Rich Scangarello

Raiders Fire OC Luke Getsy

November 3rd, 2024 at 10:43pm CST by Ely Allen

The Raiders suffered their fifth straight loss today after starting the season 2-2, and the offense continues to struggle to get the job done. As a result, changes are being made. The latest changes come in the form of a staffing updates as offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has reportedly been let go, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The team soon announced quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg have also been dismissed.

Getsy’s second tenure as an offensive coordinator in the NFL has turned out about the same as his first stint, though Chicago afforded him a tad more leash. A former undrafted quarterback in the league back in 2007, it didn’t take long for Getsy to move on to coaching. After seven seasons in the collegiate ranks, Getsy earned his first NFL coaching gig as an offensive quality control coach with the Packers.

After leaving for a year to be offensive coordinator at Mississippi State, Getsy returned to Green Bay under then-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and head coach Matt LaFleur. This time, Getsy worked as quarterbacks coach over veteran Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, already a two-time MVP at the time, made the entire offensive staff look good, winning his third and fourth MVPs in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021. The performances earned Hackett a head coaching gig in Denver and Getsy his first offensive coordinator job in the NFL with the Bears.

In his first season calling plays, the Bears fielded the league’s top rushing offense, though a 32nd-ranked passing offense put the team at just 28th for total offense. Chicago remained one of the top rushing teams in his second year, and even improved in passing and scoring, but head coach Matt Eberflus cut ties in an attempt to keep his own job with a new offensive coordinator and a new rookie quarterback in 2024.

Getsy rebounded, hopping on staff with new head coach Antonio Pierce after the Raiders fumbled the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. The team seemingly had an agreement in place to hire Kingsbury before the Texas Tech alum backtracked and joined the Commanders. Getsy was the consolation prize, and given tonight’s news, he apparently was hired on a “prove it” basis.

Scangarello joined the Raiders this season two years after being fired midseason from his offensive coordinator job with the University of Kentucky. Cregg was in his first role as an NFL offensive line coach after two years as assistant offensive line coach in San Francisco.

Through nine weeks of the season, the Raiders are 26th in total offense and 25th in points scored. Unlike his time in Chicago, Getsy has not been able to field a top rushing offense. In fact, the team’s 692 rushing yards on the season are only better than the Cowboys (who have 656 in one fewer game). This has forced Getsy and the Raiders to rely on a passing game quarterbacked by Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.

The results have been middling so far this year in terms of passing yardage, and the two passers have combined for eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Nine lost fumbles for the offense combine with those picks to help the Raiders rank dead-last in turnovers. The team also ranks 32nd in yards per carry, 29th in yards per play, 27th in passer rating, and 26th in offensive points per game this season.

The lackluster offense could partially be blamed on injuries that have limited expected contributors like running back Zamir White and tight end Michael Mayer. The offense was also not helped by the “injury” and eventual trade of star wide receiver Davante Adams, who only appeared in three games for Las Vegas.

Still, it is the play-caller’s job to put the players available to him in positions to succeed, and that job was not getting done in Las Vegas. Just four days ago, Pierce challenged Getsy, telling the media that Getsy’s play-calling “has to get better.” Today’s performance, which saw Minshew benched for recently signed quarterback Desmond Ridder, clearly lacked the improvement that Pierce sought.

Today’s firing marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Raiders have changed either a coach or a coordinator in the middle of a season. The seemingly never-ending search for stability in the organization continues with Getsy’s dismissal. Pass game coordinator Scott Turner, formerly an offensive coordinator for the Commanders, has been tabbed as a likely replacement to take over the role of offensive coordinator, though nothing has been reported. In his three years calling plays in Washington, the team’s offense never ranked in the top half of the league.

Following the announcement of Getsy’s firing, EPSN’s Paul Gutierrez and Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal both seemed to indicate that more heads would likely roll. This could have been in reference to the dismissals of Scangarello and Cregg, reported soon after, but with the iron still hot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few more names added to the fire.

Raiders Hire Rich Scangarello As QB Coach, Fred Walker As Assistant

February 19th, 2024 at 10:26pm CST by Ely Allen

FEBRUARY 19: Las Vegas has made it official, hiring Scangarello as their new quarterbacks coach, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero informs that Scangarello was most recently assisting USC quarterback and presumed future-No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams with his pre-draft prep but will now head to the Raiders, a team that may be in the market for a young quarterback with O’Connell set as the future starter following Garoppolo’s expected release.

