The Buffalo Bills are not ready to move on from quarterback EJ Manuel.
That's at least the message that Bills GM Doug Whaley is sending to prospective head coaches that the team is interviewing. In fact, per the Buffalo News, Whaley is going so far as to say that coaching has been the reason that Manuel has not progressed in his two NFL seasons.
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Doug Marrone walked away from the Bills after two seasons, and it was clear that Marrone had little faith in Manuel after he benched him after four games this season, going instead with Kyle Orton, who joined the team in the preseason.
Moreover, Marrone failed to re-insert Manuel into the lineup for the season finale even when the Bills were eliminated from the postseason. Orton summarily retired the day after the season ended.
It's clear that the Bills want their next coach to work with Manuel, the team's first-round pick in 2013, and try to develop him into the team's starter.
The Bills have interviewed — or plan to interview — a slew of candidates, including offensive-centric coaches Pat Shurmur, Mike and Kyle Shanahan, Hue Jackson, Greg Roman, Frank Reich, Adam Gase and Darrell Bevell. But they also have spoken with or are scheduled to talk to defensive-minded coaches such as Jim Schwartz, Teryl Austin and Dan Quinn and have expressed an interest in Rex Ryan, too.
The Bills lack a first-round pick this year following the trade for Sammy Watkins in the 2014 NFL draft, so finding another starter-worthy quarterbacks — especially with a weak free-agent class at the position — could prove to be difficult.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
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