Doug Marrone

Former Bills head coach Doug Marrone interviewed with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, the second day of their coaching search.

(AP)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If the Browns hire former Bills head coach Doug Marrone as their eighth head coach since 1999, they'll have to sell him to their players.

Word gets around in the NFL, and some of the Browns are concerned that Marrone -- who interviewed with the Browns on Thursday -- isn't a players' coach, sources told cleveland.com. The club has confirmed the session.

Some Browns players, in fact, might just decide they don't want to deal with it, unless the club can assure them that Marrone has changed.

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas has made it clear that he'll ask to be traded if he doesn't like the new coach, and Marrone's methods -- described by Bills players as more college-oriented than pro -- might not fit him. If Thomas asks out, center Alex Mack, who can opt of out his contract in March, would possibly bolt too.

That could have a ripple effect, with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, set to be a free agent in March, possibly opting for greener pastures if his two Pro Bowl buddies leave.

Marrone, 51, interviewed with the Browns Thursday on the second day of their search. Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who was originally scheduled to interview with the Browns on Thursday, will now talk to them Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.

On Wednesday, the Browns kicked off the hunt by interviewing Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. NFL Network's Rand Getlin reported that the Dolphins are making "a strong, potentially persuasive push'' for Gase, who's in Miami Thursday. He's also interviewed with the Eagles and is meeting with the Giants today Friday.

The Browns will also interview Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson on Friday in Dallas, a source said, and both Bengals coordinators on Sunday: Hue Jackson on the offensive side and Paul Guenther on the defensive side. They will also interview Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Last year in training camp, defensive tackle Marcel Dareus described to NFL Network's Michael Silver what Marrone, currently Jaguars assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the Jaguars, was like.

When asked about the reaction when they received a text on New Year's Eve from Marrone that he was opting out of his contract, Dareus said "We celebrated a little harder.''

When asked if he was surprised, Dareus said, "I'm surprised he didn't do it earlier. He seemed miserable. Things were tense. He was always anal and cared about little stupid things, micro-managed us.''

He added, "What difference does it make if I don't have team-issued socks for practice, and what does putting on a sweater in a cold meeting room have to do with winning?''

Inside linebacker Preston Brown told The Buffalo News that Marrone, who spent four seasons as head coach of Syracuse before he joined the Bills, was too "college-y. Coming from Syracuse, he kind of controlled guys instead of letting us be grown men and do what we've got to do."

Marrone, whose players felt he quit on them when he left the team in the midst of the Bills' ownership change after the 2014 season, also interviewed with the Browns after the 2012 season, but opted to take the Bills job instead. The Browns hired Rob Chudzinski, and fired him after one season.

Marrone went 15-17 in 2013-14 with the Bills, including a 9-7 mark last year. Former Browns coach Mike Pettine was Marrone's defensive coordinator in 2013, leading the unit to a league-high 57 sacks and a top 10 finish. The defense also led the NFL in opponent completion percentage, finished second with 23 interceptions and third in opponent quarterback rating.

Offensively, Marrone led an offense that finished first in the AFC and second in the NFL in rushing (144.2 avg.). It also led the NFL with 95.5 percent efficiency in the red zone. Rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel started 10 games and set team rookie records for passing touchdowns (11) and completions (180).

The Bills had three different players with 60 receptions in 2014 for the first time in team history (Fred Jackson, 65; Sammy Watkins, 62; Robert Woods, 61) and the club produced six individual 100-yard receiving games. The Bills ranked sixth in the NFL in 2014 with a plus-seven turnover differential.

Marrone went 25-25 in his four seasons at Syracuse, turning around the program and guiding it to two straight bowl games.

Before that, he spent seven seasons an NFL assistant, including offensive coordinator of the Saints from 2006-08.

Quarterback Drew Brees won the NFL passing crown in 2006 (4,418) and 2008 (5,069) and became just the second quarterback in NFL history to surpass 5,000 passing yards. (Dan Marino, 1984). Brees eclipsed 4,000 passing yards and the offense posted more than 5,700 yards in each of Marrone's three seasons there. The Saints established a team record with an NFL-best 6,264 yards of offense in 2006, 5,780 in 2007 (4th in the NFL) and led the NFL again in 2008 with 6,571 yards.

From 2002-05, Marrone served as Jets offensive line coach, during which time they made the playoffs twice. In 2004, the Jets produced the NFL's third-best rushing offense (149.3 avg.) and Curtis Martin led the NFL with 1,697 rushing yards. In an interview with espn.com in October, Marrone refused to elaborate on why he left the Bills, saying he'll wait until he's retired to reveal that information.

"It's a decision I made for me and my family," Marrone said. "It was the best decision for me."

He also said it's a misconception that he felt he had the Jets job locked up. The Jets hired Todd Bowles instead.

But respected former NFL executives such as Bill Polian and Charlie Casserly are still high on him.

"I think Doug deserves to be a head coach in the NFL,'' Casserly told ESPN. "I'd hire him in a minute."

In other Browns coaching news, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo is interviewing Friday for the 49ers head coaching vacancy.