Aug 5, 2026 · 57 min · 17 segments
In Episode 5, former Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott shares the leadership principles that helped transform the Bills into one of the NFL's premier franchises. He reflects on building a…
2017, you become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, and a team that had some great success back in the 90s, four straight Super Bowls, but after that, there was a real dry spell there.
And you get an opportunity to go up there to be the head coach, your first chance to be a head coach.
And I'm just wondering, you start off pretty well, then you kind of fall back, you get to 5-5, and then you make a little run and you finish 9-7 and make the playoffs.
And my thoughts are, what was your feeling like when you clinched a playoff berth in your first year, and having to go through some of that adversity midseason?
And, you know, 17-year playoff drought is a little bit unique or a lot unique because of the parity in our league.
So it was a challenge, but the team, the staff, the building overall – they were in it to be determined to break the streak or the drought, I guess you would say, right? So what a great example of People coming together for one purpose, one cause, one common cause, and really feeling a part of something bigger.
And we talked that season, especially at the beginning of that season and through some of those times that you're referencing, where we felt a five and five about really just this.
Hey, this could be the biggest turnaround in professional sports history ever.
We needed a couple of things at the end, uh, one or two things to, to fall our way.
And everybody needs that usually to get in at some point, whether it happens, you know, week eight or week 16, 17 at this point, like it did for us.
And, uh, The Bengals, on a fourth down and long play, Andy Dalton throws a completion and a touchdown pass on fourth and long, and the locker room goes crazy.
We're finishing up our game, and I said, hey, the guys want to turn the TVs on in the locker room, right? And I'm like, hey, no matter how this goes, we got to be proud of our season.
We could even hear Bill's fans on the concourse above us jumping around, celebrating.
2017, you become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, and a team that had some great success back in the 90s, four straight Super Bowls, but after that, there was a real dry spell there.
And you get an opportunity to go up there to be the head coach, your first chance to be a head coach.
And I'm just wondering, you start off pretty well, then you kind of fall back, you get to 5-5, and then you make a little run and you finish 9-7 and make the playoffs.
And my thoughts are, what was your feeling like when you clinched a playoff berth in your first year, and having to go through some of that adversity midseason?
And, you know, 17-year playoff drought is a little bit unique or a lot unique because of the parity in our league.
So it was a challenge, but the team, the staff, the building overall – they were in it to be determined to break the streak or the drought, I guess you would say, right? So what a great example of People coming together for one purpose, one cause, one common cause, and really feeling a part of something bigger.
And we talked that season, especially at the beginning of that season and through some of those times that you're referencing, where we felt a five and five about really just this.
Hey, this could be the biggest turnaround in professional sports history ever.
We needed a couple of things at the end, uh, one or two things to, to fall our way.
And everybody needs that usually to get in at some point, whether it happens, you know, week eight or week 16, 17 at this point, like it did for us.
And, uh, The Bengals, on a fourth down and long play, Andy Dalton throws a completion and a touchdown pass on fourth and long, and the locker room goes crazy.
We're finishing up our game, and I said, hey, the guys want to turn the TVs on in the locker room, right? And I'm like, hey, no matter how this goes, we got to be proud of our season.
We could even hear Bill's fans on the concourse above us jumping around, celebrating.
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