HEADLINES

Scott Frost

Coaching Notes: Robinson, Bears, Jets, Rams

December 11th, 2024 at 11:28am CST by Sam Robinson

Zac Robinson is in his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator, quickly moving to the Falcons once Raheem Morris landed the team’s HC job. Other clubs showed interest in Robinson for OC posts as well. Before Robinson entered the coaching ranks, however, he played quarterback at Oklahoma State. Robinson started three seasons with the Cowboys, playing under longtime coach Mike Gundy. Had the latter not agreed to a recent contract restructure, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes Robinson was the school’s top replacement choice. Robinson, 41, started for the Big 12 program from 2007-09. Gundy, himself a former Oklahoma State QB, has been in charge in Stillwater since 2005. Robinson could land interviews on next year’s NFL HC carousel, and no other rumors have connected the first-year OC to the college game.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • The Bears have been connected to at least one college coach (Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman) about their now-vacant HC post, and others could be on the radar. An anonymous GM told the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora he expects the Bears to interview multiple college coaches during their upcoming search. Serving as team president since early 2023, Kevin Warren has a background in the college game stemming from his time as Big Ten commissioner. Although GM Ryan Poles is running Chicago’s search, Warren will have a major role to play in whom the team hires to replace Matt Eberflus.
  • Woody Johnson is again staffing out his HC search, bringing in ex-Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman to tab the team’s next coach and GM. The latter shed some light into the process recently, indicating during the NFL on CBS podcast (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) he has already interviewed “a lot of the guys” who will be on his Jets recommendation list. Spielman having worked as an advisor during the Commanders’ recent searches points to familiar names being part of this upcoming Jets research effort. It will still be Johnson making the final call, but this is not the first time he has farmed out his hiring process. He did so in 2015 as well, using former GMs Charley Casserley and Ron Wolf ahead of the Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles hires.
  • Todd Grantham has been back in the NFL for the past two seasons, serving as a Saints assistant. While Robinson is not heading to Stillwater, Grantham will indeed be going to reprise his role as a college defensive coordinator. Oklahoma State is hiring Grantham as its DC, NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett notes. A former Browns DC under Romeo Crennel in the 2000s, Grantham had been the Saints’ D-line coach for the past two seasons. New Orleans firing Dennis Allen will lead to a staff overhaul, and Grantham — formerly the DC at Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Florida — will jump ship early.
  • Rams assistant special teams coach Scott Frost is returning to Central Florida. The former Knights HC will take on that job once again, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reports. Frost coached the Knights from 2016-17, using the mid-major program as a springboard to Nebraska. Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers predecessor had caught on with the Rams this year.
  • Former Jets tight end Anthony Becht coached the United Football League’s St. Louis BattleHawks last season and recently interviewed for the West Virginia HC job. Becht has also drawn interest from the NFL, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The two-year St. Louis HC, the first season coming in XFL 3.0 in 2023, has never coached in the NFL and would presumably not be too close to the HC radar were he to explore a job in the league soon.

NFL Staff Rumors: Jets Front Office, Frost

September 13th, 2024 at 9:15pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets announced some restructuring in their personnel department back in August. According to the team site, Jon Carr and Greg Nejmeh will be taking over as co-directors of player personnel. New York will also make Dan Zbojovsky the team’s new senior director of football operations.

Carr is an 18-year NFL veteran in his seventh season with the Jets. During his time in New York, Carr has overseen the college scouting process, managing national and area scouts. He recently added oversight of the pro personnel department to his docket, as well.

Nejmeh’s been with the team since 2009, when he started as a scouting intern, and is now entering his 16th year with the Jets. He has overseen the pro personnel day-to-day operations and managed the free agency process and pro player evaluations. He recently started assisting and overseeing with the college process, as well. With Carr and Nejmeh’s responsibilities bleeding over into each other so much, and with both serving as key generals under general manager Joe Douglas, it makes sense to see them now split a title the same way they split their job duties.

Zbojovsky is also an 18-year veteran in NFL front offices, spending all 18 years with the Jets. In his new role, Zbojovsky will oversee the athletic training staff, medical staff, player development, personnel operations, and video department. He will also still retain some of the scouting responsibilities he held from his previous role.

Here are some other NFL staff moves from the last few weeks:

  • Those weren’t the only adjustments the Jets made to their front office. Formerly a national scout, Jay Mandolesi will spend his 21st year with the Jets as director of college scouting with a new promotion. Nick Sabella has also been promoted after two seasons as assistant director of football administration. He will now serve as senior director of football administration in his sixth year with the team. Sabella will be filling the vacancy left by David Socie who has also been promoted to senior director of football strategy. Socie is in the eighth year of his second stint with the team after a one-year stint back in 2006. Jonathan Stigall is another staffer to earn a promotion, moving into the role of national scout. Stigall has been in the NFL since 1999 and with the Jets since 2014 in various roles. Additionally, after three years as assistant director of personnel operations, Christina Wedding née Salvemini has been promoted to director of personnel operations. Former pro scout Evan Ardoin is also getting a promotion into the role of co-assistant director of pro personnel, alongside Kevin Murphy in the same role. Ardoin will monitor NFL practice squads and league transactions while evaluating players for free agency. Lastly, after serving as a personnel assistant for the past two years, Jordan Burton will spend his third year in New York as the NFS college scout for the team.
  • At the beginning of the month, the Rams announced that they would be adding former UCF and Nebraska head coach Scott Frost to their coaching staff, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Scott is expected to be joining as a senior football analyst. Rams senior staff writer Stu Jackson says that Frost will help special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn but will be expected to contribute on both offense and defense, as well. This makes sense as Frost has playing experience on both sides of the ball, playing quarterback in college at Stanford and Nebraska before getting drafted as a safety in the NFL. He also has experience coaching on both sides of the ball, spending time as an assistant over linebackers, wide receivers, and quarterbacks and spending time as both an offensive and defensive coordinator at the collegiate level.