HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Jay Gruden To Return To Redskins In 2019

January 4th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by Micah Powell

The Redskins have decided to retain head coach Jay Gruden for the 2019 season, NBC Sports’ JP Findlay tweets. 

The move was assumed after most teams looking to replace their man in charge have already done so and moved on to interviews with candidates. The Redskins made it official, however, telling the team’s coach for the past five seasons that he will indeed coach a sixth.

Gruden has gone 35-44-1 in his tenure with the club, but was off to a solid start in 2018 before key injuries sunk their playoff chances down the stretch. With starter Alex Smith and backup Colt McCoy lost for the season, the team turned to Mark Sanchez and Josh Johnson in its limp to the finish. Despite the key injuries, the Redskins managed to pull out a respectable-for-the-circumstances 7-9 record.

Though he gave Gruden the benefit of the doubt, team owner Dan Snyder is not known for his patience with the team’s coaching staff. Signed through 2020, Gruden will undoubtedly be coaching for his job in 2019.

Steelers Not Bringing Back LB Coach Joey Porter

January 4th, 2019 at 7:56pm CST by Micah Powell

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced the team will not be renewing outside linebackers coach Joey Porter‘s contract, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. 

“I have informed outside linebackers coach Joey Porter that we will not renew his contract,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “These are difficult decisions when it comes to someone like Joey who has meant a lot to this organization as both a player and coach. I want to thank Joey for his coaching efforts over the past five years on our defensive staff. We wish him the best in his future coaching career.”

On the surface, the move seems like an odd one, seeing how the Steelers led the league in sacks in each of the past two seasons and finished third in 2015, Porter’s first year on the job. One possible explanation is the move could’ve come from above Mike Tomlin, with an ownership looking to send a message, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

Florio notes that nowhere in Tomlin’s statement does the coach say that he initiated the move and cites Bruce Arians’ retirement in 2012 as precedent for such a move.

However, Porter has been a distraction off the field during his tenure. In 2017, the former Steelers linebacker was arrested for public drunkenness and assault, but the charges were dropped. In the past postseason, he also got into it with cornerback Adam Jones during a game.

Dolphins To Explore Trading Ryan Tannehill

January 4th, 2019 at 6:12pm CST by Micah Powell

It was reported in December the Dolphins were ready to move on from starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Instead of just cutting the sixth-year signal-caller, the team is expected to see what he could, if anything, fetch in a trade, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. 

By cutting or trading the QB, the Dolphins would open up $13.2MM in cap space. Alternatively, they could clear out $18.7MM in savings by making him a post-June 1 cut, but that would come with the downside of another dead money hit in 2020.

While the team would like to recoup anything at all for Tannehill, attempting to find a suitor for him in a trade is tricky according to Jackson. Talking to a veteran NFL general manager, Jackson says a team is likely to ask for Tannehill to renegotiate his contract before offering a mid-round pick. That is something the quarterback and his agent, Pat Dye, are likely to balk at, forcing the Dolphins to cut the quarterback and allowing him to pick his own team at the highest bidder.

“The contract numbers are really high on him,” said the league executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The question is would he renegotiate to facilitate a trade. But why would he renegotiate? A team will ask to renegotiate and I think Pat Dye would say no if it involves a pay cut. And then they would be forced to cut him.”

More than likely, the Dolphins will cut the veteran passer, but teams desperate for an option under center have surprised before.

Titans DC Dean Pees To Return In 2019

January 4th, 2019 at 5:22pm CST by Micah Powell

Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees informed the team that he intends to return to the team for the 2019 season, Jim Wyatt of the team’s website writes. 

In November, the 69-year-old coordinator was taken to the hospital for a “medical issue” but returned to the team the following day and didn’t miss a game the rest of the season. At the end of the 2017 season, Pees was expected to retire when he left the Ravens but joined the Titans’ staff a month later as the team’s new defensive coordinator under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel.

In his first season with the team, Pees led the Titans to the No. 3-ranked scoring defense and the unit allowed the eighth-fewest yards. That was the first time Tennessee ranked in the top 10 in both categories since the Jeff Fisher-led squad went 13-3 in 2008. In December, Pees’ unit registered a 17-0 win over the Giants for the team’s first shutout since the 2000 campaign.

A longtime defensive coordinator in New England (2006-09) and Baltimore (2012-17), Pees boasts 46 years of coaching experience and a handful of top-10 units.

Packers To Interview Adam Gase

January 4th, 2019 at 4:31pm CST by Micah Powell

The Packers are expected to interview former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase for their head coaching vacancy, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein tweets. That interview is expected to come on Sunday, the same day the team interviews Tennessee’s Matt LaFleur, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky hears (Twitter link). 

