Doug Marrone was apparently very upset with the Buffalo media and its apparent obsession with questioning his conservative approach on 4th down and probably other issues too. If he ends up coaching the Jets, he will find the New York media to be better behaved and much less likely to question his decisions.
Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News has his share of detractors (Marrone probably among them) for his decidedly negative tone over the years but I think that his journalism is good and right and presents readers with a valuable perspective. He called Ralph Wilson cheap - which he was. He also pointed out in a recent column that the honeymoon for the Pegulas is clearly over. When Kyle Orton resigned the morning after the Bills final game, it was understandable. After all, the Bills had to coax him out of a sort of semi-retirement to agree to be the "back-up" in 2014. But when news of Marrone's New Year's Eve "opt-out" reached me, it didn't sound like good news.
According to multiple reports, Marrone asked for a contract extension at some point in the first three days of last week and was turned down. This may have been a high stakes bluff game on the part of both Marrone and Pegula with Marrone sensing his market value had risen after having guided the team to its first winning season in 10 years and Pegula doubting that Marrone would really pull the plug if an extension was not granted. But the result is the antithesis of what many of us thought the Pegula regime would deliver to the Bills fan base. The quarterback retires and then the coach resigns. Perhaps both men would handle the negotiations differently were they to have a second chance but its done now and the Bills have no coach.
From Pegula's perspective, I understand his reluctance to consider a contract extension for Marrone. He is yet to hire - either permanently or on a "contract" basis - a football expert to advise him on the state of his $1.4 billion investment in a business where he is not an expert. Perhaps he should have moved sooner to do so but the man he apparently wanted, current ESPN analyst and former Bills GM, Bill Polian, turned him down after Marrone opted out. He may not have done so if the coach was coming back. Marrone was apparently concerned about Polian coming in to the organization with too much authority - authority which he wanted some of anyway. So, Marrone quit because Polian might be coming and Polian turned down a front office job because Marrone had left. What are we to think of this?
It's easy for me to say this but surely Pegula could have explained to Marrone that he needed a bit more time to review the team's operations before extending coaching contracts. He could have thrown him a bone of some kind - in private, of course. This could have been an assurance that his job was safe and that he would have more authority over personnel decisions - whatever - even if the promises were made without knowing if they would be kept. Pegula has a public relations disaster on his hands now with a President and a GM who are both fearful of losing their jobs after an analysis by the owner's appointed expert. But there is no expert in place now. And the top coaching candidates are all going through the interview process this week with the list of teams looking to hire. Any candidate for the Bills job who may receive other offers will have to consider that the team has potential lame ducks in the front office, pending Pegula's review of operations. Other offers will not come with that level of uncertainty.
Pegula has said nothing publicly and I think its time that he does. Marrone has made no statement either but he's gone and it really doesn't matter. Pegula built a business empire and a personal fortune. Surely, he can take steps to calm the fan base and bring stability to the front office, either by giving the President and the GM a vote of confidence or by cleaning house. He won't solve this one by pumping water deep underground. He needs to take charge, take action and do it fast.
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