Among the things that Sean McDermott did after being named the head coach of the Bills was remove a pool table and video games from the team’s locker room.
McDermott explained the move by saying “this is a business” and that having those diversions on hand weren’t going to help him build “a focused, disciplined and accountable football team.” Bills great Jim Kelly cited one of those traits as a reason why he’s excited about this year’s team.
“I’m excited about the 2017 Buffalo Bills. Coach McDermott brings discipline to the table that we haven’t had in a while,” Kelly said, via the team’s Twitter account.
It’s hard to read Kelly’s comment and not think about McDermott’s immediate predecessor. Disciplined wasn’t frequently used to describe Rex Ryan’s teams and it’s not surprising that a clear difference from Ryan’s style would be appealing given the way the last two years played out.
There was a time, of course, when Ryan’s style suited many people just fine. Kelly was one of them, which probably just serves to underscore that the Bills have tried a lot of different approaches since Kelly’s heyday without hitting on one that’s brought them much success.