HEADLINES

Doug Pederson

AFC Coaching Notes: Pederson, Broncos, Bills, Raiders, Texans

February 18th, 2022 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Jaguars had offensive-oriented coaches in place as head coach in Doug Marrone and Urban Meyer, neither operated as the team’s primary play-caller. That pattern will change with Doug Pederson. The former Eagles HC will call the Jaguars’ offensive plays, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This is not surprising, with the former Super Bowl-winning coach having been Philadelphia’s play-caller during his five seasons at the helm. Pederson also helped establish his HC case by calling plays at points with the Chiefs. Pederson’s primary task will be relaunching Trevor Lawrence‘s career after the prized quarterback prospect struggled under Meyer and Darrell Bevell. OC Press Taylor has not called plays previously, but passing-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has. They will be Pederson’s right-hand men on his Lawrence reboot effort.

Here is the latest from the AFC coaching ranks:

  • In addition to making the long-expected Ejiro Evero defensive coordinator hire, the Broncos are plucking two more assistants off the Rams’ staff in the wake of Super Bowl LVI. Dwayne Stukes is coming to Denver to be the team’s special teams coordinator, while Marcus Dixon is leaving Los Angeles for Colorado to be the new Broncos D-line coach. Stukes, 45, spent the 2021 season as the Rams’ assistant ST coordinator. Stukes has experience as an ST coordinator — with the 2011 Buccaneers — and has been an assistant ST coach with the Bears and Giants. Dixon will also be a one-and-done with the Rams, having been hired as their assistant D-line coach last year. Previously, Dixon spent four years as an assistant at Division I-FCS Hampton.
  • The Raiders are hiring a new defensive line coach, tabbing Frank Okam for that role, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). This comes more than a month after the Panthers fired Okam. Carolina brought Okam from Matt Rhule‘s Baylor staff in 2020, when he served as the Panthers’ assistant D-line coach. Carolina bumped Okam to its D-line coach last year. He will follow ex-Panthers assistant Jason Simmons to Las Vegas.
  • The Bills are expected to hire Marcus West as a defensive assistant, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweets. Previously a co-defensive coordinator at Charlotte, West is on track to be the Bills’ assistant D-line coach, per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (on Twitter). This will be West’s first NFL coaching gig.
  • One of the Marrone-era holdovers Meyer kept on his lone Jaguars staff, Joe Danna is now on board as the Texans’ safeties coach, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. Danna spent five seasons in Jacksonville and was with the Jets and Falcons as well, serving as DBs coach with both teams.

Latest On Jaguars’ Front Office

February 15th, 2022 at 9:54am CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars are in the process of rebuilding not only their coaching staff, but also their front office personnel and structure. As ESPN’s Michael DiRocco writes, the team is looking to add multiple new executives, including an executive vice president of football operations. 

As he states, owner Shad Khan is looking to hire not only an EVP, but also “someone to work under” general manager Trent Baalke. It wouldn’t be the first time the Jaguars had a structure like that, as a similar one was in place when the Jaguars were last in playoff contention.

When speaking about the changes, Khan said, “One of the reasons we had the [coaching] search was not only looking for the head-coaching candidate but really to learn about other organizations… So some of the practices, some of the structure that works, we got great insight into it. Strengthening the football operations, more staff, that’s part of our goal. We’ve had too flat an organization and we want to add brainpower and more people to strengthen that”.

Tom Coughlin held the EVP title beginning in 2017 during the Doug Marrone coaching era in Jacksonville. That season ended with a trip to the AFC Championship game, but the organization was streamlined after Coughlin was fired in 2019. Khan elected to try a more coach-centric structure when he hired Urban Meyer, a decision that proved to be borderline disastrous. A return to the previous system so quickly after Meyer’s firing would represent a very fast about-face from Khan and the organization.

Many believe that Rick Spielman will eventually be named as the new EVP. The former Vikings GM recently interviewed for a position that would outrank Baalke, though nothing has been made official yet. In addition, the team would have to meet with at least two external minority candidates for the position in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

Especially after the hire of former Super Bowl winner Doug Pederson as head coach, the Jaguars are “taking a collaborative approach”, DiRocco writes. With an emphasis on long-term building, as opposed to a less patient, win-now approach with Meyer, more voices being involved in decision making could be a productive first step towards turning around a franchise which has finished at the bottom of the NFL for two straight years.

