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The Bills had a bad season. But not bad enough to make big changes.

That’s the meaning of the message conveyed in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon by owner Terry Pegula.

“As our first full season as owners of the Buffalo Bills draws to a close, management, coaches, players, and fans all feel that our expectations were not met,” Pegula said. “Kim [Pegula], Russ [Brandon] and I look forward to working and collaborating with Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan in forming a winning future for the organization. Our management team and coaching staff are very capable and work well together. This stable foundation is necessary to achieve long-term success in the NFL.”

Pegula is right about the importance of stability. He’s possibly not right about Whaley and Ryan working well together. Someone (presumably from the coaching staff) leaked that Whaley “went rogue” when abruptly cutting running back Fred Jackson in late August. Also, the carousel at backup quarterback was odd at times, with 2013 first-round quarterback (and Whaley selection) EJ Manuel getting more favorable treatment than Ryan-era arrival Matt Cassel.

At one point this year, it seemed as if Ryan would be inclined to make a power play aimed at getting control of the football operations. Ultimately, however, he didn’t win enough games to give him the juice necessary to take charge. And if Whaley were to be run off in the aftermath of a disappointing season, Ryan could have found himself in another John Idzik scenario, with a new G.M. more intent on hiring his own coach than making it work with the one he inherited.

So Whaley and Ryan will continue to work together. They’ll truly work well together if Pegula’s public message was accompanied with a private message informing them that, if one is ever fired, both will be fired.