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Browns To Hire Bubba Ventrone As Special Teams Coordinator

February 23rd, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Sam Robinson

Bubba Ventrone spent the past five seasons in Indianapolis and interviewed for the franchise’s head coaching job last month, but he will be moving soon. The Browns are hiring him as special teams coordinator, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets.

For Ventrone, this will be a return trip. His longest stint as a player came in Cleveland, where he played from 2009-12. The former special-teamer will now head up the Browns’ ST operation. Ventrone will also be an assistant head coach in Cleveland, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who notes that bump helped convince the well-regarded staffer to sign on with the Browns (Twitter link).

The Browns interviewed Ventrone, 40, this week for the position. They also met with Giants assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins and former return ace Leon Washington, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Washington has spent the past two seasons as the Jets’ assistant special teams coach.

Amid one of the most disappointing seasons in Colts history, they still charted as the eighth-best special teams unit on veteran NFL reporter Rick Gosselin’s annual list. (The Browns ranked 18th here in 2022.) The Colts were a top-five unit on Gosselin’s 2020 and 2021 lists. George Odum and Ashton Dulin earned All-Pro acclaim during that span, as did long snapper Luke Rhodes.

The Colts firing Frank Reich midway through this past season opened the door for most of his assistants to leave. Ventrone will return to the organization that signed him in 2009 and gave him a three-year extension in 2010. Ventrone had attended Shane Steichen‘s introductory press conference, and Mike Chappell of CBS4 notes the Colts attempted to convince him to stay; he was still under contract with the team. But they eventually permitted the Browns interview. Several players wanted Ventrone to be the interim HC, Zak Keefer of The Athletic tweets, but Jim Irsay of course gave that position to Jeff Saturday.

Cleveland dismissed Mike Priefer as its ST coordinator earlier this week. A veteran ST coordinator, Priefer had spent the past four seasons in this position. The Browns kept the Cleveland native on from Freddie Kitchens‘ staff, though Priefer had worked extensively with Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota during the 2010s. Still, Stefanski will now go with Ventrone; the two have not previously worked together. A 10-year NFL veteran, Ventrone began his coaching foray as the Patriots’ assistant special teams coach from 2015-17.

AFC Coaching Notes: Ventrone, Browns, Broncos, Joseph, Raiders, Dolphins, Texans

February 22nd, 2023 at 2:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the Colts changed coaching staffs, Bubba Ventrone will have an opportunity to land on his feet. The Indianapolis special teams coordinator is on track to interview with the Browns, and ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder tweets the Colts are expecting to lose him to the Cleveland job. Ventrone spent five seasons in Indianapolis and is a well-regarded ST coordinator. The Browns are also interviewing Giants assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets. That meeting is expected to commence via Zoom today, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The Browns fired ST coordinator Mike Preiffer earlier this week. Blevins has been with the Giants for the past five years.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • Prior to the Cardinals making Nick Rallis the NFL’s youngest active coordinator, at 29, the Broncos had him on their radar. Denver showed interest in the former Philadelphia linebackers coach, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes. Rallis is a cool 31 years younger than the favorite to land the Denver job (Rex Ryan), but the Broncos are still eyeing Vance Joseph. Despite being fired after two seasons as Denver’s HC, Joseph is interested in coming back, Renck adds. The Eagles also have eyes on the ex-Cardinals DC; they are finishing up a two-day interview Wednesday.
  • The Colts are hiring University of Cincinnati offensive coordinator Tom Manning as their tight ends coach, Aaron Wilson of KPRC tweets. This will be a reunion for Manning, who was on Frank Reich‘s first Colts staff as tight ends coach. Manning had recently accepted Cincinnati’s offer to be its OC, coming over after a four-year stay on Matt Campbell‘s Iowa State staff. The ex-Cyclones OC drew interest from multiple NFL teams, per Wilson.
  • The Browns will look to the college ranks as well. They are set to hire Utah State defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda to be their safeties coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel (Twitter links). Prior to his two-year run in Utah, Banda spent the previous two seasons as the University of Miami’s co-DC.
  • To fill their safeties coach post, the Dolphins are adding Eagles assistant Joe Kasper, Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com tweets. Kasper joined the Eagles’ staff in Nick Sirianni‘s first year; this will be a move up the ladder, bringing positional responsibilities Kasper’s way for the first time.
  • The Raiders fired defensive line coach Frank Okam, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes. A former NFL D-lineman, Okam came to Las Vegas after two years on Matt Rhule‘s Carolina staff. The Raiders struggled on defense for most of the season, dropping from 14th to 28th in total defense. Rather than can DC Patrick Graham, the team is moving on from one of his lieutenants.
  • In addition to ST coordinator Frank Ross, the Texans are also retaining wide receivers coach Ben McDaniels, Wilson writes. The younger brother of Josh McDaniels, Ben has been with the Texans since Nick Caserio‘s 2021 arrival. While Ben McDaniels has never worked for the Patriots, Caserio has been close with Josh McDaniels for many years. The Texans promoted Ben McDaniels from assistant wideouts coach in 2022.

