Doug Marrone has only been the head coach of the Bills for three days, but his hiring has players encouraged about what lies ahead. With Marrone being a former offensive lineman himself, his hiring naturally played well with center Eric Wood.
"I was definitely excited when I read that about him," Wood told Buffalobills.com. "I'm happy he's an offensive-minded coach. I think that bodes well for us on offense that he coached a really successful offense down in New Orleans. The way he talked he wants to be innovative on offense and that's kind of how the league is going these days."
Wood believes the Bills can hit the ground running with Marrone and his new staff once it's fully assembled because a good number of the players on this roster have experienced change before.
"We definitely have a lot more experience than we did the last time going into the coaching change. At least from an offensive line standpoint I can say that," said Wood. "I think we've got the right group of guys to go through a coaching transition. We've got a highly intelligent team right now. A lot of guys that have played a lot of football and a lot of guys that really want to win."
The Bills center is hopeful that Marrone and his staff bring in what he termed "advantageous schemes" to position the team for success week in and week out.
"Whatever it's going to take for us to win is what we're looking forward to," he said. "I definitely wouldn't consider us in a rebuilding phase, not with the roster we have and some of the talent we have. That shouldn't be the way anybody is thinking."
Wood has been impressed by what many of Marrone's former players have said about his new head coach since his hiring.
"Everybody has got the highest regard for him," he said. "I like how everybody said he knows how to treat his players. He'll push you and make you work hard, but at the end of the day he understands the NFL game having played and coached in the NFL. So he understands the way you need to treat players while also being a disciplinarian and I think that will bode well for us."
