Who does Terry Pegula turn to for counsel when it comes to evaluating Beane & McDermott?

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, Nephilim17 said:

When the team is doing well and/or exceeding general expectations, as it has done the past few years, minus, probably, last season, this question is kind of moot.

 

But if and when the team is not meeting expectations or things get complicated, is there anyone in Pegula's circle of friends or trusted business associates (at arm's length from Bills operations) who he can turn to for advice and counsel on questions related to extensions, evaluations, or possible firings?

 

I'm not trying to be negative; I hope McBean lead us to multiple championships... but if things don't go as well as we hope — and with an elite QB things should mean serious contention for a Super Bowl — is Terry on his own or who advises him? 

Pegula seems, obviously, like a sharp businessman, but he doesn't strike me as a football expert. Maybe I'm wrong but I expect him to turn to someone if and when he needs to make tough decisions.

 

How many team owners are experts in the sports their teams play?

[GunnerBill]

39 minutes ago, SUNY_amherst said:

Go out and get Harbaugh from Michigan. He doesn't make boneheaded time management decisions, he would get the most out of Allen and has the personality perfect for Bills Mafia.

 

yeah, he would cost a lot... but this guy is a billionaire who just was gifted the funds for a new stadium by taxpayers, I think he ought to live up to his side of the bargain 

 

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. No Head Coach loses big games to teams they have more talent than more often than Jim Harbaugh. I'd rather re-hire Marrone than that mug. 

[Rico]

1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Bill Polian? 

[SUNY_amherst]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. No Head Coach loses big games to teams they have more talent than more often than Jim Harbaugh. 

 

Sean McDermott does

[Royale with Cheese]

50 minutes ago, fan_in_tx said:

Didn't work for Doc Rivers.. Seems to be heading in the same direction from a results perspective .. #Bridesmaid 

 

Doc Rivers has a championship.  

[GunnerBill]

12 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Allen has turned the Bills around from being a laughing stock.  Most of or past coaches would have done the same, some that got 9 wins without him.  

 

Those two have underachieved, I suppose it's possible that they don't continue to underachieve, but i'd say is unlikely.  

 

 

 

Err only four coaches between Jim and Josh managed 9 wins. Wade Phillips (twice in three seasons), Mike Mularkey (once in two seasons), Doug Marrone (once in two seasons) and Sean McDermott (once in one season). 

 

The only year that I think McDermott has underachieved as Bills coach was 2021. They underachieved in the regular season, then still got hot at the right time in the post-season then blew it. In 2022 I think given the injuries they had all year 13-3 and a playoff win was probably a slight overachievement, despite the disappointing ending.  

2 minutes ago, SUNY_amherst said:

 

Sean McDermott does

 

With Josh Allen McDermott's playoff losses were to a Houston team that had Watson, Hopkins and Watt; twice to a Chiefs team with Mahomes, Kelce, Hill, Jones and Mathieu; and to a Bengals team with Burrow, Higgins, Chase and Boyd. 

 

I am not sure which of those you think the Bills were clearly more talented than. But they were all at best a wash IMO. 

[KingBoots8]

Obviously he turns to the message board at Two Bills Drive - the largest group of coaching and GM experts congregating together.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

There is a very real chance this could be McDermott's final year. If the Bills go backwards for the third consecutive year from AFC Championship game appearance, to close divisional road game loss in OT, to blown out in divisional home game to, losing WC game or worse, that is often a recipe for coaching changes. Even Super Bowl winning coaches commonly get fired after multiple tailing off seasons. 

[MPL]

Listen guys, I like McDermott — a lot. I'm about as big of a McDermott apologist as there is. 

That being said, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not win a Super Bowl together. Hell, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not even get to a Super Bowl together...

Allen and McDermott are going into year 6 as Head Coach and starting QB. No starting QB and Head Coach pairing have ever won their first Super Bowl after being together for 5 seasons. It's crazy, but true. History strongly indicates that 5 seasons is the maximum number of years a starting QB and Head Coach should be given to win a Super Bowl together. 

I hate to say this, but I do think that if the Bills don't win the Super Bowl this year, replacing McDermott would be justified. 

[arcane]

If I were terry I would turn to his 41 wins over the last 3 seasons, one of 2 teams to win a playoff game each of the last 3 years etc. 

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

She's definitely the football brain of the operation. My understanding is that her cognitive function is okay, but she has trouble communicating. That certainly precludes her from being the face of the franchise, and I'm guessing her therapy prevents her from engaging in the team's day-to-day activities, but she could still be a valuable resource in the OP's scenario.

 

I think Kim is probably focusing on her recovery. She certainly should be. And she can’t be involved in the day to day activities like she used to be. It is a shame, but it is what it is. 

[Gregg]

Just now, MPL said:

Listen guys, I like McDermott — a lot. I'm about as big of a McDermott apologist as there is. 

That being said, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not win a Super Bowl together. Hell, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not even get to a Super Bowl together...

Allen and McDermott are going into year 6 as Head Coach and starting QB. No starting QB and Head Coach pairing have ever won their first Super Bowl after being together for 5 seasons. It's crazy, but true. History strongly indicates that 5 seasons is the maximum number of years a starting QB and Head Coach should be given to win a Super Bowl together. 

I hate to say this, but I do think that if the Bills don't win the Super Bowl this year, replacing McDermott would be justified. 

 

What about Beane. Do you replace him, or does he get the chance to hire the next HC assuming the Bills do move on from McDermott.

[Shaw66]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

He doesn't seek counsel from anyone. Terry makes decisions. He hired Rex against advice. He fired him (and indeed almost fired him after 1 season). He hired McDermott when Whaley wanted to continue searching. The only decision where it appears he took advice was hiring Beane on McDermott's say so. 

