The Pittsburgh Steelers are pulling a page out of the Buffalo Bills’ handbook. in a way.
The Bills’ current front-office brass would tell you that they do their “due diligence” on everything. The Steelers are certainly doing just that.
In an effort to find a new general manager, Pittsburgh has interviewed 16 candidates. For those wondering, yeah, that is a lot.
And they’ve cast a net so wide it hit a former Buffalo general manager in Doug Whaley.
The Steelers announced over the weekend that the former Bills GM had interviewed for the position.
Whaley, 49, was in Buffalo from 2013 to 2017. He was dismissed by the Bills after the 2017 NFL draft and was replaced by current general manager Brandon Beane.
That year’s draft had Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott already on board, however, Whaley was let go right after… as was the team’s entire scouting department.
Despite interviewing in Pittsburgh, Whaley is a known commodity there already. Whaley worked under now former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert for 10 years before joining the Bills.
Colbert stepped down from his GM post after the 2022 draft.
Whaley has not worked in the NFL since his stint in Buffalo and he is currently the vice president of player personnel for the XFL.