In case you weren’t aware, the Buffalo Bills fired general manager Doug Whaley and his entire scouting department one day after the draft — something that was rumored to be on the horizon in the days leading up to the annual event. After the annihilation, owner Terry Pagula addressed the media, and he struggled when asked about whether people should believe the Bills are “actually getting things right” for once.
Pleasant little exchange with Terry Pegula in his press conference. pic.twitter.com/sfIbrHYHYF
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) April 30, 2017
Pagula tried to shove the Whaley issue on the previous Bills regime, aka Ralph Wilson. And while it’s true Whaley replaced longtime general manager Buddy Nix in 2013 when Wilson was still the owner, the Pagula family did sign him to a multi-year extension just last year.
“We are pleased to announce a multi-year contract extension with our general manager Doug Whaley,” Pegula said in a team statement last January. “Doug has demonstrated an excellent eye for talent and has been an asset to the organization on many levels. I look forward to working closely with Doug and coach (Rex) Ryan for many years to come.”
So for Pegula to have said, “we didn’t hire Doug Whaley” is very misleading. He did give Whaley a huge vote of confidence and was involved in the decision to keep him on board, along with the decision to hire Rex Ryan.
With that in mind, the question of competency is worth exploring. And Pegula should realize that his team hasn’t been to the playoffs in nearly two decades — the longest drought in the NFL right now.
To just brush aside questions about what has transpired the past few years and say, “we need to talk about the future, not the past,” and asking fans to just assume things will get better because the owner is going to be directly involved in hiring a new general manager doesn’t exactly inspire confidence things are going to change.