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When Brandon Moore thinks about Doug Marrone, the longtime Jets guard remembers the 2002 season, standing on the practice field long after everyone else had left.
That was Moore’s first season in the NFL. He was an undrafted free agent on the practice squad, converting from the position he played in college, defensive tackle, to offensive guard. Marrone was in his first season as the Jets’ offensive line coach, and Moore got to know him well.
“Most coaches after practice, especially in the summer after two-a-days or in the season when it’s cold outside in November and December and everybody wants to go in and get hot cocoa, he’s one of those coaches that was out with us pushing that sled — me and Jonathan Goodwin and whoever else was on the practice squad,” Moore said Friday.
“He was very instrumental in me going from a raw individual to being the player I was over the course of my career.”
Moore went on to play 10 seasons, start 142 games and make a Pro Bowl.
Years after those long nights at Hofstra with Moore, Marrone is now the favorite to land the Jets’ head coaching job after opting out of his deal with the Bills this week. Players from the 2002-05 Jets, when Marrone was the offensive line coach, speak highly of him and believe he would be a good choice to lead the current Jets.
“I don’t think I can say enough good things about him,” Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin said. “I really like him as a person, and I think he’s a heck of a coach.”
Martin had his best season in 2004, when Marrone was coaching the offensive line. Martin won the rushing title with 1,697 yards and had 12 rushing touchdowns. Martin said it was the best line he ever played behind and credited Marrone with getting the group to play as hard as it did.
“Kevin Mawae, Pete Kendall, those are good guys, but those are strong personalities,” Martin said of the center and left guard. “If you don’t have a strong personality to match theirs, they’re not going to respect you enough to get the most out of them. Doug had that respect from them.”
Mawae was going into his ninth season when Marrone arrived with the Jets. Unlike Moore, who was just learning, Mawae already knew his way around the NFL. When Marrone got the job, he called Mawae at his Baton Rouge, La., home and introduced himself.
“Who do you know on the staff to get the job here?” Mawae asked, fully aware that most NFL jobs are about who you know.
“I’ve never worked with any coach on this staff before,” Marrone told him. “I interviewed and they gave me the job.”
Mawae instantly was impressed.
“I loved playing for him,” said Mawae, who made three Pro Bowls under Marrone. “He helped me understand the whys of the game.”
Moore said Marrone and former Jets offensive line coach Bill Callahan are the two coaches he thinks work the hardest at improving every day. The way Marrone treated the guys buried on the depth chart showed it.
“He had the Kevin Mawaes, Pete Kendalls, Dave Szotts, all these Pro Bowlers, but he felt like he was only as good as the backups and the young guys that were there,” Moore said. “I’ve had other O-line coaches that could care less about the guy that came here last week off the practice squad. He was out there working with us to get better because he knew we were only a play away.”
Moore believes Marrone will be a successful NFL head coach.
“He’s approachable,” Moore said. “His office was always open. You’d come in and he was always excited to see you. He was never standoffish. I think those things work well. He’s definitely going to find a way, offensively especially, to be successful.”
Martin said in his 12 years in the NFL, he figured out what separated the good coaches from the also-rans.
“One of the things I always recognized with coaches is how players respond to them,” Martin said. “A lot of people don’t think coaches make a really big difference, but I’ve seen coaches make all the difference in the world. It really depends on the type of person they are and the type of respect they have with the players. Those are the two things Doug has working for him, is that he’s a great person and he has a lot of respect from the players he coached.”
When Brandon Moore thinks about Doug Marrone, the longtime Jets guard remembers the 2002 season, standing on the practice field long after everyone else had left.
That was Moore’s first season in the NFL. He was an undrafted free agent on the practice squad, converting from the position he played in college, defensive tackle, to offensive guard. Marrone was in his first season as the Jets’ offensive line coach, and Moore got to know him well.
“Most coaches after practice, especially in the summer after two-a-days or in the season when it’s cold outside in November and December and everybody wants to go in and get hot cocoa, he’s one of those coaches that was out with us pushing that sled — me and Jonathan Goodwin and whoever else was on the practice squad,” Moore said Friday.
“He was very instrumental in me going from a raw individual to being the player I was over the course of my career.”
Moore went on to play 10 seasons, start 142 games and make a Pro Bowl.
Years after those long nights at Hofstra with Moore, Marrone is now the favorite to land the Jets’ head coaching job after opting out of his deal with the Bills this week. Players from the 2002-05 Jets, when Marrone was the offensive line coach, speak highly of him and believe he would be a good choice to lead the current Jets.
“I don’t think I can say enough good things about him,” Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin said. “I really like him as a person, and I think he’s a heck of a coach.”
Martin had his best season in 2004, when Marrone was coaching the offensive line. Martin won the rushing title with 1,697 yards and had 12 rushing touchdowns. Martin said it was the best line he ever played behind and credited Marrone with getting the group to play as hard as it did.
“Kevin Mawae, Pete Kendall, those are good guys, but those are strong personalities,” Martin said of the center and left guard. “If you don’t have a strong personality to match theirs, they’re not going to respect you enough to get the most out of them. Doug had that respect from them.”
Mawae was going into his ninth season when Marrone arrived with the Jets. Unlike Moore, who was just learning, Mawae already knew his way around the NFL. When Marrone got the job, he called Mawae at his Baton Rouge, La., home and introduced himself.
“Who do you know on the staff to get the job here?” Mawae asked, fully aware that most NFL jobs are about who you know.
“I’ve never worked with any coach on this staff before,” Marrone told him. “I interviewed and they gave me the job.”
Mawae instantly was impressed.
“I loved playing for him,” said Mawae, who made three Pro Bowls under Marrone. “He helped me understand the whys of the game.”
Moore said Marrone and former Jets offensive line coach Bill Callahan are the two coaches he thinks work the hardest at improving every day. The way Marrone treated the guys buried on the depth chart showed it.
“He had the Kevin Mawaes, Pete Kendalls, Dave Szotts, all these Pro Bowlers, but he felt like he was only as good as the backups and the young guys that were there,” Moore said. “I’ve had other O-line coaches that could care less about the guy that came here last week off the practice squad. He was out there working with us to get better because he knew we were only a play away.”
Moore believes Marrone will be a successful NFL head coach.
“He’s approachable,” Moore said. “His office was always open. You’d come in and he was always excited to see you. He was never standoffish. I think those things work well. He’s definitely going to find a way, offensively especially, to be successful.”
Martin said in his 12 years in the NFL, he figured out what separated the good coaches from the also-rans.
“One of the things I always recognized with coaches is how players respond to them,” Martin said. “A lot of people don’t think coaches make a really big difference, but I’ve seen coaches make all the difference in the world. It really depends on the type of person they are and the type of respect they have with the players. Those are the two things Doug has working for him, is that he’s a great person and he has a lot of respect from the players he coached.”
