Kacy Rodgers (Coach)

Jets DC Kacy Rodgers Dealing With “Serious” Illness

October 5th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers is dealing with a “serious” illness, coach Todd Bowles announced on Friday (Twitter link via Darryl Slater of NJ.com). Bowles declined to go into details about Rodgers’ situation and did not say whether he will be available to coach on Sunday.

“He’s a tough guy,” Bowles said. “It’s a serious thing.”

Rodgers, 49, joined the Jets in 2015 following the hiring of Bowles. Bowles and Rodgers have a long history together, having served on the same coaching staffs for three different NFL teams over the course of 13 years.

Last month, it was rumored that Bowles would strip Rodgers of some of the play calling duties. Bowles adamantly denied the rumors, despite the team’s defensive struggles.

“One hundred percent false, a complete lie. If somebody said it, it didn’t come out of my mouth,” Bowles said. “I have no idea where it came from. I’ve got nothing else to speak on it. I haven’t done any of it, and I don’t know where it came from. It didn’t happen. It hasn’t happened. I’m pretty much a straight shooter. If I’ve got something to say I will probably say it. It will come out of my mouth. It never came out of my mouth, and it never happened. End of discussion, it never happened. It’s not going to happen. If I want to take the play-calling or call something for the offense, I have that prerogative to do as a head coach. I never did any of that.”

The 1-3 Jets will face the Broncos at home on Sunday.

University Of Tennessee Interested In Jets DC Kacy Rodgers

November 13th, 2017 at 11:24am CST by Dallas Robinson

The University of Tennessee has expressed interest in hiring Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers to replace former head coach Butch Jones, who was fired on Sunday, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

Rodgers, 48, offers extensive experience at both the collegiate level and in the state of Tennessee. A Volunteer alum, Rodgers coached in the collegiate ranks from 1994-2001, serving at such locations as Tennessee-Martin and Middle Tennessee State. That familiarity with the state and program could potentially be enticing as Tennessee looks to replace Jones, who fell to 0-6 in the SEC this season with a loss to Missouri on Saturday.

Rodgers was named Todd Bowles‘ defensive coordinator prior to the 2015 campaign, and has posted mixed results during his two-plus-year run as DC. The Jets ranked fifth in defensive DVOA in 2015, but fell to 21st in 2016 and ranks there again this season. Rodgers, though, has had success guiding young players such as safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, interior defender Leonard Williams, and linebacker Darron Lee.

Jets Hire Kacy Rodgers As DC

January 23rd, 2015 at 2:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

JANUARY 23: The Jets have finally made the hiring of Rodgers official, confirming it in a press release. The team also announced the hiring of Bobby April as special teams coordinator.

JANUARY 16: New Jets head coach Todd Bowles has begun to fill out his staff, as Adam Caplan of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Dolphins defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers will take over as New York’s defensive coordinator. Reports yesterday indicated that the Dolphins would not block Rodgers’ move to their division rival, and now it sounds like deal will be finalized at some point in the coming days (Twitter link via Caplan). Rodgers, 45, has worked as an NFL assistant since 2003, and his time in Miami overlapped with Bowles’ from 2008-11. He’ll replace Dennis Thurman, who followed ex-Jets coach Rex Ryan to Buffalo.

In South Beach, Rodgers worked with a Dolphins defensive line that included talented players such as Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon, and Jared Odrick, and although the club’s entire defense tailed off near the end of the season, it still finished eighth in adjusted sack rate. Miami’s line did contribute to a defensive unit that ranked 24th in rushing yards allowed, however. In New York, Rodgers will employ a similarly talent defensive line — Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson lead a position group that helped the team Jets finish fifth in rushing yards allowed and fourth in adjusted sack rate.

The primary area of focus for Rodgers, then, will be Gang Green’s secondary, which allowed the third-highest passer rating to opposing quarterbacks, and finished 24th in DVOA against the pass. Chief among Rodgers’ assignments will be to mold two recent first-round defensive back selections, corner Dee Milliner and safety Calvin Pryor, in the hopes of fortifying a weak secondary.

Rodgers, a Tennessee alum, coached in the college ranks before joining the Cowboys as a defensive tackles coach in 2003. He’s been in his current role since ’08. As for scheme, it’s unclear what look what Rodgers will use as his base defense — the Dolphins ran an 4-3 front, while Bowles and the Cardinals employed a 3-4 defense. Regardless, the unit will surely look different that than the Ryan-led defense of recent years.

Jets Hire Chan Gailey As OC

January 20th, 2015 at 7:09pm CST by Zachary Links

At long last, it’s a done deal. The Jets announced tonight that they have hired former Bills head coach Chan Gailey as their new offensive coordinator.

Gailey has been linked to the Jets’ offensive coordinator opening ever since the hiring of Todd Bowles as head coach. However, there have been some bumps in the road in recent weeks. The two sides have ostensibly been haggling over details while other clubs reportedly got in the mix for the veteran coach. Gailey, according to a report from Brian Costello of the New York Post over the weekend, had interest from three other clubs. Ultimately, however, the Jets got Gailey, who was Bowles’ top choice for the gig.

