Things that were less than ideal about McD, but actually don't bother me that much...
-He's not "cool"
-He doesn't give electric inspiring speeches
-He made some bad clock decisions and used too many defensive time outs in the past (though I think he largely improved here and I can't point to a game this season we lost because of it)
-The 9/11 nonsense
Things I loved about McD...
-he broke the drought
-in 9 years, he never (with the one dumb 9/11 exception) drew negative or non-football press to himself...and was able to make that largely true for his entire staff and team (not easy)
-He helped built a roster of individuals and a team culture I genuinely felt good about rooting for. Tre was a great first pick (don't @ me about Mahomes being available), Josh obviously, but also things like moving on quickly from Araiza when his drama surfaced.
-he learned and changed, he got much more aggressive and trusted his players and staff more as years and seasons advanced.
-he always had the team well prepared. With maybe the exception of the Bengals playoff loss, the team never showed up to a big game looking unprepared.
-the last two seasons his defense has outperformed the roster talent.
I think "the hump" is a myth. The NFL is at such parity that it will require luck for any team to win the super bowl. A coaches job is to put the team in the position to have the necessary breaks go their way. I think McD would have kept them in the convo and eventually got the necessary lucky break.
Firing McD is as likely to yield another 17 year drought as it is to yield a super bowl. As a Bills fan, I haven't been this anxious in 7 years.
Love your writing oh-so much.
🥹
Things I hated about McD...
-no super bowl
Things that were less than ideal about McD, but actually don't bother me that much...
-He's not "cool"
-He doesn't give electric inspiring speeches
-He made some bad clock decisions and used too many defensive time outs in the past (though I think he largely improved here and I can't point to a game this season we lost because of it)
-The 9/11 nonsense
Things I loved about McD...
-he broke the drought
-in 9 years, he never (with the one dumb 9/11 exception) drew negative or non-football press to himself...and was able to make that largely true for his entire staff and team (not easy)
-He helped built a roster of individuals and a team culture I genuinely felt good about rooting for. Tre was a great first pick (don't @ me about Mahomes being available), Josh obviously, but also things like moving on quickly from Araiza when his drama surfaced.
-he learned and changed, he got much more aggressive and trusted his players and staff more as years and seasons advanced.
-he always had the team well prepared. With maybe the exception of the Bengals playoff loss, the team never showed up to a big game looking unprepared.
-the last two seasons his defense has outperformed the roster talent.
I think "the hump" is a myth. The NFL is at such parity that it will require luck for any team to win the super bowl. A coaches job is to put the team in the position to have the necessary breaks go their way. I think McD would have kept them in the convo and eventually got the necessary lucky break.
Firing McD is as likely to yield another 17 year drought as it is to yield a super bowl. As a Bills fan, I haven't been this anxious in 7 years.