The Bills are introducing new coach Sean McDermott on Friday, and team Owners Terry and Kim Pegula decided to "address widespread reports of dysfunction and lingering questions about the dreadful finish" to the '16 season, according to a front-page Q&A with Tim Graham of the BUFFALO NEWS. Terry Pegula was "surprised to hear how negatively the Bills have been portrayed and called any dysfunction talk 'an insult.'" Below are excerpts from the Q&A, some of which have been edited for brevity:
Q: You don't grant these types of interviews too often. Why today?
Terry Pegula: There's been a perception we're inaccessible. But I've been consistent from Day One when I bought the Sabres and then with the Bills, by owning these teams it's about the players and coaches. We didn't buy teams to be visible in the media. We bought teams to keep them in the area and to flourish with them.
Kim Pegula: We want to make sure that the new coach coming in will be the voice of our organization.
Q: What role do you think the media has in the sports industry? ... An ESPN analyst declared Anthony Lynn should run from the Bills' opening.
Terry Pegula: I can tell you one thing: We had a lot of applications and people who wanted that coaching job with the Bills. So I don't know what these guys are writing about. I know how I run my life, run our business. I know how we treat people, and I know the people we have in our organization. You can't pin 17 years on the Pegulas. There's no foundation, no truth to this dysfunctional talk. I consider it an insult to our organization and the Bills and the good people with the Sabres.
Q: What will the Bills' football chain of command be?
Terry Pegula: Very simple. Coach and GM report to the owners. And [Bills President] Russ [Brandon] is running the business side. It can't be any simpler. I don't know where this confusion is coming from.
Q: How is Russ' role defined?
Kim Pegula: You cannot put a wall up between the football department and the business side. Someone has to be that bridge to collaborate and understand the day-to-day things. There's going to be crossover (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/13).
