George DeLeone - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Coaching Notes: Rams, Hankerson, Lions, Commanders, Packers, Giants

February 18th, 2022 at 11:15pm CST by Ely Allen

University of Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen has received heaps of interest around the football world, turning down several college jobs and an NFL job to stay in Lexington. But it sounds as if Coen may soon receive an offer he can’t refuse.

In one year at the helm of the offense, Coen took the Wildcats from 115th in yards per game to 50th. He also improved the scoring offense from 107th in the country to 35th, quickly making him one of the hottest names in college coaching.

It just about looked like Kentucky was going to be able to hold on to their game changer, but, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, they are bracing for the possibility of Coen leaving to return to the Rams in Los Angeles. Prior to his year in Kentucky, Coen spent three years on Sean McVay‘s offensive staff, and a chance to rejoin McVay may be too good to pass up.

Here are a couple more coaching notes from the NFC starting with the promotion of a former Hurricane:

With wide receivers coach Wes Welker heading to Miami, the 49ers have offered the position to offensive quality control coach Leonard Hankerson, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. After a five-year career as an NFL wide receiver out of the University of Miami, Hankerson coached wide receivers at UMass and Stephen F. Austin before joining the staff in San Francisco last year.
The Lions have parted ways with inside linebacker coach Mark DeLeone this week, according to Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. The son of offensive line coach legend George DeLeone, Mark was hired by Detroit last year after time with the Jets, Chiefs, and Bears. They have two internal candidates who could potentially fill the role: defensive quality control coach Stephen Thomas, who coached inside linebackers in his time at Princeton, and director of football research David Corrao who coached linebackers for the Dolphins during his time in Miami from 2008-2015.
With longtime assistant coach Pete Hoener retiring, the Commanders are hiring veteran coach Juan Castillo to handle tight ends, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Castillo is rejoining Ron Rivera, who coached with him for the five seasons Rivera was in Philadelphia from 1999-2003. Castillo has also spent time with the Ravens, Bills, and Bears in various roles on the offensive staff.
With their outside linebacker coach Mike Smith leaving to pursue other opportunities, the Packers have hired Jason Rebrovich as his replacement. The 20-year NFL coaching veteran has had stints with the Bills and Jaguars coaching players like Josh Allen, Calais Campbell, and Yannick Ngakoue. In addition, the Packers also announced the return of former offensive coordinator Tom Clements to replace Luke Getsy as quarterbacks coach, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Clements coached for the Packers’ offense for 11 years before retiring after two years with the Cardinals.
The Giants have hired Angela Baker as a minority coaching fellow and offensive quality control coach, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Baker is the second female to be added to Brian Daboll‘s staff after Laura Young followed Daboll from Buffalo, where she worked as player services coordinator, for the position of director of coaching operations. The Giants are quickly trying to become a more progressive staff. In 2020, Hannah Burnett was hired as the team’s first full-time female scout.

North Notes: Perriman, Browns, Bears

October 1st, 2015 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman has yet to make his regular season debut for the Ravens, and it sounds like that probably won’t be happening anytime soon. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Perriman re-injured his PCL over the weekend, and underwent arthroscopic surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews. Perriman will now be sidelined indefinitely, says Rapoport.

While there were a handful of exciting young receivers selected in the first round of this year’s draft, many of them have yet to make an impact on the field — Perriman and Kevin White are battling significant injuries, and DeVante Parker, Phillip Dorsett, and Nelson Agholor have combined for just 13 overall receptions through three weeks. Among this year’s first-round wideouts, only Amari Cooper, who has 20 catches for 290 yards, is off to a fast start.

Here’s more from out of the league’s two North divisions:

The Browns are bringing aboard former Falcons and Texans offensive line coach Paul Dunn, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Dunn is expected to replace Andy Moeller as the club’s main offensive line coach. Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), head coach Mike Pettine stressed that George DeLeone is acting as the Browns’ OL coach for now, so we’ll have to see how the roles play out.
Having signed a two-year extension with the Browns, quarterback Austin Davis views the new contract as a sign of the team’s trust in him, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal details. Ulrich also notes that the base salaries on Davis’ deal are $1.35MM for 2016 and $1.7MM for 2017.
As first reported by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), the Bears brought in punters for a tryout today, with Pat O’Donnell having missed Wednesday’s practice. Punters Spencer Lanning and Steve Weatherford, along with long snapper Patrick Scales, participated in the workout, tweets Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com.
After the Bears jettisoned multiple defensive players this week, a number of veterans on the team may be wondering if they’re next, writes Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. One player who spoke to Finley, tight end Martellus Bennett, acknowledged that the possibility of being traded or cut is always present, and it’s just part of the business. Earlier today, I asked whether we’ll continue to see Chicago make more moves in advance of the trade deadline.