my skepticism

[Coach Tuesday]

Put it another way: marketing only goes so far if the product falls short. We're not idiots. If Brandon is such a genius marketer he fully understands that the product better perform. It's that simple. I really don't care if they had their minds made up that this was the guy they wanted. If he doesn't perform, they're all toast, Brandon included (and by the way - you'd better believe he'll be the one to take the fall next time).

[Simon]

This is what bugs me. If you have something to report, report it. I can't stand these insinuations and suggestions. Especially when they seem to be accompanied by an implicit suggestion, or at least a hint, that us fans are allowing ourselves to be deceived, and if we only knew the real info, we'd be skeptical like you are. Everybody is letting WNYers down - the team, the owner, the politicians, and yes, the media. Cripes.

There are no suggestions or insinuations of the sort; that's entirely your own creation.

The guy doesn't have to have his reporter fedora on 24/7. He ought to be allowed to post his opinion like the rest of us without somebody climbing up his crack and questioning his professionalism.

[Dr. K]

The mistake was in hiring Gailey at all. He's an offensive guy all the way and demonstated over the past three seasons he either didn't have much interest or much knowledge of the totality of the game of football, thus that is why he hired incompetent guys like Edwards & Wanny. At least Marrone stated up front he's the head coach and he aint calling the plays. However, he will be in charge of game planning and the offensive, defensive, and special teams strategy will go through him. He'll have the headset on him for defense and offense. Seems to me the guy might be interested in the game as a whole, not just a single phase, as has been the case with the past 5 Bills head coaches. He also isn't married to a partcular scheme of a defensive or an offensive system.... but both will be aggressive and physical and will use the skills of the current players to their and the team's advantage.

 

That's the best case scenario. I hope you are right. We'll see. I tend to be an optimist, but I'm not convinced we are going to see better QB play, or a more effective offense--I think it's likely the new offense will not score as well--but we don't even know who the QB, or other crucial offensive personnel, will be, so that's premature.

 

It would be hard for the defense not to be better, though. I expect a distinct improvement there. Special teams, I'd be happy if they managed to hold their own.

[mead107]

I would say that most teams do not tip their hands as to what direction they plan to go.

[John from Riverside]

Im gonna add this to John's post

 

What is really getting lost in all of this is the Pettine hire....it is clear to me that wherever Marrone went that is where Pettine was gonna end up.

 

Head Coaches are "managers"....they might have more experience on side of the ball or the other but in essence it is who they pick as OC and DC that ultimately decides there fate (hence Gailey took over the OC duties and was afraid to peek in the DC's meeting hence his destruction)

 

What will ultimately decide failure or success here how well the OC and the DC do on this team.....and Pettine is now our DC. If our defense goes from whatever pathetic muck it is right now to top 10 (like all of Pettine's other defenses) then the Morrone hire will have been a success.

 

Putting Fitz aside for just a second. It is our DEFENSE that has kept us out of the playoffs and their dead last rating for years.

[PromoTheRobot]

Well that settles it. We're boned. It was a short honeymoon. So who are we hiring next?

 

But I do applaud jw for making an his opinion known. I did give him grief about it before.

 

PTR

Edited January 19, 2013 by PromoTheRobot

[JoeF]

Well that settles it. We're boned. It was a short honeymoon. So who are we hiring next?

 

But I do applaud jw for making an his opinion known. I did give him grief about it before.

 

PTR

 

When Marrone is done we will have decided that Greggggggg Williams has been rehabilitated and bring him back

[mead107]

Im gonna add this to John's post

 

What is really getting lost in all of this is the Pettine hire....it is clear to me that wherever Marrone went that is where Pettine was gonna end up.

 

Head Coaches are "managers"....they might have more experience on side of the ball or the other but in essence it is who they pick as OC and DC that ultimately decides there fate (hence Gailey took over the OC duties and was afraid to peek in the DC's meeting hence his destruction)

 

What will ultimately decide failure or success here how well the OC and the DC do on this team.....and Pettine is now our DC. If our defense goes from whatever pathetic muck it is right now to top 10 (like all of Pettine's other defenses) then the Morrone hire will have been a success.

