Marrone opts out at Buffalo - headed for the Jets??? ...

Doug Marrone was not fired by the Buffalo Bills. instead Marrone opted out of his contract after two seasons at the helm.
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Marrone’s departure was made possible by language inserted into his contract after the bills were sold to terry pegula. with his self chosen departure Marrone also pockets his $4 million salary for the 2015 season without it counting as an offset against any future salary.
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“Doug Marrone informed me late today that he has decided to exercise the option clause in his contract and relinquish his responsibilities as our head coach,” - Pegula said in a statement. “we are disappointed that coach Marrone will no longer be an important part of our organization. - We thank him for all of his hard work and leadership during his tenure and wish him and his family the best with the next chapter in their lives.
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“We will now begin the important process of conducting a thorough search for a new head coach as we continue to strive to reach our goal of returning to the playoffs and bringing a championship to Buffalo for our fans.”
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The Bills finished the season 9-7 missing the playoffs again. The team has not been to the postseason since 1999.
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Almost as soon as reports circulated that Marrone had left the Bills some began pointing to the New York Jets as a potential landing spot.
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The Bills now enter the off-season looking for a head coach and a franchise quarterback.
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The Bills new owners are bringing in Polian as their new President - that may have done it. Rumors of a lot of FO in-fighting in Buffalo with Marrone on the losing side apparently. - Truth is Polian will probably clean house and they'll all be gone.

Jets interested in Doug Marrone, - Woody calls it 'good news'
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You can take the boy out of The Bronx, but you can’t take The Bronx out of the boy, and the Jets should go get Doug Marrone, the former head coach of the Bills and one of their own once, to succeed Rex Ryan.
Marrone is a tough, fearless, blue-collar football guy with nerve who has a chance to be a young Tom Coughlin, and not only because they share a connection with Syracuse University.

“Marrone is a spitting image of him,” Giants rookie defensive tackle Jay Bromley, who played at Syracuse under Marrone, told N.J.com over the summer. “There are a bunch of rules and stuff, but you don’t pay any attention to it. If you do the right things, you don’t ever run across anything where you are doing anything wrong.”

Marrone, with uncertainty surrounding new Bills owner Terry Pegula, opted out of his contract on New Year’s Eve, and the wheels began turning immediately inside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.

Hiring a head coach before a general manager isn’t the ideal way to go — unless you believe you have the right head coach (Pete Carroll/John Schneider, Andy Reid/John Dorsey).

Marrone not only knows the AFC East, he has proven to be a no-nonsense disciplinarian who isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions.

Unlike Ryan, who would not — or could not — bench Geno Smith early enough, Marrone yanked EJ Manuel after only four games and nearly made the playoffs with journeyman Kyle Orton, who just retired. And Manuel was the Bills’ No. 1 draft pick in 2013, ahead of Smith, the Jets’ second-round pick.

Marrone’s strong leadership during the blizzard that crippled Buffalo and forced the postponed Jets-Bills game to move to Detroit on a Monday night was exemplary.

When the Giants and Bills met in the Hall of Fame game, Marrone gushed about his admiration for Coughlin.

“He helped me out quite a bit when I was the head coach at Syracuse,” Marrone said. “We’ve always had a good relationship, and I think the common denominator is that we both went to school there, and we’re in this profession together.

“I have a lot of respect for him. I’ve always followed him, always admired the work that he’s done, and like I said before, we used to meet once a year. I’d go and talk to him and he helped me out quite a bit.”

When Marrone was hired by then-GM Buddy Nix, former Jets center Kevin Mawae, who played when Marrone was Jets offensive line coach under Herm Edwards from 2002-06, gave the Buffalo News a glowing recommendation.

“I’ve had four great offensive line coaches, and he’s definitely one of them,” Mawae said. “Buffalo’s lucky to have him. The one thing I always appreciated about Doug is he played the game. He played in college at a high level, played in the NFL. That gave him a perspective that a lot of times coaches don’t have. Players appreciate that.”

Marrone built Saints coach Sean Payton’s Super Bowl champion offensive line. “To be close to him and see what he went through as a head coach was obviously very helpful,” Marrone told SI.com.

Marrone always has been indebted to his coach at Syracuse, Dick MacPherson.

“Doug is a good coach,” Coughlin said in an interview not long after the Bills hired Marrone. “We’ve watched him closely when he was at Syracuse. He’s very serious, very smart. Syracuse is going to miss Doug Marrone, no doubt.”

So are the Bills.

The press conferences won’t be anywhere near as entertaining as Ryan’s. Marrone, secretive with injuries, is all football, all the time. Has been from Lehman High School, to watering the football fields at SUNY Cortland when he was tight ends coach, all the way to now. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/marrones-winning-season-left-few-satisfied-20141231

Bills reaction to Marrone being let go (the other side of the coin).

They grow some sour grapes in up state New York

I watched a few Bills games & I would agree, one thing they need up there was a new OC, "some" of the play calling was questionable, - every team has some of that. The team also needs a BIG up grade in their OL - or who they put in at QB or running back won't make any difference. - That can be done in the off-season - on the other hand they had one of the best defenses in the entire league - NICE to watch. - IMO they're on the verge of being a playoff contender. - They do need a new OC ... I think he might just be a good fit with the Jets ... one tough nut.

Why sign Marrone as the Jets next HC?

