Anthony Lynn - Pro Football Rumors

AFC Notes: Titans, Bills, Raiders, Texans, Fins

January 4th, 2017 at 5:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Titans made wide receiver Kendall Wright a healthy scratch for their season finale last Sunday, and now the impending free agent is ready to leave Tennessee. “I saw the 2017 Tennessee Titans, and I am not a part of the 2017 Tennessee Titans,” Wright told TitansOnline.com on Monday (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). “It is what it is. I respect everybody in the building.” A first-round pick in 2012, Wright began his career with three straight seasons of at least 57 catches and 93 targets, but the Titans tamped down their reliance on him the past two years. In 21 games dating back to 2015, Wright has combined for just 65 receptions and 102 targets. Now, with a trip to the open market looming, Wright feels “free.”

While Wright looks like a lock to exit the organization, two of his coaches – Bob Bratkowski (receivers) and Jason Tucker (assistant WRs) – definitely won’t be back in 2017. The Titans parted ways with the duo Wednesday, tweets Jim Wyatt of the team’s website.

Jaguars Expected To Interview Anthony Lynn

January 4th, 2017 at 12:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Put another one on the board for Anthony Lynn. The Bills’ interim head coach is expected to interview with the Jaguars, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). As shown on PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Lynn is also in the mix for the Bills, Rams, and 49ers. He doesn’t have an interview scheduled with the Broncos just yet, but that is expected to go down at some point.

Lynn was reportedly a “virtual lock” to take over as the next coach of the Bills, but there’s now buzz that Lynn might not even want the gig. Lynn, 48, appears to have several options if he doesn’t want to remain in Buffalo. After Doug Whaley‘s bizarre press conference this week, it’s hard to blame Lynn for exploring other possibilities. The Bills have talent to win right away, but Lynn could find more stability in one of the other openings out there.

The Jaguars fell apart this year, but in the offseason they were picked by some to win the AFC South. On offense, Blake Bortles is something of an unknown after a down year and, once again, the Jags will have to figure out what to do at running back. Chris Ivory was brought in to hold down the position, but health issues limited him severely this year.

Latest On HC Candidate Anthony Lynn

January 3rd, 2017 at 4:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn was reportedly a “virtual lock” as of this past Sunday to earn the job on a full-time basis, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. There’s now buzz that Lynn might not even want to take over for his former boss, the fired Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News.

The 48-year-old Lynn has options outside of Buffalo, as it’s now official that he’ll interview with the Rams and 49ers, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s also conceivable that any of the other teams with head coaching vacancies – the Broncos, Jaguars and Chargers – could court Lynn. Notably, the former running back played in Denver with then-quarterback and now-general manager John Elway. He also began his coaching career there as a special teams assistant in 2000.

Lynn drew some interest in head coaching searches last winter, but he was merely a running backs coach at the time. Then, after the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman in mid-September, Lynn took over and guided the unit to impressive results. Thanks largely to the NFL’s best rushing attack, the Bills’ offense finished the 2016 campaign 10th in both scoring and DVOA.

On the heels of Ryan’s late-December dismissal, Lynn earned the interim title for Week 17, though the Bills lost in embarrassing fashion, 30-10, to the Jets. In defense of Lynn, the Bills benched starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor for business reasons, leaving the coach with EJ Manuel and Cardale Jones as his only options under center. It now seems possible that could go down as Lynn’s only game as the embattled organization’s head coach.

Coaching Rumors: Shanahan, Rams, Broncos

January 2nd, 2017 at 12:49pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s a New Year and a new start for many teams on the sidelines. With a zillion interviews being requested today, we’ll run down the latest coaching rumors and requests here:

The Rams and Broncos have requested permission to talk to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. GM John Elway says the team will consider “three or four” candidates for the job, which means that Shanahan is on the short list. It will be interesting to see if the rocky relationship between Elway and Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, plays a role in his candidacy.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians confirmed that the Bills and Rams have asked permission to interview offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin (Twitter link via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). As previously reported, the Jaguars will interview Goodwin today.
The Bills will make a push for former Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. La Canfora, like many, expects Anthony Lynn to shed the “interim” title this offseason and take over as head coach.
The Rams have requested interviews with Lynn and Matt Patricia (Patriots defensive coordinator), according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
The Jaguars will interview Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith for their head coaching vacancy, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said teams have contacted Miami about talking to Vance Joseph for head coaching jobs, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.

49ers Targeting Tom Cable, Others For HC Job

January 2nd, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

Josh McDaniels isn’t the only candidate on the 49ers’ list. The team is also looking to bring in Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, Jaguars interim coach Doug Marrone, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco.

The Jets interviewed Cable for their head coaching vacancy before the 2015 season, but he did not receive any interviews last offseason. Cable, of course, offers head coaching experience after nearly three years at the helm in Oakland. From 2008-2010, the Raiders went 17-27 under Cable and never finished higher than third in the AFC West.

