Doug Whaley Passing on Patrick Mahomes Rumored to Be 'Final Straw' Before Firing

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the final straw for former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley came during the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday, when he traded the No. 10 selection to the Kansas City Chiefs rather than draft quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

According to that report, owner Terry Pegula "loved" Mahomes and "stumped hard" for him.

Whaley was fired by the Bills on Sunday.

There have been conflicting reports about Whaley's dismissal, however, with plenty of speculation before the draft that the general manager was on his way out. Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News reported in March that new head coach Sean McDermott was essentially running football operations.

However, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reported Sunday that, "Despite Whaley being fired immediately after the draft, Pegula said McDermott did not 'lead the charge' in the draft process and that Whaley 'put the whole thing together.' Pegula added the draft 'went pretty well,' but when questioned why Whaley was fired one day later, Pegula said, 'We have certain aspects we need to get a little better in.'"

Pegula also explained the timing of the move, per Howard Simon of WGR: 

Whaley wasn't the only one to go, as the Bills also fired their entire scouting staff in a major shakeup. Despite the odd timing of the moves, however, a change in course was understandable. After all, the Bills haven't made the playoffs since 1999.

As for the quarterback position, the team selected Pittsburgh's Nathan Peterman in the fifth round. And the Bills received the No. 27 and No. 91 picks in this year's draft and the Chiefs' first-rounder in 2018 in exchange for the No. 10 pick. They then traded the No. 44 and No. 91 picks to the Los Angeles Rams to move up to No. 37.

The Bills selected LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White 27th overall and wide receiver Zay Jones at No. 37.