Archives for January 8, 2013

‘Success for Marrone will come down to how he constructs his coaching staff and, most importantly, picks his quarterback. Marrone will almost certainly sink or swim based on the quarterback the Bills draft this April. Until we see how that choice plays itself out, there is no sense in jumping off the bandwagon just yet.

‘It was clear that Marrone’s initial interview was the best of the bunch and had Buffalo’s brass leaning in his direction from the early goings in the process. “It was a developmental process,” said Brandon. “We had an interview lined up with him. We conducted it and then based on feedback we set up other ensuing conversations to continue the process. From our opening conversation we were so impressed that the spotlight was really on him.”‘

‘”It’s going to take some time for me to know the players and for the players to get to know me. But I’m looking forward to getting together with them and starting that process.”‘

‘”We wanted toughness, we wanted intellect, we wanted a culture change, a guy that will bring leadership, competitive leadership,” said Russ Brandon, Bills president and chief executive officer. “We wanted to hopefully have someone with an NFL pedigree and head coaching experience. Doug was a perfect candidate.”‘

‘He made the game easy to understand, and he coached in a way that required no sugar-coating. You didn’t have to figure out what he was trying to tell you. It’s just cut and dried; this is how it is, straightforward.’

‘However thick his skin, Marrone strikes me as a guy with an edge, a coach who will demand a high standard from his players and everyone else in the organization. I don’t care if he came from college. An NFL player will respond to a coach who is consistent and fair, and who makes him better.’

‘”I haven’t had the time to make those evaluations,” Marrone said. “I don’t talk about players in the press. I’m looking forward to evaluating this time with our great scouting staff, getting to know them, and starting that process.”‘

‘”Doug has restored Syracuse football to its rightful place and we are appreciative of the foundation he has laid on and off the field for the future success of the program,” Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross said in a statement. “We wish him the absolute best in his opportunity in the NFL. We look forward to improving on our success, as we have great momentum heading into the ACC. We will put a head coach in place who will continue down the successful path we are on.”‘

‘I’ll go out on a limb here and say Doug Marrone will end up somewhere between Harvey Johnson and Marv Levy in Bills coaching lore. Seriously, how does anybody know?’

‘”By Doug being here, we restored some normalcy to the Syracuse program,” MacPherson said. “Everyone is very grateful to him for doing that. The only said part is, he has to leave and go to Buffalo.”‘

‘Marrone brings excitement, a proven track record and – if he’s able to bring in a good defensive coordinator – I think Bills fans should be happy with the direction of the franchise. There have been many reports that Marrone was on the radar of several teams looking to fill a head coaching vacancy, and in his press conference he said he chose Buffalo.’

‘Just show me the playoffs, then I’ll believe.’

‘The fact that Marrone was linked to Philadelphia, San Diego and Cleveland’s openings shows that the Bills weren’t alone in wanting him, like they were for Chan Gailey. Marrone wanted to be in Buffalo over other teams. I also wasn’t aware of how highly-regarded he is among other NFL coaches, having come off of the Bill Parcells and Sean Payton coaching trees.’

‘”When we looked at the criteria for what we were looking for in our next head coach, we wanted toughness, we wanted intellect, we wanted a culture change, a guy that will bring leadership, competitive leadership,” newly minted Bills president and CEO Russ Brandon said. “We wanted hopefully (to) have someone with an NFL pedigree and head coaching experience. Doug was the perfect candidate.”‘