Jason Simmons

Commanders Notes: Izzo, Norton, Pagano

February 12th, 2024 at 8:08pm CST by Ben Levine

The Commanders have landed on their new special teams coordinator. Ben Standig of The Athletic reported last week that the team has hired Larry Izzo as their new ST coordinator.

Izzo earned three Super Bowl rings and three Pro Bowl nods as a special teams ace in New England, and he caught on to the coaching ranks shortly after retiring. He had a two-year stint as special teams coordinator with the Texans before joining the Seahawks staff in 2018.

He spent the past six seasons in Seattle, half of which he served as the team’s special teams coordinator. Izzo’s units ranked top-10 in FTN’s DVOA (subscription required) during each of his three seasons at the helm.

With Pete Carroll out in Seattle, his staff was free to seek jobs elsewhere. Izzo was a hot name in this hiring cycle, and he’s ultimately landed with Dan Quinn’s staff in Washington.

More coaching notes out of Washington…

As Joe Whitt Jr. prepares for his first defensive coordinator job, he’s adding some experience to his defensive staff. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Commanders have hired Ken Norton Jr. as their new linebackers coach. The former Cowboys and 49ers star had a three-year stint as the Raiders defensive coordinator before spending four years leading the Seahawks defense. After getting fired by Seattle following the 2021 campaign, he caught on as UCLA’s DC.
Elsewhere on defense, the Commanders are adding John Pagano in an unknown role (via Benjamin Allbright of KOA in Colorado) and Jason Simmons as their defensive pass-game coordinator (via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler). Pagano previously served as the Chargers and Raiders defensive coordinator, and he most recently spent time as the Broncos outside linebackers coach. Simmons spent almost a decade on the Packers coaching staff before recently serving as the Panthers and Raiders pass-game coordinators. Simmons was rumored to be joining Washington’s staff following Whitt’s hiring.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Commanders are hiring Bobby Johnson as their offensive line coach, per Pelissero. The veteran coach has spent more than a decade guiding tight ends and offensive linemen, including the past two as the Giants OLs coach. The Commanders will also be retaining Tavita Pritchard as their quarterbacks coach, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. Pritchard garnered interest from other teams, but the Commanders pushed to keep him after he impressed in meetings with Quinn and new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Jhabvala passes along a handful of Commanders coaches who won’t be returning in 2024: tight ends coach Todd Storm, run game coordinator Juan Castillo, offensive line coach Travelle Wharton, and senior defensive assistant/safeties coach Richard Rodgers.

Joe Whitt To Call Commanders’ Defensive Plays; Magic Johnson Helped Sway Kliff Kingsbury

February 5th, 2024 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn will step back from the play-calling post he held in Dallas, indicating Monday his new defensive coordinator — Joe Whitt — will run the show on gamedays. This will be a move up for Whitt, who spent the past three seasons as the Cowboys’ secondary coach.

The Cowboys wanted to retain Whitt, who had a pre-Dallas history with both Quinn and Mike McCarthy. Whitt’s past with the latter is far more extensive; Whitt was on McCarthy’s Green Bay staff for 11 seasons (2008-18). He joined Quinn’s Falcons defense in 2020, but Quinn’s October 2020 ouster prevented the two from coaching together much. Quinn brought Whitt to Dallas, however, and will entrust him with the defensive play calls in Washington.

One of Whitt’s former Packers coworkers is also on the Commanders’ radar. The team is interested in hiring Jason Simmons, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler indicating the Commanders sent the Raiders an interview request. Las Vegas granted the request. Simmons spent the past two seasons as the Raiders’ DBs coach and pass-game coordinator, being a Josh McDaniels hire. While some McDaniels hires are in line to stay, others have already been fired or left for other positions.

Simmons, 47, spent nine years with the Packers, overlapping with Whitt from 2011-18 in Wisconsin. Both coached Green Bay’s DBs at points during that span, with their final year together featuring Whitt as the Pack’s pass-game coordinator and Simmons in the DBs coach post. Simmons served as the Panthers’ pass-game coordinator under Matt Rhule and doing the same under McDaniels and Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas. With Whitt in place as the DC, it would seem the Commanders are targeting Simmons for another pass-game coordinator role.

