Bills fire GM Whaley, scouting staff 1 day after NFL draft

Bills fire GM Whaley, scouting staff 1 day after NFL draft

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Whether it was sitting together in a golf cart watching training camp or sharing dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant, Bills owner Terry Pegula and general manager Doug Whaley were nearly inseparable last summer.

The decision was reached shortly after the two met at 8 a.m., a day following the NFL draft, and it completed a front-office purge that began with coach Rex Ryan being fired in the final week of last season.

Pegula said "things change," when asked why he signed Whaley to a four-year contract extension in January 2016, and then backed him this January after Ryan was fired.

Buffalo opened by acquiring two selections, including a first-rounder next year, in a trade with Kansas City to move back 17 spots and select LSU cornerback Tre'Davious White at 27th.

Whaley worked up the scouting ranks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, before the Bills hired him as an assistant general manager in 2010.

Whaley has been second-guessed on a number of selections, including the decision to trade two draft picks — including Buffalo's 2015 first-round selection — to Cleveland to move up five spots and pick receiver Sammy Watkins with the fourth selection in the 2014 draft.