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Coaching Rumors: Payton, Rams, Gruden

December 24th, 2016 at 6:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite rumors to the contrary, one source tells ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett there is no indication the Saints are more willing to part ways with Sean Payton now than they were in the past. That same source also refuted the notion that morale is low in New Orleans because of speculation over Payton’s future. Regardless, you can expect the Payton buzz to continue for a while. There’s now talk that Payton has “sincere interest” in the Rams’ opening.

Here’s a roundup of the latest coaching rumors:

  • Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn and Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter are two to watch in the Rams‘ coaching search, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
  • There are reasons why Jon Gruden does and doesn’t make sense for the Rams, Mike Florio of PFT writes. Gruden has star power, offensive know-how, and relationships with both COO Kevin Demoff and Washington exec Bruce Allen, who could be a GM candidate for the team. He could also help the team attract Raiders fans in the area. Conversely, one could argue that Gruden was overrated as a coach since he won a Super Bowl with a defense built by Tony Dungy and run the highly-respected Monte Kiffin. Gruden also doesn’t have a rep as a player-friendly coach.
  • Panthers coach Ron Rivera has been mentioned as a possibility for the Rams‘ job, but his agent tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer there hasn’t been any contact between Rivera and Los Angeles. “There hasn’t been any contact,” agent Frank Bauer said. “Ron’s super happy where he’s at.” Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot. The Rams could still wait until after the season to reach out to Rivera and, even if they have already, his agent would never publicly confirm an act of tampering. If there is mutual interest between the Rams and Rivera this spring, L.A. would still have to negotiate a trade with the Panthers.
  • Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh won’t be returning to the NFL in 2017, but he could eventually be back, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (link via PFT). If and when he goes back to the NFL, Rapoport says he could be a match for the Bears. Meanwhile, some league insiders have speculated to PFT that Harbaugh could eventually coach the Colts, reuniting him with Andrew Luck.

Coaching Notes: Bills, Payton, Jaguars, Bucs

December 24th, 2016 at 11:16am CST by Ben Levine

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has compiled a 101-57 record during his 10 years in Pittsburgh, and he’s also led his squad to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, winning one. Despite the apparent success, Terry Bradshaw isn’t impressed.

The Hall of Fame Steelers quarterback said on FOX Sports 1 that Tomlin isn’t among the best active coaches in the NFL.

“I don’t think he’s a great coach at all,” Bradshaw said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “He’s a nice coach. To me, and I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does. But I don’t think that he’s a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”

Bradshaw attributes much of Tomlin’s success to the current head coach’s predecessor, Bill Cowher. While Tomlin certainly inherited an elite roster, you can’t deny his success over the past decade.

Let’s take a look at some other coaching notes from around the NFL…

  • The Bills haven’t decided on head coach Rex Ryan‘s future with the organization. However, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that if the team does move on from Ryan, it could be partially motivated by the team’s desire to keep offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn in the organization. Lynn will likely get some interviews for head coaching gigs this offseason, and he’d presumably be a candidate for the Bills’ gig if the position opens up.
  • Sean Payton could have been the Colts coach this season, reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Ultimately, the current Saints head coach didn’t want to take a pay cut from $10MM per year to $8MM per year.
  • The Jaguars have hired Jed Hughes of Korn Ferry International to help assist the front office in hiring a new head coach, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The firm specializes in conducting “executive searches.”
  • The Buccaneers defense has been on a roll recently, and defensive coordinator Mike Smith has predictably been mentioned as a potential head coach candidate. However, with the team looking to make the playoffs, Smith is trying to block out all of that speculation. “Rumors are rampant this time of the year,” Smith told ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine. “I’m enjoying my time here. I want to make this team the best team it can be. You don’t address rumors. That’s what happens this time of year.”