 

Putting Fitz aside for just a second. It is our DEFENSE that has kept us out of the playoffs and their dead last rating for years.

Agree, the D lost us a lot of games.

[jester43]

 

 

Yeah that is pretty much where I am at as well......I am totally show me the baby this offseason after years of being first at the koolaid punchbowl.....

 

but it just never fails to amaze me when I look at fan reaction

 

- We better not hire whizenhunt....he sucs

 

- We better not hire lovie...he sucks

 

- Chip Kelly has no NFL experience....he sucks

 

- Dont hire Horton....he will make us change our defense

 

- God if Morrone drafts Nassib.......then I know its more of the same

 

 

I mean.....really? Was there a right answer for the fans? And now even though Ryan Nassib looked like a good QB in college with all the tools and is getting even better every year if we draft a guy like that then we suck? Really?

um John you know those cements are not all from the same person?

[Coach Tuesday]

 

There are no suggestions or insinuations of the sort; that's entirely your own creation.

The guy doesn't have to have his reporter fedora on 24/7. He ought to be allowed to post his opinion like the rest of us without somebody climbing up his crack and questioning his professionalism.

 

Yes there definitely are. He is suggesting that the Bills have misled their fanbase about the depth of their coaching search, that "glowing" reports about Marrone have been planted by the OBD spin machine, and/or national reporters who have undisclosed conflicts of interest, and that Marrone may not be a competent and capable coach. You are right that he is entitled to his opinion but considering he is connected to a network of sources that the average fan has access to, and also considering that this is the first we are hearing about any of this, his opinion comes across as informed yet not fully revealed. The reason we all give his opinion greater weight than other posters' is the same reason I am asking for elaboration.

[benderbender]

Hope I'm wrong, but it's a bit hard to get excited for a guy who turned a bad college program into a mediocre one.....

So taking the team to a higher level is bad? I thought that's what we want.

[Kelly the Dog]

Yes there definitely are. He is suggesting that the Bills have misled their fanbase about the depth of their coaching search, that "glowing" reports about Marrone have been planted by the OBD spin machine, and/or national reporters who have undisclosed conflicts of interest, and that Marrone may not be a competent and capable coach. You are right that he is entitled to his opinion but considering he is connected to a network of sources that the average fan has access to, and also considering that this is the first we are hearing about any of this, his opinion comes across as informed yet not fully revealed. The reason we all give his opinion greater weight than other posters' is the same reason I am asking for elaboration.

You don't really expect him to reveal where this information came from, or what exactly was said to him (if something was, I have no idea), do you? He was posing a question and inviting discussion. I don't care how it came about at this point, I'm pretty happy overall with the Marrone/Pettine combination. But I don't believe for a second he was their first choice and only choice and guy they wanted all along, and was the #1 choice of everyone (Nix, Whaley, Brandon, Overdorf, Ralph). I wouldn't mind knowing how it transpired. I imagine they went after Whisenhunt pretty hard, regardless of whether he ended up getting a job elsewhere or not.

 

It's entirely possible, that, just as an example, Whisenhunt or Lovie played their hand too strongly, and wanted too much money or too much control over the roster. Just because you're willing to spend top dollar for a coach, or "money is not an object" doesn't mean that you are willing to pay a guy 6 million a year when he asks for it when you, say, think he is worth three mil. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure a ton of stuff happened we don't know about, and then after it was all over the Bills come out and say, "Marrone was our guy all along and we got our guy." That is what I was alluding to earlier. I think that is likely nonsense.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Kelly the Dog

[Coach Tuesday]

 

You don't really expect him to reveal where this information came from, or what exactly was said to him (if something was, I have no idea), do you? He was posing a question and inviting discussion. I don't care how it came about at this point, I'm pretty happy overall with the Marrone/Pettine combination. But I don't believe for a second he was their first choice and only choice and guy they wanted all along, and was the #1 choice of everyone (Nix, Whaley, Brandon, Overdorf, Ralph). I wouldn't mind knowing how it transpired. I imagine they went after Whisenhunt pretty hard, regardless of whether he ended up getting a job elsewhere or not.