AFC Coaching Notes: Colts, Bills, Jaguars, Ravens

February 12th, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Since Frank Reich was able to land defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to replace Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus, Bradley has begun the process of putting his staff together. Today Bradley added longtime defensive backs coach Ron Milus to coach his secondary, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Milus first started coaching defensive backs at his alma mater, the University of Washington, about eight years after playing cornerback there. He held the college position for seven years before getting an NFL coaching opportunity in 2000. Since then, Milus hasn’t spent a season out of work with stints in Denver, Arizona, New York (Giants), St. Louis, Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas. His longest stint was with the Chargers, spending eight years in southern California and transitioning with the team to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that Milus was retained when Bradley joined the Chargers’ staff. He followed Bradley to Las Vegas and will join him once more in Indianapolis.

Here are a few other coaching notes from around the AFC starting with another bit from the Hoosier State:

  • In addition to Milus, Mike Chappell of Fox59 reports that Indianapolis is also in the process of hiring linebackers coach Richard Smith, who worked with Bradley and Milus in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Smith has coached in the NFL since he debuted for the Houston Oilers in 1988 coaching special teams and tight ends. He found his niche as a linebackers coach in 1997 for the 49ers and has had three short stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.
  • ESPN’s Yates also tweeted out a report that the Bills have added former QB Kyle Shurmur on staff in a defensive quality control position. After four years at Vanderbilt, Shurmur signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, spending time on their practice squad as well as on the Bengals’ and Washington’s practice squads. He was released by Washington a little over a month ago and that appears to mark the end of his playing career. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Shurmur, and joining the coaching track.
  • A castaway from the Matt Nagy Bears’ staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey will not be without work for long as Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports reports that Shuey is joining Doug Pederson‘s staff in Jacksonville in the same role. Shuey and Pederson had two separate tenures together in Philadelphia.
  • Pederson also made a crucial move of retaining running backs coach Bernie Parmalee. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tells us that keeping Parmalee was a priority for Pederson, especially due to his strong relationship with star running back James Robinson.
  • Baltimore has hired Rob Leonard as outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter). Leonard will replace Drew Wilkins who left to join Brian Daboll‘s staff in New York. Leonard spent the past three seasons in the same position with the Dolphins. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that former Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn will follow Mike Macdonald to the Ravens for a quality control position. Osborn is credited with having a role in the development of Wolverines’ EDGE players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.

Interim HC Bevell Won’t Remain With Jaguars

February 12th, 2022 at 6:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Darrell Bevell‘s tenure in Jacksonville was a short one. With the hiring of Doug Pederson being announced earlier this month, it appears that Bevell will not remain in northern Florida as a part of Pederson’s coaching staff, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. 

Brought onto Urban Meyer‘s staff to be offensive coordinator a little over a year ago, Bevell was tasked with serving as the interim head coach for the Jaguars’ final four games of the 2021 season after Meyer was relieved of his duties. Over those four games, Jacksonville recorded one win and three losses to finish the season 3-14.

This wasn’t Bevell’s first tenure as an interim head coach. Just last season, Bevell coached the final five games of the Lions’ 2020 season after the firing of Matt Patricia, winning one game in Detroit, as well, for a career record of 2-7 as a head coach (all in an interim capacity).

Bevell will likely return to his day job as an offensive coordinator. While the Jaguars’ offense finished last in the NFL this season in multiple categories, Bevell’s seen success as a play caller in Seattle, finishing as a top-ten scoring offense in five of his seven seasons with the Seahawks, including a top-four scoring offense in 2015. Bevell’s first gig calling plays came in Minnesota where he spend five years leading a Vikings’ offense to varying results, including a 2009 offense that finished second in scoring, featuring Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin.

According to Wilson, Bevell has received interest from multiple NFL teams and his moving on from Jacksonville will allow him to pursue those opportunities.

Jaguars To Hire Mike Caldwell As DC

February 11th, 2022 at 3:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

FRIDAY: Although the Jaguars interviewed former Dolphins secondary coach Gerald Alexander for their defensive coordinator job this week, Caldwell will indeed land the position. The Jags are hiring the Buccaneers’ inside linebackers coach for their top defensive spot, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This will be Caldwell’s first DC gig, but the former NFL linebacker has been in coaching since 2008. He and Pederson broke into coaching together on Andy Reid‘s Eagles staffs in the late 2000s. The two were also each on the Eagles’ roster in 1999, Reid’s first year with the team.

TUESDAY: The name first associated with new head coach Doug Pederson has landed the role of defensive coordinator on his first Jaguars staff. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the team is close to hiring Mike Caldwell as their new defensive coordinator (Twitter link).

