Anthony Lynn - Pro Football Rumors

Staff Updates: Giants, 49ers, Bills, Bears, Fins

January 20th, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest coaching staff-related news from around the NFL:

The Giants have hired Frank Cignetti as their quarterbacks coach, according to Newsday’s Tom Rock, and Dwayne Stukes as their assistant special teams coach (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports). Marvez reported Monday that Cignetti was a candidate to join Ben McAdoo‘s staff as the QBs coach, which has now come to fruition. Cignetti held the position in St. Louis from 2012-14 before a promotion to offensive coordinator last year. That didn’t work out, though, as the Rams fired him during the season.
In other Giants news, their offensive line coach, Pat Flaherty, is interviewing for the same position with the 49ers, Marvez tweets. The Giants seem set to part ways with Flaherty, so it would obviously be in his best interest to land the 49ers job.
The Bears have blocked outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt from becoming the Dolphins’ defensive line coach, reports Thayer Evans of SI.com. Hurtt, who has one year left on his contract with Chicago, is rising up the assistant coaching ranks in the NFL and has drawn interest at both the pro and college levels, according to Thayer.
Bills assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn is a candidate to become the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. If he does, the Bills could replace him with Wilbert Montgomery, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak (Twitter link). Montgomery – who has spent the past two seasons coaching Cleveland’s running backs – is familiar with Bills head coach Rex Ryan. Both were on the Ravens’ coaching staff in 2008.

Coach Rumors: Shula, Lynn, 49ers, Manusky

January 20th, 2016 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

It was widely reported during the week leading up to the NFL’s Wild Card games this month that Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula wasn’t interested in interviewing for any head coaching jobs while Carolina remained alive in the playoffs. However, speaking to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports, Shula says he’s not sure where that perception came from.

“All I said (to the media) was I’m focused on the playoffs,” Shula said. “The other quote was if it did happen, if I was approached, I’d have to consider that at the time. Those were my only quotes … Somebody said I had an agent out there talking, too. I don’t have an agent. I have a friend that helps me, but he definitely wasn’t that person … I don’t know where that (report) came from.”

It’s somewhat odd that Shula would clarify his stance now, after all the vacant head coaching positions have been filled, rather than earlier in the interview process. Those reports suggesting he was reluctant to interview for other jobs while preparing for Panthers playoff games didn’t materialize out of thin air, so even if Shula claims he would have been open to opportunities, I’d imagine he’s happy to remain in his current role.

Here are a few more coaching-related updates from around the NFL:

Bills running backs coach and assistant head coach Anthony Lynn is interviewing for the 49ers‘ offensive coordinator job, a source tells Marvez (Twitter link). Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that the interview is scheduled to take place on Thursday. Lynn previously met with the Niners during the team’s head coaching search.
Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com provides another update on the 49ers, tweeting that Chip Kelly is interested in finding a spot on his staff for Jeff Nixon, who spent five years as the Dolphins’ running backs coach.
According to Marvez (Twitter link), Washington is set to hire Greg Manusky – who was the Colts’ defensive coordinator up until the end of the 2015 season – as the club’s outside linebackers coach. However, Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link) and ESPN’s John Keim hear there’s no deal in place yet, though they both say Washington has interest in Manusky, with Keim confirming the team interviewed him.
The Titans have one more defensive line coach interview taking place today before making a decision on the position, tweets Marvez. Former Giants assistant Robert Nunn is one candidate for the job.

Dolphins Making Strong Push For Adam Gase

January 9th, 2016 at 8:45am CST by Zachary Links

SATURDAY, 8:45am: The Dolphins are expected to offer Gase the head coaching job at today’s meeting, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

7:13pm: The Dolphins will interview Gase for the second time on Saturday, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN. As Schefter notes, Gase is the only Miami candidate who has been scheduled for a second meeting.

FRIDAY, 5:36pm: There is “growing momentum” in the Dolphins’ building for Gase to become the team’s next head coach, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

THURSDAY, 9:59pm: On the heels of their interview, no immediate deal is expected between the Dolphins and Gase, reports Mark Maske of the Washington Post (Twitter link).