Gase, who went 23-25 with the Dolphins in three seasons, wrapped up two interviews this week after meeting with the Cardinals and Jets. The 40-year-old Gase is an innovative offensive mind who rose to fame as the orchestrator of Denver’s dynamic offense during Peyton Manning‘s tenure with the team. In three years as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator, the team posted a pair of top-five offenses, including a No. 1-overall ranking in 2013 when Manning set the records for passing yards and touchdowns in a season. That type of offensive mind fits the mold of what the Packers are expected to want in a head coach to pair with Aaron Rodgers.

According to Pro Football Rumors’ head coaching search tracker, Gase will push the Packers’ number of interviews that are scheduled and expected to near double digits. That search includes other offensive minds like Josh McDaniels and Dan Campbell, as well as a host of former head coaches like Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano.

Jets Interested In Baylor’s Matt Rhule

January 4th, 2019 at 3:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have expressed interest in Baylor coach Matt Rhule for their head coaching position, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. It’s unclear when or if an interview has been scheduled, however. 

The Jets are scheduled to be in Texas on Sunday to interview Cowboys assistant Kris Richard, so that may be a logical time to chat with Rhule. The Baylor coach lacks real NFL experience outside of his 2012 stint as the Giants’ offensive line coach, but he has been on the professional radar nonetheless. Last year, he was a candidate for the Colts’ opening before the Josh McDaniels fiasco.

Rhule does have vast amounts of collegiate experience, as he’s been working in the NCAA since 1998. Rhule was head coach at Tempe for four seasons before taking over Baylor, where posted a disappointing 1-11 record in 2017. This past season wasn’t a banner year for Baylor either, but the Bears at least finished above the .500 mark.

Rhule marks the eighth known candidate for the Jets’ post, not counting Matt Campbell who declined the team’s interview request.

Latest On Antonio Brown, Steelers

January 4th, 2019 at 3:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown‘s Week 17 blowup at practice may have been triggered by JuJu Smith-Schuster being voted as the team MVP by Steelers players, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears. The ugly blowup has led to conflicting reports on whether Brown wants to be traded and has teammates questioning his commitment to the organization. 

Whether Brown wants out or not may be immaterial. The Steelers, by all accounts, do not want to trade their star wide receiver, and moving on from him would be an expensive proposition.

Thanks to the $19MM signing bonus he received in his four-year, $68MM extension and the $12.96MM restructuring bonus he later secured, cutting or trading Brown would result in a $21.12MM cap charge in 2019. In theory, a rival club could blow the Steelers away with an offer, but it would set a bad precedent for the team and they would still be facing a future without one of the NFL’s most deadly weapons.

Brown’s 2018 stats were not as gaudy as they were in past years, but the attention paid to him clearly benefitted Smith-Schuster. The youngster took a huge step forward this past season as he averaged 89.1 yards per contest and reeled in 1,426 yards in total. His 1,400+ yards topped Brown’s total (1,297), making it the first time Brown has not led the Steelers in receiving since 2012.

 

Dan Campbell Not Interested In Dolphins Return

January 4th, 2019 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell is not interested in returning to the Dolphins, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Campbell served as the Dolphins’ interim head coach in 2015 and is still highly respected by team ownership, but he apparently does not want to go back down that road. 

From the sound of it, the Dolphins wanted to speak with Campbell about their vacancy, but they’ll have to concentrate on other candidates instead. That list includes fellow Saints assistant Dennis Allen, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and maybe even current Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

Campbell, meanwhile, still has a full plate. In addition to prepping for the Saints’ upcoming playoff game, he’ll chat (or has chatted) with the Cardinals, Browns, and Packers.

Raiders To Hire Ryan Grigson

January 4th, 2019 at 3:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, we heard that the Raiders are considering former Colts GM Ryan Grigson for a front office position. Apparently, it’s already a “done deal,” according to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. 

Grigson spent five years as the Colts’ GM and he ultimately failed to give Andrew Luck a proper supporting cast or build up the team’s defense. He could be a very helpful sidekick to new Raiders GM Mike Mayock, however, as he leaves the broadcast booth to run a team with Jon Gruden.

It was previously reported that the 49ers were also interested in Grigson, but that’s simply not true, according to Florio’s source. It’s not clear if the 49ers engaged Grigson in conversations or if Grigson’s camp was simply looking to build leverage by leaking word of San Francisco’s supposed interest.

Grigson is best known for his time with the Colts, but he’s spent time with the Browns and Seahawks since his dismissal. His exact role in Oakland is unclear, but he figures to be heavily involved in draft scouting and player evaluation.

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