Fear not for McDermott
Cardinals on the hook for big money
When the last we heard of Sean McDermott, the now ex-Buffalo Bills coach was calling a reporter from the Buffalo News on the flight from Denver back to Buffalo, blowing off steam. McDermott was heaping mad over the officiating in Saturday’s NFL Divisional playoff game, won by the Broncos in OT, 33-30. Earlier, in his postgame press conference, he also protested the officiating, although his comments were measured so as not to draw a fine from the NFL.
On Monday the ax fell on McDermott, dismissed after nine seasons for failing to lead the Bills to the Super Bowl with a high-profile QB in Josh Allen. Such is the life of an NFL coach.
Various reports indicate the players were not happy with McDermott’s ouster. It doesn’t matter. When you are a coach or manager, you know you are hired to be fired. Even Bill Belichick was given the heave-ho. (Wouldn’t you know, the minute McDermott was let go, rumors popped up about Belichick being the next Bills coach. Now wouldn’t that be something?)
In today’s NFL, you are hired to win Super Bowls, especially when you have one of the league’s best QB. Anything less is not acceptable. It does not matter that officials blew two big calls - maybe even more - at Denver. It sure looked like pass interference was committed against the Bills. And that pass by Allen in OT was either a reception or incompletion. It was definitely not an interception. It does not matter. No Super Bowl meant no more Buffalo job for McDermott.
Fear not for the highly-regarded McDermott, though. He has two years left on his contract and will get paid handsomely, unless he lands another head coaching job, which could very well happen. On Saturday, however, bad officiating was not going to rescue McDermott, no matter how hard Buffalo played. Ownership lowered the boom. McDermott knew this moment was coming, the day he signed on the dotted line.
Here are some other thoughts as the coaching vacancies continue:
One door closes, another door opens. Jeff Hafley, the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, has been hired as the next coach of the Miami Dolphins. If the name sounds familiar, it is for good reason. Hafley was the head coach of Boston College. Before that he was co-DC of Ohio State. Before that, the New Jersey native was an assistant in the NFL with Tampa Bay, Cleveland and San Francisco. Before that he coached football at Worcester Poly Tech. Before that he played football at Siena in Albany. Seeing the hand writing on the wall with college football and the NIL, he left BC and returned to the NFL with the Packers. Now he has landed the most coveted of jobs, head coach of an NFL team. Now all he needs is a QB.
With 10 coaching vacancies now reduced to seven, this should be a wild week in the NFL, as those other positions must still be filled. Something tells me McDermott will land one of those jobs. Ex-Giants head coach Brian Daboll might get another. If I were the Jets, I would hand Aaron Glenn his walking papers and hire McDermott in a New York minute.
Cannot help but notice the Atlanta Braves signing free agent infielder Jorge Mateo on Monday, now that shortstop Ha-Seong Kim will be sidelined for five months, following surgery to repair a torn tendon in his middle finger, after slipping on ice in South Korea. Also could not help but notice Miguel Andujar is receiving plenty of interest from several teams. That was once the future of the New York Yankees infield: Andujar at third and Mateo at short. Andujar actually played some third base for the Yankees, before injuries stalled his career. Mateo was supposed to be one of those five-tool players, but never made it as a Yankee, traded in a multi-player transaction to Oakland for Sonny Gray. Gray, of course, created quite a stir last month, after the Red Sox acquired him in a trade with the Cardinals. Gray said he never wanted to be a New York Yankee. He certainly pitched like he didn’t want to be a Yankee, that’s for sure.
Speaking of the Cardinals, they so wanted to get rid of Gray, Willson Contraras and Nolan Arenado, they agreed to pay a portion of their salaries to the teams to which they were traded. The Cardinals are on the hook for $59M in 2026 for that trio, who will no longer be playing for them. Amazing.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a terrific Tuesday.
DAN
Danny, my old friend! Keep up the good work. Let me know if you ever want a guest columnist. The old body isn’t working so good but the mind remains stable.