As first reported by USA Today’s Tom Pelissero, the Buffalo Bills will be hiring Houston Texans executive Brian Gaine for a front office role. Gaine, the Director of Player Personnel with the Texans, will become the Vice President of Player Personnel with the Bills. The team confirmed the hire.
Gaine was one of four candidates who interviewed for the Bills’ opening at general manager prior to the hiring of Brandon Beane last week. He had been running the pro personnel department in Houston for the last three seasons. Prior to that, he spent six years with the Miami Dolphins, where he worked alongside newly-hired Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen for six seasons.
Gaine broke into pro scouting back in 2001 with the New York Jets. Unlike Beane, who has worked in several different areas of football operations, Gaine has built a wealth of experience in one key area and should be an invaluable resource to the front office. The team will still need to hire a pro scouting staff underneath him, but nabbing someone of Gaine’s caliber at this point in the offseason is a huge win for the new front office.
Aside from the actual scouting staff, the last major need for the front office is someone to head the college scouting department. Given that Gaine was a general manager contender who ended up with the Bills, it’s possible they may try to pry one of their other interviewees, Trey Brown, away from the Philadelphia Eagles in a similar manner. I’d expect a hire (whether it be Brown or someone else) in the next few days.