In his 19-year NFL career, Bills Head coach Sean McDermott has worked with some of the most respected coaches in the league and coached some of the most decorated players in Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles history. Below is a list of comments around the NFL about Sean McDermott becoming the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
Andy Reid – Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach and former Eagles Head Coach
"Sean is a smart guy that works extremely hard and has all the intangibles lined up for him. He's really going to be a tremendous head coach. I think the Buffalo Bills made the right decision there. He'll come in, and what they saw in the interview process will be exactly what they see on the field, and how he carries himself in the community as well as amongst his players – high, high integrity, extremely hard working and very intelligent. I'm proud of him. He's earned this opportunity."
Mike Tomlin – Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach and former college teammate at William & Mary
"Sean's a great coach, but he's an even better person. He is intelligent and very thoughtful. He's got natural leadership skills. The Buffalo Bills are in great hands under his leadership. It's been a pleasure knowing him over the years. I'm not surprised by this opportunity, and I won't be surprised by the success that he has in Buffalo."
Luke Kuechly – Carolina Panthers, All-Pro Linebacker
"Coach McDermott's attention to detail, his competitive nature, his love for the game and his overall understanding of football is awesome, but I think the person that Sean McDermott is will allow him to be a fantastic head coach. He preaches unity and a strong culture of hard work and accountability. He believes in his players and will put them in position to be successful, and he will listen to them. He loves his players and works to get to know them and understand them and that's why guys play hard for him. He's a great coach and an even better person."
Thomas Davis – Carolina Panthers, All-Pro Linebacker
"Coach McDermott is very passionate. He loves his players and he does a great job of maximizing players' potential by putting them in the best position to be successful."
Brian Dawkins – Eagles football operations executive and former All-Pro Eagles safety
"Outstanding move. I honestly believe Sean has what it takes to move forward pretty quickly when it comes to leading guys. Look at where he's been and who he's learned from in this league – [former Eagles defensive coordinator] Jim Johnson, [former Eagles and current Chiefs head coach] Andy Reid and [Panthers head coach] Ron Rivera. Those are three quality bosses to learn from.
I still have a really good relationship with Sean, and I'm very happy for him. I'm excited for his opportunity to go in and lead that team."
Kurt Coleman – current Carolina Panthers, safety and former Eagles safety (as told to SiriusXM NFL Radio)
"Sean McDermott is passionate, he's detailed and he's going to get those guys right. He's going to make sure that they're very gap-sound, he's going to make sure they're working in the right direction and that's the whole team. And they're going to get a guy that really respects them as a player and then one thing that you know is that he will fight tooth and nail for you."
"Another great thing about Sean is something that he had told me as a rookie. He kept just telling me I can play in this game. I can get out there and I can play on this field because you have to be smart. You don't always have to be the fastest, you don't have to be the strongest, but if you are smart enough and you prepare, you put yourself in position to make a lot of plays. And that little nugget that he has given me, it stuck and every time I would see him, I only had one year in Philadelphia, and then I'd see him coach against us and that was the one thing I told him that always stuck with me throughout my years in the NFL, was that if I can just put myself in position to make plays, I will be really good in this league. And that's the one thing you know you're going to get, that he's going to be a teacher. He's going to teach you how to learn, how to study, how to play the game the right way."
