Up next in 10
D.A. breaks down — and grades — the Bills’ one-hour press conference following the firing of Sean McDermott.
There were some solid moments… and some major red flags.
The biggest takeaway?
Terry Pegula hit the wrong note by defending a flawed roster, while Brandon Beane earns failing marks for acting like the media has somehow portrayed him unfairly — instead of owning real mistakes.
And then there’s Ken Coleman, who has bizarrely become the Bills’ ink blot test — revealing far more about the organization based on how you react to him than anyone probably intended.
D.A. lays out the thumbs ups, thumbs downs, and why this press conference quietly told us more about the Bills’ internal state than any prepared statement ever could.
This wasn’t just about firing a coach.
It was about who’s really accountable — and who isn’t.
#football #buffalobills #billsmafia #bills #joshAllen #terrypegula #brandonbeane
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Welcome to the official channel of Damon Amendolara (D.A.), host on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio 🏈🔥
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0:00
Well, that was something that Bill's
0:02
press conference. Let's do some thumbs
0:04
up, thumbs down, and some thumbs
0:07
sideways as well. Then an overarching
0:09
narrative and takeaways from the press
0:12
conference. Before we get there,
0:13
remember to subscribe to the channel. We
0:16
got fresh football videos every single
0:18
day, including throughout the off
0:20
season. I'm going to start with thumbs
0:22
down, okay? Because I feel like that's
0:24
probably the way that most Bills fans
0:26
feel coming out of that. Biggest thumbs
0:29
down to me was Terry Pagula's insistence
0:33
on how good the roster was and how
0:37
Brandon Bean deserves more credit for
0:39
what was built. I mean, I think it goes
0:42
without saying that the Bills have been
0:45
good, if not very good. I think it goes
0:48
without saying that there are talented
0:50
pieces on the roster. How else would you
0:52
get to the playoffs every single year?
0:54
But the fact that basically Terry Pagula
0:58
takes the podium or sits behind a
1:00
microphone and uses the press conference
1:02
to set the stage of all that criticism
1:06
out there about Brandon Bean is not
1:07
fair. And by essentially bringing up
1:10
look at the seeds that we've had, it
1:12
must mean it's a good roster. And I've
1:14
heard the people call it a bad roster
1:16
and they're just wrong. It again, it
1:18
just sets the tone of defensiveness over
1:21
Brandon Bean's responsibility in all of
1:25
this. And I just thought that was the
1:26
wrong attack. I know you want to present
1:29
a confidence in what is now. McDermott
1:33
was then, he's no longer there. So, you
1:35
don't want to gloss him too much because
1:36
then it seems like he got rid of the
1:37
wrong guy. Fine. You want a position
1:40
that we have the right guy still in
1:41
place for your confidence. Fine. But it
1:44
doesn't need to be the tone of all you
1:48
people that keep saying how bad the
1:49
roster is is wrong and here's why. And
1:53
by and large, Terry probably should have
1:56
done an opening statement about Shawn
1:58
McDermott and his thankfulness and
2:01
gratitude. He probably should have
2:03
explained in an opening statement about
2:05
the decision of power and why he went to
2:10
keeping Bean and not keeping McDermott.
2:12
After that, I don't know if he should
2:15
have opened himself up for questions and
2:17
he certainly should not have jumped in
2:20
to answers that Brandon Bean was making
2:22
because that did not look good. It
2:24
looked like daddy protecting his son
2:27
from criticisms at a little league game.
2:29
Okay, that was the first thumbs down.
2:31
The second thumbs down was the fact that
2:34
Keon Coleman has now become the ink blot
2:39
test of the Buffalo Bills. I mean, yeah,
2:42
he's an important draft pick, and yes,
2:44
that organization, I'm sure, thought
2:46
there was going to be far more from the
2:48
33rd overall pick, a wide receiver
2:51
selected at the top of the second round,
2:53
a target for Josh Allen. He was benched
2:56
for for immaturity. We all know that.
