ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Twenty years after his first day in the NFL, coach Sean McDermott patrols the practice fields of the Buffalo Bills -- the first franchise to hand him the proverbial keys.
He was the last of a superteam of five assistant defensive coaches with the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2000s to receive a head-coaching job. Now in his third year, he often thinks of the man who ties them all together -- longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
"All the time," he said. "The older I get, the more you realize, that's why Jim did things the way he did them.