Jaguars HC Doug Marrone on final roster cuts this week: ‘I think people who are immune to that are bullshitting’

If there’s one thing Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone has stayed consistent on during his tenure as head coach, it’s that he hates (and I mean hates) final roster cuts during the preseason.

Marrone, a former offensive lineman himself who bounced around a couple of NFL teams before a stint in Europe’s World League, knows the pain of being cut himself and knows that dwindling a roster down to 53 guys isn’t a video game — it’s real life consequences for over a thousand NFL players every year.

Speaking after practice on Sunday, Marrone had some choice words for coaches who don’t empathize with the dozens of players they’re cutting every August.

“I don’t think you ever become immune to that. I think people who are immune to that are bullshitting. I think people who are immune to that have no appreciation for what these people do. I think they have no appreciation for what goes on and their families. I think it’s cowardly. I think it’s bullshit and I think I hate people like that. I think if you don’t have an appreciation for it, if you don’t feel bad about it, then you really shouldn’t be in this business. I really feel that way. I get pissed. I do. I’m not an emotional person up or down, but this week is probably … Outside of anything happening in my family or things like that, this is by far the toughest week. I hate it. Like I said before, most of these players — 99.9 percent of them have done everything we have asked, everything the right way. It’s difficult. The ones that are easy and are the ones that are guys that are assholes that are not going to make it anyway. You cut them with a smile on your face. You can’t get them out of the building fast enough, but we don’t have that. We have guys that are truly working their butts off.”

Unfortunately, Marrone will be in a tough position over the next week, deciding who that last receiver is, who the bubble cornerback could be, and if an extra linebacker or offensive lineman should be the 53rd man.