Lance Lysowski: Terry Pegula's latest rash decision puts Bills and Brandon Beane in a bind
The Bills had logical reasons to make a coaching change. But the owner’s explanation made this come across as his latest in a long line of kneejerk reactions since he'd bought the Sabres in 2011, Lance Lysowski writes.
We were reminded during a 54-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.
The oil-and-gas magnate who received $850 million from taxpayers to build a $2.2 billion football stadium revealed Wednesday morning at One Bills Drive 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 Sean McDermott, the second-winningest coach in franchise history.
“My decision to bring in a new coach was based on the results of our game in Denver,” Pegula posed during a 539-word opening statement.
Bills owner Terry Pegula explains how he came to his decision to fire coach Sean McDermott during a press conference
Wednesday at One Bills Drive. Pegula the decision was based on Buffalo's loss to Denver in the AFC divisional round on Sunday. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
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 Pegula was batting .000 with the Sabres until he promoted Jarmo Kekalainen to general manager last month.
Pegula painted a picture of the scene inside the Bills’ locker room Saturday night at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The NFL’s reigning MVP, Josh Allen, sobbed at his stall. Pegula approached Allen. His quarterback did not respond. Pegula uttered, “That was a catch,” referring to the officials’ controversial decision to quickly award Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian with an interception despite replays showing Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks may have caught the ball. Allen did not respond to Pegula, the owner said.
After nine seasons and eight playoff appearances, how could Pegula base his decision to fire McDermott on a game he claimed the Bills only lost because of what he described as a “bad call”?
“I did not fire coach (McDermott) based on a bad officiating decision,” Pegula countered. “If I can take you into that locker room, I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall year after year – ‘13 seconds,’ missed field goal, the catch. 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.”
Evidently, a coaching change did not cross Pegula’s mind until Saturday night. He did not take time to process the defeat and thoroughly examine the Bills’ football operations to determine whether McDermott or general manager, Brandon Beane, played a larger role in the team failing to reach the Super Bowl during Allen’s eight seasons.
Thirty-six hours following Allen’s teary-eyed press conference, 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.
Across their last six playoff defeats, the Bills’ defense allowed an average of 33.1 points and 413.5 yards. A defensive-minded coach can only keep his job for so long if his side of the ball can’t perform in the biggest games. Beane catered to McDermott’s defensive scheme by adding players who fit very specific archetypes. He didn’t get results in the playoffs, including against Broncos second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
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.
On Nov. 13, 2013, Pegula fired Sabres general manager Darcy Regier, hired Pat LaFontaine as president of hockey operations, fired coach Ron Rolston and hired Ted Nolan to take over. Pegula’s explanation: “Why now? I just decided, and that's the only answer I can give you.”
On April 20, 2017, Pegula fired Sabres general manager Tim Murray because Murray wouldn’t dismiss coach Dan Bylsma, who failed to hold players accountable during another disappointing season.
On Dec. 27, 2016, Pegula fired Bills coach Rex Ryan. The owner later explained to The Associated Press that Ryan demanded clarity on his future, which pushed Pegula to execute a decision he'd mulled for weeks.
On June 16, 2020, Terry and Kim Pegula fired Sabres general manager Jason Botterill in response to a months-long evaluation of the hockey operations department, and upon Botterill’s refusal to relieve some of his scouts amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Twenty-one of Botterill's employees were fired that day.
Fans hoped Pegula had learned from his mistakes. McDermott was his best hire as owner of a professional sports team. Pegula sat through scouting meetings and suggested players for the team to acquire, occasionally drawing Beane’s ire.
But for the most part, Pegula hired good people and left them to execute their vision to run the team. McDermott and Beane delivered six straight seasons of 11-plus wins – nearly unprecedented success.
“We all debate and argue with each other in any organization,” Pegula explained, before he eventually pointed to Beane to support his point. “We're talking about a football team here. Everybody has their input and not everyone agrees on everything you do inside that organization. That doesn't mean relationships dissolve. It's just, to me, it's healthy. You foster debate. I disagree with you – like, this guy (Beane) has told me to 'F off' a couple times. Trust me. And I strongly disagreed with some pretty good players that he's drafted.”
“He didn’t have any input at all,” Pegula said. “I didn’t talk to Josh about this. I talked to him afterwards. That conversation will stay private, but he had no input.”
Failing to inform Allen before McDermott’s firing is the kind of faux pas we’ve come to expect from Pegula.
You can’t accuse the guy of not caring. He wants to win. Badly. And he’s not afraid to spend money in his pursuit to win the Lombardi Trophy and Stanley Cup. But the mission can blind him and lead to emotional decisions, like the one to dismiss McDermott in such a messy way.
How many of you cringed during the press conference Wednesday when Pegula interrupted his general manager to pin the blame on his coaching staff for the Bills’ decision to draft wide receiver Keon Coleman in 2024? You have to feel for Beane, who now has a mess to clean up with Coleman. It’s not like Coleman is a pending free agent.
Not only does the general manager need to rebuild a relationship with the player, he’ll also need to have a conversation with any offensive coach involved in the decision, including offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who’s a candidate to replace McDermott.
“Can I interrupt? I’ll address the Keon situation,” Pegula said. “The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. 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. And you know, 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.”
By recklessly defending the Bills' personnel decisions, Pegula inadvertently created a mess for Beane. The owner cared more about the backlash Beane faced in recent days than the frustration his players expressed on social media when they learned of McDermott's firing. Imagine how Coleman is feeling right now, or any player who heard the owner brush aside their comments.
McDermott’s role in personnel decisions can’t be understated or overlooked. He had a specific vision for players on defense and, like every other personnel man in the NFL, Beane listened to his coach. Who knows the scheme better? But Beane has also missed on too many wide receiver acquisitions since the team traded Stefon Diggs. Three of Buffalo's last four top draft picks contributed little or nothing in 2025.
Pegula correctly noted the accomplished, experienced executives and effective scouting staff Beane brought to Buffalo. An NFL team doesn’t find this many mid- and late-round gems in the draft without smart people surrounding the general manager. The Bills’ rosters during their six straight trips to the divisional round, including two AFC championship games, were not lacking talent. Were there holes? Absolutely. On both sides of the ball, too.
But you don’t have sustained success without good players in your locker room. It’s not just Allen and the Washington Generals. You don’t ascend like the Bills have unless you have a coach who’s an effective leader and strategist. The team was a dysfunctional mess before McDermott's arrival.
The search for McDermott’s replacement will begin in earnest, with Brady and former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll among the coaches summoned to Orchard Park to meet with the search committee. The candidates won’t be the only ones who will need to answer difficult questions.
The owner came across as emotional and reactionary, unafraid to fire the longtime coach on a whim even though he stated Wednesday that the new hire won’t be under pressure to get the Bills to the Super Bowl in 2026.
“No, we can't say that to somebody coming in,” said Pegula, a response that must have made fans’ skin crawl. “We're making a change and it's, ‘Do your best job.’ ”
All will be forgotten and forgiven if the Bills get this right. A smart hire can pick up the baton and win right away. Look at what Mike Vrabel has done for New England. There's more talent on Buffalo's roster. It has the best quarterback and best fan base in the NFL, as well as its rushing champion in James Cook.
The sales pitch will be better than any a candidate has heard. This is the first coaching search Beane has run, and he'll be joined by several other members of the organization. Ownership usually gives the final stamp of approval with a hire of this magnitude, but Pegula can't be the one in charge here.
The Bills rose to prominence when he backed away and trusted the smart people he hired. The same needs to happen this offseason, when Beane must find a coach who can lead Buffalo to a Super Bowl.
