The Buffalo Bills spent much of the season fighting for a playoff spot, and although they missed out, it appeared that the team had a bright future. Instead, they now find themselves with no clear choice at quarterback for next year, and they need a new head coach.

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While Kyle Orton's retirement may not have come as a shock to many within the organization, the departure of head coach Doug Marrone probably did. Marrone exercised the opt-out clause in his deal in order to be freed of his contract heading into the offseason.

In a cruel twist of fate, the Bills only added that opt-out clause to Marrone's contract in order to entice him to choose Buffalo over Cleveland when he first interviewed for the position.

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Perhaps the worst part of the whole situation for Buffalo is the way that Marrone told his players that he was no longer going to be coaching the team.

People routinely comment on how terrible it is when a person delivers bad news via a text message. If you actually cared, the thinking goes, you would have the decency to deliver your news in person. Well, if it looks bad on an individual during a breakup, it surely looks worse for a coach to do this to his players.

The players were likely incensed by Marrone's actions, although they have not commented on it just yet. There is no indication whether Marrone left in order to pursue another job, but the way he departed Buffalo should make any prospective teams think twice before they bring him on as their coach.