Bills' Coach Sean McDermott Stops Himself From Making Airplane Analogy A Year After Infamous 9/11 Reference

Like most coaches, Sean McDermott is a big analogy guy. Sometimes those analogies hit, and sometimes they miss, and there may not be a coach in the NFL who knows that better than the man in charge of the Buffalo Bills.

McDermott found himself in hot water last December when it was revealed that back in 2019 he used the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as an analogy to stress the importance of communication as a team.

"He told the entire team they needed to come together," Ty Dunne of Go Long TD wrote of McDermott last year. "But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on September 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection."

"One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood."

READ: Buffalo Bills Privately Don't Care About Sean McDermott's 9/11 Speech From 2019

After the story went mega-viral, McDermott said that he regretted using the analogy, and it was reported that the entire situation was "old news" within the organization.

It was bizarre, to say the least, and it's fair to say McDermott has learned from his bold analogy choice and avoids airplane analogies nowadays.

The head coach was asked about Buffalo's slow start during its 24-21 win over the New England Patriots this past Sunday, and while he wanted to go down the path of airplane analogy, he caught himself before potentially stepping in it.

"Um, let’s see, I was about to use an airplane flying analogy, but I’ll stay away from that," McDermott said without cracking any sort of smile, somehow.

McDermott has the Bills rolling this season. The team is 12-3 on the year and has already clinched the AFC East Division. Quarterback Josh Allen is the heavy favorite to win what would be his first league MVP award with 26 touchdown passes compared to just six interceptions on the year.