FLOWERY BRANCH -- During search to replace Mike Smith, the Falcons are set to interview former Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone, according to the New York Post.
Marrone is considered the favorite to land the New York Jets’ job. Marrone, 50, coached the Bills to a 15-17 record over the past two seasons.
Marrone was an assistant coach at Georgia and Georgia Tech. He was the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach in 2000, and he was on the Yellow Jackets’ staff from 1995-99. He was a football operations assistant in 1995, tight ends coach in 1996 and offensive line coach from 1997-99.
The Bills finished 9-7 last season, their first winning mark in a decade. He previously was the head coach at Syracuse.
The Falcons are set to interview Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase on Friday, according to NFL Media.
Smith, the wininngest coach in team history with 66 wins over seven seasons, was fired on Monday. He was 10-22 over the past two seasons.
Gase, 36, is considered one of the top offensive coaches in the NFL. He was a quarterbacks coach under former Denver coach Josh McDaniel, but was retained by new coach John Fox, who then promoted him to offensive coordinator. The biggest question: Is he ready for this jump?
The Falcons are also set to interview former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan next week according to the New York Daily News.
Ryan interviewed with the Falcons after the 2007 season, but lost out to Smith. He’s also set to interview for the San Francisco job.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the team wanted to be secretive about the process and team officials are not commenting about their search.
The search-firm Korn Ferry, which only takes one NFL team a season as a client, has been retained to help with the search.
Korn Ferry helped with the hiring of Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien and Kansas City’s hiring of Andy Reid.
In addition to Marrone, Gase and Ryan, the Falcons have sought permission to interview Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel.
Ryan posted a 46-50 record in New York over six seasons. He lead the Jets to the AFC championship game in 2009 and 2010.
Ryan is the son of legendary NFL coach Buddy Ryan and is not related to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
Rudy's Blog Player
About the Author
