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01/21 13:02 CST Bills owner feels team hit 'proverbial playoff wall' after
latest loss
Bills owner feels team hit 'proverbial playoff wall' after latest loss
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Sports Writer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) --- Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula felt his team hit
what he called "the proverbial playoff wall" in leading to his decision to
abruptly fire coach Sean McDermott this week.
Speaking at a season-ending news conference on Wednesday, Pegula said he made
up his mind immediately following a 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in a
divisional playoff on Saturday.
He based his decision in part on seeing how distraught many Bills players,
including quarterback Josh Allen, appeared in the locker room in the aftermath
of the loss.
"I saw the pain in Josh's face at his (news conference). And I felt his pain,"
Pegula said. "I know we can do better. And I know we will get better."
Pegula then listed many of Buffalo's more memorable playoff defeats over the
nine seasons under McDermott.
"It was where does the leadership of the team on the field and in the locker
room, where do we go from that moment --- another playoff failure," Pegula
said. "That's why I decided Sean had to leave."
Pegula spoke alongside general manager Brandon Beane, who was promoted in
adding the title of president of football operations.
And it's now on Beane to lead Buffalo's first coaching search since McDermott
took over in 2017 after two seasons under Rex Ryan.
The coaching search process has already started, with the Bills already set to
interview several candidates including former Giants coach and former Buffalo's
offensive coordinator Brian Daboll; Commanders running backs coach Anthony
Lynn, who finished the 2016 season as Buffalo's interim coach; and Bills
current offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Pegula said Allen had no input in McDermott's firing, but added the quarterback
will play a role in the coaching search.
Pegula credited McDermott for transforming a franchise that had endured a
17-season playoff drought into a perennial winner.
"We all remember the playoff drought before Sean got here," Pegula said. "Sean
has definitely left the Buffalo Bills in a better place than when he arrived in
2017. He gave his heart and soul trying to win a championship."
Ultimately, it was the lack of a Super Bowl appearance that wore on Pegula.
"It was one year after another. I just couldn't see us doing that with Sean,"
he said. "It's not an easy decision trust me with that success. But what is
success? Is it being in the playoffs seven years in a row with no Super Bowl."
Despite a 98-50 regular-season record, and seven straight double-digit-win
seasons, McDermott was 8-8 in the playoffs. Each of Buffalo's past three
postseason losses were decided by three points.
Buffalo ended the drought in 2017 and reached the playoffs in eight of nine
seasons, but only advanced to the AFC title game twice, losing both times to
Kansas City. The Bills became the NFL's first team to win a playoff round in
six straight years but not reach the Super Bowl.
Pegula's appearance was rare as he's not taken questions from Bills reporters
since at least 2019. He said one major reason he's taken a more
behind-the-scenes role is due to dedicating time to his wife, Kim, who
continues her lengthy recovery from a debilitating cardiac arrest in June 2022.
Pegula otherwise backed Beane, and disputed there being any sort of a rift that
grew between the coach and GM.
"Our roster is a direct reflection of the hard work that Brandon and our
scouting staff has done through the years," Pegula said, particularly noting it
was Beane's decision to draft Allen in 2018. "One may complain over a deal,
over a player, over a result. But the bottom line is, success over a long
period of time means we're doing something right."
Beane said Allen is considering having a procedure to repair an injury to his
right foot, but said it shouldn't prevent the quarterback from practicing this
spring.
Beane is conducting his first coaching search. He took over in Buffalo in May
2017, five months after McDermott was hired. The two were connected in having
spent the previous six seasons in Carolina --- McDermott as defensive
coordinator and Beane in a front office role.
"Obviously, this is the start of a new chapter, but Sean's a heck of a football
coach, and we'll always root for him and his family," Beane said. "I bear
guilt, blame, responsibility. There's no finger-pointing. I understand there's
things I could have done better."
Beane shared part of the blame in constructing a roster this season that was
young and injury-depleted on defense and featured a middling group of receivers.
Despite Beane's insistence in April that he judged this year's group of
receivers as better than in 2024, the production did not bear itself out.
Buffalo's wide receivers accounted for just over half of the team's 3,981
passing yards this season, as opposed to more than 60% in 2024, when Allen
earned AP NFL MVP honors.
Offseason free agent addition Joshua Palmer spent much of the season limited
because of an assortment of injuries. Second-year receiver Keon Coleman's
development regressed in part because of disciplinary issues. He finished with
38 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns, and was twice disciplined by the
team this season for arriving late for meetings.
Before Beane could answer a question about Coleman, Pegula interjected and said
it was "the coaching staff" that pushed for the player's selection. Buffalo
traded back twice before choosing Coleman with the first pick of the second
round in 2024.
"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," said Pegula, who later clarified to
The Associated Press that he wasn't referring to McDermott. "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."
Beane said Coleman was "my pick," before suggesting what Pegula meant is
Buffalo could have considered addressing another position with the selection.
"It's up to us to work with him and develop him," Beane said of Coleman.
"His issues have not been on the field. They've just been maturity things that
he owns," Beane said. "I give him credit. He doesn't make excuses, which I
appreciate."
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