Browns Fire ST Coordinator Mike Priefer

February 21st, 2023 at 8:58am CST by Adam La Rose

In an offseason which already saw the Browns make a change at defensive coordinator, another notable shake-up has taken place on the sidelines. The team announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways with special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

The 56-year-old has been a coordinator at the NFL level since 2006, when he joined the Chiefs. He had brief stints there and in Denver, which set him up for a lengthy stay with the Vikings. He worked in Minnesota from 2011 to 2018, spending time alongside Kevin Stefanski. It was there that Priefer was named Special Teams Coordinator of the Year for the 2012 campaign.

The Cleveland native was hired by the Browns in 2019 under head coach Freddie Kitchens, then reunited with Stefanski one year later. Under Priefer, the Browns ranked 27th the NFL in 2020 in terms of special teams DVOA, climbing slightly to 25th the following season. In 2022, the unit finished midpack in that regard, ranking 14th, leading many to believe he would be retained for at least one more season.

Priefer was under contract for 2023, but he now joins Joe Woods as a Browns coordinator in search of a new NFL home. Woods has landed another DC job by joining the Saints, and Priefer will look to parlay his experience (which includes a few instances stepping in as head coach from his time in Minnesota and Cleveland) into another coordinator position.

“I appreciate everything Prief has done for this team in his three seasons as my special teams coordinator, but I have decided to move in another direction in the best interest of our organization,” Stefanski said in a statement. “I know this city will forever be grateful for the job he did as acting head coach in our AFC wild card win and for all his contributions while leading the Browns special teams units for the last four seasons. We wish Prief the best with his next opportunity.”

The Browns may already have Priefer’s replacement lined up. Cleveland has requested an interview with Colts special teams coordinator Raymond ‘Bubba’ Ventrone, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). A three-year veteran of the Browns as a player, the 40-year-old has been in charge of Indianapolis’ third phase since 2018 and has multiple options to consider, Pelissero’s colleague Mike Garafolo tweets. Since a move to Cleveland would be a lateral one, the Colts have the option of blocking the request.

Cardinals Hire Drew Petzing As OC

February 19th, 2023 at 10:10pm CST by Rory Parks

The Cardinals are moving quickly to fill their coordinator positions. Shortly after he reported that Arizona was hiring 29-year-old Nick Rallis as its new DC, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says that the club is hiring Browns quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing as its new OC (Twitter link).

Petzing, 35, landed his first NFL position when he became a football operations intern for Cleveland in 2013. Like Rallis and Gannon, Petzing spent a number of years working under former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, serving on the Vikings’ offensive staff from 2014-2019 (Gannon was the Vikes’ assistant DBs coach from 2014-17, and Rallis was on the club’s defensive staff from 2018-20).

In 2020, Petzing returned to the Browns as the team’s tight ends coach, and he moved to the quarterbacks room last year, working with Jacoby Brissett and Deshaun Watson. Watson served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 campaign, and when he returned to the field, he was clearly rusty. In six games, he compiled a 3-3 record, completed a meager 58.2% of his passes, and threw seven TDs against five interceptions. That amounted to a poor quarterback rating and QBR of 79.1 and 38.3, respectively.

On the other hand, Brissett delivered a solid performance as Watson’s placeholder for the first 11 games of the season, and it is clear that both Zimmer and Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski saw Petzing as a valuable offensive mind worth retaining. Of course, the relative youth and inexperience of Gannon, 40, and his new coordinators will be a major talking point in the desert, though Gannon has been quick to downplay the significance of such matters.

Noting that the Eagles enjoyed success with an inexperienced trio of Nick Sirianni at head coach, Shane Steichen at offensive coordinator, and himself at defensive coordinator, Gannon said, “You never really know until you do the job. Experience, yes, it’s a good thing, but if you’re convicted on somebody, you roll the dice and that’s what you go with” (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, who adds that Gannon and Petzing developed a strong friendship and working relationship during their time in Minnesota).

