Now that the 2017 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror for the Buffalo Bills, the speculation has gotten louder that there will be big moves made within the team's front office.
Just hours after the NFL Draft concluded, Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports tweeted the following:
Continue to hear a major shake-up of Bills front office is very possible if not probable. Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane top candidate
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 30, 2017
Bills scouts and personnel men told to be in the office in the AM where new of GM change could be revealed according to sources
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 30, 2017
Beane turns 40 in 2017 and interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers in January for their vacancy at general manager. He was with the Panthers for all six years that new Bills head coach McDermott was the defensive coordinator there.
This is also on the heels of a ProFootballTalk.com report leading up to the draft, that some members of the Bills scouting staff believed that they'd be out of a job next week.
Following the conclusion of the draft, and before the LaCanfora report, McDermott was asked about the future of GM Doug Whaley and the members of the player personnel staff, and no indication was given that those jobs were indeed safe. The entire exchange:
Q: As the voice of the organization, are you prepared to give a vote of confidence to Doug Whaley and his scouts because the rumors persist that they’re going to get fired before long?
A: Right now, I’m focused on this draft. Honestly. I’m going to focus on this draft and what we have in front of us going on right now with this priority free agent market right now. I will say that Doug and his staff did a phenomenal job. I will say that.
Q: That’s not a vote of confidence though.
A: Doug and his staff did a phenomenal job, okay. This is about the draft. Doug and his staff did a phenomenal job and we are focused on finishing this draft and looking at the priority free agents right now.
Couple this with even some growing speculation ahead of the draft, and during the draft, that McDermott was the one running the show in Buffalo, which left the obvious question about Whaley's role in all of it. Take this, for example, a tweet from Michael Lombardi, who was a longtime executive and once a GM in the NFL:
Im told Sean McDerrmott making all the moves in Buffalo....he is running this draft.
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) April 28, 2017
The Bills have yet to announce anything in regards to the player personnel department.