Shifting to the higher-profile Commanders coordinator choice, Kliff Kingsbury is indeed bound for D.C. after initially committing to the Raiders. Contract length represented a sticking point for Kingsbury and the Raiders, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds Commanders limited partner Magic Johnson was in the USC assistant’s ear during the hiring process.

Johnson is believed to have informed Kingsbury the Commanders would be interested if his Raiders talks broke down. Soon after, Kingsbury had a deal in place with the Commanders. This probably will not go over well with the Raiders, who have since moved on to Luke Getsy as their offensive play-caller. But after the Commanders were unable to land their top choices as head coach, their OC position enticed Kingsbury to bail on a Vegas pledge.

Johnson aligned himself with Josh Harris when he attempted to buy the Broncos in 2022, and the NBA legend did so again during the 76ers owner’s successful push to acquire the Commanders. The Kingsbury about-face also has not prompted the Raiders to block a Simmons interview, potentially indicating the latter was not firmly in their 2024 plans.

The Commanders wanted an experienced play-caller to team with Quinn, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds. Kingsbury fits the bill, having run the show on offense at Texas Tech and then with the Cardinals. After a season as Caleb Williams‘ position coach, Kingsbury is likely to coach a rookie quarterback five years after mentoring No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray. Washington is unlikely — barring a Chicago trade-down — to be in position to take Williams, but a Commanders future with Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels is firmly in play. The team now has Kingsbury readying to lead this likely development effort.

AFC Staff Notes: McCown, Kelly, Broncos

February 8th, 2022 at 9:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans‘ coaching search meandered from Brian Flores and Josh McCown to the latter’s former head coach. Lovie Smith coached McCown in Chicago and then brought him to Tampa in 2014. McCown interviewed for Houston’s HC job three times over the past year and change but still does not have any NFL coaching experience. While it is clear the Texans’ front office would be on board with having McCown on staff, Smith might not be. At least, not in 2022. The new Texans HC praised McCown as a future coach and added (via Fox 26’s Mark Berman, video link) he would want him on his staff “eventually someday.” Smith already promoted quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton to offensive coordinator. McCown could conceivably fill Hamilton’s old post as QBs coach, however, if the Texans are indeed intent on him eventually becoming their head coach.

Here is the latest from the AFC coaching ranks:

John Pagano spent the past two seasons as the Broncos‘ outside linebackers coach, taking over after Brandon Staley departed for Los Angeles in 2020. During that span, the Broncos saw some new edge contributors — Malik Reed, Stephen Weatherly and seventh-round rookie Jonathon Cooper — help out to the point the team felt OK trading Von Miller. Pagano, however, will not be on Nathaniel Hackett‘s first Denver staff, per Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). The former Raiders and Chargers DC has now been an NFL staffer for 26 seasons.
Tim Kelly will serve as the Titans’ new passing-game coordinator, per TennesseeTitans.com’s Jim Wyatt. Kelly, the Texans’ OC from 2019-21, will work alongside Titans OC Todd Downing. Tim Kelly, the older brother of ex-Titans right tackle Dennis Kelly, and Mike Vrabel worked together on Houston’s staff ahead of the latter’s move to Tennessee. The Titans also hired Bobby King to be their inside linebackers coach. King also worked in Houston alongside Vrabel in 2017; he finished his Texans tenure as the team’s D-line coach this past season.
Denver interviewed Jason Simmons for its defensive coordinator job — a post expected to go to Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero — but the Carolina assistant will instead head to Las Vegas. The Raiders are hiring Simmons as their secondary coach, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. Simmons worked with new Raider DC Patrick Graham with the Packers in 2018.
The Steelers did not renew Ike Hilliard‘s contract, per The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly (on Twitter), and hired Frisman Jackson to coach their wide receivers. Jackson will leave Matt Rhule‘s hub for ex-Temple and Baylor coaches for Pittsburgh. The former NFL wideout, after stints with Rhule at both college programs, coached the Panthers’ receivers in each of Rhule’s first two years. Hilliard served as the Steelers’ receivers coach during that span.
Ex-NFL D-linemen-turned-assistants Brentson Buckner and Phillip Daniels may be vying for the Jaguars‘ D-line coach role, with Wilson adding the team is considering each for the position (Twitter link). Buckner currently serves as the Cardinals’ D-line coach. Daniels has less experience but worked under Doug Pederson in Philadelphia, working with the Eagles’ D-line from 2016-19. The Eagles fired Daniels after the ’19 season.
The Jags are also hiring Louisiana assistant head coach Rory Segrest, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman tweets. Segrest has been in the college ranks for over a decade but was with the Eagles during Pederson’s time working under Andy Reid in the late 2000s.
Circling back to the Broncos, they added a few more assistants early this week. UNLV DC Peter Hansen signed on to be Denver’s linebackers coach, Klis tweets. Hanson and Eviro were on Vic Fangio‘s 49ers staff from 2011-13. The Broncos also named Ben Steele their tight ends coach, Klis notes. Steele was the Vikings’ assistant O-line coach under Klint Kubiak this past season. Mike Mallory also joined Hackett’s Denver staff as assistant special teams coordinator (Twitter links). Mallory spent eight seasons with the Jaguars, as their ST coordinator and assistant ST coordinator (2013-20), working with Hackett for part of that stretch.

