HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Former Broncos’ HC Fangio Won’t Coach In 2022

February 12th, 2022 at 11:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite lots of interest and multiple offers for defensive coordinator jobs, former head coach of the Broncos Vic Fangio has decided against taking any of the opportunities offered to him for next season, according to league sources of ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

In three years as the Broncos’ head coach, Fangio failed to accomplish a winning season, coming closest in 2019 with a 7-9 record that was good for 2nd place in the AFC West. The next two seasons saw the Broncos finish 4th in the AFC West. This past season, Fangio’s Broncos started strong with a 3-0 start. Finishing the season 4-10 the rest of the way led to the end of Fangio’s tenure in Denver.

Denver was Fangio’s first head coaching job at any level of football. Before that, Fangio had several successful stints as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Since 1995, Fangio has served as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers, Colts, Texans, 49ers, and Bears. In his last year in Chicago, Fangio was awarded the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.

It’s no surprise, then, that Fangio was so sought after following his departure from the Broncos. Schefter asserts that it’s likely Fangio will take the 2022 season off from coaching and return next year as a highly coveted candidate for open defensive coordinator positions.

Sean McVay Plans To Coach In 2022

February 12th, 2022 at 10:38pm CST by Ely Allen

In the run-up to Super Bowl LVI, media pundits have attempted to add steam to a long-running rumor: that Rams’ head coach Sean McVay has been considering working as a television analyst, leaving coaching in the rearview. After comments made by McVay in the team’s final media availability yesterday, Nick Wagoner of ESPN wrote an article tying those comments to the rumor. 

McVay answered a media question saying that he “won’t make it” if he’s coaching until he’s 60. When asked to elaborate, McVay expounded on the idea, speaking on things he hopes to focus on in life.

“I’m gonna be married this summer, I want to have a family and I think being able to find that balance but also be able to give the time necessary. I have always had a dream about being able to be a father and I can’t predict the future, you know,” McVay postulated.

He continued, “I don’t really know. I know I love football and I’m so invested in this thing and I’m in the moment right now. But, at some point, too, if you said what do you want to be able to do? I want to be able to have a family and I want to be able to spend time with them.”

McVay went on about the lessons he’s learned from watching his father and grandfather. McVay’s grandfather, John, was an NFL head coach in the 1970s for the Giants. He served as an executive in the 49ers’ front office for two decades, starting in 1980 and eventually became San Francisco’s general manager in 1998. Sean claimed his father, Tim, would have been an “unbelievable coach,” but, seeing the time his own father had missed due to the rigorous schedule of an NFL club leader, he decided he would rather spend that time with his family.

“So, I always remember that and, at some point, I want to be able to have a family,” McVay went on. “So, that’s why I say that. But…you’ll probably be talking to me when I’m 61 doing this stuff. Who knows?”

Somehow, these sentiments have led to speculation that McVay may hang up the whistle at the ripe old age of 36. McVay quickly put these rumors to bed, texting NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport to ensure that he is “committed to this team and coaching.” Rapoport reports that McVay intends to coach the Rams “in the 2022 season and beyond.”

One day, McVay’s main focus, like his father’s, will switch to his family and to being a dad. It appears that this will not be the case for several more seasons to come, but if McVay’s comments to Rapoport are true, it certainly won’t be the case come Monday, regardless of the result of tomorrow’s game.

AFC Coaching Notes: Colts, Bills, Jaguars, Ravens

February 12th, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Since Frank Reich was able to land defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to replace Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus, Bradley has begun the process of putting his staff together. Today Bradley added longtime defensive backs coach Ron Milus to coach his secondary, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Milus first started coaching defensive backs at his alma mater, the University of Washington, about eight years after playing cornerback there. He held the college position for seven years before getting an NFL coaching opportunity in 2000. Since then, Milus hasn’t spent a season out of work with stints in Denver, Arizona, New York (Giants), St. Louis, Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas. His longest stint was with the Chargers, spending eight years in southern California and transitioning with the team to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that Milus was retained when Bradley joined the Chargers’ staff. He followed Bradley to Las Vegas and will join him once more in Indianapolis.

