Jim Haslett - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On XFL Coaching Staffs, Front Offices

June 26th, 2022 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The XFL made a bit of a spectacle of announcing all of the staff that would be involved in the league once it returns in 2023. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network provided a rundown of all eight teams’ staffs (all Twitter links).

Dallas Renegades

Director of player personnel: Rick Mueller
Head coach: Bob Stoops
Offensive coordinator: Matt McMillian and Jonathan Hayes
Defensive coordinator: Jay Hayes

Mueller, 54, has an extensive history in the player personnel circles of football. He’s spent time in the college ranks, the CFL, the UFL, and held high-level positions with the Jaguars, Saints, and Eagles. Stoops has a storied history as a college football head coach, most notoriously spending 18 years with the Oklahoma Sooners. Jonathan Hayes, the brother of Jay Hayes, coached with Stoops at Oklahoma before spending 16 years as the Bengals’ tight ends coach.

DC Defenders

Director of player personnel: Von Hutchins
Head coach: Reggie Barlow
Offensive coordinator: Fred Kaiss
Defensive coordinator: Gregg Williams

Hutchins is a former cornerback who played for the Colts, Texans, and Falcons back from 2004-2009. He also spent time in personnel roles with the Raiders and Packers. Barlow is a former NFL receiver who has head coaching experience with FCS Alabama State and Division II Virginia State. Kaiss has worked in the past with Barlow at the FCS level. Williams has vast NFL experience serving as the head coach of the Bills, interim head coach for the Browns, and defensive coordinator for eight different teams, most recently the Jets in 2020.

Houston Roughnecks

Director of player personnel: Marc Lillibridge
Head coach: Wade Phillips
Offensive coordinator: A.J. Smith
Defensive coordinator: Brian Stewart

Lillibridge has a bit of a thin history with the NFL with experience both representing and scouting players over the years. Phillips has enough NFL experience for the both of them, though. Phillips has served as the head coach of the Broncos, Bills, and Cowboys, interim head coach of the Saints and Falcons, and the defensive coordinator of eight different teams, calling defensive plays in Denver in two separate stints. Smith is an innovative, young coach who created a virtual system to train quarterbacks. He’s worked over the years with Gardner Minshew, Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh Rosen, and others. Stewart has worked previously with Phillips as his defensive coordinator in Dallas. Since his time in the NFL, he has served as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level at Houston and on two separate occasions at Maryland.

Las Vegas (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Joey Clinkscales
Head coach: Rod Woodson
Offensive coordinator: TBD
Defensive coordinator: TBD

Clinkscales has served in personnel roles for the Steelers, Jets, and Raiders dating back to the early 1990s. At his height, he was hired as the Raiders’ director of player personnel in 2012, parting ways with the team when then-general manager Reggie McKenzie was fired in 2019. Woodson is a legendary former NFL defensive back who last played in the early 2000s. Since then, he has worked in some assistant coaching roles with the Bengals, Broncos, and Raiders.

Orlando (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Larry Lee
Head coach: Terrell Buckley
Offensive coordinator: Robert Ford
Defensive coordinator: Tony Carter

Lee is a former NFL center from the 1980s who became the Lions’ vice president of football operations after his retirement. He hasn’t worked in a professional football league in two decades, serving most recently as the deputy executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance. Buckley is a former NFL cornerback who moved to coaching after playing, holding multiple assistant coaching positions around the college ranks over the past 15 years. Ford has been coaching for almost 50 years, breaking into the NFL in 1991 with the Cowboys, where he won three Super Bowl rings as a tight ends coach. He has served as an assistant coach with the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Raiders, as well, with his last stint in the NFL coming back in 2006. Carter is another former NFL cornerback who moved to coaching after his playing time ended, taking small coaching roles with the Raiders and Lions since retiring.

