Happy Hour Replay: Doug Whaley dishes on... everything
Working with Rex Ryan. The XFL. Interviewing for the Steelers GM job. And, hey, remember the time the Bills thought they'd land Russell Wilson? Whaley has stories to share with subscribers.
Good morning, readers! I hope everyone has a phenomenal Father’s Day.
What a glorious lawn-mowing weekend ahead. Blast that Tyler Childers, and enjoy.
We’re ramping the Happy Hours back up here at Go Long, so — to give everyone a feel — here is our replay with Doug Whaley from this week. These sessions on Zoom give our subscribers a chance to ask people around the NFL whatever you’d like.
Whaley worked in pro personnel with the Pittsburgh Steelers, headed to Buffalo, took over as GM of the Buffalo Bills from May 2013 to 2017 and, now, is the Senior VP of Player Personnel for the XFL.
We got into everything…
How close the Buffalo Bills were to drafting Russell Wilson. (Very.)
Nearly getting back into the NFL. Whaley was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ GM job this offseason. What were those interviews like?
Those wild Rex Ryan days.
The XFL. How can this league think outside of the box, and would they sign big names such as Colin Kaepernick?
The relationship between the media and NFL front office — and why everyone could’ve benefited from seeing this side of Whaley.
Thinking about subscribing? When you do, let me know who you want to share a drink with on a Happy Hour and I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.
Thanks, everyone. The full replay is above. If podcasting is your thing, we have this Happy Hour episode right in the Go Long feed, too:
APPLE
SPOTIFY
This was excellent content. No fat left on the bone as Tyler says. Doug speaks openly about his experiences with the wisdom of a guy who's been around for a long time but is still energized by the game. Great questions from the audience. Joe's suggestion about an American Idol-style contest for an entry position into a front office is a heck of an idea.
Other ideas:
1. Regarding each team needing a good QB to succeed in the XFL and thus considering a sorting system, I wonder how the XFL could shape its rules so that a team's success is not as heavily dependent on QBs as the NFL is. In fact, this is maybe the NFL's most frustrating problem for a fan: 53 dudes and it generally comes down to one.
2. How could the XFL tailor its league so that excellent football players whose skills don't translate to the NFL are possible all stars in the XFL?
3. Most fans like personal, human interest stories to connect them to the players. At the same time, a percentage of fans want much more about Xs and Os and the human interest bits can get redundant. How can the XFL deliver an approach to satisfy cerebral fans?
4. Fantasy XFL leagues.
Thanks again. Love these talks with GMs and scouts.
Great to hear unfiltered thoughts from a guy who's been around - find a Green Bay guy next.