 

It's entirely possible, that, just as an example, Whisenhunt or Lovie played their hand too strongly, and wanted too much money or too much control over the roster. Just because you're willing to spend top dollar for a coach, or "money is not an object" doesn't mean that you are willing to pay a guy 6 million a year when he asks for it when you, say, think he is worth three mil. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure a ton of stuff happened we don't know about, and then after it was all over the Bills come out and say, "Marrone was our guy all along and we got our guy." That is what I was alluding to earlier. I think that is likely nonsense.

 

I agree - I don't expect him to reveal his sources, or even perhaps the verbatim information he received. But to suggest that there were specific "unturned stones" without revealing what they were, or that Brandon may have hand-picked McKelvin and Maybin, without any elaboration at all, is just such a tease. I'm not questioning his professionalism - I'm asking him to keep digging and report what he finds.

[HOUSE]

It is time to go with a proven high percentage coaching staff BUT....oh well

[BillsVet]

Let's try reading in between the lines.

 

It's not that Marrone was hired, but how the hiring came about, how the story broke and the glowing press that followed. I alluded to this at the time, but details usually get lost in the euphoria.

 

As of Saturday night, January 5, the rumor mill had Whiz as the leading candidate, with Lovie tentatively second, and a brief blurb that Bills conducted fast track interviews in Arizona with Horton, Marrone & Kelly. Although the timelines were suspect in how & when the interviews were conducted, there wasn't much follo up on this.

 

Suddenly, at 5AM, Schefter "broke" the story that Bills hired Marrone. Now, why would Schefter get the story first? Did Bills & Marrone negotiate all night and did Schefter camp outside the clandestine meetings between the two parties? Did anyone ask or report on how & why the NFL insider got the scoop?

 

Or should we take jw's hints to their logical conclusion? Who is Schefter's agent? Who is Marrone's agent? Which agency has the largest number of clients overlapping athletes, coaches and talking heads? It's a Creative Answer Apparently ...

 

So while I was ok with Marrone's hire, it was a bit unusual to see the an avalanche of adulating press coming out of the woodwork for a relatively obscure hire. But if you looked at the sources of the adulation, it's easy to spot a well-crafted PR message by one of the best agencies in the business. So take what you read with a massive grain of salt. By extension, you should also discount 90% of the sports "news" you hear on ESPN.

 

I recall a few years ago when Len Pasquarelli would write articles playing up his friend Tom Donahoe. There is a relationship between all of these NFL insiders and the teams they cover and while I'm not alleging the local media is complicit here, sports reporting isn't exactly what it used to be.

 

I'm not crazy about the hire of all these SU guys into the pro level. Gailey couldn't build a quality staff either, gathering guys from his many stops in the college ranks.

 

At the same time, I don't see the Bills getting a new 3 year window like Gailey, Nix, and company received in early 2010.

[John from Riverside]

While I like the coaches more then you do I guess I agree......its a win now thing. None of these 3 year "and then what" plans

[pimp 2]

Hope I'm wrong, but it's a bit hard to get excited for a guy who turned a bad college program into a mediocre one.....

 

+1

 

I'm with you on this one...the notion of a refreshing approach is good but the same cast of characters are in the lab. I like most wish for the best for this staff but all the optimism to me seems to be shiny bubbles...OBD has always had an heir of arrogance in their approach to doing things. My issue and to paraphrase Chan in his last press conference- he know's there better but doesn't have any proof to show you...seems to some up the whole organizational approach.

[Pirate Angel]

All coaches are horrible without a decent starting QB....this team could have very well won 9 games if we had one.

