His Cowboys and Raiders connections in the past, Deion Sanders is still at the controls at Colorado following his son’s exit for the draft. The Hall of Fame cornerback is hiring one of his Canton brethren to coach running backs. Buffaloes backs will be taking instruction from Marshall Faulk next season, the school announced. This will be Faulk’s first foray into college coaching. A superstar at San Diego State in the early 1990s, Faulk enjoyed a Hall of Fame run with the Colts and Rams, winning a Super Bowl and an MVP award in successive seasons. He had enjoyed a lengthy tenure on the media side following his career, but the 51-year-old RB legend will join Sanders’ staff. Faulk’s addition makes Colorado a three-Hall of Famer staff, as Warren Sapp remains as a quality control analyst.
Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:
- After being fired from his Commanders post late in the 2023 season, Jack Del Rio was not in the NFL this past season. The veteran DC and two-time HC will resurface in an unexpected place. He is taking over as head coach of the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football. The league has been in existence since fall 2020, and the Paris franchise has played two seasons. Del Rio had coached in the NFL from 1997-2017 but took two seasons off before Ron Rivera hired him in Washington. The team did sport two top-seven defenses under Del Rio, but his last Commanders unit fell to 32nd at the time of his firing. Del Rio, 61, spent last season as an advisor to Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell.
- Staying with well-known NFL staffers leaving the league, USC has hired Rob Ryan as linebackers coach. Ryan had been onboard as a senior defensive assistant for the Raiders since 2022. Ryan, 62, enjoyed two tours with the Raiders, having been their DC from 2004-08. The four-time NFL DC has not coached at the college level since being Oklahoma State’s DC in the late 1990s.
- Out of the NFL since a two-year Texans stay ended in January 2023, Pep Hamilton will return to coaching in a prominent role. Maryland has hired the veteran assistant as its OC, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. An NFL Network contributor, Hamilton had other options, per Rapoport, but will join his son Jackson with the Terrapins. A high school QB, Jackson Hamilton signed with Maryland in December. Coaching Justin Herbert and Andrew Luck in the pros, Pep Hamilton previously coached in college under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and Michigan.
- Moving back to current NFL staffs, the Buccaneers have given title bumps to the two coaches they blocked from Jaguars interviews. Kevin Carberry added an assistant HC title to go with his O-line duties, while the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud adds assistant O-line coach Brian Picucci is now in position as O-line coach. The Bucs’ setup seemingly remains the same, but as they have long been reported not to be open to allowing Liam Coen to poach anyone under contract, his two initial targets will be taken care of.
- The Giants are adding ex-NFL cornerback Jeff Burris to work as their CBs coach, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets. The former NFL starter has been a college assistant in recent years, working at both Louisiana and Louisiana Tech since 2018. He previously spent three seasons as the Dolphins’ assistant DBs coach, being a Joe Philbin hire in 2013.
Good information, thank you for posting this
Thought for sure Belichek was gonna get the Paris Musketeers gig ? I remember when Del Rio was starting catcher for USC baseball back when they were good.