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Chris Ballard

Front Office Notes: Bills, Jets, Bengals, Bears

January 4th, 2015 at 5:29pm CST by Ben Levine

The Lions success this season has resulted in defensive coordinator Teryl Austin becoming one of the most sought after head coaching candidates in the league. While he isn’t eligible to talk with teams until next week, Austin already has a line of suitors, including the Falcons, 49ers and Bills.

Of course, there’s a chance that Austin may be too busy to interview for a job if his team advances to the next round of the playoffs. Regardless, the 49-year-old is already preparing for a hectic upcoming week:

“The way I think the brackets are set up, we’d play on Saturday next week and it’d be a short week, so a lot of it would have to do, if our team here is ready,” Austin said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “If I think I need the time to get our team ready here, then I won’t interview. But if I feel I’ve got our team and everything that we have in here so that we can go play a quality game then I would.”

Meanwhile, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell believes his defensive coordinator would be a wonderful addition to any organization:

“For all of us, for him, I think, and his family, I think he’s deserving of it and I think he’s going to get one,” Caldwell said. “I think if, once they get an opportunity to see him and listen to him and watch what he’s been able to do, I think it’ll happen for him and I think it’ll be absolutely outstanding.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the NFL’s front offices…

  • One factor that may have contributed to Doug Marrone‘s exit from the Bills was his disagreement with the organization’s draft strategy. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports that the former head coach was not happy with the team sending a pair of first-rounders to the Browns in exchange for the opportunity to select wideout Sammy Watkins.
  • The Jets could do better than Marrone as their next head coach, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The writer cites people within the Bills organization who describe the former coach as a “control freak,” and Mehta notes that Marrone may be too thin-skinned and ornery for the gig. “It’s about power and control,” a source told Mehta. “That is what drives Doug Marrone. That’s why he is a very dangerous person to have inside the building.”
  • Despite the Bengals playoff loss this afternoon, a variety of NFL writers would be shocked if the team dismissed head coach Marvin Lewis. Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that Lewis will be back next season, but his future could be reevaluated following that. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal tweets that a firing would be “stunning,” while Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes that Lewis is still the right man for the job.
  • The previously reported GM interview between the Bears and Chiefs executive Chris Ballard will take place on Wednesday, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

NFC Coaching, GM Notes: Bears, Bucs, Eagles

January 3rd, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Bears have tried to hire young assistant coaches time and time again, and as much as they hope the next one might be the best, they could just end up with another Marc Trestman, writes David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune. Rather than go after Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, or Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Haugh believes the Bears should go in a different direction.

He suggests the team seriously consider Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, who worked as a scout for the Bears for over a decade. Haugh thinks that it makes sense to pair him with Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub, who had one of the best units in the league for years with the Bears before moving to Kansas City.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC:

  • The Buccaneers are interviewing Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter for their open offensive coordinator job, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter). Schefter reports that there is mutual interest between the two parties.
  • The Eagles have changed up their organizational structure, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com looks at the relationship between owner Jeffrey Lurie, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman, and head coach Chip Kelly, and how those relationships have evolved over the past week.
  • Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer also wrote about Kelly’s power grab against Roseman. Even though it resulted in promotions for both, Kelly clearly grabbed the upper hand in the Eagles’ organization in terms of executing his own vision for the team.
  • Washington requested permission to speak with Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for the team’s own defensive coordinator opening, but the Bills denied Washington’s request, reports Schefter (via Twitter).

Extra Points: Packers, Jets, Bears, Greenberry

January 2nd, 2015 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Packers announced that they have promoted Eliot Wolf to director of player personnel. Wolf, who served as Green Bay’s pro personnel director for the past three years, has been mentioned quite a bit as a GM candidate this offseason, but the promotion might take him off the table for GM openings around the league and could signal that he’ll be the heir apparent to GM Ted Thompson.

Meanwhile, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets that Alonzo Highsmith‘s name has come up for director of player personnel jobs for other teams, pending GM hires. Highsmith is currently employed as a senior personnel executive in Green Bay’s front office.

Let’s round up a few more Friday odds and ends from around the NFL….

