It’s Year 9. The Bills (again) have the talent to reach the Super Bowl, but will they?
Let's not lose the plot. GM Brandon Beane has been building a roster worthy of hardware for a long time.
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ORCHARD PARK, NY — Players are not curled up in horror, shaking and bracing and agonizing over the next 13 seconds that could go wrong. All week, the Buffalo Bills have resembled a supremely confident crew.
The tattooed giant who could write a book on this chapter of franchise history is seated in the corner of the locker room.
Drafted in 2017, Dion Dawkins was a rookie when Buffalo ended its 17-year playoff drought. The left tackle has now lived through all eight playoff runs in this regime’s nine-year history. The “ShnowMan” echoes his quarterback. “I love us,” he begins. “We’re going in with the reigning MVP. We’re going in with the coach of the year, the GM of the year, owner of the year.”
Grown men everywhere in Western New York shed tears when Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton connected with Tyler Boyd to send Buffalo to the playoffs. Locals were thrilled to have football beyond New Year’s Day. Expectations have changed — drastically—since these Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars last Do-Si-Do’d in the postseason.
Bring up the palpable Super Bowl or Bust sentiment in the air, though, and Dawkins shakes his head.
“That ‘Super Bowl or Bust’ is not a real thing,” Dawkins says. “If we bust, what happens? The organization just blows up and disappears. And then we come back and win it the next year? What is bust? … There is no pressure. Nobody thinks that we can even win against the team that we’re playing first. There ain’t no pressure. Pressure ain’t on us.”
This is the chord everyone strikes.
Across the room, there’s defensive end A.J. Epenesa. He’s been here since 2020.
Years past, he admits the team’s been too tight or too loose. Not now.
“Guys are locked in,” Epenesa says. “Guys are about their business right now. There’s been some years where guys may seem a little too excited to leave. Guys may be a little tired from a long season. Each year is different. Guys who’ve been there before are doing a really good job of teaching younger guys how it is. Guys are in a good head space and they realize it’s win or go home. If that’s not enough motivation, then you’re probably in the wrong profession.”
Epenesa thinks back to this team’s most crushing playoff defeats. Some scars never heal, but Epenesa tries to use them for good. When the grind’s too much, all rookies are always welcomed over to his house. He’s got every type of video game and two puppies to lighten the mood. Still, he doesn’t let anybody get too lax. He brings up tales from the playoffs to maintain perspective.
“The intensity level is risen,” Epenesa adds. “It’s do or die.”
On Sunday, yet another playoff push begins.
The variance for the 2025- ’26 edition of these Bills is extreme. This team could realistically reach Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara. This team could also lose to the Jaguars on Sunday at 1 p.m. Anxieties are certainly rising as kickoff nears. With all due respect to Dawkins, the arrival of Josh Allen as a superstar talent — ‘round 2020 — changed the calculus. When you’re in possession of a future Hall of Fame quarterback, the bar is the Super Bowl. This is the Bills’ seventh straight playoff appearance. In the last six, they’ve eclipsed 11 regular-season wins.
When I talk to friends locally about the hometown team, sometimes I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
Brandon Beane’s decisions have been hyper-scrutinized all season long, but let’s not lose the plot.
The talent is in-house. The talent has always been in-house.
Talent is not the issue.
Examine the evolution of this team — hear from other personnel execs around the NFL — and the general manager’s moves make sense.
The Bills are bringing the reigning MVP, the NFL’s rushing champion, one of the best offensive lines in football and a new defense for a new playoff moment to Duuuuuval. Which… uh… remember? That was the whole point. Forty-eight hours after this team’s AFC Championship loss at Kansas City last season, head coach Sean McDermott first directed our attention toward the offense’s failure to score on its final drive. But, no. It’s the defense that has allowed 33.2 points per game its last five playoff losses. Through those 40 non-kneeldown drives, they’ve surrendered 22 touchdowns and nine field goals with eight punts, two turnovers, one missed field goal for 166 points allowed (4.15 per drive).
Buffalo’s latest loss was a 99th percentile game for Patrick Mahomes in terms of dropback success rate — the best of his career.
It is fair to ask for more than a defensive calamity from a defensive-minded head coach when everything’s on the line.
