Buffalo, Denver choose leaders
Bills hand reins to Sean McDermott, who guided Carolina defense; Broncos go with Vance Joseph, who’d been Miami’s defensive coordinator.
The Buffalo Bills are putting their faith in Sean McDermott to fix their underperforming defense and restore relevance to a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since the Music City Miracle loss in January 2000.
The Bills announced Wednesday they agreed to hire the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator to be their next head coach. The 42-year-old has no previous headcoaching experience and spent the past six seasons overseeing the Panthers defense.
McDermott replaces Rex Ryan, who was fired two weeks ago.
A runner-up two years ago, Vance Joseph is John Elway’s pick this time around as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
The 44-year-old ex-Colorado quarterback built a reputation as one of the league’s best secondary coaches as he worked his way through the ranks in San Francisco, Houston and Cincinnati before serving as Dolphins defensive coordinator last season and helping Miami end an eight-year playoff drought.
“Becoming head coach of the Denver Broncos is a dream job for many reasons,” Joseph said in a statement. “But what makes this even more special is it’s a place that’s ready to win. This is not a rebuilding situation — it’s a reboot.”
Joseph impressed Elway in 2015 when Gary Kubiak got the job and the Broncos even tried to hire him as their defensive coordinator, a move the Bengals blocked. So, he stayed in Cincinnati for another year as secondary coach before joining Adam Gase’s staff in Miami.
Kubiak, 55, stepped down over health concerns last week, capping a tumultuous season by the Broncos (9-7), who missed the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl.
Rams safety T.J. McDonald, who was arrested last May after a traffic accident in Woodland Hills, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of reckless driving involving drugs or alcohol, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said Wednesday. McDonald, 25, was sentenced to three years’ probation and was fined $390 plus penalties, the spokesman said.
Also former Rams running back Tre Mason was free on bail after being arrested Tuesday in Florida on a misdemeanor charge of fleeing/eluding police without regard to others’ safety, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Department website.