HEADLINES

Greg Schiano

University Of Tennessee Eyeing Jon Gruden

November 27th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The University of Tennessee is interested in hiring ESPN commentator Jon Gruden to fill its head coaching vacancy, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.Jon Gruden (Vertical)

The Volunteers thought they had their new head coach over the weekend, as the university had agreed to terms with former Rutgers/Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. However, Tennessee backed out of the deal following backlash to the Schiano announcement, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, who reports some of the adverse reaction was tied to Schiano’s reported involvement in the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal. (To be clear, Schiano was alleged to have seen Sandusky “doing something” in a shower, but was never charged with a crime or sued, and the rumors are largely viewed as hearsay.)

Tennessee has in fact discussed its head coaching job with Gruden, and are open to a deal that would pay the Super Bowl winning coach $10MM annually, per La Canfora. Gruden has never been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he did work as a graduate assistant for the Volunteers from 1986-87 and his wife is a former Tennessee cheerleader.

Sources tell La Canfora that Gruden may prefer an NFL job, and a reunion involving the Buccaneers could be possible if Tampa Bay fires incumbent Dirk Koetter. Indeed, some Tennessee boosters don’t believe a deal with Gruden is realistic, especially given that the college has pursued Gruden without results in the past. Still, Gruden didn’t rule out a return to coaching when the subject was broached earlier this month.

Gruden isn’t the only coach with NFL ties that appears to be on Tennessee’s radar, as the university has also expressed interest in Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers.

Dolphins Make Changes To Offensive Staff

October 7th, 2015 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Like defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor still has a job with the team after the firing of head coach Joe Philbin. However, Miami is making changes to its coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports (Twitter links).

According to Breer, longtime coach Al Saunders is coming aboard as an offensive consultant, assistant quarterbacks coach Ben Johnson is taking Dan Campbell‘s old tight ends coach role, and the team is also re-assigning wide receivers coach Ken O’Keefe.

Saunders, who has held various coaching positions around the NFL for more than 30 years, has a history with Lazor — both men were on Washington’s coaching staff in 2006-2007, with Saunders acting as the team’s assistant head coach, while Lazor was the quarterbacks coach.

Breer acknowledges (via Twitter) that there could be more changes coming to the Dolphins’ staff, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but for now the club is tweaking its offensive coaching roles. Coyle remains in charge of the defense for now, but his job doesn’t appear entirely safe. Breer tweets that the Dolphins have discussed three former head coaches – Mike Smith, Jim Schwartz, and Greg Schiano – as candidates to come in and help on defense, adding that the situation remains “fluid.”

The Dolphins are entering their bye week, so the team will have a few extra days to get its staff in order before it returns to action in Week 6.

NFC Notes: Bryant, Hardy, Eagles, Schiano

November 4th, 2014 at 11:39am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys are wary of offering Dez Bryant a long-term extension because of the receiver’s past off-the-field issues, sources tell Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports. While Bryant wants a deal that pays him like a No. 1 WR, Dallas has offered the 26-year-old contracts that, while providing Bryant with significant guaranteed money, contain protection clauses for the club in the event of off-the-field incidents. Per Getlin, the Cowboys have provided therapists to help Bryant work out his anger management issues. Bryant, playing under the final year of his rookie deal, said on Sunday that he’d be “highly disappointed” if Dallas opted to place the franchise tag on him for the 2015 season. Here’s more from the NFC.

  • The Mecklenburg County district attorney announced that Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy‘s trial will be postponed until early 2015, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Hardy is currently on the commissioner’s exempt list as his domestic violence case is litigated, but as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes, Carolina head coach Ron Rivera believes Hardy should be able to return to the team immediately if his trial won’t take place until the season is completed, arguing that the star defender has already served an effective eight-week suspension.
  • The Eagles will replace injured linebacker DeMeco Ryans internally, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who points to Casey Matthews and 2014 first-rounder Marcus Smith as options to see more snaps for Philadelphia.
  • Offensive lineman Todd Herremans, who is trying to play through a torn biceps, will meet with Eagles team doctors today and discuss whether it’s best for him to be placed on injured reserve, per Bowen (Twitter link).
  • Ex-Buccaneers and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano would like to return to an NFL or college sideline in 2015, writes Pete Thamel of TheMMQB.com in an engrossing profile.

