Ben McAdoo - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Notes: Eagles, Packers, Cowboys, Lions

January 23rd, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles were prepared to offer new Giants head coach Ben McAdoo their top coaching job had he come in for the second interview he scheduled, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Giants moved up their interview with their then-offensive coordinator to expedite their process and retain him, but multiple sources told the Inquirer he would’ve gotten the Eagles’ job had he interviewed again.

Philadelphia also did not offer new coach Doug Pederson final say on the 53-man roster like Adam Gase, the Eagles’ initial coaching interview as part of their 10 “Tier 1” candidates, received upon accepting the Dolphins’ job.

Linebackers coach Ken Flajole turned down the UTEP DC job to land in Philadelphia. UTEP had to amend a Jan. 14 press conference to inform that Flajole, the Rams’ DC from 2009-11, would be returning to the NFL instead of guiding the Miners’ defense.

Jeffery Lurie told Berman the regular season’s final week, after he fired Chip Kelly, proved beneficial in terms of communicating with the players on what exactly went wrong under Kelly and how best to re-route the team.

Here are some more notes on the Eagles, along with the latest from other NFC locales.

With Pederson saying Sam Bradford “fit perfectly” into the offense he plans to run with the Eagles, Daniel Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com notes in his Eagles mailbag the best course of action for the franchise going forward would be to sign the former No. 1 pick to a long-term deal. Despite an unremarkable season, Bradford will still figure to have his share of suitors if he reaches the market, with the Texans and Browns also in dire need of a quarterback. Bradford threw 19 TDs, 14 INTs and completed 65.3% of his passes in 14 games — the most he’d played in since 2012.
Tony Romo will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if he’ll require any surgery to repair his troublesome collarbone, according to a report on the Cowboys‘ website. “We have a pretty good idea, but we’re going to get a CT scan here this coming week and then make all the choices from there,” Romo said. “I think we know which way we’re siding and some of the things. We’ve had exhaustive discussions about it.” In December, Romo discussed attaching a plate to his collarbone to reduce the reinjury risk. Romo said he’ll be “ready to rock” by the time OTAs begin.
Lance Dunbar, Rolando McClain and Morris Claiborne should be available to the Cowboys on cheaper, one-year deals, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap lists them as free agents the team should consider bringing back. Fitzgerald suggests the team move on from Greg Hardy and consider bringing back DeMarcus Ware on a one-year deal in the event the Broncos release him to clear cap space.
The Packers hired Rams running back coach Ben Sirmans for the same position, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter). Sirmans will now be traveling from the league’s second-largest market to its smallest. He coached running backs in St. Louis for four years after spending the previous 16 coaching in college.
Lions defensive tackle Caraun Reid underwent ankle surgery this week but is expected to return sometime during the offseason, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Reid started 12 of the 14 games in which he played, but was hampered throughout the season by the high-ankle sprain he suffered in training camp. The team regularly held its 2014 fifth-round pick out of practice down the stretch as a result. Reid is the only interior defensive lineman guaranteed to return to Detroit, with Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones and Tyrunn Walker‘s contracts having expired.

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.

East Notes: McAdoo, Jets, Dolphins, Patriots

January 19th, 2016 at 7:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Giants head coach Ben McAdoo still isn’t sure whether he’ll call offensive plays in 2016, he told SiriusXM NFL Radio today (link via Tom Rock of Newsday). Mike Sullivan, who is expected to be promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, does have experience calling plays (with Tampa Bay from 2012-13). But McAdoo plans to speak with his old boss, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy — who reclaimed play-calling duties midway through the season — before he makes a final decision.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

The Jets were major players during last’s year free agent period, but with only about $10MM in cap space to work with this offseason, their plan might have to change, as GM Mike Maccagnan tells Brian Costello of the New York Post. “It’s kind of a little different scenario from last year to this year,” Maccagnan said last week. “We’ll still have money to be active and do things with, but it ends up being like a puzzle and it’s not only trying to put all the pieces in different scenarios.” New York should be able to clear out about $20MM more in room, figures Costello, and it can start by releasing (or lowering the cap figures of) cornerback Antonio Cromartie and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
If the best player available when the Dolphins are on the clock in this year’s draft is a quarterback, then the club needs to select him, regardless of Ryan Tannehill‘s presence, opines Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Miami — and new head coach Adam Gase — can’t win unless the club finds a long-term answer at signal-caller, and until Tannehill proves he is that, the Dolphins need to keep taking swings at finding one.
Washington worked out defensive lineman Ziggy Hood, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). A former first-round pick, Hood spent about two months with the Bears during the 2015 season.
The Giants also tried out several players recently, including receiver Eric Rogers, running back Cameron Marshall, and defensive end Euclid Cummings, reports Wilson (Twitter link).
The Patriots visited with linebacker James Vaughters, per Wilson (Twitter link). Vaughters, a Stanford alum, was placed on the Packers’ practice squad injured reserve in September.