San Antonio (TBD)

Director of player personnel: Will Lewis
Head coach: Hines Ward
Offensive coordinator: Jaime Elizondo
Defensive coordinator: Jim Herrmann

Lewis is a former NFL player and assistant coach who moved to the personnel side of football in the late 1990s. After starting as a scout with the Packers, Lewis has held high-level positions with the Seahawks and Chiefs. He also served as general manager for a franchise in the short-lived Alliance of American Football. Ward is a former longtime receiver for the Steelers who, since retiring, has held assistant coaching roles with the Jets and at the collegiate level. Elizondo has a long history of coaching football at the collegiate level and in the CFL, as well as serving as an offensive coordinator in the 2020 iteration of the XFL. Herrmann has been a defensive coordinator at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, as well as an assistant coach for the Jets, Giants, and Colts.

Seattle Dragons

Director of player personnel: Randy Mueller
Head coach: Jim Haslett
Offensive coordinator: June Jones
Defensive coordinator: Ron Zook

Mueller has served in the past as general manager for the Saints and Dolphins while holding other high-level positions for the Seahawks and Chargers. Haslett was the head coach of the Saints for six years in the early 2000s . He has also been a head coach in the UFL and served as interim head coach of the Rams. He’s held defensive coordinator positions with the Saints, Steelers, Rams, and Washington, as well as holding assistant coaching positions with the Raiders, Bengals, and Titans. Jones was the head coach of the Falcons back in the mid-1990s and, subsequently, served as a head coach in the CFL. He’s held offensive coordinator jobs at nearly every level of competitive football. Zook adds to the head coaching experience in Seattle with two stints as a college football head coach. He’s served as defensive coordinator for the Saints and special teams coordinator for the Steelers and Packers. He has lots of experience as a coordinator at the collegiate level, as well.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Director of player personnel: Dave Boller
Head coach: Anthony Becht
Offensive coordinator: Bruce Gradkowski
Defensive coordinator: Donnie Abraham

Boller has scouting experience with the Buccaneers back in the late 1990s. Becht is a former NFL tight end whose only coaching experience is as a positional coach in the AAF. Gradkowski is a former NFL quarterback who served as a backup for much of his career. Since his retirement, Gradkowski has been serving as a high school head coach in Ohio. Abraham continues the trend of former NFL player coaches in St. Louis with no NFL coaching experience. Abraham was a cornerback for the Buccaneers and Jets from 1996-2004. Since retiring he has been a head coach at the high school level, an assistant coach in the Arena Football League, an assistant coach at the collegiate level, and an assistant coach in the AAF.

XFL Assigns Franchise-Coach Pairings

June 4th, 2022 at 12:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

The identities of the head coaches who will be on the sidelines when the XFL begins its third iteration were already known. Today, though, it has been revealed which franchise each coach will be working with when the league re-starts in 2023.

As detailed by Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), Wade Phillips has been assigned to the Houston franchise. That will mark the second stint coaching a professional team in that city for the soon-to-be 75-year-old, as he took over interim HC duties for the Texans during his time there in 2013. This will mark his first time on the sidelines since 2019, when he served as defensive coordinator of the Rams.

The list of XFL coaches also includes decorated former players. One of them is Hines Ward, who will be joining Phillips and Bob Stoops in the state of Texas by coaching the San Antonio franchise. The former Super Bowl MVP worked as an offensive assistant with the Jets in 2020 and 2021; he spent the past campaign as the WRs coach at Florida Atlantic. The XFL post will mark his first time as a head coach at any level.

Another brand-name player the XFL will be featuring on the sidelines is Rod Woodson. The Hall of Fame corner has more experience than Ward with respect to time spent as a positional coach at the NFL level, including two separate stints as the CBs coach of the Raiders. In his case as well, though, the XFL will provide a first-time HC opportunity. He will take the reins of the Las Vegas team.

