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3) A new day in Buffalo
When the Buffalo Bills made the expected move of promoting Doug Whaley to the general manager position, he became the league's first and only minority hire of the offseason. The cringe-worthy stat of 0 for 15 can be retired; now it's 1 for 16. That has meaning.
I assume Bills fans will dwell on that for about two seconds before moving on to the guts of this move: It's great for their team.
I like it
It seems to be nearly impossible to pry an executive away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that's what the Bills did in 2010 with Whaley. A bright young star in this business, he's impressed everyone who has come across him with his smarts, and with something that's fairly essential for someone in his job: He knows what a good football player looks like. That, above all, is the feedback I heard from his peers. It's one reason that at least two prospective coaching candidates cited Whaley as a factor in their desire to land the Bills job. Bills CEO Russ Brandon made it clear that Whaley will shape the team's scouting philosophy, just as outgoing GM Buddy Nix did. "He will manage that process and have final say on the 53," Brandon said. "When it comes to the draft, as I like to use the term 'pull the tag,' Doug will pull the tag when it comes to the draft."
Whaley said all the right things on Thursday, as the Bills finished a total -- and stunningly under-the-radar -- organizational makeover in just a year. When asked about his time with the Steelers, Whaley said, "They don't accept losing." True. What he could have said is, "They know what a good football player is." Really, that's what the Steelers do: They find guys who can play this game, regardless of what they look like or how they work out in shorts. This, above all, will be Whaley's contribution. The Bills have inspired bouts of optimism during their long playoff-less stretch. Considering who is now running the organization, they look primed to create a little more.
3) A new day in Buffalo
When the Buffalo Bills made the expected move of promoting Doug Whaley to the general manager position, he became the league's first and only minority hire of the offseason. The cringe-worthy stat of 0 for 15 can be retired; now it's 1 for 16. That has meaning.
I assume Bills fans will dwell on that for about two seconds before moving on to the guts of this move: It's great for their team.
I like it
It seems to be nearly impossible to pry an executive away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that's what the Bills did in 2010 with Whaley. A bright young star in this business, he's impressed everyone who has come across him with his smarts, and with something that's fairly essential for someone in his job: He knows what a good football player looks like. That, above all, is the feedback I heard from his peers. It's one reason that at least two prospective coaching candidates cited Whaley as a factor in their desire to land the Bills job. Bills CEO Russ Brandon made it clear that Whaley will shape the team's scouting philosophy, just as outgoing GM Buddy Nix did. "He will manage that process and have final say on the 53," Brandon said. "When it comes to the draft, as I like to use the term 'pull the tag,' Doug will pull the tag when it comes to the draft."
Whaley said all the right things on Thursday, as the Bills finished a total -- and stunningly under-the-radar -- organizational makeover in just a year. When asked about his time with the Steelers, Whaley said, "They don't accept losing." True. What he could have said is, "They know what a good football player is." Really, that's what the Steelers do: They find guys who can play this game, regardless of what they look like or how they work out in shorts. This, above all, will be Whaley's contribution. The Bills have inspired bouts of optimism during their long playoff-less stretch. Considering who is now running the organization, they look primed to create a little more.
for the mere sake of
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