Doug Marrone Interviewing With Falcons

It's not every day you get to type this, so here goes: The guy who just quit the Buffalo Bills head coaching position is primed to become one of the hottest coaching candidates in the NFL.

Doug Marrone also has interviews lined up with the Falcons and Bears, according to a league source #nyj

— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) January 1, 2015

The Falcons' interest in Marrone is likely a result of the strong turnaround for Buffalo under his watch, albeit one that fell short of a playoff berth. There's always been a disconnect between the results on the field for Marrone and how highly-regarded he is around the NFL, which began during his four year stint in Syracuse, where he won 4, 8, 5 and 8 games before landing a nice contract from the Bills.

As the Saints' offensive coordinator from 2006-2008, Marrone was known as a creative mind who managed a high-flying offense extremely well. In Buffalo, his offenses were hamstrung by the lack of a quality quarterback, a problem exacerbated by the team's poor handling of E.J. Manuel, and by a mediocre supporting cast. Marrone delegated well on defense and the Bills were borderline dominant there for large stretches of the last two years, however, and he was a steady hand at the helm of one of the NFL's worst franchises over the last 15 years.

For all that, I'm not sure I completely understand the heavy interest in Marrone from teams like the Bears, Jets and now Falcons. As with any relatively unproven coach, there's got to be potential here that intrigues teams, and certainly the Falcons are looking at their stronger offensive personnel and thinking Marrone might be strong fit for the team. It's worth noting that Marrone also has experience as an offensive line coach, and if he can get his hands on a quality defensive coordinator, you can squint a little and see this one working out. I can't say I view him as the favorite for the job, however.

What are your thoughts on this possibility?