Shane Day

AFC Coaching Notes: Dickerson, Browns, Bills, Addae, Day, Chargers, Dolphins, Colts

February 9th, 2024 at 4:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns allowed Bill Callahan out of his $3MM-plus contract to join son Brian in Tennessee. Given Bill Callahan’s status as one of the NFL’s best O-line coaches, this left a void on Cleveland’s staff. The team will fill it with one of the candidates it interviewed for its OC post. Seahawks O-line coach Andy Dickerson will take the same position with the Browns, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets. Set to work under Ken Dorsey, Dickerson was one of the ex-Sean McVay staffers who followed Shane Waldron to Seattle. The Seahawks promoted Dickerson to their O-line coach in 2022. Upon removing Pete Carroll from his longtime HC post, the Seahawks let their assistants speak with other teams. Additionally, the Browns are adding Roy Istvan as their assistant O-line coach, per the Associated Press’ Tom Withers. Istvan was most recently the Eagles’ assistant O-line coach under acclaimed staffer Jeff Stoutland; Istvan had been in that role for five seasons.

Here is the latest from the AFC coaching ranks:

Recently retired safety Jahleel Addae will return to the NFL as a coach. The former Chargers starter will join the Bills as their cornerbacks coach, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel tweets. Addae, 34, had been on the Miami Hurricanes’ staff. Addae started 63 games during his nine-year career, with most of the starts coming as a Charger.
The Bills are not bringing back DBs coach John Butler, Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News tweets. Butler had been Buffalo’s DBs coach since 2018. With the Bills moving Bobby Babich to DC, some changes are being made. Another will be the hire of Matt Edwards as assistant D-line coach. The team recently bumped up Marcus West to D-line coach, replacing the departed Eric Washington. Edwards previously worked as a Raiders defensive assistant, concentrating on the team’s pass rush.
Shane Day is coming back to Los Angeles. Spending two seasons as the Chargers‘ QBs coach under Joe Lombardi, Day was with the Texans as a senior offensive assistant. Jim Harbaugh will bring Day back to the Bolts as their QBs coach, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Justin Herbert became the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter under Day in 2021, and Garafolo adds the star QB enjoyed working with Day. Though, Brandon Staley fired both Lombardi and Day following the Bolts’ wild-card collapse in Jacksonville. The veteran assistant was with the 49ers on two separate occasions, though neither was during Harbaugh’s San Francisco run.
The Chargers are also hiring Sanjay Lal as their wide receivers coach, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Lal has been coaching wide receivers in the NFL since the late 2000s. One of those tenures — 2015-16 with the Bills — overlapped with new Bolts OC Greg Roman. Lal was most recently the pass-game coordinator and WRs coach with the Seahawks.
Recent Titans assistant Ryan Crow will move to Miami. The Dolphins are hiring Crow as their outside linebackers coach, Breer adds. The Vikings, Seahawks and Giants showed interest as well, per Breer. The Browns also interviewed Crow last month, but he will instead work with the likes of Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips in Miami. Crow’s former boss, Shane Bowen, is now in New York, explaining the Giants’ interest. Crow will replace Ryan Slowik, who interviewed for the DC job that went to Anthony Weaver. But Slowik is set to stay with the Dolphins in a different capacity, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. The older brother of Texans OC Bobby Slowik, Ryan has been an NFL assistant for more than 15 years. Although Mike McDaniel hired him in 2022, the two were low-level staffers in Denver in 2005.
The Colts found their next D-line coach at the college level. Charlie Partridge, who spent the past seven seasons as Pitt’s D-line coach, will take the same position under Shane Steichen in Indianapolis, Fox59’s Mike Chappell notes. The former Florida Atlantic HC, Partridge has never coached in the NFL previously, spending more than 25 years in the college ranks. Partridge coached recent first-round pick Calijah Kancey at Pitt and was J.J. Watt‘s position coach at Wisconsin.