Sean Payton Has “Sincere Interest” In Rams’ Head Coaching Vacancy

December 24th, 2016 at 10:14am CST by Ben Levine

Another day, another big name being mentioned as a potential candidate for the Rams’ head coach opening. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that Saints head coach Sean Payton is monitoring the Rams’ vacancy with “sincere interest.” The reporter clarifies that a potential Rams/Saints trade is neither “imminent” nor “likely,” but a deal is “possible.” For the Rams to pull off such a move, Payton would have to be the organization’s “overwhelming No. 1” favorite for the position.

Sean Payton (vertical)As Rapoport writes, Payton has openly expressed interest in coaching on the West Coast, especially since his daughter lives in California. The head coach had previously shown some interst in the former 49ers and Chargers openings. Payton ultimately signed a five-year extension with the Saints that will pay him around $10MM a year. After he announced the new contract, Payton said that he couldn’t envision himself coaching elsewhere.

Of course, the extension doesn’t mean that Payton is guaranteed to stick around New Orleans. The 52-year-old hasn’t led the Saints to the playoffs since 2013, and Rapoport reports that some within the organization are starting to tire of Payton’s unwillingness to commit to his current gig longterm. In fact, we heard last week that the Saints could look to trade their long-time coach. If the coach decides that he wants out of New Orleans, the front office won’t hold him “hostage,” according to Rapoport.

Payton does have an impressive head coaching record of 92-64 during his 11 seasons in New Orleans (he was suspended for the 2012 campaign), and he led the team to a Super Bowl championship in 2009.

Despite the Payton news, Rapoport tweets that the Rams aren’t necessarily looking to “make a splash” with the hiring. The last time they hired a big-Ron Rivera (vertical)name coach, they signed Jeff Fisher… and we all know how that turned out.

Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter echoes that the Rams aren’t necessarily looking at high-profile names for their head coaching vacancy. According to the report, the Rams are eyeing Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn,
Patriots offensive coordinators Josh McDaniels, and Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. We learned earlier this week that the Rams (along with the Jaguars) would have interest in Shanahan.

Rapoport throws another name into the ring (via Twitter): Panthers coach Ron Rivera. The writer notes that Rivera would be a natural fit considering the Rams’ young roster and Los Angeles’ Hispanic population. Of course, Rapoport admits that a Rams/Panthers trade would be rather complicated to pull off.

Other names that have been mentioned for the opening are Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. Both of those potential candidates denied having any interest in the gig.

10 Coaching Candidates For The Rams

December 13th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

In an iconic scene from season nine of The Simpsons, Krusty the Klown announced his retirement to a scrum of not-so-stunned reporters. Krusty The Clown

“But Krusty,” one reporter asks. “Why now? Why not twenty years ago?”

It wouldn’t have been out of place for any Rams beat reporter to channel that sentiment and ask a similar question of COO Kevin Demoff when he addressed the media on Monday. Jeff Fisher‘s dismissal was long overdue and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of the coach’s family who disagrees.

For now, the Rams will turn things over to special teams coordinator John Fassel on an interim basis. While this is ostensibly a chance for Fassel to impress team brass and land the head coaching job for 2017, most are expecting the Rams to hire a name brand coach that will energize the fan base and give the team some additional panache in free agency.

With a few weeks to go between now and the official end of the Rams’ season, here are ten names that could be considered for the job:

Jim Harbaugh (vertical)Jim Harbaugh, head coach at the University of Michigan: Some say that living well is the best revenge. Others say that the best revenge against your former employer is setting up shop across the street and destroying them. Santa Clara-to-Los Angeles is a lengthy drive, but you get what we’re getting at.

Harbaugh, in theory, could leave his alma mater and crush the 49ers by joining up with a divisional rival. The Rams have reportedly been loafing in practice and Harbaugh is the kind of throwback disciplinarian that the team badly needs. It’s fair to assume that the Rams will get in contact with Harbaugh, but it will be tough to get him to leave his lucrative job in Ann Arbor.

