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NFC Notes: Rams, Buccaneers, Lions, Giants

January 14th, 2017 at 12:30pm CST by Ben Levine

While Rams head coach Sean McVay is considered to be one of the brightest young minds in the business, some league executives believes it will take several seasons before his skills are reflected on the field.

“That’s a big bite at [30 years old],” one executive said (via Yahoo’s Charles Robinson on Twitter). “Recent coaches who have been that young, they clearly weren’t ready for it – situations that seemed to come down to experience issues and maturity issues [with the coaches]. I don’t know [McVay] well enough to say whether that would be a concern. It’s just a lot for anyone, even the most experienced coaches.”

As Robinson notes, McVay has done an admirable job of surrounding himself with an experienced veteran staff. Longtime coaches Wade Phillips and Joe Barry should help McVay get acclimated to his new role.

Let’s take a look at some other notes coming out of the NFC…

  • Robinson tweets that there were rumblings that the Rams would let “[Jeff] Fisher guys,” including wideout Kenny Britt and cornerback Trumaine Johnson, hit free agency. However, Robinson notes that the mindset may have changed following the hiring of McVay as head coach and Phillips as defensive coordinator.
  • About two weeks ago, the Buccaneers signed running back Blake Sims to a reserve/futures contract. Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports (via Twitter) that the league disapproved the player’s original two-year contract. The team ultimately inked the running back to a three-year contract, and Auman notes that the change is purely “semantics.”
  • Lions quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan is a “future coordinator to watch,” tweets Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. The reporter adds that the organization has blocked Callahan from taking at least one interview with another team. Prior to his tenure in Detroit, Callahan spent six years with the Broncos.
  • Giants defensive end Owa Odighizuwa is entering a “do-or-die offseason,” writes Dan Duggan of NJ.com. The former third-rounder still hasn’t established himself as a reliable rotation player, compiling only six tackles in 18 career games. The 24-year-old understands that he’ll have to work ever harder if he wants to stick around. “It’s real important for me,” Odighizuwa said. “That’s how I’m approaching it, that it’s kind of do-or-die in terms of my preparation and getting ready. You have to exhaust all of your resources into training properly and getting ready for the year. Really pouring everything you have into preparation.” Odighizuwa has two years remaining on his contract, but the Giants would only be left with $370K in dead cap if they cut the defensive end loose.

Buccaneers Sign LB Jeff Knox

January 14th, 2017 at 11:24am CST by Ben Levine

The Buccaneers have added an intriguing talent to their offseason roster. Greg Auman of TampaBay.com reports that the team has signed linebacker Jeff Knox to a reserve/futures contract.

Jason LichtKnox has been a standout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL over the past two seasons. As a rookie in 2015, the linebacker compiled 112 tackles, breaking a team-record set by current Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman. Knox finished 2016 with 84 tackles, including 19 on special teams.

The 24-year-old started his collegiate career at Pittsburgh, but he was dismissed from the team following an arrest for assault. As Auman notes, the linebacker later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault. Knox then caught on with Division II California University of Pennsylvania, where he compiled 7.5 sacks as a senior in 2014.

Auman notes that Knox will certainly have an uphill battle when it comes to making the roster. However, the Buccaneers are rather thin at linebacker, which could bode well for his chances. As Roster Resource shows, the Bucs ended the season with only four linebackers on their roster in Daryl Smith, Kwon Alexander, Lavonte David, and Adarius Glanton.

This is the second CFL player the Buccaneers have signed this month. The organization signed wideout Derel Walker to a reserve/futures contract in early January.

Colts Owner Jim Irsay Pursued Jon Gruden For Head Coaching Gig

January 14th, 2017 at 10:15am CST by Ben Levine

It looks like the whispers were actually rooted in reality. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Colts owner Jim Irsay pursued Jon Gruden for their head coaching job. The former NFL coach and current commentator “resisted overtures” from the organization and will be remaining with ESPN.

For what it’s worth, Gruden denied having any discussions with the Colts.

“I know nothing,” he told Schefter (Twitter link). “I’ve told people, I’m not coaching. I’m a broadcaster, I’m not a coach.”

Jon Gruden (vertical)Despite a report from earlier this week that the Colts were planning on retaining head coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson, rumors still persisted that the organization was eyeing some major changes. Longtime Indianapolis sports writer Bob Kravitz wrote that the organization was hoping to pair Gruden with former quarterback Peyton Manning, who would slide into a front office role. Kravitz was adamant that these were just rumors, noting that no moves were imminent. However, he also noted his belief that the organization did indeed reach out to both Gruden and Manning.

Pagano has an impressive 49-31 record during his five seasons in Indianapolis. The team finished 11-5 during each of Pagano’s first three seasons, but the squad hasn’t managed to finish above .500 since then. The team’s two-season playoff drought is the longest since the late 1990s. The team hasn’t made the Super Bowl since 2009, and Schefter tweets that the team’s pursuit of Gruden is an indication that Irsay will do whatever it takes to return the team to the promised land.