2:59
But the fact that this press conference
3:02
centered so much around Keon Coleman
3:05
makes me feel like I could do an entire
3:06
video just based on that. that how you
3:09
view Keon Coleman is how you must view
3:13
the Buffalo Bills. And what second round
3:16
wide receiver has ever invoked that much
3:18
scrutiny? And I think that Keon Coleman
3:21
has now kind of become the filter
3:24
through which what you view the Buffalo
3:28
Bills as. And it's it's an indicator of
3:31
the type of scrutiny and pressure that
3:34
this current Bills team is under that
3:37
every maneuver is viewed as boom or bust
3:41
and who did it and who deserves blame.
3:44
Because how many times in a one-hour
3:47
press conference can we go around about
3:50
who picked Keon Coleman and who was
3:52
right and who was wrong? And the fact
3:55
that Terry jumps in to protect his son,
3:58
Brandon Bean, hey, the coaching staff
4:02
wanted Keon Coleman and Brandon was just
4:04
being a good teammate. Was something
4:06
that did not need to be said because
4:09
again, Kon Coleman is still on his
4:11
roster. He's still in that locker room.
4:14
I mean, how can this guy go out there
4:16
and still wear a Bill's uniform
4:19
when he knows that the owner is like,
4:22
"Yeah, you know what? The GM really
4:23
didn't even want you. He was just being
4:25
a good teammate. I mean, bad. And Bean
4:28
tried to pick up the pieces afterwards,
4:30
but let's face it, the toothpaste was
4:31
already out of the tube. Sorry to mix
4:33
metaphors there.
4:35
Whose pick was it? Well, Brandon Bean is
4:38
saying it was collaborative and that was
4:40
the right thing for him to try to pick
4:42
up those pieces. But when Pigula says
4:44
that no, he was being a team player, it
4:46
flies the face of the video evidence
4:48
that we have that before the draft, Bean
4:50
was on record as being happy that he ran
4:52
a slower 40 time because that means he
4:54
would be available to him. Now, maybe
4:55
does that mean that he didn't want him
4:57
at 33 and wanted him at 45 or 51? I
5:01
mean, perhaps, but still, he was
5:03
interested enough in Keon Coleman that
5:05
he actually talked about his 40 time at
5:08
the combine. So, that's a that's a big
5:09
thumbs down there. The Keon Coleman
5:11
thing just somehow becomes the ink block
5:13
test of everything in the Bills
5:15
organization. That really shouldn't be.
5:18
Next bean sensitivity to the criticism
5:23
about him not being a team player is a
5:26
big thumbs down. I mean, to suggest that
5:29
you came home and your wife is in tears
5:32
because she heard a report or she read
5:35
something online that maybe you didn't
5:37
work well with McDermott or you try to
5:39
push him out. I mean, look, I I'm sorry
5:42
if your family feels, you know, that
5:45
you've been unfairly portrayed, but
5:47
you've been the general manager of an
5:49
NFL team for nearly a decade. I mean,
5:51
we're not used to critiques at this
5:54
point. And if if we're not, I don't
5:56
think that needs to be brought up in a
5:58
press conference as though is woe is us.
6:00
Look at how unfair this is. You've made
6:01
my wife cry. I mean, I I don't blame
6:05
anybody's spouse for wanting their their
6:08
husband or wife to be portrayed
6:09
positively. But like I mean, a report
6:13
makes you cry and then your husband
6:15
feels so bad about that that he's got to
6:17
bring it up at a press conference to
6:19
look what you people have done. I mean,
6:21
come on. just th this is big boy stuff.
