HEADLINES

Bob Bicknell

Staff Notes: Raiders, Bears, Bucs, Dolphins

February 15th, 2017 at 9:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing had a year remaining on his deal, but the contract allowed the ex-quarterbacks coach to interview for other clubs’ offensive coordinator vacancies, according to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune (Twitter link). Without naming any particular team, Downing confirmed previous reports that multiple clubs expressed interest in hiring him as OC. Instead, Oakland parted ways with former play-caller Bill Musgrave and installed Downing as coordinator.

Here’s more from the 201 hiring cycle:

  • The Bears have interviewed Bob Bicknell, Ronald Curry, and George McDonald as part of their effort to find a new wide receivers coach, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bicknell has coached wideouts at the NFL level since 2012, spending time with Buffalo, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Curry, a former NFL wide receiver himself, has worked on the Raiders’ and 49ers’ staffs, while McDonald has spent the past several years in the coaching ranks.
  • Ex-Saints defensive assistant James Willis is a candidate for the Bears‘ assistant defensive line coach position and will interview this week, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. New Orleans relieved Willis of his duties last month after he’d spent two years with the club. Willis previously coached in the NCAA with Alabama, Auburn, and Texas Tech.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they’ve hired Danny Breyer as a defensive assistant. Breyer spent the 2016 campaign as an analytics staffer in Tampa Bay, worked for the Dolphins year prior, and coached in the college ranks before heading to the NFL.
  • The Dolphins have hired Josh Grizzard as an offensive quality control coach, tweets Caplan. Grizzard previously worked as an assistant quarterbacks and quality control coach at Duke, where he’d spent the past four years.

Coaching Notes: 49ers, Browns, Bills, Saints

February 8th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Dallas Robinson

New 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan could look to pilfer one of his Atlanta subordinates, as running backs coach Bobby Turner could be leaving the Falcons for San Francisco, reports D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Turner has long been associated with Shanahan and his father, Mike, having coached with the family in Denver and Washington before joining the Falcons in 2015. A previous report indicated Atlanta was unlikely to allow Turner to follow Shanahan to the West Coast.

Here’s more from the 2017 hiring cycle:

  • The Browns have agreed to hire former Bills quarterbacks coach David Lee for the same role, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Lee, 63, has coached offenses and QBs since the mid-1970s, and most recently had two separate stints with the Buffalo interrupted by a run with the Jets. In Cleveland, he’ll work with Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan, and — if he’s retained — Robert Griffin III. Previously reported staff changes that included moving tight ends coach Greg Seamon to QBs coach were only in place for the Senior Bowl, adds Cabot (Twitter link).
  • The Bills have hired former NFL wide receiver Chad Hall as an offensive coaching assistant, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Hall, who played for the Eagles in 2010 while new Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott served as the club’s defensive coordinator, will work with the Bills’ wideouts, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. The Buffalo gig will mark the first coaching job for Hall, who last played in 2014 with Jacksonville.
  • Hall wasn’t the only coach hired by the Bills this week, as Buffalo also announced that its hired Bobby Babich as assistant defensive backs coach. Babich, the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Bob Babich, will serve under newly-installed DBs coach Gill Byrd. Babich, who spent the 2016 campaign with Florida International, has also spent NFL time with the Browns and Panthers.
  • The Chargers have hired D’Anton Lynn as a defensive assistant and Dan Shamash as an offensive quality control coach, per Caplan (Twitter link). Lynn, the son of new Los Angeles head coach Anthony Lynn, coached with the Bills last year, while Shamash spent the 2016 season with Jacksonville.
  • Former North Carolina State defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen has been hired in the same role by the Saints, reports Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (Twitter link). New Orleans originally pursued former 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula for the position, but will instead roll with Nielsen, who’s coached with the Wolfpack since 2014.
  • The Bears could have interest in hiring Bob Bicknell as their new wide receivers coach, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bicknell has coached wideouts at the NFL level since 2012, spending time with Buffalo, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, and isn’t expected to retained by the 49ers.
  • Cedric Smith is returning to the Broncos as an assistant strength and conditioning coach after seven years in Houston and Kansas City, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter link). Smith previously worked for Denver from 2001-06.

Coaching Updates: 49ers, Eagles, April

January 17th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Rory Parks

As has been widely speculated, it appears as though a number of Chip Kelly‘s assistant coaches from Philadelphia are expected to join Kelly’s 49ers staff. Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com tweets that former Eagles WR coach Bob Bicknell will become the new WR coach in San Francisco, while Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer confirms (via Twitter) that DL coach Jerry Azzinaro and QB coach Ryan Day are also expected to follow Kelly to the Bay Area. As Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com observes (via Twitter), former 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula was interested in hiring Bicknell as San Francisco’s offensive coordinator last season, but Bicknell’s preference at that time was to stay in Philadelphia.

