Sean McDermott talks about how Bills will combat post-coach firing boost vs. Jets

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott talked about the recent coaching change made by the team's upcoming opponent, the New York Jets.

Kyle Silagyi | Oct 9, 2024

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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott will see an unfamiliar face on the opposing sideline when his team takes on the New York Jets in a Week 6 Monday Night Football clash, as Jeff Ulbrich is set to manage his first game as New York’s interim head coach following the club’s Tuesday decision to fire Robert Saleh.

Ulbrich has no prior head coaching experience, meaning that Monday’s clash with the Bills will be his first career opportunity in the post. There’s a contingent of the Buffalo faithful that’s a bit on edge regarding the team playing the Jets fresh off a coaching change, the fear being that the switch in leadership will rejuvenate the locker room and provide New York’s players with extra motivation; there is a bit of historical precedent here, as per Sportico, NFL teams win 43% of their games immediately after making an in-season coaching change, this compared to winning just 27% of their games prior to firing their previous coach.

Though it’s not as though making a coaching change guarantees a team a win in their next game, there is something to the idea of new leadership providing a new spark. Head coach Sean McDermott commented on this phenomenon during his Wednesday media availability, talking about how his team plans to combat it while also offering support for Saleh.

“Unfortunate part of our business, number one,” McDermott said. “Two is, aware of the coaching change, and really for us, we’ve got to focus on our team and the pieces that we can control. That’s really us, in our process today, practicing and having the best practice we can have today.”

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Buffalo should, in theory, have the advantage entering its Week 6 clash, as it’s not dealing with the (potentially) sweeping changes that come with a mid-year coaching switch as it prepares for the matchup. The team has more continuity and should have more composure entering the game, and as long as the team appropriately prepares (and gets a bit healthier ahead of kickoff), the Bills should be able to avoid an upset.

A win is crucial for Buffalo, as it’s dropped its last two games and is looking to avoid its first three-game skid since the 2018 season. The game is also of paramount importance to the Jets, as the winner of next Monday’s clash will exit MetLife Stadium as the leader of the AFC East; New York boasts an immensely talented roster, and giving that group a bit of added motivation could prove troublesome for the Bills. The team plans to combat that hypothetical by simply controlling what it can control.

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