Jeff Stoutland - Pro Football Rumors

Coaching Notes: Klemm, Solari, Stoutland, Locust, Landow

February 5th, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Patriots offensive lineman and current associate head coach/run game coordinator/offensive line coach at the University of Oregon Adrian Klemm has been in consideration for an assistant coaching role with his former team this offseason, reportedly heading to Las Vegas to interview with the staff during their time at the Pro Bowl. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning claimed that he doesn’t anticipate any staff changes, though, indicating that Klemm will be remaining with the Ducks, according to James Crepea of Fox Sports Eugene.

This wasn’t the only coaching position Klemm has been considered for in New England. The 45-year-old assistant coach was also a candidate for the offensive coordinator position that was eventually awarded to Bill O’Brien. Keeping Klemm in Eugene is a big win for Lanning, as Klemm clearly has a lot of potential as a coach in the NFL.

Here are a few other coaching notes that may get swept aside as bigger names and jobs continue to make headlines:

Longtime offensive line coach Mike Solari will return to a coaching position in Dallas for the first time in 35 years. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Solari will be replacing Joe Philbin as the team’s new offensive line coach. Solari was an assistant offensive line coach and special teams coach for the Cowboys under Tom Landry in the 1987 and 1988 seasons and worked under Mike McCarthy in Green Bay for a year in 2015. He was not coaching in the NFL last year after a four-year stint in Seattle.
One of the key pieces to the Super Bowl-bound Eagles‘ staff will be sticking around for a bit longer, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Philadelphia’s run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was an attractive candidate for multiple offensive coordinator jobs this offseason but has reportedly agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles boasted a top-five rushing attack this year that led the league with 32 rushing touchdowns behind an elite offensive line coached by Stoutland. He has been a huge part of what has helped the Eagles lead the NFC in points and yards this season and will be sticking around to attempt to continue that success.
The Titans have landed an exciting new defensive assistant, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, signing a deal with former Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust. She reportedly impressed both head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon in the interview process and will continue to work her way up the NFL coaching ladder.
The Broncos are reportedly parting ways with strength and conditioning coach Loren Landow, as reported by Mike Klis of 9NEWS. The 27-year veteran is seeking other opportunities as new head coach Sean Payton is expected to bring in his own strength and conditioning coach. In a year that saw Denver suffer an unusually large number of injuries, Landow surprisingly avoided much of the blame, which seemed to fall on the shoulders of former head coach Nathaniel Hackett and his unusual practice schedules. Landow has his own practice, Landow Performance, that has seen a remarkable level of success, but he will likely be considered for open strength and conditioning positions for the league in the future.

Extra Points: Chiefs, Lions, Eagles, Raiders

March 7th, 2018 at 9:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Before Alec Ogletree was traded to the Giants earlier today, the Rams also offered the veteran linebacker to the Chiefs, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Los Angeles recently completed a Marcus Peters-centered trade with Kansas City, but it’s clear if Ogletree was part of those talks, or discussed in a separate deal. The Chiefs have already announced that team icon Derrick Johnson will not be re-signed, but Kansas City could still use another inside linebacker to play opposite Reggie Ragland in its 3-4 scheme. However, the Chiefs are one of the more-cap strapped teams in the NFL, so it’s unlikely they could have taken on Ogletree’s $10MM guarantee in 2018.

While the Lions now have until mid-July to work out an extension with recently franchise-tagged defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, a long-term could be a risky proposition for Detroit, argues Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. Ansah will already be 29 years old when the 2018 campaign gets underway, and he’s dealt with nagging injuries and inconsistent play over the course of his five-year career. Additionally, Ansah will now earn $17.143MM in 2018, meaning he’s likely looking for a guarantee of $38MM (the value of two consecutive franchise tags). As Rothstein writes, Lions general manager Bob Quinn has shown a willingness to pay up for stars in the past, but it’s unclear if Detroit is willing to go all-in for Ansah.
In addition to confirming Mike Groh‘s previously-reported promotion to offensive coordinator, the Eagles have announced a series of staff moves. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland had had “run game coordinator” added to his title, Carson Walch was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach, and Trent Miles was promoted to offensive quality control/running backs.
The Lions have hired former NFL defensive back Steve Gregory as a defensive assistant, the club announced today. Gregory played under Detroit head coach Matt Patricia when both were in New England, and had spent the past several seasons as a special teams quality control coach at Syracuse, his alma mater. Per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link), Gregory has long wanted to coach in the NFL, and many of his former teammates were high on his future coaching potential.
Long snapper Jon Condo will not be re-signed by the Raiders, as Condo himself announced on his Twitter account. This was the expected result after Oakland inked two long snappers to futures deals this winter, tweets Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A two-time Pro Bowler, Condo had spent all but one season of his dozen-year career in Oakland.

Eagles Hire 15 Assistants

January 20th, 2016 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

5:46pm: The Eagles have made Reich’s hiring official. They’ve also named 14 other assistants to posts. Seven of those coaches are holdovers from Chip Kelly‘s staff. Here’s the list (unless otherwise specified, the names come courtesy of the Eagles’ website):

Eugene Chung, offensive line/tight ends/running game
Phillip Daniels, defensive quality control/assistant defensive line
Dave Fipp, special teams
Ken Flajole, linebackers
Matthew Harper, assistant special teams
Tim Hauck, defensive backs/safeties
Greg Lewis, wide receivers (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Caplan)
Justin Peelle, tight ends
Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator
Duce Staley, running backs
Jeff Stoutland, offensive line
Press Taylor, offensive quality control/assistant quarterbacks
Cory Undlin, defensive backs/cornerbacks
Dino Vasso, defensive quality control/assistant secondary

On the heels of these moves, the Eagles released offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and linebackers coaches Rick Minter and Bill McGovern from their contracts, according to Caplan (on Twitter). They let go of previous D-coordinator Billy Davis on Monday, per Caplan (Twitter link).

