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Monday’s epic (not in a good way) press conference involving Bills G.M. Doug Whaley created the impression that Whaley doesn’t have nearly as much power as a General Manager usually possesses. So the question then becomes obvious: If Whaley doesn’t, who does?

Unless he was lying about his lack of input or knowledge regarding the firing of former coach Rex Ryan, Whaley came off as a glorified scout at best, responsible for drafting and otherwise acquiring players but having no broader oversight regarding the football operations. Which suggests that the broader oversight as to the football operations is coming from a man who has not only survived but thrived as a football executive with sufficient distance from football matters to avoid accountability.

Bills president Russ Brandon, a central figure in the latter years of the Ralph Wilson regime, supposedly has been doing less and less with the Bills for a while. And yet Brandon still has a ladle in the stew at nearly every turn.

Brandon was, as Whaley admitted on Monday, a member of the four-person committee that settled on Ryan as the head coach in 2015. Last year, Brandon, ownership, and Ryan (but not Whaley) met with Tom Coughlin about a possible role with the team.

The effort to create the impression that Whaley isn’t involved with football operations nevertheless continues. Whaley said Monday that Brandon won’t be involved in the coaching search, given his “expanded responsibilities” at Pegula Sports Entertainment.

So what does Brandon do? Whaley, for some reason, doesn’t know.

“[H]e’s in charge of all — yeah, I don’t even know what he’s in charge of,” Whaley said. “I just know he’s in charge of a lot.”

Whaley didn’t know Ryan was going to be fired; chances are Brandon did. Chances are Brandon provided the input that would have come from Whaley, if Whaley were the one running the show.

Moving forward, look for the Brandon to continue to try to create the impression that he’s not responsible for the football operations while secretly pulling the strings on it. It’s a great gig to have, unless and until ownership realizes what’s going on and decides to apply the same degree of accountability to Brandon that is applied to people who are calling the shots when it comes to running a football team.