Pegula and Beane believes the roster wasn't the problem - Link

[Kirby Jackson]

3 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

You and I are on the same page.  Talent in key spots could and should have been better.  Coaching should have adjusted a little better at key times.  I would have nuked them both if McD definitely had to go.  I do get keeping Beane through the draft, to a point, but I never would have promoted him and offered him that security.  

100% the promotion is weird. The ONLY thing that could make sense is if this new role takes some personnel off his plate. He basically becomes more CEO of football overseeing coaches and personnel. In this vision, Gray, or someone else, really drives the scouting. Beane ultimately signs off but he isn’t the guy building the draft board. 
 

I actually think Beane is a good administrator. I don’t believe that he is a good talent evaluator. He also falls in love with the guys that were his picks (ie Bernard). Him removing himself from this a little would be ideal.

[T master]

21 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Or they weren’t pleased because this is the roster Mcdermott asked for.  

Yep McD wanted was many as 17 players on IR that had more than 4 games off and of those 17 - 9 that had injuries that they couldn't come back from for the entirety of the season or extended games .

 

Oh yah and a total of something like 38 total players hurt through out the season but that's exactly what McD wanted and despite all of the injuries he still took this team that was band aided together to the play offs .

 

Yep this is exactly what he wanted ...

[Rockpile233]

I don’t believe at all that McDermott was completely lording over roster decisions. Beane actions on wgr don’t really support that narrative. It’s criminal he didn’t get a wr trade done at the deadline and McDermott clearly wanted one with his Meyers comments all last week. If you were hanging your hat on Miami trading you their best receiver you’re an idiot. 

[May Day 10]

This is nowhere near enough information to really have a reaction.  It is almost certainly some sort of propaganda McDermott's people floated out to a mouthpiece, same as yesterday claiming all the bad players were McDermott's fault while Beane picked the good ones.

 

 

I am content to wait and see.  I want to see how this coaching search looks.  Who they hire (is it good-faith or someone that Beane can just have his way with?)  

 

Then watch the player transactions.  Are they willing to make some of the hard decisions that have been hanging out there for awhile.  Does the philosophy clearly pivot from what we have seen over the past several years?  

 

Then we will demand results for the 2026 season.

[4merper4mer]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

 

If this is true, I'm incredibly concerned.  The consensus by pretty much everyone is that the roster was not up to par this year and Josh was having to do too much.  If this meeting really happened and led to McD getting fired because Pegula believes Beane did enough, that I'm more worried than I was yesterday.  

 

If the people making the decisions and survived this exodus believe our issues were not roster related, I don't know how to trust any decisions they make going forward.  

Your conclusion that Beane and Pegula thought the roster was good enough is presumptuous.  They may have even agreed but wanted McD to say something like:

 

”We have some obstacles to overcome due to injuries and talent gaps but here is my approach………”

 

or 

 

“we have to lean on strength A to mask deficiency B and try to get through it”

 

or 

 

“We have some weaknesses but our opponents do as well”.

 

”We can’t”. Is rarely well received by management in any business.  In addition, five weeks ago was too late to do anything about the roster so was the wrong time to complain about the roster.

 

I don’t know exactly what was said so I can’t judge Beane, McD or Pegula.  The tweet is a factoid which is fine.  The implications by the writer or readers of the tweet is where things spin into things they are not.

Edited January 20 by 4merper4mer

[Puckman5]

20 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

If this is true, I'm incredibly concerned.  The consensus by pretty much everyone is that the roster was not up to par this year and Josh was having to do too much.  If this meeting really happened and led to McD getting fired because Pegula believes Beane did enough, that I'm more worried than I was yesterday.  

 

If the people making the decisions and survived this exodus believe our issues were not roster related, I don't know how to trust any decisions they make going forward.  

Well, this is very unfortunate if true.  

[Billsfed1]

If true, don’t like that at all.  The team has obvious needs at receiver and defensive end…if this is what McDermott was saying and Beane said that’s not the case and Terry sided with Beane on that, we’re in trouble.

[zow2]

They have a point.  That crappy depleted roster rolled up yardage on Jacksonville and they dominated Denver.  The D of course, couldn’t protect a late lead and boom the Bills got evicted from the playoffs arguably before their time. McD paid for it

[SectionC3]

12 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

I go back and forth. 
 

it was not a traditional Super Bowl roster. 
 

with 1-2 plays we might’ve won the Super Bowl.

When you phrase it as White did, McD almost sank his own battleship.  If the cook can't make the meal with the (relatively decent) groceries, then it's time for a new cook. 

Edited January 20 by SectionC3

[GunnerBill]

9 minutes ago, MasterStrategist said:

Or Miami was going to balk at the 2026 1st rounder too.   

 

I forgot you were in these conversations between Grier and Beane.  Do tell more?

 

Nobody knows the extent of how much McD limited Beane with "demands", veto players, etc.  

 

We do know that a defensive head coach -  made horrible past hires as coordinators, rubbed coaches the wrong way, has struggled to get rookies actively contributing and most importantly --- drfense constantly being the reason we lose our last game each season.

 

I am only going on what was reported. Which is that Miami felt there was a deal to be done but it started with a 2026 1st and Beane was only willing to offer a 2027 1st. 

 

I have told you the extent to which I believe the demands and veto story stacks up based on actual conversations with people who WERE in those rooms with the two of them. 

 

As for the final paragraph, McDermott got to the point where I think the balance of evidence supported him being fired. I haven't disputed that. 

[Pokebball]

Lots of context missing here. Perhaps McD was using the roster as an excuse. That might be accurate, but it doesn't mean McD was meeting their "coaching" expectations, right?

