my skepticism

[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.