Coach Rumors: Giants, Tabor, M. Smith, Haslett

January 15th, 2016 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Ben McAdoo didn’t announce any decisions on his coaching staff during his introductory press conference this morning, but the new Giants head coach alluded to players improving in their second season in a defensive scheme, suggesting Steve Spagnuolo will be back.

Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Spagnuolo will, in fact, return as the Giants’ defensive coordinator. A source tell Marvez (Twitter link) that the Giants will also keep secondary coach David Merritt on McAdoo’s staff.

As for McAdoo, Giants owner John Mara said today that the club had initially scheduled a second interview for him on Thursday of this week. However, when the Giants got wind of the Eagles’ strong interest in McAdoo, they pushed that second interview up a day to Wednesday, and ultimately promoted him to head coach (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).

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

Browns special teams coordinator Chris Tabor has been retained by new head coach Hue Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. Tabor has been in his current role since 2011, working under Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, and now Jackson.
The Browns are also expected to add Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson to their staff as a running game coordinator, if Minnesota approves the move, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Former Falcons head coach Mike Smith is a “hot name” as a defensive coordinator and has several options, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). We’ll see if Smith, who interviewed for a pair of head coaching jobs, has interest in returning in 2016 as an assistant.
Jim Haslett will be named the Bengals‘ new linebackers coach, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com (via Twitter). Haslett, who served as a consultant for Penn State in 2015, was replaced by Joe Barry as Washington’s defensive coordinator a year ago.
Saints offensive line coach Bret Ingalls, offensive assistant Kyle DeVan, and secondary coach Wesley McGriff are leaving the team, with the latter two landing college jobs, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune tweets that Dan Roushar will likely move from tight ends coach to offensive line coach to accommodate new addition Dan Campbell.

Giants Hire Ben McAdoo As Head Coach

January 15th, 2016 at 10:26am CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 10:26am: McAdoo received a four-year contract along with his promotion, tweets Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The Giants’ new head coach was officially introduced at a Friday morning press conference.

THURSDAY, 2:05pm: The Giants have officially hired McAdoo as their new head coach, the team announced today in a press release.

“Ben is an outstanding young coach who has great experience and has done a good job as our offensive coordinator these past two years,” John Mara said in a statement. “Jerry [Reese] and I interviewed six impressive candidates, and when we were through with that process, we had another conversation with Ben, as did Steve and Jon Tisch. We were all impressed with his energy, his enthusiasm, his vision and his desire.”

McAdoo is reportedly prepared to promote quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to be his new offensive coordinator.

WEDNESDAY, 7:22pm: The Giants are closing in on a deal to hire offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo as their next head coach, a source tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Former Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin, meanwhile, appears likely to serve as his offensive coordinator on the revamped Giants staff (link).

McAdoo, who was hired as the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2014, has helped Eli Manning enjoy perhaps the most productive two-year stretch of his NFL career. Although the club has posted a 6-10 record in consecutive seasons, Manning has thrived, averaging 4,423 yards and about 33 touchdowns per season over the last two years, to go along with a 92.9 rating. The Giants finished in the top eight in the NFL in terms of both yards per game (372.3) and points per game (26.3) in 2015.

Manning was vocal in his support of McAdoo and told a New York radio station earlier this month that he felt that McAdoo reminded him a lot of predecessor Tom Coughlin. Manning’s endorsement alone did not get McAdoo the job, but there’s little doubt that it was a major help.

Prior to hiring McAdoo, the Giants interviewed a wide range of candidates, as shown in the 2016 PFR NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker. The Giants also interviewed Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, their own DC Steve Spagnuolo, ex-Bills head coach Doug Marrone, and ex-Falcons head coach Mike Smith. As for right now, the plan is for Spagnuolo to remain on staff as the team’s defensive coordinator, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets.

Apparently, the Eagles were dangerously close to swooping in and stealing McAdoo away from New York. Two NFL sources tell Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter) that the Eagles were set to hire McAdoo. One has to imagine that lit a fire under the Giants and pushed them to turn away from their other candidates.

