Apparently, Terry Pegula, co-owner of the Buffalo Bills, saw no way forward with head coach Sean McDermott. Immediately after watching his team lose a heartbreaking divisional round playoff game to the Denver Broncos, Pegula made the massive decision to fire McDermott. Bills Mafia didn’t know it at the time, but Pegula’s decision was purely instinctive while watching the scene in Denver’s visiting locker room. He fired McDermott “based on the results” of Buffalo’s game at Mile High.
As the majority owner, Pegula’s decision stands out above all else, despite the team-oriented culture he and others in the front office promote. Pegula had apparently seen enough, probably worried that the best had come and gone from a McDermott-led football team. In fairness, McDermott had nine seasons to take teams led by quarterback Josh Allen to the Super Bowl. Success isn’t linear and isn’t always the same, but McDermott didn’t do the one thing Pegula expected of his head coach. That said, one might wonder how and when Pegula made her decision.
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Entering the press conference, Pegula began with a prepared statement that sought to inform listeners how and why he made the decision to show McDermott the door. Pegula shared this:
“My decision to hire a new coach was based on the results of our game in Denver. I want to take you into the locker room after that game: I looked around, the first thing I noticed was our quarterback, 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 recognize I was there. The first thing I said to him, I said “it was a trap”. We all know what I’m talking about. He didn’t recognize me. He was sitting there sobbing. He had given everything he had to try to win this game, and I saw the pain on Josh’s face at his presser and I knew we could do better.
One might assume that Pegula thought the players had been disappointed. But by whom? And yes, everyone knows what he is talking about regarding “a trap”. But to decide that when McDermott had to leave?
Once questions were posed to the media, Tim Graham of Athletics Pegula immediately asked, “Terry, you mentioned that you thought it was a trap and you told Josh it was a trap. Why would you fire a coach based on a bad officiating decision?”
To which Pegula said: “I didn’t fire a coach based on a bad call by a referee. If I can take you into that locker room, I feel like we hit the proverbial playoff wall, uh… year after year. 13 seconds. Missed goals, uh, THE catch. So, I just felt in that locker room, “Where do we go from here, with what we have?” »And this is the basis of my decision.
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So we have to understand that McDermott was responsible for this “proverbial playoff wall”, I guess. There are moments where one can point to where it looked like McDermott was calling the shots, like against the Broncos when the defense found success in the second half by playing man and bringing the blitz – only for the unit to come back into zone and give up huge chunks of passing yards at the worst possible time. But that’s an acre of weeds that we don’t necessarily need to get lost in at this point.
The fact is that Pegula “decided that Sean had to leave” because of “another playoff failure,” and that decision was ultimately made in the heat of the moment, and apparently without even discussing it with Beane.
ESPN Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg asked Pegula, “Terry, how long before the playoff game had you maybe started thinking that this was a possibility?” To which he responded, “After the playoff game… in the locker room. I have to keep saying that. I keep saying it. It’s – it was, feeling the moment… being there. Being there.” That sounds like what many Bills fans might say. Is this what the team owner should admit? It’s refreshing to see him come clean, but it’s not necessarily reassuring for anyone looking to become the next head coach.
Jay Skurski Buffalo News Beane then asked “…at the trade deadline you said you thought the team had a championship roster. What in your mind led to the group not achieving that?” Beane began to respond only for Pegula to interject with “bad call.” Beane went on to say “obviously we had some turnovers in the game, but I would say we had every chance to win this game,” following Pegula’s comment.
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I don’t intend to dismiss this notion of Beane and I also think it was a bad decision. What strikes me is how often Pegula referenced this play and this call throughout the press conference. So I would like to know why then he is firing people if it looks like the team is winning this game with no officiating issues? Was Pegula so clearly bothered by this moment that he felt such situations were invading McDermott’s playoff record, much like Phil Connors?
Granted, Pegula is primarily a Bills fan – but perhaps not a football expert. This is the case for many professional sports owners. As billionaires, it’s an investment, a hobby, an opportunity. At least at first, until it becomes a global job. He will forever be applauded for purchasing the team to keep it in Western New York, and it was clear that Kim Pegula represented the team’s bright future from an ownership standpoint. Those plans look a lot different now after Kim’s traumatic cardiac arrest.
But regarding this specific moment, it seems clear to me that Pegula is letting her emotions weigh on her here, which is understandable. Yet perhaps less so when it comes to firing a head coach who boasts that he has led the organization to the most regular season wins over the better part of a decade, has the highest winning percentage in franchise history, and is behind Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy in total wins and completions.
Was Pegula’s decision made easier after seeing other longtime head coaches, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, part ways with their organizations? We’re not going to find out the answer to that question, but it’s definitely a curious time to fire McDermott now. No job lasts forever, but the partnership between McDermott and Beane seemed to have the means to go far toward that unrealistic goal.
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Pegula and Beane kept hammering home the idea that the team was good enough, that the team was talented enough to play for a Super Bowl. Did that include the head coach? If not, did Pegula really only make this decision after a controversial road loss to the one-seeded Broncos, or were those other losses bathed in locker room moments like Denver’s? That last bit is something that John Wawrow of Associated Press singled out on social media.
How much responsibility should fall on McDermott here? Does he fail to win the AFC East for a record six consecutive seasons? It’s probably as simple as never getting past the AFC Championship Game, and even failing to do so when Buffalo ultimately didn’t have to play Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. I get it, but things can and could get a lot worse results-wise at One Bills Drive.
I won’t pretend that McDermott was without fault. It is worrying that his teams did not win in overtime. Although he managed to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season, his best was not up to par in the playoffs. As a defensive guru, McDermott’s defenses often gave up the most while impacting opponents the least in playoff games. The pass rush has always been a point of contention and always invisible in the most important moments.
I argue he did a pretty remarkable job last season considering how many injuries he had to deal with. Additionally, six turnovers, five of which Denver lost, weren’t McDermott’s fault, and what viewers have come to understand as a catch suddenly isn’t judged any other way. While Pegula and Beane continually talked about the quality of the roster and praised the talent brought in, McDermott was part of the equation. Without him, and without the coaches he chose to work with signed and drafted players, the front office would have been faced with a car devoid of a legitimate driver.
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People often don’t have access to explanations for personnel decisions, as evidenced by companies issuing blanket statements in emails, all notes indicating that the employee has left to pursue other opportunities. This allows leaders to avoid uncomfortable meetings where they are asked to answer for their actions. On the surface, it’s arguable that this presser didn’t do much for Pegula to win favor with a large portion of the fanbase. Pegula understands this and admitted that his decision might be a mistake, and Beane carried the guilt of McDermott’s job loss on his face. They are not heartless men.
Despite their hour-long press conference Wednesday, there must be other reasons behind McDermott’s firing that Pegula and company don’t want to disclose. After all, it was previously revealed that a younger, less experienced McDermott survived by giving a locker room speech using a positive 9/11 analogy. It was a learning experience, a teaching moment.
If we are to believe that this scene played out over and over after those other devastating playoff losses, then Pegula can point to a story that supports his decision to move on. If that East It is therefore true that McDermott had exhausted all his learning experiences. You can understand Pegula not wanting to replay those locker room events on the biggest stage, had they found such fortune later.
Going forward, bills must avoid falling prey to familiarity at the expense of progress. They spent nine seasons with a head coach only to find he wasn’t getting the Bills to the next step. They could spend even more time trying to find a new head coach who can do as much or more than what McDermott brought to Buffalo. Or they could preparing the team to win it all in just over a year.
