Will The Pegulas Decision On Phil Housley Foreshadow the Future Of Beane and McDermott?

[Steve O]

2 hours ago, mattynh said:

So far I am impressed with what McDermott has done with what he has had.   Other than a nice start to the season, can't remotely say the same for Housely.   I wanted him to succeed but I think he is toast.  McDermott has at least two more years.

Agreed. Housely simply wasn't (isn't) ready to be a head coach in the NHL. Paul Fenton, current GM for the Minnesota Wild, said as much when he was interviewing for the Buffalo gig and was told how high the rest of the management team was on Housely.

[TigerJ]

I think the two situations are very different.  Right now, the Sabres are seriously under performing the talent level of the roster.  When that happens, it's tough to blame anybody but the coaches.  I think Phil Housley is fine for hockey Xs and Os, but he may be a poor motivator with his quiet demeanor.  If I'm the Pegulas, that's what I'm looking at.  I have a quiet demeanor and I don't think I would make a good coach (assuming I were qualified otherwise).

[OutOfBubbleGum]

Blasphemy!! The Bills aren't going to tank and freefall. When have they ever did that?

[LeGOATski]

The W-L record is one thing. 

 

He also has to take into account how the players are feeling. Does he make time for skip-level meetings with the players themselves?

 

If the players have hope, there's a chance for a turn around. If the players don't believe, then make a change.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

16 hours ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

Listening to Kim and Terry at the owners meetings was interesting.  Despite it being an NFL owners meeting, the majority of questions were Buffalo Sabres related.  Specifically wondering how Terry and Kim will respond to a team with promise that currently is in a free fall.  Many fans are calling for the head of Phil Housley and given how the team has played over the past few months, it tough to suggest otherwise.  

 

A topic that has been discussed in here has been the overall security of Beane and McDermott and the amount of pressure (or lack thereof) they are under to win.  

 

It made me wonder how they’ll respond if the Bills take another step back record wise.  Let’s say they go 5-11 or 4-12.  Does it mean that McDermott and/or Beane will be axed it that they’ll be under the gun in 2020?

 

I’ve always thought that the both Beane and McDermott will be given the full 5 years of their contract.   I also think that the Pegulas are image conscious and don’t want to be the team which constantly fires coaches.  I think when they fired Rex and brought it McDermott they gave him their word that they would have patience and give him time to build his vision.  

 

Based on how Terry and Kim have a the Housley situation, I believe this even more now. I noticed they used the word “patience” on more than 1 occasion and while Terry didn’t use the word “continuity” he basically alluded it by referencing New England.

 

So any fans that want say things like “Fire McDermott” or “Beane should be Fired.”  Will likely have to wait until 2021.  I think these cats are getting all 5 years regardless, under the guise of “patience” and “continuity.”  Yes even if they go 6-10 and 5-11, they still will get 2021.  Only way they leave before this is if there is some kind of falling out or a disasterous Hugh Jackson-like Run.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think its tough to fire either at this point.  They broke the drought with a pretty weak roster - dumped a fair amount of talent that year and still got to the playoffs with a bad offense.  Year 2 had a rookie QB, and just generally felt like a team that was rebuilding from the ground up.  Year 3 should show some improvement, only way i don't see improvement is if there are a ton of injuries.  I think 4 years is the minimum u would give them at this point.  

 

McD also showed he's willing to part ways with ineffective staff members - Castillo, Crossman, Dennison etc.  This to me shows that he's not loyal to a fault like some coaches who would never fire a friend.  Beane and McD appear to work well together so you couldn't fire one without the other.  

[Ronin]

44 minutes ago, Steve O said:

Agreed. Housely simply wasn't (isn't) ready to be a head coach in the NHL. Paul Fenton, current GM for the Minnesota Wild, said as much when he was interviewing for the Buffalo gig and was told how high the rest of the management team was on Housely.

 

Who hired Housely?  

[Steve O]

7 minutes ago, TaskersGhost said:

 

Who hired Housely?  

