Doug Marrone is back in the big chair.
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Monday that Marrone, the assistant head coach-offense/offensive line coach, would take over as the interim head coach. The Jags (2-12) fired Gus Bradley (14-48 career record) following Sunday's 21-20 loss to the Houston Texans.
Marrone was the logical in-house candidate to take over the interim gig for the final two weeks of the season. The 52 year old joined the Jags as an assistant in January 2015.
After two years as head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2013 to 2014, Marrone infamously opted out of contract after the team came under new ownership. He went 15-17 in two seasons as Bills coach, but led the Bills to a 9-7 season in 2014, which was the first winning season for the franchise since 2004.
Thought to be a hot head-coaching candidate at the time, Marrone was passed over for several open positions, most notably the New York Jets, who hired Todd Bowles. Marrone has spent the past two years mostly in anonymity in Jacksonville -- aside from a memorable defense of the New York rap scene.
Given Marrone's experience running a team, it's logical that general manager Dave Caldwell handed him the reins to help guide the careening Jags to the end of another wickedly disappointing season. Caldwell later told reporters that Marrone is a candidate for the permanent gig, "regardless of what happens in the next few weeks."
