Whaley's duties will include player evaluation and the hiring of top personnel for the XFL's eight teamsGETTY IMAGES
The XFL has made its first major football personnel hire, naming former Bills GM DOUG WHALEY as Senior VP/Football Operations. Whaley will work out of the the XFL's Stamford, Conn., HQ. He will start on Dec. 1 and report to XFL Commissioner OLIVER LUCK. "He will be my right hand man, so to speak, for all things football," Luck said. Whaley's duties will include player evaluation and the hiring of top personnel for the XFL's eight teams, as well as football operations duties such as scheduling. The XFL is set to begin play in '20. Whaley has more than 20 years of football experience, including serving as Bills GM from ’13-17. He also has worked for the Steelers and Seahawks. Whaley was named the Dir of College Recruiting for the NFLPA’s Collegiate Bowl earlier this year, and he will continue to serve in that position through the end of this month. Luck said he interviewed 15-20 people for the new position. "What stuck out in my mind about Doug was a) his intelligence, and b) his willingness to innovate with us. Every football person, to a certain degree is a traditionalist, but Doug likes to think outside the box and that was attractive because we want to try to do things a bit differently." One of the first orders of business for Whaley and Luck will be to hire coaches and GMs for the eight teams in the league. Under the XFL system, there will be one person who serve in both roles. Hiring coaches will begin in Q1 of '19, Luck said. He added the league may begin signing some players, at least QBs, in early '19.
