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Robert Nunn

Jets Notes: QBs, Godsey, Staff, Enunwa

January 29th, 2017 at 9:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Jets finished in third place in terms of impact hires today, naming Saints wide receivers coach John Morton as their new OC, here’s the latest coming out of their headquarters.

  • Former Texans OC George Godsey is not expected to be a candidate to fill the Jets’ quarterback coach position, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. Godsey was on Bill O’Brien‘s Penn State staff before following the coach to Houston, initially helping recruit Christian Hackenberg to Happy Valley, Pa. But the Jets will not be following the Broncos’ lead by hiring the second-place finisher in their OC derby to instruct the QBs. The Broncos hired Bill Musgrave to coach its quarterbacks just after naming Mike McCoy OC.
  • The hiring of Morton will likely be the signal the Jets’ 2017 starting quarterback isn’t on the roster yet, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv notes. The 47-year-old assistant has never called plays in his six years in the NFL, the first four coming as Jim Harbaugh‘s receivers coach in San Francisco before relocating to New Orleans. Sources told Vacchiano the Jets aren’t expected to go into the 2017 season with Bryce Petty or Hackenberg as the Week 1 starter, and the writer notes Morton having to install a new scheme while getting one of the prospects ready for immediate game action could be too much for a first-time OC.
  • Gang Green hired former Browns defensive line coach Robert Nunn to work in the same capacity, Mehta reports. Nunn comprised part of since-fired DC Ray Horton‘s staff in Cleveland. He will replace Pepper Johnson with the Jets. Nunn coached the Giants’ defensive line under Perry Fewell, being in charge of the group that deployed the NASCAR package en route to the Super Bowl XLVI title.
  • Quincy Enunwa missed out on a $1.2MM bonus due to a technicality, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes. The NFL released the Proven Performance Escalator figures last week, only the Jets’ slot target was not included even though he met the requirements on the surface. These bonuses are for players drafted in Rounds 3- 7 who played in at least 35 percent of a team’s snaps. Enunwa, a sixth-round pick in 2014, surpassed that threshold but didn’t collect his bonus due to the fact the Jets cut him in 2014 only to re-sign him at the end of that season. Enunwa being on his second contract negated this substantial bonus. Enunwa will enter a contract year in 2017.

Staff Notes: Bills, Saints, Jags, Broncos, Jets

January 20th, 2017 at 3:17pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills’ hiring of offensive coordinator Rick Dennison on Thursday is “very good news” for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com said Friday on NFL Network (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). While it previously appeared Taylor was on the outs in Buffalo, which faces a March 11 deadline to retain him for a guaranteed $30.75MM, it would “make no sense” for the team to change QBs after landing Dennison, per Rapoport. Dennison worked as Taylor’s position coach with the Ravens in 2014 and then served as the O-coordinator in Denver, which made a push to sign Taylor in free agency before he headed to the Bills in March 2015. With Dennison now in Buffalo, Rapoport expects the Bills to continue with Taylor, though he notes that they could first restructure his contract.

More coaching-related updates:

  • Ex-49ers head coach Jim Tomsula interviewed for the Saints’ open defensive line coach job earlier this week, multiple sources told Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. Tomsula was only at the helm in San Francisco for one year, a five-win 2015, but he was a successful D-line coach with the franchise from 2007-14.
  • Former Jaguars great Keenan McCardell will interview to become their wide receivers coach, according to Hays Carlyon of 1010XL. McCardell most recently coached the Redskins’ receivers from 2014-15, but he’s best known for his illustrious career as an NFL wideout from 1992-2007. Most of McCardell’s success came in Jacksonville, where he hauled in 499 passes and 30 touchdowns between 1996-2001. All told, McCardell combined for 883 catches and 63 scores with five teams.
  • The Broncos are set to name Geep Chryst their tight ends coach, reports Marvez (Twitter link). Chryst is familiar with Denver’s offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy, as the two were together in Carolina from 2006-08. His highest-profile work came as San Francisco’s offensive coordinator in 2015 (under the aforementioned Tomsula).
  • The Jets have hired Robert Nunn as their defensive line coach, tweets Marvez. Nunn previously held the same position in Cleveland, which fired him Tuesday.
  • The Bills have tabbed Andrew Dees as their assistant offensive line coach, writes Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk. Dees also handled that role with the Bills in 2012 before serving on the Chargers’ staff from 2013-15. In his second stint in Buffalo, he’ll work under newly hired O-line coach Juan Castillo.
  • Dees is replacing Tony Sparano Jr., whom the Jaguars have hired as their assistant O-line coach, relays Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).

AFC Notes: Bolts, Texans, Fins, Browns

January 17th, 2017 at 2:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before the Chargers hired Anthony Lynn as their head coach, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that he would retain offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt if he got the job. That will indeed be the case, Lynn confirmed Tuesday at his introductory press conference. Whisenhunt, who’s in his second stint with the Chargers, will enter his third season atop the club’s offense. He has a “strong relationship” with quarterback Philip Rivers, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).

As for the Bolts’ defensive coordinator position, Lynn revealed that he’ll conduct a second interview with Gus Bradley on Tuesday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. Lynn and Bradley have been connected to one another over the past few weeks, and the ex-Jacksonville head coach is reportedly the front-runner to take over the Chargers’ defense. At the same time, though, Bradley’s waiting to see if San Francisco will vie for his services.

