SYRACUSE, N.Y. — New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone has been hired as coach at Syracuse, returning to the school where he played to try to rebuild a program that hasn't had a winning season since 2001.

Marrone was a captain and three-year letterman at Syracuse in the mid-1980s, and the school said Friday he will succeed Greg Robinson, who was fired last month after going 10-37 in four seasons.

This will be Marrone's first stint as a head coach. He traveled to Syracuse on Sunday following the Saints' victory over the Atlanta Falcons for a second interview with athletic director Daryl Gross.

Terms of Marrone's contract were not revealed. The university scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m.

Gross interviewed East Carolina coach Skip Holtz earlier in the week, but Holtz issued a statement through his athletic department on Thursday that he had withdrawn his name from consideration.

Former Nebraska coach and quarterback Turner Gill also was among those interviewed for the Syracuse job.

Before Gill arrived in 2006 to coach the University at Buffalo Bulls, the team had gone 10-69 in their first seven seasons after joining the Mid-American Conference.

Marrone, 44, began his coaching career as an assistant at Cortland State, just south of Syracuse, and also coached at Coast Guard, Northeastern, Georgia Tech, Georgia and Tennessee. He was a New York Jets assistant for three years before joining the Saints.

Marrone played with the Miami Dolphins in 1987 and the Saints in 1989, and was with the London Monarchs of the World league in 1991.

Marrone has served as offensive coordinator for the Saints since January 2006. Under his guidance, the Saints have become one of the NFL's most explosive and consistent offenses. New Orleans set an NFL record with 440 completions in 2007 and also set team highs for passing first downs (222), attempts (652), touchdown passes (28) and completion percentage (67.5).