Gruden compiled a 95-81 record during his 11 seasons as an NFL head coach. Gruden helped return the Raiders to relevancy in the early 2000s, and he subsequently led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl championship in 2002. The 53-year-old lasted seven seasons in Tampa Bay before being fired following the 2009 campaign. Since then, Gruden has served in a variety of roles for ESPN, including color commentator for their Monday Night Football broadcasts.

Despite a report from last year that he might have interest in coaching quarterback Andrew Luck and the Colts, Gruden has continually said that he has no interest in returning to the NFL.

“I’ve said it a million times. I’m very happy with what I’m doing. I have no intention of coaching,” Gruden said in an interview with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike back in December.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped teams from pursuing the former coach. The Rams were said to have had interest in the coach, and reports from last offseason indicated that Gruden had interest in the Eagles head coaching vacancy.

Coaching Notes: Rams, Broncos, Browns

January 14th, 2017 at 9:41am CST by Ben Levine

The Rams introduced former Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay as their head coach yesterday. COO Kevin Demoff, who led the search for a new coach, admitted that he wasn’t initially sure what to make of the 30-year-old.

“When you’re meeting someone who is 30 years old, your natural reaction is that you want to believe, but you’re searching for the reasons why,” Demoff said (via ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez). “Sean kept knocking those down at every turn, to the point where ‘why’ changed to, ‘Why not?’

“The terms you saw were ‘brilliant,’ ‘genius,’ ‘star.’ Jon Gruden suggested he was special. Those are amazing adjectives when you talk about describing someone. When you ask people for the negatives, they always say, ‘He’s young.’ We always looked at that as just another descriptive word. To me, the age factor, when you look at what the players said, this is about leading players, and their devotion to Sean, the way they feel, what you read about him, is to us what negated the age factor. They could believe in Sean as a leader.”

Let’s take a look at some more coaching notes from around the NFL…

  • McVay is adding former Redskins defensive coordinator Joe Barry to his coaching staff in the role of assistant head coach/linebackers coach, reports FoxSports.com’s Peter Schrager (via Twitter). Barry was fired by Washington in early January following two seasons with the organization. The 46-year-old also served as the defensive coordinator for the Lions from 2007 through 2008. ESPN.com’s John Keim tweets that Barry had interviewed for the Jaguars linebackers coach gig, and he also had plans to meet with the Saints.
  • Vance Joseph has made another addition to his staff. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports (via Twitter) that the Broncos have hired Jeff Davidson to be their offensive line coach. Davidson spent the 2016 season as the Chargers offensive line coach, where he worked under Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. The two also worked together in Carolina when Davidson served as the offensive coordinator for the Panthers.
  • The Browns have hired Bob Wylie as their new offensive line coach, reports Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (via Twitter). The 65-year-old has been coaching for more than three decades, and he spent the past three seasons coaching the offensive line for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. His last NFL gig came in 2011, when he coached the Raiders’ offensive line.

Coaching Notes: Bills, Broncos, Rams

January 13th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

At the outset of the Bills’ head coaching search earlier this month, general manager Doug Whaley was open to relinquishing control over the team’s 53-man roster to Rex Ryan‘s successor. It turns out Whaley will continue to oversee the roster in 2017, Year 1 of the Sean McDermott era, the rookie head coach announced at his introductory press conference Friday. “Doug has control of the 53,” said McDermott, who added he’s “very comfortable with the situation” (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).

More coaching-related notes:

  • The Broncos will retain running backs coach Eric Studesville, reports Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). Studesville has held that position since 2010, but he interviewed with the Jets for their vacant offensive coordinator job earlier this week. While the Jets had “strong interest” in Studesville, he’ll instead stay in Denver and work under his fourth different head coach in seven years. Of course, Studesville is familiar with newly named offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who was previously at the helm of Denver’s ‘O’ from 2010-12.
  • The Rams, led by new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, are hiring Bill Johnson to coach their D-line, according to Sporting News’ Alex Marvez (Twitter link). The Saints parted with Johnson last week, thus ending an eight-year run with the organization.
  • Chargers special teams coach Craig Aukerman will interview for the same position with the Broncos, tweets Marvez. Former Bolts special teams coach Kevin Spencer is also in the running, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Those two join Marwan Maalouf and Derius Swinton II as known candidates for the top ST job in Denver under new head coach Vance Joseph.

Todd Wash To Continue As Jags’ D-Coordinator

January 13th, 2017 at 8:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

New Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone cleared out most of the team’s defensive staff earlier this week, but he elected to retain coordinator Todd Wash. It was unclear, though, whether Wash would continue in the same role. It’s now official that he will once again serve as the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator in 2017, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

Todd Wash

The 48-year-old Wash has been in Jacksonville since 2013, though this past season was his first as its coordinator. The unit was mostly impressive on his watch, finishing sixth in the NFL in yardage, 13th in DVOA and 25th in scoring. Those were across-the-board improvements for the Jags, who ranked 24th, 26th and 31st, respectively, in those categories under Wash’s predecessor, Bob Babich, in 2015.

Marrone’s decision to keep Wash in a prominent position comes on the heels of a continuity-geared move to retain offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Now that he knows his status for next season, Wash will get to work on filling out his staff, including finding new defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs coaches, as O’Halloran notes (Twitter link).

