Terry Pegula Says It’s an “Insult” That Bills Were Called Dysfunctional

The Pegulas addressed criticism from the national media about the ownership style of the Buffalo Bills.

Tim Graham of the Buffalo News recently sat down with Buffalo Bills co-owners Kim and Terry Pegula and addressed some hard-hitting questions that have been brought up by the national media. These questions were mostly addressing how the national media has been critical of the Bills organization, and shines light on how it might have been a long-shot for the Bills to get their top choice of head coach, Sean McDermott.

Graham told the Pegulas about two specific reports — one from ESPN, and one from the Boston Globe. The ESPN report was from an analyst and suggested that coaches looking for jobs should stay away from Buffalo. The Globe report called the ownership a “clown show.”

So what did Terry Pegula have to say about those accusations?

“I consider it an insult to our organization and the Bills and the good people with the Sabres,” Pegula said to Graham.

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Kim expanded on Terry’s displeasure with the comments from outside sources, and said that the ownership group prides themselves on not being “absentee owners.”

That much the Pegulas can certainly claim with confidence. They can regularly be seen at Bills and Sabres games, and have put all of their efforts towards unifying Buffalo with their “One Buffalo” campaign.

The Pegulas were also heavily involved in the head coaching search this offseason that resulted in McDermott’s hire. Not all sports teams can say that, often they leave it with their general manager of president of operations to find a coach. The Pegulas are right there, leading the way.

Whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate. On one hand, the ownership group clearly wants to see the coaching search through themselves, and ensure that the team is set up well for success. On the other hand, it shows a bit of distrust in the management below them. Mostly, fans seem to think it’s a positive thing to have the Pegulas involved in the coaching searches.

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That openness, perhaps, may be why the national media has gone out of its way to conclude things about the franchises that are tucked up away in Upstate New York. The willingness to put themselves out there by the Pegulas definitely makes them vulnerable to criticism, but they seem to know that.

The biggest difference is knowing how to handle it at the same time.