The Dolphins were 1-3 and lost back-to-back games by a combined score of 68-28 when Philbin was axed in October. Philbin is generally regarded as one of the kinder coaches in the game, but his agreeable demeanor did not save his job in Miami as the team entered the season with very high hopes for 2015.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coaching Rumors: Dolphins, Giants, McDermott

January 10th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

After hiring Adam Gase, the Dolphins are acting quickly to form their new coaching staff.

But few holdovers are expected. According to Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez (on Twitter), only special teams coach Darren Rizzi to be retained. All of the Dolphins’ other assistants, excepting possibly Dan Campbell, will be fired.

Campbell’s status remains uncertain. The interim coach for most of 2015, Campbell reportedly finished second in the race to become the Fins’ next full-time head coach.

A Marvez report Saturday linked Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph, whom the Fox reporter has set to head to Miami as the team’s defensive coordinator, and a number of position coaches to comprise Gase’s defensive staff.

Here are some more coaching-related items as wild-card weekend concludes.

Although Hue Jackson has emerged as a candidate late in the process, the frontrunners to become Tom Coughlin‘s successor with the Giants are offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and Jaguars assistant head coach Doug Marrone, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports. McAdoo’s familiarity with Eli Manning and his helping the quarterback to a career resurgence is driving his candidacy, with the 38-year-old only having two seasons of coordinator experience. With Vacchiano noting the 51-year-old Marrone may not retain McAdoo if he becomes coach, Big Blue avoiding another offensive reboot will factor into its decision.
Both Vacchiano and the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz report John Mara prefers a candidate with head-coaching experience. Vacchiano points McAdoo in the Eagles’ direction if they are indeed serious about hiring Tom Coughlin. Schwartz believes Mara sees similarities in Mike Smith, who will interview with the team on Monday, and Coughlin. Their ages (Smith is 56; Coughlin was 57 when hired in 2004) and histories as head coaches are similar, and Schwartz notes Smith is one of Coughlin’s top confidants among head coaches.
The Giants, per Vacchiano, have also discussed requesting permission to interview Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, but since they didn’t do so during the Panthers’ bye week, the Giants must wait until either Carolina’s season concludes or the Panthers’ potential Super Bowl bye week.
The Browns did interview the 41-year-old McDermott on Sunday, Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com reports. A defensive coordinator since 2009, with the Eagles and Panthers, respectively, McDermott also interviewed with the Buccaneers.
Jackson spoke with the Browns for 3 1/2 hours and talked with the 49ers for five hours Sunday in Cincinnati, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Cleveland’s now interviewed seven candidates. The 49ers have met with five, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
The Colts offered 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster the same position in Indianapolis, Marvez reports (on Twitter). The Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2004, Foerster’s been an offensive line coach with the Ravens, Washington and the 49ers since 2005. He’s served multiple stints in San Francisco, presiding over the 49ers’ line from 2008-09 and returning to the Bay Area in 2015 after five seasons in Washington.

East Notes: Gase, Giants, Eagles

January 9th, 2016 at 9:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before the Dolphins reached out to Adam Gase about their head coaching vacancy, owner Stephen Ross sought advice from around the NFL on possible solutions for the position. Gase’s name kept coming up during the process, which helped lead the Dolphins to pursue him. After spending time with Gase this week, Ross became sold on the 37-year-old, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.

The Dolphins hired Gase on Saturday, but the job was his to lose two days earlier, according to Beasley. Gase “wowed” Ross and his advisers during an informal interview Wednesday on Ross’ private jet, per Beasley. The Dolphins then had Gase participate in a marathon interview Thursday as a way to assess his leadership skills. They came away impressed enough to make Gase an integral member of their franchise going forward.

Now for the latest from the NFC East:

If Doug Marrone gets the Giants’ head coaching job, don’t expect him to retain offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, reports Tom Rock of Newsday. That would seem to be a less-than-ideal scenario for 35-year-old quarterback Eli Manning, who combined for 65 touchdown passes and nearly 9,000 yards under McAdoo the last two seasons.
Speaking of the Giants, they erred in keeping general manager Jerry Reese, opines the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, who expects Reese to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs again next season. That means the next GM would have a second-year coach forced on him. Myers believes the Giants would’ve been better off letting Reese go and hiring a new GM to select Tom Coughlin‘s replacement.
At the outset of their coaching search, the Eagles pursued Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sumlin is staying put, however, Rapoport adds.

