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Alabama will replace their offensive line coach from Queens with one from the Bronx.
After Kyle Flood left last week for Steve Sarkisian’s staff in Texas, coach Nick Saban moved this week to hire Doug Marrone, AL.com’s Matt Zenitz reported Wednesday.
Marrone, 56, is a former varsity and professional offensive lineman who broke into that position group before stepping into the limelight as head coach at Syracuse (2009-12) and for the Buffalo Bills ( 2013-14) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-20).
As the lifelong footballer who seemed most comfortable with a blocking block in his hands to teach linemen technique, Marrone didn’t always seem quite comfortable with attention and control. that came with being the public face of a franchise.
In Alabama, that won’t be a problem. Marrone becomes the last licensed head coach to take refuge in Nick Saban’s schedule, no longer having to worry about the opinions of owners, GMs, fans or the media. Saban speaks to Tuscaloosa, with position coaches such as Marrone barred from journalists and coordinators limited to annual press conferences.
The arrangement is a throwback to Marrone’s roots as a varsity offensive line coach at Coast Guard Academy (1993), Northeastern (1994), Georgia Tech (1997-99), Georgia (2000) and Tennessee (2001) . He also led the front line for the New York Jets (2002-05) and New Orleans Saints (2006-08).
Marrone’s leap to become a head coach kicked off a complicated part of his story that saw him quit a head coaching position in the NFL and be fired from his second.
In 2013, Marrone turned an eight-game winning season in Syracuse into the Bills’ best gig. He brought a rigorous and disciplined training style to the pros, even engaging in a screaming match with a veteran Bills player in front of reporters in a summer practice before running the team in windy sprints.
“When he was here it was a bit too structured,” one Bills player said of Marrone. “We’re 30-year-old guys. It was pretty strict.
Adding former Alabama and Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus to ESPN: “He’s always been like he’s walking on eggshells. He looked like he was nervous all the time. It just doesn’t go well with the players, mostly because we’re supposed to be following you.
Marrone led the Bills to a nine-game winning season in 2014, the club’s best result in 10 years, but his relationship with team management was seen as flawed. The franchise also became a new property in the middle of the 2014 season, triggering a clause in Marrone’s contract that allowed him to step down at the end of the season. He used it, resigning from his post after dark on New Years Eve without notifying all of his players.
“It was weird, you just have to turn on the TV and find out the coach is gone,” said one player later.
Marrone remains discreet about the reasons for his departure. At the time, one of his assistants believed Marrone was no answer by the brass team about a contract extension for him and his staff.
Some Buffalo players have publicly berated Marrone for his decision, but also welcomed the change. Players felt that Marrone’s replacement Rex Ryan treated them more like adults than students. But Ryan’s looser training style quickly fell apart and he was fired before his second season was over. The team president and general manager who occasionally clashed with Marrone were also later sacked.
Marrone landed as the Jaguars’ offensive line coach, keeping a low profile while reflecting on what went wrong at Buffalo. Part of that process has been attending public speaking seminars and learning how to deal with media anxiety, ESPN reported.
Much like his relationship with the Buffalo players, Marrone had a complicated relationship with the press covering the Bills. Towards the end of his first season, he summoned a reporter to an aircraft hangar and asked him about a tweet before leaving for a game on the road. But the other side of her personality also showed when, after mocking a reporter for speaking badly at a press conference, Marrone stepped away from the lectern and attempted to hug him. journalist.
Marrone told the reporter that was what her Bronx grandmother would have done. Growing up in a modest neighborhood in the shadow of New York, Marrone was the first in his family to complete his education. His three seasons at Syracuse earned him an NFL look as a sixth-round pick in 1986, but he’s only played five career games while being cut off from six different teams.
Marrone, who became known for his love of bologna and cheese sandwiches since childhood, felt out of place with the pitfalls of his brief career as a professional player. His awkward experience at a posh Miami Beach restaurant while he was with the Dolphins led Marrone to later, as a coach, send his players to etiquette lessons.
His second chance as a head coach came at the end of the 2016 season, when the Jaguars fired Gus Bradley and gave Marrone the interim job. He was made a permanent coach and led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship game in his first full season in 2017. Success came with a refreshed coaching style from Marrone.
“He’s a lot more open than he was,” Dareus said at the time. “He’s a lot more understanding.”
However, 2017 was his only playoff appearance in six years at the helm of the Bills and Jaguars, and his final season at Jacksonville ended with a record 1–15. He was fired earlier this month. this.
Now Marrone has reached the final stage of his coaching journey. He will be away from home in Tuscaloosa’s premier college football outpost, but will return to his most familiar role of mentoring offensive linemen. Alabama fans might never hear from Marrone, which will be a far cry from when he was the sometimes awkward center of attention in his most recent jobs.
From a football perspective, Marrone will play a key role in 2021 in rebuilding Alabama’s offensive line. The squad will lose Outland Trophy winner Alex Leatherwood left tackle, Rimington Trophy winner center Landon Dickerson and starting left guard Deonte Brown. He will fire fifth-year center Chris Owens, right guard Emil Ekiyor and right tackle Evan Neal – but Marrone will likely have to develop young players to fill the other two starting positions.
This could be the right task at the right time for Marrone.
“He’s a guy from the offensive line,” former Bills offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson said in 2018. “When I got there [to Buffalo], he helped me through my technique. For example, really taking time out during practice … and teaching us techniques and tips. Help us with our game. Coach Marrone was a good guy and I loved working with him.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama Beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @mikerodak.
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