According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, XFL Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Whaley completed his second interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is the third candidate to receive or be scheduled for a second interview.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers VP John Spytek and Tennessee Titans VP Ryan Cowden are the two others. Omar Khan and Brandon Hunt are also being considered and currently, work for the team. The Steelers are looking to replace the current GM, Kevin Colbert, who is retiring.
Whaley was GM of the Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2017. He did work as the Steelers pro personnel coordinator for ten years before taking the Bills job.
There are a lot of former Buffalo Bills employees with the XFL, including President Russ Brandon and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Marc Ross. You can also include former Buffalo Bills HC Wade Phillips in the mix.
Whaley is a Pittsburgh native and attended Upper St. Clair High School before playing defensive back at the University of Pittsburgh. Some feel he is the front runner at this point with all his ties to the city and team.
If he leaves, the question becomes, who will replace him? Could we see the return of Eric Galko? Galko served as the director of player personnel for the XFL 2.0 era. He is currently the director of football operations and player personnel for the nation’s longest-running college football all-star game, the East-West Shrine Bowl.
