First came "trust the process," the mantra of the Philadelphia 76ers' epic tear-down-and-rebuild project that has seen the franchise select at or near the top of the NBA draft in each of the past four years.
Now there is "respect the process," one of several mottoes that first-year coach Sean McDermott has plastered on the walls of the Buffalo Bills' facility as the organization tries to end a 17-year playoff drought -- just probably not as soon as this season.
McDermott has resisted using the term "rebuilding" to describe the Bills' situation since he was hired in January, but "process" has flowed freely.