Broncos Interview Jason Simmons For DC

February 3rd, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Broncos have zeroed in on Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero for their defensive coordinator job, they continue to meet with other candidates.

Panthers secondary coach Jason Simmons interviewed for the Broncos DC job Thursday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. A 10-year NFL veteran, Simmons spent time in Green Bay prior to relocating to Charlotte in 2020. He and Nathaniel Hackett‘s tenures briefly overlapped.

Simmons, 45, was in his first season as the Packers’ secondary coach in 2019, Hackett’s first year as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator. Having played with the Steelers and Texans from 1998-2007, Simmons has been an NFL assistant since 2015. He joins Evero and Ravens D-line coach Anthony Weaver as names connected to this job. Prior to hiring Dan Quinn, the Cowboys interviewed Simmons for their DC gig last year.

Denver’s DC position will take on greater importance than it has in recent years, with Hackett being an offensive-minded head coach. The Broncos’ previous two HCs — Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio — had overseen the defense. Denver’s 2021 unit ranked in the top 10 in both total defense and points allowed. A former college teammate of Hackett’s, Evero remains the favorite. But the longtime Rams assistant cannot be hired until after Super Bowl LVI.

Coaching Notes: Quinn, Staley, Chargers, Pollack, Bengals, Simmons, Whitt, Cowboys

January 10th, 2021 at 6:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Hope you’re all enjoying Sunday’s three-game wild card slate, here are a new batch of coaching updates to pass along:

