ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Its been such a whirlwind of a week for Doug Marrone -- from a bowl game at Yankee Stadium to NFL interviews in Arizona -- that it was difficult for the Buffalo Bills new coach to get his bearings on Monday. All that mattered was that he ended up in the state of New York, a place where the Bronx-born Marrone has always felt at home: Be it playing and then coaching at Syracuse, and now getting his first NFL head-coaching shot in Buffalo. "I had some opportunities to make a choice, and Ive chosen to be here," Marrone said, shortly after being introduced as the 16th coach in the Bills 53-year history. "You have to be at the place where youre most comfortable, and Im most comfortable here in western New York." Capped by a 38-14 win over West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28, Marrone went 25-25 in four seasons at Syracuse. He was credited for reviving a program that had gone 26-57 in its previous seven seasons. In Buffalo, the 48-year-old Marrone takes over a week after Chan Gailey was fired following three consecutive losing seasons. Marrone becomes the Bills fifth coach in 12 years, and inherits a franchise that newly promoted team president Russ Brandon described as having a "tarnished" reputation. "We wanted to identify top talent to lead this organization to where all of our fans and stakeholders deserve to be, and thats back to a championship contender," Brandon said. "And we believe we just did that." Marrone was the second of only five candidates Buffalo interviewed over a four-day span in Arizona as part of what Brandon vowed would be an "exhaustive" search. Brandon described the search as being "thorough" and "exhilarating," noting the Bills met with Marrone four times before identifying him as their candidate on Saturday. General manager Buddy Nix went further in saying the Bills didnt have time to waste or risk missing out on Marrone. "We could have gone another day, and we would have been starting over," Nix said. "We knew the guy we wanted when we interviewed him. And there he is. So why go further?" Marrone also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, and was also linked as a potential candidate for job openings in Philadelphia and San Diego. Marrones challenge in Buffalo is turning around a team whose 13-season playoff drought is the NFLs longest active streak, and a team thats not had a winning record since 2004, when it finished 9-7. "Im not going to talk about the coaches that were before me, and I dont know what their philosophy was. But I do understand the responsibility that I have," Marrone said. "Im excited about this. Ive done this before. Ive been in this league as a player, been here as a coach. Ive gone through this change. And Im excited to work with the players in this change." Described as a no-nonsense disciplinarian, Marrone returns to the NFL where the former offensive lineman spent two seasons as a player, and seven more as an assistant. He was an offensive line coach with the New York Jets from 2002-05. He then served as the New Orleans Saints offensive co-ordinator from 2006-08, where his arrival coincided with the team signing star quarterback Drew Brees. The Bills also interviewed former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, former Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton and Oregon coach Chip Kelly. The Bills were scheduled to meet with Mike McCoy in Denver on Saturday, but the Broncos offensive co-ordinator postponed the interview. Marrone has had little time to enjoy a 38-14 victory over West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl, which he called his "greatest win." On Dec. 31, after driving home, he attended the mens basketball game in which the Orange beat Central Connecticut, 96-62. He celebrated new years eve at Orange coach Jim Boeheims home. Soon after, his phone started ringing with news about potential job offers. As a result, Marrone on Monday was short on answers when it came to his vision regarding the Bills. He said hed have to begin looking at film before determining the status of starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, whos future in Buffalo is in question. Nix has already said he intends to improve the position in the draft and potentially in free agency. Fitzpatrick is also due a $3 million bonus in March from the six-year, $59 million contract extension he signed in October 2011. It was too early to ask Marrone about who he might hire as assistants. He would only say hes looking for coaches with NFL experience to fill his two co-ordinators jobs. Same thing about how Marrone intends to improve a high-priced but underachieving defence that was one of the NFLs worst during Gaileys three seasons. "Im excited to get back to work soon," Marrone said. "Its a lot of responsibility. I feel Im the best person for this job." wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Miguel Cabrera had two hits, drove in two runs and pressed ever closer to the first Triple Crown in 45 years Tuesday night. cheap nfl jerseys . -- Georgia is dealing with a big loss heading into its Southeastern Conference showdown against South Carolina. http://www.cheapjerseys360.com/ . -- Brandon Moss might just make Boston miss him yet. cheap jerseys . Parmentier won 74 per cent of her first serves in the match and will next face Heather Watson of Britain. Watson beat sixth-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3. wholesale jerseys . But a six-run third inning off Randy Wolf proved to be plenty Friday night, and the Pirates pounded the Brewers 8-2. "I think it has a lot to do with how the games have gone here in the past," Correia said. "A five-run lead doesnt feel like much here.DALLAS -- Now that Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki is through the first knee surgery of his career, hell lean on the longest absence of his 14 NBA seasons to figure out how soon he can come back. The short answer: He wont rush it. The 11-time All-Star walked gingerly but without a noticeable limp in his first post-op meeting with reporters Tuesday, four days after arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee. He says hes encouraged but wouldnt go much past that. Coach Rick Carlisle has said Nowitzki would miss six weeks, but declined Tuesday to offer any updated time frame. "A timetable at this point is pretty ridiculous to talk about," said Nowitzki, hunched over the podium with the legs stiffened on his 7-foot frame. "Its hard to say right now when the swelling is going to be gone." All the 34-year-old Nowitzki knows is he came back too soon after sitting out nine games when the same knee was sore during Dallas championship season two years ago. Hes almost certain to surpass that career high in games missed with the season starting next Tuesday at the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks figure to be at least 10 games in before his return. "We definitely need to find a way to win some games and play some decent basketball until I come back," Nowitzki said. "But I dont think thats going to change our approach with rushing back. I dont think were going to rush things here." Nowitzki said he didnt have any problems with the knee as he went through off-season workouts, but soreness and swelling kicked in not long after training camp started late last month. He had the knee drained twice and tried to play through it -- just as he did with chronic ankle trouble early in his career -- before finally giving in to surgery. He played just one preseason game -- the opener in his native Germany. "Its not that I was afraid of surgery or scared," Nowitzki said. "I wanted to be there, especially with all these new guys. I wanted to bbe a part of starting the season.dddddddddddd Now thats out of the question, but its the right moment to do it." Nowitzki said the surgery took care of "some stuff that needed to be cleaned out" but declined to be more specific. He said doctors didnt find anything unusual in a knee thats been through so many seasons. He said workouts will get more intense once the swelling subsides, but he figures hell have to be on the court at least a week or two before he can think about getting into a game. With Nowitzki out, the Mavericks could have four new starters for the opener against the Lakers as they undergo their second roster makeover in two seasons since winning their first title. Some of the scoring load could fall to free agent guard O.J. Mayo, while veterans with as much service time as Nowitzki -- Vince Carter and Elton Brand -- could get a lot of his minutes at power forward. The Mavericks would like to replace some of Nowitzkis scoring and rebounding with another newcomer in his friend and fellow 7-footer, centre Chris Kaman. But Kaman remains sidelined with a strained calf, and Carlisle wasnt sure about the timing of his return Tuesday either, although it seems certain it will be sooner than Nowitzki. "When Dirks in the game, it seems like everybody gets easier shots because the defence is so focused on him," said new point guard Darren Collison. "But that just means weve got to work a little bit harder, get into the paint a little more. Weve got the personnel to do it, so well be fine." Meanwhile, Nowitzki will be picking through his suit closet every game day for a while. Just dont expect a new fashion line to crop up. "If I would have known that, I probably would have stepped it up a little bit and got some new suits this summer," Nowitzki said. "Im bringing the same suits back from the White House, from the championship trophy ceremony. Its going to be a bunch of repeats." ' ' '