The Buffalo Bills brought in Rex Ryan to be the new head coach and he now replaces Doug Marrone and moving forward he may have to pull a trade for a quarterback like Jay Cutler, sign Mark Sanchez or Brian Hoyer, as EJ Manuel has not developed and this comes as the team has CJ Spiller, Brandon Spikes and Jerry Hughes are hitting the free agent market in 2015.
Ryan comes in after being fired by the Jets and he comes in after the Bills unexpectedly were left without a head coach after Doug Marrone used an opt out in his contract following the ownership change with the franchise. According to ESPN.com, the team previously interviewed a dozen candidates for the head coach opening and Rex Ryan was the first to have been called back for a second interview, which helped land him the job.
The team had put out a wide net in their head coaching search with names like Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan and Greg Roman, but they felt Ryan was the best fit for the job. ESPN.com reported that 14 names had come up as options for the Bills and they felt Ryan was the best of the bunch. While the team reportedly needed the opt out to get the deal done with Marrone two years ago, the Bills did not expect him to leave early. The team could also now may bring in a new name at offensive coordinator, as Nathaniel Hackett had an up and down season with Marrone on that side of the ball.
Marrone could not develop quarterback EJ Manuel into a consistent starter and he also reportedly was unhappy with the Sammy Watkins trade this past year during the draft. Marrone was not unhappy with Watkins as a player, but ESPN.com reported that he felt the team gave up too much while trading in the first round for a player that was not a quarterback. All that along with the fact that that Marrone can make $4 million with the opt out and not have it offset is big and he likely will find a job on the market.
The Bills went 9-7 this season to finish with a winning record for the first time under Marrone and they ranked 18th in passing yards per game on offense. The Bills have a strong defense and Jim Schwartz performed well as coordinator and could return and Rex Ryan could now take over and retain him as coordinator. The Bills ranked third in the league in passing yards allowed per game last season and 11th in rushing yards allowed per game.
The Bills biggest free agent is CJ Spiller and he could be an option to return next year if he doesn't ask for a major contract on the market. Spiller is coming off of a serious injury and ESPN.com reports that the Arizona Cardinals could be interested in signing him. The Cardinals reportedly had interest in Spiller near the trade deadline and they had issues at depth last year when Andre Ellington went down with an injury. The Bills may look at the free agent market or the trade market for a QB, including names like Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer.
The Buffalo Bills were looking for a new head coach and names like Kyle Shanahan, Pep Hamilton, Greg Roman, Hue Jackson and Jim Schwartz all came up as options, but they decided on former Jets coach Rex Ryan. Ryan comes in after Doug Marrone opted out and this comes as the team has CJ Spiller and Brandon Spikes are hitting free agency for the Bills heading into 2015.
