Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has won the Jack Horrigan Award from the Professional Football Writers of America for his cooperation with the media.
Beane is the 49th Horrigan Award winner and second member of the Buffalo franchise to receive the honor. He was voted the PFWA's executive of the year in 2020.
The Horrigan Award is given to the league or club official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job.
The award is named for Horrigan, who was a sportswriter for UPI and the Buffalo Evening News, public relations director for the American Football League (1963-66) and vice president of public relations for the Bills (1966-73).
Beane has made himself available to beat reporters, especially on newsworthy matters, and has been thoughtful and straightforward in his interactions with the media.
A few years ago, Beane had reporters spend time at the Bills facility for an informal scouting session outlining what he and his scouts are looking for when evaluating players.
Before the pandemic, Beane would hold a lengthy session at the end of mandatory minicamp to answer questions for stories in advance of training camp. Even amid COVID-19 restrictions, Beane has kept Zoom sessions going until reporters didn't have any more questions.
“Since becoming the Bills’ general manager in 2017, Beane has routinely made himself available to reporters in both good and difficult times,” said Matthew Fairburn, Bills beat writer for The Athletic and the Buffalo PFWA chapter president. “He is genuinely interested in explaining the team’s roster-building process and organizational philosophies. He doesn’t shy away from questions or story ideas that will shed light on why the team does what it does.”
Beane's success in rebuilding the Bills is notable as well.
Buffalo has only two holdovers from before he arrived in defensive end Jerry Hughes and long snapper Reid Ferguson. In his first season, the Bills ended a 17-year playoff drought, the longest active streak in the four major U.S. pro sports at the time. Buffalo has qualified for the postseason in three of his four years.
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