[Bill from NYC]

- A lot of people are calling Morrone more of the same.....it really isnt....it really isnt CLOSE to being the same. -

 

How can you be so sure John? Ralph, as a rule, hired long time cronies. He hired Marv when he was more than 80 years old to be the GM, Remember? This led to Jauron, and losing football games. Nix was more of the same.

 

Brandon and Marrone are both from Syracuse, and serve on some sort of committee together. Who do you think hired Marrone? Whaley? Nix?

 

Call me a skeptic, cynic, etc. You would be correct. But I cannot see good news for this football team. We needed a QB and a coach, and there were and are slim pickings at both slots.

 

Giving up isn't an option, so once again we cling to hope that Marrone knows what he is doing, and that we don't, once agan, screw up the draft.

[Fixxxer]

I still don't see how this move is just a marketing ploy to include Syracuse as a potential target for TV and revenue money. We just ravaged the best coaching staff they had in decades, I doubt a non Bills fan syracusan would be thrilled to tune the Bills every Sunday to follow the guy that didn't want them no more.

[Joe W]

This coaching staff has disaster written all over. Inexperienced Syracuse cronies and inept former NFl assistants Add in incompetent front office in Nix and Whaley equals a top ten pick in 2014.

[stinky finger]

This coaching staff has disaster written all over. Inexperienced Syracuse cronies and inept former NFl assistants Add in incompetent front office in Nix and Whaley equals a top ten pick in 2014.

 

What staff would have impressed you?

[Joe W]

 

 

What staff would have impressed you?

 

 

 

What staff would have impressed you?

First thing I would have done would be hire Caldwell as GM and fire Nix and Whaley Let Caldwell hire the next coach Caldwell will

[Doc]

First thing I would have done would be hire Caldwell as GM and fire Nix and Whaley Let Caldwell hire the next coach Caldwell will

Gus Bradley, Bob Babich and Jedd Fisch?

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I could be wrong but I don't remember the Gailey hire being this way at all. I think the vast majority here were, like, WTF?! I hardly remember anyone liking the hire when it was announced, including myself.

 

Later, when people started looking into him, after realizing he was our guy so maybe we need to rally around him, people, including myself, were scrambling to look on the bright side. Not to be koolaid drinkers, but simply because it doesn't do any good to just B word about something between the hire and a year or even a couple years later when a decent verdict can be postulated.

 

Sooooo, then and only then, people started to say his record at Dallas was pretty good. The Chin recommended him. (Later on Jerry Jones said it was his biggest mistake, etc.)

 

Then, after he was introduced, people, including myself, liked the way he talked. He came across as a straight shooter. I think more and more started to give him the benefit of the doubt. Again, not really just being a shill for the team, but more hoping it was going to be okay. Then more and more stories came out about him wanting the job when a lot of other guys either turned the Bills down or turned down the interview. Whether or not all these reports or some of them were true or not was immaterial. No one really knew. So Chan started to get even more sympathy from the fans, who got behind him.

 

Over the course of the next two years, he either grew on you, or you thought he sucked. He grew on me. I started to like him. I thought the team looked a LOT better, especially around the Steeler and Raven close call losses. I started to really like him.

 

It still seemed about half and half between the fan base, maybe even 2/3 to 1/3 behind him at certain points. Polls on other sites had his approval rating in the 90s. It was understandable.

 

And then this year, he sucked, the entire year. The team disintegrated, for various reasons, including his selection of Wanny, which most everyone including myself liked at the time but which proved to be a monumental disaster. And over the course of the year, pretty much every non-shill turned on Chan.

 

I don't see the Marrone hire or reaction anything at all like the Gailey hire.

 

Your autopsy is very accurate.

 

you gotta be kidding. who would sign up for a disadvantage like that if they had other options?

 

So you're saying Marrone didn't have any other options?

 

First thing I would have done would be hire Caldwell as GM and fire Nix and Whaley Let Caldwell hire the next coach Caldwell will

 

How is Caldwell a better man than GM-in-waiting Whaley? Without knowing the inner machinations as well as the succession plan, your suggestion has little or no merit. Whaley was considered a top GM candidate when the Bills hired him to become their assistant GM.

