HEADLINES

Jeff Hammerschmidt

Adam Gase Finalizes First Jets Staff

February 9th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adam Gase finalized his initial Jets coaching staff, and several new names will be added to the mix. In addition to the interesting setup reuniting ex-Saints staffers Gregg Williams and Joe Vitt, along with Blake Williams‘ arrival, the Jets announced five other new coaches will be joining their staff.

Longtime defensive end Andre Carter will come aboard as Gang Green’s defensive line coach. This will be Carter’s first chance at leading a position group. The 39-year-old former 13-year NFL veteran broke into coaching as the Dolphins’ assistant D-line instructor the past two seasons.

Gase hired John Dunn as tight ends coach. Dunn spent last season as the University of Connecticut’s assistant head coach. He’d previously worked with Jets OC Dowell Loggains in Chicago as an offensive assistant, his lone NFL experience to date.

Mentioned as another Miami-to-New York relocation candidate, Frank Bush will coach the Jets’ inside linebackers and carry an assistant HC title. Bo Hardegree will serve as an offensive assistant, and Eric Sanders will follow Gregg Williams from Cleveland to the Big Apple and work as a defensive assistant. The Browns jettisoned Sanders and the Williamses from their staff last month.

Gase will retain a few Todd Bowles-era coaches, most notably the special teams (Brant Boyer and Jeff Hammerschmidt) and defensive backs staffs (Dennard Wilson and Steve Jackson) will remain intact. Every other position group will have new leaders.

East Notes: Curry, Eagles, Jets, Giants, Fins

February 5th, 2016 at 9:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Edge rusher Vinny Curry became the latest Eagle to sign a long-term extension with the club this week, inking a five-year deal that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2020. And while the initial guarantee of Curry’s $47MM deal was reported as $23MM, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the full guarantee is actually only $18MM — the remaining $5MM is for injury only. Corry also passes along Curry’s cap charges from 2016-2020 (Twitter link): $3MM, $9MM, $11MM, $11.25MM, and finally, $12MM in 2020.

There’s more news from the East divisions, so let’s dive in:

  • The Jets have hired Jeff Hammerschmidt as assistant special teams coordinator, the club announced via press release. Hammerschmidt spent the past four years as Colorado State’s special teams coach, and also worked with the team’s running backs and tight ends. He’ll serve under Brant Boyer, whom New York hired away from the Colts earlier this week.
  • In his latest offseason preview, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap takes a look at the Giants, noting that the club’s main goal in the next few months should be working out contract solutions with receiver Victor Cruz and tackle Will Beatty. A strong effort during the free agent period, opines Fitzgerald, will be key if Big Blue wants to compete in 2016.
  • Ryan Tannehill was essentially banned from calling audibles last season, so much so that receiver Greg Jennings isn’t sure anyone knows what the young Dolphins quarterback is really capable of, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “[H]e hasn’t been given the reins to where he has the liberty and freedom to call his shots sometimes,” said Jennings. “It’s almost like taking a baby who’s six years old and he still has a bottle in his mouth. Gotta take it out and see if he can drink out of a cup.”