HEADLINES

Anthony Lynn

Coach Updates: Texans, Tomsula, Bears

January 19th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The case of Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn exhibits a need for the NFL to change its rules when it comes to head coaching hires, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Because Seattle is playing in the Super Bowl, no team can officially hire Quinn as a head coach until February, at which point most top assistants will have found other jobs. The Falcons still appear willing to wait on Quinn, but it would’ve been much more of a sure thing if Quinn were available immediately.

Here’s the latest on a few more coaching openings around the league:

  • Within La Canfora’s piece, the CBSSports.com scribe notes that the Texans could be in the market for an offensive coordinator since the team didn’t have one under Bill O’Brien in 2014. Doug Marrone is a good bet to resurface in Houston, according to La Canfora.
  • Jim Tomsula‘s salary as the 49ers‘ head coach is believed to be about $3.5MM per year, reports Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). That would put Tomsula amongst the bottom five head coaches in the league in terms of annual salary, which isn’t a huge surprise since he wasn’t a high-profile candidate.
  • The Bears have put in an interview request with the Colts in the hopes of speaking to assistant Rob Chudzinski about their offensive coordinator opening, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link).
  • Bears general manager Ryan Pace said today that the team has not made a contract offer to defensive coordinator candidate Vic Fangio, but that doesn’t mean Chicago isn’t interested, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Fangio is also considered a strong contender for the same job in Washington.
  • Former Bears special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis is interviewing with the Raiders today and has two other stops lined up after Oakland, per ESPN.com’s Michael C. Wright (via Twitter).
  • The Browns‘ offensive coordinator interviews for Anthony Lynn and Al Saunders are expected to take place this week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

Coach Notes: Jets, Bowles, Austin, Lynn

January 13th, 2015 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Jets continue to search for Rex Ryan‘s replacement, the team’s focus seems to be shifting from Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. According to Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 in Arizona (Twitter link), he’s hearing that things could be “heating up” between the Jets and Bowles, with the Cards DC reaching out to potential staff members. Bowles still has a second interview lined up with the Falcons tomorrow, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Jets make him an offer before that meeting.

A few more coaching-related updates, as the carousel turns:

  • If the Jets decide not to wait for Quinn, it appears he’ll still have interest from other clubs, including the Falcons, Bears, and 49ers, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Cole, it doesn’t appear is if Quinn is leaning a certain direction at this point.
  • Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has finished his visit with the Bears and remains on track to meet with the Falcons later this week, says Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). La Canfora adds that Austin is still “very much in the mix” for the Atlanta job.
  • Jets running backs coach Anthony Lynn has a busy schedule these days. Per ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link), Lynn is scheduled to interview for the Browns‘ offensive coordinator job next Tuesday. The Jaguars have also received permission to speak to Lynn about their OC opening, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
  • Under new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Bills are on the lookout for an offensive line coach. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (via Twitter) that Buffalo has asked for permission to interview 49ers offensive line coach Mike Solari, while Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that the Bills have been granted permission to interview Washington OL coach Chris Foerster.

Coach Notes: Meyer, Browns, Fangio, Raiders

January 13th, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

Wins over Alabama and Oregon in the NCAA’s first College Football Playoff created plenty of buzz for Urban Meyer, but the Buckeyes head coach quickly dismissed any speculation that his success at Ohio State would result in a jump to the NFL this offseason. “Not right now. I have a commitment to Ohio State and these players,” Meyer said when asked about the possibility of an NFL job, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Let’s check in on several coaching situations from around the league, as a handful of teams look to hire new head coaches and/or coordinators….

  • Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links) provide an update on the Browns‘ hunt for an offensive coordinator, with Rapoport noting that Marc Trestman interviews tomorrow and Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo meets with the team on Friday. Per Schefter, the Browns have also requested permission to talk to Jets running backs coach Anthony Lynn about the position.
  • Raheem Morris‘ meeting with Washington about the team’s defensive coordinator vacancy is expected to be the last of the club’s interviews, tweets Rapoport, who believes either Morris or Joe Barry will land the job.
  • Michael Silver of NFL Network (Twitter links) hears that the word in coaching circles is that 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio may want to leave the team unless he (or Mike Shanahan) is hired as the head coach. In that case, writes Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, the Raiders should kick the tires on Fangio as a potential head coaching candidate.
  • Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, who is working on a new deal of his own, says defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has told him he wants to stay with the team, tweets Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. Per Archer, talks on new contracts for the team’s coaches are ongoing.
  • In a tweet, Kawakami also suggests keeping an eye on Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver, who has multiple options, and would likely be Jim Tomsula‘s top choice for defensive coordinator if he lands the 49ers‘ head coaching job.
  • If Todd Bowles is hired as a head coach, he’d like to take Cardinals linebackers coach Mike Caldwell with him as a defensive coordinator, tweets Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910.
  • The Giants are interested in talking to former Raiders head coach Dennis Allen about their defensive coordinator position, says Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, adding that it’s not clear whether an interview has been scheduled yet.

