PFF: Bills’ Sean McDermott is only 16th best coach in NFL
Pro Football Focus was back to being awfully harsh on the Buffalo Bills. This time, head coach Sean McDermott was in their crosshairs.
The football analytics outlet is going position-by-position this offseason and ranking players from across the NFL head-to-head. In a twist, coaches were tossed in there.
McDermott’s ranking is in the second half of the league. PFF excluded first-year coaches and still placed McDermott at No. 16 overall.
Ouch.
First, the explanation:
16. SEAN MCDERMOTT, BUFFALO BILLS (8.9 – 8.1 RECORD WITH AVERAGE ROSTER)
Offensive Rank: 20/26 (+12 points scored a season)
Defensive Rank: 7/26 (-4 points scored a season)
McDermott sticks true to his roots as a former defensive coordinator, helming strong units on that side of the ball while not always getting expected results out of his offenses based on talent level.
In a way, PFF tries to explain their ranking with the words “average roster.” Their formula used predicts McDermott to win totals between 8.9 to 8.1 victories with such a team.
But that’s just not realistic. Neither is their explanation.
A coach is part of every team’s roster building to some extent. It varies from team-to-team and credit to Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane, but there’s no doubt McDermott had a say in assembling this Bills roster and PFF takes that away from him.
Plus, part of being a boss is delegation.
PFF decided to knock McDermott for his lack of prowess coaching the offensive side of the ball when that’s something he mostly hasn’t had a say in during his tenure in Buffalo. But he has picked his offensive coordinators and after a rough go with Rick Dennison in Year 1, McDermott hand-picked Brian Daboll.
Who only went on to become the New York Giants head coach.
It’s easy to see our feelings: PFF missed the mark on McDermott.