The team also announced the promotion of Fred Walker to serve as assistant quarterbacks coach under Scangarello, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Walker, who spent the past two years as an offensive assistant for the Raiders, recently interviewed for the Seahawks quarterbacks coaching job, a job that was instead given to Charles London.

FEBRUARY 18: The Raiders are close to finalizing their coaching staff under new head coach Antonio Pierce, with quarterbacks coach being one of the few remaining vacant positions. That isn’t for lack of trying, though, as the team has been conducting its search and, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, are narrowing in on a target.

Fowler reports that former University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello is currently the front runner for the Raiders’ open position. The veteran offensive coach has reportedly been in the building this week, and it’s seeming like a deal could be in the works.

Scangarello has been coaching at some level since 1998, when he was a graduate assistant at UC Davis. Through 11 years at several college institutions, Scangarello eventually worked his way up to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at UC Davis. He earned his first NFL opportunity as an offensive quality control coach for the Raiders in 2009. He left for his first full offensive coordinator opportunities at Millsaps and Northern Arizona. After another year as an offensive quality control coach in the NFL with the Falcons, Scangarello was drawn back to college once more as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wagner.

Scangarello made his return to the NFL with his first professional position coaching job as quarterbacks coach of the 49ers in 2017. It only took two years of coaching a menagerie of Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard, and Nick Mullens in San Francisco for him to get his first offensive coordinator opportunity with the Broncos in 2019. With Scangarello calling plays, Denver’s offense finished 28th in the league in both points scored and yards gained. He was fired by head coach Vic Fangio after only one year. After a year in Philadelphia as a senior offensive assistant, Scangarello returned for a second stint as the 49ers quarterback coach, once again mentoring Garoppolo.

Scangarello would leave San Francisco to take his most recent position at Kentucky in 2022. Under his play-calling, the Wildcats finished 112th (out of 131 Division I teams) in points per game and 116th in total offense. Once again, Scangarello’s time as a play caller would end after only one season. After sitting out the 2023 season, Scangarello appears set to return to the NFL.

His arrival in Las Vegas would, in theory, reunite him with Garoppolo, but the team is expected to release the veteran passer soon. Regardless, he’ll potentially be reuniting with Hoyer and would be set to coach second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell through his first offseason as the presumed starter.

NFC Coaching Notes: Vikings, 49ers, Rams, Falcons

February 25th, 2022 at 1:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Vikings have already provided new head coach Kevin O’Connell with an experienced defensive coordinator in Ed Donatell. They are moving towards adding another veteran defensive mind, as Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reports that they are expected to hire Greg Manusky as their new linebackers coach.

Manusky, 55, was most recently a defensive quality control assistant at Kentucky, a post he’d held for two seasons. Before that, though, he had spent two decades on NFL sidelines. Two years after his playing days were over, he joined Washington’s staff in the same LBs coach role he is set to take on again. He held that same title in San Diego for five years, which set him up for his first defensive coordinator position.

Manusky took over as the 49ers’ DC in 2007, and remained there until he returned to the Chargers to call their defense for one season. His third DC post came with the Colts, spanning another four years. Not long after he returned to Washington as their OLBs coach, he was promoted to DC in 2017, staying there for three campaigns.

Here are some other coaching notes from the NFC:

Sticking with Kentucky, the Wildcats are hiring 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello to be their new offensive coordinator (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero). That role opened up when Liam Coen took the Rams’ OC job earlier this week. The news continues a significant exodus of coaches from Kyle Shanahan’s staff this offseason, the most notable being former OC Mike McDaniel becoming the new HC of the Dolphins.
The Rams are keeping a key member of their defensive staff in place. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets that defensive line coach Eric Henderson has been extended. His contract was set to expire at the end of the 2022 season, but he will be staying put in L.A., keeping one of the league’s best at that position group in place.
Lastly, Pelissero’s colleague Mike Garafolo reports that Shawn Flaherty is joining the Falcons’ staff (Twitter link). The son of Pat Flaherty, he had spent the first three years of his NFL coaching career as an assistant o-line coach in Miami.

