Doug Marrone is staying in Upstate New York but leaving college for the pros.
The Bills have agreed to hire Marrone, who has spent the last four years as the head coach at Syracuse, as their next head coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported and multiple media outlets have confirmed.
Marrone has been the head coach at Syracuse for the last four seasons, compiling an overall record of 25-25. He is coming off a season in which he went 8-5, concluding with a Pinstripe Bowl win over West Virginia.
Marrone’s NFL experience includes stints as the offensive coordinator of the Saints and offensive line coach of the Jets. He was also briefly an NFL guard, playing four games for the Dolphins in 1987 and one game for the Saints in 1989.
The Bills, who fired coach Chan Gailey after the 2012 season, are now the second NFL team to fill their head-coaching vacancy. Five teams still have head-coaching openings.