The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday, and in the days since, owner Terry Pegula’s decision has been heavily questioned. Though it wasn’t just because he fired the coach.
Pegula also announced the retention of general manager Brandon Beane and his promotion to President of Football Operations. While most in Bills Mafia could see why it was time to part ways with McDermott, few follow what Pegula is thinking in keeping the other half of the equation that has seen Buffalo stone-walled in the postseason year after year.
Bills fans got some more context on the decision from the owner on Wednesday morning, as Pegula and Beane held a press conference explaining the decision and what’s next for the franchise.
Bills owner Terry Pegula opens up about franchise's decision to fire Sean McDermott
“First, I want to thank Sean McDermott for all the work he’s done in Buffalo over the last nine years,” Pegula said in his opening statement. “We all remember the playoff drought before Sean got here. Sean has definitely left the Buffalo Bills in a better place than when he arrived in 2017. He gave his heart and soul to trying to win a championship. I gave Sean his first head coaching job, and I’m proud of that. I don’t think he’s done coaching in this league, and I wish him the best.”
McDermott put together an incredible run in Buffalo, even if it always ended in heartbreak one way or another. Still, his tenure rivals Marv Levy’s in nearly every category, save for reaching the Super Bowl in any capacity.
But after the loss in Denver, and the manner by which it came, Pegula had made up his mind about McDermott’s future with the team.
“My decision to bring in a new coach was based on the results of our game in Denver,” he said, before painting the scene of the aftermath of the Bills’ overtime postseason loss.
“I want to take you in the locker room after that game. I looked around, the first thing I noticed was our quarterback, with his head down, crying. 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.”
Had Brandin Cooks’ catch been ruled a catch, then the Bills would be playing in the AFC Championship this week against the New England Patriots, and McDermott would still be the head coach. So it stands to question, why fire McDermott after the results of the game if even Pegula himself is convinced that one specific call should have gone their way?
From there, Pegula pivoted to Beane, praising the work he has done over the years as general manager, defending his roster-building skills and ability to bring in front office personnel who have found success elsewhere in the league.
“I want to express my confidence in the guy sitting next to me, Brandon Beane, and the job he has done in resurrecting this franchise. I’m not going to sit here and defend everything that we have done as a franchise, but the bottom line is, we have attracted good people here.”
Before turning the presser over to Beane for his opening statement, Pegula made one more effort to contextualize the job Beane has done in Buffalo, acknowledging the pushback his decisions this week had created.
“I’m aware there’s criticism out there about our franchise,", he said. "Does anyone know what the numbers 5-2-3-2-2-2-6 represent? That’s our seeding over the last seven years in the playoffs: 5-2-3-2-2-2-6. An organization doesn’t carry that kind of record without being a great organization and without having great players. It’s impossible to have that kind of results without having a good roster."
Our roster is a direct reflection of the hard work that Brandon and our current scouting staff have done throughout the years.”
Pegula isn’t wrong that the Bills have a strong roster. Even just having the best quarterback in the league is enough to make most teams playoff contenders. Still, Pegula’s comments on Wednesday only worked to fuel Bills Mafia’s belief in some of the rumors they’ve heard since Monday morning.
Still, Buffalo did not have a strong wide receiver corps, and it held the team back. McDermott’s failings on the roster did come through his coaching, as his defense struggled to consistently stop the run. To most Bills fans, both men shared in the blame for what happened last Saturday night.
The Bills have already begun their search for the next head coach. Certainly, given these comments and others made on Wednesday, it’ll be interesting to see how much control that coach has over the roster, if any. Either way, the next era of Bills football has drama at the forefront, and that is not a comfortable feeling heading into a pivotal offseason once again.