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New Jersey – The Jets are going to interview Doug Marrone for their head coaching position. Is he a good candidate? Let’s take a closer look . . .
Let’s start with some concerns about Marrone.
In Buffalo, he had two excellent defensive coordinators, and that side of the ball, for the most part, spearheaded the team, the last two seasons.
Remember, he had Mike Pettine in 2013 and then Jim Schwartz last year. One is a head coach, one was a head coach.
Of course he deserves credit for hiring them, but the concern is that he made his name on the offensive side of the ball, and that side of the ball, wasn’t particularly strong for the Bills, his two seasons coaching (aside from the Jets’ games, perhaps).
Also, this past season, his offensive line wasn’t great, and he’s considered an offensive line aficionado, coaching that position for many years including four years with the Jets (2002-2005), and playing it at Syracuse and in the NFL.
Also, you can say he led the Bills to a winning record (9-7), but they likely would have been a .500 team, if the Patriots had played their starters the entire game in the season finale.
Look, I think he’s a solid candidate, but he’s not one you have to jump through hoops for, and pounce on, immediately, jamming the breaks on the interview process. They should take their time in the process, talk to him, and many other candidates.
He’s not a good enough candidate to hire before the GM.
The only way you hire the coach before the GM is if you are hiring a major head coaching candidate, like a Belichick or Parcells or Saban, that is going to have final say on player personnel. You hire that kind of guy, first, because the GM is going to report to him, so you might as well have him pick the GM.
Otherwise, you pick the GM first, and get him involved in picking the coach.
Marrone is in the latter category.
One thing I do like about Marrone is that he’s more of a disciplinarian than Rex, and would hold players more accountable – more no-nonsense. The Jets need that.
The decision he made earlier in the year replacing E.J. Manuel with Kyle Orton showed a lot guts, and it worked out very well. It shows you he’s his own man, who doesn’t worry about what people think when he makes a decision. Just like the decision he made this week. He is getting crushed by a lot of people in Western and Central New York, and nationally, for quitting on the Bills. But he sees an unhealthy landscape in Buffalo for him, with a new owner, and had an opt-out clause, and decided to gamble on himself.
I think the guys has a lot of intestinal fortitude. He doesn’t govern by public opinion polls. You have to respect that.
One problem for the Jets with this Marrone angle, is if they don’t hire him, there are certain members of the New York media, who are friends with him, who will likely going to crush the Jets.
But they can’t worry about that. The Jets need to handle this process correctly, talk to a lot of candidates, do their due diligence, and make pragmatic decisions.
January 1, 2014
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