The Bills Have Cleaned House

A few hours after the completion of the NFL draft, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula announced that the team would be clearing out their front office—firing general manager Doug Whaley, along with the entire scouting staff.

The team has gone 30-34 under Whaley, who has been GM since 2013. They had one winning season in that stretch, a 9-7 campaign in 2014, but still extended the Bills’ playoff drought to a miserable seventeen years. The decision to fire him comes five months after the team fired former head coach Rex Ryan, whom Whaley was tasked with replacing. He hired Sean McDermott as Ryan’s replacement in January.

That Whaley was given the responsibility of hiring McDermott seemed somewhat like a vote of confidence for his position after it was made clear that he had absolutely zero role in firing Ryan or appointing Anthony Lynn as interim coach or anything else resembling the ordinary responsibilities of a general manager at the end of last season:

But Whaley hasn’t spoken to the media since January, with McDermott taking over all of the team’s draft coverage this week. Now, the Bills are changing course and sending him on his way.