Meanwhile, the top GM candidates right now are Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, and Seahawks co-player personnel directors Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.

CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe are leading the search to fill both vacancies. After witnessing years of discord between former coach Jim Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke (and perhaps some disagreement between Baalke and recent ex-coach Chip Kelly), the 49ers may opt for a ready-made GM/coach combo like McDaniels and Caserio. McDaniels appears to be one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market this offseason and Caserio has been viewed as a rising front office star for the last couple of years.

Rams To Interview John Fassel On Monday

January 1st, 2017 at 7:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams will interview interim head coach John Fassel on Monday, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Fassel was named Los Angeles’ interim coach following last month’s firing of Jeff Fisher.

Fassel, 42, has been an NFL coach since 2005, working with special teams units during that entire period. Before joining the Rams in 2012, Fassel worked on both the Ravens and Raiders staffs in a special teams capacity. The son of former NFL head coach Jim Fassel, John has posted an 0-3 record as Los Angeles’ interim coach. Given that the Rams are thought to be targeting high-profile candidates such as Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and others, it’s entirely possible that Fassel’s meeting on Monday will only be a pro forma interview.

The Rams may also express interest in Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, per Florio. However, Lynn is widely expected to take the Buffalo job on a full-time basis, meaning Los Angeles will have to look elsewhere.

Anthony Lynn “Virtual Lock” To Be Bills HC

January 1st, 2017 at 9:27am CST by Zachary Links

SUNDAY, 09:27am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports goes one step farther than Carucci, reporting that Lynn is a “virtual lock” to be named the Bills’ head coach on a permanent basis. The Bills are, however, expected to interview Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin for the job, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak (citing ESPN colleague Adam Schefter). Schefter tweets that former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is expected to serve as Lynn’s defensive coordinator wherever Lynn becomes a head coach. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Bills’ top job is Lynn’s to lose, and he adds Frank Reich and Teryl Austin as possible alternative candidates.

WEDNESDAY, 10:09am: Anthony Lynn will hold down the fort as interim head coach in the Bills’ final regular season game. From the sound of it, he could already be in the lead for the real title this offseason. “There’s every indication” the Bills are settled on sticking with Lynn beyond the interim status he has for Sunday, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes.

Carucci doesn’t expect the Bills to conduct a real, thorough search because they already have Lynn in mind as their guy. Furthermore, GM Doug Whaley is leading the search process and he will not want to hire any coach who would want control over the 53-man roster. In Lynn, he has a built-in ally who will allow him to assemble the team as he sees fit.

If Whaley is not willing to cede roster control, then that would likely rule out big-name candidates like Tom Coughlin, Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and Jim Schwartz. Even former Bills quarterback and current Eagles OC Frank Reich would probably object. There may be some head coaching candidates who are willing to let Whaley do his thing, but it won’t be any of the splashy names.

Bills Notes: Lynn, Whaley, Tyrod, Rex

December 28th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The decision to shelve Tyrod Taylor for the Bills’ Week 17 game against the Jets did not involve interim coach Anthony Lynn, creating an interesting situation for Sunday.

Lynn said today, via Joe WKBW’s Joe Buscaglia (on Twitter), he was not in the room when the decision was made to start EJ Manuel over Taylor, the team’s starter throughout the Rex Ryan era and obviously Lynn’s tenure as a major decision-maker on the team. Promoted to OC in September, Lynn has emerged as a head-coaching candidate but won’t have a choice as to who he starts at quarterback in what could be his only instance as the Bills’ HC. However, the Bills may be leaning toward keeping the former longtime running backs coach as their next sideline boss.

Taylor has played in each of the games during Lynn’s OC run, with Manuel’s last significant stretch of work coming under Greg Roman‘s offensive guidance midway through last season. The decision came down from ownership since the Bills do not want to risk injury to Taylor as a decision on whether or not to pick up his option — one tying the run-centric quarterback to the team long-term — looms after the season.

Here’s more from western New York.

Doug Whaley having the chance to pick a third Bills head coach strikes ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak as strange since it sends a message the new coach will not have control of the team’s 53-man roster and thus would have to agree to work with Whaley. But Rodak points out this could be an attempt by owners Terry and Kim Pegula to give Whaley one more chance to prove his worth since this next hire not working out — which basically means a playoff berth for north American professional sports’ most postseason-starved franchise — would lead the organization to move on from the GM.
Ryan previously said the Bills would be his last coaching job, but the former Jets leader did not count on a two-year run in Buffalo. A close friend of the Ryans does not believe Rex Ryan will settle for a TV job for good, insisting the 54-year-old coach will want another chance — even in college — to lead a team again, Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN.com writes.
The Bills made Ryan the scapegoat for the 17-year playoff drought, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes, believing the decision is a premature one indicative of a directionless franchise. Mehta also notes Whaley wanted to hire Hue Jackson before the Pegulas set their sights on Ryan.
If Taylor wants to remain in Buffalo, he will likely have to renegotiate the contract he signed in August, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap writes. Believing most teams would see Taylor as a high-end backup ($7-$9MM per year), Fitzgerald points out part of Ryan’s downfall in Buffalo could be his infatuation with Taylor’s athletic skill set by referencing to the coach’s desire to sign Michael Vick, trade for Tim Tebow and his coveting of Colin Kaepernick while with the Jets.