Now let’s dive into some more coaching updates:

  • Expanding upon McLane’s tweet that PFR passed along along last night, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that, with the Chiefs now eliminated from the playoffs, Kansas City OC Doug Pederson is expected to be announced as the Eagles‘ new head coach within the next week.
  • As for Pederson’s new coaching staff, McLane tweets that the Eagles could keep RB coach Duce Staley, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, assuming Pederson is amenable to retaining them.
  • The Titans are prepared to hire Bobby April as their special teams coach, according to Marvez (via Twitter). April, who served in the same capacity with the Jets last season, was fired after Gang Green’s disappointing special teams performance in 2015. However, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com tweets, April has coached a number of strong special teams units in his remarkably long career. April has worked as a special teams coach/coordinator since 1991, when he first entered the NFL as a tight ends and special teams coach for the Falcons. Since that time, he has been employed by the Steelers, Saints, Rams, Bills, Eagles, Raiders, and Jets.

East Notes: Eagles, Maxwell, Moore, Cowboys

January 28th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sources close to Byron Maxwell “recently threw out numbers” like $12-13MM when estimating what it might take – in terms of per-year salary – to land the Seahawks cornerback in free agency this offseason, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I’d be shocked if Maxwell landed a deal that lucrative, but he’ll be one of the top available corners if he reaches the open market. While general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks have expressed a desire to re-sign Maxwell, he should have several suitors in March, including the Eagles — McLane takes a look at Maxwell’s potential fit in Philadelphia.

Here are a few more items from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • While an earlier report suggested that the Eagles rebuffed the 49ers‘ attempts to interview wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell for a possible offensive coordinator role in San Francisco, that’s not quite the case, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. Mosher tweets that new Niners head coach Jim Tomsula spoke to Bicknell about a job in San Francisco, but that Bicknell wasn’t interested in leaving the Eagles. That has since by confirmed by multiple reporters, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link).
  • Matt Moore hasn’t seen the field much during his tenure as the Dolphins‘ No. 2 quarterback, but he’s still considered one of the better backups in the league, and won’t necessarily come cheap this offseason. As such, James Walker of ESPN.com thinks there’s a good chance Miami targets a more affordable backup QB and lets Moore sign elsewhere.
  • Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News identifies the least favorable contracts on the Cowboys‘ books heading into the 2015 season, with Brandon Carr‘s pricey deal topping his list.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Wilson, 49ers

January 28th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

One of the most memorable moments of the Seahawks‘ Super Bowl win over Denver a year ago was Percy Harvin‘s kickoff return touchdown to open the second half, which essentially put the nail in the coffin of the Broncos’ comeback hopes. Having been sent to the Jets midway through the 2014 season, Harvin won’t be involved in this year’s Super Bowl, but Seattle has no regrets about moving him, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes.

Here’s more on the Seahawks and one of their NFC West rivals:

  • Asked about a potentially massive contract extension for quarterback Russell Wilson, Seahawks general manager John Schneider didn’t get into specifics, but acknowledged that such a deal “presents challenges” and could limit the club’s options in free agency. Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle has the details and the quotes from the GM.
  • With Marshawn Lynch heading into a contract year in 2015, former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com examines the Seahawks‘ options for the veteran running back, suggesting that a short-term contract extension may be the best course of action for the team.
  • Although the 49ers are interested in adding Eagles wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell to their coaching staff, potentially as the club’s offensive coordinator, to this point Philadelphia has prevented Bicknell from interviewing, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
  • In his preview of the 49ers‘ offseason, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap identifies Frank Gore, Chris Culliver, and Perrish Cox as free agents that the club should make an effort to re-sign, adding that Mike Iupati and Michael Crabtree are candidates to sign elsewhere.

Extra Points: 49ers, Colts, Cooper

January 27th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The impending addition of receiver Duron Carter could have an impact on Hakeem Nicks or Reggie Wayne’s time with the Colts, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Both veterans are about to be free agents. Wayne had his least productive season since 2002 while Nicks had career lows in receptions and yards. Wayne, of course, is taking some time to figure out his future. If he returns for his 15th season, he says that he would only play for the Colts.

  • 49ers coach Jim Tomsula is expected to add Steve Logan to the offensive staff, though it’s not known if he’s a candidate for the vacant offensive coordinator job, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
  • Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that Eagles wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell is being considered for the 49ers‘ offensive coordinator vacancy.
  • Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper has signed with Lagardère Unlimited agents Joel Segal, Chafie Fields, and Greg Barnett, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). Cooper is widely expected to be one of the top picks in the 2015 draft.
  • Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group wonders who will become the next offensive coordinator of the 49ers. Rob Chudzinski became the latest candidate to drop out of contention after he agreed to stay with the Colts. Geep Chryst, the quarterbacks coach since 2011, is a leading in-house candidate, thanks in large part to his relationship with Colin Kaepernick. Still, the search continues.
  • The Ravens are thinking about hiring former Bears assistant Andy Bischoff as an offensive assistant, sources tell Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. Bischoff coached the Bears tight ends for the past two seasons and has long-standing ties to new Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman.