GM Doug Whaley has been fired

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

Vic Carucci (@viccarucci)

5/1/17, 9:51 AM

Hearing there's no truth to @JasonLaCanfora report that "final straw" for Whaley was #Bills trade down after T Pegula "stumped" for Mahomes.

Jeez! Does JL have a big enough woodie for the Bills or what

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

I thought McDermott made all the draft calls? Many here have said this

To me felt like a wild Whaley draft (running it and past years with trades) with the trades not McDermott all the way. Thats me tho.

@allbrightNFL

Real story is McDermott ran the draft, Whaley & the staff already knew they were being let go. Pegula liked Mahomes, but didn't interfere.

 

@arthurarkush

Bingo. McDermott not only called shots as weve mentioned repeatedly but he handled himself like a vet. Great work by #Bills rookie.

Pegula needs to let football people do the work. After all hired Rex he should of know better after that.

As well reading some things like Whaley staying home on some pro day and some scouts did not bring anything to pro days. Little info here and there makes me think good time to fire. Get you're ass to work i'd say.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

To me felt like a wild Whaley draft (running it and past years with trades) with the trades not McDermott all the way. Thats me tho.

 

I guess we'll find out when we see how our future drafts go down.

[dave mcbride]

To me felt like a wild Whaley draft (running it and past years with trades) with the trades not McDermott all the way. Thats me tho.

Pegula needs to let football people do the work. After all hired Rex he should of know better after that.

As well reading some things like Whaley staying home on some pro day and some scouts did not bring anything to pro days. Little info here and there makes me think good time to fire. Get you're ass to work i'd say.

He did let the football do the work. It says he liked Mahomes but didn't interfere.

[Juice_32]

Vic Carucci (@viccarucci)

5/1/17, 9:51 AM

Hearing there's no truth to @JasonLaCanfora report that "final straw" for Whaley was #Bills trade down after T Pegula "stumped" for Mahomes.

The JL story sounds like mole bait to me.

[ndirish1978]

I'm still livid Overdorf is not gone.

[JohnC]

 

Adolphus Washington was not a Rex pick.

It was a Doug pick and at the time he felt like it was one of the bigger steals of the draft.

This year will tell a lot about whether his instincts were correct.

The defense was being revamped for the benefit of Rex. What did you expect Whaley to say that he made a poor pick? Putting aside who pushed for the pick my basic point was that Whaley had an opportunity to select a qb he liked but waited too long. All reports on that draft indicated that DW liked Prescott over Cardale. The history of this franchise is waiting too long to select some of their targeted qbs. Whether you agree or not one of the primary reasons for Whaley losing his job is that he wasn't successful in getting a long term franchise qb on the roster. The irony is that he wanted to select Mahomes (it is being widely reported) at the ten spot but he didn't have the authority to make the pick. On his position I agree with him.

Edited May 1, 2017 by JohnC

[26CornerBlitz]

@gmfb

Here is @PSchrags with the latest on the Bills decision to fire GM Doug Whaley #GMFB

https://twitter.com/i/videos/tweet/859017735346429954

[Nitro]

One day, I hope to hear from Whaley on the true story of what happened behind the scenes. The Bills and Sabres suffer from chaotic leadership. The Pegula's are not looking that great right now. Hire GMs and step back into the shadows.

[Simon]

What did you expect Whaley to say that he made a poor pick?

 

Of all the picks that the Bills made last year, that was the one he was most excited about; he couldn't believe his luck that Washington was still available there. If I could conjure up the interest to care about the Bills any more I'd be very curious to see what he's going to do under a potentially competent defensive staff.

 

 

Whether you agree or not one of the primary reasons for Whaley losing his job is that he wasn't successful in getting a long term franchise qb on the roster.

 

 

That is absolutely the #1 reason that he's not here now; at least among the reasons that he actually had control over.

He can't control the fact the Pegulas and their little ass-sniffing lapdog are incompetent asshats with zero clue as to what they're doing.

[Nitro]

I might add.....firing a GM is one thing but to purge the entire scouting staff is unusual. McD might get an old pal to become GM. Clean slate to hire staff but it will be daunting. The rest of the league has scouts in place. Wait and see what happens next.

[Kelly the Dog]

He did let the football do the work. It says he liked Mahomes but didn't interfere.

That doesn't make sense though. In order for that to be true, Whaley had to be the one totally in charge of the draft and making the decision on the trade, against the wishes of the coach and owner. It makes no sense to want a guy, let your football guy run the draft because he knows these players better than you, then fire the guy for not doing what you wanted.

[JohnC]

 

Of all the picks that the Bills made last year, that was the one he was most excited about; he couldn't believe his luck that Washington was still available there. If I could conjure up the interest to care about the Bills any more I'd be very curious to see what he's going to do under a potentially competent defensive staff.

 

 

 

That is absolutely the #1 reason that he's not here now; at least among the reasons that he actually had control over.

He can't control the fact the Pegulas and their little ass-sniffing lapdog are incompetent asshats with zero clue as to what they're doing.

I have said this on a few other postings so I apologize for the repetition. Although I have been highly critical of Whaley because of his seemingly lack of urgency on addressing the qb issue I believe that in this draft he was determined to draft a top tier qb from this draft class. Since Trubinsky was off the board he would have probably taken Mahomes first and Watson as the other option. All indications are that it was going to be Mahomes. However, he didn't have the authority to make the pick.

 

I believe that this was a pivotal point for the organization but because a HC was making the pick with a short term perspective as opposed to a GM who has the longer term perspective this organization let an opportunity slip by again.

 

I agree with Whaley's view that TT wasn't a credible starting qb and will never be. McDermott thought that TT was a viable option. Even if the owner was going to fire Whaley he should have taken his advice. Now this franchise is again set back. Owner blunders don't move you forward they set you back from the original starting line.

 

If Mahomes and Watson become as good as I think they will this fan base will be furious. When an organization thinks small it becomes small. Same story constantly being repeated.

[dave mcbride]

That doesn't make sense though. In order for that to be true, Whaley had to be the one totally in charge of the draft and making the decision on the trade, against the wishes of the coach and owner. It makes no sense to want a guy, let your football guy run the draft because he knows these players better than you, then fire the guy for not doing what you wanted.

My view: he fired Whaley because he trusts McDermott to make the right move more than he does Whaley. McDermott came on board in January and couldn't create a board on his own, so he had to use what he had (plus maybe some bits and pieces from the Panthers' board, but I digress). Whaley did the board for him because that's his job. Whaley isn't an idiot, and he and scouting group's reports were probably regarded by SM as essentially reliable for most players. They're going to disagree on some things, though, and as I've said elsewhere, the wildly differing views on Taylor are at the root of everything. If Whaley wanted a qb, it just shows again that he wasn't invested in Taylor. McDermott is, and Pegula, regardless of his view on Mahomes, deferred to McDermott and let him make the decision. Not hard to understand.

 

To reiterate: I think differing views on Tyrod Taylor are pretty much at the root of everything. I'm not passing judgment on the player one way or the other; I'm just saying that the dispute surrounding TT is ultimately what laid Whaley low. It is been dividing this team for a while now, and we hit critical mass late this past season. Time will tell whether Whaley was right or not.

Edited May 1, 2017 by dave mcbride

[Coach Tuesday]

If Mahomes and Watson become as good as I think they will this fan base will be furious. When an organization thinks small it becomes small. Same story constantly being repeated.

 

This is certainly true. I hate to root against players (unless they're on the Patriots) but if either of those guys turns out to be a stud, just... ugh.

[dave mcbride]

 

If Mahomes and Watson become as good as I think they will this fan base will be furious. When an organization thinks small it becomes small. Same story constantly being repeated.

Conversely, if Taylor plays like he did in the final 3 games of last season (qb ratings of 100.1, 105.2, and 118.4), people won't care about Mahomes. As I've said elsewhere, the offense is set up for Taylor to succeed this season: he'll be throwing to a healthy Watkins in a contract year, a better, bigger #2 WR in Jones; and a TE who he clicked with really well late (15 catches on 17 targets in the final 2 games). There is also a potential ly big upgrade at RT and an elite RB to feed the ball to. Plus Dennison is a pretty solid coordinator.