Dan Quinn’s star faded fast after taking the Falcons to the Super Bowl just a few years ago, and he was fired after starting 0-5 this season. His national reputation took a hit, but he’s apparently still fairly highly regarded in league circles and might not be out of a job too long. Quinn’s name is popping up frequently as a potential defensive coordinator for coaches interviewing for head coaching gigs, Peter Schrager of NFL Network is told (Twitter link). Quinn, of course, rose to prominence as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator for a couple years during their dominant ‘Legion of Boom’ era, and won Super Bowl XLVIII with Seattle. His defenses were never anything special during his time in Atlanta though, and it was Kyle Shanahan’s offense carrying the team during the peak of their success.
Speaking of defensive minds, Rams DC Brandon Staley is turning into a hot name this cycle, and after his defense just dominated Russell Wilson it’s not hard to see why. The Chargers are one of the teams interested, and he’ll interview with them today, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. But interestingly, Breer writes that if Los Angeles doesn’t hire an offensive mind, the new coach will “have to have a very detailed plan for that side of the ball and the quarterback.” 49ers DC Robert Saleh is also in contention for this job, so that would obviously apply to him as well. Clearly, the Chargers want a bright offensive mind to pair with Justin Herbert. We’ve heard Herbert loves current offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, but Breer’s tweet certainly doesn’t make it sound like he’s all that likely to return.
Zac Taylor survived for another year, but the Bengals fired a few assistant coaches this week. Now, they’ve found one of the replacements. Cincy has hired Frank Pollack to be their new offensive line coach and run game coordinator, the team announced. Pollack spent the past two seasons as the Jets’ offensive line coach, and had the same role with the Bengals in 2018 under Marvin Lewis. Before that he was he Cowboys’ O-line coach, and obviously those units had a great deal of success. For what it’s worth, Bengals players are “thrilled” with the hire, Jay Morrison of The Athletic writes. “It’s exciting,” center Billy Price said. “I’m glad to have him back. I’m really, really, really, really glad to have him back.” Running back Joe Mixon also said he was “super excited” to have Pollack back in the fold.
The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Mike Nolan earlier this week, and the search for his replacement is in full swing. Dallas interviewed Jason Simmons and Joe Whitt Jr. today for the position, a source told Calvin Watkins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Simmons is currently the passing game coordinator for the Panthers, while Whitt is the passing game coordinator for the Falcons. Both candidates have plenty of familiarity with Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. Whitt was on Green Bay’s defensive staff from 2008-18, rising the ranks from quality control coach, while Simmons started with the Packers in 2015 as an assistant special teams coach. Neither has been a DC before.

Coaching/Front Office Notes: Browns, Broncos, Giants, Titans, Panthers, Dolphins

January 24th, 2020 at 9:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

When previous frontrunner George Paton removed himself from consideration for the Browns’ general manager vacancy, there were reports that he had concerns about Cleveland’s power structure. That might’ve been a bit overblown, as sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that Paton was “not at all scared off by Browns’ structure” (Twitter link). Further, Fowler writes that Paton was “impressed with people in the building and thinks highly of” new head coach Kevin Stefanski, while it came down to the fact that he “felt he had a good thing still going in Minnesota.” Paton is currently an assistant GM with the Vikings. That’s good news for Browns fans, but the earlier reports are still concerning. Stefanski, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, and whoever the new GM is will all be reporting directly to owner Jimmy Haslam, which understandably turns off some prospective candidates.

Here’s more from the coaching ranks:

We heard Mike Shula’s interview with the Broncos went well, and now he’s about to be hired. Shula is going to become Denver’s next quarterbacks coach, the team is just working out contract details, a source told Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). Specifically, Klis writes that offsets with the Giants still need to be worked out. Shula had been the Giants’ offensive coordinator before Pat Shurmur was fired, and there was apparently offset language in his contract. Prior to joining New York, Shula was the Panthers’ OC for five seasons. Shurmur has since been hired as Denver’s offensive play-caller, so obviously there’s a lot of familiarity here.
Speaking of former Giants coaches, New York’s former head coach Ben McAdoo left his visit with the Browns without a deal, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Garafolo notes that it is still unclear exactly what role McAdoo was interviewing for in Cleveland. Garafolo also writes he was “in play” to be Carolina’s new quarterbacks coach.
Jason Garrett is re-teaming with one of his guys. The new Giants offensive coordinator will be paired back up with Marc Colombo, who is going to be New York’s new offensive line coach, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Colombo had been Garrett’s O-line coach in Dallas. The Cowboys routinely had one of the league’s best offensive lines, so this seems like a strong hire.
Legendary assistant Dean Pees elected to retire as the Titans’ defensive coordinator, leaving Mike Vrabel with a big hole on his staff. The “expectation in [the] coaching community” is that Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen will be promoted to DC, per Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL (Twitter link). Bowen had previously served as a defensive assistant with the Texans, so he has deep ties to Vrabel.
Rookie Panthers head coach Matt Rhule continues to fill out his inaugural staff, and he just made a couple of new hires. Rhule is expected to hire Pat Meyer away from the Chargers as his offensive line coach, and Jason Simmons away from the Packers as his defensive backs coach, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Meyer had been Los Angeles’ OL coach and run-game coordinator, while Simmons coached the Packers’ DBs. Rhule’s staff is now almost fully fleshed out.
Finally, the Dolphins are hiring a new defensive backs coach in Gerald Alexander, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets. Alexander is coming from the college ranks, where he served as the defensive backs coach at Cal for the past few seasons. Alexander was briefly with the Dolphins as a safety during his playing days back in 2011. Miami had the vacancy after they promoted Josh Boyer to defensive coordinator following Patrick Graham’s departure.