Well, Botterill was hired on May 11, Housley on June 15. So, I assume officially it was Botterill, unofficially Pegulas. But I really can't profess to inside knowledge on this, the only reason I know of the Fenton comment is because one of my golfing buddies is friends with him from the days when their kids played college hockey together at UMass. As it often goes with sports parents, they become close, even vacationed together a couple times.

[ndirish1978]

Completely different situations. The Sabres have quit on their coach multiple years while the Bills are playing their hearts out even when the chips are down.

[tbarg12]

For me there are some big differences between where the Bills and Sabres are at franchise wise.

 

The Bills have a GM/Coach combination that seem to be on the same page with Beane getting players via draft/free agency who fit McDermott's scheme.

The Sabres don't seem to have that same cohesion between Botterill/Housley and maybe some of that is Housley's reluctance of utilizing the roster to it's full potential by making adjustments to the lines. 

 

The Bills have Allen entering his second season, and they upgraded the offense from what was fielded last season and I believe that McDermott and Beane's tenure will be determined by how successful Allen is in his development.

The Sabres tanked to get a top pick in Eichel, who seemed to be entering one of his best seasons early this year. The main thing that frustrates me with the Sabres, is the fact that Eichel's talent is being wasted by having Housley in the head coach position. 

 

The Bills seem to find gems with UDFA and PS players, while the Sabres seem to have trouble developing prospects for some added depth in the roster. 

 

Of course I hope both to be successful, I think the Bills are better positioned for success sooner than the Sabres are though. 

 

 

[quinnearlysghost88]

Don't fire Housley. Stop giving these players excuses for not showing up every night. This has plagued the Sabres for years, well before Phil. They're treated like royalty. They get paid. Excuses are made for them. Coaches are blamed. They turn in a losing season and coaches are blamed. 

[BillsfanAZ]

McBeane will be given 2-3 more years depending on circumstances. They have to be given time for their QB to get experienced and to be able to build a team around him. Last year they got their QB but still had to clean up the mess from previous front office. This season is their first season to build the team how they see it with ample cap space and going BPA in the draft. For the first time in a long time, the Bills have depth at various positions. They may or may not make the playoffs this coming season but I get the feeling they will be competitive in every game they play. 

[May Day 10]

8 minutes ago, quinnearlysghost88 said:

Don't fire Housley. Stop giving these players excuses for not showing up every night. This has plagued the Sabres for years, well before Phil. They're treated like royalty. They get paid. Excuses are made for them. Coaches are blamed. They turn in a losing season and coaches are blamed. 

 

I say give it a shot with a real coach like Quenneville.  Take his personal assessment on the personalities at face value and begin to make changes as necessary

 

 

Housley's pedigree as a head coach was/is severely lacking.  He is in way over his head and I don't want the Sabres to make any rash moves conforming around him.  He just isnt worth it.  The average shelf life of an NHL head coach is very brief compared to (at least) the NFL and MLB,... then you move on.   

[blacklabel]

McBeane are here through the 2020 season at minimum. The Pegulas really feel like they've found their guys in Beane and McDermott. They have a lot of mutual respect for one another and ownership is fully on board with the vision McBeane has for this team. 

[Cripple Creek]

1 hour ago, ndirish1978 said:

Completely different situations. The Sabres have quit on their coach multiple years while the Bills are playing their hearts out even when the chips are down.

For how long will that be good enough. Again, look at reality...13 FA signings (did I miss any?), 10 draft picks. A second year QB and LB who are expected to improve. With all that IF the team slides back to 5 or fewer wins accountability needs to be assigned.

[ndirish1978]

10 minutes ago, Cripple Creek said:

For how long will that be good enough. Again, look at reality...13 FA signings (did I miss any?), 10 draft picks. A second year QB and LB who are expected to improve. With all that IF the team slides back to 5 or fewer wins accountability needs to be assigned.

 

and if they win 12 games, they get the credit. What's the point in speculating on things that haven't happened beyond filling some negativity quota.

