Bills Owner Terry Pegula yesterday said that he is "disappointed in having to change coaches after only two years, but says he had no other choice to fire" Rex Ryan after the team's defense "showed few signs of progress during the season," according to John Wawrow of the AP. Pegula spoke shortly after GM Doug Whaley held an end-of-season news conference in which he said that he "had no idea Ryan's job was in jeopardy and had no input into the coaching change." Pegula, who has "full confidence" in Whaley moving forward, "backed up Whaley's comments." Pegula said he made what he called an "executive decision" to fire Ryan during his weekly conference call with Ryan and Whaley. As the call came to a close, Pegula said that Ryan "asked to speak to the owner privately." Pegula said that Ryan then "directly asked him about his future beyond this season." Pegula: "I was asked a point-blank question and based on the discussions we've been having all year, I felt it was better to tell Rex that we were going in a different direction." Wawrow noted Pegula "based his decision on his own observations." Pegula: "(Whaley) had input on the basis of conversations throughout the year, what the problems were. But did Doug ever say, 'Are we firing our coach, are we keeping our coach?' We never had that conversation." Pegula "defended the Bills at a time critics are questioning the team's direction." He said, "There's no dysfunction. Everybody is on the same page. We're busy busting our asses." While he will "make the recommendation" on a new coach, Pegula and his wife Kim will "have the final say on who is hired" (AP, 1/2).
POWER STRUCTURE: Whaley earlier yesterday acknowledged he was not in the room when Ryan was fired and said, "I was told by my boss that I would no longer be working with a certain person. My role is not to figure out why. ... So for me, I did not ask." Whaley did say he speaks "for the ownership and the team president." Asked how he can speak for ownership about Ryan's firing if he did not know why Ryan was fired by ownership, Whaley replied, "I can't give you the particulars of what happened in that conversation; I can just tell you that I was informed that he was not going to be our coach going forward." ESPN.com's Mike Rodak noted Bills President Russ Brandon will "not be involved" in the coaching search, a decision Whaley "attributed to Brandon's 'expanding role' with the Pegulas' other businesses" (ESPN.com, 1/2). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote after the Bills threw Whaley "to the wolves," Pegula "dipped a toe in the water, submitting to a single-reporter interview" with Wawrow. Pegula also "tried to explain the inexplicable notion that Whaley didn’t know that the change was coming." This means that Pegula "never asked Whaley for his opinion on whether Ryan should be fired, which means that Pegula didn’t care to know what Whaley’s opinion was" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/2).
HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME: In Buffalo, Vic Carruci writes yesterday’s press conference -- where there was “no sign” of the Pegulas or Brandon -- “could be classified as a mess.” Beyond Whaley's opening statement, during which he “called the Bills' 7-9 finish this season ‘not good enough’ and ‘it starts with me,’ little of what Whaley said sounded believable.” Carucci: “Put another way, if he truly doesn't have much of a hand in the organization's biggest decisions, then what are the Bills paying him to do?” (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/3). PFT's Florio wrote Whaley's press conference made it "clear that Whaley has little or no actual power or influence" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/2). ESPN's Trey Wingo said, "It's one thing to hire somebody. It's another thing to empower somebody" ("NFL Live," ESPN2, 1/2). In Rochester, Leo Roth notes Whaley yesterday “managed to paint himself as a man whose primary job is to agree with everything” the Pegula decides. Roth: “Any wonder why he's still here despite seven seasons of sub-.500 work in personnel and contract work?” The press conference “quickly turned into Mariah Carey’s New Year’s Eve” when Whaley said that he was “here to speak for the owners who apparently don’t speak to him” (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 1/3).
WE'VE REACHED ROCK BOTTOM: In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan writes yesterday's press conference was “quite possibly the worst moment in the history of the franchise.” The Pegulas “took the cowards' way out, sending out Whaley to lie through his teeth” about Ryan’s firing. Whaley's 40-minute session with reporters was a “stunning exercise in prevarication,” but it was “really about the Pegulas, who continue to show a staggering lack of public relations sense and an utter disdain for the press.” Sullivan: “They seem ignorant of the fact that for better or worse, the media is their conduit to their fans. If you look down on the media, you show contempt for your paying customers” (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/3).
