Article: McDermott Concerned about PSE Dysfunction

[Coach Tuesday]

Really interesting/concerning article in The Athletic today, it's a good but terrifying read:

 

https://theathletic.com/1758235/2020/04/20/as-pegulas-face-business-challenges-employees-describe-a-toxic-culture-at-pse/

 

"

Two sources close to Bills head coach Sean McDermott say the January meetings left him concerned about low morale eroding the culture he and general manager Brandon Beane have cultivated over the past three years with a meticulous, holistic attitude."

[Lurker]

INdeed...

[YoloinOhio]

I saw that in the article but don’t see the connection between the PSE employees having low morale after the meeting and the culture of the football team. Were the players in the meeting? 

[MrEpsYtown]

It is unfortunate but makes sense. That kind of morale kind of opposes family and process and all of the stuff. 

[Coach Tuesday]

2 minutes ago, Lurker said:

INdeed...

 

Was this posted elsewhere?  I saw a layoffs thread but this is the first I've heard that McDermott (and possibly Beane) are concerned about the impact on the Bills.  Anyhow, just merge the thread if it belongs elsewhere.  The "IN..." responses stopped being funny ages ago...

[dave mcbride]

What is the gist of the piece, beyond simply one short sentence? I don't subscribe and can't read it. 

[CNYfan]

Does this have to do with the price of a barrel of oil as it relates to the Pegula natural gas enterprises?   

 

Its always something, just when things were starting to look up for once

[GunnerBill]

I read the article. It is worrying. My conclusion was they need to sell the Sabres but then that is easier for me to say as a non-hockey fan and non-Buffalonian but their core business is facing tough times, the property business similarly and the Sabres are a huge cash drain. 

 

The Bills are the cash generator at the moment. If some sandbags need to be thrown overboard start with the loss making teams. 

1 minute ago, CNYfan said:

Does this have to do with the price of a barrel of oil as it relates to the Pegula natural gas enterprises?   

 

Its always something, just when things were starting to look up for once

 

I think there is some link, yep. 

[gjv001]

I sure hope the team culture that Beane and McDermott have built is not so delicate so as to erode at the first test of distress.

[Coach Tuesday]

2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

What is the gist of the piece, beyond simply one short sentence? I don't subscribe and can't read it. 

 

Tim Graham interviewed almost 40 current/former PSE employees, and the feedback was that dysfunction, nepotism, and cost-cutting pervade the organization.  The Pegulas gave a presentation in January, right after the Bills made the playoffs, and one of the stated "three pillars" of organizational goals was "return on investment," which was widely described (and possibly stated by the Pegulas directly, though that seems shocking) as ensuring that the Pegulas can maintain their lavish lifestyle.  There is concern that the dysfunction within the Sabres will spill over into the Bills, and McD allegedly is concerned about it.

[bigK14094]

Pegs tinkering w the structure of their management organization.  It was inevitable, to me, that old timers would eventually go.  But, McBean are new timers..Pegs people, and not going anywhere imho.  Now, PSE could potentially imact the Bills, but, lets hope that McBean have a proper disrespect for management.  (I didn't make up that term)

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Tim Graham interviewed almost 40 current/former PSE employees, and the feedback was that dysfunction, nepotism, and cost-cutting pervade the organization.  The Pegulas gave a presentation in January, right after the Bills made the playoffs, and one of the stated "three pillars" of organizational goals was "return on investment," which was widely described (and possibly stated by the Pegulas directly, though that seems shocking) as ensuring that the Pegulas can maintain their lavish lifestyle.  There is concern that the dysfunction within the Sabres will spill over into the Bills, and McD allegedly is concerned about it.

 

And the reason the Chief Administrative Officer (or whatever his title was) was not retained when his contract expired was allegedly because he was pushing the Pegulas to establish more clear water between the Bills and the other PSE businesses (which are loss making) to insulate the team. 

[ngbills]

But but the Pegula's are great, wait maybe they are just rich billionaires, no they saved the Bills from Bon Jovi and Trump, they made the playoffs. 

 

My hope - own the team and leave it alone. Invest the money and resources required and let the football brains do their job. 