[Joe W]

Whaley's lasting claim to fame will be that he sent a porn email that found it's way to Goodell Haven't seen anyone clamoring to promote him to GM

[Nitro]

None of the hires were exciting. 1 retread, 1 hot college coach and a bunch of who is this guy? (Andy Reid - Kansas City, Chip Kelly - Philly, Marc Trestman - Chicago, Gus Bradley - Jacksonville, Mike McCoy - SD, Rob Chudzinski - Cleveland, Bruce Arians - Arizona and Doug Marrone - Buffalo.) 8 vacancies and not 1 big name that was available was hired. Is this a mass conspiracy? Lets all hire second rate head coaches and leave all the really good candidates on the shelf. I don't thinks so. I know that it may not cross many minds but maybe guys like Cowher and Jon Grunden don't want to coach again. They have cushy TV jobs and none of the head aches associated with coaching.

[Chris in Syracuse]

I think #1 he really wants to be here and two he is willing to create a system based on talent and not impose a system on our talent. That is what Buffalo wanted to hear and he said it best.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

i hope Doug Marrone succeeds, and yet i'm left to wonder if this search was as "exhaustive" as Russ Brandon vowed it would be. He said there would be "no stone left unturned." and yet, there appears to have been some stones that weren't even touched.

what concerns me further is that there's been a clear desire on the part of the Buffalo Bills to "market" this coach and his staff to the public with team-generated, spoon-fed questions and quotes. there appears to be a want and desire to "market" this choice, without the glare of actual objective questioning.

 

this could surely well be interpreted as a complaint in regards to how the Buffalo Bills intend to control their message and how it's presented to the public. I certainly hope that after 13 years of covering a non-playoff team that they have it right. To me, I have several questions, including whether Mr. Brandon succeeded in his term as the Bills' GM, a time in which the team drafted Leodis McKelvin and Aaron Maybin in the first round.

 

jw.

 

Just to break down your post, you're raising the following assertions/concerns:

 

1) The search wasn't as exhaustive as the Bills have portrayed.

 

2) The Bills were very controlling about the Q & A to the point where they impeded free Q & A and that the new hires haven't been exposed to true and open scrutiny.

 

3) Russ Brandon is now the team President and his stint as team GM causes you to be concerned about his competency as team President.

 

To your first concern, taking what we know, the Bills interviewed numerous candidates in a compressed window of time. They also interviewed Marrone at least 4 times. While the Bills were the early bird in this year's hiring cycle there is certainly something to recommend a flurry of activity ending in an early hire as opposed to the opposite (remember Chan Gailey was hired on January 19th).

 

For one thing, Marrone was able to start hiring sooner than the other teams. This could be viewed as instrumental in his hiring of Mike Pettine, for instance.

 

One person could say that the Bills targeted Marrone and all the rest was window dressing while a different person could take the events at face value… that after numerous and comprehensive interviews that Marrone emerged as the top candidate for the Bills and a top candidate for other teams.

 

That is the range of possibility. Normally the truth lies somewhere in between.

 

For your second concern, how is it that the Bills have been team-generating news and spoon feeding questions? Do your colleagues generally share your concern? Have you asked for a one-on-one with Marrone? Are interview requests being denied or ignored? Are Chris Brown and John Murphy being given more opportunities to ask questions than non-Bills employees? For my part, these are questions which you may feel free to not answer.

 

As to your third point, Brandon made it clear at the time of his GM tenure that decisions would be made on a consensus basis. That was exactly the buzz word at that time (2008). No one seems to know who was making football decisions at that time although many people believe that Jauron had the biggest say in personnel decisions.

 

In light of this and the fact that Brandon has stated that he won't be involved in player personnel decisions (and the fact that those drafts weren't any worse than more recent ones) is there really any cause for concern regarding Brandon and future player personnel decisions?

