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Rex Ryan piled on the growing criticism against Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
Earlier this week, Go Long’s Tyler Dunne reported that McDermott invoked the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, during a training camp meeting in 2019. He allegedly cited the hijackers when discussing the importance of team organization.
A disgusted Ryan shared his thoughts on McDermott’s remarks during ESPN’s Sunday’s NFL Countdown.
“I mean, it’s an absolutely asinine comment. Asinine comment,” Ryan said, via NESN’s Adam London. “Three thousand innocent people lost their lives. It’s stupid. That’s all. I don’t want to say another word about it.”
McDermott said he “immediately apologized” to the team after his remarks when expressing regret this week.
“As I mentioned to the team [in 2019] that I regretted and apologized for me not doing a good job of clearly communicating my point,” McDermott told reporters Thursday. “I’m going to do the same with the team today when they’re done meeting, so that if there’s anyone new that they understand how important that is to me and my family because it’s an important event, a horrific event, in our history.”
Per Dunne, McDermott asked players questions about what tactics they thought the terrorists used. On Thursday, he said his intent was “to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team.”
During the ESPN segment, Jeff Darlington said the league is not expected to discipline McDermott. He claimed there’s less tension about the 9/11 comments than about the Bills’ 6-6 record ahead of a pivotal Week 14 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.