If anyone wants to know if ESPN’s Adam Schefter ever sleeps, the answer is just maybe. At around 5:30am this morning Schefter sent shockwaves through Buffalo, at least to those awake at that when he tweeted that Syracuse coach Doug Marrone has agreed to become the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
As of 11:3am a few team officials say the deal is not yet finalized, but will be, barring of course a breakdown at the final minute.
Marrone has been coaching for 21 years, including the last four at Syracuse where he compiled a 25-25 record. The Orangemen went 8-5 this year and defeated West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Marrone has two stints as an assistant in the NFL: offensive line coach for the New York Jets (2002-05) and as offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2006-08) before taking over at Syracuse.
If you think he was only a candidate for the Buffalo Bills job, think again. Marrone had emerged as a strong possibility for the jobs in Cleveland, San Diego and Philadelphia.
We’re not going to jump the gun and report too much on Marrone until it’s official, but you can bet there’s plenty of reaction and digging into him once it does, which hopefully is later today.
Stay tuned.
