Bills head coach Doug Marrone has been a busy man the past couple of months, but he's got the team's offseason schedule completed. His veteran players will report for the beginning of the voluntary offseason conditioning program on April 2nd.
Under league rules coaches cannot talk offensive and defensive schems with their players on the roster at this time. Even during the offeseason conditioning workouts there are limitations. For Marrone and his coaching staff, it's been a long wait to try and get to know the talent that already exists on Buffalo's roster.
"I don't know if I'd use the words hands on, but they'll be interaction and communication as of April 2nd and that's really what gets me going and excited," said Marrone at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
"Really the personnel people run the show here at the Combine and when the players come back it's going to be great. I'm really looking forward to it and I think we have a bunch of good guys and we have a lot of work ahead of us. I look forward to working with them."
The highlight of the offseason schedule is the three-day voluntary veteran minicamp that will take place a week prior to the 2013 NFL draft from April 16-18.
"My thing behind that is I wanted to make sure that we got with our players first and give them the ability to come back and work with them before the draft starts," Marrone said. "And then all of a sudden now we have other people coming onto our roster (via the draft). I want to get a chance to meet with our players and talk to them first because they've earned that. They've been on the roster, they're part of the Bills and right now (here at the Combine) we don't know who is going to be a part of it. So I wanted to make sure we were able to get with them first."
For Marrone and his staff coaching is what they're about so what will amount to a three-month delay to be around the players from the time they were hired has them beyond eager to get started.
"You're dying to jump in there with the players," Marrone told Buffalobills.com. "They're the most important part of this. And if it wasn't for the players we wouldn't have jobs. For me being away from them and having more communication with everyone else is always the toughest part."
Voluntary Offseason Conditioning
Tuesday, April 2 – Friday, April 5
Monday, April 8 – Thursday, April 11
Monday, April 22 – Thursday, April 25
Monday, April 29 – Thursday, May 2
Monday, May 6 – Thursday, May 9
Voluntary Veteran Minicamp
Tuesday, April 16 – Thursday, April 18
Organized Team Activity
Monday, May 13 – Wednesday, May 15
Monday, May 20 – Tuesday, May 21
Thursday, May 23
Tuesday, May 28 – Friday, May 31
Mandatory Minicamp
Tuesday, June 11 – Thursday, June 13