Caldwell was named as a top candidate for the DC role soon after Pederson’s hiring. The 50-year old spent five years with the Eagles working with their linebacking corps. He was gone by the time Pederson became Philadelphia’s HC, though, so the only connection between the two is the overlap in their playing careers there in 1999.

Caldwell also has experience as the LBs coach with the Cardinals, Jets and Buccaneers. His three years in Tampa Bay saw him oversee one of, if not the best, tandems in the league at that position in Devin White and Lavonte David. That success, including a Super Bowl championship last season, earned him an interview with the Ravens for their DC vacancy.

Now, Caldwell will take on a coordinator role for the first time in his career. It’s the first to be filled under Pederson, as the team is still in search of a new OC, and it was recently announced that former special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen will not be returning.

Jaguars Plan To Hire Jim Bob Cooter

February 9th, 2022 at 3:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will be one of the key voices in charge of getting Trevor Lawrence on track next season. The Jaguars are hiring the young assistant, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Cooter will serve as the passing-game coordinator under Doug Pederson in Jacksonville. This will be Cooter’s most notable role since his time as Detroit’s OC (2015-18). Previously, the 37-year-old staffer worked as a consultant with the Eagles.

The Lions hired Cooter to be Matthew Stafford‘s position coach in 2014 and quickly bumped him up to OC. The Jim Caldwell-era assistant stuck around for one season under Matt Patricia but was not retained for the 2019 campaign. Cooter spent the next two seasons as the Jets’ running backs coach.

Ex-Eagles coach Press Taylor was also in the mix for this job, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane (on Twitter). A former Pederson lieutenant, Taylor spent the 2021 season with the Colts.

Pederson called plays with the Eagles and said he will do so with the Jags as well. The Jags attempted to interview Texans assistant Pep Hamilton for their OC vacancy, but new Houston HC Lovie Smith promoted him. The Jags have hired ex-Chargers HC Mike McCoy as their quarterbacks coach but do not employ a nominal OC yet. For now, Pederson, McCoy and Cooter will be in charge of developing Lawrence.

2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

February 6th, 2022 at 10:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Last year, seven NFL teams opted to make a head coaching change. Sean Payton stepping away from the Saints created nine full-time vacancies available this year.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-22 (1:45pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Coaching Rumors: Saints, Texans, McDaniel, Giants, Broncos

February 6th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints began their cycle of head coaching interviews this week, conducting meetings with the following candidates: former Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson (1/30; hired by Jaguars), former Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores (2/1), Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (2/2), their current special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi (2/3), their current defensive coordinator Dennis Allen (2/4), and Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (2/6).

New Orleans also requested permission to interview Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. There were some early reports that permission had been granted, but that hasn’t been confirmed and nothing has been scheduled, as of yet. ESPN’s Saints’ reporter Mike Triplett also mentioned that current offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was offered an opportunity to interview for the position, but Carmichael declined. Despite being a part of Sean Payton‘s staff since Payton’s tenure in New Orleans began back in 2006, it appears Carmichael has no interest in running the show in the Big Easy. Whether he has retirement or another destination in mind or he is just comfortable in his role, Carmichael will not be the Saints’ next head coach.

Here are a few more notes from the ongoing coaching searches and staff changes throughout the NFL, starting with the other head coaching vacancy:

  • Houston recently narrowed their list of head coaching candidates down to three: Brian Flores, former quarterback Josh McCown, and Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Well, according to USA Today’s Josina Anderson, the Texans are now down to two candidates, with Gannon being informed Saturday that he will not be receiving the head coaching position, leaving Flores and McCown as the two remaining names.
  • New Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel reportedly has interest in holding on to some of the defensive assistants currently under contract in Miami, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. This includes current defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who followed Flores to Miami from New England. The lack of staff turnover would be a positive for a defensive unit that played well during the team’s seven-game win-streak in the back half of the season.
  • The Giants were able to add a piece to Brian Daboll‘s new staff while missing out on another today. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweeted out that Andy Bischoff will become the Giants’ new tight ends coach. Bischoff followed David Culley from Baltimore to Houston and will make the lateral move over from the Texans with their head coaching position still in the air. Unfortunately, the Giants did not get their running backs coach, as Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweeted out that Deland McCullough has turned down Daboll’s offer, choosing instead to remain the running backs coach at Notre Dame, believing it gives him the best opportunity to eventually become a head coach.
  • New Broncos’ head coach Nathaniel Hackett is also looking to fill out his staff. The Broncos are planning to interview Jon Embree who most recently held the position of tight ends coach/assistant head coach in San Francisco. Embree parted ways with the Niners after being asked to take a 60 percent pay cut after San Francisco’s NFC Championship loss. The man who has coached George Kittle since he was drafted in 2017 would be a nice addition to Hackett’s system.

