Archives for May 13, 2017

'Asked about the future of Bills senior vice president of football administration Jim Overdorf, something Pegula said would be up to Beane to decide, the new GM said, "I'm coming in eyes wide open on everybody." Beane said he knew Overdorf, but would get to know him better as they work together.'

'"The long-term vision is to build a consistent winner here," Beane said Friday during his introductory news conference. "I didn’t just achieve a goal or Sean and I didn’t achieve a goal if we make the playoffs once and then we’re out of it two or three years in a row. Sustained success. Year after year, we’re contending to win the division. That’s the first thing we have to do.'

'"When we started this process, we — Kim, myself, Russ was involved, and others — we put together four or five lists of potential candidates, cross-referenced them, and, you know, Sean was one of the individuals," Terry Pegula said. "Brandon's name showed up on most of the lists, if not all of them. So from that, and from discussions with people outside the organization, we picked the candidates we wanted to interview. But Sean's involvement was no more than writing a name on a piece of paper, which he wrote seven or eight names."'

'"He's a great route runner, and I'm a guy that can pretty much cover," White said. "If I'm going against the best guy each and every rep, once I get thrown in the fire when the vets get here, I think I'll be pretty much up to speed enough to keep up with those guys."'

'Will they get the Bills turned around? I have no idea. Nobody knows for sure if Beane can find the right players or whether McDermott can make the best use of them. But oppressed Bills fans can take comfort knowing that they trust one another. And that's also a shift from previous front offices.'

'Now that he has people he trusts in place, he can get back to the business of getting out of the way and allowing the people he hired to do their jobs. It's the best part of owning a professional franchise or, in this case, two franchises. If they ever start winning on a regular basis, he'll be able to enjoy them.'

'Hopes always are high for the new guy. Beane didn't throw up on his tie, drop an F-bomb or deliver a treatise about the benefits of communism. No red flags Friday, at least.'

'"I knew Sean was this big wrestler," Beane said. "Little did I know he had a wrestling mat in his house. He says, 'bring him over. We'll wrestle.' He's got a whole, almost a WWF setup over there.' … When he left, I was like, 'thanks a lot. There goes my wrestling coach.' "'

'“#perfectjob,” the NFL Hall of Famer tweeted after it was announced he would join a panel in New York City on May 17. Celebrity chef Mario Batali is another one of the judges.'

'“He’s a great man,” Beane said of McDermott. “We built a good, trusting relationship in Carolina. You can never predict the future, it’s not like Sean and I said, ‘Hey, we’re going to leave the same year.’ I trust Sean and I think Sean trusts me and I think you’re going to see a heck of a partnership between the two of us.”'

'A reunion in Buffalo with McDermott would have made plenty of sense. The Bills signed safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer in free agency, but did not add any additional depth during the draft. Boston could have competed for a starting role in Buffalo against Poyer.'

'"I went through the interview process with the Pegulas and I had never met them," Beane said. "That's the first thing you do is figure out, who's the owners? Who's leading this ship? I was blown away. You go into something you're kind of like 'I don't know what it's going to be like.' When I left the interview, I wanted to be a Buffalo Bill. When i got the call for the second interview, Haley and I had already talked about it and it was just a dream come true. They undoubtedly will do anything they can to help me and Sean and the rest of this team to build a winner to what this team used to have back in the 90s." '

'"Laying up in that hospital bed on pro day, man, with a torn Achilles and having surgery, words can't even describe how I was feeling, man," Sylve said. "Words can't even describe, bro. All I remember doing was just laying down and crying. Just like, why? Why this?"'

'Beane and Botterill (40) are younger in terms of their peers in their respective leagues. They’re young, but that doesn’t mean their innovative and winners. They have to show and prove those, not be handed these descriptive words.'

'To hear Beane talk, and then McDermott a few hours later at his own post-practice presser, one can’t help but come away convinced these men were close in Charlotte, both inside and away from Panthers headquarters. And that they share so much mutual personal and professional respect as to make whatever compromises are necessary to make this thing work.'