Chargers Likely To Replace John Pagano

January 13th, 2017 at 7:54pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The beginning of Anthony Lynn‘s tenure as the Chargers’ head coach will likely bring about the end of defensive coordinator John Pagano‘s long run with the organization. The club isn’t expected to retain Pagano, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).

John Pagano

With high-profile defensive coordinator candidate Gus Bradley set to interview for that role with the Chargers, the news of Pagano’s forthcoming exit comes as no surprise. Bradley is reportedly the front-runner to land the job with the newly minted Los Angeles franchise. Further, the idea of Bradley joining a Lynn-fronted staff has come up as a possibility since the latter was the Bills’ interim head coach at the end of the regular season.

To this point, Pagano has spent his entire coaching career with the Chargers, who hired him as a defensive quality control coach in 2002. He eventually climbed to the defensive coordinator position in 2012, though the unit mostly struggled under Pagano. In his first four years on the job, the Chargers didn’t post a better defensive DVOA ranking than 18th, and they finished last in the NFL in 2013. The defense turned in its best Pagano-led showing in 2016 (eighth), but it doesn’t appear that will be enough to save the 49-year-old.

While Pagano is on his way out, some of his assistants will remain in place. Earlier Friday, Sporting News’ Alex Marvez reported that defensive line coach Giff Smith, defensive backs coach Ron Milus and assistant DBs coach Chris Harris will return in 2017. Linebackers coach Bob Babich is gone, though, having taken a job with Lynn’s previous employer – Buffalo.

Latest On Raiders’ Potential Relocation

January 13th, 2017 at 7:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While businessman Sheldon Adelson could contribute $650MM toward a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the Raiders in Las Vegas, the franchise might not need the casino mogul’s support to relocate. The Raiders have informed the NFL that Goldman Sachs is committed to financing the stadium even without Adelson’s involvement, reports Richard N. Velotta of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Las Vegas (vertical)

Adelson and the Raiders have hit snags in their negotiations, though they had made progress toward an agreement as of Jan. 4. For now, “talks are ongoing,” Adelson family spokesman Andy Abboud revealed Thursday. The Raiders, meanwhile, echoed a similar sentiment.

“Right now, negotiations are proceeding and we’ll see if we come to an agreement with the Sands [Adelson] family,” said Raiders senior vice president of stadium development and operations Tom Blanda. “I’m not really sure who else we’ll talk to.”

Cognizant that their bid to construct a Las Vegas stadium might not include help from Adelson, the Raiders told the league’s stadium and finance committees Wednesday that they’re exploring ways to proceed without him.

“The Raiders are looking at the potential of doing [it] without Mr. Adelson if it comes down to that,” said Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who’s also chairman of the league’s stadium committee.

Broncos Hire Mike McCoy, Bill Musgrave

January 13th, 2017 at 7:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after the Broncos lost stalwart defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, they have finalized agreements to bring in two key offensive assistants. The Broncos have hired Mike McCoy, most recently the Chargers’ head coach, as their offensive coordinator. Bill Musgrave, previously the Raiders’ O-coordinator, will join McCoy’s staff as the quarterbacks coach.

McCoy will replace Rick Dennison, Denver’s OC in both Gary Kubiak seasons, and will be tasked with repairing an offense that has fallen off its previously prodigious pace. Denver plummeted to the 27th-ranked attack last season.

McCoy will also head back to Denver, where he morphed into a hot HC candidate years ago. The Broncos employed McCoy as their OC from 2009-12, and the offensive mind became a sought-after coach following his myriad adjustments with the team’s offense.

McCoy took over as the OC when the Broncos hired Josh McDaniels and soon helped Kyle Orton to a strong stretch before the Broncos pivoted to Tim Tebow midway through the 2011 season. The John Fox-led Broncos rebounded from a 1-4 start and into the playoffs, but McCoy helping rearrange the offense midseason into a zone-read-based attack for the unconventional passer earned him praise around the league. The 44-year-old coach then helped Peyton Manning begin his run in Denver the following year, one that resulted in the quarterback winning comeback player of the year honors and the Broncos going 13-3.

The Chargers struggled the past two years but were hit with numerous injuries in that span, one that followed 9-7 seasons in McCoy’s first two years. Philip Rivers became a more efficient passer under McCoy, turning in his top three completion-
percentage seasons from 2013-15. Rivers topped out at 69 percent, which coincided with the Bolts’ 2013 playoff run. San Diego ranked fifth in total offense that season. The Bolts deployed top-16 offenses in three of McCoy’s four years.

Bill MusgraveThe Broncos were also in the market for a quarterbacks coach following news that Greg Knapp wouldn’t be retained by Joseph (via Mike Klis of 9News, on Twitter). Musgrave will certainly be an interesting addition to the staff, as the longtime coach has led several high-powered offenses during his 20 years of coaching. Musgrave spent the past two seasons developing an intriguing young offense in Oakland. Prior to that, Musgrave served as the offensive coordinator for the Vikings and Jaguars, and he’s also been the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles, Falcons, and Redskins. Klis adds (on Twitter) that the Bills and Browns had expressed interest in Mugrave for their offensive coordinator vacancies.

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