Because while the defense has been historically bad, Josh Allen has been historically special in the postseason with 3,359 yards, 32 total TDs and four picks in 13 outings. Allen has a better playoff passer rating (101.7) than Joe Montana (95.6) and Tom Brady (89.8) Amongst those with more than five starts, only Mahomes, Bart Starr, Kurt Warner and Matthew Stafford have been better.
I get the urge to embrace a 38-35 life and pursue nothing but weapons but Allen should not be required to put on a Superman cape every postseason.
If you’re hemorrhaging from a seven-inch gash across your forehead, you don’t rush to urgent care to have the hangnail plucked from your pinkie. Beane’s logic was sound. Beane flooded the defensive depth chart with new options. This never needed to be the savage heathens we see in Houston but, hey, a few stops would be swell. Other all-timers — Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning — required a boost from their defense to claim rings during Brady’s reign. That was the GM’s goal. He didn’t want to leave Allen stranded like Dan Marino.
This team was never going to be judged by an October game in Atlanta. It’s always been about the playoffs.
This is precisely when the Bills can be properly judged.
Good news: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are nowhere to be seen. With all due respect to heads exploding on TV, this is not a Josh Allen storyline. It’s a Bills Defense storyline. Good news: The coach who’s made McDermott tighten up seasons past — Kansas City’s Andy Reid — also isn’t in the dance. Whereas those other AFC powers sharply regressed, the Bills got to 12-5.
Monday AM will be emotional in Western New York.
Win and Super Bowl dreams are refueled. The Bills will scan a winnable AFC and say, “We have 17. You don’t.” Confidence will soar.
Lose and owner Terry Pegula may need to ask hard questions.
There’s no need to speed ahead to this latter hypothetical… yet.
For now, I wanted to get a sense of what people around the NFL think of this Bills roster. Turns out, they’re envious. They see a roster that could easily have two or three Super Bowls by now.
This season hasn’t been perfect. The wide receiver situation is far from ideal.
Buffalo is positioned to win it all, anyway.
The Bills ended the drought in ’17, reset the roster in ’18 with a rookie Allen, made the playoffs in ’19 and 2020 serves as the first season this team realistically could’ve won the Super Bowl. That Bills team played with a blissful ignorance, rampaging to a 15-4 season before falling at Arrowhead in the conference title. Allen finished No. 2 in the MVP voting. And if the ’20 team could have won it all, the ’21 team should have won it all. Go Long has put on the hazmat suit to investigate “13 Seconds” multiple times. Even in the years since publishing this piece and that piece I’ve heard from sources who place the blame at the head coach’s feet. There are players and coaches who understandably cannot let this loss go.
Mainly because of how Allen was playing at that exact point. He had the “perfect game” vs. New England in the wild card. Buffalo scored touchdowns on all seven of its possessions. Then, of course, Allen and Mahomes staged an all-timer.
There’s zero doubt in the minds of prominent members of that ‘21 team: The Bills demolish the Cincinnati Bengals, the Los Angeles Rams and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Delaware Ave.
In ’22, Damar Hamlin nearly died on a football field and the Bills struggled to recover psychologically. Jordan Poyer recently offered a haunting look into that season. At the time of Hamlin’s collapse, the Bills were 12-3 and aiming for the No. 1 seed. Their three losses were by a combined eight points.
In ’23, the team stumbled to a 6-6 record. We published a three-part series, “The McDermott Problem,” and the Bills won six straight before losing at home to the Chiefs. Kicker Tyler Bass sailed one wide right that could’ve tied it up late.
In ’24, the Bills reached the AFC title game at Arrowhead before, of course, falling again.
“I definitely think they do a good job,” says one assistant GM. “There’s teams that pick from what seems like the same group of players we do, and they’re definitely one of them. The same type of person, same type of character, and same style of player. Definitely respect for him for that.”
Adds one GM: “They’ve won double digit games seven years straight. There’s obviously enough talent. How do you close the margin in the playoffs? I don’t want to harp on the 13 seconds, but…”
Through it all, the Bills had enough talent to beat the Chiefs five straight times in the regular season.
Through it all, Beane made a concerted effort to evolve on offense.
