Terry Pegula won’t speculate on whether Sean McDermott needed to win the Super Bowl & more related news here

Wednesday’s longer-than-it-should-have-been news conference featuring Bills owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane had plenty of interesting quotes. We’ve been working through the list of them, one at a time.

A question related to how many individual playoff wins former coach Sean McDermott needed to return in 2026. Would McDermott have been fired if the Bills had lost in the AFC Championship or Super Bowl?

“I don’t want to speculate on that,” Pegula told reporters. “It is what it is. I don’t want to speculate.”

Regardless of whether Pegula decided to answer, it’s a compelling question. Although Pegula emphasized that he had no prior plan to fire McDermott and that the decision was made based solely on what Pegula witnessed in the locker room after Saturday’s loss to the Broncos, it’s fair to wonder if the postseason began with a floor for McDermott.

If so, what was the floor? Was it a Super Bowl appearance or a flop? Was it the Lombardi Trophy or the dismissal letter?

The broader question is whether anyone felt McDermott had a mandate. For example, was quarterback Josh Allen’s excitement after the game fueled by his suspicion that the loss to the Broncos might cause McDermott to lose his job? Does Allen blame himself for getting McDermott fired?

Consider what Pegula said about her conversation with Allen, after the firing: “The starting quarterback will be part of the team to help select a new coach. He will work with us. And anything else, his feelings, I want to keep it private. I don’t want this to be in Josh’s head. This was my decision. And I know I didn’t answer your question, but I did, I hope, in a roundabout way. His personal opinion. I keep personal.”

Although it is still unclear whether Allen agreed or disagreed with the move, or whether or not Allen wanted a coaching change, the most sensible interpretation seems to be that: (1) Allen feels responsible for McDermott’s firing; (2) Pegula doesn’t want that guilt “in Josh’s head”; (3) Allen knows that it is counterproductive to express any agreement or disagreement with the measure; and (4) Pegula doesn’t want Allen to think that the next coach’s position will depend on Allen’s postseason performances.

It’s also sensible to conclude that, despite the claim of a sudden epiphany in the locker room that a new coach was needed, Pegula had a minimum goal in mind that would ensure another season for McDermott. It doesn’t matter if it was getting to the Super Bowl or winning; What mattered was that a loss in the divisional round didn’t meet Pegula’s threshold.