Orchard Park, N. Y. — Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien remembers the first time he met soon-to-be Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula.
Pegula, a Penn State alum, was meeting O'Brien, then Penn State's football coach for the first team, and the businessman's passion and genuine spirit for sports came through right away.
"You could tell right away he had a passion for hockey and football," O'Brien said. "He put his money where is mouth was on hockey. He gave them I think it was $120 million to build a beautiful hockey rink at Penn State and he's given money to the football program, too. He loves Penn State. That was my relationship with him, he was definitely passionate about both sports."
O'Brien has little doubt Pegula will succeed in his next business venture.
"I just have the highest regard for Terry Pegula, what he meant at Penn State, what he meant to me while I was at Penn State," O'Brien said. "He was very supportive of me. I'm a big fan of Mr. Pegula's and he'll be a great NFL owner. He loves sports, he loves the city of Buffalo. He loves football. I think that he and his wife will be great for the NFL. "
Former Bills and now Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick also had high praise for Pegula, though Fitzpatrick's excitement over Pegula stems from the fact that the team is likely to stay in Buffalo with Pegula as the owner.
"I thought the fact that he was the one that ended up buying the team was such great news in terms of a city that loves and deserves a football team and the fact that it's now fairly secure and staying in Buffalo," Fitzpatrick. "That was great news, and I was so excited about that. Just knowing that there was a guy that understood the passion of Buffalo and understood the necessity to leave the team there and to go ahead and act on it. I thought that was great."