The Bills have had a rough time in recent months from a P.R. perspective. Coincidentally (or not), they have a new P.R. chief.
Derek Boyko joins the Bills as Vice President of Communications. The team announced the move on Thursday. Former head of P.R. Scott Berchtold will become a Special Assistant.
Boyko spent 17 seasons as the director of public relations with the Eagles. He’ll be the team’s primary media contact.
One of Boyko’s most immediate challenges will be to reverse the perception/reality of dysfunction within the organization. Although owner Terry Pegula has balked at the notion that things aren’t working as they should, a disastrous end-of-season press conference from G.M. Doug Whaley became all the proof anyone needs to support the idea that the Bills finished 2016 in chaos.
Boyko, who knows a thing or two about dysfunction after surviving the Chip Kelly/Howie Roseman days in Philly, will be a critical voice in the effort to direct the franchise internally and to shape the message externally, via the establishment and maintenance of a line of communication with those in position to influence fans and other media regarding whether the Bills are, or aren’t, operating in the way that they should be.
