The Rex Ryan era in Buffalo got off the rails immediately out of the gates, with Ryan setting the bar unreasonably high -- and then promptly failing to come close to meeting it.
New Bills coach Sean McDermott hit a home run in comparison, by not promising to make it to the playoffs in his first year (which Rex did) or to lead the league in defense in his first year (which Rex also did).
“I am not in to making promises and I think you will find that out about me soon enough as well,” McDermott told reporters in his introductory press conference. “The promises I will make are we are going to be competitive, we are going to compete every day. What I intend to do, it starts today. . . . We are going to compete on a daily basis. I am going to build this culture along with the people in this building to develop a daily standard of winning in the way we do things. We have to earn the right to win in this league and I have learned that. So I just believe in the process. We are going to win going through the process, and when that time comes we will take the field, but we have a lot of work to do between now and then.”
Much of the work will entail determining the players for next season. McDermott confirmed that G.M. Doug Whaley has control of the 53-man roster.
“I am very comfortable with the situation and I wouldn’t take this job if I wasn’t comfortable with the situation,” McDermott said. “Terry and Kim [Pegula] made sure of that and I appreciate that. We’ve had extensive conversations throughout the interview process and they’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that I’m comfortable with things and Doug has as well. I wouldn’t take this job if I wasn’t comfortable.”
He’ll never be any more comfortable than he’ll be upon taking the job. The question is whether he’ll stay comfortable as days become weeks and weeks become months and seasons unfold.
McDermott already is off to a better start than Ryan. Whether McDermott ultimately fares any better remains to be seen.