AP John Wawrow interview with Terry Pegula

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

 

I went back and watched the press conference again. I thought Whaley was crystal clear - perfectly clear.

 

And after watching that press conference again, I have more faith in Whaley than I previously did. The guy seems 100% focused on doing what is in the team's best interest. If I was trying to build a football organization, that guy would be very high on my list of people I would love to have help advise me and help build it.

 

I can see why the Pegulas appear to place so much trust in the guy. I can't believe a higher percentage of Bills fans also don't see what I see or maybe they do?

If I hear the word polished, in relation to a leader or ability to speak at a press conference, and them being the most important things to some people, I think I will scream!

Edited January 4, 2017 by horned dogs

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Love me some JW, but fwiw, Bills PR staff went to AP because of its reach outside of Buffalo. They needed to tamp things down on a larger scale, not just in the Buffalo market.

 

That's part of it I'm sure, but IMHO John Wawrow's reputation for being fair and balanced and a good reporter had a lot to do with it.

[Peter]

 

That's part of it I'm sure, but IMHO John Wawrow's reputation for being fair and balanced and a good reporter had a lot to do with it.

 

On this, we can agree.

[May Day 10]

 

Some appear to have more fun when Bills are losing rather when they are winning (those who almost silent after a good game)

 

This is preposterous, and couldn't be less accurate. It isn't fun at all being a season ticket holder and continually throwing late season games in the trash. At this point, I can barely even imagine an actual meaningful December game (not just to remain on the 'in the hunt' graphic). It would be like a dream. I have spent pretty much all of my useful years as an adult and a STH watching them be an irrelevant mess. And it isn't 'the media' who caused it

 

100% of me wants them to be successful. They are unable to do that. I look at other successful sports organizations... and compare them to the Bills under both Wilson and Pegula. The Bills (and Sabres) are not close to being sustainably good. IMO, both franchises desperately need outside help at the top level... and have needed it for a long time under multiple owners. Watching what occurred Monday was not a well oiled organization. It indicates the opposite is true. This is not a fabrication of the local media.

Edited January 4, 2017 by May Day 10

[Hapless Bills Fan]

since my name happens to be on this one, i'll chime in.

i did ask the first question to Whaley in regards to the team seeming to be in a state of dysfunction.

it's clear Whaley either wasn't prepared to provide answers or was busy sticking to a script or was merely not interested in providing anything of merit to the discussion that he helped prompt with his lengthy silence.

it wasn't a good look.and it didn't sound any better.

i'm well aware some Bills executives were not happy with how that went down with Whaley saying he's speaking for ownership and then making everyone in the operation look bad.

that it took the Bills to resort to getting Terry and Kim to explain a thing or five does not reflect well on Whaley. he was supposed to help by start putting out the fire, not add more kindling to it.

it became imperative for the owners to speak. and i know a lot of people are glad they finally did.

 

whether i was "used" or not, i can't judge that. all i know is that i sent a text to both Terry and Kim and Terry responded within 15 minutes.

 

the fact is, some clarity was required, and finally provided.

 

jw

 

I thought you asked a fair question and got an answer to it - whether or not one thinks it's a good answer, it doesn't read like a "this is my stonewall script and I'm sticking to it"

 

IMHO you did what a reporter is supposed to do - interview a source on a newsworthy matter and publish the results. Kudos for contacting the Pegulas and good article.

 

Questions:

1) If Bills executives weren't happy with Whaley (and now Polian speaking out against him) do you have the sense that may change the decision to keep with him going forward? I personally believe it would be fine to sack Whaley and conduct a GM search, and fine to let Whaley hire the next coach, have him report to Whaley and then keep/fire both of them depending upon results on the field. But to keep Whaley in a "lame duck" position where he "has a year" as some have reported, would be stupid. If he's a dead man walking, let him walk now.

 

2) Do you know if it Is true that in general, Whaley has "stepped on toes" in Brandon's side of the organization and has a number of long-time employees who are not "fans"?

 

3) I know media is a "band of brothers", but do you feel there was any culpability for the tone of the interview on the media's side? There were media asking questions as if it was surprising news that Rex didn't report to Whaley when it was delineated clearly when Rex was hired 2 years ago, which I found curious. In the transcript, there are also a number of cases where a reporter starts a question by stating his assumptions instead of asking it as a question, which seems like a poor practice from the perspective of eliciting information or encouraging a person to speak honestly ( but I am not a media person)

 

i raised the question of continuity on several occasions before Whaley's news conference, including once or twice in a few stories i wrote.

so, when the chance presented itself, i was the one who raised the issue over continuity with Whaley. and yes, i did so with a straight face.

