Sean McDermott has not hidden his love of culture since taking the reins of the Buffalo Bills’ coaching staff in the 2017 offseason.
The third-year head coach feels as though success on the field starts with a positive environment off it. He places great value in the immeasurable concept, at one point even admitting that “culture, to [him], trumps strategy.”
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact components that make a strong culture, it would be ignorant to say that McDermott has not instilled one at One Bills Drive. Buffalo has played some of its best football of the century under his tutelage, snapping its near two-decade playoff drought in McDermott’s first season in charge.
His culture has only strengthened since then, as the Bills sit at 9-4 entering Week 15 of the 2019 campaign. With three games remaining in the season, Buffalo has already matched its highest win total of the 21st century.
In a contemporary NFL that markets offensive-minded head coaches that find success via scheme, McDermott’s achievements stem from his commitment to culture. It’s a team-building strategy he’s partially taken from the Pittsburgh Steelers, his Week 15 opponent who has been an AFC powerhouse for much of the recent past.
“You look at the way that Pittsburgh, just the organization, has done things and how they’ve built it, from the continuity and consistency that they’ve had in their high-level positions and the way they’ve been able to build it at the player level,” McDermott said. “I think the tradition speaks for itself, it really does. Mike [Tomlin], working with [general manager] Kevin [Colbert], I think that’s, again, outside looking in, has been a good relationship.
“There have been tough times, there always is. The organizations I’ve been around have all been successful, and we’ve gone through some of those same times. But you weather the storm when you have good leadership and you’ve got consistency.”
McDermott credits the success of Pittsburgh’s culture to its continuity and commitment to high-level executives, something that Buffalo has lacked since the organization’s fall from grace at the turn of the century.
The Steelers have employed just two head coaches and two general managers since the 1992 NFL season, giving the organization an abundance of time to establish a winning culture.
To put that into perspective, the Bills have employed five head coaches since Pittsburgh hired Mike Tomlin in 2007.
The Steelers’ commitment to culture has resulted in longterm success, as the team has won two Super Bowl championships over the past 15 years. The team has appeared in the postseason in six out of the last 10 seasons.
McDermott hopes to see his team’s already-strong culture one-day match that of Pittsburgh, something that he feels would only help the team on the field.
“Overall, [culture] is a start,” McDermott said. “It’s a foundation. It’s part of, to me, the ingredients that help build the chemistry, and I’m a big believer in team chemistry as it relates to success on and off the field, but on the field in this case in particular.
“Culture, it’s one thing to have team, it’s another thing to have culture. When you’ve got two, both those things, I think you’ve got a formula. Now, you have to have the strategy, you have to have the acumen and tactical strategy, but I’m a big believer in the culture. That’s one piece. It’s not everything, but it’s a piece.”
Buffalo has the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win over Pittsburgh this Sunday, an indication of the progress the team has made under McDermott over the past number of years.
“I think we’ve moved that needle drastically since we’ve got here, in the entire building,” McDermott said. “It’s been a long time since this organization has been in a position like this, this late in the season, and we don’t take it lightly.”
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