With National Signing Day around the corner, Harbaugh could publicly remove himself himself from consideration if he is not at all interested in an NFL return. Alternatively, if Harbaugh wants to get sweet revenge against the Niners, Stan Kroenke better have his checkbook ready. Signing Harbaugh could cost upwards of $10MM/year and that’s before factoring in his buyout clause with the Wolverines. If Harbaugh bolts, he’ll owe U-M the prorated portion of his $2MM signing bonus. With two of the seven years served, 5/7ths of that amount comes out to roughly $1.43MM.

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Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan’s Job In Jeopardy

December 11th, 2016 at 11:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

Rex Ryan is exceedingly unlikely to return as the Bills’ head coach in 2017, and if the club suffers an embarrassing loss to the Steelers later today, Ryan could be fired as soon as Monday, a source tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. If Ryan is let go, Buffalo would likely promote offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to interim head coach, according to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.Rex Ryan (Featured)

[RELATED: Bills GM Refuses To Commit To Tyrod Taylor]

The Bills could still finish the 2016 campaign strong, and with four winnable games remaining on the schedule (Buffalo is set to face Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Miami, and New York), the club could win out, finish with a record of 10-6, and compete for an AFC wild card slot. Such a scenario remains unlikely, however — Football Outsiders gives the Bills just a 9.9% chance of making the playoffs — and Ryan’s crumbling status in Buffalo appears to have deeper roots than simply the team’s win-loss record.

Per La Canfora, the relationship between Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley is heavily strained, and Whaley may hold the upper hand given that he’s developed a “strong bond” with team ownership. Whaley and the Buffalo front office have repeatedly indicated that the Bills’ roster is better than its record, laying blame for this season’s results at the feet of Ryan, and have shared that belief with owner Terry Pegula. The Bills have seemingly decided against the idea of hiring a “football czar” to oversee operations — a role that Bill Polian and Tom Coughlin have been considered for in the past — meaning Whaley’s job should be safe.

Other personnel and coaching staff problems abound, such as the poor reaction to Ryan’s decision to hire his brother — longtime NFL defensive coordinator Rob Ryan — as a defensive assistant. Additionally, the Buffalo front office would like to see fourth-round quarterback Cardale Jones take the field at some point this season, as the club is highly unlikely to exercise its option on incumbent signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.

Pollard Alliance Releases HC Candidates List

December 7th, 2016 at 10:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation typically releases its list of recommended minority head coaching candidates in January. This year, we have an early preview of the list, courtesy of Tom Pelissero of USA Today. This year’s suggested candidates will include Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin, and Vikings DC George Edwards. Teryl Austin (vertical)

Austin was a popular candidate for coaching vacancies last year but ultimately did not find a head coaching gig. After interviewing with the Browns, Dolphins, Giants, and Eagles, Austin indicated that he felt only two of the interviews were “legitimate” while the other two were only done to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which stipulates that a minority candidate must be interviewed for every job. Since the Browns hired a black coach in Hue Jackson, Austin presumably isn’t accusing Cleveland of interviewing him to fulfill the requirement.

The Bills installed Lynn as their OC in September after ousting Greg Roman. The Bills have been up-and-down this year, but they now stand at 6-6 despite injuries to key players. Lynn has had to run the Bills’ offense without star wide receiver Sammy Watkins for much of the year and teams will certainly take notice of his capable job despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.

Goodwin has made no secret of his desire to land a head coaching job. However, there are some factors working against him. First, the Cardinals offense has struggled this season. Secondly, despite rave reviews from those around him, Goodwin does not call the plays in Arizona, and that could deter interested teams.

Edwards was placed on the Pollard list for the first time last year and he returns this season. Like Goodwin, he does not call plays for his team despite the coordinator title. However, he comes with a strong recommendation from head coach Mike Zimmer and he did call the plays against the Cowboys when Zimmer was recovering from surgery. With Edwards at the wheel, the Vikings allowed just 17 points against one of the league’s most electric offenses.

The foundation also released a list of general manager candidates including Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross, Raiders director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, former Lions GM and current Giants exec Martin Mayhew, and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown.