Edited May 1, 2017 by dave mcbride

[Kelly the Dog]

My view: he fired Whaley because he trusts McDermott to make the right move more than he does Whaley. McDermott came on board in January and couldn't create a board on his own, so he had to use what he had (plus maybe some bits and pieces from the Panthers' board, but I digress). Whaley did the board for him because that's his job. Whaley isn't an idiot, and he and scouting group's reports were probably regarded by SM as essentially reliable for most players. They're going to disagree on some things, though, and as I've said elsewhere, the wildly differing views on Taylor are at the root of everything. If Whaley wanted a qb, it just shows again that he wasn't invested in Taylor. McDermott is, and Pegula, regardless of his view on Mahomes, deferred to McDermott and let him make the decision. Not hard to understand.

 

To reiterate: I think differing views on Tyrod Taylor are pretty much at the root of everything. I'm not passing judgment on the player one way or the other; I'm just saying that the dispute surrounding TT is ultimately what laid Whaley low. It is been dividing this team for a while now, and we hit critical mass late this past season. Time will tell whether Whaley was right or not.

I agree with all of that. That's why it makes zero sense that Pegula fired Whaley for not taking Mahomes.

 

I think Whaley wasn't behind TT and McD was. Pegula became enamored with McD's discipline anti-Rex attitude and gave him control. That's why Whaley is gone. Not because he didn't want Mahomes. Clearly McD ran draft after Whaley set his board.

[dave mcbride]

I agree with all of that. That's why it makes zero sense that Pegula fired Whaley for not taking Mahomes.

 

I think Whaley wasn't behind TT and McD was. Pegula became enamored with McD's discipline anti-Rex attitude and gave him control. That's why Whaley is gone. Not because he didn't want Mahomes. Clearly McD ran draft after Whaley set his board.

I agree. Mahomes is just a guy who is not TT, and TT is the real issue. Like a say above, TT ended the season with three straight games of over a 100 qb rating. I can see McDermott and Dennison looking at that and saying, "explain to me again why you're trying to run this guy out of town?" When views on the qb are that divergent, the situation is unsustainable.

 

Another thing about Taylor: regardless of the flaws in his game, he is a gamer willing to play through pain and a serious, no-BS grinder. That is absolutely the sort of player SM has said he wants.

Edited May 1, 2017 by dave mcbride

[BuffaloHokie13]

I have said this on a few other postings so I apologize for the repetition. Although I have been highly critical of Whaley because of his seemingly lack of urgency on addressing the qb issue I believe that in this draft he was determined to draft a top tier qb from this draft class. Since Trubinsky was off the board he would have probably taken Mahomes first and Watson as the other option. All indications are that it was going to be Mahomes. However, he didn't have the authority to make the pick.

 

I believe that this was a pivotal point for the organization but because a HC was making the pick with a short term perspective as opposed to a GM who has the longer term perspective this organization let an opportunity slip by again.

 

I agree with Whaley's view that TT wasn't a credible starting qb and will never be. McDermott thought that TT was a viable option. Even if the owner was going to fire Whaley he should have taken his advice. Now this franchise is again set back. Owner blunders don't move you forward they set you back from the original starting line.

 

If Mahomes and Watson become as good as I think they will this fan base will be furious. When an organization thinks small it becomes small. Same story constantly being repeated.

Picking up an additional 1st round pick for next year isn't lacking long term vision, it's trusting your own evaluations enough to go with the long term play. Don't confuse this forum's player evaluations with the Bills'. All indications were that our pick at 10 was going to be Lattimore, not Mahomes.

[oldmanfan]

The great unknown is whether or not McD is going to be one of those good coordinators who winds up being a good HC, or one of those guys who tops out as a coordinator and doesn't have what it takes for the HC spot. And the only way you'll ever know is to give him a shot and see.

 

The Pegulas from what I can tell did it right this search, brought in several guys to look at, didn't get starry eyed over a name like they did with Rex, got input from people, and made their call. Only time will tell if it's the right one.

 

As for Doug, what would have been preferable to me is if the owners and the GM had not gone out of their way to talk about how well they were working together, etc, etc. To do that and then see the guy get canned within hours after the draft just makes them look dishonest. I would have preferred that Whaley be moved in the organization to a scouting director, or director of pro personnel. It's something he's good at, and probably really would prefer to be honest. But I understand the new GM will want to make that call.