Texans To Hire Shane Day, Discussed Role With Klint Kubiak

February 18th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Coaches with 49ers pasts have become a regular part of the Texans’ first offseason under DeMeco Ryans. The new Houston head coach has hired a host of former 49ers coworkers, and he added another notable name to that list late this week.

Shane Day is joining the Texans’ staff, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets. The Chargers’ quarterbacks coach over the past two seasons, Day will work as a senior offensive assistant in Houston. The Chargers fired Day and OC Joe Lombardi last month, but Day has a connection to Ryans. The two were part of the 49ers’ staff from 2019-20, when Day was San Francisco’s QBs coach.

In addition to hiring another ex-Kyle Shanahan assistant, the Texans discussed a job with a staffer Shanahan just hired. Klint Kubiak, who spent last season as the Broncos’ QBs coach, engaged in talks about joining Ryans in Houston, KPRC’s Aaron Wilson tweets. It is unclear if Kubiak was the first choice for the role Day will fill, but he is now with the 49ers. Klint Kubiak’s father, Gary, of course, is the longest-tenured HC in Texans history. Gary Kubiak, who stepped away from coaching after the 2020 season, was the Houston boss from 2006 until an in-season firing in 2013.

With Shanahan serving as San Francisco’s play-caller, the team has often gone without an offensive coordinator. Mike McDaniel held that role in 2021, but during Day’s tenure, the team went without one. Considering Jimmy Garoppolo‘s 2019 success, Day’s standing with the team undoubtedly boosted his prospects. Though, the Chargers canning him brought a setback. While the Chargers have been labeled as underachievers in recent years, Justin Herbert did become the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter in 2021.

New Texans OC Bobby Slowik does not have Day’s experience, being an offensive assistant during Day’s time in the Bay Area and only spending one season (2022) as the 49ers’ passing-game coordinator, so the latter stands to provide considerable assistance to the 35-year-old play-caller. Kubiak will serve in Slowik’s former position in San Francisco.

The Texans will add one of Kubiak’s 2022 Broncos coworkers, Jake Moreland, as their tight ends coach, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. Moreland, 46, has spent the past two seasons at the NFL level. Prior to joining Robert Saleh‘s staff as Jets assistant offensive line coach in 2021, he had spent his career at the college level.

The team will stay the course at one of its assistant positions. Jacques Cesaire, who joined Lovie Smith‘s staff last year, will stay on as defensive line coach, Wilson adds. A nine-year Chargers D-lineman, Cesaire served as the Bolts and Bills’ assistant D-line coach from 2015-21. He has no 49ers ties.

Chargers Fire OC Joe Lombardi

January 17th, 2023 at 9:44am CST by Adam La Rose

Significant changes have been made to the Chargers’ coaching staff, though not necessarily the one many have been anticipating. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Shane Day have been fired (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). The team has confirmed the moves.

Lombardi was hired in January 2021 to serve on head coach Brandon Staley‘s staff. The former came to Los Angeles after two different stints with the Saints serving as their QBs coach. His work alongside Drew Brees certainly made him an appealing candidate to help usher in the Justin Herbert era with the Chargers, though his results have been varied.

The Chargers had one of the best offenses in the league in 2021, with the team ranking fourth in yards and fifth in points per game. Herbert and the team’s array of pass catchers accounted for much of that success, as Los Angeles ranked second in the league in yards gained through the air. The team fell short of the postseason after a wild season-finale loss to the Raiders, however, leading to questions regarding their defensive performance and Staley’s in-game management.

This year, a number of moves made in the offseason — including further additions on the offensive line — led to increased expectations for Lombardi’s unit. The Chargers once again ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in terms of yardage, but their scoring fell to the middle of the pack. Running back Austin Ekeler helped lead the way as a number of injuries weighed down their efficiency through the air, but the team nevertheless seemed well-positioned to win this past week in Herbert’s postseason debut.

The Chargers were well on their way to doing just that when they raced to a 27-0 lead over the Jaguars on Saturday night. During the second half, however, the tide started to turn as Jacksonville worked their way back into contention. Lombardi’s play-calling down the stretch — which saw Ekeler receive only 13 total carries on the night, in spite of his pair of early touchdowns and the team’s large advantage on the scoreboard — drew heavy criticism. Now, Staley has responded by parting ways with the 51-year-old coordinator in a major shake-up to his staff.

Lombardi came to the Chargers with two years of OC experience dating back to his time with the Lions. Detroit put up underwhelming totals during his tenure there, something which, coupled with this unceremonious exit from Los Angeles, will hurt his chances of landing another OC role in the future. Day, meanwhile, has also had his two-year stint come to an end. He served as the Chargers’ passing game coordinator in addition to his duties coaching Herbert and the team’s other signal-callers. The 48-year-old position coach has been an offensive assistant with six different NFL teams, and will now look for his next opportunity on the sidelines.

Today’s move means there are now six offensive coordinator vacancies around the NFL. This one is likely to be the most coveted, considering the presence of Herbert, Ekeler, a high-end pairing of wideouts in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and a rebuilt offensive front. While the search for Lombardi’s successor will be a key storyline for the Chargers, this news also strongly points to Staley’s job being safe, something which the team’s players advocated for in the wake of the weekend’s defeat.

49ers To Hire Shane Day As QBs Coach

January 27th, 2019 at 7:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers have identified Rich Scangarello‘s replacement as quarterbacks coach, with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reporting (on Twitter) they will hire Shane Day to oversee the Jimmy Garoppolo-led group.

Day began his career in San Francisco as a quality control coach and was most recently the Dolphins’ tight ends coach, serving in that role during each of Adam Gase‘s three years.

Day’s most recent experience as a quarterbacks coach came with the 2010-11 Bears, where he worked under Mike Martz. Day also coached quarterbacks with the University of Connecticut for two seasons.

Kyle Shanahan continues to serve as the 49ers’ de facto offensive coordinator. He allowed Scangarello to leave for the Broncos’ OC post because it offered play-calling responsibilities. The 49ers appear to have their four key offensive coaches now, with Mike McDaniel and Mike LaFleur serving as run and pass game coordinators and Day set to work with Garoppolo and Co. LaFleur worked with QBs at the Senior Bowl, but Maiocco tweets he will have broader responsibilities next season while Day will be tasked only with quarterback work.

Dolphins Hire Vance Joseph As DC

January 13th, 2016 at 8:29am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 8:29am: The Dolphins have officially announced the hiring of Joseph, and have named four other assistant coaches to Gase’s staff as well. They are as follows:

Matt Burke, linebackers coach
Shane Day, tight ends coach
Chris Foerster, offensive line coach
Shawn Jefferson, wide receivers coach

TUESDAY, 4:28pm: The Dolphins have hired former Bengals assistant Vance Joseph as their new defensive coordinator, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Alex Marvez of FOX Sports first reported that the two sides were on the verge of a pact.

Joseph has extensive seasoning as a secondary coach, presiding over the 49ers and Texans defensive backs from 2006-10 (in San Francisco) and 2011-13 (in Houston). The Broncos attempted to interview the 43-year-old Joseph for their defensive coordinator position last season, but the Bengals didn’t permit the meeting, leading Denver to go with Wade Phillips.

Marvez also reported that Joseph was set to bring Bengals linebackers coach Matt Burke, Bears defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, and Cowboys defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson with him to Miami. However, Henderson has also interviewed for more notable positions elsewhere, so it’s possible that he could hold off on taking another job as an assistant. He’s reportedly leaning toward staying in Dallas anyway.

Joseph will serve under new head coach Adam Gase. Gase, now the youngest head coach in the league, also interviewed with the Eagles, Browns, and Giants before agreeing to come to Miami. Gase was said to be a “unanimous decision” among Dolphins decision makers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.