Latest On Packers’ Coaching Staff

January 31st, 2019 at 7:10pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Packers are just about done filling out Matt LaFleur’s inaugural staff. They’ve made a bunch of moves over the past couple of weeks, and made several more today. While LaFleur is keeping defensive coordinator Mike Pettine from Mike McCarthy’s staff, most of the assistants are being changed out. Pettine is staying and the team previously hired Nathaniel Hackett to coordinate the offense, and today they found their third coordinator.

Vanderbilt special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga will take the same job with the Packers, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As Demovsky points out, Green Bay’s special teams were some of the worst in the league last year, so Mennenga will have his work cut out for him. Mennenga was previously an assistant special teams coach with the Browns while Pettine was the head coach in Cleveland.

The team also has a new wide receivers coach, as they’re hiring Alvis Whitted, according to Demovsky. Whitted has been in the same position at Colorado State for the last seven years. Before that Whitted spent nearly a decade in the NFL as a player, with stops in Jacksonville and Oakland.

The team also announced they were keeping four of McCarthy’s other assistants, tweets Jason Wilde of ESPN. Running backs coach Ben Sirmans, defensive backs coach Jason Simmons, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, and assistant defensive backs coach Ryan Downard are all staying. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that both Simmons and Downard actually received promotions.

Latest On Packers’ Coaching Staff

January 18th, 2019 at 7:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Packers made several moves today to help fill out new coach Matt LaFleur’s inaugural staff. First the team hired 49ers assistant offensive line coach Adam Stenavich to be their offensive line coach, sources told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports (Twitter link). We heard a couple of days ago Green Bay was granted permission to interview him, and now they’ve made the move. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweeted several hours before Maiocco broke the news that the Jets also had interest in Stenavich to be their offensive line coach. Stenavich was on the Packers’ practice squad in 2006 during his playing days as an offensive tackle.

The team is also hiring Kirk Olivadotti to be their linebackers coach, tweets Jim Owczarski of the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel. Up until now Olivadotti had served in the same position with the Redskins. LaFleur served on Washington’s staff as quarterbacks coach while Olivadotti was there, so the hire makes sense. LaFleur will also be retaining Jason Simmons, the secondary coach who has been on the staff in Green Bay since 2011, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

In a separate tweet Demovsky notes that the Packers completed their interview with Luke Getsy. A source told Demovsky that Getsy interviewed for both the quarterbacks and receivers coach openings, but left town without signing a contract. Jason Wilde of ESPN followed up with a tweet of his own, saying that quarterback Aaron Rodgers “thinks very highly of Getsy and has a lot of respect for him.”

Getsy served on the Packers’ staff under Mike McCarthy from 2014-17 before leaving to take a job as Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator last year. The Packers have been making a bunch of moves to bring guys in from different organizations, and are now close to filling out LaFleur’s staff.

Coaching Rumors: Titans, Lions, Packers

January 23rd, 2018 at 9:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although at least one report indicated new Titans head coach Mike Vrabel would overhaul the majority of Tennessee’s coaching staff, that’s not necessarily the case, says Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com (all Twitter links). Tight ends coach Arthur Smith, assistant special teams coach Craig Aukerman, and assistant wide receivers coach Luke Steckel will join previously-reported defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend in interviewing with Vrabel during the Senior Bowl. Among the coaches who will part ways with the Titans include offensive line coach and NFL Hall of Famer Russ Grimm (who is retiring), quarterbacks coach Jason Michael, running backs coach Sylvester Croom, defensive assistant Brandon Blaney, and assistant defensive backs coach Steve Jackson.