Breer’s Latest: Kaep, Tannehill, Ravens, Bills

October 13th, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is set to return to the 49ers’ starting lineup this week, but his NFL future was in doubt as recently as last year. At least two teams that looked into Kaepernick as a potential trade acquisition had questions about whether he wanted to continue playing, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB. Kaepernick ended up staying in San Francisco, of course, and will now take over head coach Chip Kelly‘s offense. If Kaepernick fails under Kelly, the league might not regard the 28-year-old as a viable option anymore, writes Breer, who notes that his career hangs in the balance. “This offense gives him the best chance, no doubt,” one 49ers source said of the mobile Kaepernick, who could become a free agent at season’s end.

More from Breer:

  • After last season, when it looked as if the 49ers would trade Kaepernick, the relationship between him and general manager Trent Baalke “couldn’t have been worse,” a source told Breer. Kaepernick has never trusted Baalke and views himself as a Jim Harbaugh draft pick, relays Breer. Baalke and Kaepernick went months without speaking to one another amid trade rumors last offseason and then met during the summer to clear the air. It doesn’t seem their meeting was productive, however, as sources close to Kaepernick see his relationship with Baalke as “irreparable,” per Breer.
  • Considering all the problems on their roster, the Dolphins aren’t sure if they can properly evaluate fifth-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill this season, Breer suggests. As a result, Breer doesn’t expect the Dolphins to move on from Tannehill during the offseason. Releasing the 2012 first-round pick before March would save Miami all but $3.5MM of his $17.98MM salary for 2017. The 28-year-old is under team control through 2020 on the six-year, $96MM extension he signed in May 2015.
  • Marc Trestman‘s pass-first philosophy helped bring an end to his tenure as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator, according to Breer. Baltimore fell from eighth in rushing under previous O-coordinator Gary Kubiak in 2014 to 26th last season with Trestman. Those ground woes have continued early this year for the Ravens, who rank 28th in rushing, though Terrance West has averaged an outstanding 5.0 yards per carry on 65 attempts. West picked up 95 yards in the Ravens’ 16-10 loss to the Redskins last Sunday, but he only amassed 11 carries in Trestman’s final game at the helm. “The players lost faith in [Trestman] last year, and he never got it back,” a Baltimore source said.
  • Trestman wasn’t the first offensive coordinator to lose his job this year. That description belongs to Greg Roman, whom the Bills ousted after Week 2. Buffalo has won three straight since replacing Roman with Anthony Lynn, though the Bills’ defense has played a larger role in the turnaround than their offense. Still, one Bills veteran explained to Breer the key difference in the offense since Lynn took the reins, saying, “We’re running the same plays that we did under G-Ro. It’s just that with Roman, we had a huge playbook and we could run absolutely anything from week-to-week. Anthony’s all about matchups… He played [in the NFL], so he knows matchups are huge.”

Bills Fire Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman

September 16th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

After losing to the Jets on Thursday night, the Bills are shaking up their coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been fired, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Bills have appointed Anthony Lynn, their running backs coach, as their new OC (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Bills have confirmed the news via press release.Greg Roman (vertical)

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Roman’s firing is a shocker for a number of reasons. Of course, it’s pretty rare that a team will can a coordinator two games into the season. Also, the Bills’ offense wasn’t necessarily the problem in Thursday night’s loss to the rival Jets. The Bills defense was picked apart all night by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Forte and the shortcomings on D can partially be chalked up to the missing pieces in Buffalo’s front seven. The Bills lost to the Jets 37-31, dropping them to 0-2.

Roman, hired in January of 2015, was the NFL’s highest paid offensive coordinator. The 44-year-old was expected to be the offensive counterbalance to head coach Rex Ryan, but Buffalo apparently wasn’t satisfied with what they’ve seen so far. While the Bills have not been an offensive juggernaut over the last year-and-change, Roman did help mold Tyrod Taylor into one of the league’s more promising quarterbacks. One could also argue that the offense has not been operating at full strength as Sammy Watkins played through injuries last year.

