It’s safe to say that former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone rolled the dice and lost. Marrone opted out of his contract with the Bills in hopes of cashing in on one of the numerous head coaching job openings with more attractive teams. Unfortunately for Marrone, those teams didn’t find him quite as appealing as he’d hoped.
Instead Marrone will join the Jacksonville Jaguars staff as its assistant head coach for offense and offensive line coach. It’s quite a demotion for a coach that had his team on the cusp of the playoffs just a month ago.
Marrone interviewed with the New York Jets, who seemed a natural fit, along with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. All three went another direction, with the Falcons expected to name Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their head coach after the Super Bowl.
Marrone’s hiring means that current Jags O-line coach George Yarno will be able to focus on his cancer recovery after being diagnosed last May. Yarno is still under contract with the Jaguars.
Jacksonville is still without an offensive coordinator, with former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Oakland Raiders quarterback coach Greg Olson at the top of their list.
Bears hire Fangio as Defensive Coordinator
After being passed up for head coach by Jim Tomsula with the San Francisco 49ers, Vic Fangio will take his talents to Chicago, joining new head coach John Fox with the Bears. Fangio had his pick of open defensive coordinator positions and was nearly hired by the Washington Redskins before turning them down for the Bears.
Under Fangio, the 49ers’ defense was in the Top 10 in points and yards for the last four seasons and in the Top Three from 2011-13. Fangio replaces Mel Tucker who’s defense never finished better than 30th in the league in two seasons.
Redskins tab Joe Barry as new Defensive Coordinator
Replacing the hapless Jim Haslett with the Washington Redskins will be Joe Barry. Barry has been the linebackers coach with the San Diego Chargers for the last four seasons.
Barry isn’t the only new member of the Redskins staff. Washington hired offensive line coach Bill Callahan away from the Dallas Cowboys last week. Barry was the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator from 2007-08, that last year being the infamous 0-16 season which surely will have Redskins fans extra stoked to see him replace Haslett and his No. 20 defensive ranking. In 2007, the Lions, under Barry, allowed a then NFL-record 422 pass completions and opposing quarterbacks posted a 70.1 completion percentage against that. That was the year they didn’t go 0-16. Figure that out.
“I think it’s molded him,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said at the Senior Bowl Tuesday. “One thing we know is he can handle adversity. That’s important. He’s walking into a situation here where we’re going to have some adversity, and I know he can handle it. He’s a tough guy, committed guy, a loyal guy, and I think he’s a good fit for us.”
Teams that will face the Redskins next season probably couldn’t agree more.
Ravens replace Kubiak with Marc Trestman as offensive coordinator
After two mediocre head coaching seasons with the Bears that ended in his unceremonial dumping on NFL’s Black Monday, former Canadian Football League coaching legend Marc Trestman will join the Baltimore Ravens as their new offensive coordinator.
Trestman replaced Gary Kubiak, who was named the Denver Broncos head coach over the weekend. Trestman will be the fourth offensive coordinator for the Ravens in four seasons.
Trestman’s 2014 season with the Bears was a disaster, but his 2013 season with Jay Cutler and crew is probably what got him hired in Baltimore. The 2013 Bears were the NFL’s highest scoring team, even when they had to replace an injured Cutler with Josh McCown. Trestman’s quarterback situation in Baltimore will be much better, though the team will need to work to keep its receiving crew intact with Torrey Smith looking for a big deal in free agency.
Chan Gailey to take over as Jets’ offensive coordinator
It seemed that this marriage might be called off at the last minute, but late Tuesday the Jets announced they had finalized a deal for Chan Gailey to join head coach Todd Bowles coaching staff as his new offensive coordinator.
Gailey has been out of football for the last two seasons and is the fourth offensive coordinator for the Jets in the last five seasons. Gailey was the head coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2010-12 and the Dallas Cowboys from 1998-99.
Gailey’s last offensive coordinator position was with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008.
Martz interviews with Cleveland Browns for Offensive Coordinator position
Finally, former St. Louis Rams head coach and the architect of the Greatest Show on Turf offense Mike Martz interviewed with the Cleveland Browns for their open offensive coordinator position. Martz has been an color man with Ron Pitts for Fox Sports since 2012.
Martz joined the Rams staff before the 1999 season and developed the offense that won the Super Bowl. After Dick Vermiel’s premature retirement, Martz took over as head coach from 2000-2005, taking the Rams to one more Super Bowl where the lost 20-17 to the New England Patriots in what would turn out to be a controversial game after the SpyGate scandal broke six years later.
Under Martz, the Rams made it to two Super Bowls, won one and made the playoffs five out seven years. Martz was fired by the Rams in 2005 and the team has not even sniffed a playoff appearance since.
Martz spent two seasons as the Lions offensive coordinator, before stops in San Francisco and Chicago before joining Fox.
Martz has noticeably mellowed out in his time away from the game and seems ready to take the NFL by storm again. The Browns should not let him leave town without a signed contract.
