Why a GM cannot go “rogue” in a decision to cut a player; Must Read

Yesterday there was news that Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley went “rogue” on his mission to cut Fred Jackson.

Well that sounds like an interesting comment, so I talked to several NFL personnel who made it clear that going Rogue is almost impossible to do, because so many people have their hands in the pot.

I talked to three NFL officials who stated the comment was a BS comment.

One person high up on an AFC North team told us:

“You should actually stop and think about it. NFL teams have personnel meetings w/ staff (coaching and personnel) to determine who likes who and discuss who to keep. Saying a GM is going Rogue is ignorant.”

Another long time NFL scout told me this about the releasing process, and who was all involved. He said everyone has to be on board.

“Not every coach may be on board but the HC & GM have to be on the same page. “

There were reports that Fred and Doug Whaley didn’t get along, and that may be true, but many people had to sign off on this deal. Fred Jackson was getting up there in age, but one former General Manager made a very valid point when he told is this:

The GM and HC make ultimate decision. I’m a pretty sure Rex was part of the discussion and if he had a problem with it, Fred would still be a Buffalo Bill.

With that being said, this sounds like someone leaked this information to put the blame on Doug Whaley when they realized that Fred was upset about his release. So before you say Doug Whaley is a bad guy, You might want to look into his past. So far Whaley has been pretty amazing as a GM. He traded for Jerry Hughes, traded for LeSean McCoy and has put together a couple solid drafts for the Bills.

Without Doug Whaley the Bills are a 7-9 to 9-7 team in 2015. I think they will make the playoffs this year, and if they do will you be mad that they cut a 34 year old running back?