The Bills offense that incinerated teams through the air morphed into one that brings those bodies into the trenches and now pummels defenses on the ground. Many factors are at play. That ugly 27-10, snow-globe loss to Cincinnati in the ‘22 playoffs magnified a need for balance. There were games in ’21 and ’22 that Buffalo flat-out could not run the ball. Stefon Diggs relationship with the team deteriorated. He never forgave McDermott for that 13 Seconds defeat. In the moment, inside the locker room, a source told us Diggs yelled: “Every fucking time! Every single fucking time!” His relationship with Allen was never the same after that viral scene of the receiver holding his arms out vs. Cincinnati. The two held it together one more year, but it was time for all parties to move on. Buffalo salvaged a second-round pick for a fifth.
Also of note: Allen is not the Rodgers or Manning type of leader who’ll tell a wide receiver to shut the hell up. Through his 141 games of experience, he’s grown into a quarterback who prefers to read the entire defense and throw to the man who’s open. He doesn’t enjoy someone in his ear demanding the ball. Post-Diggs, the ball’s been dispersed to everyone — which befits the quarterback’s personality. Those who know Allen best insist he genuinely wants the best for everybody. A team full of backs and wide receivers and tight ends who don’t care how many targets they get is his dream. He can read the field with a clear mind.
Last season, this formula took Buffalo to an AFC title game. Buffalo tied an NFL record with 13 different players catching a touchdown and scored 30+ points in eight straight games.
This season, Cook led the NFL in rushing with 1,621 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Finally, the Bills can run the ball when everyone in the stadium knows they can run the ball.
This is Year 2 of a new model. Agree. Disagree. When one format didn’t produce a title, Beane tried something different. Money poured into the wide receiver position can backfire. The Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins probably wish they made a point to evolve the same time Buffalo did. Both teams understandably ponied up for their stud receivers, but it came at a cost in the trenches.
Personnel men on other teams don’t look at the Bills roster and see the lack of a star receiver as a death blow.
One assistant GM for an NFC team calls Cook “unbelievable” and cannot recall anyone in the scouting community seeing him as a potential bell cow in the pros. Most scouts assumed he was a clear tier below his brother, Dalvin, but Beane rolled the dice at No. 63 overall in ‘22. The Bills of ‘25 can now win by dominating time of possession, limiting turnovers and riding the heroics of Allen and Cook. They finished this regular season third in EPA, fourth in total yards (376.3 ypg) and fourth in points (28.3 ppg).
Of course, there is one statistic that bleeds off the screen as a red flag that could come back to bite the team. Buffalo’s leading wide receiver, Khalil Shakir, has… 719 yards. Last year, the GM traded for Amari Cooper on the fly. This year, he picked up Brandin Cooks.
The lack of true firepower at wide receiver is undeniable.
A team that hands the ball to a workhorse running back 309 times will inherently shorten the game. The clock’s moving. Possessions are cut down. But then, there’s also the case of the San Francisco 49ers. They handed the ball to their top back (Christian McCaffrey) 311 times and still managed to finish fifth in passing. Despite its backup QB (Mac Jones) playing more than the starter (Brock Purdy). Despite its own receiving corps being decimated by injuries. Are Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson and Ricky Pearsall considerably more talented than the Bills’ collection of receivers? Eh. I’d say no. Bourne, a journeyman, looked unleashed when thrust into a No. 1 role.
The difference here is obvious. Kyle Shanahan consistently schemes receivers open regardless of who’s in, who’s out. (“Those guys,” one GM says, “rip the ball around.”)
Personnel is a factor, but so is coaching. Bills OC Joe Brady helped construct a powerhouse rushing attack worth head-coach interviews. Baltimore is the latest to request one. Give him his flowers at the line of scrimmage. Yet, something is missing downfield in this scheme and it’s worth noting that innovative offensive minds occasionally become available this time of year. If Pegula could step into a time machine back to last offseason, would he make a play for Ben Johnson?
Shakir has been deployed downfield… at times. Take a look at the Rams shootout last season. Maybe there are wrinkles to this offense that Brady has been saving for the playoffs. (It’s certainly time to dust off those looks!)
Joshua Palmer, the team’s big add in free agency, caught 72 balls once as an L.A. Charger but cannot shake an ankle injury. He’s out Sunday. Tight end Dalton Kincaid, when healthy, flashes the ability to be a No. 1 receiving threat. He’s in Sunday. Tyrell Shavers broke out vs. Tampa Bay, then vanished from gameplans. Even Elijah Moore caught 120 balls in two seasons with the lowly Browns before signing but — like so many castoffs before him — couldn’t latch on here. It’s strange.
Then, there’s the disappearing act of Keon Coleman.
He was the team’s choice at receiver atop the ’24 draft. After sleeping through one evening meeting ahead of the first Patriots game, then missing another meeting, Coleman officially checked himself into McDermott’s doghouse. He’s been a gameday inactive. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard only good things about Coleman’s response to the benching behind the scenes. It sounds like he’s been working hard and responding exactly as you’d hope.. Perhaps he gets his chance at redemption with Palmer out vs. Jacksonville. A year ago, he was bullying around 6-foot-4 Seattle corner Riq Woolen. As of this writing, he’s in dire need of an offseason reset.
One assistant GM for an NFC team loved the Palmer signing and believes the veteran is much better than his production suggests. He’s high on Shakir. And he even calls fullback Reggie Gilliam one of his favorite players in the entire NFL. (“Tough as hell. I love that guy.”)
“Top to bottom, they’ve got a great roster,” this exec says. “And obviously the quarterback’s one of the best there is. James Cook was a great pick. They’ve got two really good tight ends that are both starting-level players.”
This exec sees a passing game that relies on second reaction, rather than anything rhythmic. He cites Gabe Davis’ sideline catches. As a Jaguar, Davis never panned out. In this offense? With this QB? He’s got a role. “You can get away with some of their receivers when you have a guy that’s going to extend plays like that,” he says. “Baltimore did a similar thing for a long time. It was always like, ‘When are they going to get their true No. 1 in there?’ Well, the passing game’s still productive enough because there’s so many scramble plays and so many big plays that they can create off the broken plays.”
This edition is a resilient bunch. A credit to both the front office and coaching staff.
Players do not quit.
In Week 1, Buffalo trailed Baltimore by 15 points with four minutes left and won, 41-40.
In Week 14, Buffalo had an 8.4 chance to win vs. Cincinnati after Mike Gesicki’s touchdown gave the Bengals a 28-18 lead with 8:44 left, per ESPN’s analytics. Buffalo won, 39-34.
In Week 15, Buffalo trailed New England 21-0 on the road and clawed back to win.
Players do not see this all as a fluke. It doesn’t matter how badly a game’s going. They see a path to a win, they derive hope from the quarterback.
“We’re sneaky talented,” Dawkins says. “We get shit done when it’s time to get it done.
“We’re going to find a fucking way. Find a way to win.”
Based on conversations with players, coaches, execs inside One Bills Drive over the years, I’m not sure anyone in the building understands the team should flow through Allen more than Brandon Beane.
Weapons alone don’t support a quarterback — ask Burrow. The Bills protect Allen.
And remember the big picture. Why wouldn’t a GM do everything in his power to get his MVP quarterback the ball one more time in a playoff game? That could be the difference. One rival GM doesn’t understand why it’s even a debate when a team is allowing 33+ points in those playoff losses.
“You have an MVP quarterback on the other side of the ball,” he says. “If your defense can cut that down by 10 points, you’re winning. Defensively, they’re being let down.”
Go through history. The greats who win it all unequivocally needed a boost from their defense… at some point. Over the summer, we detailed all the massive plays Manning, Brees and Rodgers got from their defense en route to Super Bowl triumphs. All three required forced fumbles and pick-sixes and timely sacks from their own defenses to string together postseason wins. Manning got away with a grisly 39.6 rating in an ‘06 divisional playoff win over Baltimore. You know, the same number a QB gets if he spikes the ball every play. Brees needed all of those Adrian Peterson NFCCG fumbles, and Tracy Porter’s heroics. Even Rodgers needed Tramon Williams’ end-zone pick (vs. Philly), B.J. Raji’s pick-six (vs. Chicago) and a pair of massive defensive plays in the Super Bowl: Howard Green swatting Ben Roethlisberger’s hand on a Nick Collins pick-six and Clay Matthews’ epic “Spill it, Pickett!” forced fumble.
