Bills
Bills WR Brandin Cooks was asked about owner Terry Pegula’s comments regarding WR Keon Coleman and whether or not Coleman would request a trade this offseason.
“When you hear something like that, you’re like, ‘Well, am I wanted?’ That’s the truth, as a player,” Cooks said, via Around The NFL. “Because typically you don’t hear those things, but when you hear it, you’re like, ‘Well, am I wanted? And if not, what do I do?’ But if it’s like, ‘We still want you, but we gotta figure this thing out,’ that’s when you put that chip on your shoulder and you go to work and prove yourself right. I’ve always been a big believer in not proving people wrong but proving yourself right on what you can do.”
Cooks added that he believes Coleman’s best football is still yet ahead of him.
“I’m definitely in touch with Keon,” Cooks said. “When I got to Buffalo, that was a guy I was going to gravitate towards to help out. I think Keon can play this game at a high level, I really do. He’s going to continue to grow. I think he’s also misunderstood. He’s a young kid, right? He’s still trying to figure it out. For me, I’ll take that and say, ‘How can I help this kid grow and be the guy they want him to be?’ Because obviously, there’s talent there. The guy can make plays. I think he’ll continue to grow, and I think he has been.”
Bills
The Bills lost 33-30 to the Broncos in the Divisional Round, which included a controversial interception call with 7:55 left in overtime after WR Brandin Cooks came down with the ball. Owner Terry Pegula reflected on the loss, saying he thinks it was a catch.
“I looked around, first thing I noticed was our quarterback with his head down, crying,” Pegula said, via Tim Graham and Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. “I looked at all the other players. I looked at their faces and our coaches. I walked over to Josh. He didn’t even acknowledge I was there. First thing I said to him, I said, ‘That was a catch.’”
Buffalo elected to fire HC Sean McDermott following the loss. Pegula said their decision came down to sensing that they hit a “playoff wall year after year.”
“I did not fire coach based on a bad officiating decision,” Pegula said. “If I can take you into that locker room, I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall year after year – 13 seconds, missed field goal, the catch. So I just sensed in that locker room, like, ‘Where do we go from here with what we have?’ And that was the basis for my decision.”
In the end, Pegula feels that they could not reach the next step under McDermott.
“Great roster, good coaching, no Super Bowl appearance. I can’t emphasize, if I could put you all in that room after the game, it’s like, ‘How do we overcome this?’ It’s been one year after another,” Pegula said. “I just couldn’t see us doing that with Sean. That’s why I relieved him. It’s not an easy decision, trust me, with that success. But what is success? Is success being in the playoffs seven years in a row with no Super Bowl appearance?”
Dolphins
Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley explained why he left Boston College as a head coach to join the Packers as a defensive coordinator.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to coach football,” Hafley said, via Dolphins Wire. “There was a lot going on that wasn’t allowing me to do that. The landscape had changed with NIL, the [transfer] portal, and everything else that came in. … I want to coach football. That’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. I didn’t feel like I was doing that anymore, I didn’t feel like I was myself anymore.”
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