There is nothing easy about being an NFL general manager. The paychecks are great, but the hours stink and there is a constant high level of scrutiny on your every move. It's probably easier to look at the job and come up with some advice for being better at the job after having actually failed.

This appears to be the case with former Bills GM Doug Whaley, who was fired one day after the 2017 NFL Draft. And Whaley, while appearing on Sirius XM Radio, said that if he was going to be a GM in the league again, the first thing he would do is make sure he got a hold of a franchise quarterback.

First of all, every time Tyrod Taylor throws a touchdown this year he should scream out "DOUUUUUUUUG!" The Bills quarterback was not given the franchise treatment by the GM but managed to outlast Whaley. Maybe he's not the long-term answer in Buffalo, but he was more than capable last year. 

Secondly, this completely ignores that Whaley thought he had a franchise quarterback. Whaley was in the front office when the Bills drafted EJ Manuel in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. That entire draft was a disaster, but Manuel still manages to stand out as a particularly egregious mistake. Virtually no one saw him going in the first round. 

Making matters worse is that Buddy Nix stepped down as GM after that draft. Whaley had an opportunity to disavow himself of the Manuel pick and instead doubled down. 

"I was an integral part in the drafting process of EJ Manuel," Whaley said at the time. "I was the person that handled the draft process and setting up the board."

Manuel really was a terrible, terrible pick.

Another poor choice in Whaley's tenure was the decision to trade up and grab Sammy Watkins. Watkins is a fine receiver, but the Bills gave up a future first-round pick in order to take Watkins over Mike Evans and Odell Beckham. Standing pat and taking whichever receiver fell would have been the prudent move.

Whaley decided to remind everyone that he did leave the Bills with an extra pick next year.

"Obviously we gave up one to go up and get Sammy, but I have to say as a parting gift, we left them with two [first-round picks] going into next year," Whaley said.

Apparently Whaley was given "credit" for the latest draft class, with him being the guy to pull the trigger on the selections but, according to a report from Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, everything had to go through coach Sean McDermott.  

So maybe Whaley will get credit for that trade, but it's probably better not to ascribe any success or failure from this draft class with the former GM. Which is weird, since Whaley wasn't technically in charge of his first draft, either, but probably ran it, when he selected Manuel.