With Doug Marrone no longer employed as the Bills‘ head coach, the team will have to look elsewhere to replace the man who brought Buffalo its second winning season in the past 15 years.
Although news of Marrone’s departure only became public last night, the fallout has been quick, and the Bills may already have a frontrunner to replace him as head coach in Buffalo. The team will have a strong interest in Chargers‘ offensive coordinator Frank Reich, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Reich, who was the team’s backup quarterback behind Jim Kelly for the great Bills teams of the late 80s and early 90s, famously leading the team to a comeback victory over the Oilers after trailing 35-3 in the second half.
The team is also considering defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and could be interested in former Steelers’ coach Bill Cowher, but Vic Carrucci of The Buffalo News writes that Reich immediately became the team’s top target.
Reich would be the favorite for Bill Polian, who is expected to take over as the team’s head of football operations within the next month.
In anticipation of the hire, Mathew Fairburn of Syracuse.com put together a list of five things to know about the connection between Reich and the Bills. He obviously has a long history with the franchise, but Fairburn also points out that when Polian took over the expansion Carolina Panthers, he brought Reich in to be the team’s first quarterback.
Fairburn also writes that Reich worked under successful head coaches Tony Dungy, Ken Whisenhunt, and most recently Mike McCoy.
Bills’ Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed believes Reich would be a great hire in Buffalo, writes Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.
I think he would make — definitely would make a great head coach anywhere,” said Reed. “He’s definitely a viable candidate. I think he would do a great job. Not only would he bring a lot of credibility, but Bills fans would probably — the roof would probably come off if he came in there and became the head coach. I’m definitely a proponent of him being the head coach there, if that’s the way and that’s what goes down.”
Reich is coming off his first year as an offensive coordinator and play caller in San Diego, and while Chargers’ general manager Tom Telesco understands the interest, he is not looking forward to losing Reich, reports Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego.
“I think Frank, in his first year, did a very good job,” Telesco said. “He’s smart. He’s detailed. He’s prepared for this for a long time. He’s a great teacher, a great communicator, and he can really handle a room as far as handling the offense. He did an excellent job, and I’m not surprised that some teams would have interest in him. But selfishly, I hope he stays here.”
While Telesco may hope to retain Reich, his history in Buffalo and the opportunity to become a head coach for the first time may be difficult to pass up.