Archives for January 2013

‘”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.”‘

‘If Marrone, a renowned disciplinarian, understands that he is now coaching men, and not budding young men, his hurdle will be far easier to clear.’

‘”He didn’t mention it, but he gets a lot of credit for what went on in New Orleans,” Nix said, referring to Marrone’s three years as offensive co-ordinator under Sean Payton from 2006-2008. “He has been through rebuilding and turning around (teams). He has done it and he knows how to do it. You would like to think that you wouldn’t hire someone that this league was foreign to, that didn’t understand the NFL because it is different. But with seven years in he knows how to do it, plus he’s run the show at Syracuse.”‘

‘”I feel this town. And the core values here, again, are one of the things I look for. We’re going to be proud of this organization,” he said.’