Archives for May 2017

'Brown is the third candidate to interview with the Pegulas at their home in Boca Raton, Fla, following Panthers' assistant general manager Brandon Beane and Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine. To this point, Bills coach Sean McDermott hasn't sat in on interviews, according to Rapoport, but he is expected to for the second round of interviews.'

'It's no surprise that the Bills are interested in Boston. He has spent the first three years of his NFL career playing for Bills head coach Sean McDermott. During that time, Boston has appeared in 42 games (16 starts) with the Panthers and recorded 77 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, three interceptions and two sacks.'

'Trey Brown, the Eagles’ director of college scouting, interviewed with Bills ownership on Saturday. Brown was named to the position last May after one year as the assistant director of college scouting and two years as the team’s west coast scout. He also worked for the New England Patriots.'

'Brown's meeting would fulfill the Bills' obligation under the Rooney Rule to interview a minority candidate.'

'With Joe Douglas in control of the personnel department, those changes aren't very surprising. But now it looks like the Eagles could lose another big piece of their scouting department whether they want to or not.'

'Brown has spent the last four seasons with the Eagles and was promoted to his current role in the scouting department less than a year ago.'

'Having played in McDermott's scheme, the move would make sense. However, according to Pro Football Focus Boston ranked 47th out of 90 at the position.'

'Brown has spent the last four seasons in Philadelphia, but being from the Patriots tree helps make him a hot candidate. Others with Patriots backgrounds have had success, including Jon Robinson of the Titans, Jason Licht of the Buccaneers, Bob Quinn of the Lions, and Thomas Dimitroff of the Falcons. Adam Peters, a surprise personnel hire for the 49ers, could be the next one. That connection helps Brown.'

'Brown was named to his current post almost exactly a year ago (May 11). The Eagles hired Brown to be a West Coast area scout in 2013, a role he held for two years before being promoted to assistant director of college scouting in 2015.'

'Not surprisingly, areas of need — tight end, wide receiver, and safety — received extra attention from the Buffalo Bills with their 13 signings of undrafted free agents Friday.'

'According to an NFL source, the team intends to take its time in the GM search, especially because it is the first time team owners Terry and Kim Pegula are going through the process.'

'So while the Pegulas will likely hire a general manager type to replace Whaley, he'll defer to McDermott, whose vision prevails in the organization. It'll be like Kansas City, where John Dorsey is GM but Andy Reid runs the show. Or New England, where there's no GM and Bill Belichick serves the role.'

'I also don't see a huge investment in a wide receiver fitting Sean McDermott's big-picture vision of what he wants the roster to look like. Figuring out whether he has a long-term solution at quarterback is the much bigger question in the passing game that would need to be answered before determining what to do with Watkins.'

'The owner of Leo's Pizzeria – with four locations in South Buffalo, East Aurora and West Seneca, and a fifth opening in Orchard Park – paid $945,000 this week to buy Rex Ryan's glamorous 6,511-square-foot house in the Summit at Scherff development.'

'One of the most critical tasks they will perform is putting together an entirely new scouting staff. It’s unfortunate that so many people lost their jobs in the Pegula purge, but it wouldn’t have made much sense to fire Whaley and keep his people in place. This team needs fresh eyes out on the scouting trail, and McDermott and the new GM can now start from scratch and tailor the department to their specifications with everyone starting anew and on the same page.'