When Bills head coach Sean McDermott touched down in Buffalo in 2017, it didn't take long for him to feel like a part of the Western New York city he'd come to represent.

Indeed, asked during a wide-ranging Q&A on Tuesday when he came to "appreciate" himself as a "Buffalonian," McDermott quickly provided an answer—and a heartfelt one at that.

"2017, when we made the playoffs," he said. "I appreciated the opportunity, but that’s when it hit me. That’s when it hit my heart, was when I saw the reaction when we made the playoffs."

The coach said it wasn't the moment at the airport that did it, when fans came out in droves to greet the players in celebration of the end of their long playoff drought, but when "we were in the locker room in Miami."

"Some of my family was there," McDermott said. "You could hear the reaction above us in the concourse when that play unfolded. And then on top of that, getting back home. But even on the way back, you’re [getting], 'Hey, look at this video I’m seeing of this bar in wherever, Tonawanda, Cheek[towaga]' ... and you’re watching people dive into the snow. And that’s when it really hit my heart that I was like, we’re here for a reason, and it goes well beyond the football field."

Earlier in the presser, McDermott expressed that it's this passion these fans have for their city and the dry spell the franchise went through that makes him want to win so badly and change the narrative around Buffalo. It's so great to see a coach riding so hard for his community and those who support him, especially in a smaller city like this.

We'll see what the Bills can pull off this fall, but I think I speak for everyone when I say no one would be mad to see them hoist a Lombardi at the end of it all.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bills' Sean McDermott Details Moment He First Felt Like He Belonged in Buffalo.