HEADLINES

Rex Ryan

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.

Jets Notes: Ballard, Pace, Grier, Bowles

January 5th, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Chiefs executive Chris Ballard will interview for the Bears’ general manager opening later this week, but he won’t meet with the Jets about their GM position. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter), Ballard has declined New York’s request for an interview. While there are a number of reasons why Ballard may be open to exploring the Chicago job and not the Jets’ opening, it’s not a great look for Woody Johnson and company, who were also officially turned down by Saints director of player personnel Ryan Pace, per Breer (via Twitter).

As the Jets shift their focus to GM candidates who will speak to them, let’s round up the latest out of New York….

  • Dolphins scouting director Chris Grier will interview with the Jets for the general manager position on Tuesday, a source tells Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link).
  • The Jets will also continue to speak to head coaching candidates this week, with Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles lined up for an interview on Wednesday, tweets Costello. Per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Jets will be the first team to meet with Bowles, followed by the Falcons on Thursday, and likely the 49ers and Bears after that.
  • Former Jets head coaches are also busy these days interviewing for head coaching jobs — Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (via Twitter) that the 49ers’ interview with Rex Ryan took place on Sunday, while Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 in Washington tweets that Eric Mangini‘s meeting with the Raiders is happening today.

Coach Updates: Bowles, Bears, Jets, Marrone

January 3rd, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cardinals suffered an ugly loss in today’s Wild Card game against the Panthers, totaling just 78 offensive yards, a record low for a playoff contest. However, while Ryan Lindley and the offense struggled, Todd Bowles‘ defensive unit held its own, and now that Arizona’s season is over, Bowles will be free to interview for head coaching openings. As our head coaching search tracker shows, every team except the Bills has reportedly requested permission to interview Bowles, so he could be a busy man over the next few days — Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com tweets that the Cards DC is expected to interview with the Raiders next week.

Here are a few more coaching-related updates on a Saturday night:

  • The Bears confirmed today (via Twitter) that they’ve interviewed Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase for their head coaching position. However, the club has no interest in Rex Ryan, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
  • After meeting with the Jets this weekend, Doug Marrone is scheduled to interview with the Falcons on Monday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Speaking of Marrone, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News has a column packed with feedback from Bills sources on the team’s former head coach, and it doesn’t paint a flattering picture. Mehta’s sources call Marrone a “control freak,” a “very dangerous person to have in the building,” and “the definition of average,” suggesting that the ex-Bills head coach didn’t get along with a number of players and others within the organization. Based on that assessment, Mehta thinks the Jets can do better with their head coaching hire.
  • It shouldn’t be a problem for the Jets if the team ends up hiring a head coach before landing a general manager, writes Bob Glauber of Newsday.
  • Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets a reminder that the league’s Rooney Role doesn’t apply to assistant coaching jobs. Despite the fact that the Fritz Pollard Alliance asked for that two years ago, the NFL turned down the request, and there has been no renewed push for it recently, says Maske.

Jets Notes: Marrone, Ryan, Pace

January 3rd, 2015 at 2:54pm CST by Rob DiRe

If the Jets do hire former Bills coach Doug Marrone, that would mark a huge difference in philosophies from former coach Rex Ryan, writes Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. Myers notes that Ryan was the ultimate players’ coach, but Marrone is tonally opposite, with a reputation as a strict disciplinarian. This would not be a surprise to the organization, as he was the team’s offensive line coach between 2002 and 2005.

  • Ryan could land a tremendous job this offseason after being fired by the Jets, writes Bob Glauber of Newsday.
  • The Jets have requested permission to interview Saints director of player personnel Ryan Pace to be their next general manager, reports Kristian Dyer of Metro New York (via Twitter). The team is still in the process of interviewing coaches and general managers for their open positions.
  • The Saints did not allow the Dolphins to interview Pace for their opening last year, so it remains to be seen whether the Jets will have the opportunity to speak with him, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter).
  • While the Jets are casting a wide net in terms of their general manager search, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if some of these candidates will stay away from the job if a head coach is already in place (via Twitter).

AFC Mailbags: Chiefs, Revis, Raiders, Jags

January 3rd, 2015 at 9:28am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers have opened up their mailbags and are answering questions from readers. Let’s check out some interesting whispers from the AFC…

  • Adam Teicher wonders if Alex Smith‘s tendency to be a checkdown quarterback may hurt the Chiefs in their pursuit of free agent wideouts. The writer cites the team’s pursuit of Emmanuel Sanders last offseason, who was originally expected to sign with Kansas City.
  • Speaking of the Chiefs and wide receivers, Teicher believes the organization will part ways with veteran Dwayne Bowe if the sides can’t agree on a new contract.
  • If cornerback Darrelle Revis doesn’t end up sticking around with the Patriots, Rich Cimini basically guarantees that the Pro Bowler will eventually reunite with Rex Ryan.
  • The Raiders and free agent center Stefen Wisniewski have discussed a new deal but are not close to an agreement, writes Bill Williamson. The former second-round pick has expressed interest in staying in Oakland, but the writer believes the lineman could ultimately test free agency.
  • As long as the Broncos don’t place the franchise tag on tight end Julius Thomas, Michael DiRocco believes the Jaguars “have a chance” at signing the offensive weapon.

