Marrone and Mays

After Doug Marrone left his job with the Buffalo Bills, taking advantage of a $4 million opt-clause in his contract, some surmised that he would end up with the Jets.

Putting two and two together, many thought he wouldn’t have left his head coaching job in Buffalo, if he didn’t have another one lined up.

Perhaps there is some credence to this theory.

Late last week, I uncovered some interesting information, from a source close to Marrone, that sheds some light on this.

I was told that Jets consultant Ron Wolf called Marrone, and said something to the effect of, “The job is yours if you want it.”

Obviously he was referring to the Jets’ job.

Clearly, that didn’t happen.

Some think the New York Daily News destroyed Marrone’s chances at the position thanks to hatchet jobs on the coach by Manish Mehta and Mike Lupica.

It seems like The Daily News poisoned the well.

Something I also found out from the source was the biggest reason Marrone quit in Buffalo.

According to the source, the Bills were willing to extend Marrone’s contract, but not his assistant coaches, and this was unacceptable to the Bronx-native.

Look, I think the Jets made a terrific hire in Todd Bowles.

I didn’t want to make too much noise with this story, so I’m just sharing it with the premium subscribers.

Making a big deal out of this would be disrespectful to Bowles, who deserves to be an NFL head coach. He’s paid his dues.

I just thought this was pretty fascinating, that Wolf called Marrone and said what he did, according to the source.

And I’m telling you, this is an impeccable source in the Marrone world (no, it’s not Marrone himself).

So many people said, “Marrone was a fool for leaving a head coaching job without having another one lined up.”

This story might make some reconsider that notion . . .

The Jets made the signing of ILB Joe Mays official today.

This once again hammers home the point that the Jets inside linebacker spot, in the Jets 3-4 defense, next to David Harris, is wide open.

Mays, Jabari Lattimore and Erin Henderson all have a shot at the spot.

DeMario Davis is a great guy, and a very hard-worker, but his instincts in coverage aren’t where they need to be.

Davis is a solid player going downhill, as a run-stuffer and a blitzer, but when he drops into coverage, he’s often a tad late getting where he needs to go. It’s not a speed issue. He ran 4.53 coming out of Arkansas State. It’s related to missteps connected to instincts.

Perhaps he’s be a better fit at an outside linebacker spot where he would be moving forward most of the time.

But even if he stays at inside linebacker, he’s going to be given a run for his money this spring and summer as far as keeping his starting inside linebacker job.

Mays is a super-tough 5-11, 244-pound tackling machine who has started in the league.

Lattimore and Henderson also have starting experience.

This competition at inside linebacker (next to Harris) is going to be good theater.

Monday April 13, 2015

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