8:17pm: The Dolphins completed their interview with Gase on Thursday, per a team press release.

WEDNESDAY, 7:40pm: The Dolphins will make a “strong, strong” push for Adam Gase, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Miami has been targeting him for some time, he adds, and they will make their best effort to keep him from getting back to the Eagles for a second interview.

So far this offseason, the Dolphins have been casting a wide net in their coaching search, as PFR’s 2016 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker shows. The Dolphins already have interviews in the books with Teryl Austin, Mike Shanahan, and Mike Smith from earlier in the week. On Wednesday night, the Dolphins also announced that they have completed their interview with Bills assistant head coach Anthony Lynn, who has long been identified as a head coaching candidate for the 2015/16 offseason. Gase is scheduled to meet with Miami brass on Thursday.

After working with Peyton Manning in Denver as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator, Gase joined John Fox in Chicago in 2015, and contributed to a strong bounce-back season for Jay Cutler. A year after leading the league with 18 interceptions, Cutler threw just 11 in 2015, the lowest full-season mark of his career. The Bears also ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in offensive DVOA under Gase.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers Meet With Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn

January 7th, 2016 at 10:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers’ head coaching search is underway, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has interviewed Bills assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn about the position. Maiocco adds (via Twitter) that the Niners have also met with former Eagles coach Chip Kelly to discuss the job.

Based on Maiocco’s wording, it’s not clear if San Francisco conducted a formal interview with Kelly for the team’s head coaching vacancy. But either way, it appears there’s some mutual interest between the two sides. Kelly reportedly reached out to the Niners earlier this week to express interest in the job, while Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets that the club begin considering Kelly before officially parting ways with Jim Tomsula.

There has been some speculation that Kelly would be a good fit in San Francisco to help Colin Kaepernick bounce back, based on his past success with mobile quarterbacks. Of course, if the Niners were to seriously pursue the ex-Eagles head coach, the club would have to confident he could comfortably co-exist with general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York. Kelly’s departure from Philadelphia stemmed in part from him wearing out his welcome within the organization, having been at odds with former Eagles GM Howie Roseman.

As for Lynn, the Niners’ job is one of two head coaching positions he has interviewed for this week. The Buffalo assistant also spoke to the Dolphins about their head coaching job.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coach Rumors: Browns, Marrone, Giants, Bucs

January 7th, 2016 at 5:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization that works with the NFL to ensure that minority candidates are considered – and hired – for coaching and front office jobs, has put out its list of recommendations for this offseason, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

As Tomasson outlines, the group’s top six picks for head coaching candidates this winter are Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin, Bills running backs coach and assistant head coach Anthony Lynn, and Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson.

Jackson and Austin are viewed as particularly strong candidates, with both men having scheduled multiple interviews with teams seeking new head coaches. Lynn and Henderson have also lined up HC interviews, so we’ll see if Edwards and Goodwin can follow suit.

Here are more of today’s coaching notes and rumors:

Reports indicated that Doug Marrone and Sean McDermott were both on the Browns‘ interview schedule for today, but only the Jaguars assistant head coach actually met with the team. Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Panthers defensive coordinator will now interview on Sunday, which is shaping up to be a busy day for Cleveland — the Browns are also scheduled to meet with Bengals assistants Paul Guenther and Hue Jackson on Sunday.
Within that same piece, Kabot cites sources who say there’s some concern among Browns players about the possibility of Marrone landing the job, since he’s not considered a players’ coach. Joe Thomas has indicated he may ask for a trade if he’s not happy with Cleveland’s new head coach, and fellow offensive linemen Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz could both depart in free agency, so the Browns may want to proceed with some caution.
The Giants have officially confirmed that they interviewed Teryl Austin for their head coaching job today, bringing their total number of interviewees so far up to three, as our tracker shows. Adam Gase and Marrone also have meetings lined up this week with Big Blue, with Jackson and McDermott potentially in the mix for interviews as well.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was upset by the sudden firing of Lovie Smith, sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. Koetter also may have more interest in a head coaching job in the Pacific Northwest, where he grew up, but he “relishes” coaching Jameis Winston, so if he gets the opportunity to land the Bucs’ HC job, he could be a good fit. Mortensen adds that, while the Bucs tried to hire Chip Kelly back in 2012, the former Eagles head coach probably won’t be a candidate this time around.