6:26
You can't talk about Super Bowl or
6:28
nothing and we've got to get over a hump
6:30
and this is unacceptable
6:33
and then in the same breath be you need
6:35
to be nicer. Like those all go hand in
6:38
hand. The pressure is so high. The
6:41
stakes are so unbelievably high that
6:45
guess what comes with that? Real
6:47
disappointment, real frustration, real
6:50
anger, real sadness. And sometimes
6:52
things get written that that you know
6:55
kind of reflect that and look at what
6:58
you mean people have done. I mean please
7:01
please.
7:04
So I just feel like Bean needs to be
7:08
like hey yeah you know what I know
7:10
people are frustrated. We are too. I am
7:13
too. I want you to know I'm
7:15
collaborative. I trusted Shawn in a lot
7:17
of instances. you're not always going to
7:19
agree, but you know, he and I had a
7:21
great working relationship. And he did
7:23
mention that at times, but then when you
7:25
come back to, you know, I'm fighting
7:27
back tears or my family's so distraught
7:29
or I can't believe this has been said
7:30
that I've been anything but a team
7:32
player. Either you're going so far one
7:36
way to defend yourself because you know
7:38
it's true or you just got to reel back
7:42
your defense me ne me ne me ne me ne me
7:43
ne me ne me ne me ne me ne me ne me me
7:43
me me me me me me me me me me me me me
7:43
mechanism of critique because yeah dude
7:47
that's going to come with the territory
7:49
here right now. One guy didn't have his
7:52
job and you got to keep yours. So it's
7:55
time for you to just project positivity
7:58
and confidence and not how dare anybody
8:01
question my integrity. Big thumbs down
8:03
there. You know, again, Terry Pagul, and
8:07
this goes back to one of the original
8:08
points. Thumbs down for using the Josh
8:10
Allen pick as the reason why Brandon
8:12
Bean's the smartest guy in the room.
8:14
There's no doubt it's a franchise
8:16
altering decision, and Bean gets credit,
8:19
deserves credit, should always deserve
8:21
credit for that. But to kind of use that
8:23
as the rubber stamp at the end of the at
8:25
the the end of the press conference of,
8:28
you know, again,
8:30
period, end of sentence, he drafted Josh
8:33
Allen and that's all that needs to be
8:34
said is just not a great way to
8:38
continually to me grade out how your
8:41
front office is doing. That's a long
8:43
time ago. And if we're at the point
8:45
where we need change to get over the
8:47
hump, if you're Terry Pagula or the
8:48
Bills organization, that has to also be
8:53
drafting better players, acquiring
8:55
better talent. That much has to be part
8:57
of this equation.
9:00
And I think one thing that was missing
9:04
here was the specifics in how Shawn
9:08
McDermott failed them.
9:11
You know, Bean didn't want to say
9:13
anything specific, which I think was the
9:15
right diplomatic way to do it. It would
9:17
have felt like piling on the dead guy,
9:20
but for Terry Pagula to bring up, I
9:22
looked in that locker room, everybody's
9:25
crying, and I realized that change need
9:27
to be had, need to be done, and by the
9:29
way, the roster's really good. Okay. So
9:32
then you think it comes down to
9:33
coaching. And I think at one point,
9:35
Terry said onfield leadership. They
9:38
needed different onfield leadership,
9:39
which again is fine, but what leadership
9:42
qualities did Shawn McDermott not have
9:45
that you need to see? And I think there
9:47
was a follow-up question in there that
9:49
was really good, which was you brought
9:51
up that this team was dependent on the
9:53
back end of the roster in significant
9:56
roles in the playoffs.
9:58
So that can't be a check mark in Bean's
10:02
box, but not McDermott because
10:04
McDermott's got to coach up those guys.
10:07
the back end of the roster to get into
10:09
the playoffs and to fall overtime short
10:12
of getting to an AFC Championship game.
10:14
It can't be one or the other. It it it
10:17
cannot be that both the roster was good
10:20
enough that even the backups played big
10:22
roles and the coaching is not good
10:24
enough. They couldn't get more out of
10:25
the backups.
