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Mark Collins

AFC Notes: Jaguars, Bills, Dolphins

January 26th, 2017 at 3:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Although quarterback Blake Bortles has been a disappointment since the Jaguars drafted him third overall in 2014, the organization remains bullish on the soon-to-be 25-year-old. “I’ve said this time and time again: ‘I think we can win a lot of games with Blake; I think we can win a Super Bowl with Blake,” general manager Dave Caldwell told John Oehser of the team’s website. “I think he needs to improve and I think we need to improve around him, too, in order for that to happen.” The Jags amassed just three wins this season with Bortles, who went backward after a promising 2015. Bortles’ interception total decreased from 18 to 16, but he threw 12 fewer touchdowns than his 35-score 2015 and averaged a paltry 6.2 yards per attempt after posting a 7.3 YPA the previous year.

More on Bortles-led Jacksonville and a couple of its conference rivals:

  • Whether pending free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore will return to the Bills in 2017 is “all up to them,” the five-year veteran told Conor Orr of NFL.com. “They seem like they’re going to turn it around out there but, like I said, I don’t know what’s going to happen. They got a decision to make,” said Gilmore, who has spoken on the phone with two prominent members of the Bills’ new staff in head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Gilmore’s overall performance declined in 2016, as he fell from Pro Football Focus’ ninth-ranked corner in 2015 to No. 61, but he did intercept a career-high five passes across 15 starts. While this year’s free agent class could feature other No. 1-caliber corners like A.J. Bouye and Trumaine Johnson, Gilmore is happy to measure his résumé against theirs. “I know the other guys (cornerbacks on the market). But I did it for five years at a high level. I like myself,” he declared.
  • The Dolphins made a key trade with the Eagles last March to acquire two defenders – cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso – as well as the 13th pick in the draft (offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil) for No. 8. Now, Miami is once again aiming to go the trade route to bolster its roster, executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum informed Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We’re going to look at every avenue to improve the team. That could mean trades that start around the combine, and then we’ll get into free agency,” Tannenbaum said. “Our focus philosophically is we’re going to try to keep our own [free agents] as best we can. But [plan to] be opportunistic via free agency or trades, and draft as well as we can.”
  • Bills offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio suffered an injury to his hip thanks to a fall at home and had to undergo surgery Wednesday, the team announced. The expectation is that Kouandjio will be ready for training camp. The 2014 second-round pick from Alabama appeared in 12 games and started five in Year 3 of his pro career.
  • The Jaguars have hired Mark Collins as their new linebackers coach, tweets Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. Collins spent the previous two seasons coaching the Jets’ outside linebackers.

Jets OC Chan Gailey Retires

January 3rd, 2017 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets announced that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has retired. The Jets also announced that five coaches will not return: quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo, running backs coach Marcel Shipp, defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, outside linebackers coach Mark Collins, and defensive backs coach Joe Danna. Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, apparently, will be retained. Chan Gailey (vertical)

“I’m grateful to Chan for joining our coaching staff and enjoyed working with him,” coach Todd Bowles said in the statement. “The respect that I have for him as a person and a coach only increased during our time together.”

It seems possible that Gailey would have been forced out even if he did not retire this offseason. The soon-t0-be 65-year-old oversaw an offense that had the second-worst offensive DVOA in the NFL this year. However, in 2015, Gailey’s offense that amassed a franchise-record 5,925 yards and scored 387 points, the most in a Jets season since 1998. There was lots of frustration over Gailey’s play-calling this year, but the team’s shortcomings under center probably played a bigger role.

The Jets are expected to target Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and former Chargers coach Mike McCoy as OC options, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com and Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links).

Extra Points: NFLPA, Mayo, Van Pelt, Raiders

January 23rd, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL Players Association has formally filed a grievance against the league challenging the NFL’s new personal conduct policy, which was adopted in December despite the NFLPA’s objections, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The union contends that it didn’t have an opportunity to collectively bargain many key points of the new policy, arguing that the policy violates the CBA and that it was adopted “without the consent, and over the objections, of the NFLPA.”

While we wait to see what comes of the union’s grievance, let’s round up several items from across the NFL….

  • Injured Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo has been prioritizing his rehabilitation after a season-ending knee injury, and fully intends to get back on the field in 2015, but he has also developed an interest in coaching during his time spent on injured reserve, writes Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can,” Mayo said. “If I do choose to go down that road, hopefully I can apply some of these principles that I’ve learned from coach [Bill] Belichick in my coaching career.”
  • While a previous report revealed the Packers turned down the Rams’ request to speak to Alex Van Pelt about their offensive coordinator job, St. Louis wasn’t the only team rebuffed by Green Bay. According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Jaguars and Bears were also denied permission to interview Van Pelt.
  • The Raiders have officially confirmed a handful of new additions to Jack Del Rio’s staff, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired Todd Downing (QB coach), Marcus Robertson (DB coach), Sal Sunseri (LB coach), and Mike Tice (OL coach).
  • The Jets also announced several new assistants in addition to their new coordinators. According to the team, Mike Caldwell (assistant HC/ILB coach), Mark Collins (OLB coach), Joe Danna (DB/S coach), and Karl Dorrell (WR coach) are among the new arrivals.
  • Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey isn’t phased by the fact that 2015 could be a make-or-break season for him and head coach Joe Philbin, suggesting that he approaches every season as if it’s make-or-break, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
  • The Texans have made some front office changes, promoting Jon Carr to director of college scouting and hiring Matt Jansen to the new position of college scouting coordinator, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links).
  • We learned yesterday that Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett met with the Dolphins at the Senior Bowl, but Miami is far from the only team to interview Lockett. The wideout, who is generating plenty of buzz in Mobile, tells James Walker of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he spoke to 28 NFL teams this week.