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Kirby Wilson

Browns To Go Without Offensive Coordinator?

January 15th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

During a radio interview Friday, Hue Jackson mentioned he does not plan to hire an offensive coordinator after being brought on as the Browns’ head coach, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Jackson will almost certainly call plays in Cleveland this season after doing so in Cincinnati the past two seasons and in Oakland in 2011, when he served as the Raiders’ head coach.

The newly hired Browns HC didn’t rule out the possibility of someone else calling plays but seems intent on doing so himself, and this could well mean the Browns going without an offensive coordinator this season.

“Right now in my mind, I don’t really plan on having an offensive coordinator ‘cause I want to reserve that right to call plays,” Jackson said on a Sirius XM Radio appearance.

“I think that’s something that’s gotten me this job. So if it’s something that you’re an expert at, I think you want to continue to work at that and keep that in your pocket so you can use it to help your team. Now if I get somebody I really trust who has that [expertise], then obviously I’m very willing to kind of give that away as we go, but it’s got to be somebody I really trust and admire.”

This move would basically make Jackson the head coach/offensive coordinator. Jackson worked with an offensive coordinator in Oakland, Al Saunders, in his 8-8 slate in the Bay Area.

Jackson interviewed ex-Colts OC Pep Hamilton on Friday, per Ulrich, and seeks to bring Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson aboard as a running-game coordinator. Wilbert Montgomery‘s served as Cleveland’s running backs coach the past two seasons.

The Vikings would have to grant the 54-year-old Wilson permission to interview for this job. Wilson has been the coach of six different franchises’ backfields, the longest stint coming with the Steelers from 2007-13. Prior to catching on in Pittsburgh once Mike Tomlin took over in 2007, Wilson coached with the Patriots, Washington, the Buccaneers and Cardinals from 1997-2006, with a one-year stint mixed in as USC’s wide receivers coach.

The Browns ranked 25th this season under first-time OC John DeFilippo.

Photo courtesy 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.

Extra Points: Shanahan, Trestman, Ryan

January 6th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will consider leaving the Browns, even for a lateral move, because of friction within the organization, writes Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer. Shanahan is aiming to become a head coach somewhere (perhaps in Buffalo) but he’d also like to reunite with his father, Mike Shanahan. The 49ers, Raiders, and Bills are have interest in hiring Mike as a head coach with Kyle as the offensive coordinator. More from around the NFL..

  • Washington interviewed Rod Graves on Monday for their GM position, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). By interviewing Graves, Washington has satisfied the Rooney Rule, so that is not a roadblock in their talks with Scot McCloughan.
  • Former Bears head coach Marc Trestman will interview for the Jaguars‘ offensive coordinator position, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Trestman has already interviewed with the Buccaneers.
  • Rex Ryan will be meeting with CBS executives tomorrow to discuss a possible TV role if he doesn’t land a head coaching job, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
  • The Eagles have requested permission to interview recently promoted Packers exec Eliot Wolf for their personnel opening, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Wolf was recently promoted by Green Bay, ostensibly to keep him in-house as the heir apparent to their own GM job.
  • The Eagles requested GM interviews with Chris Grier (Dolphins), Chris Polian (Jaguars), and Brian Gaine (Texans), sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Texans might have interest in former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, according to Dan Pompei of Sports On Earth (on Twitter).
  • Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson is scheduled to interview with the Jaguars for their offensive coordinator position on Thursday, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Gaine and Lake Dawson, the Titans‘ vice president of player personnel, completed their interviews with the Bears for their GM opening, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Saints GM Mickey Loomis says that the team will take linebacker Junior Galette‘s arrest “very seriously,” as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com writes. “If at some point we deem it necessary for the club to take some action, we’ll do that,” Loomis said.
  • Loomis feels that the Saints are in better shape financially, Evan Woodbery of The Times Picayune (on Twitter). “I would say we’re in a better situation than we were a year ago — on pure salary cap.” He also scoffed at a recent report indicating that he will move into a new role with the team (link).

