Buffalo Bills players shout 'we've got your back' to coach Sean McDermott as he makes locker room speech after Chiefs win... on the week it emerged he used 9/11 attacks as an example of teamwork in 2019 motivational talk

The Buffalo Bills locker room rallied behind their head coach Sean McDermott on Sunday night, on the week he hit headlines over a 2019 speech in which he used the 9/11 terror attacks as an example of teamwork. 

McDermott has had a tough few days after shocking four-year-old comments made news around the world - but after the Bills' big win over Kansas City, it appears he has full support from his players and staff despite the furore.

In a clip posted to X by the team's official account, McDermott can be heard telling his players: 'That's a hell of a win man, resilient damn football team, so damn proud of you guys, man.'

As he pauses, two players can be heard screaming 'we got your back' - presumably in reference to this week's events - to which the rest of the locker holler and cheer.

After the end of McDermott's comments, the team's general manager Brandon Beane then steps into shot and doubles down on the players' sentiments, insisting: 'Hey, we've got this man's back, tough f***ing week', before rapturous applause.

McDermott, who has been Bills coach since 2017, was in the news for all the wrong reasons when it emerged on Thursday that he had used the terror attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001 to demonstrate 'the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team.'

The details were chronicled on Tyler Dunne's 'Go Long' website, and in the aftermath McDermott described the report as 'disappointing' and 'hurtful' - failing to apologize for the comments.

'It was clearly, to me, an attack on my character, and that's important to me, as much — if not more — than wins and losses,' he said of the report. 'Wins and losses are important. 

'What's important to me, from day one, is how you handle yourself. It doesn't mean I've been perfect. It doesn't mean I haven't been without flaw. But what's most important to myself, my family and kids, is that I handle this job the right way.'

McDermott was then the subject of a skit on Saturday Night Live this week, with Colin Jost joking: 'Bills coach Sean McDermott apologized after giving a speech to his players where he used 9/1 terrorists as a good example of teamwork... which is kind of a full circle moment... because when Osama Bin Laden was giving the terrorists a pep talk, he told them to not be like the Bills.'

According to the Go Long report, upon realizing how his message was being interpreted, McDermott said he called a second team meeting an hour later that day to apologize to his players. 

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 2001, when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Safety Micah Hyde said McDermott's comments to the team on Thursday were heartfelt and well-received.

'We're all sitting there and supporting Sean and I don't think that anybody in there was thinking otherwise,' Hyde said.

Hyde said he and other Bills players accepted McDermott's apology in 2019 and that the resurfaced comments would not be a distraction for the team.

'We all understood where he was coming from, and what he meant after the fact,' Hyde said. 'He explained that to us, so I didn't even think about that whole situation until yesterday, until I was asked about it.'

General manager Brandon Beane said McDermott's team address Thursday 'was very authentic.'

'He was very vulnerable,' Beane said. 'And I know the guys, I think without speaking to every single player, I think it resonated. And like this team always does, the guys are going to rally around him.'

Beane backed McDermott's leadership style, saying, 'I'll stand by his character every day of the week.'

The Bills players certainly seemed to be on the right page on Sunday night, when they beat the Chiefs to take their record to 7-6 for the season and strengthen their playoff chances in the AFC.