Bills' Sean McDermott 'Not in Love With' Tush Push 'Optics' amid Rule Change Debate

Buffalo Bills head coach and one of four coaches on the leagues competition committee, Sean McDermott, is “not in love with” the “optics” of the tush push due to safety concerns. 

 "There's always been injury risk, and I've expressed that opinion over the last couple of years when it really started to come into play the way it's being used, especially a year ago," McDermott told reporters. "I just feel like player safety and the health and safety of our players has to be at the top of our game, which it is. It's just that play to me – or the way that the techniques that are used with that play to me – have been potentially contrary to the health and safety of the players. Again, you have to go back in fairness to the injury data on the play, but I just think the optics of it, I'm not in love with."

The "Tush Push" has been a part of the league for years, originating from the "Brotherly Shove" before evolving in both name and execution. The 2024 season thrust the play into the spotlight, thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles' effective utilization of it.  

Following the Eagles' 2025 Super Bowl win—where the "Tush Push" played a significant role—the play has come under increased scrutiny. Most recently, the Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal to ban it, according to The Athletic's Diana Russini.

With the league banning the hip-drop tackle and implementing a new kickoff format, during last year's committee meeting, the "Tush Push" will undoubtedly be a major topic of discussion this offseason.

"Hip drop and the Tush Push were in the same conversation three years ago," NFL EVP of football operations said Troy Vincent said, per NFL.com’s Nick Shook. "A year ago, we felt like let's just focus in on the hip-drop tackle, and the Tush Push, just say, hey, the Philadelphia Eagles, they just do it better than everybody else. But there are some concerns. Our health and safety committee has laid that out today with a brief conversation on the injury report. There's some challenges, some concerns that they'll share with the broader group tomorrow. But the Tush Push will become a topic of discussion moving into March."

The committee will meet on March 30th for its annual league meeting, but there is some debate about how the league feels about the play.

"(The NFL has discussed the Tush Push) in the past," Russini said on her Scoop City Podcast (35:35 mark). "There was a time—it was last year, I reported it actually—that Roger Goodell didn't like the Tush Push. They've come back around on that and they quickly denied it. 'No, no, no, he's never shared his opinion about it.' I think there was a moment where there were some owners, and some people on the Competition Committee, that wanted to see the Tush Push banned. But I think it became so popular, and they saw the reaction from the NFL world, that I think they backed off it."

With health and safety concerns at the forefront and the league focused on protecting quarterbacks and linemen, the rule will undoubtedly be re-evaluated in a new light come March.