Punch

Wasn't there a minor snafu or two in the media with Gailey mentioning players by name (in a negative light)? I wonder if this was something specifically addressed in his discussions with the Bills brass.

That is crucial. Too often over the past decade our assistant coaches have had resumes only slightly more qualified than TSW posters.

When the news came out that the Bills had interviewed Marrone on Friday, Shefter said they met on Wednesday--- this may explain the discrepancy. More of an "all of the above". "President and CEO Russ Brandon said over the course of last week the coach search committee met with Marrone five times." http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2013/01/07/bills-met-with-marrone-5-times/

NoSaint pointed out the New Orleans Saints OC, Pete Carmichael, has allowed his contract to expire and is currently available. He called the plays this year in NO, but it is believed Sean Payton will resume playcalling duties in 2013. Carmichael became OC when Marrone left for Syracuse.

He didn't specifically use the term "group"--- what I mean is, I'm glad to hear they used football analytics to some degree and that he'll be bringing those concepts to Buffalo.

I loved hearing that they had an analytics group at Syracuse. This is huge for me.

Fred Smerlas' (via https://twitter.com/FredSmerlas) reaction as it developed: SUNDAY MORNING "Thoughts over morning coffee: After reading about the # Bills selection for HC; I'm stunned. First thought about the # Bills HC selection was…what? Who's this guy? Why did they hire him? I'm stunned that people would think this is a good stunned. I thought the # Bills would be looking at Haslett, Lovie Smith, Kelly, Reid…. …the # Bills HC pick seemed to have Ralph Wilson's DNA on it. Doug Marrone, was HC for Syracuse for 4 years with a record of 25 - 25. With a record of 8 - 5 in 2012. Marrone may turn out to be a great coach; I just expected a bigger splash. I'm frozen solid in a state of shock. I'll be back when I thaw out..." TODAY Thoughts over morning coffee: The more I read about # Marrone, the more I like him. Not the guy I would have initially picked, though. The more I've listened to his present and past interviews, the more I think Marrone has 'it'; not a lot of college HCs or Pro assistants do. I think # Marrone has a little Parcell's in him, and that bodes well when dealing with # NFL Ids and Egos.

Brad Riter did write something about this on his Facebook page, but I don't think there was an implication that he's involved.

Here is one of several articles that suggested it: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000123323/article/philadelphia-eagles-cleveland-browns-back-at-square-one The story also links to another article that says: "NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported the Cleveland Browns met again with Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, two sources said. The Browns now are trying to decide who they prefer: Kelly or Marrone."

Sal Maiorana continues to be the least connected Bills reporter in Western NY as he recently filed a story on Bills #1 "candidate", Doug Marrone: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130106/SPORTS03/301060052/SU-s-Marrone-line-coach-Bills

The Bills weren't willing to wait around, so that's pretty plausible. Or Kelly told them from the get-go he wasn't really interested, we'll never know. I think the NFL is still not ready to embrace his methods and philosophy. The Patriots, Redskins, arguably the Seahawks and a few other teams are using elements of his style of offense to varying degrees and levels of success, but even fewer (virtually none) are using percentage based risk assessment like he does. The number of teams interested in Chip Kelly and his style of football will probably increase as the game continues to evolve--- and the lines between the college and pro games continues to blur.

I'm not sure, but for past decade or so, the Bills have been shopping at Airport Plaza Jewelers...

At the very least, for the next 3 years.

I'm betting he's not particularly pressed to jump into the NFL unless it's the best possible situation for him. So long as his teams continue to score and win at the current clip, he'll have his pick of the litter of several available NFL jobs. The fact he's apparently spurned at least 3 teams in 2 years may do some damage, but desperate teams will still be lured to him like sailors to a siren.

Was it his username that tipped you off?

My understanding has been that it'll be year round, on Sabres off nights. To be fair, that will still be an extraordinary amount of Bills talk throughout the offseason.

Listening to several NFL commentators, front office personnel, coaches and scouts lately, that could be a positive thing.

I was listening to the Redskins radio broadcast for awhile, and they were already commenting on RGIII's lack of mobility on the first few drives. He definitely didn't have that extra gear when he scrambled and he certainly couldn't plant and drive the ball as per usual. As far as Griffin suggesting the injury wasn't responsible for his struggles, what else would he say?

It snowed during the Pinstripe Bowl and Nassib appeared unfazed. No sleeves, too. EDIT: Although his stats were subpar, Syracuse did win going away.

I mentioned in the now closed Chip Kelly thread last night that I didn't want the Bills to be the team left standing without a chair in the 3 team scramble for Kelly and Marrone. It's very interesting that both the Browns and Eagles are forced into plan C, and the Bills have their coach. A real sea change from where this organization has been.

Yes, he was also our Offendive Coordinator for 1 year before Gailey was hired. I referred to him as "our former OC" to further indicate I don't want him back in that capacity.

Carmichael wouldn't be a lateral move: he's currently unemployed. I like our former OC Van Pelt and all, but no thanks.

Link?

That's fair, especially considering the Browns organizational direction is generally viewed in a very good light. Cleveland is not the same wasteland as the Bills were in when they were forced to hire an off the radar candidate like Gailey (or Jauron).

He must not be on twitter.