It's weird, right? It's weird that three coaches were fired on Monday, including the offensive coordinator who came to us to us so highly regarded, and Doug Marrone hasn't made one appearance or done one interview to discuss this, yes? Am I nuts?
Sure, he's got recruiting to do. But you're telling me he can't hop on the phone with a radio station? Or spend five minutes on the phone with Donnie? Or stop holding back DOC Gross who you just know wants to run to the rooftops and shout out his statement to the automatons scurrying below him? We have the written statement but chances are extremely good that Marrone didn't even have anything to do with that.
I suppose Doug is just taking the whole "what happens in my house stays in my house" thing to the extreme. We already know he doesn't discuss off-the-field issues with players or players that leave the team. I guess the same thing stands for coaches that leave the team.
But I think Brent Axe nails it today in his article about Marrone. Brent suggests that the next offensive coordinator Doug Marrone should hire is...Doug Marrone. And he hits on something I don't think we've really delved into too much...Doug's ego.
In listening to many post game press conferences, especially after losses, did you ever notice how often Marrone would blame execution as the issue and not the game plan?
Doug Marrone has FIERCE confidence in his game plans. He takes tremendous pride in the preparation he puts into the plan he puts together for each week's game.That isn't my opinion by the way, Marrone has said that himself a number of times.
When you have that kind of ego (or confidence if you prefer), it goes back to the trust issue I brought up before.
No one can run his offense as well as he can because he knows it better than anyone.
So just go with that. If your plan is the best one week in and week out, than you have no one to blame but yourself if it fails.
I think most of us have noticed Doug's insistence on the gameplans. One many occasions Donnie or Rahme would write a post-game article outlining the SU offensive gameplan and how it worked or did not work. They never used to do that with Greggers. Possibly because Doug is so insistent on his gameplans and how good they can be when executed properly that it's hard to ignore.
And I agree that Marrone would prefer to put all of the onus on himself. Remember, this is a guy who has been dreaming on nothing but this job for his entire coaching career. He's keep planning for this his entire adult life. There is no way on Earth that he's going to let anyone else screw it up for him.
As for whether or not Marrone should be his own OC? Why not? If he can handle the workload and balance the needs of running the entire team versus running the offense, then I'm all for it. Obviously the guy's experienced enough and has a very clear vision on what he wants.
In the meantime...another day, more silence. Marrone does things his way. Hopefully they work out.