Organizational dysfunction is a fun buzzword that is thrown around this time of year when analysts line up potential firings for Black Monday. And while the term has been used in association with Bills general manager Doug Whaley and head coach Rex Ryan, Whaley wanted to step in and put out any fires on Tuesday.
"Ownership has been great. My relationship with Rex Ryan is something that I cherish," Whaley said, via the team's official site. "I wake up every day happy to come in and work with him. My future, ownership doesn't have to tell me anything. I've always attacked my job with the mindset of let me do my job not to lose it, but to keep it and keep getting better. So until the ownership tells me I'm here for the long haul and get this team where we need to go."
He added, when asked specifically about Pegula family ownership: "They're always looking at what they can do to help us get better and what they need to do as owners to get better. That's their philosophy and outlook they've conveyed to us every time we've met. When your ownership comes to you and asks what else they can do to help us do your job better, that's a perfect scenario and the closest thing you can get to utopia in this league."
Though this might be some end-of-season politicking by Whaley, he seems like the kind of general manager Ryan has always wanted. Ryan and former Jets general manager John Idzik clashed due to Idzik's penchant for saving money and hording draft picks -- a directive he was given by ownership.
Whaley has been passenger side for some big-time wheeling and dealing during the Ryan era, which included a trade for LeSean McCoy and a massive seven-year, $103.2 million extension for defensive tackle Marcell Dareus.
He's aggressive just like Ryan, and they should find some common ground, especially after landing their quarterback of the near future in Tyrod Taylor.
The Bills cannot move on from their GM and place Ryan in the same situation he was in just a few years ago when Jets owner Woody Johnson fired general manager Mike Tannenbaum and forced his replacement to keep Ryan on board. It was awkward from the start and carried a lingering distrust that never quite went away.
If Whaley is still happy to come to work every day with Ryan, that's all the Pegula's need to hear.