 

sorry for spoiling your narrative. you seemed to be on a good roll there.

jw

 

I think John is talking about this:

Q: When you lay out the fact that the team was close, and 7-9, and we were consistent and some positives that came out of this season, why were you unable to make the case for continuity? Then if you’re that close, you got this close with Rex Ryan, coming from a Steelers organization where continuity has been key, and the ownership talk about continuity going forward, could you make a case for continuity with ownership? And why did it not fall on them?

A: Well I look at it this way John (Wawrow), we’re searching for that continuity. We’re searching for that coach that can be here for 10-15 years. And at this time, the search starts as soon as I leave this stage.

 

Good question IMHO.

 

I will say that it did strike me as curious that Pegula, if he decided to fire Rex, wouldn't at least invite Whaley to weigh in, or at least tell Rex to please keep the info to himself while he brings Whaley into the loop, to give Doug the opportunity to make the case. This would make the most sense in two scenarios:

1) Pegula had no need to solicit input from Whaley because he was confident he already knew his view

2) Rex, in the heat of the conversation, said "Bridge Burning Words" to Pegula

Do you have a viewpoint here?

[PromoTheRobot]

 

Good question IMHO.

 

I will say that it did strike me as curious that Pegula, if he decided to fire Rex, wouldn't at least invite Whaley to weigh in, or at least tell Rex to please keep the info to himself while he brings Whaley into the loop, to give Doug the opportunity to make the case. This would make the most sense in two scenarios:

1) Pegula had no need to solicit input from Whaley because he was confident he already knew his view

2) Rex, in the heat of the conversation, said "Bridge Burning Words" to Pegula

Do you have a viewpoint here?

 

Pegula might have had these kinds of discussions in the owners suite during games.

[May Day 10]

my theory is, they told Whaley to try to distance himself from Rex as much as he could so they could push the whole "fresh start" and let "the general manager of football" make the decisions at long last...

 

But Whaley took it too far and pretended to have nothing to do with the head coach... and who is head coach is rather insignificant to him. Quickly painted himself into a corner and It came off botched and unbelievable.

Edited January 4, 2017 by May Day 10

[Reed83HOF]

 

Pegula might have had these kinds of discussions in the owners suite during games.

 

It is almost a certainty...

[PolishDave]

my theory is, they told Whaley to try to distance himself from Rex as much as he could so they could push the whole "fresh start" and let "the general manager of football" make the decisions at long last...

 

But Whaley took it too far and pretended to have nothing to do with the head coach... and who is head coach is rather insignificant to him. Quickly painted himself into a corner and It came off botched and unbelievable.

 

What are you talking about?

 

Whaley said he was one of a four person committee that decided to hire Rex. And he said Rex was fired without his prior knowledge based on a private conversation Rex had with Terry. What corner? What botched? What exactly is unbelievable? He didn't pretend anything. He told you exactly what happened and Terry corroborated it in the interview with John Wawrow.

[Helpmenow]

So if the pegula's weren't happy with Whaley why would they keep his sorry butt

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

Pegula might have had these kinds of discussions in the owners suite during games.

 

In his interview with Wawrow, Pegula stated he did not have discussions about firing or retaining the coach.

In his presser, Whaley stated he did not know Rex would be fired.

 

Either they are both lying, or the discussions they had in the owners suite/elsewhere were about team performance and game-time issues - coaching decisions, play calling and the like.

 

I'm fairly certain Pegula didn't consult Whaley because he thought, based on those discussions, that he knew what Whaley would say if asked "in your opinion, should we fire or retain Ryan?" And I'm fairly sure Whaley didn't ask why Ryan was fired because he felt that he knew what Pegula would say if he asked "why did you fire Ryan?".

 

But taking that all at face value, IMHO, if your GM is in charge of football operations, it's appropriate to consult him before actually taking the step of firing the coach. "I will consider your request to fire you now, let me bring Doug into the loop before you take this outside this room".

[YoloinOhio]

So if the pegula's weren't happy with Whaley why would they keep his sorry butt

They seem pretty happy with him