HEADLINES

Ron Wolf

AFC East Notes: Tannehill, Dolphins, Jets, Bills

January 21st, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking today to reporters, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey had nothing but praise for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. While Hickey didn’t commit to picking up Tannehill’s fifth-year option for 2016, Beasley views that as a lock at this point, and suggests that the two sides could even work out a longer-term agreement this offseason.

Let’s round up a few more items on the Dolphins and some of their AFC East rivals…

  • Asked about the future of wide receiver Mike Wallace with the Dolphins, Hickey was noncommittal, and certainly wasn’t as effusive with his praise for Wallace as he was for Tannehill, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. The GM made it clear that the decision on Wallace would be a collaborative effort that would involve head coach Joe Philbin and new executive VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum.
  • Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell, who worked with Todd Bowles in Miami, is expected to join the Jets‘ staff, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). It’s not yet clear what Dorrell’s role in New York would be, but he has worked as a quarterbacks coach and a receivers coach in the past.
  • Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, who advised the Jets during the team’s search for a general manager and head coach, are done with the club for now, but aren’t ruling out potentially continuing the relationship in the future, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • The Bills‘ front office continues to undergo some changes under new ownership, according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has fired director of pro personnel Tom Gibbons. Gibbons’ contract had been set to expire in June, after this year’s draft.

Jets Notes: Idzik, Wolf, Casserly, Wilkerson

December 28th, 2014 at 6:16pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Jets have an 8 A.M. meeting scheduled for tomorrow, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter). Any changes the team plans on making should be announced by that time.

Here is a look at some of those potential changes and the fallout that will come from them:

  • While John Idzik seems like a very good bet to be fired now that the Jets’ season is over, he has left his successor in a position to succeed, writes Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. The next general manager will take over a team that will be flushed with cap space, and the job could actually be an attractive situation for a potential candidate.
  • Former Packers’ general manager Ron Wolf will be joining Charlie Casserly on the Jets’ staff as a consultant, confirms Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Wolf and Casserly will assist Woody Johnson in the search for the next general manager and head coach.
  • Casserly could be interested in Vikings’ George Paton as a candidate for the general manager job, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
  • One of the first orders of business for the Jets’ next general manager will be to begin negotiations with Muhammad Wilkerson on a long-term contract, writes Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter). La Canfora says it would be unlikely that he plays out his fifth-year option.

Coaching Rumors: Raiders, Harbaugh, Jets

December 24th, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NFL will celebrate Christmas tomorrow, but a more noteworthy “holiday” looms for a number of coaches and club executives, with Black Monday right around the corner. Here’s the latest on a handful of coaches and coaching situations across the league:

  • Having recently spoken to Raiders owner Mark Davis, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says the team has yet to conduct any interviews for potential head coaches yet, adding that the process will likely get underway next Monday and Tuesday (Twitter links).
  • Jim Harbaugh figures to draw interest from the Raiders, and Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report hears from several team officials that there’s still “great interest” in the 49ers’ head coach. However, Freeman cautions that interest has decreased slightly, as teams have done their homework on Harbaugh. While his coaching talent isn’t being questioned, clubs may be wary of Harbaugh’s “tendency to burn out people around him quickly,” writes Freeman. The Bleacher Report scribe adds that sources view Harbaugh’s odds of landing with an NFL team vs. coaching at the University of Michigan as a 50/50 proposition.
  • Clarifying a report from last night, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets that the Jets haven’t actually reached out to Ron Wolf about a consulting role yet, but Charley Casserly has. Mehta adds that there’s a “growing sense” that general manager John Idzik and head coach Rex Ryan will both be let go at season’s end.
  • Speaking of Ryan, the current Jets coach may be out of work a week from now, but he still believes he’ll eventually win a Super Bowl as a head coach, as Dan Martin of the New York Post details.

Jets Notes: Casserly, Wolf, Wilkerson

December 23rd, 2014 at 9:40pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Dolphins now out of the playoff picture, the Jets can’t even play the role of spoiler in Week 17, so the other drama remaining in 2014 for the team is determining draft position for 2015, and figuring out whether the franchise will be looking for a new general manager and head coach. Here’s the latest on the AFC East’s cellar dwellers:

  • If the Jets decide to move on from general manager John Idzik at season’s end, Charley Casserly is expected to be one of the two consultants spearheading the search for a new GM and head coach, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. In a second tweet, Mehta adds that Bill Parcells won’t be the second consultant involved in the process.
  • Abert Breer of the NFL Network has more details on the Jets’ potential consultants, reporting (via Twitter) that the team has approached Ron Wolf about a consultant role. Wolf, who worked for the Jets before going to Green Bay in 1991, also served as a consultant for the Raiders and Chargers in recent years. According to Breer (via Twitter), Wolf would work with Casserly if he comes aboard, as the club looks to “chart a course” going forward.
  • Peter King of The MMQB.com (Twitter link) suggests owner Woody Johnson should look into Eric DeCosta (Ravens), Chris Ballard (Chiefs), Ryan Pace (Saints), and Scott Pioli (Falcons) as possible football decision-makers.
  • Defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson expected to have a new deal in place with the Jets by now, but isn’t upset that it hasn’t happened yet, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. “No, I’m not disappointed,” Wilkerson said. “I mean, I thought it would be done, but it wasn’t, so, hey, it is what it is. I’m patiently waiting. If it happens, it happens.” Wilkerson is currently under contract through the 2015 season, via his fifth-year option.

La Canfora’s Latest: Newton, Houston, Hoyer

October 12th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has a number of interesting notes this morning, including several pieces on possible contract extensions for big name stars. Let’s jump right in:

  • Although the Panthers have not talked with quarterback Cam Newton about a possible extension since this summer, and no such talks are imminent, La Canfora writes that Newton is not interested in a “pay as you go” contract like those signed by Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton. Joel Corry tweets that Newton’s agent, Bus Cook, will certainly not accept that type of deal for Newton given that he was able to procure $38MM in (virtually) guaranteed money for Jay Cutler.
  • La Canfora writes that the Chiefs would like to extend outside linebacker Justin Houston during the season, but unnamed sources indicate that is unlikely. After locking up quarterback Alex Smith long term, Kansas City wants to revisit negotiations with Houston, which went nowhere in the preseason. However, the two sides do not currently appear likely to bridge that preseason gap, and Houston could be slapped with the franchise tag next year, which would be worth about $13MM. Even with Kansas City’s ample cap room, Joel Corry tweets that the mega-deals signed by J.J. Watt and Robert Quinn did not make it any easier for the Chiefs to extend Houston.
  • La Canfora writes that the Browns have not yet begun contract talks with Brian Hoyer, but after his performance against the Titans last week, the time for locking him up at a reasonable rate may be running out. Joel Corry adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland may even consider an $18MM franchise tag for Hoyer for 2015, since the club has plenty of cap room to work with.
  • Although new Bills owner Terry Pegula is not planning any immediate changes to his front office, La Canfora writes that Pegula ultimately wants to “bring in an experienced football man” to oversee the team’s transition. Ernie Accorsi, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolf have all been named as possibilities. Pegula would also like to see an organizational restructure to separate the football side and business side of the club.
  • Many NFL owners, despite lauding commissioner Roger Goodell for his overall efforts, would like for him to allow others to handle disciplinary matters.
  • La Canfora has the the value of 2015 franchise tags for each position.