 McDermott was a nominee for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award at the end of the season.The Rhinos endured a difficult season in 2016 as they were flooded out of their training ground for the first half of the season and suffered a run of injuries that left them having to fight against relegation in the Qualifiers.At the start of 2017, with only the addition of Matt Parcell to the Rhinos' squad from the previous year, they finished runners up to Castleford Tigers in the table.