10:28
And then finally, there just was so
10:30
little specific detail on the roster
10:33
itself and what needs to be better and
10:36
what needs to be better about the team.
10:38
It was just kind of these very vagaries.
10:41
We got to get over the hump, blah blah
10:43
blah. We're collaborative, you know, a
10:45
lot of generalities. And I think from a
10:48
fan perspective, you're like, how does
10:50
the defense get better? How do the free
10:53
agent signings improve? How does
10:56
drafting and finding wide receivers
10:58
improve? How does the offensive line
11:00
look next year? What what are we doing
11:04
about some of the the pieces that were
11:06
not good enough in 2025? Okay, that's my
11:09
thumbs downs. Here's my thumbs up.
11:12
I did think it was just good to
11:14
verbalize Super Bowl aspirations that,
11:17
hey, we've gotten so far that's not good
11:19
enough. Super Bowl and Bean stopped
11:22
short of that. But I thought that Terry
11:26
verbalized that it is Super Bowl. So
11:28
that's good. I mean, that reflects what
11:30
Western New Yorkers want to hear. That's
11:32
how they feel that just getting to the
11:33
divisional round of the playoffs,
11:35
getting to an AFC Championship game, but
11:36
losing is not a successful season right
11:38
now. It has to be about the ring, the
11:41
Lombardi, and you know, finally getting
11:44
over the hump. And so fans and ownership
11:46
is in lock step. It would have been, I
11:48
think, more demoralizing if you just
11:50
heard, hey, just getting to the playoffs
11:52
every single year is good and we'll spin
11:54
the wheel when we get there because
11:56
that's kind of what Yankee fans are
11:57
right now lamenting that they don't have
11:59
an ownership that will actually say it
12:01
has to be a World Series. That's that's
12:03
the bar here. So, you want you'd rather
12:05
hear that. That's good. I also thought
12:09
potentially good is that Brandon Bean
12:12
says that the coach and the GM will both
12:16
have simultaneous paths to the owner and
12:18
that it won't be Brandon Bean waving the
12:20
wand. I think there's been a fear from
12:22
Bills fans that the next head coach just
12:25
has to play by Brandon Bean's rules now
12:27
because he's the director of football
12:28
ops and the GM and he says the coach GM
12:32
relationship will be the same similar to
12:34
him and Shawn Mcderman. And I I think
12:36
that's probably just healthier. So that
12:38
probably deserves a thumbs up. We will
12:40
see if that is reality how it looks or
12:42
maybe that was just, you know, how it
12:44
was dressed up by Bean. But at the
12:46
moment, I'll be optimistic. I think also
12:49
the fact that Josh is going to be a
12:53
collaborator on the head coaching
12:55
decision is healthy is good. I mean, I
12:57
the reason that we're all here and Shawn
13:00
McDermott had to be fired in their
13:02
estimation is that it has to be
13:03
different. And they're the different is
13:04
you have to be a Super Bowl team. And
13:06
why does it have to be a Super Bowl team
13:07
right now? Because you've got a window
13:09
of about five to six years where Josh
13:12
Allen will be one of the best
13:14
quarterbacks in football. So, you've got
13:15
to take advantage of that. The clock is
13:17
ticking. We all know this and it keeps
13:18
coming back to how long do you have this
13:21
Josh Allen? How how long will you ever
13:24
have a franchise quarterback that you
13:27
can depend on to to get you to the
13:29
promised land? So, we're talking about
13:31
the elephant in the room, which is these
13:33
moves are made for Josh Allen and the
13:35
timing of Josh Allen's career. This
13:37
major move is about the moment here and
13:39
now. This has to be different now. It
13:42
can't be different 5 years from now or
13:43
10 years from now. It has to be
13:45
different now. So, the fact that Josh
13:47
collaborates is a good thing. You'd
13:48
rather hear that than we won't take any
13:50
input of any of the players. That would
13:52
make it feel like Josh is being
13:55
ostracized or isolated or just, you
13:57
know, not respected enough. Okay. And I
13:59
think also the one thing that Terry was
14:02
not
14:04
overtly transparent on is whether Josh
14:07
was happy or not about McDermott
14:10
getting fired. And that was smart. We
14:12
did not need to hear that because there
14:14
is no win there. There is no win. If
14:17
Terry says Josh was very upset, but it's
14:20
a move that I had to make. It feels like
14:22
they went against the wishes of the star
14:25
quarterback of a very popular for the
14:27
most part head coach that most fans
14:29
think kind of got wronged here. If you
14:31
say Josh was thrilled, obviously that is
14:35
not going to paint him in a good light
14:36
either. So thankfully
14:39
he didn't walk himself into a trap
14:41
there. And I also think just as a
14:44
general thumbs up, the constant drum
14:48
beat of we've got to get over the hump
14:49
is good. You want that urgency from
14:51
everybody in the organization and I will
14:54
bring it back to the Yankees. The fact
14:56
that they make the playoffs, they get
14:58
home playoff dates potentially.
