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Was firing Shawn McDermott the right
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move? And the answer is no and yes. And
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I'll explain what I mean in just a
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moment. A reminder to subscribe to the
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The reason it's not the right move is
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because if this is a reaction to
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Saturday and the elimination or even
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this season in general, Shawn McDermad
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is not the reason the Buffalo Bills did
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not win in Denver. You can point to a
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myriad of reasons why Josh Allen had a
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poor day by his standards. The
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officiating did not help. On and on and
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on it goes. But Shawn McDermott's
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coaching didn't feel like, didn't seem
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like the reason that they lost. So, if
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you are making this decision based on
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this year not going farther,
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aside from their slow starts, which
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certainly was a problem the entire year
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and digging yourself a hole, it did not
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feel like coaching was the reason that
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this year did not go further than it
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did. Shawn McDermott's not responsible
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for the interceptions, the officiating,
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the fumble by James Cook. None of that
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is on on Shawn McDermott. And if Josh
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Allen hits Dawson Knox or if one of
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those plays goes in the Bills direction,
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then he's coaching in an AFC
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Championship game and I don't think
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there's any way he's getting fired at
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that point in time. Maybe, maybe, but
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Why this can be seen as the right move
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is this kind of overarching narrative
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that I spoke about that I spoke about in
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my last video about the weight, the
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crushing weight of this team and this
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quarterback and this city right now. As
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I pointed out and kind of explained in
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Josh Allen owns a very unique role in
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sports and certainly the NFL because he
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is acutely aware and has willingly taken
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on the pain and the trauma of the
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football losses before him. this
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drought, this championship drought that
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everybody in Western New York is so
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desperate to break, he wears. He wears
2:36
and that is unlike anywhere else. So
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when Josh Allen breaks down crying after
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he feels the weight of all of these
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losses and all of these exits and all
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these missed opportunities. And then
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Deion Dawkins and Brandon Cooks and
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everybody else begins crying because
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they wear the guilt of him owning all of
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that knowing it's definitely not on his
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shoulders entirely of why the Buffalo
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You look at this wide swath of football
3:09
since 2020 in Josh's Peak
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and this is the winningest franchise in
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most points scored, fewest points
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allowed, greatest points differential.
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They are the model over these six
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of consistency and success without a
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Super Bowl appearance. And so the reason
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why the yes, this is the right move is
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because Saturday was so crushing.
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I think it would have been really hard
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to run it back in 2026
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with the same group in the same roles.
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Even though Shawn McDermott probably
3:54
didn't deserve to get fired for 2025,
4:00
a shakeup in some way, shape, or form
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Because if you just brought the band
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back and said, "Hey, we've been really
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good. Let's keep spinning the wheel." At
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some point, the wheel comes up us.
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You have to once again convince yourself
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that fortune favors us. And that's a
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really hard thing to keep selling
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yourself on if you lose not only to the
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Chiefs, but then other teams as well.
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And so I think this is really more of a
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move of what's the what's the grand
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change that is going to spark
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potentially a change in outcome. Now,
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did Brandon Bean deserve to survive
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this? Not based on 2025.
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Injuries throughout the entire season, I
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mean, just ripped apart Shawn
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McDermott's defense and this this team
4:56
as a whole. And McDermott helped put it
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together week by week by week, game plan
5:01
by game plan. The wide receiver room is
5:04
a problem. Has been. We know that.
5:06
That's a Brandon Bean thing.
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If I was going to assign any blame to
5:12
this squad, I assign more of it to
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roster build than I do to coaching this
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season. I think blaming the coaching is
5:19
an easy out for the way that, you know,
5:25
But if Brandon Bean sold a certain
5:29
to Terry Pagula and Terry Pigula feels
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like this is the pivot we need,
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then it is on Brandon Bean to enact
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whatever this is, this this change, this
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dynamic change that is needed. And it's
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probably a young offensive coordinator.
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I find it hard to believe they would go
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defensive coordinator again like Shawn
6:00
I think if now you've hit Josh Allen's
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year 30 season, I think now you go we've
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got five great Josh Allen years left. We
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need an offensive mind.
