The Buffalo Bills need a new head coach after Doug Marrone opted out of his contract unexpectedly after the season and now names like Kyle Shanahan, Rex Ryan, Greg Roman, Josh McDaniels, Hue Jackson, Dan Quinn, Darrell Bevell, Adam Gase, Mike Shanahan and Jim Schwartz all could be potential candidates to take over heading into the 2015 campaign.
The Bills have put together an "exhaustive" list of coaching candidates to take over for Marrone according to Mike Rodak at ESPN.com, with up to 14 names being looked at. According to ESPN.com insider Adam Schefter, Rex Ryan interviewed with the team on Thursday and the team is also planning to speak with Greg Roman, whobis expected to be in for an interview on Friday. Jackson and Kyle Shanahan have already interviews for the job as well.
The Bills may look at an offensive minded coach once again after previously bringing in Marrone, as the team already has a strong defense and needs to improve on offense. The team ranked in the bottom half of the league in total yards per game and Marrone was unable to develop a quarterback, opting to use Kyle Orton after sitting EJ Manuel this season. According to the NFL Network, the Bills are interested in Kyle Shanahan and they also spoke to his father Mike Shanahan about potentially taking the job.
Kyle Shanahan parted ways with the Browns and resigned this week after disagreements about the offense and now he could be an option for a head coaching job. Shanahan also could join his father Mike Shanahan if he takes a job somewhere, as he has been in contact with the Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears.
Shanahan felt that the team was forced to start Johnny Manziel this year despite the fact that he thought he wasn't ready and reports from ESPN.com say Shanahan wanted out so he could get another job. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote that a source said that Shanahan could take over as offensive coordinator if Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn gets a job as a head coach. Quinn has been one of the hottest candidates on the market and he has been interviewed by a number of teams.
The Bills come into the offseason after going 9-7 last year and they were 4-2 in the AFC and finished with a winning record for the first time in a while. Marrone wasn't great in Buffalo, but he did some good things on offense and now the team will have to find a new head coach. One thing Marrone did not do well was develop a quarterback and while he did not have much time with EJ Manuel, the former Florida State star did not do much to give the franchise confidence.
Marrone reportedly rubbed people the wrong way with his personality and ESPN.com reported that he was unhappy with the Sammy Watkins trade at the draft. Marrone wasn't disappointed in Watkins as a player, but he was concerned about trading up and using that many picks for a player that is not a quarterback. Marrone now is a target for a number of teams, including the NY Jets.
