Instant reaction: Pegula/Beane press conference

The press conference all of Western New York and beyond has been waiting for just concluded a few minutes ago. During this time of transition in coaching staff, it’s my intent to post more often. It will hold me accountable for my words which is something I welcome for personal growth.

Once again, many of the outlets carrying the stream of this press conference could not provide adequate audio of questions being asked by the media. We can send astronauts into space but for at least the last decade we can’t still cannot get decent audio of questions being asked. Ugh.

I wanted to post some immediate thoughts about a few things that captured my attention during the presser. But before doing so, I’d like to take a moment to address something Brandon Beane said about the price his family pays for people questioning his character.

We all know social media is a cesspool and nothing creates toxicity more than drama at One Bills Drive. It’s the nature of human behavior and unfortunately few think enough about the toll it takes on family members. Being a professional means learning how to channel that stuff, but family members are the true victims here. It horrifies me to think about Hayley Beane being traumatized by petty bull crap. I get it, but I’ll go to my grave on the record that I despise that part of us as Bills fans.

OK, now that I’ve got that off my mind, let’s move on to the presser itself.

General Impressions

Terry Pegula struggles with media interviews. That’s not a secret, nor would he likely deny it. We learned a long time ago part of what drew him to Kim in the first place was her ability to communicate effectively with the media in the oil business. Dealing with the public is not Terry’s strong suit, but at times like these he will step up to clarify his position as he did Wednesday morning.

What I came away with from Mr. Pegula’s interactions was a deep curiosity about what went on in the locker room after the game in Denver on Saturday. He mentioned it several times answering questions and seemed very intent and specific about whatever was going in on there and how it affected him personally.

What went on in there?

What I hope to read in the coming days are any hint about what transpired in that locker room that would prompt such an immediate reaction by Mr. Pegula. If any of the reporters who were there in the locker room could give us their impressions, that would be helpful.

Mr. Pegula is usually a very measured man and it would seem out of character for him to make a ‘rash’ decision on the spur of the moment. Come on, beat reporters… fill us in!

Keon Coleman

Holy crapsticks. Did anyone expect a Keon Coleman piñata to bust open at this press conference?

Yikes. How long will it be before Keon’s agent says his client would like to ask for a trade. Keon was like the hot potato of the press conference. I’m not sure what to think about the tone and manner of that part of the discussion.

PR disaster

Honestly, I thought the reason the firing went off the rails with the public was because of the way it was handled. It was an unmitigated disaster (phrase borrowed from Joe B). Proper communication protocol was bungled in this situation. I know one PR professional who thought the situation was horribly handled. I hope she will share her observations with us at some point. Misspelling aside, the lack of awareness about how the public was going to react to McDermott’s firing is mind boggling. As Joe Buscaglia wrote about in The Athletic… Buffalonians do not like bullpoop :)

Final thoughts

There were two more items of great interest to me in this press conference. One was when Mr. Pegula mentioned their daughter Laura would be a member of the search committee for a new head coach. This pleases me greatly. I also hope team psychologist Dr. Dez will also be a part of this committee.

The other thing that shocked me was Mr. Pegula mentioning family dysfunction going on with Jessica. This is a man who abhors talking about his private life. I hope for everyone involved that it works itself through. Most of us can relate, but it was surprising to me that he opened up about it.

And finally… but of course… Josh.

I wasn’t surprised Josh was not involved in any decision making regarding McDermott getting fired. As Steve Tasker pointed out on One Bills Live the other day, the way a professional organization works is not to ask for permission, but to inform you as a courtesy after the decision has been made. Mr. Pegula’s remarks reflected that approach.

Editor’s babble: That’s all I’ve got for now, folks. Stay tuned for more of my blabber in the days to come. And check out our Tee Time with Robyn podcast on the Built in Buffalo Network and youtube on Thursday at 11 a.m. ET. It’s going to be a wild ride. You can also find me on X @RobynMundyWYO.