[SCBills]

Listening to Locked On Bills Squad and omg… Joe Marino is losing his mind about Brandon Beane & Pegula. 
 

Let’s hope he’s as wrong about this as he was Deone Walker. 
 

Listen, I get the fear of Beane, but they’re saying things like “this is a special locker room” and “what if we lose in the WC”

 

Ok… if it’s so special they would’ve made the Super Bowl once.  If it’s so special then you can’t whine about Beane’s roster building.  What if we lose in the WC.. ok, what if we get the 1 seed? 
 

Yeesh.. tough listen. 
 

One thing they’re right about is we’ll finally have clarity.  Who’s cut, traded,

signed, drafted this offseason will show a lot who was making the decisions. 
 

 

Edited January 20 by SCBills

[CEN-CAL17]

Roster is terrible!!! It’s rusty! For god sakes we are hoping Brandon Cooks could make a play. Fans don’t like the Cooks play against Denver, I get it…. But it’s Brandon Cooks we are relying on in those moments. Secondary is weak! This roster is ok. But not SB contending! 

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

It looks like the status quo had become untenable, so someone had to go. As I said in another thread, they had to go this route due to timing. There is not enough time to hire a GM and to let him hire his coach this late in the cycle. And any GM worth hiring would demand hiring his own coach and a clear reporting line. As strange as it sounds, the Bills may have been better off missing the playoffs and cleaning house. But as of now, we had to keep Beane so that we can jump into the deep end of the coaching search pool right away.

 

I agree that is the reason for keeping the GM especially if you are targeting (as the reports indicate they are) a coach who is still working and they can't hire quickly. 

[ganesh]

34 minutes ago, DaggersEOD said:

Man I’m hating it but I’m feeling a new drought coming on. This sucks. 

There is no drought with Josh Allen at helm.

[Einstein]

6 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

Boy it’s no wonder people believe everything they read. How do we know this isn’t propaganda from the McDermott side? Maybe Vic has a better relationship with him than Beane. 
 

 

Could be.

 

But it fits with what we have seen over the past 6 months.

 

McD being upset about the WR rom. McD being upset we cut Ingram to bring in Slay. etc. It fits.

[PrimeTime101]

33 minutes ago, Virgil said:

 

If this is true, I'm incredibly concerned.  The consensus by pretty much everyone is that the roster was not up to par this year and Josh was having to do too much.  If this meeting really happened and led to McD getting fired because Pegula believes Beane did enough, that I'm more worried than I was yesterday.  

 

If the people making the decisions and survived this exodus believe our issues were not roster related, I don't know how to trust any decisions they make going forward.  

Im sorry.. I like Jeremy white... But the amount of stuff that he has passed on from so called credible people have been wrong so many times i do not have toes and fingers to count.  And I love Jeremy. but no where in the links does Vic even say this. how many people you think were at a meeting like this.. 5-6 people? MAYBE? That know EXACTLY what was said... come on man... lol

 

[Einstein]

13 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

It looks like the status quo had become untenable, so someone had to go. As I said in another thread, they had to go this route due to timing. There is not enough time to hire a GM and to let him hire his coach this late in the cycle.

 

I could understand that… but PROMOTING him!?

[SoMAn]

Pegula thinking, "I've got 300 million reasons to think we have the players we need", and Beane sitting there nodding in this game of survival, his hand hidden from Sean's eyes behind a tablet, as he's pointing an index finger at McDermott.

 

The NFL network compiles a subjective top 100 list of best players each year. How many Bills are on the list?

Three.  Zero on the defensive side. What role does Beane have in that metric?

For a team that barely missed the conference championship, it's a testament to McDermott that they achieved as much as they did with a bunch of aging castoffs and street replacements manning their defense. Ironic that their all-world future HOF QB played a huge part in keeping the team from another AFC title game.

 

Beane making the argument that McDermott failed with the Super Bowl roster he produced says more about Beane's warped ego.  He's in denial and is throwing McDermott under the bus to save his own ass.

 

If Beane believes this is a championship-caliber roster, be prepared for drought 2.0.  His pedestrian draft success combined with his penchant for signing aged has-beens to one year 'show me' deals has only been spared by his one-hit wonder success in the 2018 draft. Take away Josh and there's your basic 6-11, drafting # 12, Brandon Beane juggernaut NFL team. 

If the replacement coach doesn't make it to the dance within 1 or 2 years, this decision has to be considered a massive fail. (I think it already is)

If they don't make the playoffs, Beane should be given his walking papers.

If, in a couple years, when Josh sees the sun setting on his playing days, he demands a trade after failed campaigns, Beane should be hung and quartered.

 

I predict Bills fans will look back on this moment as the 'what could've been' missed opportunity when their fortunes went south thanks to the egomaniacal Brandon Beane and a senile owner.

 

 

 

[Mango]

4 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

This is nowhere near enough information to really have a reaction.  It is almost certainly some sort of propaganda McDermott's people floated out to a mouthpiece, same as yesterday claiming all the bad players were McDermott's fault while Beane picked the good ones.

 

 

I am content to wait and see.  I want to see how this coaching search looks.  Who they hire (is it good-faith or someone that Beane can just have his way with?)  

 

Then watch the player transactions.  Are they willing to make some of the hard decisions that have been hanging out there for awhile.  Does the philosophy clearly pivot from what we have seen over the past several years?  

 

Then we will demand results for the 2026 season.

 

Our cap situation is a mess.

 

We have something like 37 players under contract and $4M in space.  We're going to have to double down and borrow more money from the future to make this work next year.

 

IMO, even if McD had the roster day Beane seems to be implying, the likelihood of McD being in charge of the cap is near zero.