HEADLINES

Brian Mason

Colts Announce Finalized 2023 Coaching Staff

March 8th, 2023 at 9:55pm CST by Ely Allen

New Colts head coach Shane Steichen has officially put the finishing touches on his first NFL coaching staff, according to Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz. We’ve covered a number of staff announcements like the hiring of offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and the retaining of defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, but below are any moves from the announcement that we haven’t already reported on.

On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve covered most moves already. One piece of new information is that offensive quality control coach Brian Bratton has been retained in the same position for 2023. Bratton works primarily with wide receivers, assisting wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, who was also retained. Joining them and the rest of the offensive staff will be former Notre Dame graduate assistant Chris Watt. Watt was previously the offensive line coach at Tulane in 2021 and will serve as assistant offensive line coach for the Colts under new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.

We also received information that most of the defensive staff will be retained alongside Bradley. Linebackers coach and run game coordinator Richard Smith and defensive backs coach Ron Milus were both blocked by Indianapolis from interviewing for lateral moves and will stay in place in 2023. Their second-in-commands will both remain in place, as well, as assistant linebackers coach Cato June and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell were also retained. Similarly, defensive line coach Nate Ollie and assistant defensive line coach Matt Raich were kept on staff for next season. Lastly, Brent Jackson, who served last year as the team’s 2022 Tony Dungy Defensive Coaching Fellow, was promoted to defensive quality control assistant.

On special teams, it was confirmed that newly hired former Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason will serve as the Colts’ own special teams coordinator next year, despite this being his first NFL coaching position. Last year’s assistant special teams coach Joe Hastings will help Mason after being retained for 2023. Lastly, Indianapolis plans on hiring two Tony Dungy Diversity Fellows for next season, which it will announce at a later date.

And, with that, we have the first NFL coaching staff under Steichen. He retains much of what was put together in former head coach Frank Reich‘s last year but with a few of his own touches. Now Steichen can focus on roster-building as free agency and the draft loom on the horizon.

NFL Coaching Updates: Vikings, Packers, Colts

March 4th, 2023 at 11:47am CST by Ely Allen

The Vikings made two additions to their coaching staff this week, adding assistants on both the defense and special teams. The additions help head coach Kevin O’Connell fill a few holes that were vacant due to recent departures.

Former assistant defensive line coach A’Lique Terry departed to join Dan Lanning‘s second-year staff at Oregon. Terry will coach the Ducks’ offensive line, a position group he worked with as a graduate assistant in 2019-20. Replacing Terry as assistant defensive line coach will be Patrick Hill, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. After serving as an analyst at LSU, Hill had recently joined Deion Sanders‘s inaugural staff at Colorado as the defensive tackles coach. Instead, Hill will make his way to the NFL.

The Vikings also needed to replace assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica who left to become Sean Payton‘s new special teams coordinator in Denver. Replacing Kotwica will reportedly be former special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at Southern Illinois Dalmin Gibson., according to Charean Williams of NBC Sports. Gibson’s role as assistant special teams coach will be his first NFL job after college gigs at Dickinson State, Wayne State, Colorado, and Michigan State.

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

  • The Packers will be losing a member of their coaching staff to the college ranks next season. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, special teams quality control coach Micheal Spurlock will be departing for a role as wide receivers coach at Western Kentucky. Spurlock, a former NFL wide receiver, has now coached two separate seasons in the NFL, spending the rest of his coaching experience at the high school, community college, and NCAA level. The Packers don’t have an immediate need to replace Spurlock, as they still retain a special teams coordinator and assistant special teams coach, but that decision will likely fall to head coach Matt LaFleur.
  • New Colts head coach Shane Steichen is looking to round out his first NFL coaching staff. It appears that, in order to do so, Steichen will dip into the college coaching ranks as he is expected to hire Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason, according to Josh Alper of NBC Sports. No position has been specified for Mason, and it will be interesting to see what Steichen has in mind. Indianapolis does currently have its special teams coordinator role vacant, but Mason has never held an NFL coaching position. Mason had gone from a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2016 to director of recruiting at Cincinnati in 2017 before becoming the Bearcats’ special teams coordinator. Last year was his first as a coordinator for the Fighting Irish, and now he’ll make his way to his first NFL job. It’s hard to see Mason immediately earning a coordinator position for his first NFL role, but with the position open, it’s certainly a possibility.