The Jets seemingly went through smart channels to help Woody Johnson chart a new course for the franchise before Doug Marrone entered the equation on New Year’s Eve.
Six hours before the gavel dropped on 2014, news trickled out that Marrone, a coach with an unimpressive NFL resume, unexpectedly opted out of the final two years of his Bills contract. The Jets were quickly identified as a new potential landing spot.
Johnson & Co. deserved praise for hiring NFL lifers Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf during the team’s GM and head coaching searches, but there’s an unmistakably sleazy feel about the whole operation now that raises many fair questions about who’s pulling the strings.
Coincidence or coordination guided events on Wednesday.
Casserly, Wolf, Johnson and team president Neil Glat conducted an interview with running backs coach Anthony Lynn at the team facility in the afternoon in what most believed was a necessary Rooney Rule compliance look-see. A couple hours after the interview wrapped up, ESPN reported the divorce between the Bills and Marrone at 6:08 p.m.
Nine minutes after the initial report — and three minutes after the Bills announced the breakup with Marrone on their verified Twitter page at 6:14 p.m. — ESPN reported that the Jets became the “favorites” to land Marrone.
The Jets obviously hadn’t reached out to Marrone or his agent, Jimmy Sexton, in the first 180 seconds of the official release. Woody Johnson told the Daily News that he hadn’t even become aware that Marrone was a free agent until later.
Sexton, who also represents Rex Ryan and a litany of other coaches, is too seasoned and savvy to let any client make such a seismic decision to quit his job (even though he received a guaranteed $4 million with no offset language) unless he had a strong sense that there was another one lined up.
Marrone isn’t Lombardi, Walsh or Halas. He’s a middling coach with a middling resume. His power play for an extension after a 15-17 record — and no playoff appearances — in his first two seasons was curious to many people across the league. “I don’t understand it,” one front office executive said.
On the surface, it made little sense, but Sexton is no fool. He’s fully aware of the coaching landscape. He knows his options.
The sequence of events on Wednesday makes it difficult to believe that the Jets didn’t have prior discussions with the Marrone camp. The feeling in league circles is that Casserly has been infatuated with Marrone for years. He’s calling the shots.
Although Johnson will have the ultimate say on the next GM and head coach, there’s a strong sentiment now that Casserly will make it clear to Johnson that Marrone should be the next head coach. The fluid dynamics at play raise the possibility that the Jets could hire Marrone before tabbing a GM even though the plan entering this process was to first secure the front-office executive.
There was friction between Marrone and the Bills front office, so it’s a virtual certainty that he’d be involved in picking the new GM.
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Eagles director of pro personnel Rick Mueller, who worked with Marrone in New Orleans from 2006-08, seems to be an ideal match. Texans scouting director Mike Maccagnan, whom Casserly brought into the league more than a decade ago, is also scheduled to interview.
The Jets brain trust flew to Seattle on Thursday night to interview Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, assistant Tom Cable and front-office executive Trent Kirchner over the weekend, but many now believe the path has been paved for Marrone.
“They’ll be doing a search again in two years,” one front-office executive said. “I don’t think Marrone’s going to win there. He’s never won anywhere he’s been a head coach.”
Johnson has put his trust in Casserly and Wolf. Perhaps it was naive to think that this would truly be an organic search process. Inevitably, consultants allow personal preferences to carry the day.
Marrone turned a hapless Syracuse program into a mediocre one (25-25 in four years) before taking the Bills gig in 2013. Buffalo went 6-10 in each of the previous two seasons before going 6-10 and 9-7 in Marrone’s two seasons. Bills fans weren’t exactly doing backflips with those results.
A crushing Week 16 loss to the Raiders made it 15 consecutive years without a playoff berth for the franchise.
Marrone was hardly an offensive wizard in Buffalo. The Bills were 19th and 26th in total offense in his two seasons. They finished with a franchise-low rushing yards (for a 16-game season) and were 26th in yards per carry (3.7) in 2014.
Marrone has never been a play caller in the NFL. Sean Payton assumed that role when Marrone was the Saints’ offensive coordinator from 2006-08.
Nate Hackett, son of former Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, was dialing up plays in Buffalo. Marrone spent much of his time coaching the offensive line in practice.
Marrone has shown no ability to cultivate a quarterback, either. First-round pick EJ Manuel has been a bust. The Bills finished with a winning record on the strength of their defense. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is reportedly under contract through 2016.
Although it was time for the Jets to part ways with Ryan, there was little doubt that the coach inspired his players. Through the Jets’ 4-12 season, Ryan’s players didn’t quit on him. Now, the Jets are set to interview a coach who quit on his players after two seasons. Marrone informed Bills players that he was leaving via mass text after the news had already been leaked, according to NFL.com.
“He wasn’t the most liked guy by the players,” one league source said of Marrone.
“He doesn’t come across as relatable,” a second front-office executive said.
Bills players voiced their displeasure about Marrone on Twitter upon hearing the news on Wednesday. Defensive back Aaron Williams tweeted, “Lost all respect!! Completely pissed off, but not gonna let it ruin my New Years.”
The Buffalo News questioned everything from Marrone’s “tense relationship with reporters” to in-game decisions to football acumen in a scathing report on Thursday that said:
“Prior to Marrone being hired, team president Russ Brandon used words like ‘forward thinking, progressive and attacking’ in describing what the team was looking for in its new coach. None of those adjectives fit Marrone’s style.”
The Buffalo News also noted that “there were other significant examples of Marrone’s approach alienating people,” including a “loud argument” at training camp with defensive end Jerry Hughes and a “heated conversation” with GM Doug Whaley at practice.
Johnson is taking a smarter approach than the one two years ago that resulted in train wreck John Idzik, but the past 24 hours have left a sense that maybe something is amiss.
It feels like everyone involved needs to start off the New Year by taking a shower.
