Pegulas Speaks: After local and National outrage dominated twitter following an embarassing press conference by Doug Whaley, the Pegulas finally decided to speak. Terry spoke to John Warrow of the Associated Press where he backed up Whaley's comments saying it was an executive decision to fire Ryan. He confirmed he spoke to Ryan one on one on their weekly conference call when he was asked about his future. Pegula came clean that he was going to go in a different direction and Rex said that Anthony Lynn should coach the last game then. He said the reason for the change was his own observations and the input from the front office including conversations throughout the year with Whaley. He re-iterated Doug wasn't involved in the final decision. Terry said the low point was the Oakland game. He also said Lynn is a candidate but not a lock to take over the job permanently. On Tyrod Taylor's future he said he is being evaluated but admitted it's hard to outscore the opponent when the defense is so bad. He closed the AP interview saying, "there's no dysfunction. Everybody is on the same page, We're busy busting our asses." Kim Pegula meanwhile spoke to Sal Capaccio of WGR and said they would interview 5 to 6 coaching candidates and not a dozen like last time. She also said she likes a lot of qualities Lynn has but he's not a lock for the job. Kim told Sal, "I believe in continuity and really wanted to make that happen. But, we just realized team wasn't going in direction we wanted".

Whaley Presser: Doug Whaley addressed the media for the first time this season in his mandated end of the year press conference. He started by saying 7-9 is not good enough and it starts with him. He admits he has to do a better job. They are wrapping up the 2016 season and will get started on 2017 right away. He then took questions, saying he has belief from ownership that he is the right guy that is why they tabbed him to head the coaching search. He feels they are close but just has to get over the hump. He says he is speaking for ownership and the team president on the football operations. On the firing of Rex Ryan, he finally addressed it by saying he was not privy to the conversation between Ryan and Terry Pegula that ended with him being relieved of his duties. So while he speaks for ownership, he had no answers as to why Ryan was let go. He says this is his first coaching search, not the third. He hid behind being the assistant GM for the Marrone hiring and he was just part of the process on Ryan. He did say the Pegulas will make the final call on the head coach. When peppered on his input in the previous coaching searches, he said Rex was a Buffalo Bills hire not a Doug Whaley hire but he agreed with it. Russ Brandon will not be part of this coaching search due to his responsiblities with PSE. He once again denied issues between him and the last two head coaches he isn't worried the perception of issues will hurt the coaching search. Whaley says it is an open search and that Anthony Lynn is part of the search. He is all about getting the person that gets them to win. The media bombarding Whaley as to why he didn't know Ryan was let go and he didn't ask why. Rex reported directly to the Pegulas and it will still be determined who the next coach reports to. On not speaking earlier, he was asked why Anthony Lynn had to speak on the quarterback decision for the final game when he didn't make it. He felt the owner's statement was good enough and he didn't need to speak to the media about the Ryan firing. He hid behind the one singular voice during the season except for his contracted show on WGR on why he doesn't address the media. He thinks they will have $10 to $30 Million under the cap and are in good shape. He said it was Ryan who recommended Lynn for the interim head coach. He also re-iterated they are close and it isn't a daunting task. Whaley blamed the media for the perception of disfunction since they left Lynn twisting in the wind in last Wednesday's press conference. Russ Brandon continues to be an advisor, more on the administrative side of the football operation. His duties will now make him less involved in the Bills football operations. Brandon is privy on decisions but he is not involved in making football decisions. He knows they can be better at the draft but the reality is they build the roster from the draft, trades, and free agency. Whaley even denied knowing Ryan was in trouble and hasn't even thought about if it was the right move! He wipes his hand of the hiring of Marrone and Ryan, and the firing of Ryan! This team is a complete laughingstock and it starts with this guy! He did confirm they have put in a request to interview Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin

On Tyrod Taylor, he is glad he was upset on not playing in the final game. He's a competitor who had a tremendous year. They sat him down to look at the other two quarterbacks and to evaluate the position going forward. Taylor would have played if they were still alive for the playoffs against the Jets. He has not lost confidence in Tyrod. They will investigate as to why leaks have been coming out to national media the past few weeks and shut them down if they are coming from within the building. The final Taylor decision along with other personnel evaluation will be done by himself, the new coach, and ownership. He would not say Tyrod has shown him enough to remain with the team at this point saying he will be part of the evaluation.

Cleanout Day: The depressing annual event of locker room cleanout day is today at One Bills Drive. Eric Wood said that accountability needs to grow and that Anthony Lynn could "command the franchise". After saying he wouldn't speak to the media, Tyrod Taylor did speak. He said being benched yesterday wasn't fair calling it a lack of confidence in him. He did leave the possiblity of restructuring his extension open but said it isn't his first option. He said he loves the guys on the team and if they keep him, he will continue to play his heart out. He does love playing for Anthony Lynn and would like to play for him next year whether it's in Buffalo or elsewhere. He would love if the Bills pick up his option and kept saying how the starting job was taken from him. Doug Whaley did tell Taylor it was a business decision. He said he's getting a second opinion on the groin injury and will get surgery as soon as possible if needed. He said the injury guarantee is not a factor. LeSean McCoy said he loves Anthony Lynn and he's the type of leader that they could use. He hopes he gets the job. Stephon Gilmore said there has been no talks between his camp and the Bills about a contract since before the season started and he doesn't want the franchise tag. Aaron Williams told the media that his family and mentors like Fred Jackson wants him to stop playing but he hasn't made a decision yet. Robert Woods sounded like a man, by all media accounts, that is ready to test the free agent market.