49ers To Interview Mike Shanahan, Anthony Lynn

January 5th, 2016 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

3:59pm: The scheduled meeting between Shanahan and the Niners is “on hold for now,” tweets Russini, who adds that talks between the two will continue over the phone.

3:35pm: As they search for a replacement for former head coach Jim Tomsula, the 49ers will meet again with a candidate they considered last year before hiring Tomsula. According to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Mike Shanahan is sitting down with the Niners on Wednesday to discuss the team’s coaching vacancy.

Shanahan, the former head coach in Washington and Denver, was one of several candidates who reportedly reached out to the Niners to convey interest in the job once Tomsula was dismissed. As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets, it was less than a year ago that San Francisco met with Shanahan for six hours to discuss its head coaching job, so no introductions should be required this time around.

In addition to interviewing Shanahan, the 49ers will also speak to Bills assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn this week about their head coaching position, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. The Niners are the second team with reported interest in Lynn — the Buffalo assistant has also lined up an interview with the Dolphins for their head coaching job.

Shanahan and Lynn join Hue Jackson and Sean Payton as likely candidates for the San Francisco job, with Chip Kelly and Mike Holmgren believed to have expressed interest as well. You can follow the latest developments with our head coaching search tracker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dolphins Request Interview With Josh McDaniels

January 4th, 2016 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Dolphins have already lined up multiple head coaching interviews for this week, with Teryl Austin, Adam Gase, Doug Marrone, and Dan Campbell among the candidates meeting with the team in the coming days. However, Miami is working to schedule interview with several more assistant coaches, most of them from within the AFC East.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link), the Dolphins are requesting head coaching interview with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, and Bills assistant head coach Anthony Lynn. It’s not clear yet if the division-rival Pats will grant Miami permission to interview their assistants, but Buffalo has granted Lynn permission to speak to the Dolphins on Wednesday, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.

In addition to Austin, Gase, Marrone, Campbell, and the three AFC East assistants, the Dolphins have also been linked to Todd Haley, Dirk Koetter, Mike Shanahan, and Jim Mora Jr., so it sounds like their search will be an expansive one. Former Falcons head coach Mike Smith has been mentioned as a candidate for Miami as well, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Smith will interview with at least one team, but it’s not clear if the Dolphins are that team.

In other news out of Miami, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets that new GM Chris Grier, whose hiring was announced earlier today, will report directly to Mike Tannenbaum, making for a cleaner organizational flowchart than the one the team employed in 2015.

La Canfora’s Latest: McDermott, Lions, Kroenke

November 29th, 2015 at 10:50am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some of the latest notes and observations from CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora:

