HEADLINES

Bobby Blick

Coaching Rumors: Jets, Cowboys, Giants

February 15th, 2018 at 9:02pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Josh McDaniels‘ decision to break his agreement to become the Colts’ next head coach could hypothetically push the NFL to change its hiring rules, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Currently, teams aren’t allowed to formally hire coaches who are still employed by playoff clubs, but that hadn’t been an impediment given that no presumptive head coach had backed out of a reported deal. Had McDaniels been able to be officially offered the Indianapolis job several weeks ago, the Colts may have been aware of his wariness at the time. The NFL discussed a possible hiring rule change in 2017, but tabled the discussion, per Florio.

Here’s more from the 2018 coaching carousel:

  • The Jets announced that Jeremy Bates, who was recently promoted to offensive coordinator, will also retain his role as the club’s quarterbacks coach. While Bates will have two jobs, he’ll be able to rely on the expertise of assistant quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi and longtime NFL offensive coordinator — and new New York offensive line coach/run game coordinator — Rick Dennison. Bates & Co. will likely be working with at least one new signal-caller in 2018, although the Jets are open to re-signing veteran passer Josh McCown.
  • Former Patriots assistant Ray “Bubba” Ventrone will be hired as the Colts‘ new special teams coordinator, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. Ventrone, who played for four NFL teams, had been a New England staffer since 2015, but this will be his first run as a coordinator. Indianapolis is also expected to hire ex-Lions defensive backs coach Alan Williams for the same role, per Marvez, while Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link) former Buccaneers assistant Dave Borgonzi will become the Colts’ next linebackers coach.
  • The Cowboys have finalized their 2017 coaching staff by hiring Doug Colman as their assistant special teams coach, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Colman spent the past four seasons in the same role for the cross-state Texans. He’s expected to be the last major hire on Jason Garrett‘s staff after Dallas promoted Keith O’Quinn to ST coordinator and hired Doug Nussmeier as tight ends coach.
  • Florida Atlantic University defensive coordinator Chris Kiffin is joining the NFL ranks, as he’s agreed to become the 49ers‘ pass rush specialist, according to Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated. Kiffin comes from a long line of NFL coaches, as he’s the brother of Lane Kiffin and the son of Monte Kiffin. In San Francisco, he’ll work with young defenders Arik Armstead, Solomon Thomas, and DeForest Buckner.
  • The Giants have announced new head coach Pat Shurmur‘s staff, and the new list of assistants contains several holdovers. Rob Leonard (assistant linebackers), Ryan Roeder (offensive assistant) and Bobby Blick (defensive assistant) will all stick around.

East Notes: Romo, Cowboys, Redskins, Jets

March 3rd, 2017 at 6:57pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Redskins could attempt to acquire Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in a trade also involving the 49ers, but it’s not going to happen on Jerry Jones‘ watch, tweets Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see if that will be Jones’ stance if the Redskins make the only trade offer for Romo, who’s a prime release candidate.

More from the East Coast:

  • The Jets might move on from wide receiver Eric Decker, though they won’t make a decision on his future until he has recovered from hip and shoulder surgeries, general manager Mike Maccagnan announced Friday (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). “Our goal is to get him healthy and then kind of evaluate how he comes off the injuries,” said Maccagnan, who believes Decker will be ready to return by Week 1 of next season. The soon-to-be 30-year-old appeared in only three games last season, and cutting him would save the Jets $5.75MM against $3MM in dead money for 2017.
  • The Jets cut their other top wideout, Brandon Marshall, on Thursday, but not before offering him an extension. That offer came “about a month ago,” a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Marshall wasn’t up for continuing on a rebuilding team, though, so he turned down the extension and requested his release.
  • Maccagnan would like to acquire more draft picks to go with the seven he already has, which could mean moving down in any round (via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). “If somebody wants to move up and we have a pick in that round, call us up. Any pick,” said Maccagnan, implying that the team would trade the sixth overall section. At the same time, Maccagnan wouldn’t mind keeping the pick. “Whether we stay at No. 6 and pick a player, we’d be perfectly happy doing that,” he declared. “Whether we decide to move back and get more picks and more opportunities, we’d be perfectly happy doing that.”
  • Despite some other chatter this week, Hill tweets that Cowboys offensive tackle Doug Free is not retiring. Head coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday he has not heard any word of the 33-year-old Free walking away.
  • The Giants have promoted Rob Leonard to assistant defensive line coach, per the Associated Press. Leonard will take over for Jeff Zgonina, who joined the 49ers’ staff. Big Blue has also hired Bobby Blick to fill Leonard’s previous job, defensive assistant.

Zach Links contributed to this post.