I doubt your correct about that.   He's a successful CEO you're correct, and he makes decisions.   That's what CEOs do.   

 

But successful CEOs also seek advice and listen to others they respect, and I'd be surprised if Terry Pegula is any different.   He may not have had anyone to turn to when he and Kim first took over the Bills, but he's been around the block a few times now, and I'm sure he's developed a network of people in the business.

 

When he bought the team, he hired a consulting company with serious expertise and buying and selling NFL franchises.   That is, he got help making decisions to buy the team.   That was his introduction to the inside.  His consultants certainly knew people in the league, both on the league management side and the team management side, because that's the business they are in.   

 

Pegula has been going to owners meetings for nearly a decade now, and he's worked on committees and shared his ideas with others.   He undoubtedly has relationships, probably a few really good relationships, with other owners.   They talk about running their teams, and about who they rely on.   The owners have access, so if one of Terry's friends tells him to talk to so-and-so, Terry can pick up the phone and call him.  

 

Pegula works regularly with his senior staff, including McDermott and Beane.  Over the course of their working relationships, he's learned what McDermott and Beane think about other people around the league, particularly coaches and GMs.  The coaches and GMs show up at the combine, at owners meetings, and other events, and Pegula surely has met some of them and probably developed informal relationships with at least some. 

 

Think about all of the casual conversations he's had with people in his own organization who have seen a lot in the league.  Forget about what you think about how well they did their jobs; just think about the experiences they've had in the league that they may have shared with Pegula.   Leslie Frazier - decades in the league.  Rex Ryan - decades in the league, and lifetime of experiences through his father.   Marv Levy.  Doug Whaley, who grew up in the Steelers organization.   McDermott and his history in the Eagles organization.   Kyle Williams.  Von Miller.   Ryan FItzpatrick.  Jim Kelly.  Bruce Smith.  

 

Point is, by this point in Pegula's ownership cycle, he knows, is acquainted with, and has access to a lot of people with deep knowledge about pro football.  I would be amazed if he hasn't had conversations with some about how to evaluate your senior management and how to know when it's time to pull the trigger.   Rather, I suspect he's spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people about how they do their jobs, including how to make decisions about coaches and GMs.   He just doesn't talk about it on Twitter.  

 

I seriously doubt that Pegula is thinking, at all, about whether he needs a new head coach, but if he ever begin thinking seriously in that direction, I'm sure he knows plenty of people he can and would go to for advice.  

 

 

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, Gregg said:

 

Right now, both the Bills and Sabres have good management groups in place. As for the football side of things let Beane and McDermott run the show. Terry can handle the business side of things. Its previous obvious now that the Sabres have the right people in place as well. Next year fans should see playoffs in both football and hockey. Hopefully a Super Bowl championship as well. Give the Sabres a few years to learn how to win in the playoffs before any realistic expectations of winning a Cup.

 

I think that’s correct so I don’t see any imminent decisions on GMs and coaches, though I really don’t follow the Sabres. The next Bills GM/HC decision is probably a year and a half away. Beane and McDermott are signed through 2025 so an extension likely would get done toward the end of the 2024 season/league year. Unless the Bills win a SB this season, then they’d get one immediately after that. If they aren’t extended, then after the 2024 season is when I’d expect them to be replaced. 

[PrimeTime101]

1 hour ago, Fleezoid said:

Yogurt!

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

She's definitely the football brain of the operation. My understanding is that her cognitive function is okay, but she has trouble communicating. That certainly precludes her from being the face of the franchise, and I'm guessing her therapy prevents her from engaging in the team's day-to-day activities, but she could still be a valuable resource in the OP's scenario.

 

 

 

I'd say she is definitely not the football brain of the operation.   Kim has basically always worked for Terry and relationships like that rarely flip 180 degrees.   He bought the toys to enjoy them and her role was managing the less fun day to day business activities while he has been learning about the sports that he bought into.      

[Royale with Cheese]

7 minutes ago, MPL said:

Listen guys, I like McDermott — a lot. I'm about as big of a McDermott apologist as there is. 

That being said, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not win a Super Bowl together. Hell, history suggests that McDermott and Allen will not even get to a Super Bowl together...

Allen and McDermott are going into year 6 as Head Coach and starting QB. No starting QB and Head Coach pairing have ever won their first Super Bowl after being together for 5 seasons. It's crazy, but true. History strongly indicates that 5 seasons is the maximum number of years a starting QB and Head Coach should be given to win a Super Bowl together. 

I hate to say this, but I do think that if the Bills don't win the Super Bowl this year, replacing McDermott would be justified. 

 

History also strongly indicated that Andy Reid would never win a Super Bowl because he didn't do it in his first 20 years.  Has any NFL coach been a HC for 20 years and then won it?  If there is, I don't know about it.

 

History also strongly indicated that a team hosting a Super Bowl will never win a Super Bowl....then it happened two years in a row with the Bucs and Rams.

 

You can manipulate numbers to fit pretty much anything.

 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

13 minutes ago, arcane said:

If I were terry I would turn to his 41 wins over the last 3 seasons, one of 2 teams to win a playoff game each of the last 3 years etc. 

 

Ultimately, I think McDermott and Beane are both safe if they can make it to the Divisional round again. Regardless of game result. If they bow out in the WC, it would be really hard not to want to make a change regardless of combined regular season record over multiple seasons. 

[Limeaid]

28 minutes ago, KingBoots8 said:

Obviously he turns to the message board at Two Bills Drive - the largest group of coaching and GM experts congregating together.

 

Yes but how does expertise in beer pong help?

[JohnBonhamRocks]

On even numbered weekdays, Tom Donahoe.

 

On odd numbered weekdays, Doug Whaley.

 

On the weekend, Buddy Nix.