Two Bills Drive

'At least he will know and care what McDermott wants. Doug Whaley was known to go against the coaching staff's wishes on players such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Cassel and Fred Jackson. Whaley politicked for a quarterback, EJ Manuel, neither Doug Marrone nor Rex Ryan wanted.'

'Bills fans are powerless, as Terry Pegula suggested when he fired Whaley. He's the owner. They have no choice but to believe in them as owners regardless of their ineptitude since they purchased the Sabres seven years ago.'

'History shows us that the Bills have gone that more traditional route before and failed miserably with most of their GMs since Hall-of-Famer Bill Polian held the job.'

'A big reason the Bills were attracted to Beane — outside of his obvious connection to coach Sean McDermott – is his experience. In 19 years with the Panthers, Beane "gained experience in nearly every facet of the Panthers personnel department," according to the Bills' release announcing his hiring. Hurney named him director of football operations in 2008, and he held that job until becoming the assistant GM in 2015.'

'The 6-foot-1, 248-pound Bradford was inactive for his entire rookie season. The Packers released him during their final cuts before the 2015 season, then re-signed him to their practice squad, where he spent all of his second year.'

'From the moment Doug Whaley was fired the day after the NFL Draft concluded, Beane was the clear-cut front-runner for the job based on his association with Bills head coach Sean McDermott during their time together in Carolina.'

'Hurney: "The Bills hit a home run here. Brandon has a feel for every facet of the football side of things – from personnel to the salary cap to operations to everything. You name it, he has been involved with it. He has a great feel. He is one of the hardest workers you will find. He is one of the most competitive guys you will find, but that is what drives him. He is just exceptional."'

'Beane, 39, has been in the league for 19 years, all with the Carolina Panthers. He began in the team's media relations office after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1998. He also worked as director of football operations and was named assistant general manager in June of 2015. He served as interim general manager in 2012 before the Panthers hired current GM Dave Gettleman. Notably absent from Beane's resume is experience as an area scout.'

'The Bills drafted Matt Milano out of Boston College and Tanner Vallejo out of Boise State to compete with Ramon Humber at linebacker, but Bradford could work into the mix as well. Bradford played weak-side linebacker in Green Bay's 3-4 scheme but could also factor into the mix at strong-side linebacker for the Bills given his pass rushing history.'

'Beane will be introduced on Friday at 10:30 a.m. Beane comes to Buffalo via Carolina, where he spent the last 19 seasons, most recently as the team’s assistant general manager for the past two.'

'The power McDermott is wielding nearly mirrors that of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Who’s really the Pats head coach and general manager.'

'As if Carolina’s home game against Buffalo on September 17 weren’t interesting enough, the Bills officially announced Tuesday evening that Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane has been selected as Buffalo’s new general manager.'

'Now comes the next challenge: filling all the pro and college scouting jobs vacated by the mass firing the day after the draft. Given Beane’s background, finding the right scouts to fill out his staff takes on added importance.'

'Beane's hiring did not come as a surprise and completes a short search process, which began after team owner Terry Pegula fired GM Doug Whaley and his entire scouting staff the day after completing the NFL draft. The hiring also continues a house-cleaning that began with McDermott replacing Rex Ryan, who was fired in the final week of last season.'

'The Bills offer a significant challenge. They were 7-9 in 2016 and have had only one winning season since 2004.'