The Bills introduced new head coach Doug Marrone at a press conference on Monday and, as you’d probably expect, Marrone didn’t offer many specifics about what he’ll do to get the Bills back to being a winning team.
There was no discussion about players or what they’ll do at quarterback, for instance. You wouldn’t expect that during introductory remarks, of course, so that’s not much of a surprise.
Marrone did talk about his high regard for analytics dating back to his days as the Saints’ offensive coordinator and made it clear that he saw himself as taking a CEO-style role with the team. Marrone said he won’t call plays on offense, but will be on the headset with everything in all phases of the game will flow through him. That’s probably why he’s looking for a particular type of coordinator to run things on both sides of the ball.
“No, I will not call plays. But everything will go through me. I will be on the headset and will be managing the game and those game management decisions which can affect play calling will be handled by me,” Marrone said. “The coordinators will need to have thorough NFL experience, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
Experience isn’t everything when it comes to coaches, something the defense’s performance under recently deposed coordinator Dave Wannstedt in 2012 makes clear. For a guy taking his first job as an NFL head coach, it’s still probably wise to prize experience for the rest of the staff.