After setback with Eagles, McDermott on rise with Panthers

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sean McDermott was fired by Andy Reid on the Tuesday after the end of the Eagles' 2010 season. The year ended with a playoff loss in January. Almost no one knew for days besides the two men.

Reid wanted to keep it a secret. He wanted McDermott to have another job before the firing became public. It didn't quite work out that way. The news leaked four days later, but McDermott, in the interim, had already interviewed with the Broncos and Panthers.

The former Eagles coach wanted to protect the then-36-year-old defensive coordinator. McDermott, who had worked for only one man and one team, took the dismissal hard. It was time for the Philadelphia-area native to leave the nest.

"Growing up around Philadelphia I had a great support system with my family and friends that were always there," McDermott said. "Now you walk to the airport on a dark morning in the winter of January and, hey, it's time to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and go put food on the table for the family.

"Looking back five years ago, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. And I thank Andy for it."

McDermott ultimately went to Carolina to be reunited with former Eagles colleague and now Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. There have been some ups and downs over the last five seasons, but the two have almost consistently had one of the best defenses in the NFL.

It all came together this season as the Panthers went 15-1 in the regular season, sailed through the playoffs, and now face the Broncos in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara on Sunday.

McDermott is one step from accomplishing what the Eagles often fell just short of winning during his tenure under Reid. And he's one step closer - many can't understand why he isn't there yet - to becoming a head coach for the first time.

It all worked out, but five years ago McDermott wasn't as thankful as he is now.

"No, he wasn't," Reid said Thursday by telephone. "He was like a son to me. The kid - he means that much. It wasn't working for a variety of reasons and I just thought it would be a positive move for him."

Like many fathers, Reid assisted the son. He called John Fox in Denver and then Rivera in Carolina. He painted a picture - "We've got to create a situation," is how Rivera described Reid's message five years ago - in which McDermott, unable to escape the shadow of the late Jim Johnson, needed to land on his feet in a more patient environment.

"I just thought both those guys would be great for Sean," Reid said. "Ron knew him so well from my administrative assistant on up through the ranks. Either of those situations would be great, Ron just probably knew him a little bit better and [they] had similar defensive philosophies."

After meeting with Fox, McDermott flew directly to Charlotte. Rivera, too, worked under Johnson. He was his linebackers coach from 1999 to 2003, and McDermott was Rivera's position assistant for two of those years.

"He's a guy that I really saw a growth and development in when he first started in Philadelphia for Andy," Rivera said Thursday. "Replacing Jim Johnson, I thought he did a nice job there. Bringing him here, [I've watched] how efficient he works, his professionalism, his approach and his manner in terms of how he handled things with the players."

In retrospect, McDermott's defenses were decent, at least compared with the ones that followed with Juan Castillo as Reid's choice to replace McDermott and Bill Davis chosen when Chip Kelly became head coach.

The 2009-10 Eagles defenses were ranked 12th in total yards and second and tied for fifth in takeaways, but McDermott's units struggled in the red zone (26th and 32nd). Reid said he had no regrets. McDermott didn't think he was thrust into the job too soon, just months after Johnson died from cancer.

"I was ready for it," McDermott said. "Now, there's no substitute for experience. To me, it was more that the expectations were very high at the time coming off the NFC championship game from the year before. And then, really, it was at that same time Brian Dawkins was allowed to walk out of that locker room and there's a little bit of a void of player-driven leadership."

McDermott struggled at times to communicate ideas to the players. He was sometimes unwilling to take advice, several Eagles later said. Panthers safety Kurt Coleman, who spent his rookie season with McDermott in Philly, said he has become more adaptable.

"I think his understanding of players, of being able to manage them [has gotten better]. . . . Now he's very open to if we need to change things," Coleman said. "He's not a guy, 'This is what I say. This is how it is.' "

Rivera, Coleman, and other Panthers talk about McDermott's ability to make in-game and halftime adjustments. McDermott has increasingly added his own touches to Johnson's 4-3, blitz-happy scheme. But the aggressive mentality remains.

"His defense is all based around discipline, being accountable, and playing hard," linebacker Luke Kuechly said. "Effort is a big thing, too. As long as you know what you are doing, you're accountable and give great effort, then I think you can fit right in."

The Panthers have finished in the top 10 in total defense in the last four seasons - something no other team has done. They ranked sixth in both yards allowed and points and first in forced turnovers this season.

Win or lose Sunday, McDermott will be on the short list of head coach candidates heading into next season. He interviewed with the Buccaneers and Browns this offseason and said on Monday that the Eagles spoke to him briefly before they moved on and hired Doug Pederson.

But he said he's ready to lead an entire team.

"It's the next step in the process of my development," said McDermott, who attended North Penn and La Salle High Schools. "There's not many coordinators that can say they built a system, or a defense, in my case, from the ground up. I've done that. I've won at every level I've been at."

That didn't stop Reid, whom McDermott still routinely communicates with, from dismissing him five years ago. Sometimes you need to take a step back to take a leap forward.

"Andy did me a favor because of where I was in my career," McDermott said. "My career every year was trending up and up and I think Andy knew that in order for me to continue to develop that I needed to get outside the walls of the Eagles building."

And McDermott has flown like a bird since.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane