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Bobby Engram

Commanders To Hire Anthony Lynn, Sharrif Floyd; Team To Retain Bobby Engram

February 14th, 2024 at 10:10am CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn continues to add high-profile names to his Commanders staff. The latest comes after a background with new football ops president Adam Peters.

Anthony Lynn will join Peters in making a San Francisco-to-Washington trek. The 49ers assistant head coach will join the Commanders as the team’s run-game coordinator, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Commanders pursued the former Chargers HC last year, interviewing him for their OC job, but went with Eric Bieniemy. Despite an ownership change and staff overhaul, Schefter notes Lynn is close with Peters and Quinn. This certainly makes sense as the veteran coach’s next landing spot.

In addition to Lynn, Washington will bring ex-Quinn assistant Sharrif Floyd over from Dallas. Floyd will join the Commanders as their assistant defensive line coach, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The former Vikings first-round pick was in place as a Cowboys assistant under Quinn last season. Despite new Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer having coached Floyd in Minnesota, the latter is following Quinn to Washington.

The Commanders, however, will not let their wide receivers coach go. Bobby Engram will stay in that role, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. The former NFL wideout joined Washington’s coaching staff last year. Although Engram was a Ron Rivera addition, he will stay on under Quinn. Outside interest in the veteran assistant emerged, Jhabvala adds.

Lynn, 55, made the most to San Francisco after washing out as Lions OC. Dan Campbell booted Lynn after one season, having taken play-calling duties away. The longtime running backs coach has since played a role in boosting the 49ers’ ground attack. The 49ers hired Lynn to aid their run game, and he received an unexpected personnel boost midway through the 2022 season (via the Christian McCaffrey trade). As a result, San Francisco’s ground attack has enjoyed dominant stretches.

This will be Lynn and Quinn’s first time on the same staff; Peters was with the 49ers for both of Lynn’s seasons in the Bay Area. Lynn, who has been an NFL coach since 2000, went 33-31 as Chargers HC from 2017-20. Lynn joins Kliff Kingsbury as former head coaches on Quinn’s Commanders staff.

Engram, 51, broke into coaching just after his lengthy playing career wrapped. He joins Lynn in having never coached with Quinn. Prior to coming to Washington in 2023, Engram served as Wisconsin’s OC. He was on John Harbaugh‘s Ravens staff from 2014-21, however. Floyd served as the Cowboys’ assistant D-line coach last season. He will follow DC Joe Whitt to Washington.

The Commanders are also hiring Tom Donatell as their defensive backs coach, The Athletic’s Ben Standig tweets. The son of veteran DC Ed Donatell, Tom spent the past three seasons with the Chargers. The Bolts promoted Tom Donatell to defensive pass-game coordinator last year. Quinn and Ed Donatell worked together with the Jets back in the 2000s. The team is also hiring David Raih as its tight ends coach, Schefter adds. Raih worked as the Cardinals’ wide receivers coach under Kingsbury from 2019-20, becoming Vanderbilt’s OC in 2021. He spent last season on the Buccaneers’ staff.

NFC Coaching Updates: Giants, Commanders, Eagles, Bucs, Seahawks

April 1st, 2023 at 10:26am CST by Ely Allen

The Giants announced the finalization of their 2023 staff early last month, according to Giants staff writer Michael Eisen. We’ve covered a couple of minor changes in previous posts, but there are a number of new updates in this announcement that have yet to be covered.

With the departure of Tony Sparano Jr., who left to coach the Colts‘ offensive line, New York has hired Chris Smith to fill the role of assistant offensive line coach. Smith has just finished a six-year career at Holy Cross, serving as offensive coordinator last year and offensive line coach, run game coordinator, and recruiting coordinator in previous years. The team also promoted two assistants. An offensive assistant with New York last year, Christian Jones will serve in 2023 as assistant quarterbacks coach. Angela Baker, the inaugural recipient of the Rosie Brown Minority Coaching Fellowship, will move from offensive quality control coach to offensive assistant.

Two staffers received promotions on the defensive side of the ball, as well. Last year’s assistant defensive backs coach Michael Treier was promoted to safeties coach for this year. And, after spending time as a football data & innovation research analyst, Ben Burress will rejoin the coaching staff in 2023 as a defensive assistant.

The Giants made a special teams addition, as well, hiring former Lions defensive quality control coach Stephen Thomas to fill a role as the team’s second assistant special teams coach.

Here are a few other coaching updates from around the league:

  • A strong candidate early in their search, the Commanders announced the hiring of Bobby Engram as their new wide receivers coach. The former Seahawks wideout has coaching stints at the 49ers and Ravens but mostly recently served as offensive coordinator at Wisconsin. Washington also hired Shane Toub as the team’s offensive quality control coach. Toub was a defensive quality control coach at Kansas last year after serving in the same position for the Bears previously. The team also hired former NFL cornerback Reggie Howard as a defensive quality control coach. Howard started coaching in 2015, about nine years after his playing career ended. This will be his first NFL coaching opportunity. Lastly, as the Commanders continue to try and fill their vacant offensive line coaching role, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post provided the update that head coach Ron Rivera has informed John Matsko that they will not be hiring him for the job.
  • New Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai filled two position coaching roles last month. The team tweeted out that they would be hiring D. J. Eliot as their new linebackers coach. Eliot has been coaching at the college level since 1999, serving as defensive coordinator for Colorado, Kansas, and Temple, most recently. Eliot will receive his first NFL opportunity under Desai. Philadelphia also brought in Ronell Williams to serve as nickels coach, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Williams previously served as a defensive quality control coach for the Bears.
  • The Buccaneers have added a new role to their staff, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN, hiring Jordan Somerville as their new assistant quarterbacks coach. Somerville coached running backs at New Mexico before serving last year as an offensive analyst at Oregon. This will be Somerville’s first NFL role.
  • The Seahawks made an addition to their defensive staff, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, hiring Roy Anderson as secondary coach. Anderson comes over after three years as assistant defensive backs coach in Minnesota. With the addition of Anderson, Karl Scott, who served last year as defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach, will now take the title of defensive passing game coordinator/senior assistant.

NFC Coaching Updates: Bears, Falcons, Engram

March 4th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Ely Allen

The offseason giveth and the offseason taketh away as the Bears learned this past week with the addition and subtraction of two coaching assistants earlier in the week.

After the departure of assistant offensive line coach Austin King to join Sean Payton‘s new staff in Denver under the same title, Chicago hired longtime Titans assistant Luke Steckel to fill the role. This will be Steckel’s first time working specifically with offensive linemen in the NFL. After four years in Cleveland as an assistant to the head coach, Steckel joined the Titans in 2013 as an offensive assistant/special assistant to the head coach. He cycled through other roles with the team over the years including assistant wide receivers coach and his most recent role of the past two seasons as tight ends coach.

Steckel is credited with having contributed to the success of wide receiver A.J. Brown during his rookie season in Tennessee and quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the year that he won Comeback Player of the Year. As a tight ends coach, Steckel worked with newcomer Austin Hooper and rookie Chigoziem Okonkwo. Both finished with similar statistics, combining for 894 yards and five touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hooper had the 12th-best receiving grade of any tight end in the NFL while Okonkwo finished third behind only Travis Kelce and George Kittle. Steckel will now be assisting with coaching an offensive line that utilizes strong youth pieces like Teven Jenkins and Braxton Jones.

Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFC:

  • The Falcons have made some updates to their staff from last year, according to Falcons features reporter Ashton Edmunds. Steve Jackson, who shockingly was hired in the position of senior offensive assistant last year despite his years of defensive coaching experience, has rightfully returned to the defensive side of the ball as the team’s secondary coach. Another assistant expected to switch sides of the ball, Nick Perry will move from assistant defensive backs coach to assistant wide receivers coach. Former defensive assistant Lanier Goethie has been promoted to defensive front specialist. The team has also added longtime college coaching assistant Dave Huxatable into his first NFL role of senior defensive assistant. Additionally, former John Carroll offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Baker has been added to the staff as special teams assistant. Lastly, the team has hired Steven King and Patrick Kramer as offensive assistants, Mario Jeberaeel as the special projects: defense coach, Shawn Flaherty as the assistant offensive line coach, Michael Gray as a football analyst, and Mateo Kambui as the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow assigned to work with the offensive line.
  • With Drew Terrell‘s departure to Arizona as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, the Commanders have a vacancy to fill at wide receivers coach. According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, one candidate who has been interviewed for the role is former NFL wide receiver Bobby Engram. After his retirement as a player, the longtime Seahawk immediately went into coaching, signing with the rival 49ers as an offensive assistant. Since then, Engram has worked his way up, going from coaching wide receivers in the college ranks at Pitt to earning the same position in Baltimore. With the Ravens, Engram earned his paycheck putting together veteran receiver groups for quarterback Joe Flacco. In healthy years, Engram coached up impressive duos such as Steve Smith–Torrey Smith and Mike Wallace-Steve Smith. When injuries decimated the team he helped Kamar Aiken to a breakout season, pieced together what he could out of a group that included Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, and Chris Moore, and got a respectable output from a corps of John Brown, Willie Snead, and Michael Crabtree. Engram moved to tight ends coach for the Ravens in 2019 and helped in the emergence of star tight end Mark Andrews, who earned two Pro Bowl bids and a first-team All-Pro selection under Engram. Last year, Engram took the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin, but an interview with the Commanders could indicate his willingness to return to the NFL.

2023 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

February 28th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the head coaching carousel spun for several weeks, many teams made coordinator changes as well. Teams seeking new head coaches are conducting OC and DC searches, and a handful of other teams that did not make HC changes are also searching for top assistants.

This is a big year for offensive coordinator hires, with nearly half the league making changes. Here are the teams searching for new OCs and DCs. As new searches emerge, they will be added to the list.

Updated 3-1-23 (3:31pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals 

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Greg Roman)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Ben McAdoo)

  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach, (Rams): Hired
  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Brian Angelichio, tight ends coach (Vikings): Interviewed 2/2
  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach (Rams): Interviewed
  • Jeff Nixon, running backs coach (Panthers): Interviewed
  • Brian Schottenheimer, offensive consultant (Cowboys): Hired

Denver Broncos (Out: Justin Outten)

Houston Texans (Out: Pep Hamilton)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Parks Frazier)

  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
  • Tee Martin, wide receivers coach (Ravens): Interview requested

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Eric Bieniemy)

  • Matt Nagy, quarterbacks coach (Chiefs): Hired

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Joe Lombardi)

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Liam Coen)

New York Jets (Out: Mike LaFleur)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Shane Steichen)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Byron Leftwich)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Todd Downing)

Washington Commanders (Out: Scott Turner)

Defensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Vance Joseph)

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Dean Pees)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Leslie Frazier)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Al Holcomb)

  • Ejiro Evero, former defensive coordinator (Broncos): Hired
  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): Interviewed
  • Marquand Manuel, safeties coach (Jets): Interviewed
  • Kris Richard, co-defensive coordinator (Saints): Interviewed

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans 

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Renaldo Hill)

  • Derrick Ansley, defensive backs coach (Chargers): Promoted
  • Doug Belk, defensive coordinator (Houston): Interviewed
  • DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Patriots): Interviewed

Miami Dolphins (Out: Josh Boyer)

Minnesota Vikings (Out: Ed Donatell)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Ryan Nielsen, Kris Richard)

  • Joe Woods, former defensive coordinator (Browns): Hired

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Jonathan Gannon)

San Francisco 49ers (Out: DeMeco Ryans)

  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): On radar
  • Chris Harris, defensive backs coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/31
  • Kris Kocurek, defensive line coach (49ers): On radar
  • Steve Wilks, former interim head coach (Panthers): Hired

Latest On Ravens’ OC Search

February 6th, 2023 at 5:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

Baltimore is one of several NFL teams slowly working their way through the process of finding a new offensive coordinator. New updates have emerged with respect to who they are targeting to replace Greg Roman.

In a detailed piece breaking down where things currently stand, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec writes (subscription required) that three candidates for the position have interviewed twice with head coach John Harbaugh. Two of those (Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Vikings pass game coordinator Brian Angelichio) have been well known in the search so far, but another name has been added to the mix.

Bobby Engram has met twice to discuss the Ravens’ OC vacancy, per Zrebiec. The 50-year-old is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin, but he spent considerable time in Baltimore prior to that. Engram was the Ravens’ wide receivers coach from 2014-18, and then worked with the team’s tight ends for three seasons after that. He also has experience with the Steelers and 49ers, but has not been an OC at the NFL level.

Other finalists will also include Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales and Broncos offensive coordinator Justin Outten. Those two are set to interview for the second time this week, which will bring the list of second interviewees to five. As Zrebiec notes, however, Harbaugh could conduct second interviews with other candidates not mentioned here, or he could ever hire a name that has yet to interview for the gig. A number of Chiefs and Eagles assistants could be of interest to the Ravens (Zrebiec specifically calls out Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, senior offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy and wide receivers coach Joe Bleymaier; and Eagles quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson and pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo).

The Ravens wouldn’t be able to talk to any of those coaches until after the Super Bowl. That means the organization could decide to wait at least another week to make a hire, although they may end up moving quickly on one of the existing candidates if they determine he could sign elsewhere.

Ravens Expected To Retain OC Greg Roman

February 1st, 2022 at 11:44am CST by Adam La Rose

It is already know that the Ravens will have a new defensive coordinator in 2022. However, head coach John Harbaugh made it clear on Monday he plans on retaining Greg Roman as the team’s offensive coordinator (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). 

[Related: Ravens Hire Mike Macdonald As Defensive Coordinator]

During his press conference, Harbaugh gave Roman a vote of confidence as the man at the helm of the offense. “I’m excited about that”, he said. “I think we have a really good vision of what we want to build offensively”. The team took a major step back on the offensive side of the ball, in particular down the stretch, though injuries to a number of key contributors played a big role in that.

From quarterback Lamar Jackson, to left tackle Ronnie Stanley, to running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, the unit wasn’t at full strength at any point in the campaign. While backup QB Tyler Huntley generally filled in admirably for the former MVP, scoring increasingly became a problem during the team’s six-game losing streak to finish the season. Baltimore finished 17th in points per game this season (22.8), in large part due to struggles on third down (36.4%, 26th).

The team’s passing game was a sore spot, especially late in the year. After the best start to his career, Marquise Brown didn’t top 55 receiving yards in a game from Week 10 onwards. The lack of a downfield passing attack is nothing new for Roman-led offenses, though 2021 did also see tight end Mark Andrews set a franchise record in receiving yards (1,361).

The 49-year-old has been with the Ravens since 2017, and the offensive coordinator for the past three years. His overall body of work – predicated on the ground game, just as it was when he was in San Francisco and Buffalo – has earned him at least one more season at the controls. The offensive staff is already going to be different, however, as The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman tweets that tight ends coach Bobby Engram is leaving to become the OC at Wisconsin. In addition, it came out yesterday that wide receivers coach Tee Martin is a candidate for the Bills’ OC position.

With, presumably, healthier personnel, along with a familiar play-caller in 2022, the Ravens will look to reclaim their place as one of the league’s most unique, and most effective, offenses.

Ravens Request Interview With Joe Whitt Jr. For DC Job

January 23rd, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens have an unexpected vacancy at defensive coordinator after electing to part ways with Don Martindale, and the club’s first interview request has gone out. Per Steve Wyche of the NFL Network (via Twitter), Baltimore has requested an interview with Cowboys defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr.

This is the second interview request for Whitt, as the Seahawks also want to have a summit with the 43-year-old for their own DC post. Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is generating plenty of head coaching interest for his efforts in revamping Dallas’ defense in 2021, but it seems rival clubs also appreciate Whitt’s role in that turnaround.

Of particular interest to the Ravens is the fact that the Cowboys forced a league-best 34 turnovers last season, including 26 interceptions. Though Baltimore’s myriad injuries — including an ACL tear suffered by takeaway savant Marcus Peters just before the season started — certainly contributed to the team’s meager 15 takeaways (tied for third-fewest in the league), head coach John Harbaugh obviously wants a coordinator with a plan for dramatically increasing that total.

