The Buffalo Bills season came crashing down in a shock loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 17, then right after the season the veteran quarterback who they brought in to start during the 2014 season in Kyle Orton retired for good. Those two factors have turned the franchise into a state shock that only got crazier when head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract to explore other NFL head coaching opportunities.
Thanks to a change in ownership, Marrone was able to opt out of his contract thanks to a well drafted clause in the deal, making him able to pursue another job if one of the teams looking for a head coach are interested in his services after guiding the Bills to the cusp of the Wild Card despite very limited talent at the quarterback position.
Bills coach Doug Marrone opts out of contract, becomes free agent: http://t.co/PDZbJV6qTh http://t.co/P9icsFlHT6
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 31, 2014
According to those around the league, Marrone and the Jets appear to be the most likely fit now that the Bills head coach has opted out of his Buffalo deal.
Plugged-in NFL type on Doug Marrone: "Keep an eye on the Jets."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 31, 2014
.@nyjets hold Doug Marrone "in high esteem" (via @MikeSilver): http://t.co/gWCrD8nC3p pic.twitter.com/TdrdHK26qu
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) December 31, 2014
Because of the Jets reported interest, don’t expect Marrone to enter the Raiders mix in the head coaching search. However it is another interesting name that shuffles the deck further as the 2015 head coaching race will have more key players with Marrone adding to the candidates while the Bills will now also be aggressively pursuing a new coach of their own to replace him.