Here are a few other coaching notes from around the AFC starting with another bit from the Hoosier State:

  • In addition to Milus, Mike Chappell of Fox59 reports that Indianapolis is also in the process of hiring linebackers coach Richard Smith, who worked with Bradley and Milus in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Smith has coached in the NFL since he debuted for the Houston Oilers in 1988 coaching special teams and tight ends. He found his niche as a linebackers coach in 1997 for the 49ers and has had three short stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.
  • ESPN’s Yates also tweeted out a report that the Bills have added former QB Kyle Shurmur on staff in a defensive quality control position. After four years at Vanderbilt, Shurmur signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, spending time on their practice squad as well as on the Bengals’ and Washington’s practice squads. He was released by Washington a little over a month ago and that appears to mark the end of his playing career. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Shurmur, and joining the coaching track.
  • A castaway from the Matt Nagy Bears’ staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey will not be without work for long as Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports reports that Shuey is joining Doug Pederson‘s staff in Jacksonville in the same role. Shuey and Pederson had two separate tenures together in Philadelphia.
  • Pederson also made a crucial move of retaining running backs coach Bernie Parmalee. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tells us that keeping Parmalee was a priority for Pederson, especially due to his strong relationship with star running back James Robinson.
  • Baltimore has hired Rob Leonard as outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter). Leonard will replace Drew Wilkins who left to join Brian Daboll‘s staff in New York. Leonard spent the past three seasons in the same position with the Dolphins. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that former Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn will follow Mike Macdonald to the Ravens for a quality control position. Osborn is credited with having a role in the development of Wolverines’ EDGE players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.

Interim HC Bevell Won’t Remain With Jaguars

February 12th, 2022 at 6:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Darrell Bevell‘s tenure in Jacksonville was a short one. With the hiring of Doug Pederson being announced earlier this month, it appears that Bevell will not remain in northern Florida as a part of Pederson’s coaching staff, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. 

Brought onto Urban Meyer‘s staff to be offensive coordinator a little over a year ago, Bevell was tasked with serving as the interim head coach for the Jaguars’ final four games of the 2021 season after Meyer was relieved of his duties. Over those four games, Jacksonville recorded one win and three losses to finish the season 3-14.

This wasn’t Bevell’s first tenure as an interim head coach. Just last season, Bevell coached the final five games of the Lions’ 2020 season after the firing of Matt Patricia, winning one game in Detroit, as well, for a career record of 2-7 as a head coach (all in an interim capacity).

Bevell will likely return to his day job as an offensive coordinator. While the Jaguars’ offense finished last in the NFL this season in multiple categories, Bevell’s seen success as a play caller in Seattle, finishing as a top-ten scoring offense in five of his seven seasons with the Seahawks, including a top-four scoring offense in 2015. Bevell’s first gig calling plays came in Minnesota where he spend five years leading a Vikings’ offense to varying results, including a 2009 offense that finished second in scoring, featuring Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin.

According to Wilson, Bevell has received interest from multiple NFL teams and his moving on from Jacksonville will allow him to pursue those opportunities.

Dolphins To Retain Eric Studesville, Hire New Offensive Line Coach

February 12th, 2022 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

In addition to keeping DC Josh Boyer and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, the Dolphins are also retaining more coaches from Brian Flores‘ most recent staff. This includes one of Flores’ final offensive coordinators.

Eric Studesville will return on Mike McDaniel‘s first staff, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Co-offensive coordinator along with George Godsey in 2021, Studesville will stay on as Miami’s running backs coach. Godsey will not be back and is now part of the Ravens’ staff, taking a job as their tight ends coach.