Whitt joined the Falcons as an assistant DBs coach in 2007, then spent 11 seasons in Green Bay, first as a defensive quality control coach, then as cornerbacks coach, then as defensive passing game coordinator. His recent history has been more nomadic, as he spent one year each with Atlanta, Cleveland, and Dallas from 2019-21, all as defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach. However, he would be in line for a promotion to Cowboys defensive coordinator if Quinn should leave for an HC gig.

In addition to some of the names mentioned as possible Martindale replacements in yesterday’s report on the matter — like Joe Cullen, Mike Macdonald, and Chris Hewitt — Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic discusses the viability of candidates like Jim Leonhard and Mike Zimmer. Zimmer, recently fired as HC of the Vikings, has generally fielded top defenses throughout his tenure as an NFL coach, but it’s unclear if he wants to become a coordinator right away, especially as he has no prior ties to Harbaugh.

Leonhard, meanwhile, was a key contributor on Harbaugh’s first Ravens team in 2008, and he has established himself as a quality defensive coordinator over the past few seasons at Wisconsin, his alma mater. But Harbaugh may want someone with prior NFL coaching experience, and Leonhard may want to stay where he is; he reportedly turned down the chance to become the Packers’ DC last year.

In related news, it sounds like Wisconsin is trying to pry Ravens tight ends coach Bobby Engram from Baltimore and hire him as its new OC. Per Tom VanHaaren of ESPN.com (via Twitter), an agreement between the Badgers and Engram could be finalized soon, leaving the Ravens with a need for a new coach to lead Mark Andrews & Co.

Coaching Rumors: Browns, Eagles, Jets, Bucs

January 17th, 2019 at 9:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Packers defensive passing game coordinator Joe Whitt will join the Browns‘ staff, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Whitt, who had offers from other clubs, will take the same title in Cleveland, tweets Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.The Browns haven’t been shy about adding ex-Packers to their staff, as they already have John Dorsey, Eliot Wolf, and Alonzo Highsmith in their front office. Whitt, 40, interviewed for Green Bay’s defensive coordinator job in January 2018, and was at one point considered the favorite to land the role. But Whitt, who was the Packers’ cornerbacks coach at the time, lost out to external candidate Mike Pettine, and was subsequently given an elevated title. Whitt will now reunite with Browns safety Damarious Randall, who was a Packers second-round pick in 2015.

Here’s more from the coaching carousel:

  • After losing to the Saints in the Divisional Round, the Eagles have begun to experience staff turnover. The contracts of defensive line coach Chris Wilson and assistant offensive line coach Eugene Chung have expired, while wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer has been told he can leave for other NFL opportunities, report Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter links). None of three coaches will return to Philadelphia in 2019. Wilson and Chung had been with the Eagles since 2016, while Brewer just joined the club this past offseason.
  • Now that Gregg Williams has officially been hired as the Jets‘ defensive coordinator, he’s expected to bring his son Blake aboard as linebackers coach, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Blake has followed his father to nearly every one of his NFL stops. Meanwhile, New York is expected to retain at least a few members of its previous defensive staff even now that its hired Williams. Former Dolphins defensive line coach Kris Kocurek was a candidate for the same job with the Jets, but he was quickly scooped up by the 49ers.
  • Freddie Kitchens has added another coach to his Browns staff, hiring Tennessee assistant to the head coach John Lilly as the club’s new tight ends coach, according to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). He’ll work with former first-round pick David Njoku, plus other Cleveland tight ends such as Seth Devalve and Darren Fells. Lilly served as the Rams’ tight ends coach in 2016.
  • The Ravens are searching for a new running backs coach after Thomas Hammock was hired as Northern Illinois’ new head coach, tweets Brett McMurphy of Stadium Network. The 37-year-old Hammock — a NIU alum — joined Baltimore in 2014, and last season led a backfield with options like Gus Edwards, Alex Collins, Kenneth Dixon, and Javorius Allen. The Ravens also announced that they’ve shifted Bobby Engram from receivers coach to tight ends coach.
  • The Buccaneers convinced Bruce Arians to come out of retirement and become their head coach earlier this month, but Tampa Bay’s interest in Arians actually dates back far further. Arians was a Bucs target for offensive coordinator in 2012 after he was fired by the Steelers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com indicated on his podcast (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times).