How Doug Marrone became 'The Man Who Left Buffalo'

[OttoinGrotto]

It's weird to an outsider, but we have no idea how it all transpired. Hard to walk in someone else's shoes without being in their shoes.

Walking in his shoes on this wouldn't make it any less weird. It is what it is.

 

[CousCuse]

Great organizations develop and recruit the very best talent available , and do everything possible to retain that talent. Syracuse football and the Buffalo Bills unfortunately don't, or least not recently, fall into that category.

 

[kcsu]

There are so many coaches who are a better fit than Doug for SU. He wasnt the best as a player not exactly well liked and he certainly didnt make many fans as a coach. Doug is what he is a political animal who is out for Doug. Im glad he was our coach as he had the ability to turn us around but long term he is not and would never be the answer. Coaching the OL for a terrible NFL team is a good fit for him.

 

[OrangePA]

As to his future, I don't really care. Whatever happens happens.

But here is how I view him. No matter whether it's SU or the Bills, there have been numerous "clashes". Whether it be clashes of personality, philosophies, trust, whatever. Some people love him, some don't. There's always two sides to every story.

But whether it's;

Doug vs SU fans
Doug vs Bills fans
Doug vs SU AD
Doug vs SU Admin
Doug vs Bills Admin
Doug vs some SU players
Doug vs some Bills players
Doug vs ex-SU players
Doug vs NJ coaches
Doug vs donors
Etc.

There's always one constant. Doug. He's his own "root cause" and worst enemy. Everyone else can't always be wrong. He seems happy now, he should stay in that role.

Parcells had issues with many and it was all about him

Bob Knight had issues with many and again, it was all about him.

Marrone has a very strong ego and he is very confident in his football acumen.

And like Parcells and Knight, he is a very imposing man.

I had no problem with Doug's ego.

 

[rrlbees]

Parcells had issues with many and it was all about him Bob Knight had issues with many and again, it was all about him. Marrone has a very strong ego and he is very confident in his football acumen. And like Parcells and Knight, he is a very imposing man. I had no problem with Doug's ego.

You can get away with it when you're winning Super Bowls and national championships.

 

[Chip]

To me it wasn't just the dream job thing. It was the other things he said in addition to that. The binders he's been preparing for years just for this job. The statement he made about all of his career moves being made to prepare him for this opportunity.

He wanted the SU job more than SU wanted him.

Yep, that's why I was always annoyed. I mean, it was so oversold. "Everything I've ever done in my coaching career was about getting here."

Yeah, yeah, you put your name out there in the NFL and someone called back, I get it. But don't turn it around on the people who get upset because they actually remembered what you said and believed it. Makes you feel bad for his wife. She was probably standing there when he got home, saying really? laying it on a little thick?

I thought he was going to be here for a long time. And I was excited about that. (yes...me... the same guy from that website way back when that no one remembers).

I really am over it all, as much as it may not sound like it. After how the Bills ended, I knew he just had too much baggage. Even if a new AD came in and gave him what he wanted, you just get the feeling that something else would have popped up.

 

[Rocco]

Nothing subliminal about it.

Sorry, my sarcasm font wasn't bold enough...

 

[Scooch]

You can get away with it when you're winning Super Bowls and national championships.

Yep.

And in my experience with Parcells as a Pats fan, he took over a smoldering trash heap of a franchise and had it in the playoffs in year 2, and in a Super Bowl in year 4.

There's rebuilding and then there's REBUILDING.

 

[007]

Always amused by what we seem to forget or discount when it comes to Marrone. Marrone inherited a team that went 5 and freakin 37 the 4 years before he arrivedl; and a program that was a national laughingstock. Over the course of 4 years, his first as a HC at any level, he went to, and won 2 bowl games, and shared a BE conference championship. His 2012 team set the all time SU records for:

• Total offensive yards: 5,681
• Yards per game: 473.4
• Total plays: 939 (78.25 per game, regular season)
• Passing yards: 3,619;
• Passing yards per game: 301.6
• Completions: 283
• Pass attempts: 449
• First downs: 276
• Passing TDs
• Ryan Nassib was one of only 4 QBs the history of the BE to pass for over 9000 yds
• Alec Lemon set the all time SU record for receptions with 70 in 2012, breaking his own record he set the previous season. He ranked 20th in the country with just over 96 receiving yards per game.

He left SU, creating a tsunami of ill will here, to take one of the 32 most coveted jobs in coaching. He then lead the Bills to their best record in 10 years.

Marrone may be a lot of things, fair or unfair, real or imagined. Like him or hate him, your prerogative. But there is no denying what he was able to accomplish here.

I agree with Tomcat, Marrone will be HC again in the near future.

 

[Scooch]

10-37.

 

[007]

10-37.

Yup, my bad. He had 5 games vacated by the NCAA.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yup, my bad. He had 5 games vacated by the NCAA.

Which really pours salt in the wound, you know?

 

[djorange1989]

Yep.

And in my experience with Parcells as a Pats fan, he took over a smoldering trash heap of a franchise and had it in the playoffs in year 2, and in a Super Bowl in year 4.

There's rebuilding and then there's REBUILDING.

Yep, as a Jets fan I can say that Parcells took over from the GROB of the NFL, Kotite, and had the Jets in the conference championship game in 2 years. That guy was an amazing coach.

 

[anglerman]

I'd never close the door on him coming back. He obviously has issues with being the main man with how he's content being on the sideline now. Imagine Parcells doing that?!?!?!

I think Syracuse was his best chance for stability. Some people are allergic to stability though.

