Head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his deal with the Buffalo Bills just two years into a four-year contract. Now, the team is scrambling for help in the front office and on the sidelines.
Fans were hoping to build on a 9-7 season that saw the Bills stay in the playoff hunt for much of the year. The team finished with the fourth best defense in the NFL and was starting to gel. But starting quarterback Kyle Orton retired in the offseason and Marrone followed by jumping ship.
Who will the franchise turn to now?
"A source told me Mike Shanahan could take on a GM type role in Buffalo while Kyle became the head coach," John Middlekauff of Comcast SportsNet tweeted yesterday.
The Shanahans were most recently together in Washington, where Mike was the head coach of the Redskins and Kyle was the offensive coordinator. Outside of a spectacular rookie season from Robert Griffin III in 2012, the Shanahans did not find much success in D.C. The team went just 24-20 during their four years and the relationship between the pair and Griffin deteriorated in a very public fashion.
Kyle has since moved on to become offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns while Mike has interviewed for the head coaching position with the San Francisco 49ers and been mentioned in relation to other openings.
Would the Shanahan duo find success in Buffalo? It's hard to say.
Mike has never been a general manager and Kyle has never been a head coach. Their exit out of Washington was so public and mishandled that it's hard to see them fully recovering from it. While the Bills do have a strong defense and some nice pieces in place on offense, they still lack a franchise quarterback. 2013 first-round pick EJ Manuel was benched after just 14 starts. The Bills are without a first-rounder this season and the free agent market does not offer a lot of attractive options either.
The Shanhans and the Bills might be better served by continuing on their separate paths.