Studesville was previously Miami’s running backs coach under Flores but rose to the co-OC position last year. McDaniel will mark Studesville’s third boss in Miami, with Flores also keeping him around as a holdover. Adam Gase initially brought Studesville to Miami in 2018. The veteran coach was previously with the Broncos for eight years, serving as their interim HC in 2010 and staying on as running backs coach under John Fox, Gary Kubiak and Vance Joseph.

The Dolphins are still conducting OC interviews. Whoever lands the job will be the team’s seventh OC in the past six seasons. The team has interviewed Falcons QBs coach Charles London, Chargers offensive line coach Frank Smith and Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson thus far. Miami will also retain defensive line coach Austin Clark, linebackers coach Anthony Campanile and cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, Jackson adds.

Miami’s O-line coach role has also been in flux for years, and there appears to be another new hire en route. While Jackson notes incumbent Lemuel Jeanpierre had not been informed of his status as of Friday, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweets the Dolphins are expected to hire Boston College O-line coach Matt Applebaum to the same position. Given the team’s O-line situation, which saw multiple young blockers (Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson) change positions over the past year, this is a fairly key hire.

This will be a big jump for Applebaum, who was at the Division I-FCS level as recently as 2019. He did spent four years in the NFL previously, spending time as an assistant with Washington and Jacksonville in the early 2010s. This continues a pattern for the Dolphins, who have not employed the same O-line coach in consecutive seasons since John Benton headed up the unit from 2014-15.

Saints Not Planning Michael Thomas Trade

February 12th, 2022 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

To say the Saints’ Michael Thomas extension has not worked out is probably putting it mildly. The star wide receiver missed all of last season and, due to injuries in 2020, has not been on the All-Pro level in the past two years.

Despite Thomas upsetting Saints brass by delaying an offseason ankle surgery last year, he remains in the team’s 2022 plans, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). After spending extensive time in New York rehabbing, Thomas has returned to New Orleans and has been in communication with the team. While this does not necessarily guarantee the veteran pass catcher will be with the Saints next season, the team could certainly use him.

The Saints struggled for most of this past season at receiver, having cut Emmanuel Sanders and seen Thomas suffer a setback that prevented him from playing at all during the year. Thomas, who will turn 29 in March, has two first-team All-Pro seasons on his resume. Both, of course, came during Drew Brees‘ New Orleans tenure. The Saints are entering a second straight offseason with uncertainty at quarterback, but a Thomas return would do a lot to help the team’s passing attack — if the former second-round pick can stay healthy.

Thomas led the league in receptions in 2018 and ’19, breaking Marvin Harrison‘s single-season record by catching 149 passes during the latter season, but has missed 26 games since the start of the 2020 campaign. He is attached to a $15.35MM base salary in 2022. Thomas’ cap number is also set to spike from $10MM to more than $24MM next season.

The Saints are once again on their own tier in terms of cap compliance, or lack thereof, sitting more than $70MM over the projected 2022 cap. Thomas already converted part of his 2021 salary into a bonus to help New Orleans’ cap situation, moving more money onto the final three years of his five-year, $96.25MM deal. The only way a trade would not crush the Saints in terms of dead money would be if it came after June 1, a la the Falcons’ Julio Jones deal last year. New Orleans would save $15.8MM by trading Thomas after that key date.

With or without Thomas, the receiver position figures to be one the Saints target early in the draft. New Orleans did not see any of its pass catchers top 700 yards last season, with Marquez Callaway‘s 698 leading the team.

Giants Notes: Cap, Martinez, Shepard, Staff

February 12th, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants doled out a few big-ticket contracts in free agency during Dave Gettleman‘s final years as GM, handing out deals to James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Kenny Golladay and Adoree’ Jackson. Those contracts are among those that have pushed the Giants over the projected 2022 salary cap. The Giants are more than $11MM over the cap, and GM Joe Schoen told NBC Sports’ Peter King last month he wants to clear about $40MM in cap space before the start of the new league year.

“It’s a concern, and it’s real. There are going to be difficult decisions that are going to have to be made,” Schoen said recently, via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.

