From First-Responder Household to Bills Staff: How 9/11 Shaped Assistant Coach Dean Marlowe

Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Buffalo Bills assistant coach Dean Marlowe still carries vivid memories of a morning that upended his family — a family rooted deeply in New York City’s first-responder community.

Marlowe, now 34 and serving as an assistant on coordinator Joe Brady’s staff in Buffalo, was 9 years old and sitting in class when his stepfather arrived to pull him out of school barely an hour into the day. Speaking recently by phone, Marlowe recalled his confusion at the time, and the message his stepfather delivered: something terrible had happened in New York City, where both of his parents worked, and they had to report immediately.

His stepfather, Mike Neil, was a police sergeant with the 75th precinct. Having worked a late shift the night before as a favor to a colleague, Neil had been asleep only a few hours when a fellow officer called him back in. Only after turning on the television and watching the second plane strike the World Trade Center did he grasp the scale of the emergency.

Neil reached his wife, Lisa, an officer in Harlem’s 32nd precinct, who asked him to pick up Dean and his older sister, who worked at a nearby bank. With the city engulfed in smoke and debris and casualties mounting, neither parent knew when — or whether — they would see their children again.

First responder work was the family trade: both parents, along with an aunt, cousins, a great uncle and a grandfather, served as police officers or firefighters, and some remain on active duty. Marlowe described watching smoke rise over the city from his home in Queens, visible even from miles away, and said his parents spent roughly five or six days at the site assisting with recovery and cleanup efforts.

Despite the trauma, Marlowe said the experience forged a lasting bond within his family, describing it as a tragic moment that ultimately became a “united-we-stand” chapter in their lives.

Marlowe went on to an eight-year NFL playing career across five teams, spending parts of four seasons with the Bills plus a year on their practice squad. He built a reputation as a valued special-teams contributor and part-time safety, earning respect from teammates and fans alike before transitioning into coaching, where he has now returned to the organization.

What to watch

• The Bills’ upcoming season and any team features on Marlowe’s coaching role under Joe Brady.
• League-wide and team-level 9/11 anniversary observances during the NFL season.
• Buffalo’s coaching staff developments heading into training camp and the regular season.

Source: original release