My response is the same as it was on another thread. No, the Jets shoujld not go and get Marrone simnply because he is out there. They should go through the process and hire a GM first, then hire a coach. Woody can't screw this up again!! Doug Marrone is not Bill Parcells. He doesn't deserve this kind of favorritism after only two seasons in the NFL>

LIJETFAN wrote:My response is the same as it was on another thread.  No, the Jets shoujld not go and get Marrone simnply because he is out there.  They should go through the process and hire a GM first, then hire a coach.  Woody can't screw this up again!!  Doug Marrone is not Bill Parcells.  He doesn't deserve this kind of favorritism after only two seasons in the NFL>  

I hope this is what the jets do...but woody seems itching to get Marrone hired.

Jets still flying out to meet with Quinn. That's good news.

"They should go through the process"
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Agree - one step at a time ...

Sarge wrote:They grow some sour grapes in up state New York

Daaaamn, If he was getting crucified in Buffalo by the press & fans, he will be eaten alive in NYC !

Stick to the plan Woody of hiring a GM and let him hire his HC.

Go Jets...Cyborg

Superman55 wrote:

LIJETFAN wrote:My response is the same as it was on another thread.  No, the Jets shoujld not go and get Marrone simnply because he is out there.  They should go through the process and hire a GM first, then hire a coach.  Woody can't screw this up again!!  Doug Marrone is not Bill Parcells.  He doesn't deserve this kind of favorritism after only two seasons in the NFL>  

I hope this is what the jets do...but woody seems itching to get Marrone hired.

You don't believe that Woody/Casserly were aware of Marrone's situation ahead of time? I think they might have known. As Cimini points out here, the Jets are using the correct process and might just have their new leaders in place by next week.





http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/48136/connecting-dots-between-casserly-marrone-and-maccagnan?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Also, Marrone just led the Bills to their first winning season in 10 years and turned around the Syracuse program as well. He's a Bronx native with Jets ties, and we know he gets his team prepared regardless of situation or circumstance.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Marrone

If Marrone was thinking about opting out, his agent has likely been testing the water for weeks

I agree on having a GM in place first and the GM naming the coach.

but Marrone immediately moves to the top of my list, along with Bowles and Quinn. and since I'd prefer an offensive coach over a defensive one, I may side with Marrone. plus he's from NY, coached for the Jets, and has actual HC experience.

didn't take long for manish the hack to take shots at marrone.  this may seal him as my favorite...  

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-consultants-pushing-doug-marrone-jets-article-1.2062892

hobson54 wrote:I agree on having a GM in place first and the GM naming the coach.

but Marrone immediately moves to the top of my list, along with Bowles and Quinn.  and since I'd prefer an offensive coach over a defensive one, I may side with Marrone.  plus he's from NY, coached for the Jets, and has actual HC experience.

Hobson, I think the gm is already in place( connecting the dots from the Cimini link I posted). Also, Manish seems to think that this has been in the works from the start. He hates Marrone(which makes me love it ). He calls this a "sleazy" process. I wonder how he felt about Belichick's and Kraft's "process" in 2000? At least with Marrone, it was written into his contract that he could leave.




http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-consultants-pushing-doug-marrone-jets-article-1.2062892

football51 wrote:

hobson54 wrote:I agree on having a GM in place first and the GM naming the coach.

but Marrone immediately moves to the top of my list, along with Bowles and Quinn.  and since I'd prefer an offensive coach over a defensive one, I may side with Marrone.  plus he's from NY, coached for the Jets, and has actual HC experience.

Hobson, I think the gm is already in place( connecting the dots from the Cimini link I posted). Also, Manish seems to think that this has been in the works from the start. He hates Marrone(which makes me love it ). He calls this a "sleazy" process. I wonder how he felt about Belichick's and Kraft's "process" in 2000? At least with Marrone, it was written into his contract that he could leave.




http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-consultants-pushing-doug-marrone-jets-article-1.2062892

lol...great minds 51

Mike RodakVerified account
‏@mikerodak
Doug Marrone told me after Sunday's game that he "has a lot of friends in this league." We're seeing that national support emerge.






Mike RodakVerified account
‏@mikerodak
And if we're seeing so much praise for Marrone outside of Buffalo, what does that say about how others view his situation here?





Mike RodakVerified account
‏@mikerodak
It seems as though there will be sympathy from teams looking to hire Marrone about his QB situation, Watkins trade.







I guess Mehta had to dig deep to find his "source", since the majority are in favor of what Marrone did.



On a side note, I wonder if he'll change OC's? Nate HACKETT might get the billboard crazies riled up just by his hiring .

If we hire Marrone and he takes Jim Schwatrz with him as DC, that would be fine with me

Dan Leberfeld
‏@jetswhispers
ESPN New York headline - "Doug Marrone has ally in Jets organization." He also has some in the media.





Dan Leberfeld
‏@jetswhispers
ESPN New York headline - "Doug Marrone has ally in Jets organization." He also has some in the media.

Leberfeld must be in the Quinn camp

Sarge wrote:If we hire Marrone and he takes Jim Schwatrz with him as DC, that would be fine with me

thought i read schwartz is under contract through 2016. of course, their new HC may have a say in who he wants as DC

Gary Myers is bashing Marrone too(it must be a running storyline for the Daily News to attack anything the Jets might do). He said if it was up to him, he'd choose Rex over Marrone. Well, you know who chose Marrone over Rex............. Mike Pettine, and it helped get him a HC job. I also laugh at Mehta/Myers calling out Marrone's integrity, yet they bow at the feet of Belichick.

More possible good new if Marrone is hired.








Jake Steinberg
‏@Steiny31
If #Jets hire Marrone as HC, gotta think there's a great chance he retains @Kcoach99.. They go way back. Were teammates on Steelers in 1991!





I think the interview may be done in conjunction with Marrone.




Jake Steinberg
‏@Steiny31
Texans have granted #Jets permission to interview Mike Maccagnan. #nyj