Coaching Rumors: 49ers, Chargers, Jaguars, Eagles

January 21st, 2021 at 11:14am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers‘ staff is starting to come together, as Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes. Chris Foerster has been bumped up to primary offensive line coach while Rich Scangarello will return as the quarterbacks coach. Scangarello served as SF’s QBs coach in 2017 and 2018 before the Broncos tapped him as their OC in 2019. After a rough time in Denver and one year in Philly, he’s headed back to the Bay Area.

Here’s a look at the latest coach and coordinator news:

The Chargers will interview Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon for their defensive coordinator job, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Gannon is also being considered by the Bears for their DC role.
Meanwhile, new Chargers coach Brandon Staley is bringing Rams assistant Joe Barry along for the ride as his defensive passing game coordinator and linebackers coach (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
The Jaguars have requested an interview with Colts quarterbacks coach Marcus Brady for their offensive coordinator job, as Pelissero tweets.
The Eagles are interested in interviewing Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel, according to Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Fassel, the son of ex-Giants head coach Jim Fassel, spent eight years as the Rams’ ST coordinator. He also served as the Rams’ interim head coach for the final three games of 2016.

GM/Staff Notes: Staley, Schoen, Jets, Eagles

January 7th, 2021 at 5:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons have secured an interview with Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter). This will be Schoen’s second GM interview this offseason. He met with the Panthers earlier this week. Schoen has been on the rise for a bit now, moving from Dolphins player personnel director (2014-17) to the assistant GM of a Bills franchise that has raised its profile considerably during his tenure under Brandon Beane. Under Beane, Schoen and Sean McDermott, the Bills have made three playoff berths in four years. They were 0-for-17 in the 21st century previously.

Here is the latest from the GM and coaching carousels:

Brandon Staley‘s Rams defense ranked first in scoring defense this season, and that could allow him to continue a meteoric NFL rise. In addition to the Jets requesting an interview with Staley, the Chargers are interested in speaking with the first-year coordinator, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets. Staley spent the 2018 season as the Bears’ outside linebackers coach before following Vic Fangio to Denver and working in the same capacity there. But he has become a hot coaching commodity who could end up in a leading role soon.
The assistant leading the charge against Staley’s defense Saturday may be competing with him for the Jets‘ top coaching job. Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer is expected to be on the Jets’ radar to replace Adam Gase, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Schottenheimer has been Seattle’s OC for three seasons but served in that role in New York longer, working as offensive coordinator under Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan from 2006-11.
While the Eagles are retaining Doug Pederson, they will lose DC Jim Schwartz and part ways with two offensive assistants. Marty Mornhinweg and Rich Scangarello will not be back in Philly next season, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com tweets. Despite both joining the Eagles last season, each was on an expiring contract. This marks another offseason of shakeups to Pederson’s offensive staff. Both Frank Reich and John DeFilippo departed in 2018, while the Eagles fired OC Mike Groh last year. Both Mornhinweg and Scangarello held non-position-coaching titles; the former worked as a senior consultant and the latter functioned as a senior assistant. Mornhinweg is a veteran NFL OC who served as Lions HC from 2001-02, while Scangarello was the Broncos’ OC last season.
The Washington GM search is beginning to take shape. In addition to ex-GMs Marty Hurney, Martin Mayhew and Rick Smith, Washington is expected to show interest in ex-Panthers exec Ryan Cowden, per La Canfora. While Cowden worked with Ron Rivera in Carolina, he has been with the Titans since 2016. He currently works as their VP of player personnel.

Eagles Promote Press Taylor

February 5th, 2020 at 11:21am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles’ revamped coaching staff is starting to come together. This week, the Eagles promoted quarterbacks coach Press Taylor by tacking on the title of passing game coordinator, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The club is also set to hire former Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello for a staff position, Pelissero hears.

It’s not immediately clear what position Scangarello will occupy, or what this all means for the Eagles’ own OC vacancy. Scangarello served as the Broncos’ OC in 2019, but the results were not pretty. After finishing out as the No. 14 team in offensive DVOA in 2018, they regressed to 26th in the NFL. Still, as we’ve seen before, teams aren’t always looking at a coach’s latest results, and Scangarello rolled into Denver with plenty of hype thanks to his previous work in San Francisco.

