As 2015 begins and the Atlanta Falcons try to shake off the stink of a losing season punctuated by a devastating blowout loss in Week 17 that cost the team the NFC South, the team is in the market for any number of improvements. Among them is a new head coach, as Mike Smith was shown the door after seven up-and-down seasons.
However, as the Falcons go about searching for a potential replacement, at least one target would do no more that trade one set of problems for another, possibly even bigger, set.
As Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reported, ex-Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, who shocked the NFL by essentially walking away from the Bills on New Year's Eve, interviewed for the same job with the Falcons on Monday:Frankly, if the Falcons wanted a piece of the coach most responsible for the Bills' nine wins in 2014, they should be talking to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Bills' 10th-ranked defense (a defense that led the NFL in sacks in 2014) carried the team all season long.
And that's part of the problem with Marrone to Atlanta. Yes, the Falcons offense needs work. Quarterback Matt Ryan, while still easily an above-average NFL signal-caller, has regressed a bit over the past two seasons.
The offensive line also badly needs improvement, and 2014 first-round pick Jake Matthews certainly appears to need some coaching up after a rocky rookie year. The offensive line is Marrone's specialty.
However, not only has Marrone shown nothing as a head coach to indicate he's the guy that would return Ryan and the Falcons offense to the elite status they enjoyed not too long ago, but a strong argument can be made that the team's dumpster fire of a defense has to be priority No. 1 for the Falcons in 2015.
Luckily for the Falcons, this may well be much ado about nothing. Any number of pundits, including La Canfora, think that Marrone to the New York Jets is all but a fait accompli. Some have theorized that Marrone left the Bills the way he did with the Jets' job in his back pocket.As an aside, that's nuts. Fire Dimitroff. Don't fire him. Pick one. Leaving him twisting in the wind while waiting to see if he can be BFFs with the new coach is lunacy, especially when you then turn around and interview a coach who hasn't shown any ability to get along with anyone.
At the end of the day, it's imperative that the Falcons see through the smoke and realize that the hype around Marrone is mostly self-manufactured, by a coach who appears to be all about one thing:
Himself.Is Doug Marrone the absolute worst candidate the Bills could hire as their 16th head coach? No. He's also not the best—by a long shot.
And moving on from Mike Smith by hiring Doug Marrone reeks of taking one step forward at the expense of two steps back.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2320307-the-atlanta-falcons-need-many-things-but-doug-marrone-isnt-one-of-them
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