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And it would strike me that the most
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obvious comp to what is happening with
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Josh Allen is John Elway. And John Elway
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banged his head against the wall of the
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AFC and then the Super Bowl, the NFC
6:27
champs three times before finally
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breaking through. And what helped him
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offensive-minded Mike Shanahan, who did
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have a brief head coaching stint of the
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80s with the Raiders, but really was a
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coordinator, an offensive coordinator
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with different counterintuitive
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schemes or creativity to what was
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traditional football at the time. And so
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I would imagine if you are Brandon Bean
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and you are looking and seeking what the
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answer is here to capitalize on Josh
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Allen, it is that blueprint. Finding the
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comp to Mike Shanahan
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who is a creative offensive mind that
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can help on that side of the football.
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You hire a strong defensive coordinator
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if you don't feel like you've got that
7:17
in house and you are pivoting to what
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these last nine years have been have
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been really good but unable to close.
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There has to be a change for us to have
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a different outcome. And I don't
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necessarily disagree with that.
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I might disagree with Brandon Bean being
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the guy that survived this, but I don't
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necessarily disagree that a change in
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some dramatic form was the only way you
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could really keep selling the optimism
7:46
outside the building to the fans and the
7:48
public and inside the building. Don't
7:50
worry, it's going to be different
7:52
because Saturday, the reason that the
7:54
tears were there, again, to go back to
7:57
my previous video, the Bills have
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cornered the market on traumatic playoff
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losses, and Josh included. It's not like
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they haven't been here before. So, why
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did this one break the dam of emotions?
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it ended the same way that it always
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does and it wasn't even the Chiefs this
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time. And we're wearing the weight of
8:23
this. I say the weight of the weight.
8:26
The heaviness of the weight wiit
8:29
the drought. And the heaviness of the
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drought is being worn by one guy right
8:35
now in Josh Allen heavier than everybody
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else. And when it breaks him, it breaks
8:41
others. And how do you alleviate some of
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that burden? How do you alleviate some
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of the burden so that it feels fresh and
8:53
lighter and newer? And I would just add
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Shawn McDermott is a hyperfocused,
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intense guy. And I think he's learned a
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lot of lessons since 13 seconds. I think
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he's become a better coach since then,
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even in lateg game situations as well.
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But I do think the hyper intensity of
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Shawn McDermott might then expand out to
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a team that feels real tension in tight
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moments as well. And you felt it last
9:25
year on that final drive in Kansas City
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in the AFC Championship game. And
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there's been there's always that vibe of
9:32
when it gets really tight and
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everything's on the line, the Bills play
9:36
anything but loose. And something like
9:39
Liam Cohen and Ben Johnson and to a
9:42
certain degree Dave Canales, I think has
9:47
owners and GM's minds of expectations.
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and that is a young firsttime offensive
9:56
can change things dramatically almost
9:59
overnight. And if you're looking to
10:02
alleviate the burden and the heaviness
10:05
going away from the intensity and the
10:07
pressure of what McDermott brings to the
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table, which is absolutely what was
10:12
needed when he took this program over to
10:15
now, how do you alleviate some of that?
10:19
I do think pivoting to a younger
10:21
offensive-minded creative mind at head
10:24
coach is a potentially really good
10:26
solution. Easier said than done. You got
10:29
to find the right guy. And you don't
10:31
know if Liam Cohen is going to do it
10:33
until Liam Cohen does it. You don't know
10:34
if Ben Johnson's going to do it until
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Ben Johnson does it. But if that's the
10:39
idea and that's the vibe, this this job
10:41
should be wildly appetizing to that type
10:45
of coordinator. Cuz you're not
10:46
inheriting Caleb Williams or Trevor
10:49
Lawrence. You're inheriting
10:51
a future Hall of Famer in Josh Allen who
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is still at his apex and is a great
10:57
leader and doesn't complain and doesn't
10:59
point fingers and doesn't doesn't get
11:01
frustrated with coaching. And what more
11:04
could you ask for? And I've always said
11:06
this. I think you run to jobs like the
11:10
Browns, the Lions, and the Bills. Cuz if
11:12
you do it, ask the 04 Red Sox and ask
11:16
the 16 Cubs. You live forever.
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All right, that's going to do it for me.
11:22
Appreciate you watching everybody. Make
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