[thewildrabbit]

i hope Doug Marrone succeeds, and yet i'm left to wonder if this search was as "exhaustive" as Russ Brandon vowed it would be. He said there would be "no stone left unturned." and yet, there appears to have been some stones that weren't even touched.

what concerns me further is that there's been a clear desire on the part of the Buffalo Bills to "market" this coach and his staff to the public with team-generated, spoon-fed questions and quotes. there appears to be a want and desire to "market" this choice, without the glare of actual objective questioning.

 

this could surely well be interpreted as a complaint in regards to how the Buffalo Bills intend to control their message and how it's presented to the public. I certainly hope that after 13 years of covering a non-playoff team that they have it right. To me, I have several questions, including whether Mr. Brandon succeeded in his term as the Bills' GM, a time in which the team drafted Leodis McKelvin and Aaron Maybin in the first round.

 

jw.

If you want to talk skeptical or pessimistic, I'm pretty sure PTR, and others here will tell you that I'm about as skeptical a Bills fan as you can get. My take for the hire is when you find the right guy, you hire him asap. Russ Brandon did just that.

 

Doug Marrone really isn't that accomplished even for a college head coach. I mean 25-25 at Syracuse isn't very good at all considering Chip Kelly was 46-7. Plus, there were 3 other teams better then Syracuse in the big east this year. Louisville 11-2, Cincinnati 10-3, Rutgers, 9-4. So Syracuse at 8-5 isn't that good at all. nobody really knows if new HC Doug Marrone and his college OC can make the transition from college to the NFL with great success. This hire could turn out to be a brilliant move by Brandon....or not.

 

When you look deeper into it and see what it took to turn that football program around from a perennial loser, and into a team playing in bowl games at the end of the year. When you hear what other NFL players, coaches FO people around the league have to say about Marrone, all very positive praise. Then the coaching assistants clamoring to get a job on the Bills coaching staff. Which hasn't happened since the Chuck Knox days.

 

Also, I have to admit I'm ecstatic about the hire of new DC Mike Pettine (former DC of the Jets) who could be the fall back plan should Marrone fall on his face hard http://www.nj.com/je..._called_va.html

The Jets had the 8th overall defense this year W/O their star CB. 5th in 2011, 3rd in 2010. 1st in 2009.

 

But from everything I've read so far says that Brandon made the correct choice with Doug Marrone. It reads good, but will it translate to wins in the NFL, and against Bill Belichick?

 

All I can say is I genuinely hope this move works out well for the Bills as they are in desperate need of someone who knows WTF he is doing as HC.

[hondo in seattle]

i would also question some of the "glowing" reports that have come out regarding this hire. Marrone has already called one of those reports false in claiming he made a video presentation to each of the teams he interviewed. i would consider the source(s) of those reports and see whether they might have certain similar ties in regards to representation, and whether it raises any questions in regards to a conflict of interest.

 

jw

 

Mickey Loomis, Herm Edwards, Drew Brees and Sean Payton have all praised the Bills for hiring Marrone. But all these guys have worked with Marrone and, presumably, like him. Their objectivity should be questioned.

 

But Peter King called Marrone a "good hire" and provides some very good reasons why he thinks so:

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130108/doug-marrone-bills/

 

And Jon Gruden - who I don't think is beholden to Marrone - had this to say:

"I would be really excited if I was a Bills fan. This is a guy I have been studying for a long time. I competed against him when he was the offensive coordinator for the Saints. He is a tough, hard-nosed and detailed coach. Really has a good command for the game and is really good teaching the game. What he did at Syracuse speaks for itself. He turned that program around.

 

"I think he is on the cutting edge offensively. He has a vast football background if you just check where he comes from and the kind of people he is able to acquire in terms of his staff. I think he did an excellent job at Syracuse of developing young coaches and surrounding himself with a really good brain trust. I expect him to do the same in Buffalo. I think it is a great hire.

 

"I think he is going to win. I think he is going to get the Bills back in the playoffs soon. Obviously, I think Buffalo is on the right track. Buddy Nix did an excellent job acquiring players. I think they are on the right track, but I think Coach Marrone is the kind of coach that can push you over the top. He has won everywhere he has been. I think he is going to continue to do that. He will find a way to get it done."

