HEADLINES

Bill Shuey

Jaguars Fire DC Mike Caldwell, Others

January 9th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 9: Changes on the offensive side of the ball have been made as well. Running backs coach Bernie Parmalee and offensive line assistant Todd Washington are out, per a statement from Pederson. The former was fired while the latter did not have his contract renewed, as noted by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

JANUARY 8: Following their late-season collapse, the Jaguars will make a major move. They are firing Mike Caldwell after his second season as defensive coordinator, Fox Sports’ Greg Auman reports.

Although the Jaguars struggled on both sides of the ball to close out this disappointing season, Caldwell will be the first domino to fall. The Jags hired the former NFL linebacker after he helped the Buccaneers win a Super Bowl as linebackers coach, but it is certainly unsurprising to see Jacksonville move forward with a big change.

As should be expected, the changes will not stop at Caldwell. Jacksonville is firing its defensive staff, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. While DVOA placed the Jaguars’ defense 10th overall, the group slipped down the stretch. Jacksonville allowed at least 28 points in four of its final six games — all losses. After an 8-3 start, the team closed what had looked like a promising season at 9-8.

Among the members of Caldwell’s defensive staff: D-line coach Brentson Buckner, pass-game coordinator Deshea Townsend, inside linebackers coach Tony Gilbert, safeties coach Cody Grimm and senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton. The Jags ranked 26th in pass defense. While the team did not make strides on offense after Doug Pederson handed play-calling reins to OC Press Taylor this season, no changes have emerged on that side of the ball yet. ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco adds that three defensive assistants — assistant D-line coach Rory Segrest, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey and quality control staffer Patrick Reilly — will be retained.

The Jags splurged on both sides of the ball in 2022, allocating big bucks on free agents in Pederson’s first offseason as HC. They also added Travon Walker with the No. 1 overall pick while following that up with first-round linebacker Devin Lloyd. The Jags signed Foye Oluokun, Foley Fatukasi and Darious Williams in 2022. They extended Roy Robertson-Harris in 2023, largely returning the same cast from a defense that ranked 12th (scoring) and 24th (yardage) last season. Despite Josh Allen‘s contract-year sack surge, the Jags did not improve on that side of the ball as a whole.

DVOA, however, ranked Caldwell’s 2022 defense — additions notwithstanding — 26th. Yet, the Jaguars largely stood pat and ran it back following their AFC South title. The questionable decision burned the team, with Pederson pointing out missed assignments and missed tackles. Derrick Henry submitted a throwback performance Sunday, in what appears to be his Titans finale, by rampaging for 153 yards in a win-and-in game for the Jags. Jacksonville allowed 28 points to a Tennessee team that was previously 0-5 in AFC South play.

This firing means the Jaguars, by the 2024 season, will employ four defensive coordinators in five years. Todd Wash departed after the Doug Marrone firing, while Urban Meyer‘s DC (Joe Cullen) left after the unfit HC’s one-and-done. Caldwell, 52, played 11 NFL seasons and has been an NFL assistant for the past 16 years.

AFC Coaching Notes: Colts, Bills, Jaguars, Ravens

February 12th, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Since Frank Reich was able to land defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to replace Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus, Bradley has begun the process of putting his staff together. Today Bradley added longtime defensive backs coach Ron Milus to coach his secondary, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Milus first started coaching defensive backs at his alma mater, the University of Washington, about eight years after playing cornerback there. He held the college position for seven years before getting an NFL coaching opportunity in 2000. Since then, Milus hasn’t spent a season out of work with stints in Denver, Arizona, New York (Giants), St. Louis, Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas. His longest stint was with the Chargers, spending eight years in southern California and transitioning with the team to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that Milus was retained when Bradley joined the Chargers’ staff. He followed Bradley to Las Vegas and will join him once more in Indianapolis.

Here are a few other coaching notes from around the AFC starting with another bit from the Hoosier State:

  • In addition to Milus, Mike Chappell of Fox59 reports that Indianapolis is also in the process of hiring linebackers coach Richard Smith, who worked with Bradley and Milus in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Smith has coached in the NFL since he debuted for the Houston Oilers in 1988 coaching special teams and tight ends. He found his niche as a linebackers coach in 1997 for the 49ers and has had three short stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.
  • ESPN’s Yates also tweeted out a report that the Bills have added former QB Kyle Shurmur on staff in a defensive quality control position. After four years at Vanderbilt, Shurmur signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, spending time on their practice squad as well as on the Bengals’ and Washington’s practice squads. He was released by Washington a little over a month ago and that appears to mark the end of his playing career. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Shurmur, and joining the coaching track.
  • A castaway from the Matt Nagy Bears’ staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey will not be without work for long as Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports reports that Shuey is joining Doug Pederson‘s staff in Jacksonville in the same role. Shuey and Pederson had two separate tenures together in Philadelphia.
  • Pederson also made a crucial move of retaining running backs coach Bernie Parmalee. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tells us that keeping Parmalee was a priority for Pederson, especially due to his strong relationship with star running back James Robinson.
  • Baltimore has hired Rob Leonard as outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter). Leonard will replace Drew Wilkins who left to join Brian Daboll‘s staff in New York. Leonard spent the past three seasons in the same position with the Dolphins. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that former Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn will follow Mike Macdonald to the Ravens for a quality control position. Osborn is credited with having a role in the development of Wolverines’ EDGE players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.

AFC Coaching Notes: Texans, Browns, Ravens, Jaguars

February 10th, 2022 at 8:35pm CST by Ben Levine

We heard previously that new head coach Lovie Smith was going to retain defensive play-calling duties with the Texans, and it sounds like the defensive-minded coach won’t even add a DC to his staff. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), the Texans won’t be hiring a defensive coordinator.

