2016 January - Pro Football Rumors

Eagles Expected To Hire Frank Reich As OC

January 18th, 2016 at 12:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

MONDAY, 12:22pm: Reich is expected to join Pederson’s staff in Philadelphia, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport clarifies (via Twitter) that the former Chargers offensive coordinator is expected to hold the same position with the Eagles.

SUNDAY, 1:49pm: Now that his club has been eliminated from the postseason, Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson is expected to introduced as the Eagles’ new head coach at a press conference early this week. But he’s already at work filling out a coaching staff, and his first choice for offensive coordinator is former Chargers OC Frank Reich, reports Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Reich, recently fired after three seasons leading San Diego’s offense, interviewed for the same position on Adam Gase‘s Dolphins staff, but Miami ultimately chose Clyde Christensen as their new offensive coordinator. Reich wouldn’t have called plays in Miami (Gase will do that), and it’s unclear if he would handle that responsibility in Philadelphia — or if Pederson himself will take on that role.

Pederson is also interested in bringing a fellow Chiefs staffer with him, as Hayes reports that Brad Childress is on the Eagles’ radar. It’s unknown in what capacity Childress would serve — he’s currently labeled as Kansas City’s spread game coordinator — but he has a history with both the Eagles and Pederson. Childress worked with the Eagles from 1999-2005, and his time in Philadelphia overlapped with that of Pederson’s (who was an active player) in 1999.

Incumbent Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur reportedly isn’t out the picture quite yet, as Hayes indicates that Pederson isn’t averse to keeping Shurmur on staff, perhaps even in his same role. Shurmur, of course, interviewed for the head coaching position in Philadelphia, and is respected due to his work with quarterback Sam Bradford in 2015.

On the defensive side of the ball, Pederson’s top target for coordinator is Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo, per Hayes. That could prove difficult, as all indications have been that the Giants and new head coach Ben McAdoo plan to keep Spagnuolo on as coordinator.

Pederson, who has no head coaching experience himself and has only been an NFL assistant since 2009, is clearly targeting coaches who do have experience at the top. Between them, Childress, Shurmur, and Spagnuolo offer 10 years of HC experience, which would be valuable to a first-time head coach.

Lions To Retain Jim Bob Cooter As OC

January 18th, 2016 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

Few NFL coaching assistants enjoyed a better second half of the 2015 season than Jim Bob Cooter, and the Lions offensive coordinator is being rewarded for his work. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Detroit is retaining Cooter as the club’s permanent OC for 2016.

Cooter took over as the Lions’ offensive coordinator when the team parted ways with Joe Lombardi in October. At the time of the move, the Lions had stumbled to a 1-6 record, and rumors about Matthew Stafford‘s uncertain future in Detroit were swirling. The quarterback had thrown 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions to go along with an 86.8 rating through seven games.

From that point on, Stafford and the Lions’ offense took off. The team won six of its final nine games, with Stafford completing 69% of his passes and putting up a 105.1 rating, along with 20 touchdowns to just four interceptions.

With Jim Caldwell having been retained as the Lions’ head coach for the 2016 season by new general manager Bob Quinn, the team hadn’t been expected to make a change at offensive coordinator, so Rapoport’s report doesn’t come as a real surprise.

Before becoming the Lions’ offensive coordinator in the fall, Cooter served as the team’s quarterbacks coach. The 31-year-old has also worked for the Colts, Chiefs, and Broncos in various assistant roles.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coach Rumors: 49ers, Mangini, Giants, Titans

January 18th, 2016 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly hasn’t been formally introduced by the team yet, and hasn’t made any announcements on his coaching staff, but it appears a handful of Eagles assistant coaches will be following him to San Francisco, writes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

As Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, the Eagles assistants remain under contract through 2016, so Philadelphia could block some of them from heading to the Niners if Doug Pederson wants to keep them, but the Eagles’ new head coach is likely to hire many of his own assistants as well.

One notable Niners assistant who may end up remaining in San Francisco is defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. Marvez tweets that there’s a “strong possibility” of Mangini, who met with Kelly on Friday, returning to head the 49ers’ defense in 2016.