Fallout From Rex Ryan’s Firing

December 27th, 2016 at 8:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills are on the hunt for a new head coach after firing Rex Ryan on Tuesday, but the presence of general manager Doug Whaley is likely to limit their options, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. With Whaley entrenched atop the Bills’ front office, head coaching candidates who want significant say in roster construction might be less inclined to take the job.

That could include longtime NFL head coach Tom Coughlin, with whom the Bills spoke last offseason about a front office role before he took a position with the league. Coughlin is now a possibility to end up back in Jacksonville – where he coached from 1995-2002 – but Bills owner Terry Pegula is interested in tabbing the two-time Super Bowl winner to succeed Ryan, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is also high on the Bills’ list, reports Cole, who adds that the team would want to retain interim head coach Anthony Lynn as its offensive coordinator under either Coughlin or Austin.

Lynn entered the season as the Bills’ running backs coach, but they elevated him to O-coordinator after firing Greg Roman on the heels of an 0-2 start. Buffalo’s Lynn-led attack ranks first in the league in rushing, seventh in scoring, eighth in DVOA and 12th in total offense. Now, given his impressive work this season, it’s possible Lynn is actually the favorite to take over for Ryan on a permanent basis. Whaley “pushed” ownership to place the interim tag on Lynn, tweets the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci, who wrote last week that Lynn could be primed to grab the reins going forward. Lynn garnered attention from head coach-needy franchises last winter and will again be on teams’ radars this offseason (the Rams are reportedly eyeing him), so the Bills could lose the 47-year-old if they don’t select him as Ryan’s replacement.

As for Ryan, his downfall in Buffalo was his inability to live up to his reputation as a defensive guru. The Bills had a top-tier defense in place when they hired him in advance of the 2015 campaign, but it was a below-average unit in each of his two years with the club. Ryan’s move last January to hire his twin brother, the now-fired Rob Ryan, to team with him and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman didn’t produce positive results. In fact, Bills players told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington that the Ryans lost the defensive portion of the locker room because there were “too many cooks in the kitchen” (Twitter link). Defensive end Leger Douzable took to Twitter to bash Buffalo’s decision to ax Rex Ryan, whom he also played under as a Jet, but star D-tackle Marcell Dareus doesn’t seem too broken up about the coaching change.

While Dareus told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he likes Ryan, the franchise’s highest-paid player explained that the defensive scheme “was just too much detail for a lot of guys, and I feel like for a lot of guys it was too much going on for them to check here and check there, if this happens and that happens. Then nine times out of 10, a team will throw something out there that we weren’t prepared for, and then the adjustment to it, we had to get use to and try to make it happen and make plays.”

The 26-year-old Dareus will be among a few marquee talents the Bills’ next coach inherits (running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Sammy Watkins are the others), though the environment “from top to bottom” is “toxic,” relays Carucci (Twitter link). Considering the Bills have gone a league-worst 17 years since their latest playoff trip, that’s not overly surprising.

Bills Fire Rex Ryan

December 27th, 2016 at 11:07am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are not waiting for the season to end to make a head coaching change. Rex Ryan has been let go and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn will take over as the interim head coach. Rob Ryan (assistant head coach/defense) has also been relieved of his duties.

“I spoke with Rex earlier today and we mutually agreed that the time to part ways is now. These decisions are never easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rex for all his efforts and wish him all the best moving forward,” owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “Kim and I and our entire Bills organization share in the same disappointment and frustration as our fans, but we remain committed to our goal of bringing a championship to Western New York.”

Rex Ryan was not given a third year to turn things around in Buffalo despite finishing with a .500 record in his first year and guiding the team to a 7-8 mark so far this season. The Bills will not qualify for the playoffs for the 17th straight season and the organization is not willing to take the patient approach any longer.

Lynn has gone from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to head coach in just three months. His first promotion came when Greg Roman was forced out earlier this year and he’ll now get to audition for the team’s permanent role. Reportedly, the Bills wanted to push Ryan out in part because of their desire to retain Lynn. Lynn has long been identified as a strong head coaching candidate for this offseason.

There are conflicting reports regarding GM Doug Whaley’s job security. A little over a week ago, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that Whaley is not in jeopardy of getting fired. However, over the weekend, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe said that his status “remains up in the air.”

As of this writing, there are now three teams that will be looking for head coaches in the New Year: the Rams, Jaguars, and Bills.