ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have a new front-office power structure in place, but as a practical matter, how is it going to work?

The four men who sat in chairs on the stage during Wednesday's introductory news conference for Rex Ryan (not including co-owner Kim Pegula, who sat in the front row of the audience) spoke of having "one ego" and "one direction," noble goals that might be more ideal than realistic.

The Bills have arranged their front office so that Ryan, general manager Doug Whaley and president Russ Brandon will all report directly to owner Terry Pegula, making the Bills the latest team to adopt the NFL's trend toward having head coaches report directly to owners.

It's not unlike the Miami Dolphins, where coach Joe Philbin will now report to owner Stephen Ross, or the New York Jets, where new coach Todd Bowles will answer only to owner Woody Johnson. The Atlanta Falcons -- once they hire a new head coach -- will have a new, similar structure.

The Bills' new approach keeps Whaley in charge of the 53-man roster while Ryan -- who coaches the players that Whaley selects -- doesn't answer to Whaley, but Pegula.

What happens, then, when Whaley and Ryan disagree on a football matter? After Wednesday's news conference, Whaley admitted that he isn't quite sure.

"That's an interesting question," Whaley told the Toronto Sun's John Kryk. "I think the way we look at it is there's going to be disagreements, and you want that. You want internal debate, external unity.

"Does it go to Terry? Does it go to Kim? Does it go to Russ? Wherever it goes, as long as it's the best decision for the Buffalo Bills."

File that one away.