As we wait to see how Kelly’s staff shakes out, here are a few more coaching-related updates from around the NFL:

The Giants appear set to move on from offensive line coach Pat Flaherty and defensive line coach Robert Nunn, per reports by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Nunn will interview for the Titans‘ DL coach job, says Garafolo.
Meanwhile, Marvez has a note on a potential incoming coach for the Giants, tweeting that ex-Rams offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is in the mix for New York’s quarterbacks coach job.
The Titans have put in a request to interview Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie for their offensive coordinator job, sources tell Marvez and Garafolo (Twitter link).
Doug Pederson‘s biggest decision as he takes over the Eagles‘ head coaching job will be naming his defensive coordinator, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who writes that Pederson “can’t just blindly go with one of the big-name coordinators who are available.”

King’s Latest: Chiefs, Steelers, Packers, Lynch

January 18th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the weekend’s divisional playoff games, Peter King of TheMMQB.com takes a look at what’s next for the four teams eliminated from the postseason, and passes along several notable tidbits. Here are the highlights:

Odds are that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will promote quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy to replace Doug Pederson as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, says King. Brad Childress has been viewed as a candidate for that job as well.
With Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali eligible for free agency, King expects the Chiefs to retain one of those two players, at most — the team is more likely to spend on its free agent defensive backs, Sean Smith and Eric Berry.
Michael Vick doesn’t appear to be in the Steelers‘ plans going forward, so the team should bring in a backup quarterback to challenge Landry Jones, King suggests. The MMQB scribe would also like to see Pittsburgh use a high draft choice on a tight end.
With Jordy Nelson back next year and the Packers developing some promising young receivers, James Jones may be a luxury that GM Ted Thompson decides he can’t afford. King writes that Green Bay also needs to invest in a pass rusher and perhaps draft Eddie Lacy‘s replacement.
“Even the most ardent Marshawn Lynch fan has to see it’s over for him,” according to King, who suggests that the Seahawks are likely to cut their longtime running back to create cap room for other core players.

Extra Points: Titans, Schwartz, Kearse, Harrison

January 17th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A look around the NFL as divisional weekend wraps up. . .

The Titans’ owners chose Jon Robinson as the team’s general manager and promoted Mike Mularkey from interim head coach to the full-time role largely because neither came at a high price, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. Further, the decision by Titans ownership to skip a recent league meeting in Houston, home of managing partner Amy Adams Strunk, and announce the Mularkey news during a playoff game aren’t sitting well with the NFL, per La Canfora – who notes that the Titans could change hands by 2017.
The Jaguars have interviewed Jim Schwartz for their vacant defensive coordinator position, Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez reports (on Twitter). Though the Jags (and others) are courting Schwartz, the 49-year-old is being selective about his future and could take a second straight season away from the sideline, La Canfora reports. Schwartz last served as Buffalo’s D-coordinator in 2014, helping the unit to a fourth overall ranking.
Seahawks receiver Jermaine Kearse just finished a career season, catching 49 passes for 685 yards and five touchdowns. The four-year veteran, a pending free agent, doesn’t want to parlay his successful 2015-16 showing into a job elsewhere; he’d rather stay where he is. ”I mean I grew up in the state of Washington. I would love to be here,” the soon-to-be 26-year-old said Sunday, per The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta (Twitter link). Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap expects Kearse’s next deal to sit in the $3.5MM-per-year range (Twitter link).
Like Kearse, Steelers great James Harrison also faces an uncertain future. The five-time Pro Bowl linebacker is unsure whether he’ll return next season, which would be his age-38 campaign. “I’ve been doing this for 13, 14 years now, so it’s not something I can easily give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to right now,” he said Sunday, according to Ralph N. Paul of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Harrison is due a $1.25MM base salary in 2016.

NFL/Reserve Future Contracts: 1/17/16

January 17th, 2016 at 8:15pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.

Green Bay Packers

OL Matt Rotheram (Twitter link via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Kansas City Chiefs

OT Laurence Gibson (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star)
DL Jimmy Staten (per Paylor, via Twitter)
WR Fred Williams (according to Paylor, on Twitter)

Falcons, Personnel Director Lionel Vital Part Ways

January 17th, 2016 at 7:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

7:42pm: The Falcons offered Vital a different position, but he declined it, deciding instead to move on, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I just felt, we felt that it would just be fairer for the new guy, who is going to be doing that duty, to deal with fresh people,” Vital said, per Ledbetter. “I don’t want to be staring at him and I don’t want him staring at me. I think it works out for both parties. The Falcons have been good to me. That’s how I want to leave it.”

