ORCHARD PARK – First things first, Terry Pegula talked. And not only did he talk, there were times when he interrupted questions that were directed at the man sitting next to him, his Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, to clarify certain things.
That was quite a surprise Wednesday morning because the owner of the Bills and Buffalo Sabres rarely speaks to reporters to answer questions about either of his teams, a personal choice that has long been a shortcoming in the eyes of media and certainly fans.
It took a pretty big event for Pegula to break his silence, something apparently even bigger than his firing of Sabres GM Kevyn Adams last month which he never spoke publicly about. His dismissal of Bills head coach Sean McDermott brought him out of the penthouse and into the hot seat to explain a decision that could resonate for years if his next choice for a coach doesn’t deliver the Super Bowl championship that Pegula believed McDermott was incapable of doing during his nine-year tenure.
“We are focused on bringing a Super Bowl to Buffalo,” Pegula said. “We have an MVP quarterback in Josh Allen. I’m looking forward to having a successful coaching search. I know this is a desirable job, our phones are ringing and we’re going to begin that process.”
As for what else was said, here’s a recap of the primary topics:
Why was Sean McDermott fired?
Pegula said that seeing the devastation in the Bills’ locker room following the playoff loss to the Broncos was the final determining factor in letting McDermott go.
“I looked around, first thing I noticed was our quarterback with his head down, crying,” Pegula said. “I looked at all the other players, I looked at their faces and our coaches. I walked over to Josh, he didn’t even acknowledge I was there. First thing I said to him, I said, ‘That was a catch.’ We all know what I’m talking about.
“He didn’t acknowledge me, he just sat there sobbing, he was listless. He had given everything he had to try to win that game. And looking around, so did all the other players on the team. I saw the pain in Josh’s face at his presser, and I felt his pain. I know we can do better, and I know we will get better.”
No one should truly believe, though, that this wasn’t in the works for a little while. There’s no way a decision this big was made solely because the Bills lost on the road to the No. 1 seed in the AFC and later, Pegula sort of contradicted himself regarding the timeline for the decision.
“I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall year after year; 13 seconds, missed field goal, the catch,” he said. “So I just sensed in that locker room, like, where do we go from here with what we have? And that was the basis for my decision.”
So yes, it wasn’t just the loss in Denver; it was the accumulation of January defeats that spelled the end for McDermott.
Pegula, Beane both deny reports of a power play
It has been speculated that Beane won a power struggle with his coach, fueled by a report of a meeting late in the regular season where McDermott allegedly expressed dissatisfaction with the roster and made that known to Pegula and Beane.
“I don’t know where that came from, but we met all the time, talked to Sean every day,” Pegula said, shooting the idea down. “Yeah, we talk about being dissatisfied with this, being happy with that and whatnot. We communicated all the time, and I don’t know where that came from. I’m the kind of guy, if I sense you’re on a power play, you’re out. I don’t like power play people. We have an organization that we work together, but any sense at all that he was on a power play, he would have been gone because that’s not my type of person.”
Beane also denied this, saying, “There’s disagreements all throughout, way before this year. It’s not like we were 100% always in agreement on every decision that he made or I made, that just comes with the territory. That’s hurtful to even hear that or say that. I worked 19 seasons, starting as an intern in Carolina, and worked my way up. I came here and I’ve never tried to do that. I would love for anyone who’s making that accusation to walk in these doors and ask any person, player, coach, trainer, anyone. For somebody to question my character like that is BS, and I’ve never done that.”
As usual, Keon Coleman was a lightning rod
The 2024 second-round pick has given the Bills very little on the field, but he has provided plenty of fodder for fans and media to debate, and now there’s a new twist to the saga. Beane was asked about the wide receiver position – specifically, his failure to sign useful free agents, plus the drafting of Coleman – and before he could answer, Pegula interrupted.
“I’ll address the Keon situation; the coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player. He’s taken, for some reason, heat over it, and not saying a word about it, but I’m here to tell you the true story.”
Well, that was certainly interesting, though Beane walked that back a bit because he admitted the final call was his, not the coaching staff’s.