Lynn, meanwhile, is a rising star in coaching circles. This past offseason, Lynn interviewed for a number of other gigs, including the 49ers and Dolphins head coaching jobs. If Lynn can help improve the Bills’ offense, he will be a top candidate for vacancies around the league in the spring.

The Browns, Rams, Buccaneers, and other clubs had interest in hiring Roman prior to the 2015 season, but Buffalo outbid them all. Roman came with the reputation as an offensive guru even though his play-calling was suspect towards the end of his tenure with the Niners.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers Rumors: Lynn, Flaherty, Kaepernick

January 22nd, 2016 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers are the only team in the NFL that is still without both an offensive and defensive coordinator, and for the second time in the last two days, it sounds like a strong candidate for one of those positions will no longer be in the mix. According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link), Bills assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn has withdrawn from consideration for San Francisco’s OC job.

While there had been no indication that the Niners preferred Lynn to other candidates for the position, such as Ryan Day or Curtis Modkins, the Bills assistant has certainly been the hotter name this winter, having interviewed for a pair of head coaching openings earlier in the month. Marvez’s report comes on the heels of Thursday’s news that Mike Vrabel had declined the 49ers’ offer to become their defensive coordinator.

As the Niners continue their search for offensive and defensive coordinators, having crossed a pair of names off their lists, let’s round up a few more items out of San Francisco….

  • According to Marvez (via Twitter), the 49ers have made one coaching addition today, hiring former Giants offensive line coach Pat Flaherty for the same position in San Francisco. We heard several hours ago that the Niners were also considering Bob Bostad for that job.
  • Although he’s typically not very transparent, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke seemed to make it pretty clear this week that Colin Kaepernick remains in the club’s plans for 2016, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Pressed on whether the team was ready to lock in Kaepernick’s $11.9MM base salary for next season, Baalke replied, “We signed the contract for a reason. We’re not worried about the financial part of it at this point. What we’re worried about is getting him healthy and ready to compete.”
  • This morning, we learned that 49ers linebackers coach Jason Tarver and Ravens linebackers coach Don Martindale are among the candidates receiving consideration for San Francisco’s defensive coordinator job.

Schefter On NFL Head Coaching Searches

January 21st, 2016 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

While the Browns liked Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the team recognized the importance of upgrading its offense, which was one reason Hue Jackson was the choice as Cleveland’s new head coach, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. According to Schefter, the Browns believe that by hiring Jackson they not only strengthened their own organization, but weakened a division rival, in the Bengals.

Schefter has some details on the rest of the head coaching decisions as well, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

  • The Giants “seriously entertained” the possibility of hiring Mike Smith as their head coach and keeping Ben McAdoo at offensive coordinator, says Schefter. However, when the Eagles expressed legit interest in McAdoo, the Giants knew they couldn’t risk losing him.
  • As for those Eagles, they were determined to be more patient this time around than when they hired Chip Kelly, but two of their top candidates – Adam Gase and McAdoo – were hired by other teams while Philadelphia was being patient. Since the club was already familiar with Doug Pederson, it was “completely comfortable” turning to him despite the fact that his initial interview was ordinary, according to Schefter.
  • The 49ers viewed Kelly, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, and Anthony Lynn as viable candidates, and felt they would have been in good shape no matter which direction they went in. The fact that Kelly is the only one of the group without a Super Bowl ring was a factor in San Francisco’s choice, since the club feels he’ll be hungry to get that championship.
  • The Buccaneers took a week to hire Dirk Koetter even though most people expected him to be the choice all along, leading to some whispers that the Glazers “attempted a big swing” before officially promoting Koetter, says Schefter.
  • Despite a final push from Ray Horton last Saturday, the Titans‘ owners never wanted to get away from Mike Mularkey, who was their top choice all along.
  • As for the Dolphins, they entered their coaching search planning to be aggressive, and Gase’s desire to land a head coaching job – after being passed over last year – matched up well with that aggressiveness from the team, making him the first new coach hired this month.
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