And New York Jets fans thought owner Woody Johnson was bad.
For all the questionable answers Johnson has given over the years, nothing will ever be as bad as what the Buffalo Bills and owner Terry Pegula just did in the organization’s most recent press conference on Wednesday.
Following the surprise removal of head coach Sean McDermott, Pegula and newly promoted President of Football Operations Brandon Beane spoke to the media regarding the search for a new coach.
What it devolved to was unlike anything seen before in league history—highlighting that Johnson may not be as bad as many Jets fans say.
Bills’ ownership embarrasses franchise
Following Buffalo’s abrupt decision to fire McDermott after seven straight seasons of playoff appearances, Beane and Pegula took the podium trying to defend the decision.
Instead, they brought upon the kind of embarrassment few NFL organizations have ever seen.
When asked about the team’s lack of ability to select top talent (Buffalo has drafted just two Pro Bowl players since Josh Allen was taken in 2018), the struggles of third-year wideout Keon Coleman were highlighted.
Pegula interrupted the question and brought out this doozy of an answer:
“Can I interrupt? I’ll address the Keon situation. The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “That was Brandon being a team player. … He’s taken heat over it. I’m here to tell you the true story.”
That actually happened.
By the way, Coleman still has another two years of his rookie deal with the Bills. In one answer, Buffalo has essentially called into question his future with the team and every bad draft selection the organization has ever made.
Pegula’s decision to deflect blame for poor draft decisions onto a recently fired coach (who led the team to eight playoff wins) is stunning. It’s the lack of accountability that every NFL organization will not soon forget.
It also adds a new perspective to a team like the Jets. New York may be bad, but Woody Johnson and the front office haven’t really pulled a stunt like that before.
Jets’ new perspective
Like every owner in the NFL, Johnson can be hands-on when he wants to be, and in the shadows when he doesn’t. The fact that the Jets have missed the postseason for the last 15 years is an indictment of him and his decisions within the organization.
No one can argue that. Johnson owns as much blame regarding the Jets’ struggles as any coach, player, or executive.
Nothing that Johnson has done, though, compares to what Pegula just did. Buffalo’s ownership group spoke so poorly of a player still on the roster that one has to question whether Coleman will want to leave at some point this offseason.
He has to, right? How do you go to work when the person passing out your checks told the world he never wanted you in the first place?
Johnson has had his share of comments criticizing players in the past. Quarterback Zach Wilson and Justin Fields have each drawn the Jets owner’s ire over the last few seasons.
But New York had plans to fix those issues. They brought in Aaron Rodgers in 2023 following Wilson’s struggles, and have four top-45 picks in the upcoming 2026 draft to replace Fields.
No one can deny that Johnson’s outlook on the quarterback position is wrong.
Buffalo’s struggles this season go well beyond the receiver position. They also hinge on the fact that Beane hasn’t been a very good general manager. For Pegula to defend the team’s top executive by trashing the prior coaching staff and current players on the roster is shocking.
Not to mention, the Bills just interviewed their offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, for their head coaching position. Does Pegula realize that Brady was a part of the same coaching staff that he just trashed for wanting to take Coleman?
The owner’s comments were ignorant and out of touch.
It shows that, while Johnson may not be the greatest owner in the world, most of the other 31 owners are no different—it’s just that some of them have a quarterback like Josh Allen to hide it.