1:40pm: The Eagles have reached an agreement with Frank Reich to make him their new offensive coordinator, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSports.com, who reports (via Twitter) that it’s a “done deal.” Reich had been scheduled to have a formal interview with the team today, and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com had suggested “it would be an upset” if he wasn’t hired (Twitter link).

Reich, recently fired as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator after two seasons leading San Diego’s offense, interviewed for the same position on Adam Gase‘s Dolphins staff, but Miami ultimately chose Clyde Christensen as their new OC.

Had he become the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator, Reich wouldn’t have called the team’s plays (Gase will do that), and it looks as if he won’t handle that responsibility in Philadelphia either. New head coach Doug Pederson indicated during his introductory press conference on Tuesday that he expects to call offensive plays in 2016.

In San Diego, Reich was let go in large part due to the Chargers’ ineffective running game, but he did just fine with the team’s aerial attack — Philip Rivers led the NFL in completed passes in 2015, racking up nearly 4,800 yards passing to go along with 29 touchdowns.

Injuries have plagued the Chargers over the last couple years, and health problems on the offensive line likely contributed to the struggles of first-round running back Melvin Gordon, but Reich took the fall for the offense’s regression. In 2014, Reich’s first year as offensive coordinator, San Diego went from second in offensive DVOA to 11th. The team slipped to 15th this season, and the Chargers also went from scoring nearly 25 points per game in 2013 to just 20 by 2015.

In addition to reaching a deal with Reich, the Eagles have also reportedly agreed to hire former Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo as the club’s quarterbacks coach. The new additions to Pederson’s offensive coaching staff likely spell the end of Pat Shurmur‘s time in Philadelphia, despite the fact that the new head coach said on Tuesday that Shurmur would receive consideration for the OC role.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles Notes: Bradford, Pederson, Coaches

January 19th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Eagles introduced new head coach Doug Pederson today at an afternoon press conference, and announced during that presser that former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz will be Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for the 2016 season. However, that was hardly the only item of interest from the session. Let’s dive in and round up some of the other highlights….

According to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the team started with a pool of about 25 head coaching candidates, then reduced that total to about 10 (Twitter link Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). That list included head coaches on other teams, per Lurie, so I’d expect John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton were among the Eagles’ names. Ultimately though, no one besides Pederson was going to be offered the job, Lurie said (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Pederson said today that personnel decisions will be made collaboratively, with Lurie breaking any ties. Pederson and Howie Roseman figure to be involved in those decisions, along with the club’s new head of player personnel — Lurie confirmed today that the Eagles are looking to hire someone for that position (Twitter links via McLane).
Asked about Sam Bradford, Pederson said a decision on the free-agent-to-be hasn’t been made, but he praised the QB as one who could fit into his system (Twitter link via Berman).
The Eagles haven’t yet decided on an offensive coordinator, Pederson said today (Twitter link via McLane). Frank Reich is reportedly the frontrunner for the job, though the new head coach said he’ll consider incumbent OC Pat Shurmur too (Twitter link via McLane). Still, it’ll be Pederson, rather than the OC, who will call the team’s offensive plays, tweets James Palmer of the NFL Network.
Special teams coach Dave Fipp and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will be retained, tweets McLane. Pederson is still deliberating on the rest of the staff.

Coaching Updates: 49ers, Eagles, April

January 17th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Rory Parks

As has been widely speculated, it appears as though a number of Chip Kelly‘s assistant coaches from Philadelphia are expected to join Kelly’s 49ers staff. Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com tweets that former Eagles WR coach Bob Bicknell will become the new WR coach in San Francisco, while Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer confirms (via Twitter) that DL coach Jerry Azzinaro and QB coach Ryan Day are also expected to follow Kelly to the Bay Area. As Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com observes (via Twitter), former 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula was interested in hiring Bicknell as San Francisco’s offensive coordinator last season, but Bicknell’s preference at that time was to stay in Philadelphia.

Now let’s dive into some more coaching updates:

Expanding upon McLane’s tweet that PFR passed along along last night, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that, with the Chiefs now eliminated from the playoffs, Kansas City OC Doug Pederson is expected to be announced as the Eagles‘ new head coach within the next week.
As for Pederson’s new coaching staff, McLane tweets that the Eagles could keep RB coach Duce Staley, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, assuming Pederson is amenable to retaining them.
The Titans are prepared to hire Bobby April as their special teams coach, according to Marvez (via Twitter). April, who served in the same capacity with the Jets last season, was fired after Gang Green’s disappointing special teams performance in 2015. However, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com tweets, April has coached a number of strong special teams units in his remarkably long career. April has worked as a special teams coach/coordinator since 1991, when he first entered the NFL as a tight ends and special teams coach for the Falcons. Since that time, he has been employed by the Steelers, Saints, Rams, Bills, Eagles, Raiders, and Jets.