HEADLINES

Hue Jackson

Giants Request Permission To Interview Hue Jackson

January 11th, 2016 at 9:58am CST by Sam Robinson

MONDAY, 9:58am: The Giants have submitted their request to interview Jackson, sources tell Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 6:25pm: Now that Hue Jackson‘s most recent season with the Bengals has concluded, the Cincinnati offensive coordinator continues to draw significant interest for head-coaching openings.

His latest comes from the league’s biggest market, with the Giants requesting permission to talk with Jackson on Monday, according to Michael Silver of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Jackson, however, has drawn strong interest from both the 49ers and Browns, interviewing with both organizations on Sunday in Cincinnati. Silver tweets both meetings went well, but neither team’s made an offer yet.Hue Jackson (vertical)

Silver adds, via Twitter, the 50-year-old Jackson may end up declining the Giants’ request should the Browns or 49ers’ overtures lead to an offer. San Francisco reportedly views the Bengals OC as its preferred choice to succeed Jim Tomsula.

However, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hears (video link) Jackson regards the New York job as the No. 1 position available and will wait for this interview before deciding on whether to accept any potential Browns or 49ers offer. The Giants will attempt to set up an interview after the owners’ relocation-based meetings in Houston this week.

With the meetings set for Tuesday and Wednesday, the Browns and 49ers could be waiting a bit to fill their jobs, if they’re in fact enamored enough with Jackson to do so.

The Giants and Jackson have yet to make this connection, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets. But it appears that news will emerge soon. Big Blue’s already interviewed Ben McAdoo, Steve Spagnuolo, Teryl Austin, Doug Marrone and Adam Gase. It plans to meet with Mike Smith on Monday.

The Browns confirmed they interviewed Jackson on Sunday, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com tweets.

Sandwiched around his one-year stint with the Raiders, an 8-8 season in 2011, Jackson’s been an OC for four teams — the Bengals, Raiders, Falcons and Washington — since 2003. Interestingly, Jackson’s only had one of those tenures extend beyond one season. That would be his current position in Cincinnati, where he’s served as the OC since 2014.

Jackson also drew interest from the Dolphins before Gase became their next coach.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Coaching Rumors: Dolphins, Giants, McDermott

January 10th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

After hiring Adam Gase, the Dolphins are acting quickly to form their new coaching staff.

But few holdovers are expected. According to Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez (on Twitter), only special teams coach Darren Rizzi to be retained. All of the Dolphins’ other assistants, excepting possibly Dan Campbell, will be fired.

Campbell’s status remains uncertain. The interim coach for most of 2015, Campbell reportedly finished second in the race to become the Fins’ next full-time head coach.

A Marvez report Saturday linked Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph, whom the Fox reporter has set to head to Miami as the team’s defensive coordinator, and a number of position coaches to comprise Gase’s defensive staff.

Here are some more coaching-related items as wild-card weekend concludes.

  • Although Hue Jackson has emerged as a candidate late in the process, the frontrunners to become Tom Coughlin‘s successor with the Giants are offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and Jaguars assistant head coach Doug Marrone, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports. McAdoo’s familiarity with Eli Manning and his helping the quarterback to a career resurgence is driving his candidacy, with the 38-year-old only having two seasons of coordinator experience. With Vacchiano noting the 51-year-old Marrone may not retain McAdoo if he becomes coach, Big Blue avoiding another offensive reboot will factor into its decision.
  • Both Vacchiano and the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz report John Mara prefers a candidate with head-coaching experience. Vacchiano points McAdoo in the Eagles’ direction if they are indeed serious about hiring Tom Coughlin. Schwartz believes Mara sees similarities in Mike Smith, who will interview with the team on Monday, and Coughlin. Their ages (Smith is 56; Coughlin was 57 when hired in 2004) and histories as head coaches are similar, and Schwartz notes Smith is one of Coughlin’s top confidants among head coaches.
  • The Giants, per Vacchiano, have also discussed requesting permission to interview Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, but since they didn’t do so during the Panthers’ bye week, the Giants must wait until either Carolina’s season concludes or the Panthers’ potential Super Bowl bye week.
  • The Browns did interview the 41-year-old McDermott on Sunday, Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com reports. A defensive coordinator since 2009, with the Eagles and Panthers, respectively, McDermott also interviewed with the Buccaneers.
  • Jackson spoke with the Browns for 3 1/2 hours and talked with the 49ers for five hours Sunday in Cincinnati, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Cleveland’s now interviewed seven candidates. The 49ers have met with five, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
  • The Colts offered 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster the same position in Indianapolis, Marvez reports (on Twitter). The Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2004, Foerster’s been an offensive line coach with the Ravens, Washington and the 49ers since 2005. He’s served multiple stints in San Francisco, presiding over the 49ers’ line from 2008-09 and returning to the Bay Area in 2015 after five seasons in Washington.

