After the playoff hopes were officially ruined with an embarrassing loss to the Washington Redskins, the organization seems to be at a crossroads. Rex Ryan has failed, now there are rumors about the fate of Doug Whaley, overall reports out of One Bills Drive do not seem good.These next two weeks will be very important for this franchise, one with a lot of potential on the roster.
There were rumors before the game about a “showdown” that could be coming this off season between Whaley, and Rex Ryan as well as his assistant coaches. According to CBS Sports, the GM and coaches have repeatedly been at odds about the use of Sammy Watkins, who Whaley wants to see used more. Whaley has also been levying to get rid of Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, who was brought in by Rex Ryan.
As you would have expected, Rex denied the rumors when asked about them after the game. “That’s the one thing they’re dead wrong on, so there’s no truth to that. I can promise you that.” The quote from Rex wasn’t very telling, considering he has promised many things this season, most of which he has not followed through on.
May 26, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan (left) and general manager Doug Whaley talk during the organized team activities at the ADPRO Sports Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
If I’m the Pegulas, I would be very cautious when dealing with this situation with Rex. Doug Whaley has for the most part done a great job bringing in a talented roster, save the E.J. Manuel mistake. Whaley gave Rex a play off caliber roster on both sides of the ball, one that featured arguably the best defense in the league last year. Now that “defensive genius” Rex Ryan has control of the defense, it is awful, look no further than the loss to the Redskins. Rex’s defense was absolutely shredded by Kirk Cousins! That’s about as bad as it gets.
Whaley has found some really nice pieces for this team in the draft of late. For example, Ronald Darby, Preston Brown, Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Stephon Gilmore, just to name a few. He has also made some great off season moves, there is certainly no lack of talent on this team. No one is unhappy with the people on the roster. Can anyone blame Whaley for wanting to see Sammy Watkins get the ball more?
Players are unhappy with the coaching, especially on defense. How many times has Mario Williams voiced his opinion about how bad the scheme is on defense. Sammy Watkins the same because of the fact he never sees the ball, even when he dominates games. It’s not the GM that makes players be undisciplined, and it didn’t happen last year, none of this did. The common denominator in all of this is Rex Ryan, and the coaches he has brought in.
Doug Whaley should stay as the GM of the Buffalo Bills, despite how Rex feels. Rex Ryan should not be afforded total control of this team, we all saw how that went with the Jets. Rex Ryan needs to suck it up and realize he ruined the defense and the team, though his ego might take a hit it’s best for this team. Rex Ryan will be staying in Buffalo because of his contract, Doug Whaley should too.