Latest On Bills’ Head Coaching Search

January 2nd, 2015 at 8:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills, after seeing head coach Doug Marrone opt out of his contract on New Year’s Eve, officially kicked off their search for a new head coach yesterday by requesting permission to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase. As Buffalo looks to play catch-up to the five other teams looking to fill head coaching vacancies, we’ll track all of today’s updates on the club’s coaching hunt right here. The latest:

  • It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bills set up an interview with Mike Shanahan, since “there is some interest” there, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Based on La Canfora’s wording, it’s not clear if it’s the Bills or Shanahan with the interest, but I’d guess it’s probably coming from the team.
  • The Bills have now scheduled interviews with Bevell and Quinn, according to Graham (Twitter link).
  • As we noted in this evening’s round-up of coaching rumors, the Bills weren’t able to line up an interview with McDaniels this weekend, according to Peter King of TheMMQB.com.

Earlier updates:

  • The Bills have requested interviews with Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Quinn, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • As hoped, the Bills’ interview with Reich will go down on Sunday in San Diego, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • According to Graham (Twitter links), Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula will sit in on the Bills’ head coach interviews, which will be conducted by Whaley and Brandon. Graham notes that the next Buffalo head coach will report directly to Terry Pegula, who – according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) – would still like to hire a football czar to “oversee the building.”
  • The Bills are trying to arrange an interview with Reich for Sunday in San Diego, before he leaves to interview with the Jets, tweets Graham. According to Graham (via Twitter), even though Reich was viewed as a Bill Polian favorite, and Polian is no longer ticketed for Buffalo, mutual interest between the Chargers’ offensive coordinator and the Bills remains high.
  • General manager Doug Whaley is leading the Bills’ coaching search, and Gase will be the first candidate to interview on Saturday, according to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (via Twitter). Graham adds that the club will also speak to offensive coordinator Frank Reich, as expected, while John Wawrow of The Associated Press tweets that Bills CEO Russ Brandon will serve as an advisor to Whaley during the process.
  • According to Graham (via Twitter), the Bills also have interest in talking to Rex Ryan about their head coaching opening, but nothing has been scheduled at the moment.
  • Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and current Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz are two names to keep an eye on for potential interviews with the team, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR550. We’ve previously heard Schwartz mentioned as a possible candidate, and Quinn is no surprise either, considering he’s already been linked to several teams with head coaching vacancies.
  • Speaking of Schwartz, Bills defensive players are pushing for the defensive coordinator to remain in Buffalo, writes Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests promoting Schwartz to head coach could provide much-needed stability and continuity for the club.
  • John Kryk of the Toronto Sun (all Twitter links) thinks the Bills shouldn’t hire a head coach until they install a new football czar, since it seems clear that the Pegulas want to hire one. If they do hire one, that new czar can decide whether or not to keep Whaley, and if they don’t hire one, they should announce they aren’t looking, and promote Whaley to VP of football operations.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC South Notes: Bucs, Falcons, Saints

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers had been hoping to interview Titans tight ends coach Mike Mularkey for their open offensive coordinator job, but that won’t happen, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport tweets that Tampa Bay has been denied permission to speak to Mularkey.

NFL teams aren’t allowed to block assistant coaches from interviewing for – or accepting – a job as a head coach, but that rule doesn’t apply to other jobs, including coordinator positions. In this case, the Buccaneers’ job would qualify as a promotion for Mularkey, but the Titans are within their rights to deny the Bucs the opportunity to talk to him.

Here’s more from around the NFC South:

  • The Falcons will interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coaching opening today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, by way of his colleague Vaughn McClure (Twitter link).
  • Rex Ryan has also scheduled his interview with the Falcons — it’ll happen on Tuesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. While Ryan could be a good fit in Atlanta, some observers believe the ex-Jets coach is talking to NFL teams in order to squeeze more money out of ESPN, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
  • Examining the reserve/futures contracts signed by the Saints, Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune points out that kicker Dustin Hopkins inked the longest deal, a three-year pact that keeps him under team control through 2017.
  • Saints defensive backs Stanley Jean-Baptiste and Corey White had somewhat frustrating 2014 seasons in New Orleans, and aren’t quite sure what the team has in store for them in 2015, writes Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