49ers To Name Head Coach Soon?

January 10th, 2016 at 4:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the 49ers aren’t likely to name a new head coach today, their search does appear to be wrapping up, and a new hire could be named “fairly soon,” sources tell Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson (whose interview is now complete, a source tells Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee on Twitter) still looks like the favorite for the job, and Maiocco reports that today’s meeting between Jackson and San Francisco management was “productive.”Hue Jackson (vertical)

[RELATED: 49ers fire Jim Tomsula]

As our head coaching search tracker shows, Jackson is the fifth candidate to interview with the 49ers, joining Anthony Lynn, Chip Kelly, Dirk Koetter, and John DeFillipo (the latter’s meeting may have been geared toward’s San Francisco’s offensive coordinator position). Additionally, Mike Shanahan is expected to interview at some point, while Mike Shula and Mike Holmgren have also been mentioned as candidates.

The Niners’ hunt for a new coach appears to be decidedly offensive in nature, as every coach mentioned above has a history on the offensive side of the ball. Jackson definitely fits that bill, but he also has other options, as he’s expected to meet with the Browns today as well. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier today (Twitter link) that if Jackson’s interview went well, he could be named San Francisco’s head coach by the end of today. While it doesn’t look like that announcement will come today, there’s no denying the strong link between Jackson and the 49ers.

One last interesting note: As Raiders head coach, Jackson was apparently a big fan of Colin Kaepernick when the quarterback was entering the 2011 draft, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), and pushed for Oakland to draft the Nevada QB. If that’s the case, maybe the appeal of salvaging Kaepernick’s career could be alluring to Jackson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Dolphins, M. Smith, Coughlin

January 10th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Rory Parks

In a fascinating post from Armando Salguero this morning, the Miami Herald scribe dives into the Dolphins‘ front office drama that the team hopes will come to an end in the Adam Gase era. In 2013, Salguero writes that the relationship between then-Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin and then-GM Jeff Ireland was on the rocks, and owner Stephen Ross ultimately chose to fire Ireland. Ross also debated firing then-offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, and in order to save his assistant and friend, Philbin privately blamed the team’s offensive struggles on quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Although Philbin continued to toe the company line publicly, reaffirming his faith in Tannehill on numerous occasions–with one or two notable exceptions–his internal discussions had a much different tone. Philbin urged the team to draft Derek Carr in the first round of the 2014 draft, and even after Tannehill enjoyed a relatively successful 2014 campaign, Philbin continued to take out his frustrations on Tannehill, a trend that continued into the team’s difficult start to the 2015 season. Ultimately, that situation was one of the factors that led the Dolphins to hire Gase, who they expect to forge a relationship with the quarterback they’ve committed to and to make him the best player he can be.

Now let’s dive into a few more notes from the league’s east divisions, beginning with more out of South Beach.