AFC Mailbags: Ravens, Dolphins, Jets, Jags

January 10th, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags to answer questions from readers. Let’s first take a look at some of the rumbling coming out of the AFC…

  • The Ravens can’t realistically expect rookie defensive back Rashaan Melvin to continue exceeding expectations. As a result, Jamison Hensley believes the team should still draft a defensive back, forcing Melvin to compete with Asa Jackson for the fourth cornerback spot.
  • If the Dolphins struggle next season, James Walker expects the organization to “clean house.” This would allow new executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum to bring in his own staff.
  • When asked which Jets coaches could ultimately stick around for 2015, Rich Cimini points to defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, quarterbacks coach David Lee and running backs coach Anthony Lynn.
  • Meanwhile, Cimini has no interest in paying Jets wideout Percy Harvin his $10.5MM salary next season, with the writer suggesting a more reasonable $6MM deal.
  • When it comes to some of the notable free agents, Michael DiRocco would support the Jaguars pursuit of wideout Randall Cobb or safety Devin McCourty. However, the writer isn’t as high on Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Jets Interested In Doug Marrone

January 1st, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Rob DiRe

From the moment Bills‘ head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract, he has been linked to another vacant job within the division, with the rival Jets. As Zach Links reported on the fallout from his decision, key parts of the story were the Jets immediately being expected to schedule an interview with Marrone, as well as a report that the coach does not believe in quarterback Geno Smith.

There is mutual interest between the two parties, according to Brian Costello and Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, and an interview will be scheduled shortly. They noted that Marrone is originally from the Bronx and was an offensive line coach for the Jets under Herm Edwards for four seasons before taking the head coaching job at Syracuse.

Marrone could be a perfect fit for the team, writes Steve Serby of the New York Post. He is a disciplinarian and a no-nonsense guy, according to Serby, and his decision to bench first-round pick EJ Manuel in favor of Kyle Orton almost propelled the team into the playoffs, while Rex Ryan refused to bench Smith, or wasn’t allowed to organizationally.

Serby compares him to a young Tom Coughlin, and notes that he has strong connections to both Coughlin and Saints’ head coach Sean Payton, with whom he built an offensive line good enough to help that team win a Super Bowl.

Jets’ owner Woody Johnson’s consultant Charlie Casserly reportedly loves Marrone, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. Casserly has been raving about the former Bills’ coach since he took the job at Syracuse in 2009, according to Cimini’s source.

“He was totally infatuated with him,” the source said. “You have to know Charley: When he gets on something, he’s a pit bull. I know he’s got Woody [Johnson] all lathered up.”

The Jets are still searching for their next general manager as well, but could hire Marrone immediately. The team has already satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn on Wednesday. If they were to hire Marrone first, he would likely have a say in who the team hires as a general manager to work with him.

Hiring a coach before a general manager puts the power structure of the organization in a very awkward position, according to Cimini. He writes that under that scenario, both of these new hires will likely report directly to the owner, and the system of checks and balances will be out of sorts.

“You might as well take a gun, aim at your foot and shoot twice,” said one longtime NFL personnel executive. “That would be absolutely stupid. As soon as you hire a coach, you have to understand that the GM would no longer be a GM. He’d be an MG. How do you have checks and balances? It seems to me that Woody is making this up as he goes along.”

Costello and Cannizzaro connect Marrone to two possible general manager candidates in Mike Maccagnan and Rick Mueller, both of whom have worked with Marrone before, as a player with the World League’s London Monarchs and as a coach with the Saints, respectively.

The Jets still have a number of interviews scheduled, including three in Seattle on Friday. They will interview Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, offensive line coach Tom Cable, and pro personnel director Trent Kirchner.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Lynn, Brady, Bills

December 30th, 2014 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

As the AFC East’s only playoff team takes a week off before preparing to host its first postseason contest, let’s round up the latest notes from out of the division….

  • We can add an internal candidate to the Jets‘ list of potential head coaches, according to Kristian Dyer of Metro New York, who tweets that Anthony Lynn will interview for the position. Lynn, who has served as the team’s running backs coach and assistant head coach for the last three seasons under Rex Ryan, is likely being interviewed to help the Jets satisfy the terms of the Rooney Rule.
  • When it was first reported yesterday that Tom Brady had agreed to restructure his contract with the Patriots, it was presented as simply a matter of converting guaranteed salaries into salaries guaranteed for injury only, but that’s not the only change that was made to Brady’s deal. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explains that the Pats also added $1MM to each of Brady’s base salaries for the next three seasons.
  • Brady’s willingness to rework his contract has been presented as a magnanimous gesture that will allow the Patriots to be more flexibility when they negotiate with other players, but Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com doesn’t quite see it that way. As Barnwell outlines, the fact that Brady essentially gave up his guaranteed money makes it easier for the Pats to part ways with the quarterback in the next three years. That could benefit Brady as well, since allowing the club to cut him without swallowing a ton of guaranteed money would allow him the freedom to pick his next destination in unrestricted free agency. Of course, presumably both sides would prefer for Brady to maintain his current high level of play for the next few seasons, allowing him to finish this contract without any drama.
  • With Kyle Orton retiring and E.J. Manuel likely not the long-term answer in Buffalo, John Kryk of the Toronto Sun wonders if the Bills could explore the trade market this offseason. In Kryk’s view, Robert Griffin III would make a better target for the Bills than Jay Cutler.