Long before the league unveiled its batch of HCs for the upcoming season, the XFL announced a formal partnership with the NFL. While the former will not organize itself as a strictly developmental league for the latter, there will be notable collaboration between the two on a number of matters, including the NFL’s Alumni Academy. While it remains to be seen if the third time proves to be the charm for the enterprise now co-owned by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, these agreements, along with the interest generated by these coaches, should give the league a chance at long-term success.

Here is the full breakdown of the franchise-coach pairings, per Wilson:

Houston: Wade Phillips
Dallas: Bob Stoops
San Antonio: Hines Ward
Washington, D.C.: Reggie Barlow
Seattle: Jim Haslett
Las Vegas: Rod Woodson
Orlando: Terrell Buckley
St. Louis: Anthony Becht

Wade Phillips, Rod Woodson, Hines Ward Among XFL HCs

April 13th, 2022 at 6:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Out of the NFL since the 2019 season, Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will resurface in the latest XFL iteration. The longtime NFL coach will be one of XFL 3.0’s eight HCs, the rebooting league announced Wednesday.

Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, former Pro Bowler Hines Ward, and ex-Oklahoma national championship HC Bob Stoops will join Phillips. Former Saints and Rams HC Jim Haslett will also lead an XFL team. The league’s third round of HCs also includes former NFLers Terrell Buckley, Anthony Becht and Reggie Barlow.

“Our head coaches are a diverse group of leaders, champions and hall of famers with experience competing and coaching at the highest level in football. Not only will they be mentors to our players, but they are also ambassadors of the XFL as we work together to build tomorrow’s league,” said Dany Garcia, Co-Owner and Chairwoman of the XFL. “What is most exciting about our talented coaches is that they all share our vision for the XFL and are committed to advancing the game of football for players and making it into a must-watch program for fans. The XFL is anchored in the belief of opportunity, and, just like our players, these football legends will drive the future of the game.”

Head coach or interim HC for four teams, Phillips was on the sideline for the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win and coached in Super Bowls XXIV and LIII as Denver and Los Angeles DC. The veteran coach also had a long career as a defensive coordinator, with his most recent gig coming with the Rams between 2017 and 2019. The last we heard from Phillips, he was discussing a potential role on the Browns staff in 2020. Phillips will be 75 when he takes the field in February.

Haslett, the 2000 AP NFL Coach of the Year, served as the Titans inside linebackers coach over the past two seasons, but he wasn’t retained following the 2021 campaign. He last served as a HC in 2008, going 2-10 as the interim head coach with the Rams. In six seasons with the Saints, the team went 45-51 with only one playoff appearance.

Woodson has some experience coaching in the NFL. He had two stints as the Raiders cornerbacks coach, and he also had coaching jobs with the Bengals and Broncos. Similarly, Ward had a two-year coaching stint with the Jets before spending the 2021 campaign as Florida Atlantic’s wide receivers coach.

Panthers, Titans Coaching Updates

January 25th, 2022 at 10:55am CST by Adam La Rose

There’s been a few updates with respect to the changes in the Panthers’ and Titans’ coaching staffs. The largest change so far, of course, is the hiring of Ben McAdoo as offensive coordinator for Carolina. On Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed that the team has made that hire official (Twitter link).

The 44-year-old comes in with a successful background at the OC level, having helped the Giants to top-ten rankings in 2014 and 2015. That earned him the head coaching position in New York, although it certainly didn’t end the way he would have wanted. Still, there are high hopes he can turn around a Panthers offense that struggled mightily in 2021, leading to the mid-season firing of Joe Brady.

Meanwhile, Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reported that Carolina is conducting a second interview with Chris Tabor for the special teams coordinator vacancy. The Panthers fired Chase Blackburn earlier this month, and already met with Tabor, who has previously been a ST coordinator with the Browns and Bears. Unlike the first interview, this one will take place in person. Alper notes that the Panthers had offered the job to current Giants ST coordinator Thomas McGaughey, “but the two sides could not agree on a contract”.

