Bills award GM Whaley multi-year extension

The Buffalo Bills have signed General Manager Doug Whaley to a contract extension, co-owner Kim Pegula announced on Sunday afternoon.

“We have agreed to a contract extension with Doug Whaley!” she tweeted, along with a photo of Whaley with pen in hand and on contract, flanked by co-owner Terry Pegula and team president Russ Brandon.

Bills owner Terry Pegula was staunch in his affirmation that the tandem of Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan wasn’t going anywhere, despite another disappointing season.

Ryan was hired by Whaley last offseason and signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract amid fanfare and the expectation the franchise would end its 15-year playoff drought.

Whaley had been set to enter the final year of his previous deal, after being promoted to GM in May 2013, following the semi-retirement of previous GM Buddy Nix.

At their joint season-ending news conference last Monday, however, both Ryan and Whaley insisted they could, and would.

Despite the contract, Whaley and Ryan, who has four years remaining on his contract, will be under plenty of pressure to win in 2016.

Whaley has been instrumental in building the roster from the ground up.

“The only thing that I expect to do is every day come in here and try to get better”, said Whaley in a release.

Whaley then talked about continuity and staying the course, saying, “That’s one of the things that the Pegula’s totally believe in”. In the 2015 draft, Whaley added instant contributors with Buffalo’s first three picks: Ronald Darby, John Miller and Karlos Williams.

In 2014, Whaley made his most controversial move when he traded up in the first round of the draft for the chance to select Sammy Watkins, and while the price was high, Watkins looks to be a future star.