He served as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers and the senior advisor and director of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In what was largely seen as a power struggle between himself and head coach Bill Cowher, Donahoe left the team following the 1999 season.
[3] Before the 2001 season, Donahoe was selected to replace John Butler as general manager of the Buffalo Bills, as well as take over the position of team president from a retiring Ralph Wilson.
[3] Wilson, while still maintaining ownership of the team, wanted to step aside from the day-to-day operations of the franchise, and chose Donahoe to take his place.
Wilson re-assumed the role of president,[5] and the general manager position was filled by former Bills head coach Marv Levy.