“We (the Eagles) had the youngest staff in the NFL,” Gannon added. “You need to hire the right people, not necessarily their resume. It’s what’s the right fit.”

Though Petzing will be calling offensive plays for the first time in his career, his most important duty will be getting quarterback Kyler Murray to return to form (when he is cleared to play, that is). After earning Pro Bowl acclaim in the 2020-21 campaigns, Murray regressed in all major passing categories last year, and he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in December. That injury could keep him on the shelf until the halfway point of the 2023 season. Arizona might also part ways with star wideout DeAndre Hopkins in the coming months, adding another challenge for Petzing & Co. to overcome.

The Browns, meanwhile, could turn to receivers coach/passing game coordinator Chad O’Shea or tight ends coach T.C. McCartney to replace Petzing, as Cabot notes. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic suggests that Cleveland could also consider Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban, who may be allowed to make a lateral move to a different organization since Baltimore has a new OC in Todd Monken on the staff (Twitter links).

Texans To Hire Shane Day, Discussed Role With Klint Kubiak

February 18th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Coaches with 49ers pasts have become a regular part of the Texans’ first offseason under DeMeco Ryans. The new Houston head coach has hired a host of former 49ers coworkers, and he added another notable name to that list late this week.

Shane Day is joining the Texans’ staff, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets. The Chargers’ quarterbacks coach over the past two seasons, Day will work as a senior offensive assistant in Houston. The Chargers fired Day and OC Joe Lombardi last month, but Day has a connection to Ryans. The two were part of the 49ers’ staff from 2019-20, when Day was San Francisco’s QBs coach.

In addition to hiring another ex-Kyle Shanahan assistant, the Texans discussed a job with a staffer Shanahan just hired. Klint Kubiak, who spent last season as the Broncos’ QBs coach, engaged in talks about joining Ryans in Houston, KPRC’s Aaron Wilson tweets. It is unclear if Kubiak was the first choice for the role Day will fill, but he is now with the 49ers. Klint Kubiak’s father, Gary, of course, is the longest-tenured HC in Texans history. Gary Kubiak, who stepped away from coaching after the 2020 season, was the Houston boss from 2006 until an in-season firing in 2013.

With Shanahan serving as San Francisco’s play-caller, the team has often gone without an offensive coordinator. Mike McDaniel held that role in 2021, but during Day’s tenure, the team went without one. Considering Jimmy Garoppolo‘s 2019 success, Day’s standing with the team undoubtedly boosted his prospects. Though, the Chargers canning him brought a setback. While the Chargers have been labeled as underachievers in recent years, Justin Herbert did become the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter in 2021.

New Texans OC Bobby Slowik does not have Day’s experience, being an offensive assistant during Day’s time in the Bay Area and only spending one season (2022) as the 49ers’ passing-game coordinator, so the latter stands to provide considerable assistance to the 35-year-old play-caller. Kubiak will serve in Slowik’s former position in San Francisco.

The Texans will add one of Kubiak’s 2022 Broncos coworkers, Jake Moreland, as their tight ends coach, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. Moreland, 46, has spent the past two seasons at the NFL level. Prior to joining Robert Saleh‘s staff as Jets assistant offensive line coach in 2021, he had spent his career at the college level.

The team will stay the course at one of its assistant positions. Jacques Cesaire, who joined Lovie Smith‘s staff last year, will stay on as defensive line coach, Wilson adds. A nine-year Chargers D-lineman, Cesaire served as the Bolts and Bills’ assistant D-line coach from 2015-21. He has no 49ers ties.

Cardinals Request OC Interviews With Drew Petzing, Drew Terrell, Joel Thomas

February 16th, 2023 at 7:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

With Jonathan Gannon in place as the new head coach in Arizona, changes are coming on the defensive side of the ball. As for their offense, several candidates will be considered before a hire is made.

The Cardinals put out three interview requests for the offensive coordinator position on Thursday. In a trio of tweets, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report that Arizona is seeking a meeting with Browns quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing, Commanders wide receivers coach Drew Terrell and Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas.

As Rapoport notes, Petzing is a strong contender to land the position. The 35-year-old worked alongside Gannon during their shared time in Minnesota, and was named as a logical hire in the event Gannon was given the head coaching position in Arizona. Petzing has spent the past three years in Cleveland, coaching the team’s tight ends before taking charge of the QBs room in 2022.

Terrell, 31, spent four years in the college ranks before making the jump to the NFL. He worked with the Panthers for two years, then went to Washington in 2020. After one season as an assistant WRs coach, the Stanford alum was promoted to the full-time position and has held it for the past two years. Rapoport adds that Terrell is highly regarded around the league despite his relative lack of experience, so it comes as little surprise that he is receiving interest for a coordinator position.

Thomas held a number of hats at the NCAA level, but has consistently worked with running backs throughout his career. He worked as an OC at Idaho in 2004 and 2005, serving in a similar capacity at Washington in 2012. His only NFL posting has been in New Orleans, beginning in 2015. The 48-year-old has been a key positional coach helping drive the success the Saints have enjoyed with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram in the backfield during his tenure, though, like the other two coaches, he has not received interview requests from any other team so far.

Much has been made about the importance regarding Gannon’s hire at OC, given his own background as a defensive staffer and his status as a rookie head coach. During his introductory press conference, he spoke about his commitment – regardless of whomever is tapped as offensive coordinator – to keeping the unit centered around Kyler Murray.

“I have a very specific vision of how I want to play on offense and the person that comes in here to run the offense is going to understand that everything that we do will be structured around the quarterback position to maximize his skill set,” Gannon said, via ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “And we have an elite one.”

Gannon added that he expects to start the interview process to begin in the next few days, so a decision will likely not come long after as he works to build his staff.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/14/23

February 14th, 2023 at 7:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

New York Giants

A UDFA who caught on with the Panthers in 2019, Kunaszyk played 15 Browns games last season. The team, which ran into multiple season-ending injuries at linebacker, used Kunaszyk as a two-game starter. The 26-year-old defender was a core special-teamer in Cleveland, seeing action on 79% of the Browns’ special teams plays in 2022. He finished the season on IR due to a hand injury.

Texans Expected To Hire Cory Undlin; Team Will Not Retain Pep Hamilton, Others

February 14th, 2023 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Lions defensive coordinator and two-year DeMeco Ryans lieutenant with the 49ers, Cory Undlin will come over from San Francisco to join Ryans’ staff in Houston. The Texans plan to hire the veteran NFL assistant, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.

Previous reports pegged the Texans as interested, and Wilson notes the team intends to hire Undlin as its secondary coach and defensive passing-game coordinator. Undlin spent the past two seasons as the 49ers’ secondary coach; his contract expired after the 2022 season. He is the latest 49ers assistant to join Ryans’ Texans staff.

That staff will not include Pep Hamilton or offensive line coach George Warhop, per Wilson. The Texans retained special teams coordinator Frank Ross, who was a David Culley hire and former Nick Caserio Patriots coworker, but they will have new coordinators (Bobby Slowik, Matt Burke). While Hamilton stayed on under Lovie Smith under a different position, moving from quarterbacks coach to OC, he is out in Houston after two seasons. Warhop joined the Texans last year.

A two-time NFL OC, Hamilton, 48, turned down the opportunity to interview for the Buccaneers’ play-calling post. It will be interesting to see where the ex-Colts play-caller lands. For a second straight season, the Texans finished 30th or worse in both scoring and total offense. While the Texans were not exactly equipped with many notable starters, the team’s struggles helped key another shakeup.

Warhop, 61, has been an offensive line coach in the NFL since 1996. The Texans are eyeing former Colts O-line coach Chris Strausser for the job, Wilson notes, adding the team is also eyeing current Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin as well. A Frank Reich hire in Indianapolis, Strausser coached the Colts’ O-line for the past four seasons. Although that unit produced three Pro Bowlers at various points, it regressed in 2022. Kiffin has been with the Browns since 2020 but has interest in joining the Texans. The second-generation NFL coach was on the 49ers’ staff from 2018-19, serving as San Francisco’s pass rush specialist.

Undlin, 51, checks both boxes for the current Texans, having worked with both Ryans and Caserio. Undlin collected a Super Bowl ring in his first NFL season, working as a low-level assistant in New England in 2004, and was the Eagles’ DBs coach during their Super Bowl LII-winning season. His Lions DC stay under Matt Patricia lasted one season (2020).

Ryans has now added Undlin, Slowik, Stephen Adegoke (safeties) and Nick Kray from the 49ers. An effort to poach defensive line coach Kris Kocurek failed. Ryans’ staff will also not include tight ends coach Tim Berbenich, assistant D-line coach Kenyon Jackson, quarterbacks coach Ted White, linebackers coach Miles Smith and select other staffers, Wilson adds. This is not exactly surprising, given the Texans’ struggles and six-year commitment to Ryans.

Updated 2023 NFL Draft Order

February 13th, 2023 at 9:56am CST by Adam La Rose

With Super Bowl LVII in the books, the order of the final two first-round picks in April’s draft have been finalized. The Chiefs once again find themselves at the bottom of the order by virtue of winning their second Lombardi Trophy in the past four years.