Taylor, meanwhile, was being considered for the OC position as recently as January 31st. Although he hasn’t been explicitly ruled out for the post, his additional title seems to indicate that he’s no longer in the running for the job. Taylor, 32, has been on the Eagles’ staff since 2013 but has only served as a position coach for the last two years. He is perhaps best known for his role in the Eagles’ legendary “Philly Special” that helped them capture their long-awaited Super Bowl ring.

The Eagles fired Mike Groh just after their early playoff exit, despite previous comments from head coach Doug Pederson indicating that he’d be staying on board. Weeks later, the Eagles are still looking for his replacement.

Browns To Interview Rich Scangarello For OC

January 18th, 2020 at 1:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

While working on their GM and defensive coordinator roles, the Browns are now moving along with their offensive coordinator search. New HC Kevin Stefanski plans to interview recently fired Broncos OC Rich Scangarello for the role, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The interview is expected to take place Monday or Tuesday, per Cabot. The Broncos fired Scangarello less than a week ago, bringing in former Browns HC Pat Shurmur to head up their offense.

Stefanski is expected to call plays in Cleveland but has indicated he is not committed to doing so. Scangarello worked as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach prior to moving to Denver in a play-calling role. The Broncos’ offense ranked 28th in both points and yards this season, but the first-time NFL OC did not have too much to work with, talent-wise. That would be less of an issue in Cleveland.

Scangarello, 47, oversaw an offense forced to use three quarterbacks due to injury. But the Broncos finished 4-1 once Drew Lock took the reins, and it came as a surprise when Vic Fangio fired his first-year coordinator. Perhaps Scangarello’s most impressive showing, however, came when he helped first-time starter Brandon Allen to a midseason victory over the Browns.

Previous Browns OC Todd Monken recently accepted an offer to become Georgia’s OC. The Browns have used three different offensive coordinators since the start of the 2018 season, going from Todd Haley to Freddie Kitchens to Monken.

The Browns’ 2019 offense, despite being one of the league’s most-hyped units, was a massive disappointment. The Kitchens-orchestrated attack ranked 22nd in both points and yards, frequently prone to mismanagement and failing to fully unleash prized trade acquisition Odell Beckham Jr. Stefanski and the new OC will be tasked with rejuvenating Baker Mayfield, who took a step back after a strong finish to 2018.

Mike Shanahan On Broncos’ Interest, Coaching Plans

August 17th, 2019 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mike Shanahan revealed his side of the late-2017 discussions centered around the Broncos bringing him back as head coach. The two-time Super Bowl-winning HC said he was “close” to taking the job, had it been offered.

“I was close. I was close,” Shanahan said, via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala (subscription required). “But one thing that has to happen: You all have to be on the same page. And one thing you have to make sure of when you are a head football coach is the owner, the GM, the quarterback are all on the same page. If it doesn’t happen, the chance of you winning a Super Bowl aren’t very good.

“So, anyway, if that situation had happened, I was going to take it. If not — but anyway, I had a great conversation with John as everybody knows and it didn’t work out. Sometimes it works out for the right reasons.”

John Elway made the initial contact regarding the short-lived reunion, Jhabvala reports, and the Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-GM discussed the job — which then belonged to Vance Joseph — with his former coach. But at the time, Broncos CEO Joe Ellis informed Elway his firing Joseph after one season would have required him to conduct a thorough search — rather than earmark the job for Shanahan. The Broncos would have obviously needed to comply with the Rooney Rule as well.

As for the quarterback component of this, Kirk Cousins may or may not have been part of the equation. Conflicting reports emerged on then-free agency-bound passer following Shanahan to Denver. But the Shanahan process did not progress too far, and the Broncos made other plans. They retained Joseph for the 2018 season and signed the player Cousins wound up replacing in Minnesota, Case Keenum. They are now on another HC-QB combo in Vic Fangio and Joe Flacco.

Shanahan’s greatest coaching moments came in Denver. He helped the Broncos to two Super Bowl titles and four playoff byes. His Raiders and Redskins tenures did not go as well. The 66-year-old coach has not ruled out a return to the sidelines.

“You always miss coaching,” Shanahan said. “But it’s been five years. I made the decision a long time ago, right when I got fired. I said if I didn’t get the right job right away where we had a chance to win a Super Bowl that I was probably going to do what I’m doing, which is kind of being a dad and following (my) son and the organization and being a part of it.”