Hall of Famer Bill Polian explained to us once how his ‘06 Colts got over the hump — he chased playmakers on defense. In the end, it didn’t matter that his defense couldn’t stop the run. That Indy crew was smashed by Jacksonville late in the season for 374 (!) rushing yards and still managed to piece a run together.
Buffalo’s had a rash of injuries on this side of the ball. But personnel-wise, the Bills obviously upgraded.
Ed Oliver remains out. Maybe he returns by the divisional round. In T.J. Sanders (No. 41 overall) and Deone Walker (No. 109 overall), the Bills added fresh legs inside. Landon Jackson (No. 72 overall) tore his MCL and PCL. Vet addition Michael Hoecht was a wrecking ball in 1 ½ games before popping an Achilles. Maxwell Hairston’s pro career began with a knee injury. He returned to show exactly why the team stepped outside of McDermott’s comfort zone at corner with the speed to stick with receivers deep. He’ll miss this playoff game with an ankle injury.
The best chance at Buffalo getting that game-changing play? On the edges. This is where Beane’s bets must pay off.
Joey Bosa had an NFL-high five forced fumbles this season and Buffalo could use one in Jacksonville. Bare minimum, ’25 Bosa has been an upgrade over ’24 Von Miller. His sack-fumble of Aaron Rodgers completely changed Bills-Steelers. A close game became a rout. Whenever Bosa gets chipped, the Bills need Greg Rousseau to deliver like he did in Cleveland with 2 ½ sacks. (He whiffed on a third.) The 6-foot-6, 266-pounder inked a four-year, $80 million extension last spring. It’s time. And in the secondary, Cole Bishop quietly enjoyed a breakout season while Jordan Poyer’s been rejuvenated at age 34.
Terrel Bernard’s season has been exceptionally frustrating through injuries, though Shaq Thompson has excelled and Matt Milano looks much more spry this season than last.
There’s enough ammo.
One personnel man who faced the Bills this season makes an interesting point. He’s a fan of several players on this defense, calling corner Christian Benford a universal starter. Still, he sees a team selecting personnel that specifically fits this McDermott scheme. Which, he believes, can be a “slippery slope.” Because if it doesn’t match perfectly — and guys are forced into different roles — it gets tricky. Sanders needed to play end for a stretch. On the back end, McDermott prefers prototypical, zone-heavy safeties who’ll sit back and read offenses but aren’t necessarily playmakers when plays break down. He calls Bernard and Milano “highly instinctive, highly intelligent” linebackers. Taron Johnson, to him, is one of the toughest nickels in the league. Warts, however, are exposed if an offense can force these three to run in space.
Beane has taken heat for dipping back into the well for vets who’ve been here before. Culture matters. One chat with Poyer and it’s easy to see why you’d want him around. But this assistant GM thinks it has a lot to do with McDermott’s mentally taxing scheme. It’s not quite the see-ball, get-ball attacking approach in Houston. Breaking in ass-kickers on the fly is more difficult. “When there are injuries — which they’ve obviously had a lot of — they revert back to the vets that have been there,” this exec says. “And that makes them keep their guys around maybe a little longer than they need to instead of bringing in guys with some different backgrounds.”
Beane could’ve given up on trying to save McDermott’s defense and mortgaged both draft capital and dollars for receiving weapons. Somehow.
One GM believes that’d be foolish.
“You can do it with their ‘Everybody Eats’ mentality,” says this GM. “They’ve got enough talent at tight end and Shakir and you’ve got the running back who just led the league in rushing. And an MVP quarterback. And the offensive line is damn good. Talent is not the issue. They just need to figure a way to close the gap in those big games.”
“Who do you want them to get? When you win double-digit games that many years in a row, you’re not picking in a position to get Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers. So you’ve got to find a way to build it around an MVP quarterback the best you can with what you’ve got. Because it gets hard when you’re drafting back there all the time because you’re getting the 30th player in the draft or the 29th player in the draft. It gets hard unless you make some sort of move that’s going to hurt your draft capital and financially like they did with Diggs. So, now it hurts you two ways. You’re paying Josh what you’re paying him, you’re paying a left tackle, you’re paying Rousseau, you’re paying core players already. So you need those young players to backfill the roster.”
