Sean McDermott: Why the New Carolina Panthers DC Will Take Them to the Playoffs

The Philadelphia Eagles fired Sean McDermott after failing to defeat the Green Bay Packers at home in the Wild Card Game. It might have been a mistake.

While the Eagles defense was not perfect by any means, McDermott was thrust into a situation that could have doomed any coordinator. A 36-year-old who was just starting to develop a rapport with the infusion of young players, second-stringers and journeyman that made up most of his defense due to injuries was simply fired as the first reaction to a bitter playoff loss.

The Eagles actually held Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to only 21 points in the game; we have seen what he can do to other defenses.

Next season, as the Eagle defense matures and out-performs what they put on the field this year, we will look at it and think Andy Reid was right to get rid of McDermott. Yet, what we will really see is a group of players that developed and grew into actual football players the year after their coordinator started putting things in motion.

McDermott is only 36 years old. He is one of the brightest young coaches in the game and had been a member of the Eagles organization for the entire decade. Following his predecessor’s tragic and untimely passing, he was made the full time defensive coordinator in the summer of 2009.

His coaching style and philosophy, naturally reminiscent of his mentor Jim Johnson, features a variety of blitz packages designed to confuse opposing quarterbacks. His fault this season was believing the young group of players around him would be able to grasp it all. If McDermott is guilty of anything, it was putting too much on the plate of players that were not ready to handle; he’ll know better next time.

McDermott is now the defensive coordinator in Carolina, a team he will be able help get back to the postseason. New head coach Ron Rivera is a defensive-oriented mind who is making his debut as a head football coach.

This is a perfect match for these two, even while their schemes are different—Rivera was accustomed to running a 4-3 defense before adopting the 3-4 in San Diego, his previous job. Together, Rivera and McDermott have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft at their disposal and they may very well be taking a defensive player with that choice.

McDermott will be given every opportunity to succeed in Carolina, an organization that won only two games a season ago and can only improve at this stage of the game. His time in Philadelphia will undoubtedly be used as a learning experience for the rest of his career.

The design, implementation and execution of his schemes will all be better this time around; he will know just how much to use and what to expect from young players learning his defense. The pressure was on in Philadelphia to make it happen with the players that were there. Now, he has a chance to start from scratch with an organization that knows it will take time to find success again.

The Panthers are going to take time to fix their situation, there is no denying this, but the length of time and level of patience exhibited by Ron Rivera and the Panther brass will pay huge dividends with McDermott. The coach has the potential to excellent at what he does. His youthful experience, along with Rivera’s knowledge and expertise, will instantly add credibility to the Carolina Panther defense for the foreseeable future.

Andy Reid’s decision to fire McDermott will only make the young coordinator better. He was on task in Philadelphia; the players were going to get it. Now he has the opportunity to do it somewhere else, with time on his side, and the Carolina Panthers are the ones who will reap the benefits.