As for the Titans, the disappointing loss on Saturday has led to at least four changes on their staff. As Sport Illustrated’s John Glennon tweets, the coaches being let go include: inside linebackers coach Jim Haslett, assistant defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze, assistant ST coach Matt Edwards and assistant strength and conditioning coach Mondray Gee. Tennessee finished the year atop the AFC, but lost in their opening playoff game for the second straight season.

Titans Won’t Hire Defensive Coordinator

February 6th, 2020 at 1:51pm CST by Zachary Links

On Thursday, the Titans formally hired Jim Haslett to serve as their inside linebackers coach. Meanwhile, their defensive coordinator vacancy will remain vacant, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.

The Titans’ DC position opened up a few weeks back, when veteran coach Deen Pees announced his retirement. There were ample candidates available to replace the 70-year-old, but head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t see a need to fill his shoes. Presumably, Vrabel will be the one calling the plays in Tennessee, though Haslett comes with 12 years of headset experience.

After shocking the Patriots in the playoffs, the Titans will have the No. 29 overall pick in April. They could use that pick to fortify their secondary while dedicating more of their cap room to pressing needs on the other side of the ball. For starters, they’ll have to sit down with running back Derrick Henry, who is reportedly looking to top Ezekiel Elliott‘s contract. They’ll also have to hammer out a new deal with Ryan Tannehill, who is also salted for free agency in March.

Bengals Plan To Hire External HC Candidate

January 10th, 2019 at 5:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bengals plan to hire an external candidate to fill their head coaching vacancy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Therefore, provided they don’t conduct any more interviews, the Bengals appear set to tap either Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, former Buccaneers OC Todd Monken, former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, Rams quarterbacks coach Zach Taylor, or Rams passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Shane Waldron as their next head coach.

Given that they’ve yet to select a new head coach, Cincinnati is likely targeting an assistant who is still coaching in the postseason. That would rule out Monken and Joseph, but Bieniemy, Taylor, and Waldron are each preparing for Divisional Round matchups with their respective teams. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the speculation around the NFL has all signs pointing to Bieniemy, although that’s far from official.

The Bengals began dismissing members of their incumbent staff this morning, tweets Florio. All of Cincinnati’s assistants had one year remaining on their respective contracts, but whomever the Bengals have decided on for head coach has presumably told management which staffers he’d like to retain. Linebackers coach Jim Haslett, tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes, and running backs coach Kyle Caskey are among those who will not return in 2019, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Roughly half of the Bengals’ staff will be back next season, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cincinnati interviewed a number of internal candidates as part of their head coaching search, including offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons, and special assistant Hue Jackson.

Coaching Rumors: Cardinals, Bears, Bengals

January 6th, 2018 at 6:59pm CST by Zachary Links

After the Titans’ exciting victory over the Chiefs, one has to imagine that coach Mike Mularkey is off the hot seat. Still, there are a number of head coaching vacancies left around the league.

Here are the latest coaching rumors from around the NFL:

Mike Munchak‘s interview with the Cardinals will take place on Sunday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
If hired by the Bears, John DeFilippo would be be willing to retain Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, Peter Schrager of NFL Network (on Twitter) hears. The Bears want Fangio back, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter) adds, but other teams and head coaching candidates are interested in bringing him on staff.
Linebackers coach Jim Haslett will remain on the Bengals‘ defensive staff, Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). However, Jacob Burney (defensive line) will not be returning, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets.

Bengals Name Ken Zampese Offensive Coordinator

January 15th, 2016 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bengals have officially named Ken Zampese their new offensive coordinator, the team announced today (Twitter link). Zampese, who receives a promotion from quarterbacks coach, replaces Hue Jackson in the role. Cincinnati also confirmed the previously-reported hiring of Jim Haslett as the team’s linebackers coach.