Buffalo explored options at the trade deadline. From what I’ve gathered around the league, no deal was close. The Dolphins might’ve pretended like they were interested but they never seriously considered handing Jaylen Waddle to the Bills. Meanwhile, the Jets wouldn’t even play ball.
Kincaid and Coleman were premium picks who must produce. It’s harder, but teams find go-to weapons at the turn.
In retrospect, Beane’s post-draft WGR 550 spot did not age well. Rare is the GM who’s that heated on the local radio show. It’s a topic he was obviously passionate about, an we got into it all ourselves. My 2 cents? Co-hosts Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase were far more fair on the subject than anyone acknowledged in real time. They discussed the need for defense on their morning show many times before the draft. Love joining their show. They bring smart analysis to this team at this time.
Either way, the viral clip put a bull’s eye on Beane’s back with fans locally.
Around the NFL, the Bills’ draft process is considered very collaborative.
McDermott is not force-fed players he does not want. I’ve heard there was even offensive coaches on staff who weren’t phased one bit by the Bills going D-D-D-D-D with their first five picks.
After holding Philly to 17 yards in the second half, Epenesa sees his unit peaking at the right time.
“You never want to peak too early,” the vet end adds. “It’s all about playing consistent throughout the whole season and being at your best when the playoffs come around. We always have room to improve and that’s the mindset. But I think we played some of our best ball late in this season.”
There’s a chance Beane regrets not throwing more darts at wide receiver on draft day. Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst — a man who interviewed for the Bills job in 2017 — is constantly loading up at the position for Jordan Love. He’s taken seven wide receivers in the first five rounds since ‘21. Time will tell.
Nine years in, Buffalo has endured an absurd number of What If’s. Sandwiched between Thirteen Seconds and Hamlin’s collapse in 2022 is one that gets lost in time. Von Miller was paid handsomely to harass QBs — did exactly that with eight sacks his first nine games — then tore his ACL. You can’t exactly blame old age for this type of injury. Tre’Davious White tore his ACL in his prime. And in spite of the defensive failings, Allen has nearly willed the Bills to wins. In ’23, his bomb to Diggs was dropped. Trent Sherfield missed a pair of deep passes, too. In ’24, the QB somehow broke free to lob one on fourth and 5 to Kincaid. He dove. He couldn’t corral it.
No “what if” will ever measure up to what happened at Arrowhead at the end of the ‘21 season. When we wrote our series on the coach, I cited this as the moment that might’ve broken the team. It’s a game still on the minds of people in this building and around the league.
“A game you have no business losing,” said a GM for another team. “You’ve got to be able to execute in the highest-stress moments. Your team must be prepared. You must practice those situations.”
There’s no reason these Bills cannot go full ‘07 Giants and ‘10 Packers and win on the road this postseason. There’s no dominant AFC team.
If the Jags win, what’s the Monday conversation? It’d be a hearty debate.
True, only eight head coaches in NFL history who’ve coached 9+ seasons have a higher winning percentage than McDermott. He wins and wins and wins in the regular season. Also, true: Only three coaches in league history have won their first Super Bowl with a team in Year No. 9 or beyond.
Bill Cowher in his 14th year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2005).
Tom Landry in his 12th year with the Dallas Cowboys (1971).
Hank Stram his 10th year with the Kansas City Chiefs (1969).
Organizations typically move on from coaches who can’t win the big one this far into one’s tenure because the list of those who couldn’t get it done is much longer. Don Coryell (nine seasons), Bart Starr (nine), Marty Schottenheimer (10), Bud Grant (18), Jason Garrett (10), Wayne Fontes (nine), John Robinson (nine), Dennis Green (10), Jim Mora (11), Chuck Knox (nine), Marvin Lewis (16), and, of course, Marv Levy (12) to name a handful.
McDermott and Knox are the only coaches in league history to win at least seven playoff games without reaching the Super Bowl.
The beauty of it all? Everything is decided on the field.
There’s still football to be played. We’re about to see if the ninth edition of this Bills roster can break through.
First up: Jacksonville.
The Bills will need to take the advice of one, Dion Dawkins, and “find a fucking way.”
In addition to the three coaches listed in the article as winning championships after 9+ years with a team, Bill Belichick won Super Bowls in his 15th, 17th and 19th seasons in New England.
Once again, well done! Great piece! Go Bills!