Sean McDermott ’98

Football was a key part of Sean McDermott’s William & Mary experience. He went from a walk-on defensive back at W&M to a two-year starter, team captain and all-conference performer.

The son of a football coach, Sean knew he wanted to take a similar path, and he joined the Tribe’s staff as a graduate assistant. He made the jump to the NFL in 1999 by taking a scouting position with the Philadelphia Eagles, and he moved up the ranks of the defensive staff. He coached the Carolina Panthers’ defense for six seasons before being hired as the 20th head coach of the Buffalo Bills. During his inaugural year at the helm in 2017, the team broke an 18-year postseason drought, and in 2021, Sean led Buffalo to its first playoff wins in a quarter century.

Sean credits William & Mary for sharpening traits critical to his success in coaching, such as professionalism, resilience, a strong work ethic and a collaborative spirit. He also sees these traits in Joe Brady ’13, DJ Mangas ’12 and Christian Taylor ’07, all former W&M players and coaches he hired to join his staff in recent years. 

“It means everything,” Sean says of representing W&M in the NFL. “First and foremost, it’s a responsibility, and then secondly, it’s a platform to show other prospective students out there or other alums what you can accomplish if you work hard, that you can take what you learn at William & Mary and use it in whatever profession you decide to go into, and it can lead to great things.”

Learn more about Sean

• Read the feature article Buffalo Brotherhood in the W&M Alumni Magazine.
• Watch a video about Sean and the fellow alumni on the Bills’ coaching staff.
• Read about the Principled Achievement Award he received from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.