As Rapoport details, Smith is operating as if this is “his defense,” so he’ll continue to control that side of the ball for the time being. However, the reporter cautions that the Texans could fill the role eventually, and the team still has a number of “key spots” to fill on their staff.

The former Bears and Buccaneers HC had been in the college ranks for five seasons prior to resurfacing as the Texans’ defensive coordinator last year. Now, Smith will wear two rather important hats for the rebuilding team.

More coaching notes out of the AFC…

  • The Texans are making other changes to their staff. Assistant receivers coach Ben McDaniels has been promoted to passing game coordinator and receivers coach, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (on Twitter). The brother of Josh McDaniels, Ben McDaniels has bounced between the NFL and NCAA throughout his coaching career, including stints with the Bears, Buccaneers, and Broncos.
  • After leaving for the University of Mississippi earlier this offseason, Chris Kiffin has changed his mind and will return to the Browns, reports Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal (on Twitter). The defensive line coach decided he wanted to continue working in the NFL, and the Browns were more than happy to welcome him back. The son of Monte Kiffin and brother of Lane Kiffin, Chris Kiffin has been the Browns D-line coach since 2020.
  • The Ravens are hiring George Godsey as their tight ends coach, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (via Twitter). Godsey was the Texans offensive coordinator between 2015 and 2016, and he most recently served as the Dolphins co-OC/tight ends coach with Miami. The veteran coach will be replacing Bobby Engram, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin.
  • The Jaguars are hiring former Chicago Bears outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey for the same role, reports Wilson (on Twitter). Shuey had been with the Bear since the 2018 season, but he wasn’t retained following the firing of Matt Nagy.

Staff Notes: Bengals, Bears, Panthers

February 10th, 2019 at 3:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bengals requested permission to interview Rams cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant for defensive coordinator last week, and Cincinnati has now been granted that opportunity, according to Vincent Bosnignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Pleasant, regarded as a rising star in the coaching ranks, worked for the Browns and Redskins before joining Los Angeles in 2017. The Bengals’ DC job is the only vacant coordinator position remaining in the NFL, and a number of candidates (Dom Capers, Jack Del Rio, Dennis Allen) have bowed out of the running to become a top aide to head coach Zac Taylor. Other coaches who have been linked to the job include Saints linebackers coach Mike Nolan, former Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, Texas A&M DC Mike Elko, Florida DC Todd Grantham, and Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.

Here’s more from the 2019 coaching carousel:

  • The Bears have continued to fill out their staff under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, announcing that defensive quality control coach Sean Desai has been promoted to safeties coach, while fellow defensive QC coach Bill Shuey was promoted to pass analyst/assistant linebackers coach. Additionally, DeShea Townsend, who was originally hired as Chicago’s defensive backs coach in January, has had his title changed to secondary coach. The Bears’ defense ranked first in scoring, third in yardage, and posted the best defensive DVOA since the 2015 Broncos, but they’ll have to fight off regression and adjust to new coaches in order to repeat as NFC North champions.
  • Former Panthers pass-rusher Everette Brown has re-joined the club as assistant linebackers coach, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. Carolina selected Brown with the 43rd pick of the 2009 draft, but he collected only six sacks over two seasons before being released. Brown, now 31 years old, subsequently spent time with the Chargers, Lions, Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, and Browns, but played in only 16 more games after leaving the Panthers. He served as a coaching intern for Carolina last summer.
  • In case you missed it, expected Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House will instead stay on as the University of Kentucky’s defensive coordinator. The Wildcats were previously willing to allow House to leave a buyout, but apparently changed their minds as the hiring process unfolded.

Coaching Notes: Lions, Cardinals, Bears

February 5th, 2018 at 9:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Matt Patricia is already adding to his new coaching staff. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that the Lions have hired Paul Pasqualoni. The coach’s role in Detroit is unclear, although Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com wonders if he could be the team’s new defensive coordinator.

Pasqualoni, 68, has bounced between the NFL and NCAA during his long coaching career. In the NFL, he served as defensive coordinator of the Dolphins and Cowboys, and he was head coach at Syracuse for more than a decade. In fact, Patricia coached under Pasqualoni with the Orange during the early 2000s. Pasqualoni spent the past two seasons serving as the defensive line coach at Boston College.

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

  • The Cardinals have hired a college coach to fill out their staff. Sporting News’ Alex Marvez reports that the team has hired Charlie Harbison as their new cornerbacks coach. The 59-year-old last served as the co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Cardinals have also hired Kirby Wilson as their new running backs coach. Wilson spent the past two seasons in the same role with the Browns.
  • Former Steelers great Hines Ward was hoping to be considered for the team’s wide receivers coach job before it went to Darryl Drake, Marvez writes. Ward, who currently works as a contributor for CNN Sports, remains interested in coaching. “There was some interest, but I can’t hire myself,” Ward said. “If the opportunity presents itself, it’s something where I’d have to sit down and seriously think about it.“
  • Following news that Bears coach Matt Nagy had added Brad Childress to his staff as an offensive consultant, it sounds like the coach isn’t finished with his hires. Adam Caplan tweets that the Bears are also expected to hire Brian Ginn as an offensive assistant. Ginn was at Delaware for almost two decades, where he served as offensive coordinator (among many other roles).
  • The Bears are also expected to hire Bill Shuey as a defensive assistant, reports Caplan (via Twitter). Shuey previously served as the Eagles linebackers coach, where he coached alongside Nagy. Shuey also had a stint as defensive coordinator at Division III Widener for a handful of seasons.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.