Coach Updates: Bills, Raiders, Jags, Quinn

January 6th, 2015 at 8:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we rounded up a handful of coaching-related updates. Plenty more items have surfaced over the course of the day, so let’s check in on the latest:

  • The Bills are looking to line up an interview with former Jets coach Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter).
  • The Bills have spoken with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz about their head coaching vacancy, according to Tim Graham of The Buffalo News.
  • The Bills have a number of head coaching interviews set up for this week — Tim Graham of the Buffalo News writes that the team’s meeting with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will happen on Wednesday, while Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will speak to the club on Saturday. Additionally, a source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link) that the 49ers have given offensive coordinator Greg Roman permission to pursue the Bills’ HC job, and that interview will take place on Friday.
  • After speaking to several outside candidates, the Raiders will conduct their interview with interim head coach Tony Sparano tomorrow, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links).
  • Former Raiders head coach John Madden sat in on Oakland’s interview with Mike Shanahan in recent days, multiple sources tell Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Bair adds that it’s not clear how involved Madden is in the Raiders’ coaching search, but “it speaks some to the legitimacy of Shanahan” as a candidate for the job.
  • A pair of candidates’ names have surfaced as the Jaguars search for a new offensive coordinator. Rapoport tweets that Jacksonville has asked to speak to Vikings running back coach Kirby Wilson, and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link) says Roman will also interview for the position.
  • Preparing for the possibility that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan leaves Cleveland this winter, the Browns have “reached out to guys like Charlie Weis,” tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
  • A longtime NFL executive who has been involved in many interviews for coaches tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is “the most impressive candidate” he has seen.

Vikings Links: Ponder, Greenway, Wilson

December 26th, 2014 at 9:53pm CST by Zachary Links

With a win over the Bears on Sunday, the Vikings can finish with a 7-9 record — given the Adrian Peterson incident, and the presence of both a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach, such a conclusion would certainly be a positive sign for the future. Let’s look at a few notes regarding even more changes that could occur in Minnesota during the offseason…

  • Too much baggage makes it highly unlikely Christian Ponder and the Vikings will renew vows during the offseason, even though the team’s other veteran quarterback, Matt Cassel, could be prowling for another starting job elsewhere. Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press sat down with the former first-round pick to discuss his time in Minnesota. Ponder says that his No. 1 priority in free agency will be looking for playing time.
  • The longest-tenured Viking on the roster, linebacker Chad Greenway has been in Minnesota since being selected in the first round of the 2006 draft. However, he isn’t sure he’ll be back with the team in 2015. “I guess we’ll find out,” Greenway told Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). “I don’t have the answer there.” Greenway, who accepted a $1MM pay cut earlier this year, is set to count $8.8MM against the Vikes’ cap in 2015.
  • Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson left the Steelers after being considered for the offensive coordinator job with the Ravens, but after a good season making due without Adrian Peterson, he may be up for another offensive coordinator job soon, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

AFC North Rumors: Browns, Ravens, Jones

January 24th, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns finally filled the last head coaching opening in the NFL yesterday, hiring Mike Pettine away from the Bills. Pettine indicated at yesterday’s press conference that if Cleveland’s search had lasted much longer, he would have withdrawn his name, so as not to leave the Bills hanging indefinitely. But now that he’s got the Browns job, Pettine will look to fill out his staff. Here’s the latest on that front, along with a couple other AFC North items:

  • The Browns have interest in former Texans head coach Gary Kubiak for their offensive coordinator position, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). However, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that it’s unlikely Kubiak lands in Cleveland.
  • The Ravens are also in the market for an offensive coordinator, with their search in the final stages. The club interviewed internal candidate Jim Hostler and ex-Redskins coordinator Kyle Shanahan for the second time on Thursday, and will have a second interview with Kirby Wilson of the Steelers today, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Heading for unrestricted free agency, wide receiver Jacoby Jones says he’d love to return to the Ravens, as Ray Frager of CSNBaltimore.com writes.