BLOG: The Firing Of Sean McDermott
By Bill Campbell
There is not much doubt that Sean McDermott, the Eagles defensive coordinator, was a marked man all season. He has been since Jim Johnson, his predecessor, passed away in July of 2009. There wasn't much consistency in the Eagles defense all season and, undoubtedly, someone was going to pay the price. The way things work in the NFL, the man in charge of the failing unit almost always does. Occasionally, the head coach and complete staff depart. While this is not necessarily a defense of McDermott, who may have gotten his just desserts, it is a commentary on the way it was done, which strikes this observer as rather peculiar.
Five days before the dismissal was announced, the head coach was asked by the media if McDermott would be back. He responded with what sounded like a very unenthusiastic "Yeah". Andy Reid then proceeded to tell the media and the fans that he viewed McDermott differently than the media, that he admired how Sean worked through injuries and still put the team in a position to win games, that he saw a young coach who would improve with experience – but he didn't say where. Reid said he respected the way Sean went about his business. Maybe it was Andy's way of helping him catch on someplace. Who knew?
Five days later, while Reid was allegedly on vacation, McDermott was fired along with Rory Segrest, who coached the defensive line. You have to wonder how this was done. Did Reid really not know this was going to happen? It makes one wonder who really fired the guy? Was the head coach not consulted? Did the decision possibly come from ownership or the front office and delivered to Reid? If so, isn't this a rather strange way to run a railroad – to fire a guy five days after the head coach recited his positive points? Sounds like another poignant moment to me in a long list of strange Andy Reid press conferences extending back over 12 years. Maybe someday they will be bound together by someone and bundled for posterity.
Is it possible that Cleveland's call to the Eagles seeking to talk to Dick Jauron (a good rule, by the way) may have triggered the decision to fire McDermott? It would seem awkward if Jauron wound up as the coordinator elsewhere.
Meanwhile, McDermott heads to the Carolina Panthers who had the league's worst win-loss record this season at 2 and 14. Also a team without a Pro Bowler on defense and not expecting any. The new head coach at Carolina is Ron Rivera. He and McDermott had been on the same Eagles staff for a while and from his comments, Rivera appears to be a guy who has some definite thoughts about defense. He has already stated that he plans to run his defense to make it efficient, effective and attacking. And this was made quite definite when Rivera said the other day, "Defense is what I know and whoever is our defensive coordinator will have to understand that's where I'm going to be."
Meanwhile, we arrive at a meaningful moment: the championship series of the NFL season. Green Bay at Chicago at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, reviving memories dating back through generations recalling names like Vince Lombardi and George Halas. And 3 hours later, the New York Jets play the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC crown. Those are football's Final Four.
The Bears and the Packers will be meeting for the 182nd time, but for only the second time in the playoffs. Their previous playoff game was just a week after Pearl Harbor. There will be some grandfathers and great-grandfathers around who still cherish the memory of that meeting. The Bears won and the Packers have been waiting ever since. The terms offensive and defensive coordinators had yet to be invented. They were just coaches in those days. Some of the players even played both ways. And specialists were unheard of. Don't be completely surprised if the better defense proves to be the difference. After all, these are the Bears and the Packers. Both legendary teams.
It's bound to be cold – just like 1941.
