Doug Marrone
On New Year’s Eve, the Buffalo Bills got a shock when their head coach Doug Marrone delivered his New Year’s resolution that started with him opting out of his deal after just two years on the job. The Bills have a new owner in place by the name of Terry Pegula who wanted to make a splash in hiring his next football coach as he intends to keep the team in Western New York. Pegula and the Bills did indeed make waves as Rex Ryan was hired this week to replace Marrone the Bills head coach.
Rex Ryan
Ryan spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the New York Jets who are one of the teams that the Bills compete against within the AFC East. Ryan’s regular season record with the Jets was 46-50 and he enjoyed early postseason success there when he guided Gang Green to the AFC Championship in both of his first two seasons with the club. But over the last four seasons under Ryan, the Jets never made the postseason and they never had a winning campaign. For the X’s and O’s of football, the hire of Ryan leaves something to be desired, but if Pegula wants to make his team the topic of office water cooler discussions around the United States, then he accomplished it.
This past season the Bills secured their first winning season since 2004, but they still have not made the postseason since 1999 which is the longest current active streak in the National Football League. Ryan has built his reputation as a solid defensive coach and a master motivator. But Ryan has never been a coach that could develop offenses and more importantly young quarterbacks which is something that will need to be done in Buffalo. During Ryan’s six seasons with the Jets, the team only finished in the top half of total offense in the NFL once.
EJ Manuel
Under Marrone, the Bills drafted quarterback EJ Manuel in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. In two seasons with the Bills, Manuel has shown a glimpse of promise here and there, but he has been unable to put it altogether which resulted in him being benched this past season in favor of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton. However to the surprise of the Bills, Orton decided to retire after going 7-5 this season and you have to wonder if Ryan will continue to work with Manuel, look for a veteran quarterback in a trade or free agency, or simply draft a new signal-caller? In 2009, Ryan traded up twelve spots in the first round of the NFL Draft to select quarterback Mark Sanchez. Everything was good at first, but Sanchez soon regressed which was also a result of the Jets wanting him to do more as a quarterback without putting that much talent around him.
Ryan can coach defense in his sleep and his going to Western New York will allow him to maintain his rivalry with the New England Patriots and their head coach Bill Belichick while also having the opportunity to stick it to the Jets twice a year. But unless Ryan is able to develop a semblance of order with the Bills offense then his hire there will be mute. The Bills finished this past season with the 26th ranked offense in the National Football League.
Greg Roman
You typically don’t see head coaches get another job in the National Football League immediately coming off of a 4-12 season, but Ryan has the ability to sell ice to a polar bear if need be and Pegula liked what he saw from the boasting head coach. Ryan will be bringing former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman to the Bills with him as both men love to run the football, but in this current NFL, teams must develop a quarterback if they are going to win the Super Bowl. Like his time with the Jets, Ryan will help to sell newspapers in Buffalo and the surrounding areas. But in the National Football League head coaches are defined by wins and losses and if Ryan doesn’t produce with the Bills, he’ll just be viewed as just another mouthpiece.
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