Last week, Bills owner Terry Pegula declined to elaborate on his conversation with quarterback Josh Allen regarding the firing of coach Sean McDermott.
On Thursday, Allen gave reporters some insight into the exchange, and his reaction to it.
Allen said Pegula called to say McDermott had been fired. Allen said he became “very, very emotional” upon hearing the news.
“I’m sitting in my house, I wake up to a call from Mr. Pegula, telling me what had transpired,” Allen said. “And I called Coach McDermott immediately, and I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Coach McDermott. The last eight seasons, eight years of my life, he’s been through ups and downs of me as a player, as a person. He’s seen me grow up in a sense. And to know that, again, we’ve had a lot of success here, and I’d be lying to you if — I’m sitting here saying that, you know, I feel like I had part in it, because if we made — if I make one more play [during] that game in Denver, we’re probably not having this press conference right now. We’re probably not making a change, and honestly, we’re probably getting ready to play another game. And that’s the hard part to take in from my perspective. But that’s reality; it is what it is now. And I am very, again, very fortunate and thankful for Coach McDermott and everything that he’s done and the trajectory that he set here for our players.”
Allen’s comments speak to the likelihood that Pegula didn’t want Allen to blame himself for the outcome.
“I don’t want this in Josh’s head,” Pegula said in his January 21 press conference. “This was my decision.”
Involving Allen directly in the hiring process may have helped Allen get through the situation and embrace his new reality. Indeed, Allen seems to be fully on board with the new hire.
“I’m very looking forward to Joe and everything that entails with him becoming the head coach, and guys getting behind him and rallying behind him and understanding his vision, because I do believe in it,” Allen said. “I do believe in what he had talked about in his meetings, what he’s talked about really the last few years that he’s been in the quarterback room with just the mindset that he has, the togetherness being ‘you with us.’ I can go on and on about how good of a coach I think Joe is, but he’s also a great human being. He’s a family man, he’s a leader. And I think that our guys will respond positively to this.”
Allen ultimately has responded positively, even though he said he’s still “sick” about how the 2025 season ended. And the obvious goal will continue to be to cap a season as the only team that isn’t unhappy with the outcome.