Coaching Notes: Falcons, Patriots, Titans

January 9th, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted coaching notes from around the NFL…

The Falcons aren’t expected to let Keith Armstrong join the Jets as the organization’s special teams coordinator, writes Kimberly A. Martin of Newsday.com. The coach has a strong relationship with Todd Bowles, but since Armstrong has two years left on his contract, it’s unlikely Atlanta would let him leave for a lateral move.
Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will interview for the Browns head coaching gig today, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that despite the amount of interest, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels isn’t expected to interview for any head coaching jobs this week.
The Titans have requested permission to interview Jaguars assistant Doug Marrone, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has also asked to interview Vikings assistant general manager George Paton, but that request was denied.
Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is in the running for both the Eagles and Giants head coaching jobs, tweets ESPN’s Bill Williamson. The writer also passes along that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is the favorite for his team’s head coaching gig.

Latest On Eagles’ Coaching Search

January 7th, 2016 at 8:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo interviewed for the Eagles’ head coaching job Thursday, the team announced (link to press release). McAdoo, who talked to the Giants about their head coaching vacancy earlier this week, is the fourth different candidate to interview with the Eagles, joining two in-house names – interim head coach Pat Shurmur and running backs coach Duce Staley – and Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

One obvious similarity McAdoo, Shurmur, Staley and Gase share is that they’re all offensive-minded coaches. The same holds true for longtime head coach Jon Gruden, who has expressed interest in the Eagles’ job to owner Jeffrey Lurie through an intermediary, Paul Domowitch of Philly.com reports. Gruden has a fan in Lurie, according to Domowitch, but Lurie is unsure if Gruden and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman would be able to work well together. Gruden has told people he and Roseman would be able to get along, per Domowitch, who notes that ex-Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the same thing before taking over in 2013. That didn’t turn out well, of course, as Kelly and Roseman were at loggerheads during Kelly’s short run in Philadelphia. Regardless, Domowitch writes that Lurie’s focus right now is on the assistants the Eagles have interviewed and the ones they’ve yet to interview.

While Gruden could be a Plan B option if Lurie doesn’t end up smitten with any of the other candidates, the owner is currently bullish on Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson – who is scheduled to interview Sunday – and Gase. However, contrary to a previous report, the Eagles won’t conduct a second interview with Gase this weekend, according to Les Bowen of Philly.com.

Gruden hasn’t coached since 2008, having served as an analyst instead, but he had a successful tenure from 1998 until then atop the Raiders and Buccaneers, respectively. The 52-year-old compiled a 95-81 regular-season record, five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title with Tampa to cap off the 2002-03 season. He also won eight-plus games in eight of his 11 seasons at the helm in Oakland and Tampa. Immediately prior to his time as a head coach, Gruden worked in Philly as its offensive coordinator from 1995-97.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles To Interview Ben McAdoo

January 6th, 2016 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

After interviewing for the Giants’ head coaching job on Tuesday, New York offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo will meet with another NFC East team later this week. According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (Twitter link), McAdoo is scheduled to interview with the Eagles on Thursday.

In the wake of Chip Kelly‘s dismissal, McAdoo was mentioned earlier this week as a potential candidate for the Eagles’ head coaching job, given team owner Jeffrey Lurie‘s general preference for offensive-minded coaches.

McAdoo, who was hired as the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2014, has helped Eli Manning enjoy perhaps the most productive two-year stretch of his NFL career. Although the club has posted a 6-10 record in consecutive seasons, Manning has thrived, averaging 4,423 yards and about 33 touchdowns per season over the last two years, to go along with a 92.9 rating. The Giants finished in the top eight in the NFL in terms of both yards per game (372.3) and points per game (26.3) in 2015.

While McAdoo will get an opportunity to vie for the Eagles’ job, it sounds like the team’s top target might be Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase. A report earlier this morning indicated that Philadelphia is planning on bringing back Gase for a second interview this weekend, after meeting with him for eight hours on Tuesday.

If McAdoo doesn’t land the Giants’ or Eagles’ head coaching jobs, it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up in 2016. Manning has expressed a strong desire to see his offensive coordinator return to the Giants in some capacity, but if the team brings in an outside candidate as its new head coach, it’s not clear if that new coach would keep McAdoo in his current role.

Meanwhile, as McAdoo meets with the Eagles on Thursday, the Giants will interview another one of their assistants, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, confirms Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.