Some cap-casualty candidates include Martinez, Sterling Shepard and Kyle Rudolph. Despite Martinez delivering his usual high-end tackle production in 2020, the veteran linebacker suffered an ACL tear in September. Martinez might need to take a pay cut to stay, Vacchiano offers, though the 28-year-old linebacker is only attached to an $8.4MM salary. Cutting Martinez would save the Giants more than $8MM, while an expected Rudolph ouster will add $5MM to that total. As a post-June 1 cut, Shepard’s release saves nearly $9MM. Shepard is the Giants’ longest-tenured player, arriving as a second-round 2016 pick, but has battled injuries for much of his career. Bradberry serves as Big Blue’s No. 1 cornerback, though Vacchiano adds he should not be considered a lock to be part of next year’s team. A post-June 1 designation makes a Bradberry release worth $13MM. Of course, the Giants would run into a major cornerback need in the event they cut Bradberry. The ex-Panther’s three-year, $45MM deal expires after next season.

Here is the latest from the rebuilding team:

  • Schoen will not retain one of Gettlemen’s top front office lieutenants. Co-director of player personnel Mark Koncz is not coming back, per the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy (on Twitter). Koncz followed Gettleman to New York in 2017, doing so after spending nearly 25 years with the Panthers. Koncz worked with Carolina before the franchise’s 1995 debut and stayed on through a few GMs, finishing up his tenure as the Panthers’ director of pro scouting from 2000-2017.
  • More new staffers are bound for New York. The expected hire of ex-Ravens outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins indeed took place, with the Giants also hiring ex-Bills assistant John Egorugwu to coach their inside ‘backers. Egorugwu, 35, was on Sean McDermott‘s staff for four years before spending the 2021 season at Vanderbilt. The first name mentioned as a staff candidate once Don Martindale took over as Giants DC, Wilkins, 34, worked with the Ravens for 10 years and spent the past two as their outside linebackers coach.
  • The Giants are also adding to Brian Daboll‘s staff from the college ranks, hiring DeAndre Smith as their new running backs coach. Smith comes from Texas Tech and has never coached in the NFL before, spending more than 20 seasons at the college level. This move comes after the Giants offered the job to ex-Chiefs running backs coach Deland McCullough, per The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman (on Twitter). Notre Dame just hired McCullough, who spent the 2021 season at Indiana after coaching the Chiefs’ running backs for the previous three years, for new HC Marcus Freeman’s staff.

Raiders To Bring Back Rob Ryan

February 12th, 2022 at 2:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Multiple teams courted Rob Ryan this offseason. While the veteran defensive coordinator was on the Giants’ radar, it turns out New York’s former DC will bring Ryan to Las Vegas.

The Raiders are hiring Ryan for a second time, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com noting (via Twitter) the former Oakland DC is coming to Vegas as a senior defensive assistant. Ryan will help out new Raiders DC Patrick Graham.

While this will be Ryan and Graham’s first time working together, the former was on the Patriots’ staff during new Raiders HC Josh McDaniels‘ early days in New England. Prior to Ryan’s run of DC opportunities, he worked as the Pats’ linebackers coach from 2000-03. McDaniels was a defensive assistant for the ’02 and ’03 Patriot teams.

Ryan, 59, served as the Raiders’ defensive play-caller for multiple head coaches in the 2000s, staying on as Oakland’s DC from 2004-08. Ryan worked under Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable. The Raiders gave Ryan his first DC gig. He later landed four more, leading defenses in Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans and Buffalo. Ryan’s Raiders defenses largely struggled; none ranked inside the top 15 in points allowed. Interestingly, his best unit came for Shell’s 2-14 team in 2006; that Raider unit ranked third in total defense.

A Ryan-Giants partnership emerged as a possibility because of Ryan’s past with new Giants DC Don Martindale, who hired him for his Ravens staff last season. Ryan coached inside linebackers with Baltimore in 2021, doing so after holding the same position in Washington in 2019.

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