{"id":193150,"date":"2024-10-07T16:11:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T20:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=193150"},"modified":"2024-10-07T16:11:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T20:11:25","slug":"sean-mcdermott-reggie-witherspoon-buffalo-bills-ub-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/07\/sean-mcdermott-reggie-witherspoon-buffalo-bills-ub-bulls\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean McDermott, Reggie Witherspoon and When Progress Stalls in Buffalo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sean McDermott gift-wrapped a win to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Houston Texans<\/a> on Sunday. He admitted it in his post-game press conference. His inability to correctly manage marquee games continues to haunt the Buffalo Bills, and it speaks to the larger theme of his head coaching tenure: he&#8217;s incapable of leading the franchise to a long-awaited Super Bowl title.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sean McDermott on the end of the game. <\/p>\n<p>Takes the blame several times. <\/p>\n<p>Here was his reasoning on how they approached it the way they did. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BillsMafia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BillsMafia<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WKBW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WKBW<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h2exMUiYDu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/h2exMUiYDu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Matthew Bov\u00e9 (@Matt_Bove) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matt_Bove\/status\/1843042142182359262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The question now is whether team owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane are strong-willed enough to fire a coach who led Buffalo out of the doldrums. If they need inspiration, they don&#8217;t have to look far. Just research the past few decades of the University at Buffalo men&#8217;s basketball program.<\/p>\n<p>McDermott is Reggie Witherspoon. The former UB head coach took over a program in total disarray, righted the ship, and led the Bulls to new heights, but a championship never arrived. He preached culture, hard work and was beloved by his players. It wasn&#8217;t until the athletic department moved on that the Bulls reached their full potential, though.<\/p>\n<p>The same story is playing out in Buffalo once again.<\/p>\n<h2>Sean McDermott, Reggie Witherspoon and Moving On<\/h2>\n<h3>McDermott&#8217;s 2024 Failures and Lack of Improvement<\/h3>\n<p>McDermott led a new-look Bills roster to a 3-0 start. It was unexpected and drew rightful praise from around the country. Buffalo appeared to make a seamless transition to a new era without losing its status as a perennial Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n<p>Alarm bells started to ring last week, though. The coach&#8217;s decisions in a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/01\/bills-reality-check-baltimore-ravens-buffalo-major-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">35-10 blowout loss<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/ravens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a> failed to meet the moment. It&#8217;s been a common theme throughout the 50-year-old coach&#8217;s time in Buffalo. He&#8217;s a defensive-minded, conservative coach at baseline, and he&#8217;s struggled to leave that mindset behind. In fact, that&#8217;s what made Sunday&#8217;s terrible decisions all the more shocking.<\/p>\n<p>McDermott faced a 4th &amp; 1 at his own 39-yard line early in the second quarter against the Ravens. The Bills were already trailing 14-3 and showed no ability to slow down Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Co. You can&#8217;t punt in that situation. He did. Baltimore embarked on a 10-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to make it 21-3. The rout was on.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward one week to Sunday&#8217;s high-profile showdown with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/05\/bills-texans-preview-stefon-diggs-buffalo-houston\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Stefon Diggs<\/a> and the Texans. The Bills, without several starters due to injury, stormed back in the second half to tie the game.<\/p>\n<p>A late defensive stop gave them the ball back, but a terrific punt by Houston&#8217;s Tommy Townsend pinned them at their own 3-yard line. At that moment, the next step was clear: three running plays to force the Texans to use their timeouts and hope you get a first down to force overtime. You aren&#8217;t winning the game in regulation with 32 seconds left, standing inside your own five, and no timeouts available. It&#8217;s OT or bust.<\/p>\n<p>For some bizarre reason, Buffalo came out throwing. It was even more stunning because <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/05\/bills-texans-fantasy-football-josh-allen-dalton-schultz\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Josh Allen<\/a> struggled all day (9 of 30) as his wide receivers failed to gain separation with No. 1 target <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/06\/01\/khalil-shakir-drops-clues-2024-buffalo-bills-offense\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Khalil Shakir<\/a> sidelined by injury. The offensive line also had a rough performance. Throwing three times out of your own end zone under those circumstance is asinine.<\/p>\n<p>The Bills predictably went three-and-out. The Texans got the ball back, C.J. Stroud completed a five-yard pass in the middle of the field because they had timeouts to burn, and Ka&#8217;imi Fairbairn knocked through a 59-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THE KICK IS GOOD. TEXANS IMPROVE TO 4-1! <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HTownMade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HTownMade<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4282BlhX4J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4282BlhX4J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NFL (@NFL) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL\/status\/1843021579837702608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Buffalo deserved to lose because of McDermott&#8217;s approach. He&#8217;s made the same mistakes repeatedly across eight years at the helm. His game management remains mind-boggling at times.<\/p>\n<h3>Witherspoon&#8217;s UB Tenure was Virtually Identical<\/h3>\n<p>Witherspoon was hired by UB in December 1999 as an interim head coach. He was elevated to the full-time role a few months later.