Both La Canfora and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com have delved into some of the most notable names who will be connected to head coaching vacancies this offseason. Rapoport mentions Bears OC Adam Gase, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone, and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable as veterans of the head coaching interview circuit who will be generating plenty of buzz this offseason. Other less familiar candidates who have also piqued the interest of teams around the league include Panthers coordinators Mike Shula (offensive) and Sean McDermott (defensive), and Bills RB coach Anthony Lynn (all Twitter links). La Canfora explores the case for McDermott in more detail, noting that Carolina’s defense under McDermott’s watch has been among the league’s best for some time, but given the Panthers’ success this season, McDermott has been getting more attention around the league. La Canfora says it would not be a surprise if McDermott met with four to six teams during wildcard weekend, which is likely to be a bye week for the Panthers. Per La Canfora, a team that hires McDermott would do well to add current Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as its offensive coordinator. McCoy is rumored to be on his way out of San Diego at the end of the year, and he and McDermott share a “mutual admiration” for each other. The addition of McCoy would also help to alleviate concern regarding McDermott’s abilities on the offensive side of the ball.
La Canfora also has a look at potential candidates for the Lions GM job, noting that the team may have difficulty courting some of its top choices given the questions concerning team ownership and the fact that new team president Ron Wood is an unknown commodity in football circles. However, the Lions’ resurgence in recent weeks, the talent on the roster, and the fact that the club has a history of “unwavering loyalty” to its front office executives could allow the team to nab a prized candidate. Those candidates include names like Seahawks pro personnel director Trent Kirchner, Packers player personnel director Eliot Wolf, Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn, and Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. Of those names, Quinn may be the most likely option, considering that Wolf and DeCosta are both fairly comfortable in their roles as GM-in-waiting for their current clubs, and Kirchner will be the top candidate for a number of teams.
If Stan Kroenke‘s plan to move the Rams to Los Angeles falls though, La Canfora identifies several other options for the St. Louis owner. The league knows that if Kroenke loses out to the Chargers and Raiders in the race to LA, it would have to work actively to find other solutions for Kroenke, with London and Denver representing two such solutions. Kroenke–who remains focused on LA at the moment and has not actively considered any alternatives–has business interests in England and owns Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. Colorado, meanwhile, serves as Kroenke’s base, and his family owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. La Canfora’s sources indicate that Kroenke could purchase the Broncos at some point down the road–La Canfora writes that team ownership will be in flux when Pat Bowlen passes on–and sell the Rams to an investor looking to keep the team in St. Louis. However, Broncos Vice President of Public Relations Patrick Smyth took to Twitter shortly after La Canfora’s report, tweeting that the plan is to keep ownership of the Broncos in the Bowlen family.

East Notes: Cowboys, Romo, Fangio

January 21st, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys face a tough decision on whether to bring back right tackles Doug Free and Jermey Parnell, as Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News writes. Free started eleven games for the Cowboys in 2014. Parnell started seven, including the two playoff games while Free was out with injuries. “I think Jermey played really well and I think a lot of teams will throw on the tape and watch him play and probably a lot of people will consider him a starter,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “So we’ll have to make a tough decision there with Doug and Jermey. Hopefully we’ll at least keep one of them.” More from the East divisions..

The Cowboys will use some trickery with Tony Romo‘s contract to carve out extra cap room this offseason, writes David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. Romo is scheduled to make $17MM in 2015 with a whopping $27.7MM cap hit. However, Dallas will convert a large portion of that salary into a signing bonus, allowing the QB to get the money in a lump sum and allowing the team to break it up and spread it out over the remainder of his contract.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that Vic Fangio wanted to bring Ed Donatell with him to Washington, but they wanted to keep Raheem Morris instead. As a result, Wright hears, Fangio passed on Washington and joined the Bears.
Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter) hears that Washington wanting to keep Morris wasn’t a sticking point for Fangio.
Running backs coach Anthony Lynn has been plucked from the Jets to join Rex Ryan‘s staff with the Bills, according to Kimberly Jones of WFAN (on Twitter). He impressed in offensive coordinator interviews, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rapoport expects Lynn to get more consideration next year.
Doug Marrone‘s shocking departure from the Bills earlier this month left the majority of his assistant coaches out of jobs, but at least one of Marrone’s former position coaches doesn’t have any hard feelings toward his old boss. “That’s the business. He’s taking care of himself, his family. That’s the No. 1 thing you do as a man, all right?” Fred Pagac, who served as linebackers coach for the Bills last season, told Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Pagac, 62, went on to say that he’d work for Marrone “tomorrow,” given the opportunity.
Former Vikings tight end coach Jimmie Johnson is expected to join Todd Bowles‘ staff as the new Jets tight ends coach, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). Johnson was with Minnesota from 2006 through 2013.

Extra Points: Browns, Carter, Cobb

January 19th, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at some assorted notes from around the league as we wrap up this Monday evening…

Jets assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn will interview for the Browns offensive coordinator opening tomorrow, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
CFL wideout Duron Carter is likely finished with workouts, tweets ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling. The writer notes that the player’s agent is currently talking with the Vikings, Colts and Browns.
While Sunday’s crushing loss could be Randall Cobb‘s last game with the Packers, the potential free agent made it clear after the game that his first choice is to return to Green Bay, writes Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
Former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi is currently a consultant for the Bears, but Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that the executive’s last day with the organization is Tuesday.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.