West Notes: Shanahan, Gase, 49ers, Fangio

January 1st, 2015 at 12:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Adam Gase and Mike Shanahan have several striking similarities — both are sharp offensive minds, have been employed by the Broncos, and most newsworthy, will be interviewed by the 49ers for their head coaching vacancy this weekend. According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Gase, Denver’s offensive coordinator, will meet with the Niners and the Falcons on Friday, before interviewing for the Bears’ HC position on Sunday. San Francisco’s decision-makers, owner Jed York and GM Trent Baalke, will also visit with Shanahan, who resides in the Denver area. Here’s more from the West divisions…

  • The 49ers have a busy weekend ahead of them, as the club will also interview former Jets head coach Rex Ryan on Sunday, according to Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (via Twitter). Ryan, who is also a candidate for the Falcons job, could have leg up for the SF gig because he “loves” Colin Kaepernick, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
  • While their focus is on finding a new head coach, the 49ers could be on the verge of losing several key assistants. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would like to be a head coach, and could opt to pursue other options if he’s passed over for the San Francisco job, reports Matt Barrows of the San Francisco Bee (via Twitter). Washington is interested in interviewing Fangio for its vacant DC position, but as he’s still in the mix for SF’s top job, they haven’t yet been granted permission to speak with him, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Washington wanted to meet with Fangio last year regarding its HC gig, but didn’t get the opportunity because of San Francisco’s extended playoff run, per Barrows (on Twitter).
  • Meanwhile, Washington has been granted permission to speak to two other assistant coaches about its defensive coordinator job, and both are currently employed by West division clubs. Chargers linebackers coach Joe Barry and 49ers secondary coach Ed Donatell will meet with Washington as the team looks to replace Jim Haslett, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).
  • 49ers defensive line coach Jim Tomsula is a candidate for the team’s head coaching position, and if he is promoted to the top job, he’ll look to bring in Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver for the same position in San Francisco, reports Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News (via Twitter), who notes that Fangio wouldn’t be interested in remaining on staff under Tomsula.
  • Rams head coach Jeff Fisher told reporters, including Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, that he doesn’t expect to make any changes to his coaching staff.

Rob DiRe contributed to this post.

Jets Interested In Doug Marrone

January 1st, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Rob DiRe

From the moment Bills‘ head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract, he has been linked to another vacant job within the division, with the rival Jets. As Zach Links reported on the fallout from his decision, key parts of the story were the Jets immediately being expected to schedule an interview with Marrone, as well as a report that the coach does not believe in quarterback Geno Smith.

There is mutual interest between the two parties, according to Brian Costello and Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, and an interview will be scheduled shortly. They noted that Marrone is originally from the Bronx and was an offensive line coach for the Jets under Herm Edwards for four seasons before taking the head coaching job at Syracuse.

Marrone could be a perfect fit for the team, writes Steve Serby of the New York Post. He is a disciplinarian and a no-nonsense guy, according to Serby, and his decision to bench first-round pick EJ Manuel in favor of Kyle Orton almost propelled the team into the playoffs, while Rex Ryan refused to bench Smith, or wasn’t allowed to organizationally.

Serby compares him to a young Tom Coughlin, and notes that he has strong connections to both Coughlin and Saints’ head coach Sean Payton, with whom he built an offensive line good enough to help that team win a Super Bowl.

Jets’ owner Woody Johnson’s consultant Charlie Casserly reportedly loves Marrone, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. Casserly has been raving about the former Bills’ coach since he took the job at Syracuse in 2009, according to Cimini’s source.

“He was totally infatuated with him,” the source said. “You have to know Charley: When he gets on something, he’s a pit bull. I know he’s got Woody [Johnson] all lathered up.”

The Jets are still searching for their next general manager as well, but could hire Marrone immediately. The team has already satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn on Wednesday. If they were to hire Marrone first, he would likely have a say in who the team hires as a general manager to work with him.

Hiring a coach before a general manager puts the power structure of the organization in a very awkward position, according to Cimini. He writes that under that scenario, both of these new hires will likely report directly to the owner, and the system of checks and balances will be out of sorts.

“You might as well take a gun, aim at your foot and shoot twice,” said one longtime NFL personnel executive. “That would be absolutely stupid. As soon as you hire a coach, you have to understand that the GM would no longer be a GM. He’d be an MG. How do you have checks and balances? It seems to me that Woody is making this up as he goes along.”

Costello and Cannizzaro connect Marrone to two possible general manager candidates in Mike Maccagnan and Rick Mueller, both of whom have worked with Marrone before, as a player with the World League’s London Monarchs and as a coach with the Saints, respectively.

The Jets still have a number of interviews scheduled, including three in Seattle on Friday. They will interview Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, offensive line coach Tom Cable, and pro personnel director Trent Kirchner.

Load More Posts