He was a terrible recruiter and poeple didn't like him. That would have been his downfall at SU or any other college. He wasn't meant to be a college coach.

 

[elimunelson]

This is a great thread. I've learned alot about Marrone in the last 15 posts than I ever knew. I say that sincerely.

I also say sincerely if SS was let go and Marrone gave a smoke signal he wanted to come back I'd drive him back. He was our unicorn in terms of knowing how to field a competitive team in Syracuse. We all assume this mythical new coach would come in and know how to turn this around instantaneously. I would say that Meyer and Saban probably could but that's about it.

We get caught up on his failings and hurt feelings (guilty when he walked out) but he turned chicken into respectable chicken salad.

 

[Crusty]

I guess I'll bite and ask the next question...if the sky falls and Coyle ultimately decides to terminate Shafer, do you think even a phone call is placed to Marrone to gauge if he has any interest in being considered? After all, recruiting issues aside, he did get this thing turned around. Not to mention the facilities and league status issues have since been resolved and most importantly so is the bravado and broken promises of Gross/Cantor.

Not in a million years. Coyle will have many better choices. Marrone's is not a college head coach.

 

[dollarbill44]

but he turned chicken . . . . into respectable chicken salad.

Is that a real saying? And what does it mean? Chicken is delicious by itself and chicken salad is what you make from the leftovers.

 

[Crusty]

I heard from a little bird that Marrone was given an ultimatum prior to the 2012 season to go bowling or else...do you know if there's any truth to that?

After the disastrous end to the 2011 season that would not surprise me. Too many forget the 7 game losing streak - last 5 of 2011 and first 2 of 2012 in the BE. I find it strange that some who blame Shafer for last year seem to give FHCDM a pass for that streak. Both were the result of injuries.
All was forgiven when we went 8-3 for the remainder of 2012. Same thing will happen if Shafer wins next year.

 

[Millhouse]

do you guys think marrone told the story about being the first college graduate in his family while at the dolphins (untrue) or do you think the writer just added that part in mistakenly assuming that he got his degree earlier?

 

[Crusty]

Always amused by what we seem to forget or discount when it comes to Marrone. Marrone inherited a team that went 5 and freakin 37 the 4 years before he arrivedl; and a program that was a national laughingstock. Over the course of 4 years, his first as a HC at any level, he went to, and won 2 bowl games, and shared a BE conference championship. His 2012 team set the all time SU records for:

• Total offensive yards: 5,681
• Yards per game: 473.4
• Total plays: 939 (78.25 per game, regular season)
• Passing yards: 3,619;
• Passing yards per game: 301.6
• Completions: 283
• Pass attempts: 449
• First downs: 276
• Passing TDs
• Ryan Nassib was one of only 4 QBs the history of the BE to pass for over 9000 yds
• Alec Lemon set the all time SU record for receptions with 70 in 2012, breaking his own record he set the previous season. He ranked 20th in the country with just over 96 receiving yards per game.

He left SU, creating a tsunami of ill will here, to take one of the 32 most coveted jobs in coaching. He then lead the Bills to their best record in 10 years.

Marrone may be a lot of things, fair or unfair, real or imagined. Like him or hate him, your prerogative. But there is no denying what he was able to accomplish here.

I agree with Tomcat, Marrone will be HC again in the near future.

And he bailed the first chance he got. DM was a good coach and did an admirable but not great job here.( I doubt he could have done any better than Shafer with 22 injuries in 2014).
He has personalty issues that detract from his good attributes. That might work in the NFL but not CFB. He is a time bomb that will go off sooner or later.

 

[Crusty]

What I heard was he wasn't getting a contract extension but I thought he did get an extension when it became apparent we were going bowling. Bees can confirm or not.

Bees I don't love the guy because I had to deal with him from time to time. Real pain in my a$$ because of his attention to detail - you had to know your stuff to deal with him. However he had huge passion to win - never showed it on the sideline either - never really understood that but he ran it like a business just like the NFL I like Shafer's passion on the sideline over Marrone.

Hackett was an OC in training cause Doug was in charge of the gameplan and would lay it all out for Hackett in packages. Hackett called plays but Doug could change packages if he liked or didn't like what he was seeing on the field. Marrone (and the best HCs) have cheat sheets on the sidelines where they communicate the game plan packages between the OC & DC all the time. Shafer doesn't seem to do this and leaves it to his OC & DC to call plays. Ergo trouble if we have a bad OC or DC.

I could go on between the differences between Marrone & Shafer's coaching styles but the worst was Grob - no gameplan, no passion, no discipline, nice guy. Gross had no idea how to go about picking a football HC. Good thing he's not in charge in picking our next bball HC.

I would love to hear more about the style differences between DM and SS.

 

[Finwad32]

do you guys think marrone told the story about being the first college graduate in his family while at the dolphins (untrue) or do you think the writer just added that part in mistakenly assuming that he got his degree earlier?

Does it matter? He was telling the story now, as a college graduate. Very minor detail.

 

[Finwad32]

I've heard a lot of people here damn Doug's personality/character. Does it come from personal experience?

I've only had two experiences with him, both of which were honestly pretty pleasant. I know people are different at work, but, I think everything is being exaggerated across the board, positive and negative.

 

[OrangePA]

You can get away with it when you're winning Super Bowls and national championships.

That's true.

Doug just didn't hang around long enough to achieve the kind of success that I think he was capable of achieving on the Hill.

 

[Finwad32]

I would love to hear more about the style differences between DM and SS.

Some stark contrasts in coaching philosophy.

Still, both were/are discipline and accountability focused.