Here’s more from the 2018 coaching carousel:

The Lions are expected to revamp their defensive coaching staff under new head coach Matt Patricia, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). That should come as no surprise given Patricia’s defensive background, and the current Patriots DC spoke with members of the Detroit staff last week to inform them they aren’t part of the club’s 2018 plans, per Birkett. Specifically, Lions linebackers coach Bill Sheridan and defensive backs coach Alan Williams have been fired, reports Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. The Lions, of course, have already lost a number of defensive staffers to other teams, as former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin joined the Bengals while ex-defensive line coach Kris Kocurek landed with the Dolphins.
The Packers will continue their staff overhaul under new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine by hiring former Bowling Green safeties coach Ryan Downard, likely as a defensive quality control coach, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). Downard was an assistant under Pettine in Cleveland before heading to BGSU, so there is a level of familiarity between the two. Downard’s addition does not have an effect on the status of incumbent cornerbacks coach Darren Perry, per Silverstein. Meanwhile, La Canfora (via Twitter) has clarified Jason Simmons‘ role change with Green Bay, noting that he’s been moved to secondary coach.
The Panthers are interviewing Seahawks assistant special teams coach Heath Farwell for the same position, reports Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). If hired, Farwell would work alongside former NFL linebacker Chase Blackburn, who was recently named Carolina’s new special teams coach. Farwell, an ex-NFL ‘backer in his own right, joined the coaching ranks in 2016.
The Seahawks have mutually parted ways with senior defensive assistant Travis Jones, the club announced today. Jones had served as Seattle’s defensive line coach from 2013-16 before being bumped to a new role last season. He’s just the latest coach to leave the Seahawks’ staff this month, adding to a growing list that includes OC Darrell Bevell and DC Kris Richard.

Coaching Rumors: Patriots, Falcons, Raiders

January 21st, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Both Patriots coordinators — Josh McDaniels (offense) and Matt Patricia (defense) — are expected to accept head coaching jobs this offseason, but they may not be the only top assistants to leave New England in the coming weeks. Special teams coordinator Joe Judge is also working on an expiring contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who adds Judge could follow either McDaniels or Patricia to Indianapolis or Detroit, respectively. The Patriots have finished as a top-eight special teams unit in DVOA in each of Judge’s seven seasons at the helm.

Here’s more from the coaching carousel:

If former Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard doesn’t land another DC job, it “wouldn’t be a surprise” to see him land with the Falcons, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com opines. The connection makes sense, as Richard preceded Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn as Seattle’s defensive play-caller, and also played alongside current Falcons DC Marquand Manuel. Richard likely wouldn’t become defensive coordinator in Atlanta, so he could hypothetically wait to see if he garners interest around the league before taking a lesser position with the Falcons.
Ohio State co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day is reportedly new Titans head coach Mike Vrabel‘s top choice to become Tennessee’s next OC, but Vrabel also has interest in Lions quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan, tweets Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com. Callahan has drawn coordinator interest around the league before, and could also be on the Jets’ radar as they seek to fill their OC vacancy. However, Detroit and new head coach Matt Patricia want to keep Callahan in place with the Lions.
The Raiders interviewed former Texas A&M (and current Arizona) head coach Kevin Sumlin, but it’s unclear which role Jon Gruden had in mind for the longtime NCAA coach. While Alex Marvez of the Sporting News recently reported Oakland met with Sumlin regarding its wide receivers coach job, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com indicates (via Twitter) Sumlin interviewed for offensive coordinator. The Raiders ultimately hired Edgar Bennett and Greg Olson for those respective gigs.
Before accepting a new position with the Giants, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey interviewed with the Browns, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Cleveland ultimately selected former Cardinals ST coach Amos Jones over McGaughey, who’s also coordinated special teams units for the Jets and 49ers.
Scott McCurley — who coached inside linebackers for the Packers in 2017 but was fired at season’s end — is now back with Green Bay, but could possibly be working under a new title, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Additionally, the Packers have reassigned special teams assistant Jason Simmons to a defensive position, while former Colts staffer Maurice Drayton will replace Simmons’ ST duties.

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