A day after the NFL
draft, the Buffalo Bills fired their General Manager Doug Whaley. It has
been reported over various outlets over the past several weeks that he would be
let go after the draft. The fact that the media had this right tells me
that there is a leak within the Buffalo Bills organization. In my
opinion, something of this nature should never be leaked like this. I
would hope that Terry Pegula did not inform Doug Whaley he was
"safe", only to fire him.
I understand the point
of view that they kept him on until after the draft so that he did not share
his information with other teams. What I do not understand is why they
did not let him go when they let Rex Ryan go in January. They could have
linked a new GM and HC together, much like the San Francisco 49ers did with
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. Instead, the Bills will be hiring a General
Manager that will not be hiring his own Head Coach and therefore will be
attached to Sean McDermott, for better or worse. I do believe that the
General Manager that the Bills hire is going to be a guy that has ties with
McDermott. Another part I do not quite understand is that Doug Whaley led
the coaching search and one of his recommendations was McDermott.
Ultimately it was the Pegulas' decision on who the head coach would be,
however, I do not understand why they would allow for him to hire the head
coach that he would not be working with going forward.
While many have not, I
think that Doug Whaley has done a great job in Buffalo. Have they made the
playoffs? No, they have not, however, I believe he has put a playoff caliber
roster together. He built a 43 defense that finished 4th in 2014.
When Doug Marrone left, Rex Ryan was hired and preferred to run a 34
defense, which struggled in his two seasons. While that unit struggled
under, Whaley put together an offense that finished #1 in rushing in 2016.
I do not think it's fair to blame Doug Whaley for the struggles of the
defense those two seasons. His biggest criticism seems to be his draft
picks, mainly EJ Manuel and trading up for Sammy Watkins. Whether or not
he was the GM in 2013, which I do not think anybody knows outside of the
organization, the Bills needed a QB and they felt EJ Manuel was the best
option. EJ Manuel did not work out, something that happens quite often in
the NFL. Many people criticize the Sammy Watkins pick because they could
have had Odell Beckham and Watkins has been consistently injured. I don't
think you can blame injuries on the General Manager. I'm also not sure you
can go with the "they could have had Odell Beckham" argument.
Odell Beckham has Eli Manning throwing to him, while Sammy Watkins has
had EJ Manuel, Kyle Orton and now Tyrod Taylor throwing to him. We do not
know how Watkins would do comparatively to ODJ if he had an Eli Manning
throwing to him. Whaley also drafted Kiko Alonso, who ultimately landed
them LeSean McCoy. He traded Kelvin Sheppard for Jerry Hughes, who has
had a great deal of success in Buffalo. He found players like Chris Hogan
and Mike Gillislee, both of whom are with the New England Patriots now.
Yes, Whaley has made some poor decisions, just like every other GM in
every sport has done. He has also made great decisions that I believe
would have resulted in a franchise that would compete for the AFC East for the
next 5 to 7 years. Unfortunately, if the Bills end their playoff drought
this season, he will not get the credit that he deserves.