But as the new league calendar has now kicked in, alas there is hope for the future. Three NFL Franchises, each of which have been through at least a decade of mediocrity (in some cases worse), have found themselves ranked among those considered on the rise. Well, at least two of them. Who's behind these teams? Sashi Brown, Reggie McKenzie, and Doug Whaley...
Doug Whaley and Reggie McKenzie have actually been on their respective jobs, with the Buffalo Bills & Oakland Raiders for awhile now-but now the marvels of how they reshaped the rosters into respectable contenders has finally come into the light. Having worked as a personnel exec since 2011, Doug Whaley was promoted to GM in 2013-and was rewarded for his work with a four year contract extension after The 2015-2016 Season. The Buffalo Bills haven't been a playoff contender since the late 1990's; but thanks to his work, anything less than that would now be a disappointment. Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie took the then-unenviable job of bringing the Silver & Black back from the dead after serving as The Green Bay Packers Director Of Player Personnel from 1994 until moving on in 2012. That year, McKenzie inherited a team that had gone 4-12 the prior year and had traded away both of their First & Second Round Picks in the upcoming draft. Additionally, they had not made it to the playoffs since the 2002-2003 season. The last two seasons have had their bright spots, and have given Raider Fans something to hope for. And going into the new season, The Raiders appear ready to make the jump back into the playoffs. With a young, but well put together roster, much is expected from The Silver & Black for the first time in many years. That leaves us to the newest kid on the block, Sashi Brown. Recently hired as The Cleveland Brown's new General Manager & Executive VP Of Football Operations, the 39 Year Old Brown previously worked as General Counsel for The Jacksonville Jaguars-before being lured away to Cleveland. Unfortunately for Sashi Brown, The Cleveland Browns Organization has been downright bad for well over 20 years now-and has been the true picture of dysfunction since Jim Haslam bought the team in 2012. But as bad as things are/have been, the remake in progress for 2016 does have some believing that (like Their AFL Legacy Counterpart The Oakland Raiders) they may soon see brighter days ahead. Time will tell as to whether a larger Black Presence in The Front Office will lead to us seeing more Black Head Coaches on the sidelines…