Candidates For Doug Pederson’s Jaguars Staff

February 4th, 2022 at 8:50am CST by Adam La Rose

With Doug Pederson in place as the new head coach of the Jaguars, his focus will now turn to building a staff. Two of the early candidates to be named for consideration are Colts offensive assistant Press Taylor and Buccaneers inside linebackers coach Mike Caldwell (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).

[Related: Jaguars Hire Doug Pederson As HC]

Taylor has a connection to Pederson dating back to the latter’s time in Philadelphia. The 34-year-old’s NFL coaching career began with the Eagles in 2013. Two years later, he started working with the team’s quarterbacks, something that continued throughout his tenure. 2020 saw him add the title of passing game coordinator, though the Eagles ranked at the bottom of the league in most major passing categories that year. He spent this past season with former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich in Indianapolis.

Caldwell would also be a familiar face for Pederson. He started on the sidelines with the Eagles, after an 11-year playing career as a middle linebacker (which included one year of overlap with Pederson during his playing days). He’s coached that position with the Eagles, Cardinals, Jets and, for the past three seasons, Bucs. The 50-year-old interviewed for the defensive coordinator vacancy in Baltimore earlier this month.

Garafolo doesn’t specify what position Taylor might be in consideration for, but notes that Caldwell is a candidate for what would be his first DC post. At a minimum, the hiring process for Pederson’s staff figures to be much more straightforward than that of the HC search.

Jaguars Hire Doug Pederson As HC

February 3rd, 2022 at 9:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jacksonville’s winding path toward hiring a head coach is coming to an end. Doug Pederson will land the job, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Jaguars have since announced the hire.

Pederson interviewed twice with the team, which is close to bringing in ex-Vikings GM Rick Spielman for a high-ranking front office position alongside Trent Baalke. Pederson, who led the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl LII, did not coach last season but was connected to multiple jobs during this year’s hiring cycle.

The former Philadelphia HC will soon work with another highly drafted quarterback, and Pederson spoke with Trevor Lawrence on the phone earlier Thursday night, Schefter tweets. While Pederson’s final season with Carson Wentz ended in the Eagles radically changing course, the veteran play-caller will have a chance to work with one of the top QB prospects to enter the NFL in many years.

At the end of this search, the Jags were also linked to recent Raiders interim HC Rich Bisaccia and Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich. The latter was believed to be in talks with the Jags about a deal last week, but momentum stalled. The former Jacksonville first-round pick may well have bowed out of this search earlier Thursday. Leftwich indeed balked at pairing with Baalke, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com.

Pederson, 54, was the first candidate to meet with the Jaguars during the new in-season interview period. He also met with the Bears and Saints in the weeks following that initial Jags discussion.

Pederson clashed with Eagles management during his Philadelphia tenure, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes his interest in the Jacksonville job cooled a bit because of the Jags’ commitment to Baalke. But Spielman’s potential arrival — for a position that could outrank Baalke’s — may have been enough to convince Pederson. The two share an agent, Breer adds (Twitter links).

The former Chiefs offensive coordinator went 42-37-1 as Eagles HC, with 2020’s disastrous 4-11-1 season heavily impacting that mark. Still, Pederson oversaw one of the most remarkable playoff runs in modern NFL history. The Eagles won Super Bowl LII as the NFC’s No. 1 seed but did so despite being underdogs in all three playoff games without Wentz. With notable assistance from then-OC Frank Reich, Pederson guided future Jaguar Nick Foles to two dominant performances to close out the Eagles’ championship run. The Eagles did not win 10 games in a season again under Pederson, however, with Wentz not playing up to his MVP-level form of previous years.

The Jaguars are attempting to shake off Shad Khan‘s poor Urban Meyer hire, and the team is in need of upgrades at most positions, having gone 4-29 over the past two seasons. Lawrence represents a potentially high-end centerpiece, adding to this job’s appeal despite the franchise’s struggles for most of the past decade and change. The Jags are also set to hold nearly $60MM in cap space, providing more resources for a rebuild. If nothing else, Khan figures to give Pederson plenty of time after the quick Meyer unraveling.

Load More Posts