Pompei On Byrd, Graham, Joseph, McCown

March 6th, 2014 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report leads off his latest column by discussing Bills safety Jairus Byrd, who looks poised to reach the open market in the next few days. Many front office executives around the league view Byrd as the top difference-maker of this year’s free agent class, so the 27-year-old figures to draw plenty of interest, even if he won’t come cheap — Pompei suggests the “word on the street” is that Byrd will seek $9MM+ per year. Here’s more from the BR piece:

  • The Seahawks are unlikely to pursue franchised Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, since the investment required in Graham could preclude deals for one or more of the team’s own young players.
  • Others clubs around the league believe Buccaneers guard Davin Joseph could be available via trade, says Pompei. Joseph is a two-time Pro Bowler, but is owed $6MM in 2014 and turns 31 later this year.
  • Josh McCown‘s market is “developing quite nicely,” according to Pompeti, who suggests that it’s starting to look like the free-agent-to-be won’t return to the Bears. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted something similar today, indicating that it looks like the signal-caller will hit the open market next week. The Buccaneers, Jets, and Vikings could be among McCown’s suitors, writes Pompei.
  • Don’t expect Greg Schiano to join the Patriots‘ staff, despite the time he spent with Bill Belichick at last month’s combine. A source tells Pompei that New England doesn’t have a spot on the staff for the former Bucs head coach, and isn’t likely to create one.
  • The 49ers front office “thinks very highly” of defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, according to Pompei, who suggests that if the reported tension between the club and Jim Harbaugh develops into anything real, Tomsula could be next in line for the head coaching job.

Browns Rumors: Parcells, Banner, Draft

February 12th, 2014 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

Before announcing their new front office structure, the Browns targeted Bill Parcells to run the franchise, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. While Freeman’s report comes via an unnamed source, Parcells himself tells the BR scribe that he only spoke to the Browns about why organizations succeed and fail.

Parcells has previously served as the Jets’ general manager and, more recently, as the executive VP of football operations in Miami with the Dolphins. However, he hasn’t worked with an NFL team in an official capacity for the last several years. While Freeman’s report remains unconfirmed, it’s not a stretch to think that the Browns would have approached him about a position in the organization, nor is it hard to believe that Parcells passed, given his age (72) and the way in which the club’s coaching search played out.

Here’s more on the team’s front office shakeup and fallout:

  • TheMMQB.com’s Peter King took an extended look at the situation in Cleveland, passing along an anecdote about the team’s interview of coaching canidate Ken Whisenhunt which illustrated why owner Jimmy Haslam made the decision to part ways with CEO Joe Banner — according to King, Haslam had become increasingly “dubious about Banner’s football acumen,” which was openly questioned by Whisenhunt during his interview.
  • King hears from a source that, after strong recommendations by Bill Belichick and Urban Meyer, Haslam was interested in interviewing former Bucs coach Greg Schiano for Cleveland’s opening. However, Banner wanted nothing to do with Schiano, whose stint in Tampa had been rocky, and was cold to him during his interview, according to the source. The incident further illustrated the “major rift” among the Browns’ decision-makers, King writes.
  • King backs up a Tuesday report which suggested that Banner and Michael Lombardi were shocked by the abrupt announcement by Haslam.
  • The Browns “seem prepared to move heaven and earth” to draft a franchise quarterback in the first round of May’s draft, according to King.
  • Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer spoke to a number of people around the league about new Browns GM Ray Farmer, and the consensus was that Farmer is ready to take on the role.
  • Earlier today, we heard that the Browns are negotiating a long-term contract with cornerback Joe Haden.

Reiss On Browns, Quinn, Diehl, Pats

January 26th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Matt Feminis

Front offices and coaching staffs continue to turn over throughout the NFL, including in New England, prompting ESPN’s Mike Reiss to give his take on several news items. Highlights:

  • Turning down ostensibly prestigious, high-profile NFL jobs in fear of stigmatic repercussions is all the rage right now, but before the Dolphins’ convoluted GM search, the Browns were trendsetters. Before hiring head coach Mike Pettine, the team “circled back” on Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels only to be told, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ a second time.
  • Browns CEO Joe Banner told reporters Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was reluctantly crossed off the list because the Browns did not want to wait until after the Super Bowl, as first reported by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
  • Reiss compared the recent retirement of Giants OL David Diehl to that of former Patriot OT Matt Light, implying Diehl’s loss could be more impactful than national perception indicates. Diehl was considered a heart-and-soul-type who brought leadership and dependability to the offensive line.
  • Reiss spitballs that the retirement of longtime Patriots offensive line coach/assistant head coach Dante Scarnecchia could open the door for former Rutgers and Tampa Bay head man Greg Schiano to join the coaching staff. Bill Belichick’s relationship with Schiano is well-documented and the New England roster is filled with Rutgers products.