“He was my pick. I made the pick. Terry’s point was that we might have had a different order of personnel versus coaching and I went that way, but ultimately, I’m not turning a pick for a player that I don’t think we can succeed with, so, don’t misunderstand that,” Beane said. “I still own the decision, right or wrong, of Keon Coleman. Keon has been here two years, he’s a young guy, I still believe in Keon Coleman here and it’s up to us to develop his talent so that he can help us win games.”
The wide receiver conversation continued
Beane’s infamous outburst during a radio appearance last April when he defended the group of receivers the Bills had, essentially saying they were more than good enough, has obviously come back to bite him because that was not the case at all. They were nowhere near good enough, even before multiple injuries further eroded the group.
“I’m a passionate person, I don’t think that’s new on anybody,” Beane said. “Do I regret it? The biggest regret is I probably put pressure on the wide receiver group when I reacted in that way because I felt they were being picked on unfairly. It was probably more of a reaction to we just had a draft of defensive guys that we thought could help this team get over the top, and it was more in defense of that group.”
OK, fine, but the bottom line is that no matter who had the say on Coleman, that was a terrible pick; the signing of costly free agents like Curtis Samuel and Joshua Palmer have been disastrous; same for the trade that netted Amari Cooper and the cheaper free agent options like Elijah Moore, Gabe Davis, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling; and even the Brandin Cooks Hail Mary signing off waivers in November was a desperation move that resulted in more dropped passes than big plays.
Beane noted the difficulties of the salary cap in the procuring star receivers, and he said that coaching schemes have changed through the years from Brian Daboll to Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady which have altered what he looks for when bringing in receivers.
Still, he can rationalize it all he wants, but the Bills’ wide receiver situation is a complete mess and it has to get fixed, immediately.
“I promise you, we’re looking,” Beane said. “And to the point, I think it came up at the trade deadline when I came in here, we talked about some of the players that we tried to acquire. We’re always trying to acquire them. Can I do better? Heck yeah, heck yeah.
“I understand the frustrations out there. No one puts more pressure on me than myself. We have, as Terry alluded to, an MVP quarterback who just completed his eighth season here. We have got to help him get to the Super Bowl and bring a championship to Buffalo. Part of the reason we’re here stinks because we have to discuss what happened this week moving on from a head coach. I bear guilt, blame, responsibility.”
Head coach search will be extensive
Wednesday morning, reports indicated six coaches have already been contacted for interviews, and there will be more to follow. Sure, maybe the Bills will ultimately do the easy thing and hire someone with ties to the team like Brian Daboll or Joe Brady, but Beane – who is leading the search – is nowhere close to making that decision.
“It’s 100% an open search,” he said. “We’re still sorting through the names, we’re vetting names. Some of the guys were leaked out that are coming in, but the list is not final, and there’s still four teams playing, too, that could have some candidates. By the rule, we can’t interview any of those until their seasons are complete. But yeah, it’s an open process, there is no frontrunner, old, young, former coach, first-time coach. We’re opening every door. We got to find the right guy for this team to help get us over the hump.”
He’s got that right, and while other head coaching vacancies are getting filled, the Bills can’t rush this decision. If they want to talk to coaches on the staffs of the four remaining postseason teams, they can’t panic. They have to stay patient, even if it means another three weeks.
“There is definitely risk,” Pegula said. “We’ve got to make the best decision, so that’s a fact. I can tell you this … there’s a lot of people that want to look at taking this job. There’s a lot of interest.”
Interestingly, Beane admitted that Allen will be part of the hiring process, though he did not pinpoint the degree.
“We have a group of us that are gonna work together to hire the head coach,” Beane said. “It’ll be Terry, myself, Pete (Guelli), Brian Gaine, Terrance Gray, both of our assistant GMs, and Laura Pegula, and Josh will have some involvement as well. The goal here is to bring a championship to Buffalo. We’ve been close as Terry said, seven straight years in the post season. We have to get it over the top. And that starts with finding the right head coach. We’re starting that process as soon as today with interviews.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills owner Pegula, GM Beane break silence on McDermott firing: What we learned
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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