Sean McDermott once referenced the 9/11 terrorist hijackers in a Buffalo Bills team meeting as an example of “people getting on the same page,” and he has since publicly said he deeply regrets mentioning 9/11 and apologized to his players for it.

What He Reportedly Said

According to detailed reporting on a 2019 Bills training-camp meeting, McDermott was trying to make a point about teamwork and unity with his players.

  • He told the team they needed to “come together” and, in doing so, used the 9/11 terrorists as an example of a group that coordinated to carry out their attacks, asking players what “tactics” they thought were used and how they “got on the same page.”
  • Players present recalled him referencing the hijackers’ organization as part of the analogy, which many later viewed as an extremely inappropriate comparison to use in a football setting.

His Public Apology

When the story resurfaced in December 2023, McDermott addressed it directly with the media.

  • He confirmed he had mentioned 9/11 in that meeting and said his intent was to talk about communication and everyone being aligned, but he “regretted mentioning 9/11” and “immediately apologized” to the team afterward.
  • He also emphasized that 9/11 was not only a horrific event in U.S. history but also personally painful for him because he lost a close family friend that day.

Why It Caused Outrage

The main issue was the choice of example rather than the idea of teamwork itself.

  • Critics and many fans felt that using terrorists responsible for a mass-casualty attack as a “teamwork” model was grossly insensitive, regardless of intent.
  • Commentators pointed out that coaches often look for dramatic metaphors to get players’ attention, but this one crossed a line because it framed the coordination of a terrorist act as something to study in a motivational context.

How It’s Viewed Now

The incident has become part of the broader public conversation about how far is too far when coaches use real-world tragedies as analogies.

  • McDermott has repeatedly said he handled it poorly, reiterating that he failed to clearly communicate his message and that he wished he had never brought 9/11 into the discussion at all.
  • Former players and media voices have been split between those who see it as a serious lapse in judgment that should be held against him, and those who see it as a bad mistake that he owned, apologized for, and should move on from.

TL;DR:
He used the 9/11 hijackers in a 2019 team talk as an example of coordinated “teamwork,” then later confirmed the story, called it a mistake, and said he immediately apologized because he regretted ever mentioning 9/11 in that context.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.