The Buffalo Bills; Classic American Management

After the firing of Sean McDermott the Buffalo Bills held a press conference to put the nail in the coffin that the decision was what we all thought it was, a power grab. However, more than that, it also proved that despite being one of thirty-two NFL franchises; despite being a billion dollar operation; the Buffalo Bills operate in the same immature way as I and many others have experienced with American management.

Bills' owner Terry Pegula confirmed he fired McDermott after seeing the reaction of the locker room after the Bills lost 33-30 in Denver in the Divisional Round. Perhaps the most 'duh statement' in sports right now is it's the most unpopular decision with a sports fanbase. In one of my first jobs I worked for a family owned business and the son once said "Whatever my father says, even if it's opposite of what the plan has been, that's what we do and we all play catch up. Myself included." Even as a 20 something I stood there dumbfounded and came to the realization that it was not a company I'd have success in.

The emotional overreaction in the moment reminded me more of my second job. The CEO of the company had the nickname 'hurricane' because he'd come to town and things would not be the same, often times with people losing their jobs. The sad chuckle about that is the CEO knew he had the nickname, once addressing it when making a visit...only to then let go of someone else that no one saw coming and was liked and doing their job well. Still, years later, whenever I meet someone who worked for that company we commiserate over shared experiences of having been in that company.

Maybe the Bills now promoted Head of Football Operations Brandon Beane will see this article and reach out defensively like he did to local radio after they criticized his past draft. In this hypothetical interaction the story of my second job would be what I draw to his attention because the job industry is never too big for people to talk, specifically when your owner puts someone on blast in an industry where you have to recruit free agents. Owner Pegula went out of his way to 'defend' Beane by saying Keon Coleman was a coach's pick and not the general manager's fault, despite videos being released of Beane that run quite counter to that claim. If you're an NFL free agent, how does that really land at your desk?

Despite the decision being made in the moment to fire the head coach the promotion of Beane sure seemed to come together quickly given what the owner told everyone. It is what it is, a power grab where Beane threw McDermott under the bus to save his own job. Now, let's not sit on top of the high ground to say none of us would want to keep our livelihood but the facts are the facts when it comes to the GM's performance versus the coach. Under McDermott the Bills were 98-50 with playoff appearances in all but one of his nine seasons. He ended Buffalo's 17 season playoff drought.

Clearly, Beane's performance has to be at least equal to not only keep his job but get promoted, right? The stat going around with the announcement of keeping Beane and not McDermott is with 56 picks since taking Josh Allen the Buffalo Bills have only selected two players that have made Pro Bowls, James Cook and Dawson Knox. Let's also not ignore the national media has made their criticism clear for the Bills' roster, Josh Allen does not have enough weapons. I suppose that just falls on McDermott's pick of Keon Coleman.

The owner saying it came down to the team hitting a 'playoff wall' makes the decision even weirder as he went out of his way to say Brandin Cooks made the catch and the refs were the reason the Bills didn't move on to the AFC Championship game. Let's also not ignore the fact that Josh Allen turned back into a turnover machine as reason number one for the Bills losing. Convenient condemnation for McDermott but not for offensive coordinator Joe Brady who is interviewing for the now vacant head coaching job. If it came down to just making one change the performances in their jobs clearly state who it should have been, so why is Beane not changing his address?

In a story too familiar to many workers politics, favoritism or nepotism matter more than performance. Clearly Beane started playing the political game to make sure he was the last one standing. Many of us working stiffs have listened to management lay out their hypocritical baseline over the shortcomings or lack of performance from others for no other reason than favoritism, politics or nepotism. That's how a worker ends up in an HR meeting because they answer the phone with "What's up?" and it is deemed unprofessional by the one coworker who has revolving issues with everyone in the company.

That's how the GM of a team hitting a 'playoff wall' stays on in a season where he failed to trade a first round pick for Jaylen Waddle and couldn't make any trades because the GMs in the league now that are younger and "played true fantasy football...growing up in a world of trades." The trade deadline quotes follow his boss's press conference, talking out of both sides of their mouths while making sure they had a scapegoat for the shortcomings. Don't forget Pegula also owns the Buffalo Sabres who are in an active 14-year playoff drought that began once he purchased the team and has had the same press surrounding them the Bills have now.

Are the Bills going back to a long playoff drought? Unlikely with Josh Allen at the helm, but do you think they'll breakthrough that playoff wall with the lead of football operations unable to catch good players like the receiving corps he built? Excuse me, like McDermott's wide receiver room. From an NFL franchise down to a small local business, bad management is bad management and insulation with favoritism, politics or nepotism lowers the ceiling for results.