Zampese, the son of longtime NFL coach Ernie Zampese, has been the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach for more than a decade, having taking over the position in 2003. Having first worked with No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer, Zampese has more recently played a big part in Andy Dalton‘s success — the Bengals’ current signal-caller has earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods, and has made the playoffs in each of his five NFL seasons.

The decision to promote Zampese should help Dalton keep progressing in the right direction, and is also a reflection of the Bengals’ focus on continuity. That approach is on display each offseason, when the team generally sits out free agency in favor of re-signing its own players, and it extends to many of the club’s coaching decisions as well. Jackson and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther were both position coaches in Cincinnati before receiving promotions.

The Bengals now appear set to move forward with Marvin Lewis as their head coach, Guenther as the defensive coordinator, and Zampese as the offensive coordinator for the 2016 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coach Rumors: Giants, Tabor, M. Smith, Haslett

January 15th, 2016 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Ben McAdoo didn’t announce any decisions on his coaching staff during his introductory press conference this morning, but the new Giants head coach alluded to players improving in their second season in a defensive scheme, suggesting Steve Spagnuolo will be back.

Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Spagnuolo will, in fact, return as the Giants’ defensive coordinator. A source tell Marvez (Twitter link) that the Giants will also keep secondary coach David Merritt on McAdoo’s staff.

As for McAdoo, Giants owner John Mara said today that the club had initially scheduled a second interview for him on Thursday of this week. However, when the Giants got wind of the Eagles’ strong interest in McAdoo, they pushed that second interview up a day to Wednesday, and ultimately promoted him to head coach (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).

Here are a few more coaching-related updates from around the NFL:

Browns special teams coordinator Chris Tabor has been retained by new head coach Hue Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. Tabor has been in his current role since 2011, working under Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, and now Jackson.
The Browns are also expected to add Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson to their staff as a running game coordinator, if Minnesota approves the move, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Former Falcons head coach Mike Smith is a “hot name” as a defensive coordinator and has several options, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). We’ll see if Smith, who interviewed for a pair of head coaching jobs, has interest in returning in 2016 as an assistant.
Jim Haslett will be named the Bengals‘ new linebackers coach, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com (via Twitter). Haslett, who served as a consultant for Penn State in 2015, was replaced by Joe Barry as Washington’s defensive coordinator a year ago.
Saints offensive line coach Bret Ingalls, offensive assistant Kyle DeVan, and secondary coach Wesley McGriff are leaving the team, with the latter two landing college jobs, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune tweets that Dan Roushar will likely move from tight ends coach to offensive line coach to accommodate new addition Dan Campbell.

NFC Notes: Morris, Benson, Haslett

June 24th, 2015 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The addition of third-round rookie Matt Jones clouds the future of running back Alfred Morris in Washington, writes John Keim of ESPN.com, noting that a source said in the spring that the odds of Morris signing an extension before the season were about 50/50. According to Keim, however, the team still has room to make a deal happen for Morris, who is worth keeping even if he’s not elite.

Here are a few more Wednesday notes from around the NFC:

The attorney for Tom Benson‘s heirs announced today that his clients are filing an appeal after the Saints owner was declared mentally competent last week, tweets Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. The battle among the Benson family over ownership for the NFL franchise – along with the NBA’s Pelicans – has been ongoing for several months.
Former Saints head coach Jim Haslett, who spent the last several year in D.C. as Washington‘s defensive coordinator, has joined the Penn State staff as a consultant, tweets Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports. Haslett was replaced by Joe Barry in Washington following the 2014 season.
Former NFL running back Herschel Walker recently declared that he could still play in the league at age 53. While Walker’s comments weren’t taken all that seriously, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was asked if his team would have room for the former Georgia back and replied in the affirmative, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. “He’s one of my all-time favorite players. Yeah, we have room for him,” Quinn said. “For him, the legacy he left at Georgia. … He’d definitely fit in great from a competitive standpoint.” In spite of Quinn’s response, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the Falcons to offer Walker a spot on their 90-man roster.