Getty ImagesWhen the Lions announced Monday that they were parting ways with special teams coach Danny Crossman, it was expected that he’d be heading to Buffalo to join the staff of the Bills’ new head coach Doug Marrone.
It didn’t take long for that to happen. The Bills announced Crossman, who was a teammate of Marrone’s in the World League and a coaching colleague at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, as their new special teams coach on Monday afternoon.
“The thing I am excited about for what Danny will bring to our special teams is a system that plays to our players’ strengths-something that we have obviously talked about. For our players, we are going to be able to evaluate what their strengths are and be able to put them in the best position possible for us to win,” Marrone said in a release from the team.
The Lions special teams came under a lot of fire in Weeks Three and Four when they allowed the Titans and Vikings two touchdown returns each in Detroit losses. It was Crossman’s third year in Detroit and he served in the same role with the Panthers for five years before joining Jim Schwartz’s staff.
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There’s a reason he was fired twice.
special teams coaches shouldn’t really take the heat for missed tackles…they can only do so much.
Good riddance from Motown. Care to take a few more with you??? How ’bout a coach and GM?
I think he will be a lot better in Buffalo. Detroit is just plain an undisciplined, immature team as a whole. I remember reading a number of articles from this site quoting Lions players saying that no one wanted to play special teams. For all of the Bills problems, I don’t think he will encounter that issue in Buffalo.
Umm, what?! Dude might be the worst coach in the league.
After week four, Detroit’s coverage units were top-five (if not higher) in the NFL.
What he could deserve blame for, though, are the personnel decisions of Stefan Logan being your sole kick/punt returner until week seventeen, and Nick Harris holding the starting punting job for as long as he did (from when Graham went out until the end of the season). Worst punting performance I have ever seen, even if it was for only half a season.
After three years, the performance of Detroit’s special teams was at the bottom of the NFL. It was time for Crossman to leave.
The US Coast Guard Academy.
The World League Of American Football.
4 Special teams TDs allowed in 2 weeks.
Yup. The inspired hires just keep coming in Buffalo.
30th out of 32 in Football Outsiders special team rankings for 2012 I forgot to add.
Bills fans. Always deserving better.
Good luck with that guy Buffalo. Hes horrible. And he MUST be horrible if the Lions parted ways with him. They NEVER part ways with anyone when theyre underperforming.
My understanding was that he requested his release from Detroit (to take the Bills spot) – he wasn’t fired.
His record seems pretty much the same as most ST coaches – up and down like a yo-yo. You can only work with who you are given by the HC.
I understand hiring guys you know to a point but this guy is leading the pack. Pretty soon his favorite Walmart greeter will be hired for something.
This is the plan. Brandon now has part ownership of the team (part of his smooth talking salesman in him) His plan is to run the team into the ground just like in the Movie Major League and then he will have a windfall when he moves the team out of town in 8 years after having no fans left after missing the playoff for almost 20 years
Four straight Super Bowl losses and OJ going on the loose is something Buffalo has and likely will never recover from.
It does seem a little disconcerting that Marrone is hiring a bunch of his buddies whose names don’t really carry a whole lot of POP. But, it will be interesting, if in three years, some of these unknown guys become HOT names among assistants in the NFL. Especially if the Bills start winning.
“This is the plan. Brandon now has part ownership of the team (part of his smooth talking salesman in him) His plan is to run the team into the ground just like in the Movie Major League and then he will have a windfall when he moves the team out of town in 8 years after having no fans left after missing the playoff for almost 20 years”
Even if you were right about Brandon being an owner, which you aren’t, your comment would still not make any sense. Go back to school.