Rule of thumb: If one wants to know what any professional sports team in particular is up to, ask the general manager. Those guys usually know. There are exceptions, however, like with the Buffalo Bills. If you want to know what they're doing, do not ask GM Doug Whaley. Media who work in Buffalo tried that at a press conference Monday, when details about the Bills firing coach Rex Ryan were supposed to be discussed. It didn't work. Whaley had nothing to tell them:Reporters asked Doug Whaley several times,"Just what is your job and what do you do"? I was there and I still don"t understand what he does. pic.twitter.com/DynxQD9Y6b
— James P McCoy (@jmccoyphoto) January 2, 2017
OK…so are you aware that Rex Ryan is no longer head coach of the Buffalo Bills?Bills GM Doug Whaley asked why Rex Ryan was fired -- "I wasn't privy to the conversation so I cannot get into the details."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 2, 2017
So did you…Doug Whaley: I'm the GM of the football operation. I was told by my boss that I will no longer be working with a certain person. @WGRZ
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) January 2, 2017
OK, but you knew it could maybe happen?Doug Whaley says he didn't ask why Rex Ryan wasn't returning….
— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) January 2, 2017
The presser looked a lot like this exit interview of pop culture note:It seems pretty obvious that Whaley is playing ignorant in order to run interference for Bills ownership—husband and wife Terry and Kim Pegula—who simply don't want to explain themselves. Which probably explains why, just before Christmas, Whaley said this about his relationship with Rex Ryan:Doug Whaley now says he had no idea Rex Ryan was even in trouble of being fired. Also says he's responsible for language in contracts.
— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) January 2, 2017
There was "constant communication" between Whaley and Ryan as of late December, yet once Ryan got the axe, Whaley had no idea Ryan's job was in danger. OK. The way this is shaking out, it feels like the more everyone explains, the worse they all look. And they already looked pretty bad benching their starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor for the final game of the season to avoid being on the hook for nearly $31 million if he suffered an injury. And then compounded that by sending out interim head coach Anthony Lynn to answer questions about it. Like Whaley, Lynn—again, the head coach—said had no idea about the decision to bench his starting quarterback.The Bills have been one of the NFL's sickest franchises in the 2000s, and the glory days of the Super Bowl teams of the 1990s seem like an eternity ago. They can't even handle kickoffs anymore, much less press conferences.Will Whaley remain out of the loop on all organizational decisions, including, say, filling the position he didn't even know needed to be filled? No, he's going back to work for that task.Dec. 23, 2016: Doug Whaley answers questions about Rex's job security. Jan. 2, 2017: Doug Whaley says he had no idea Rex was in trouble. pic.twitter.com/CYL9m6aDpL
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 2, 2017
But will the Pegulas let Whaley know when they decide on the coach? It's 50-50 at best.Doug Whaley says he leads coach search but Pegulas have final decision on hiring a coach.
— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) January 2, 2017