  • James Walker of ESPN.com affirms that Dan Campbell‘s future with the Dolphins will be determined by Gase, but Walker does add that Ross would like to keep Campbell on the team’s coaching staff. In a separate piece, Walker writes that Gase will be calling the team’s offensive plays.
  • Mike Smith will interview with the Giants for their head coaching vacancy tomorrow, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
  • Mike Garafolo of FOXSports tweets that there were “rumblings” that the Giants would interview Hue Jackson for their head coaching job, but they may not get that chance, as there are multiple reports suggesting that the 49ers could hire Jackson as early as today.
  • Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer says former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin will meet with the Eagles tomorrow to discuss their head coaching vacancy. Interestingly, Berman calls the meeting an “interview,” and not a “feeling-out” as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggested yesterday.
  • Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News compiles an offseason to-d0 list for the Bills, a list topped by an extension for GM Doug Whaley and a release of Mario Williams.
  • David Moore of the Dallas Morning News looks into why the Cowboys have been unable to land an adequate backup quarterback for Tony Romo, and Moore says head coach Jason Garrett should bear as much responsibility for that failing as owner Jerry Jones.

Marvin Lewis Back On The Hot Seat?

January 10th, 2016 at 8:55am CST by Rory Parks

On the heels of a gut-wrenching loss to the hated Steelers on Saturday night–a loss that dropped his overall playoff record as a head coach to 0-7–there is speculation that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis could be on the outs in Cincinnati. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that the loss–or, more specifically, the way in which the loss unfolded–might have put Lewis firmly on the hot seat. Marvin Lewis (vertical)

By now, the game has been dissected ad nauseum. With a 16-15 lead late in the game, Bengals RB Jeremy Hill lost a fumble deep in Steelers territory as his team was attempting to run out the clock, giving Pittsburgh one last gasp. Although the Steelers were able to convert a fourth down to keep their hopes alive, they were still well outside of field goal range with time running out when Vontaze Burfict was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a brutal hit laid on Antonio Brown after a Ben Roethlisberger pass sailed over Brown’s head. As Brown was being tended to by Pittsburgh’s medical staff, the Bengals were hit with another 15-yard penalty when Adam Jones bumped into an official while jawing with Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter (who was doing a fair amount of chirping in his own right, and who should not have been on the field at that time).

In any event, the thirty yards’ worth of penalties put the Steelers squarely in field goal range without having to run another play, and after kicker Chris Boswell split the uprights on a 35-yarder, the game was essentially over and the Bengals had suffered the type of loss that will leave permanent scars on the Queen City. And, as the man in charge of a team renowned for its volatility, Lewis may be forced to pay the price.

Lewis, of course, is no stranger to the hot seat. Despite an otherwise admirable coaching tenure in which he has turned one of the league’s laughingstocks into a yearly contender, Lewis has yet to deliver a playoff win, and rumors regarding his job security seem to spring up to at least some degree each offseason. But if team owner Mike Brown sees last night’s debacle as a direct reflection of Lewis’ control over his team, then he could finally decide to go in a different direction.

If he does, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson–who is expected to land a head coaching gig of his own anyway–could be offered a promotion to the top job, although Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that defensive coordinator Paul Guenther would be the top internal candidate. For all of his flaws, Brown has at least recognized that maintaining continuity at the head coaching position is generally the appropriate strategy, but after a loss like last night’s, maybe it’s time for a change.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Dolphins, H. Jackson, Bucs, Texans

January 9th, 2016 at 10:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before hiring Adam Gase as their head coach Saturday, the Dolphins considered several other candidates. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald passes along some interesting information on a handful of those names.

The Dolphins interviewed ex-Falcons head coach Mike Smith, but they felt he lacked “some of the gravitas” for the position. In Mike Shanahan‘s case, Miami’s bigwigs were worried that too many of the two-time Super Bowl winner’s potential assistants had jobs elsewhere, which would’ve negatively affected his ability to assemble a staff. They also had concern about whether Shanahan would be prone to complacency. The Dolphins discussed the idea of pursuing another two-time champion, Tom Coughlin, but they decided the soon-to-be 70-year-old was too advanced in age to factor into their long-term plans. Dan Campbell, the Dolphins’ interim head coach for most of the 2015-16 campaign, was the runner-up to Gase. The team simply didn’t think he was ready for the full-time job. Doug Marrone came in third place, largely because his plan for quarterback Ryan Tannehill wasn’t as enticing as Gase’s.