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2013/01/drew-brees-jon-gruden-among-those-praising-doug-marrone-hire.html?ref=brp

 

No one knows if turn the Bills around. But if smart football folks like Gruden and King think he can, then I don't think we can criticize OBD a lot for this hire.

[John from Riverside]

Whaley's lasting claim to fame will be that he sent a porn email that found it's way to Goodell Haven't seen anyone clamoring to promote him to GM

 

Joe I am seriously wondering if you are really a bills fan or just trolling here.......

 

This coaching staff has disaster written all over. Inexperienced Syracuse cronies and inept former NFl assistants Add in incompetent front office in Nix and Whaley equals a top ten pick in 2014.

 

Inexperienced - fresh faces that have not been tainted by NFL losing yet

Inept NFL assistants - Yes Pettine certainly fits that bill....not

[prissythecat]

Whaley's lasting claim to fame will be that he sent a porn email that found it's way to Goodell Haven't seen anyone clamoring to promote him to GM

 

 

Are you the guy who labeled himself as the "beacon of clarity" a few months back ? I think you had some special insight on the Bills leaving WNY. So do we have a new destination already ?

[8-8 Forever?]

Seriously? The only question that matters is will the Bills make the playoffs this coming season? 13 years of no playoffs is the answer to every question until they start winning early and often. As for the bolded part, you complain that they are "marketing" their moves right now, and yet you want to ask a question that you already know the answer to to get a quote from the guy in control of the marketing. I think you want Chris Brown's job.

With a college coaching staff and probably a rookie QB, playing in the AFC East, I think we are in for a bit of a wait for a winning season.

[eball]

i would also question some of the "glowing" reports that have come out regarding this hire. Marrone has already called one of those reports false in claiming he made a video presentation to each of the teams he interviewed. i would consider the source(s) of those reports and see whether they might have certain similar ties in regards to representation, and whether it raises any questions in regards to a conflict of interest.

 

jw

 

You're presuming Marrone was being candid when he disputed the report. Perhaps he didn't want to come out publicly and trash the organizations of the teams he did not choose.

[Delete This Account]

You're presuming Marrone was being candid when he disputed the report. Perhaps he didn't want to come out publicly and trash the organizations of the teams he did not choose.

 

he flat out denied it. saying, "is this one of those times you say, 'don't believe everything you read.'"

 

jw

[papazoid]

new coaching staff & very difficult schedule = 5 & 11 season.

[JohnC]

he flat out denied it. saying, "is this one of those times you say, 'don't believe everything you read.'"

 

jw

 

John, In your opinion did Nix have a major say in this hire or was he merely a silent witness to the new center of autority in Brandon and Whaley?

 

What is Nix's status? Is he running out the clock or is he still the main personnel person in the organization?

[CodeMonkey]

I don't remember the same degree of positive response to Gailey's hiring among NFL reporters/observers/former players. In particular I don't recall reading anything that came close to the things that players who were coached by Marrone have said.

I do not remember any negative comments about Gailey at the time. It was all "endorsed by Cowher" or "Jerrahs biggest mistake". With Marrone what I am seeing is that he is young and hungry and that most, if not all, of the other teams were interested as well. And as far as player endorsements go, how many Bills players spoke out negatively about Gailey even at the end? Few players would regardless of who the coach is, and rightly so.

 

Don't get me wrong, I expect Marrone to end up being an upgrade over Gailey. But I'm not ready to trade in my "wait and see" mindset for a big glass of koolaid just yet.

Edited January 20, 2013 by CodeMonkey

[Kelly the Dog]

You're presuming Marrone was being candid when he disputed the report. Perhaps he didn't want to come out publicly and trash the organizations of the teams he did not choose.

He denied it a few different times in a few different contexts, saying there simply wasn't time to watch all the film on the Bills to evaluate players. He seemed to have little idea or opinion on any of the players on the Bills last year.