[oldmanfan]

It's been nice to see the Bills HC and GM in synchrony.  They have a plan and thus far they have been faithful to carrying out their plan.  They dumped players they did not feel met what they wanted (and for the most part seemed like they made the right calls), they cleared cap space to sign guys and to give them financial flexibility to keep some of their younger guys, they maneuvered to get what they hope are their franchise QB and MLB, and they have draft picks they can use to get what they hope are their starts going forward.  Of course we will have to see how things go forward, but it is refreshing to see a plan being executed in as competent a manner as we've seen thus far.

 

As for the Sabres, Botterill is two years in, and it seems like his plan is slower in progression.  When he came in he realized that his predecessor had not paid attention to stocking the organization with young talent, and from what I can see the farm teams have improved so he has a potential pipeline for the Sabres.  For example, the young goalie from Finland may be your franchise goalie next year or the year after.  His choice of HC can certainly be questioned, but then you have the age old question of whether it's the coach or the players.  From what I can see from the limited games I've seen, maybe both but more the players.  I can't ever remember a team so reluctant to hit people; every time I watch a game the opposition sets up camp in front of our net and we do nothing.  If I'm Botterill I dump guys, get guys in with heart and a willingness to be tough, tell Eichel he needs to be strong as the captain and go forward.  Housely can stay or go; not sure either choice is better or worse.  But Botterill has to figure out which young players are his core, and which ones aren't worth the effort. 

 

The owners?  People claim they don't know how to run a professional sports team, but how many owners really do?  where Terry messed up is with his earlier hires like Rex, Tim Murray, etc.  Maybe more on the hockey side because he's so sentimental about the Sabres.  But I think he's seeing that changing things around so much only puts you farther away from your goal.  He's hired two young GMs that each came from solid backgrounds; give them the opportunity to build things correctly and stay out of their way as the owner. 

[D521646]

Outside of the Sabres top line (Which probably ranks in the mid 20's around the league) who else jumps out at you?  How many of those guys make an NHL team?  Although drafting a defensemen 1st overall was applauded around the league, was it really the best pick?  I count the Sabres as my second favorite team in the NHL, and I follow them mostly because I've lived in the area for most of my life, but damn, what is the problem with this team?  Is it really coaching, is it poor recognition of chemistry with who plays best with who, is it the PP1 selections and positions?  Goaltending?  You never know from game to game.  I think coaching has a lot to do with it, for example:  Babcock is misusing both Matthews and Marner on the PP, IMO.  They need to swap positions, Matthews on the right, Marner on the left, IMO.  The Tavares line works well, but not because of Tavs or Marner, that line works because of the chemistry of Hyman and how he is a total team player, completely unselfish.  No surprise that Matthews has struggled at times this year without Hyman.

 

Every team needs guys like that, one on each line.  The GM of the Sabres needs to recognize this, and go out and find some grinders and they'll be fine.

 

As to the OP, I find it really hard to believe the Bills will regress this year, so, no, I see McBean staying.  In fact, although I say it every year (The optimist in me) I really believe the Bills make the playoffs.

 

Tim-

[Cripple Creek]

21 minutes ago, ndirish1978 said:

 

and if they win 12 games, they get the credit. What's the point in speculating on things that haven't happened beyond filling some negativity quota.

It’s pretty much what’s done here. What’s the point of sticking your head in the sand and saying it hasn’t yet happened?

 

Have you done a mock draft?

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

If the Bills go 5-11 or worse next season I would expect both Mcdermott and Beane to have very hot seats, and probably be fired (unless there's mitigating factors like injuries to key players).  

 

Edit - I don't think it's very likely that we'll get 5 or less wins next season. 8 or 9 seems more likely (if Allen progresses) and that should definitely be good enough to keep McBeane around for another season. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by DabillsDaBillsDaBills
elaboration

[TheFunPolice]

Is it just me or do hockey coaches around here always talk like they are still a funeral?

 

Monotone mumbling that is depressing to listen to. McDermott is the complete opposite.