Archives for January 2013

‘Marrone’s meteoric, and in my opinion, somewhat shocking rise to prominence is a terrific example of the somewhat slight difference between mediocrity and excellence, between being the chosen one and just one in the crowd. Let’s face it: Marrone was not going to have a line of NFL teams clamoring to hire him three and three-quarters through his tenure at SU. They can talk all they want about his reputation as an offensive mind, his leadership skills and his love of his alma mater. Quite honestly, nobody would have cared about that if this year ended at say, 6-7. That was a real possibility until the last game of the regular season. So no, Coach Marrone, it’s a little premature to say that you have turned the program around. You were 8-5 and won the Pinstripe Bowl two years ago (sound familiar?), only to have a losing record, five straight losses and no bowl game the next year. If your goal was to use your tenure at SU to springboard into the NFL, you are a success.’

‘Morris has 15 years of NFL experience, the most of any of the 17 assistants hired by Marrone since he took over earlier this month.’

‘Morris-coached lines have played a role in helping three teams lead the NFL in rushing: the 49ers in both 1998 and ’99, and the Vikings in 2007.’

‘Morris has had stops in San Francisco (1999-2003), Detroit (2004-2005), Minnesota (2006-2010) and Tampa Bay (2011). He was out of coaching during the 2012 season.’

‘Morris will enter his 16th season in the NFL coaching ranks in 2013. He began his NFL coaching career in 1997 with San Francisco as the 49ers’ tight ends and assistant offensive line coach through 1998 before being elevated to offensive line coach for five years (1999-2003). Morris also oversaw the offensive lines of Detroit (2004-05), Minnesota (2006-10) and Tampa Bay (2011).’

‘”Who better to be with than a guy you’ve been with for three years”(Hackett is also the Bills QB Coach). If I had the opportunity to go there, it would definitely be awesome.”‘

‘Kelly, 52, who still lives in the Buffalo area, invested $100,000 to launch a money and credit card clip product called MyFanClip. The device looks like a binder clip that keeps papers together and includes two round buttons showing the logo of your favorite NFL team. In Kelly’s case, he showed off his MyFanClip adorned with the Buffalo Bills logo.’

‘Hilliard is the biggest name of the three. He played eight seasons for the New York Giants (two with Bills running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley) and four with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.’

‘”We want it to glow and light up at night,” said architect Scott Radecic, a former Bills linebacker who is now senior principal at Populous. “We want it to be a beacon along Abbott Road. We want people to know and to be obvious about what it is. We want to reinforce the Bills brand when people are passing by the stadium.”‘

‘Scott Radecic, a senior principal at the Kansas City-based sports architecture firm, was a linebacker for the Bills from 1987-89 and played in the 40-year-old stadium he’s now charged with improving.’

‘”Those places haven’t always been successful when he was going into (them), but he turned them into a success,” said Bills tight end Scott Chandler, who attended Marrone’s introductory press conference in Buffalo. “You look at what he’s done with Syracuse, and the Saints hadn’t been winning very much either. He’s been at places where they’ve changed the culture, and that’s what he’s looking to do here. As players, we’re going to be receptive to it. We’re going to go out there and work hard for him and win some games.”‘

‘Hilliard comes to Buffalo after spending the past two seasons coaching receivers with the Washington Redskins. He’s a former NFL receiver who split 12 seasons between the New York Giants and Tampa Bay.’

‘Hilliard, who was drafted seventh overall in the 1997 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, joins the Bills after a stint last season as the Washington Redskins’ wide receivers coach. In 2011, his first year in the league as a coach, Hilliard served as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins.’

‘The former first round pick retired after the 2008 season, and went on to start his coaching career with the Florida Tuskers of the UFL in 2009. Hilliard then moved on to be the assistant wide receivers coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2011 before getting his job with the Redskins in 2012.’

‘County Executive Mark Poloncarz and several Erie County legislators on Thursday toured the facility with team officials, the architectural firm, and the media to spotlight the new $271 million agreement. The deal includes $130 million in upgrades and still has to be approved by county legislators.’