15:01
Brian Cashman and the family that owns
15:04
the Yankees, the Stebrer family just
15:05
feels like, you know what, par for the
15:09
course is fine these days and you just
15:11
didn't want to hear that. So the fact
15:12
that they are verbalizing, we got to get
15:14
over the hump, we got to be better than
15:15
this, I think is a good thing. My thumb
15:19
sideways is going to be Bean's
15:20
accountability factor here. Some people
15:22
might give it a thumbs down. I mean, he
15:25
did say, quote, "I can do better." Okay.
15:28
And he did show some remorse for his w
15:32
his defense of the wide receivers and
15:35
his condescending tone last year on
15:37
Buffalo Sports Talk on WGR with the
15:39
Morning Show. And
15:41
you know, he framed it as I'm just
15:44
really loyal and passionate about my
15:47
guys and they are being unfairly
15:49
scapegoed. Okay, it's a way to frame it.
15:51
I I again, I would have rather just
15:54
said, you know, you know what, I should
15:56
have handled that better. Lost my cool.
15:58
I like my guys there. I like my wide
16:00
receivers, but you know what? I got I
16:02
just have to be better in that spot. I
16:04
don't think you need to also say, "But
16:05
I'm a really passionate guy. I'm being
16:08
loyal to those guys." you know, if if
16:10
anything I'm guilty of being too loyal
16:12
or whatever, I I you just don't couch
16:15
it. Just just own it. Bad moment for me.
16:17
I got to be better. I will be better.
16:19
And I think that goes a long way. So, it
16:21
was kind of a half a half regret that he
16:25
gave and a half miaulpa. So, yes, fine.
16:31
No, could have been a little bit better.
16:34
My overarching takeaway is when the next
16:38
head coach is hired, there has to be
16:42
another press conference, maybe this
16:43
time with just Bean taking questions and
16:46
Terry can sit this one out or Terry can
16:47
be in the background
16:49
about how Brandon Bean specifically
16:54
decides to improve the roster from what
16:58
it just was. cuz if he's going to sell
17:03
the story that the only reason the 2025
17:06
Buffalo Bills fell short was because
17:08
they didn't have the right head coach or
17:10
that the only thing that the 2026 team
17:12
needs is a new voice at head coach. He's
17:16
going to come off as
17:18
a charlatan as a snake oil salesman. We
17:21
all know that a change could be really
17:25
good here, but we also all know that the
17:28
roster has to be better as well. Those
17:31
two things have to go hand in hand and
17:33
there has to be some real specific
17:35
details. You don't have to tell all the
17:37
secrets of the school, but you do have
17:39
to say this is what we have to do
17:41
better. This is where we saw a need for
17:44
improvement. This is where we project us
17:46
trying to, you know, become better.