Tannehill didn’t have the belief of ex-head coach Joe Philbin, Salguero offers, but the Dolphins are confident the relationship between him and Gase will bear more fruit.

“We’re convinced you’ll see a different Ryan Tannehill next year,” a team source told Salguero. “That’s how much Adam will affect things around here.”

More from around the NFL:

  • Although a report Friday stated that Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is in the lead for the 49ers’ head coaching job, they’ll have serious competition for his services from the Browns, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Jackson will enter his Sunday interview with the Browns viewing them and the 49ers on a level playing field, per Cabot, who notes that other teams with head coaching vacancies could join them in trying to land the 50-year-old. As our head coaching search tracker shows, the only other current opening that Jackson has been connected to is the Giants’, though they haven’t requested a meeting with him at this time.
  • Dirk Koetter isn’t the prohibitive favorite to land the Buccaneers’ head coaching job, and they didn’t fire Lovie Smith because they were worried about losing Koetter, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The Bucs canned Smith because their ownership was fed up with his ability (or lack thereof) to build a quality coaching staff, his struggles with repairing their defense, and his uninspiring work when it came to putting together the 53-man roster. General manager Jason Licht believes the team will find a capable replacement for Smith. “It’s an excellent situation,” he said. “I’ve already been shown from the interest we’ve received that people want to come to Tampa and coach.”
  • After quarterback Brian Hoyer‘s five-turnover performance in the Texans’ 30-0 wild-card round loss to Kansas City on Saturday, Houston could look for a better option under center this offseason. With that in mind, Mike Sando of ESPN.com examined which roads the Texans might take in the coming months (Insider required). Draft-bound Penn State signal caller Christian Hackenberg, whom Texans coach Bill O’Brien recruited when he was at the helm of the Nittany Lions, is an obvious option. Otherwise, Sando lists Colin Kaepernick and free agent-to-be Sam Bradford as possible fits for the Texans.

Extra Points: Dolphins, Chargers, Lynch, Lions

January 9th, 2016 at 12:52pm CST by Ben Levine

When reports came out earlier today regarding Adam Gase being hired as the Dolphins head coach, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Bengals defensive back’s coach Vance Joseph was expected to join the staff as Miami’s new defensive coordinator. However, Rapoport later clarified (via Twitter) that Joseph will be a target, but no deal has been finalized. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that Joseph has had zero discussions with the Dolphins regarding the position.

If Joseph does end up joining Gase’s staff, he’s expected to hire several notable names. Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez tweets that Bengals linebackers coach Matt Burke, Bears defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, and Cowboys defensive back’s coach Jerome Henderson would presumably join Joseph’s staff.

Meanwhile, Albert Breer tweets that Hue Jackson is scheduled to have his interviews with the 49ers and Browns tomorrow. If he secures any of those head coaching jobs, Breer believes Joseph will be a target to become defensive coordinator (with Mike Solari an option at offensive coordinator).

Let’s take a look at some more assorted notes from around the league…

  • The Chargers request to interview Buccaneers defensive line coach Joe Cullen was denied, tweets Fox Sports’ Mike Garafalo.
  • Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times gives a list of reasons why it’d be in the Seahawks best interest to move on from Marshawn Lynch (via Twitter): they’d save $6.5MM against the cap, he’s 30-years-old, and he only appeared in seven games this season.
  • The Jets, Browns, Texans and Rams are among the teams scouting North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz at today’s FCS title game, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter).
  • Count Gil Brandt among those who are big fans of new Lions general manager Bob Quinn. “He’s not one of these guys that’s known because he doesn’t seek out jobs,” Brandt told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But he knows the personnel part of it, he knows the cap part of it. He knows how to make people better at the job they do. You’ll like this guy because … he’s a hustler, and he’s very low-key.”