Gailey, who was the head coach for both the Bills and Cowboys, has previously served as an offensive coordinator for the Broncos (1989-’90), Steelers (1997), Dolphins (2000-’01) and Chiefs (2008).

Meanwhile, the Jets are expected to finalize their deal with Kacy Rodgers, despite the starts and stops in recent weeks, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Rodgers, 45, has worked as an NFL assistant since 2003, and his time in Miami overlapped with Bowles’ from 2008-11. He’ll replace Dennis Thurman, who followed ex-Jets coach Rex Ryan to Buffalo.

East Notes: Cowboys, Rodgers, Bills

January 15th, 2015 at 10:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys will retain coordinators Rod Marinelli and Scott Linehan and that’s huge for them in the opinion of former quarterback Troy Aikman. “To maintain the continuity with those two coordinators, two outstanding coordinators, is very, very important for this team moving forward,” Aikman told KTCK-AM (via The Dallas Morning News) “Rod Marinelli, if he had left, I thought that would be a really big blow to that defense. Scott Linehan … he was outstanding all season long. To be able to maintain the running game at difficult points in games throughout the season. To still remain committed to it. We’ve seen, for a number of years, this team get away from the run game. This year’s edition never did. I think it’s a real credit to Scott Linehan.” More from both East divisions..

The Dolphins will not block Kacy Rodgers from taking the Jets‘ defensive coordinator job, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). However, as of tonight, the deal has not been finalized.
A lot of people are skeptical about the Bills‘ quarterback situation with EJ Manuel currently at the helm, but new coach Rex Ryan told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he’s not concerned. “This is not just about one man or about one position,” Ryan said. “It’s about your team and more importantly the direction of your team, I think from ownership, to president [Russ Brandon], to Doug [Whaley], our General Manager. To me, it seems like everybody wants the same thing and they all feel like there is a certain way to get there. That’s where we are tied in and we are behind each other 100 percent. I think that’s something really important to me and obviously, I think, with the players we have as well, it is a great mesh.”
With the Cowboys in need of salary cap space, cornerback Brandon Carr could be released or forced to take a pay cut. Owner Jerry Jones sounds intent on trimming his income, which is set to count against the cap for $12.7MM in 2015. “Carr played well this year and I’m not as critical of Carr as others,” Jones said. “But that’s a lot of money. One thing that we just got to do is we’ve got to make sure that every way we can, we get the value for the money,” Jones said, according to Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News.
Eagles outside linebacker Connor Barwin hit his full escalator worth $900K, so his base salary for 2015 will rise from $5.5MM to $6.4MM, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
The Dolphins have 16 free agents this offseason and a dozen of them are unrestricted. James Walker of ESPN.com looked at one of those UFAs earlier today when he examined defensive tackle Jared Odrick. Odrick will probably get the most interest from teams with 3-4 schemes and Miami isn’t expected to make much of a push for him. The Dolphins need the cap space and Odrick’s spat with coach Joe Philbin doesn’t help his cause.

Jets Hire Todd Bowles

January 14th, 2015 at 5:05pm CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 5:05pm: The Jets (on Twitter) have made it official: Bowles is their new head coach.

TUESDAY, 10:36pm: Dolphins defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers is very likely to be Bowles’ defensive coordinator, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). It’s possible that Caldwell will also join the staff, but maybe in a different role.

10:20pm: Bowles’ choice for defensive coordinator might be linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

10:09pm: It’s a four-year deal worth at least $16MM, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Gailey, he hears, will be hired as Bowles’ offensive coordinator.

9:23pm: The Jets have reached agreement with Todd Bowles to become their next head coach, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal, Schefter adds (link).

Gang Green’s contingent of new GM Mike Maccagnan, owner Woody Johnson, and team consultants Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf met with Bowles earlier tonight in the New York area. The Cardinals defensive coordinator was slated to visit with the Falcons on Wednesday, but those plans have ostensibly been 86’d. The Jets were likely concerned about Atlanta beating them too the punch and made their offer quickly.

The new position marks a homecoming in more than one way for Bowles. The 51-year-old is a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a short drive from the Jets’ Meadowlands home. Bowles also has previous experience with the Jets, having served as their defensive backs coach in the 2000 season. The defensive-minded coach is a disciple of the legendary Bill Parcells, who served as the Jets’ coach from 1997-1999 as as their GM in 2000.

The Jets were impressed with, among other things, the staff ideas Bowles had, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (on Twitter). Former Bills coach Chan Gailey, who has been out of the game for some time, is a strong possibility to be the team’s next offensive coordinator.

Casserly’s fingerprints appear to be all over the Jets’ new hires. Maccagnan worked under Casserly as a scout while Bowles is one of his former players. The Jets coveted Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but the uncertainty over whether they could land him combined with Bowles’ strong interviews led them to this hire, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Quinn can’t accept a job elsewhere until the conclusion of the Seahawks’ season, which might not be until February.

As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes, Bowles is now the Jets’ sixth straight head coach with a defensive background. Rex Ryan, Eric Mangini, Herm Edwards, Al Groh, and Parcells were all defense-first coaches.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.