[purple haze]

7 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I read the article. It is worrying. My conclusion was they need to sell the Sabres but then that is easier for me to say as a non-hockey fan and non-Buffalonian but their core business is facing tough times, the property business similarly and the Sabres are a huge cash drain. 

 

The Bills are the cash generator at the moment. If some sandbags need to be thrown overboard start with the loss making teams. 

The Sabres would never be as profitable as the Bills, even if the Bills were terrible and the Sabres champions.  The NHL is beloved, but in America, a niche sport, especially compared to football or basketball. 

 

On principle, I wouldn't mind seeing the Pegula's sell the Sabres because they don't seem to have a clue how to run them and fans deserve infinitely better.  But if they do will the team stay in Buffalo where they belong?  It's a terrible situation.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

7 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Tim Graham interviewed almost 40 current/former PSE employees, and the feedback was that dysfunction, nepotism, and cost-cutting pervade the organization.  The Pegulas gave a presentation in January, right after the Bills made the playoffs, and one of the stated "three pillars" of organizational goals was "return on investment," which was widely described (and possibly stated by the Pegulas directly, though that seems shocking) as ensuring that the Pegulas can maintain their lavish lifestyle.  There is concern that the dysfunction within the Sabres will spill over into the Bills, and McD allegedly is concerned about it.

 

I stopped at Tim Graham. Hacks gonna hack.

 

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I stopped at Tim Graham. Hacks gonna hack.

 

 

It is a good piece of journalism. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is a good piece of journalism. 

 

Is it though? Lots of digruntled ex-employees. No mention of the crash in the energy markets that might have brought about this drastic action. Let's not forget John Vogl has been on the Pegulas case for weeks now.

Edited April 20, 2020 by PromoTheRobot

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is a good piece of journalism. 

 

It's written by Tim Graham, ergo, it's not. He's the Jim Acosta of sports journalism.

 

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, purple haze said:

The Sabres would never be as profitable as the Bills, even if the Bills were terrible and the Sabres champions.  The NHL is beloved, but in America, a niche sport, especially compared to football or basketball. 

 

On principle, I wouldn't mind seeing the Pegula's sell the Sabres because they don't seem to have a clue how to run them and fans deserve infinitely better.  But if they do will the team stay in Buffalo where they belong?  It's a terrible situation.

 

Yep I wasn't commenting on their running of the Sabres - I don't follow it at all. Just that the Sabres are clearly making huge losses and in a time when the bottom is falling out of the oil market and they having to tighten their belts the Sabres feels like a luxury. 

Just now, Joe in Winslow said:

 

It's written by Tim Graham, ergo, it's not. He's the Jim Acosta of sports journalism.

 

 

Well as a former sports journalist I am telling you this is a good piece of journalism. He has spoken to plenty of people he isn't giving his opinion he is reporting. 

 

If you want to dismiss it as a "hack" fine. But people should be taking that article seriously. It is concerning.

[ndirish1978]

6 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is a good piece of journalism. 

 

It's a fairly biased piece if you consider his interactions with people on twitter before it came out when he was asking for the people who were fired to DM him. It was super obvious he just wanted to stir the pot. Graham is a solid writer, but he's at he's a troll by nature and like to stir things up. Probably not the best idea to go the Sullivan route and burn bridges with owners who are known to be sensitive to criticism. Kim's responses to him are super defensive and it's obvious he got under their skin by writing this article. Did the article accomplish anything? Probably not. Did it come off as a hatchet-job towards ownership, yep. 

 

I would disagree with @GunnerBill defining this as a "good" article. I would agree that the article is "solid," he has sources and has confirmed facts and themes, but I disagree that the article is "good" because it doesn't really accomplish anything other than to say "these people are liars, they say they are a family, but did you realize they put themselves before others?" He equates owning a sports team to a public trust, which it is not. He does this to set up his assertion that the Pegulas are acting against the public interest and it's a straw-man argument, which is lazy. PSE is a private company owned by people who want to make money, it's not a charity nor is it a public program set up to employ the citizens of WNY. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by ndirish1978