Orchard Park, N.Y. — Late in Sunday’s Highmark Stadium finale, the Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott he took a moment to look around.
“I felt a little guilty at times looking at the stands,” McDermott said after the Bills’ 35-8 win over the New York Jets. “I should be a coach. I guess I haven’t been doing it much just because you’re so focused on your job.”
The scene felt straight out of a movie—fifty-three years of memories crammed inside one of the NFL’s oldest stadiums.
The Bills will move across the street to a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in 2026, but the entire city of Buffalo took time out Sunday to celebrate the building that means so much to the community.
McDermott made sure he did the same.
“When we got to the point in the fourth quarter where we scored and we were getting our team ready for kickoff, you just have to look up into the stands for a second or two,” McDermott recalled. “The People Who Sing Mr. Brightside (from The Killers). I mean, come on, where else in the NFL is that going to happen, right? That type of togetherness, that type of fellowship, community, love for your team and for each other – and I’ll never forget that. A special moment.”
After the match, fireworks flew into the sky. The concert continued as the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” played over the stadium speakers. Then came “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.
The fans just stood and watched. They wanted to take advantage of their last few minutes in the home they helped build in one of the NFL’s most unique environments.
At halftime, the Bills played a video that ended with a short message from former Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy. He brought back his famous line, which is used before the start of every game as a rallying cry in the stadium: “Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?”
McDermott wore an old-school hate that mirrored the one Levy wore during his coaching tenure. McDermott wanted to pay tribute to the former coach.
“He was great for me. Great act,” McDermott said. “Everybody knows him, all the Buffalonians and Bills fans know him and it’s really special when … a coach who is a true legend is also a class act.
“He’s been very, very generous to me, he’s shared wisdom with me over the years, his family has embraced me and my family. I have a lot of respect for him and his whole family are real class people.”
McDermott was asked to reflect on his first game at the stadium and how much things have changed since then. He joked that he has a little less hair, but added that these are lessons he’s learned as a man.
“The way I’ve developed an appreciation for so many things over the years,” he said. “maybe it’s just the way of life. And even tonight when I took my time like I said.”
“It doesn’t happen everywhere, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You don’t talk about coaches; you don’t get that opportunity very often. Especially when you’re standing on the sidelines trying to do a good job. You just learn and appreciate things more and more over the years because life moves fast.”
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