‘Go Long’ author stuck his neck out with series on McDermott
Writer deserves credit for publishing his columns on head coach that angered Bills’ fans.
NFL players and coaches often feed on outside criticism.
Image by Dall-E
Anyone who follows the NFL closely is familiar with the foxhole mentality inside a locker room. Players bond over any type of affront directed their way, hoping to fuel their performance on the field.
That mentality has always been in the DNA of Buffalo’s team.
“No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills” is a saying made famous by ESPN’s Chris Berman.
Thurman Thomas, the Bills Hall of Fame running back, was not drafted until the second round in 1988, when the Bills made him the 40th overall pick. And throughout his rookie season, Thomas would watch a video replay of the draft on every Saturday before a game, using that “disrespect” as a motivator.
It’s no surprise that the current Bills seized on last week’s controversy over head coach Sean McDermott, saying they dedicated Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs to their coach.
Tyler Dunne, who operates the Go Long website on Substack, published a three-part series about McDermott last week that shook up the franchise. Some former Bills players and assistant coaches, most of whom were granted anonymity, were sharply critical of McDermott’s coaching style.
After Sunday’s win, General Manager Brandon Beane presented McDermott with a game ball. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver criticized the reporting in Dunne’s series as “bullshit,” adding, “I got (Sean’s) back on everything. I know he’s a great guy.”
One anecdote in the series made national headlines, a story about the coach telling players in 2019 that they needed to learn to communicate with the same effectiveness that allowed the hijackers on 9/11 to bring down the Twin Towers. That’s one the coach would like to have back, and in fact he did apologize to the team soon after saying it.
Bills fans took to social media to complain about Dunne writing a “hit piece.” The series did have a tough point of view, namely that despite the many wins McDermott’s Bills have racked up, Dunne feels that McDermott had choked in some big moments and was not getting the best out of his franchise quarterback, Josh Allen.
Dunne’s series is essentially a reported editorial. Why have an NFL website with a national readership if you’re not going to take a stand once in a while? Readers can go elsewhere for inverted pyramid game stories or softball features.
Disclosure: Tyler Dunne used to work for The Buffalo News when I was one of the editors on the sports desk. He was a pleasure to work with, but we don’t hang out or exchange birthday cards.
Dunne lives in Western New York and it took guts to publish his series during the season. The reaction to Sinead O’Connor ripping up a picture of the pope on “Saturday Night Live” in 1992 was muted compared to the online backlash against Dunne. (Come to think of it, that’s a comparison I’d like to have back.)
Bryan Curtis, who writes about sports media for The Ringer, coined the term “the Now They Tell Us Story,” for when sportswriters wait until an athlete or coach leaves town before they reveal some of the dirt about them. (“Some teammates have told me privately they never liked Jimmy Joe and would send 30 pizzas – with anchovies – to his hotel room in the middle of the night when the team was on the road.”)
Dunne did not hold his fire on McDermott until the coach leaves the Bills, or save his material for some future book project. That’s courageous for someone who lives and works in Bills Mafia territory.
One of the commenters on Dunne’s website said, “You call yourself a Bills fan?”
Actually, no he doesn’t. That’s not the job of a journalist or columnist, though some of them write that way. McDermott and his players for the most part have it pretty easy facing the media in Western New York, with a lot of team-friendly reporting.
The Bills’ players and coaches are big boys. They’ll get over whatever hurt feelings they have from Dunne’s series and the media frenzy that ensued. Having a writer churn up some sour grapes about the head coach won’t leave the Bills’ body of work this year with more than a flesh wound.
