; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott yells to the officials during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

City of losers? Bills' head coach Sean McDermott claps back at haters

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Alex Brasky | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 1:47 PM ET

Is Buffalo a city of losers?

Buffalo Bills' head coach Sean McDermott says not so fast.

“That bothers me,” said McDermott. “Because that’s not what I’ve experienced and that’s not what my family’s experienced.”

“I hear it on TV,” said McDermott. “Not even watching a football game or a football broadcast, and they refer to this area — and I’m not even going to say it. They don’t know this community, they don’t know us, and just because it didn’t work out four years in a row, nobody’s going to do that again.”
McDermott proceeded to get a bit fiery in his response.

"Now you’re going to get me going,” he said. “It honestly pisses me off. Because people don’t know this town, they don’t know how hard it is to get to four straight Super Bowls. It will never happen again.”

The Bills head coach himself has been a lightning rod for criticism over the years, particularly dating back to Buffalo’s Divisional Round defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, known as the ’13 seconds’ game. Nothing drives McDermott more than silencing the critics once and for all.

“That’s probably what drives me more than anything to win,” he said. “Just overall, changing the narrative on Buffalo, that is honestly probably the No. 1 thing for me.”

When he arrived at One Bills Dr. where he was introduced as the team’s head coach leading into the 2017 season, it didn’t take long for McDermott to be drawn to Buffalo and everything the city has to offer. And now he has become one of its most staunch defenders.

“When we made the playoffs (in 2017),” said McDermott as to when he fell in love with his newfound home. “That’s when it hit my heart, when I saw the reaction when I made the playoffs.

“We were in the locker room in Miami, my family was there, and you could hear the reaction above us in the concourse when that play unfolded.”

He added: “Even on the way back, I’m seeing video of this bar, wherever, in Tonawanda, in Cheektowaga, and you’re watching people diving into the snow. That’s when it really hit my heart that I was like, we are here for a reason. And it goes well beyond the football field.”

McDermott has become as close to a native son of the city of Buffalo as one could be, ingratiating himself within the community and fan base as much or more than any coach in the franchise’s history. He identifies with the city and its football team, and he seems adamant in disproving the doubters.
Next stop, Super Bowl.