The last time they found themselves in that position, they added running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in what was seen as a selection which would greatly boost their rushing attack. A repeat of that decision is unlikely this time around, given the emergence of seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco as the team’s lead back down the stretch, including the Super Bowl in which Edwards-Helaire was deactivated.

For the Eagles, the fact that their own first-rounder will be one spot higher than Kansas City’s is of course no consolation for the outcome of the game. Nevertheless, Philadelphia will have two chances – since they also have the Saints’ top choice, sitting at No. 10 overall – to add high-end rookies to an already strong core. The success both teams enjoyed in 2022, coupled with the strengths of their respective front offices, should have them well-positioned to contend once again next season.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks at the regular season’s close:

  1. Chicago Bears: 3-14
  2. Houston Texans: 3-13-1
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
  4. Indianapolis Colts: 4-12-1
  5. Seattle Seahawks (via Broncos)
  6. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  7. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-11
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Carolina Panthers: 7-10
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints)
  11. Tennessee Titans: 7-10
  12. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  13. New York Jets: 7-10
  14. New England Patriots: 8-9
  15. Green Bay Packers: 8-9
  16. Washington Commanders: 8-8-1
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-8
  18. Detroit Lions: 9-8
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-9
  20. Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
  21. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-7
  22. Baltimore Ravens: 10-7
  23. Minnesota Vikings: 13-4
  24. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
  25. New York Giants: 9-7-1
  26. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  27. Buffalo Bills: 13-3
  28. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-4
  29. New Orleans Saints (via 49ers through Broncos)
  30. Philadelphia Eagles: 14-3
  31. Kansas City Chiefs: 14-3

This year’s draft will feature a 31-pick first round. The Dolphins’ penalty for the Tom Brady–Sean Payton tampering scandal cost them their 2023 first-round choice

Cardinals To Request HC Interview With Jonathan Gannon

February 12th, 2023 at 8:00pm CST by Rory Parks

8:00pm: In an update to his previous reporting, Balzer states rather definitively that Gannon “will be the Cardinals’ new head coach” (Twitter link). He adds that there is a “strong possibility” Browns QBs coach Drew Petzing is hired for the OC role, something SI’s Albert Breer tweets would come as no surprise if Gannon were to be hired. Petzing and Gannon have history with each other dating back to their time spent with the Vikings.

10:16am: When Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said that his team’s new head coach would not be announced until after today’s Super Bowl, it led to plenty of speculation that he wanted to interview one of the coordinators participating in the title bout. That turned out to be the case, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Arizona is expected to request an HC interview with Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon (Twitter link).

Gannon interviewed for the Texans’ head coaching position in January and was at one time considered the frontrunner for the post, particularly since he had interviewed for the same job last year. Houston, however, pivoted to DeMeco Ryans, and until today, Gannon had not been formally connected to any other HC opening in this year’s cycle.

It’s easy to see why the Cardinals would have interest in Gannon. The 39-year-old, who just wrapped his second season as Philadelphia’s DC after a three-year stint as the Colts’ defensive backs coach, oversaw a unit that ranked second in the league in total defense and eighth in points allowed in 2022. The Eagles also boasted the best pass defense in the NFL — which reflects well on Gannon given his background as a DBs coach — and posted a whopping 70 sacks (60 of which came from a base front, as opposed to a blitz).

In a lengthy feature on Gannon’s life and career, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says that Gannon’s scouting experience — he spent several years as a college and pro scout with the Rams — has boosted his stock as a top HC candidate. Gannon himself confirmed that the GMs he has spoken with appreciate the fact that he knows and understands that side of the business.

Gannon also has a strong relationship with new Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort, as Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Breer adds that Bidwill also did a great deal of background work on Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, though no interview has been requested as of the time of this writing. It presently appears as if Steichen is in line to land the Colts’ head coaching job, so the Eagles could find themselves looking to replace both of their top coordinators in short order.

The strength of Gannon’s Arizona candidacy will depend, at least in part, on whom he taps as his offensive coordinator, as Howard Balzer of PHNX tweets. Kyler Murray may not be ready to return to action until midway through the 2023 season, but he is the team’s franchise quarterback, and his performance will largely drive the team’s fortunes in the coming years. So in addition to bringing the right head coach aboard, the team also needs to hit on its OC hire.

Bengals DC Lou Anarumo and Giants OC Mike Kafka are the Cardinals’ other two head coaching finalists.

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