(Cutline: Joe Brady speaks to the Buffalo Bills media as President and GM Brandon Beane looks on. John Anderson photo)
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
So what do we make of the Bills new coach?
On Friday at noon, team owner Terry Pegula and President/General Manager Brandon Beane introduced 36-year-old Joe Brady as Buffalo’s 21st coach.
He replaces Sean McDermott whose resume hardly seemed to merit firing.
In nine seasons he made the playoffs eight times, ended Buffalo’s 17-year playoff drought, compiled a 98-50 regular-season record, though only 8-8 in the playoffs and twice made the AFC Championship losing both.
McDermott didn’t seem a candidate to be fired but Pegula went into the locker room after Saturday’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in Denver and, in his own words, the owner was overwhelmed by the tears flowing in the visitors dressing room, particularly from defending Offensive MVP Josh Allen.
It was then that Pegula assessed that a coaching change was needed and by the next morning, McDermott was an ex-coach.
But did the petroleum magnate make a mistake?
Allen had a lousy game throwing two picks and fumbling three times, losing two and admitted to the team: “I feel like I let my teammates down tonight, (I’m) extremely sorry.”
Does that sound like a guy begging for a coaching change?
Maybe Pegula had enough of close losses.
But it didn’t appear McDermott had done enough to be canned.
And clearly Pegula’s mind was made up and the next morning McDermott had his pink slip.
THE BILLS GOT right to work and and formulated a list of 10 candidates as McDermott’s successor.
Two of the them were former Bills coordinators, Brady and Brian Daboll (eventual Giants head coach) and two others were former NFL head coaches, Mike McDaniel (Dolphins) and Anthony Lynn who coached the Bills after Rex Ryan was fired. In addition, Davis Webb was a backup quarterback for Buffalo and Anthony Weaver a defensive line coach.
The others interviewed: Lou Anarumo (Bengals), Grant UdinskI (Jacksonville), Nate Scheelhaase (Rams) and Phillip Rivers (Colts).
It’s a bit surprising the Bills filled the position so quickly.
ALLEN WEIGHED in after the press conference.
“I’ve been able to live it in the quarterback room for the last 3½, four seasons,” he said of Brady. “He’s a real human that guys can get behind and understand and play for. I thought in his interview, the vision that he had for this team. … and I’m not the one making the decision.
“I’m there to inquire, to learn, to bring a different perspective to the decision-makers that were in that room,” Allen said. (I’m) taking the personal (relationship) out of it and taking the emotion out of it and trying to look at it from a logical lens. It was a unique perspective. It was a cool learning experience, for me. I’m very fortunate to be regarded to being wanted in that room, and I don’t take that lightly.”
ALLEN ADMITTED it was “very, very emotional” learning that Sean McDermott had been fired. He found out via a phone call from Pegula, and said he called McDermott “immediately.”
“I’ve got nothing but love and respect for coach McDermott,” he said. “The last eight seasons he’s been through ups and downs of me as a player, as a person. He’s seen me grow up, in a sense, and to know that, again, we’ve had a lot of success here, and I’d be lying to you if I’m sitting here saying that I feel like I didn’t have a part in (McDermott’s exit), because if I make one more play that game in Denver, we’re probably not having this press conference right now.”
He added, ““We’re probably not making a change, and in all honesty, we’re probably getting ready to play another game. And that’s the hard part to take in from my perspective, but that’s reality.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I’m still sick to my stomach about how the season ended. We live in reality, and it is what it is now, and we have to come to grips with that. I feel like as days go by, I become more in touch with reality. Just trying to do whatever it takes to, one, move forward, but two, to understand how to get past what we’re trying to get past. Obviously, we want to win a Super Bowl here.”
Allen added, “I was able to sit in these meetings at a unique perspective. What I saw was an owner in Mr. Pegula and a family that is doing everything that they can to help this team win a Lombardi Trophy and bring a it here to Western New York,” he said. “I see a GM that is as motivated as ever to do the same. And now I see a head coach that will relay this message to the team and to myself, to get everybody together and, pulling in one singular direction.
“I think that’s what’s needed … whatever Joe needs from me, I’m going to do. And I think that it’s the right decision for this organization.”