  • The Jets have requested permission to interview Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard and Dolphins director of college scouting Chris Grier for their general manager vacancy, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link), if Ballard were to land the GM job in either New York or Chicago, Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich would be high on his short list of candidates.
  • In the view of Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com, recently-dismissed Eagles executive Tom Gamble would make an ideal candidate for the Bears‘ general manager opening.
  • A report earlier in the week indicated that Houston wide receiver Deontay Greenberry had chosen an agent and would enter the 2015 NFL draft, but Greenberry said on Friday that he has yet to make a decision on his status for the coming year, writes Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Nick Powell of the Star-Ledger wonders if the Giants should use the franchise tag on defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. By using the tag, the Giants can wait on deciding to make a sizable long-term commitment to JPP and ensure that he’ll be motivated for 2015. On the flip side, of course, it would cost the Giants a great deal of money for the upcoming season.
  • In his latest ESPN.com mailbag, John Keim fields a handful of questions on Washington‘s 2015 outlook, including inquiries into potential roster and coaching turnover.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Jets, Ballard, Marrone, Ravens

January 1st, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Refuting an earlier report, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that while the Jets did speak with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, New York is isn’t interested in Roseman himself. Rather, Gang Green was seeking Roseman’s assessment of Rick Mueller, Philadelphia’s director of pro personnel and a candidate for the Jets’ GM opening. Mueller, 47, has also worked with the Jaguars and Saints, in addition to spending a good deal of time in the UFL. Here’s more from the AFC.

  • The Bears have received permission to interview Chiefs personnel director Chris Ballard, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Ballard, who worked with Chicago until joining Kansas City in 2012, will meet with Bears ownership either Friday or Saturday.
  • Doug Marrone spoke with Jets owner Woody Johnson by phone today, tweets Peter King of Sports Illustrated, who adds that a formal interview should take place soon. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News confirms this (Twitter link), saying that although New York plans to interview Marrone this week, nothing has been scheduled yet.
  • The Ravens will have the option to carry over about $5.785MM in salary cap space into 2015, as Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes. $2MM of that total comes from Haloti Ngata‘s forfeited base salary resulting from his four-game suspension.

Extra Points: Allen, Wayne, Eagles, Bears

December 31st, 2014 at 9:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Washington GM Bruce Allen held his year-end press conference today and was put in a position where he more or less had to defend his job, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. At the presser, Allen defended the signing of free agent defensive end Jason Hatcher and putting the franchise tag on linebacker Brian Orakpo. Orakpo was given the franchise tag despite a serious injury history and Hatcher was given a lucrative deal despite mild production prior to his walk year. Here’s more from around the league in our New Year’s Eve edition of Extra Points..

  • If pressed for a decision, Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne says he’d come back for 2015, ESPN.com’s Mike Wells writes. “If I had to answer that question today, I’d say I’ll be back… as long as the Colts would have me,” he said on his weekly radio show on WNDE-1260 AM in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
  • The Eagles released Tom Gamble, their vice president of player personnel, earlier today. The move adds weight to speculation that coach Chip Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman have not seen eye to eye over the last year, ESPN.com’s Phil Sheridan writes.
  • The Bears have requested to interview five GM candidates, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter): Chris Ballard (Chiefs), Lake Dawson (Titans), Eric DeCosta (Ravens), Brian Gaine (Texans), and Ryan Pace (Saints).
  • Colts backup Matt Hasselbeck isn’t under contract for 2015, but he’s also not thinking about retirement, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Neither he nor the Colts have discussed a return just yet, but he sounds very open to the idea.
  • The Buccaneers like Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, but they could have competition for his services, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. A source says that Koetter is held in high regard by two other head coaching candidates: Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and San Francisco defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap looked ahead at what’s in store for the Titans this offseason.
  • Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson declined a plea bargain on an October arrest, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. Johnson becomes a free agent in early March and has said that he will seek a multi-year deal.

Latest On Jets, Bears GM Searches

December 30th, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the five teams hunting for new head coaches, two have an even more daunting task ahead of them, as the Bears and Jets are also on the lookout for new general managers to head their football operations departments. The Jets have tasked two consultants, Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, with identifying potential candidates, while the Bears hired former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi as an advisor for their search.

Heading into today, we’d heard Seahawks director of pro personnel Trent Kirchner and Vikings assistant GM George Paton linked to the Jets’ opening, while things had been relatively quiet on the Bears’ front so far. More rumors and rumblings on both positions are starting to surface though, so let’s round up the latest updates:

  • The Jets intend to interview their current senior director of football administration Rod Graves for their GM opening, a source tells Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link). Mehta, confirming the report, tweets that it’s a “courtesy” on the Jets’ part.
  • Costello adds (via Twitter) that the Jets have also asked the Browns permission to interview personnel executive Bill Kuharich.

