Bills owner Terry Pegula “defended” GM and newly promoted President of Football Operations Brandon Beane during a press conference that “contained mixed messaging” and “provided insight into the decision to fire” coach Sean McDermott. Pegula, fielding questions from reporters for the first time since June 2020, cited the “accomplished, experienced executives hired by Beane throughout his tenure” as GM. He said, “success over a long period of time means we’re doing something right.” Citing the Bills’ seeding in each of their eight postseason appearances under McDermott, Pegula added, “It’s impossible to have that kind of results without having a good roster. I hear it from my counterparts at league meetings.” Bills QB Josh Allen “was not consulted” before Pegula fired McDermott, though the two “spoke afterward.” Allen will join Beane, President of Business Operations Pete Guelli, Pegula, his daughter Laura Pegula and assistant GMs Brian Gaine and Terrance Gray in the process of finding McDermott’s replacement (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/21).
In Buffalo, Lance Lysowski writes, “We were reminded during a 50-minute press conference Wednesday, one laced with interruptions and contradictions, why Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula went more than five years without answering reporters’ questions.” Pegula revealed that he “decided within minutes of his team’s 33-30 season-ending overtime loss to the Broncos in the AFC divisional round to fire” McDermott, the second-winningest coach in franchise history. Lysowski: “Knee-jerk reactions rarely end well in professional sports. Pegula should have learned that by now.” He “made countless missteps with the Bills before McDermott arrived in 2017,” and he was “batting .000 with the Sabres until he promoted Jarmo Kekalainen to general manager last month.” Thirty-six hours “following Allen’s teary-eyed press conference” after the loss, Pegula “fired McDermott and promoted Beane, who, to his credit, took ownership of his ineffective draft picks and unproductive free-agent signings.” The “players who worked tirelessly to win 13 games this season had to learn the news via social media. (Really.)” The Bills “had logical reasons to make a coaching change.” Their “last three playoff losses were decided by a total of nine points. In the biggest moments, McDermott’s team looked tight.” But the owner’s “explanation made this come across as his latest in a long line of knee-jerk reactions since he’d bought the Sabres in 2011” (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/21).