17:48
Something like that. Because again,
17:50
today was mostly about generalities and
17:53
vibes and we got to get over the hump
17:56
and we want to be collaborative and we
17:59
had a really good working relationship
18:00
and all that. I think if if the fan base
18:04
is about to trust Brandon Bean on the
18:06
next this next chapter, there has to be
18:09
some evidence that he recognizes the
18:11
faults of this current roster because
18:14
there certainly were there certainly
18:17
were flaws and faults and I suppose the
18:20
new head coach will help inform that. So
18:22
maybe that's where you want to wait it
18:24
out. But
18:27
this next press conference has to be a
18:29
little bit more clear, some more
18:31
clarity, and not just again everything
18:33
is fine about the roster. We just need a
18:35
new voice cuz that ain't going to cut
18:37
it. And
18:40
at the end of the day, I just think that
18:44
Western New Yorkers, Bills fans in
18:47
general, nationwide, worldwide,
18:50
I think they could just sniff out
18:52
integrity. I think it's just a thing
18:54
that's kind of
18:56
born into that region of the country,
18:59
that city, that that fan base. I think
19:03
the whole thing is a distrust about how
19:05
Brandon Bean got elevated.
19:08
And
19:10
larger picture, you hear Terry Pigula
19:13
reference multiple times how difficult
19:15
it is in the family because of the
19:17
tragedy to his wife and how tumultuous
19:19
that has been. And that is totally
19:21
understandable. I mean, Kim's health has
19:23
has obviously, you know, been an
19:25
incredibly heavy burden for them, and
19:28
one could only imagine how difficult
19:30
that's been and why you would recede
19:31
from the spotlight, etc.
19:33
But I think what fans don't want to
19:36
know, don't want, they don't want the
19:39
idea that Brandon Bean ascends to a spot
19:42
because Terry just needs somebody
19:47
who can,
19:49
you know, has just basically stepped
19:51
into the role of family confidant.
19:55
It can't only be that. It has to be he's
19:56
really good at the job as well. And you
19:59
Terry brought up this defense of you
20:02
guys don't know what you're talking
20:02
about if you think the roster's bad and
20:05
that's not what you want to hear because
20:07
then it means that Brandon can do no
20:08
wrong. And I think that you're watching
20:13
Terry potentially
20:15
hold on to the stability of Brandon Bean
20:19
amongst the instability of his family
20:22
and want to believe that Bean is going
20:25
to fix it and want to believe it can be
20:28
fixed. And if Bean ascends to that
20:31
throne by sniping or pushing out or
20:34
winning a power struggle over McDermott,
20:37
you know that the fan base just sniffs
20:39
that stuff out. They just have
20:42
Bill's fans have a BS detector and it's
20:46
really sharp, you know, and I they just
20:49
they don't they're not going to go for
20:51
that. McDermott had a lot of integrity
20:54
for all of his flaws, for all of his,
20:56
you know, his his idiosyncrasies and 13
20:59
seconds in game management. He was built
21:02
of integrity. And that was the one thing
21:03
you kept hearing from the from the
21:05
players on all their responses to him
21:06
getting fired. Great man, next to me, by
21:10
my side, great coach, best coach you
21:12
ever had. I could go to him for
21:14
anything. They He was a man of really
21:17
high integrity. Whether he was um flawed
21:20
as head coach, certainly possible,
21:23
whether his coaching was part of the
21:25
problem, certainly possible, but he was
21:27
a man of high integrity. And what Bills
21:30
fans don't want to see is a guy that's
21:31
not high not of high integrity ascending
21:34
to the throne because he won a political
21:37
power play. They want to know that that
21:39
guy deserves ascension to the throne.
21:41
And so that's where Bean needs to
21:43
explain exactly what his vision is to
21:46
prove he's got the goods.
21:50
All right, that's my breakdown of of
21:52
that bill's press conference. If you
21:54
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22:12
Amendar. You can also catch me weekday
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