Elway did enlist Mike Shanahan’s help while securing a deal with new OC Rich Scangarello, who worked for Kyle Shanahan for two seasons. Scangarello’s offense will look somewhat similar to what the Broncos primarily ran under the elder Shanahan.

West Draft Rumors: Cardinals, Murray, 49ers, Broncos

April 21st, 2019 at 7:30pm CST by Micah Powell

On Saturday, Arizona State receiver and local product N’Keal Harry visited the Cardinals for a private visit, NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport tweets.

Possessing the size, strength and speed of a prototypical outside receiver, Harry could be an option for Arizona should he still be on the board when the team is on the clock at No. 33. Harry should fully be in play there, as the Cardinals reportedly like the value of going receiver with their second-round pick, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets.

Should the team go with Harry, it would pair him with another local standout in Christian Kirk, who impressed as a rookie before missing time with an injury down the stretch. The pair of young wideouts would join veteran and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald in a potentially loaded receiver corps for either Josh Rosen or Kyler Murray, should the team go with the Oklahoma product as expected a week before the draft.

Here’s more draft talk from around the league:

Sticking with the Cardinals, though the team has been heavily linked to Murray, Kent Somer of the Arizona Republic believes the team should pass on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. He thinks the team should stick with Rosen, attempt to trade down to pick up more picks, and, if that option is not possible, take either Quinnen Williams or Nick Bosa.
Speaking of Williams, many NFL executives reportedly prefer the Alabama defensive lineman to Ohio State’s Bosa as the draft’s top overall prospect, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. In a poll of 14 personnel members by Bob McGinn, six chose Williams as the top picks, twice as many as Bosa, who received the second most. Also receiving votes were Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins and Jeffery Simmons.
The Broncos have been heavily tied to quarterback’s heading into this week’s draft. Helping pick that signal-caller, if they do indeed go that route, is new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, who learned how to pick the position from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran writes. “Kyle had a lot of success (evaluating quarterbacks) and (he) showed me some things that I use in the evaluation process,” Scangarello said. “It’s a tough position to evaluate. You just get them in (the meeting room) and you try and find out what you can about them.” Denver has been linked with Drew Lock, but Daniel Jones, Murray and Dwayne Haskins could all fit the bill at No. 10 if everything falls right.
The 49ers have been heavily tied to either Bosa or Williams with the No. 2 pick on Thursday, but the team is looking to the skill positions for their Round 2 pick, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco writes. At the top of the list is wide receiver, where they are looking to find a starter-level pass catcher to complement second-year wideout Dante Pettis and veteran Marquise Goodwin. Maiocco notes the receivers who have been in for a visit include Harry, A.J. Brown, Hakeem Butler, Jalen Hurd and Deebo Samuel.

49ers Notes: Draft, Coaching Staff

January 22nd, 2019 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

In 2017, the Niners traded the No. 2 overall pick to the QB-needy Bears in exchange for the No. 3 pick and three more draft choices. Matt Barrows of The Athletic can imagine a similar scenario unfolding this year as the Niners, once again, hold the No. 2 overall pick.

The draft board seems a little uncertain right now, but quarterbacks tend to drift up from the bottom of the first round to the Top 10 as the big day draws near. This year, teams like the Giants (No. 6 overall pick), Jaguars (No. 7), Broncos (No. 10) and Dolphins (No. 13), and Redskins (No. 15) could all be candidates to move up the board to get their next signal caller.

Here’s more out of SF:

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he initially rebuffed the Broncos’ attempts to speak with Rich Scangarello because he wanted to ensure that Scangarello would in fact be moving up from quarterbacks coach to a play-calling offensive coordinator (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). Once that was confirmed, Shanahan cleared the way for Scangarello to become Vic Fangio‘s top offensive coach.
Conversely, Shanahan says he declined requests for Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel to explore other opportunities because neither position they would have interviewed for would have been a promotion. In the case of both men, neither one would have been given play calling responsibilities. The Packers, Browns, and Vikings all expressed interest in LaFleur while the Packers and Cardinals reached out on McDaniel.
Meanwhile, assistant offensive line coach Adam Stenavich was permitted to accept the Packers’ offensive line coach position.

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