Buffalo Rumblings
Bills’ owner Terry Pegula plays an active role in the team’s draft process
Buffalo Bills majority co-owner Terry Pegula is more than just a passive observer regarding the NFL draft process. In a recent interview on the Fitz & Whit podcast, Bills general manager Brandon Beane gave fans an inside look at how involved Pegula is in the process.
Some NFL owners take a hands-off approach, and some are the decision makers (Jerry Jones), but Pegula seems to be somewhere in between and enjoys being part of the process.
“Terry’s awesome. He loves the process” Beane said. “He’s got an analytical mind, and he sits in. He’s one of the few owners that comes to the combine. He sits in all our interviews.”
According to Beane, Pegula's presence at the NFL Combine is mainly low profile but he is fully engaged sitting in on all 15-minute interviews with draft prospects as the Bills evaluate them.
“He doesn’t say a word. They don’t even know he’s the owner,” Beane shared. “Once in a while, if a guy from Penn State comes in, I’ll see if I can put him on the spot. ‘You know who the owner of the Bills is?’ Sometimes they know, sometimes they don’t.”
Pegula’s involvement continues beyond the draft, as he also attends scouting meetings and final draft discussions before the big day.
Pegula does more than just listen to draft discussions, he also takes notes on the entire room's perspective. He later follows up with questions, usually to the side, that challenge assumptions in the room.
Beane said on the podcast, “He’s taken a lot of notes — what this scout said, what this coach said, how I see it. Then he’ll come back, sometimes not in the room, but later he’ll ask ‘Hey, y’all were talking about these two running backs, and you put this guy on top. But the way I heard it, I felt like the room like the other guy more. What am I missing here?’”
These keen observations and tough questions act as a double-check and provide productive discussions to sort things out.
“They’re great questions. And I think he deserves that, to be the owner, to ask those questions,” Beane said.
One of my favorite parts of the interview is when Beane shared that Pegula values and encourages independent thinking in the draft room. Discouraging groupthink is an important part of the process and gives scouts and coaches to voice their true opinions.
Beane tells his scouts and coaches, “Don't hold back. Say what you feel, even if you’re disagreeing with me. Speak up if you have a thought and you did the work.”
This culture of open debate is encouraged by Pegula.
“Terry likes that too. He doesn’t want to run a groupthink. He wants a little bit of conflict in there,” Beane...