<\/p>\n<p>The Buffalo native was a virtual unknown outside of Western New York. He&#8217;d coached at Sweet Home High School and Erie Community College (now SUNY Erie) in the area. Suddenly, he was tasked with turning around a program with no prestige that also had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/03\/22\/sports\/colleges-men-s-basketball-buffalo-disciplined-by-ncaa.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">overcome NCAA sanctions<\/a> for recruiting violations under previous head coach, Tim Cohane.<\/p>\n<p>Witherspoon pulled it off. It took time, but he eventually was able to establish a competitive culture. He built an impressive (at least by MAC standards) foundation of talent. The group of names will bring back memories for diehard Buffalo sports fans: Turner Battle, Mark Bortz, Calvin Cage, Yassin Idbihi, Daniel &#8220;Danny Hustle&#8221; Gilbert, Mario Jordan, Roderick &#8220;Hot Rod&#8221; Middleton, Jason Bird, and Parnell Smith.<\/p>\n<p>In 2004-05, the Bulls reached the MAC Championship Game against Ohio. They built a 19-point lead in the second half. A series of coaching errors, some hot shooting by the Bobcats, and a Leon Williams buzzer-beating tip-in later, UB lost a heartbreaker in overtime.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ohio Men&#039;s Basketball #ThrowbackThursday: 2005 MAC Championship\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u9fdOiOIaT8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Bulls won at least 18 games six times in Witherspoon&#8217;s final nine years with the program, but they could never get over the hump. They were always in the mix but couldn&#8217;t raise that first MAC championship banner and make their NCAA Tournament debut.<\/p>\n<p>Sound familiar? It should.<\/p>\n<h3>What Happened Next with UB Basketball<\/h3>\n<p>The UB athletic department finally moved on from Witherspoon after the 2012-13 season. It was a decision met with many of the same refrains heard today when the possibility of firing McDermott is mentioned:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you remember what it was like before he got here?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He deserves more respect for turning the team around.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The grass isn&#8217;t always greener.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For the Bulls, it turns out the grass was a lot greener.<\/p>\n<p>UB hired former Duke standout Bobby Hurley, whose name recognition alone helped elevate the program. Hurley guided the squad to 19 wins in his first season and brought home the team&#8217;s first MAC championship one year later. He was then hired away by Arizona State.<\/p>\n<p>Nate Oats, Hurley&#8217;s assistant and the current Alabama coach, took over, and before long, everything had changed. Buffalo basketball, a former Division I laughing stock, became an NCAA tournament regular, making the Big Dance four times in five years. The Bulls spent nearly the entire 2018-19 season in the Top 25, peaking at No. 14 as part of a 32-4 campaign.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">#\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e35\ufe0f\u20e3<br \/>The Bulls are nationally ranked for the first time in school history!<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UBhornsUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#UBhornsUp<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UBLegendary?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#UBLegendary<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/As9qid1DeG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/As9qid1DeG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buffalo Men&#39;s Basketball (@UBuffaloMBB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UBuffaloMBB\/status\/1062038190213742592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>None of that happens without the coaching change. Witherspoon deserved all the credit in the world for getting the program to a respectable level. He wasn&#8217;t the coach who could take the team to the promised land, though.<\/p>\n<h3>Will History Repeat Itself in Buffalo?<\/h3>\n<p>Just like UB wouldn&#8217;t fire Witherspoon midseason after all he did for the program, the same will hold true for McDermott with the Bills. He&#8217;ll be given the rest of the 2024 season to see whether the team can bounce back and return to contention.<\/p>\n<p>If Buffalo&#8217;s current spiral continues, however, Pegula and Beane will face a tough decision in the offseason. McDermott earned kudos for ending the organization&#8217;s 17-year playoff drought in 2017 and making it back to the postseason almost every year since the breakthrough.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Bills just handed that win to Houston. I don\u2019t get it<\/p>\n<p>I know it never will be, but McDermott\u2019s seat should be hot \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelFFlorio\/status\/1843021643611791706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In the end, nobody remembers playoff appearances, though. They remember rage-inducing losses like the 13-second meltdown against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chiefs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> three years ago. They would remember not winning a championship despite having a likely future Hall of Fame quarterback. That&#8217;s all that matters. Titles.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s especially true for a city like Buffalo, which has been waiting multiple generations for a championship, either from the Bills or the NHL&#8217;s Buffalo Sabres. The line &#8220;just one before I die&#8221; started as a joke but has become something closer to reality.<\/p>\n<p>McDermott has brought the Bills a long way, but it doesn&#8217;t appear he&#8217;s capable of leading the franchise all the way, and that&#8217;s a massive difference.<\/p>\n<p>UB didn&#8217;t reach its ultimate destination until Witherspoon was gone. The same will probably be true for the Bills. The front office must realize that before it&#8217;s too late.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Image: Troy Taormina &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sean McDermott plateaued as Buffalo Bills head coach. A bold move is needed to reenergize the franchise. Look no further than UB basketball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5175,"featured_media":193233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,54],"tags":[7705,1159],"class_list":["post-193150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bills","category-editorials","tag-buffalo-bills-news","tag-sean-mcdermott"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}