6:07pm: The Falcons and director of player personnel Lionel Vital have parted ways, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Atlanta is only a year removed from increasing the workload of Vital, whom the team awarded additional pro scouting responsibilities and a role in college scouting last January. However, after a third straight non-playoff season, the Falcons and Vital are going in separate directions.

Vital, who has racked up 25 years of experience working for various organizations, has strong ties to newly hired Titans general manager Jon Robinson, reports ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky (Twitter link). That could make the 52-year-old a fit to join Robinson in Tennessee.

Latest On Chargers’, Raiders’ Relocation Possibilities

January 17th, 2016 at 6:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest on the NFL’s return to Los Angeles and what it could mean for San Diego and Oakland, courtesy of the LA Daily News’ Vincent Bonsignore:

Representatives from the Rams and Chargers will meet Monday to discuss the possibility of the Bolts joining the Rams in LA in time for the 2016 season. It’s unlikely either of the two owners (the Rams’ Stan Kroenke and the Chargers’ Dean Spanos) will attend the meeting. It will instead be a powwow between the teams’ staff members. Regardless, in order for the Chargers to play in LA next season, they’ll have to reach an agreement with the Rams in the next two weeks. That’s the likely scenario, sources tell Bonsignore, who reports that the Chargers are motivated to leave San Diego behind and team up with the Rams in LA as soon as possible.
If the Chargers relocate, that would create the possibility of another franchise taking their place in San Diego. That franchise could be the Raiders, who Bonsignore doubts would face a significant relocation fee (if any) if they end up leaving Oakland for San Diego (Twitter link).
Where would the Raiders play in San Diego? The club might be open to making use of a renovated Qualcomm Stadium, tweets Bonsignore.

Injury Updates: Allen, Okung, Cobb

January 17th, 2016 at 5:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Some big names have suffered injuries during this weekend’s NFL playoff action. Here’s the latest:

Panthers defensive end Jared Allen injured his foot during the team’s Sunday win over the Seahawks and and is likely to require season-ending surgery, tweets Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com conflicts Jones’ report, tweeting that Allen plans to continue playing. Allen broke a small bone in his foot, per Rapoport. The 12th-year man is scheduled to undergo an X-ray Monday, according to Jones (Twitter link), which should clarify his status.
Not only did the Seahawks’ season end in Carolina, but left tackle Russell Okung‘s career with the team may have concluded with an injury. The one-time Pro Bowler and pending free agent dislocated his shoulder, reports The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta (on Twitter). The terrible timing of the injury could have a negative effect on Okung’s market this offseason, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link). On Saturday, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Okung, 28, as the ninth-best free agent in the upcoming class.
Packers receiver Randall Cobb left Saturday’s loss to Arizona early with a bruised lung, but he tweeted Sunday that he was discharged from the hospital and feels “much better.”

Coaching Rumors: Chiefs, Eagles, Colts, Rams

January 17th, 2016 at 4:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters, including Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star (Twitter links), that offensive coordinator Doug Pederson‘s replacement is already on Kansas City’s coaching staff, and also stated that he doesn’t expect Pederson to take any Chiefs assistants with him to Philadelphia.

A report earlier today indicated that Pederson would like to add Chiefs spread game analyst Brad Childress to his staff in some capacity, but Reid’s statements make it seem like that isn’t likely. This is just my speculation, but given Reid’s comments, I’d guess that Childress would be the leading to candidate to succeed Pederson as Kansas City OC.

Here’s more from the coaching circuit:

Former Jets/Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is a likely candidate for the Colts‘ vacant quarterbacks coach job, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Schottenheimer, who boasts nine years of NFL coordinating experience, spent this past season as Georgia’s OC.
It doesn’t sound like Mike Mularkey will retain Titans offensive coordinator Jason Michael, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link) reports that Michael is in line to join the Rams‘ coaching staff. Per Kuharsky, Michael would serve as either tight ends coach or passing game coordinator.
Longtime secondary coach — and former UNLV defensive coordinator — Tim Hauck will head to the Eagles to work as assistant defensive backs coach, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link).