Bills second to hire new head coach
Two down, five to go.
Doug Marrone became the second coach scooped up by an NFL team Monday, hired by the Buffalo Bills.
The move leaves five teams still searching for replacements for coaches who were fired a week ago – the day after the regular season ended.
Marrone arrives in Buffalo after three seasons as the coach at Syracuse. The 48-year-old takes over for Chan Gailey, who was fired after three losing seasons. Marrone helped restore the Orange to bowl status, but has a tougher job with the Bills – ending a 13-year postseason drought.
Andy Reid, let go by the Philadelphia Eagles after 14 seasons, was the first to find a new job when he signed a five-year contract during the weekend to coach the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reid’s task is formidable as well. The Chiefs fired Romeo Crennel after one 2-14 season, but Kansas City has five Pro Bowl players and owns the No. 1 pick in the April draft.
As for the other coaching searches:
• The Cardinals have interviewed their defensive coordinator, former Washington Huskies star Ray Horton and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.
• The Bears are looking at close to 10 candidates. Among them are McCoy, Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman, offensive coordinators Rick Dennison (Texans), Bruce Arians (Colts), Mike Sullivan (Bucs), Tom Clements (Packers) and Darrell Bevell (Seahawks).
• The Browns have “rebooted” their search now that Chip Kelly is staying at Oregon. Candidates include Horton, fired Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, Arians and Trestman.
• The Eagles were looking at Kelly, too, but now that he’s out of the mix, top candidates include McCoy, Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and Arians.
• The Chargers likely won’t hire a coach until they settle on a general manager, although Arians is considered a coaching contender. GM candidates include Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye and Colts vice president of football operations Tom Telesco.
ACL in question as Redskins’ Griffin has more tests
It doesn’t sound good for Robert Griffin III.
An injury that sidelines RG3 well into next season is a very real possibility – or at least it seemed that way after coach Mike Shanahan described the results of tests on the rookie quarterback’s right knee.
Shanahan said the results are prompting the team to send Griffin to Florida today to see renowned orthopedist James Andrews for more examinations, essentially a second opinion that will decide the team’s fate for the 2013 season.
Colts’ offer support to OC Arians in every form
Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians remained in a Baltimore hospital, a day after he missed the team’s playoff loss to the Ravens.
“Every test that they ran on Bruce, and obviously they put him through a battery of tests, A to Z as they would do any of us, all have been negative,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “So he’s doing well. Whatever he’s dealing with, they would have let him come home early this morning, but whatever he’s dealing with affected his blood pressure and they’re not going to release him until they get the blood pressure under control.”
Around the league
Broncos halfback Willis McGahee is eligible to return to practice today after tearing a ligament in his right knee on Nov. 18. He would be eligible to play in the AFC championship game if Denver advances. … San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said there’s a good chance both kickers David Akers and Billy Cundiff will be on the roster for Saturday’s playoff game against Green Bay. … Dallas running backs coach Skip Peete won’t return following the worst rushing season in team history. … Matt Cavanaugh will not return as the New York Jets’ quarterbacks coach.