Earlier updates:

  • The Jets are interested in interviewing Texans director of college scouting Mike Maccagnan for their GM vacancy, tweets Brian Costello of the New York Post. A source confirms to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) that the Jets have indeed asked Houston for permission to speak to Maccagnan.
  • Mehta also reports (via Twitter) that the Jets have requested permission to interview Eagles director of pro personnel Rick Mueller. Mueller has previously worked for the Jaguars and Saints as well.
  • The Jets are expected to make a strong push for Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). However, as Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links) points out, DeCosta is contractually designated as Baltimore’s GM-in-waiting behind Ozzie Newsome — he’s a strong GM candidate for rival clubs, but is in a good situation with the Ravens and is “highly valued” by the organization. For now, the Jets have asked for permission to interview him, tweets Mehta.
  • Four interview targets have emerged for the Bears‘ general manager opening, according to Rapoport, who lists the following candidate (via Twitter): Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross, Titans VP of player personnel Lake Dawson, and Ravens director of pro personnel Vince Newsome.

Jets Notes: Idzik, Ryan, GM Candidates

December 28th, 2014 at 10:09am CST by Dallas Robinson

The 3-12 Jets will take on the Dolphins later today, and it’s probably the last contest general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan will enjoy under the employ of Gang Green. According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), owner Woody Johnson is expected to “hit the reset button,” and start the search for the duo’s replacements tomorrow. Ryan could be fired tonight, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who says Ryan is so sure he’s being axed that he’s been joking about it with colleagues. Here’s more from New York.

  • While Idzik was regarded as more of a financial whiz when he was hired, the Jets are expected to find a more personnel-driven general manager this time around, says Rapoport (link via his NFL.com colleague Connor Orr). Before Idzik was selected, New York sought football men like Dave Caldwell (who took the Jaguars job instead), but most were leery of the Jets’ difficult cap situation. The problem during this hiring cycle, says Rapoport, might NY’s lack of a quarterback — one GM candidate has reportedly “expressed some nervousness” about Geno Smith and the lack of talent at the position.
  • Rapoport also tosses out (via Twitter) some names to look for when the Jets do begin their GM search. George Paton (Vikings), Ryan Pace (Saints), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Will McClay (Cowboys) are all candidates to be interviewed by New York, although Brian Costello notes (Twitter link) that the Jets were interested in Paton during their last GM hiring, but Paton turned them down.
  • Mehta adds (via Twitter) yet another potential general manger candidate: Chris Ballard of the Chiefs. However, insiders feel that Ballard would prefer join the Bears in the event that position is opened.
  • As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes, the new Jets GM will have a top-six draft pick and more than $40MM in cap space to work with, meaning that the job could be viewed as attractive through the right lens. However, the new hire will have a lot of work to do in order to reshape a roster that lacks impact talent, and Cimini provides a to-do list that includes finding a franchise quarterback, making a decision on Percy Harvin, and adding cornerback depth.

Jets Notes: Smith, Idzik, Ballard, Revis

October 29th, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

Geno Smith‘s former teammate and current FOX broadcaster Brady Quinn came to his defense in a chat with Chris Strauss of USA Today. While Smith has struggled mightily, Quinn pointed to the lack of consistency in his receiving corps and the media’s focus on the quarterback competition training camp as factors that have held him back. Something tells me that most Jets fans aren’t quite as sympathetic. More on Gang Green…

  • Smith says he can “without a doubt” be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, but in a sit down with SNY earlier this week, Jets GM John Idzik wasn’t quite as confident, Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday writes. “I don’t know that. Don’t know that. That’s still to be determined. You don’t want to try to answer that question too prematurely, especially when you’re dealing with a younger quarterback in Geno,” Idzik said of Smith, whom the organization drafted 39th overall in 2013.
  • If the Jets are in the market for a GM, they might look into Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, who will be the hottest GM candidate after the season, two sources tell Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. Ballard was a candidate at Tampa Bay last offseason but bowed out because coach Lovie Smith would have had final say over him in personnel matters. Myers, meanwhile, thinks former Jets exec and current Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli would be a strong fit for Gang Green.
  • Myers also hears from a source that Jets owner Woody Johnson began his interviews with GM candidates by saying that cornerback Darrelle Revis had to go. If a candidate disagreed and made a point that it might be in the Jets’ best interest to keep their best player, even if he was coming off ACL surgery with contract issues ahead, “Woody didn’t want to hear it,” the source said. Idzik, who traded Revis to the Bucs three months into his tenure, likely agreed with Johnson during the interview.
  • Idzik may have talked his way out of town with his bizarre press conference earlier this week, writes Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News.