Terry Pegula declines to give reason for Doug Whaley firing
Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula is remaining tight-lipped as to why he fired general manager Doug Whaley just a day after the conclusion of the NFL Draft.
Despite his opinion that the draft “went pretty well” and crediting Whaley for leading the draft effort, Pegula abruptly fired Whaley and much of the team’s scouting staff on Sunday morning, saying that the move was part of a “process.”
“We ran a process after the season ended and made the decision at this time,” Pegula said, via Mike Rodak of ESPN. “We ran a process, and as a result of that process, after the draft we made the decision.”
If Pegula is telling the truth, then he’s indicating that he made the decision about Whaley’s future in about a twelve hour window following the conclusion of the draft. He was tight-lipped when asked what, exactly, led to that decision.
“We have certain aspects we need to get a little better in,” Pegula said.
Pressed further on what those aspects were, the owner stated that his reasons were private and would remain so.
“I need to keep that private,” Pegula said. “I don’t want to discuss that publicly.”
While the public isn’t entitled to an answer, not offering one after such an oddly-timed firing looks bad, and adds to the Bills’ reputation as a somewhat dysfunctional organization — a reputation Pegula railed against earlier in the offseason.