More from the AFC:

  • The Texans are likely to re-sign pending free agent punter Shane Lechler to a one-year deal, reports John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Lechler indicated Monday that he’d like to return for what would be his age-41 season in 2017. “Looking forward to next year,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll have me back. I’m ready to go. I feel good. We’ll see how it goes.” After spending the first 13 years of his career in Oakland, where he earned seven Pro Bowl nods and six first-team All-Pro selections, Lechler joined the Texans in 2013. He’s coming off a season in which he finished sixth in the NFL in yards per punt, ninth in kicks inside the 20 and 16th in net yardage.
  • The Dolphins held an “animated” December meeting in which they discussed moving linebacker Kiko Alonso from the middle to the weak side, but they opted against it so as not to “mess with Kiko’s head,” sources told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Now that the Dolphins’ season is over, they’re again weighing whether to make the switch. If the Dolphins are confident Alonso can play either spot, it would give them flexibility in finding upgrades at the other two linebacker positions, writes Salguero. “We’ll see what other type of players we bring in through free agency and the draft and where Kiko fits in,” said new defensive coordinator Matt Burke. In his first year in Miami, Alonso rebounded from a torn ACL in 2014 with Buffalo and a disastrous 2015 as an Eagle to pile up a Dolphins-leading 115 tackles and two interceptions.
  • The Browns have tabbed Clyde Simmons as their assistant defensive line coach, per Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. He’ll take over for Robert Nunn, whom the Browns fired Tuesday, according to Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com (Twitter links). Simmons, a former defensive end who amassed 121.5 sacks between 1986-2000, worked as the Rams’ assistant D-line coach over the past half-decade. Heading to Cleveland means he’ll remain under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was also previously with the Rams.

Browns Add Eight To Coaching Staff

February 8th, 2016 at 5:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns continued to fill out their coaching staff Monday, with Hue Jackson announcing the hiring of eight coaches to work for him during his first season in Cleveland, according to a report on the team’s website.

All of which are position coaches or other assistants after the Browns announced more than two weeks ago the additions of Ray Horton, Pep Hamilton and several others.

Here’s the full list of coaches and their respective titles.

  • Rock Cartwright, offensive quality control
  • Louie Cioffi, defensive backs
  • Ken Delgado, assistant defensive line
  • Johnny Holland, inside linebackers
  • Cannon Matthews, assistant defensive backs
  • Robert Nunn, defensive line
  • Eric Sanders, defensive quality control
  • Ryan Slowik, outside linebackers

Cioffi served in the same position under Horton during his previous one-year stint as the Browns’ defensive coordinator in 2013. Cioffi’s worked with Horton in 10 of his 21 seasons.

Nunn was the Giants’ defensive line coach from 2010-15, collecting a Super Bowl ring in guiding the NASCAR package-powered team to the 2011 championship.

Slowik served as the Jets’ defensive line coach last season.

Coach Updates: Henderson, Falcons, Browns

January 22nd, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson is interviewing for a position on the Falcons‘ coaching staff, but not for the defensive coordinator job — Richard Smith is staying in that role, Atlanta confirmed today (via Twitter).

Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who first reported that Henderson was interviewing for the DC role in Atlanta, tweets that his Cowboys contacts believed that was the case. Henderson has suggested he wouldn’t leave Dallas for a job that wasn’t a promotion, so there’s some confusion about what exactly his role with the Falcons would be.

According to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, the Falcons may view Henderson as a potential defensive pass-game coordinator, a position currently held by Raheem Morris. Morris also has an assistant head coach title, which could give Atlanta the flexibility to bring Henderson aboard and move Morris to another role without technically demoting him.

As we wait to see whether Henderson decides to leave Dallas for the Falcons, here are some other coaching updates from around the NFL:

  • Former Giants defensive line coach Robert Nunn, who recently interviewed with the Titans, is being hired by the Browns as their defensive line coach, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
  • Marvez passes along another Browns-related coaching update, tweeting that the Packers have hired tight ends coach Brian Angelichio away from Cleveland for the same position on Green Bay’s staff.
  • The Giants are expected to hire Packers assistant offensive line coach Mike Solari as their new offensive line coach, a source tells Newsday’s Tom Rock. We learned on Thursday that Solari was a “strong candidate” to join Ben McAdoo‘s staff.
  • The 49ers are looking at Titans offensive line coach Bob Bostad for the same job in San Francisco, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. As we heard on Wednesday, the Niners are also considering Pat Flaherty for that position.
  • The Saints have hired former Giants defensive backs coach and Rams defensive coordinator Peter Guinta as a senior defensive assistant, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Guinta has been out of the NFL since being let go by the Giants last January.

Coach Rumors: 49ers, Mangini, Giants, Titans

January 18th, 2016 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly hasn’t been formally introduced by the team yet, and hasn’t made any announcements on his coaching staff, but it appears a handful of Eagles assistant coaches will be following him to San Francisco, writes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

As Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, the Eagles assistants remain under contract through 2016, so Philadelphia could block some of them from heading to the Niners if Doug Pederson wants to keep them, but the Eagles’ new head coach is likely to hire many of his own assistants as well.

One notable Niners assistant who may end up remaining in San Francisco is defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. Marvez tweets that there’s a “strong possibility” of Mangini, who met with Kelly on Friday, returning to head the 49ers’ defense in 2016.

As we wait to see how Kelly’s staff shakes out, here are a few more coaching-related updates from around the NFL:

  • The Giants appear set to move on from offensive line coach Pat Flaherty and defensive line coach Robert Nunn, per reports by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Nunn will interview for the Titans‘ DL coach job, says Garafolo.
  • Meanwhile, Marvez has a note on a potential incoming coach for the Giants, tweeting that ex-Rams offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is in the mix for New York’s quarterbacks coach job.
  • The Titans have put in a request to interview Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie for their offensive coordinator job, sources tell Marvez and Garafolo (Twitter link).
  • Doug Pederson‘s biggest decision as he takes over the Eagles‘ head coaching job will be naming his defensive coordinator, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who writes that Pederson “can’t just blindly go with one of the big-name coordinators who are available.”