Latest On Dolphins’ Head Coaching Search

January 8th, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson

10:03pm: Gase continues to look like the clear favorite, as he’s already met with both Ryan Tannehill and Ndamukong Suh, according to Jeff Darlington of NFL.com (Twitter link).

9:02pm: The Dolphins were scheduled to meet with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson on Sunday, but that meeting has been canceled, a source tells Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Hue Jackson (vertical)

[RELATED: Hue Jackson the favorite for 49ers head coaching job]

It’s unclear based on the report who exactly canceled the interview: Jackson or the Dolphins. Jackson, who is set to meet with the Browns and 49ers on Sunday, may have requested to terminate the meeting because he prefers other jobs. But it’s more likely that Miami canceled the interview, probably due to their overwhelming interest in Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

The Dolphins are said to be making a “strong push” for Gase, and have scheduled a second interview with him for Saturday. He’s the only candidate to have yet been invited back for a second go-round, indicating a level of seriousness from Miami. Indeed, in the article linked above, Salguero writes that “all signs point” to Gase landing in South Beach, noting that Gase was owner Stephen Ross‘ preferred candidate from the start of the search process.

In related news, if Gase is made the Dolphins’ head coach, Bengals defensive backs coach Vance Joseph will be a strong contender for Miami’s defensive coordinator gig, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Joseph was a candidate for both the Broncos and 49ers DC positions last year, but Cincinnati blocked him from leaving for either opportunity. That won’t happen this year, says Marvez, because Joseph’s contract is expiring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hue Jackson Favorite For 49ers Job

January 8th, 2016 at 6:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is the “clear front-runner” for the 49ers head coaching vacancy, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link). Jackson has yet to even interview for the position — that meeting will take place on Sunday — but the impression is that he is very interested in the job, per Kawakami (via Twitter).Hue Jackson (vertical)

The 49ers’ initial search focused on two candidates: Jackson and Saints head coach Sean Payton, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link). With Payton choosing to remain in New Orleans, San Francisco has apparently turned its attention to Jackson, who cannot interview with the club until the conclusion of Cincinnati’s Saturday Wild Card game.

[RELATED: Dolphins, 49ers request permission to interview Hue Jackson]

As our head coaching search tracker shows, Jackson is a very popular candidate on the coaching circuit, having been linked to four of the seven clubs with openings. In addition to the 49ers, he’ll also interview with the Dolphins and Browns on Sunday, and he’s been mentioned in connection with the Giants job.

San Francisco has already interviewed two other candidates — former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and current Bills assistant head coach Anthony Lynn — but it appears as though those two might be on the outside looking in. The 49ers are also expected to meet with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan at some point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Browns’ Head Coaching Search

January 8th, 2016 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns confirmed today that they have interviewed Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson for their head coaching position, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Henderson’s meeting with Cleveland had been reported earlier this week.Jerome Henderson

[RELATED: Browns OC John DeFilippo meeting with 49ers]

Having concluded their sit-down with Henderson, the Browns have now interviewed four candidates for their head coaching vacancy. The Cowboys’ defensive backs coach joins Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and Jaguars assistant head coach Doug Marrone as the coaches who have spoken to Cleveland so far this week.

The Browns’ interview process will continue this weekend, but it sounds like the team’s Sunday schedule won’t be quite as jam-packed as initially anticipated. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), the Browns don’t have a formal interview lined up yet with Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, despite a previous report suggesting he would talk to the club on Sunday. That doesn’t mean Guenther won’t talk to Cleveland — the two sides just don’t have anything officially scheduled for now.

According to Cabot (Twitter link), however, the Browns will still have a busy day on Sunday, with previously-reported meetings with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott still on their schedule. The Jackson interview is set to take place in Cincinnati, with the McDermott interview happening in Charlotte.

To stay up to date on the head coaching searches for the Browns and the six other teams looking for a new coach, be sure to check out our tracker.

Load More Posts