Doug Marrone

He was the first Syracuse alumnus to serve as head football coach since Reaves H. Baysinger in 1948.

Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive lineman.

He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.

Marrone was a three-year letterman at Syracuse University, playing from 1983 to 1985 on the offensive line; he returned to graduate from the university in 1991.

Marrone was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Raiders, but failed to make the 53-man roster.

In the 1987 season, Marrone landed a spot on the roster of the Miami Dolphins, seeing action in four games.

In subsequent years, Marrone spent time in camp with the New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings — managing to land on a roster and see action in only one more NFL game, playing for the Saints in 1989.

In all, Marrone would be cut six times by NFL teams.

Marrone ended his playing career taking the field in 1991 and 1992 with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football, helping to win the World Bowl for the Monarchs in 1991.

Before being hired at Syracuse, Marrone served as an assistant coach for numerous universities and NFL teams starting in 1992, including a stint with the New Orleans Saints as an offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2008.

Reportedly, alumni such as Tim Green and Floyd Little wanted Marrone from the moment the previous coach, Greg Robinson, was fired.

When Marrone was interviewed by Green, it was learned that Marrone had kept a folder of current high school players in the Syracuse area to get a head start in recruiting.

In Marrone's first season, the Syracuse Orange finished with four wins, one more than the previous year.

The Orange doubled that output the following season.

This was the Orange's first bowl win since 2001.

This was the Bills' first winning season in ten years (when the Bills finished 9–7 under Mike Mularkey in 2004).

On December 11, 2008, after the 2008 season, Marrone was chosen as Syracuse University's head football coach by athletic director Daryl Gross.

He came to prominence as the head coach at Syracuse from 2009 to 2012, where he previously played college football.

The eight wins in 2010 were the most since 2001 for the Orange.

The 2010 season was highlighted with a victory over Kansas State and a victory in the first ever Pinstripe Bowl in New York City.

In 2011, the team started 5–2, which included a win over then No. 11 West Virginia.

After the 5–2 start, the Orange failed to win another game in the season, ending with a 5–7 record.

In 2012, Marrone coached the Orange to an 8–5 record, and a share of the Big East title as the result of a four-way tie.

Their 38–14 victory in the Pinstripe Bowl again came against West Virginia.

He also served as the head coach of the NFL's Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2014 and the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2016 to 2020.

Marrone won the Pinstripe Bowl twice with Syracuse, which led to him being hired as the Bills' head coach.

On January 6, 2013, Marrone was chosen to succeed Chan Gailey as head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

His overall record during his two seasons as head coach of the Bills was 15–17.

During his Bills' tenure, Marrone nicknamed himself "Saint Doug," referring to the fact that it takes two miracles to be canonized as a saint (he believed winning at Syracuse was one miracle and winning at Buffalo would qualify as the other).

He helped the Bills obtain their first winning record for a decade during the 2014 season, but opted-out of his contract the same year.

In 2014, the Bills finished with a record of 9–7, second place in the AFC East and two wins away from making the playoffs.

At the end of the 2014 season, it was revealed that Marrone had a three-day "out" clause in his contract in the event of an ownership change; the clause was triggered by the sale of the Bills in 2014 after the death of the Bills' founder and long-time owner Ralph Wilson.

Marrone exercised the out clause and quit on December 31, 2014, and still collected his 2015 salary in full.

After Marrone quit, several players expressed their displeasure and disgust with both the decision and the way that he informed the team.

Joining the Jaguars in 2015 as an assistant coach, he was named interim head coach near the end of the 2016 season and officially became head coach for 2017.

His 2017 campaign was his most successful, leading the Jaguars to their first playoff appearance since 2007 and their first division title since 1999 en route to an AFC Championship game appearance.

However, Marrone's subsequent seasons saw the team finish at the bottom of their division and he was fired in 2020 after a franchise-worst 1–15 record.

Marrone returned to college football before being hired by the Saints in 2022.

Marrone was born in the Bronx.

He is of Italian ancestry.