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East Notes: Coughlin, Eagles, Fins, Jets, Hardy

January 3rd, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Beleaguered Giants head coach Tom Coughlin isn’t a lock to go quietly, according to Pro Football Talk. The site tweets that Coughlin’s resignation isn’t definite, which would obviously require the team to fire the longtime coach if it wants to get rid of him. It isn’t out of the question that Coughlin will end up back with Big Blue for a 13th season, as co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch could be at odds over his fate, per PFT.

Mara and Tisch will meet Monday to discuss Coughlin’s future, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Vacchiano adds (on Twitter) that neither Coughlin’s assistant coaches nor some members of his family know his fate.

More from the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase will interview with the Eagles and Dolphins regarding their head coaching vacancies in the coming days, ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini reports (Twitter link).
  • Speaking of the Dolphins, while they’re unlikely to promote interim head coach Dan Campbell to the full-time role, his players hope he gets the job. “I know, 100 percent, he has the support of the locker room,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Sunday, ESPN’s James Walker writes. Owner Stephen Ross had kind words for Campbell after Miami’s 20-10 victory over New England, but he doesn’t exactly sound ready to promote the 39-year-old. “I guess in 2016, we are undefeated. It’s 2015 that I am disappointed in and the way this team,” Ross said. “But I really have to thank Dan Campbell for the great job I think he’s done in really elevating this team. I’m very pleased with that.”
  • Though Pro Bowl Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson suffered a broken leg Sunday in the team’s season-ending loss to Buffalo, he’ll make a full, normal recovery, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter). As La Canfora notes, despite the injury, the free agent-to-be is in position to earn a big payday this offseason.
  • Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy, a pending free agent, wants to return to Dallas next season. “If the Cowboys offer me an opportunity to stay, I would love to stay here,” he said, per ESPN’s Jean-Jacques Taylor. Owner Jerry Jones seems open to re-signing Hardy. “He was an outstanding player and we may not have gotten his individual sack total up, but he made an impact across the board. He was a good player for us, and we’ll evaluate real close any good player.”

Latest On Dolphins’ Front Office

January 2nd, 2016 at 8:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Former general manager Dennis Hickey, whom the Dolphins parted with Saturday, had his role diminished in 2015 to that of a scouting director, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link). With Hickey gone, there are sure to be more changes forthcoming to Miami’s front office, Jeff Darlington of NFL.com reports.

Those changes could involve executive vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte, though she has a fan in owner Stephen Ross. However, her specialties (namely the CBA and salary cap) might soon fall under the purview of executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, who is in position to become the franchise’s football czar. Despite that, Ross won’t let her go easily, Darlington writes.

Regardless of what happens with Aponte, the organization wants its all-time best player, Dan Marino, to take on a larger role. For his part, Marino – currently a special consultant to president and CEO Tom Garfinkel – is reluctant because of the commitment that would come with a higher ranking within the franchise. Nevertheless, the Dolphins do highly value the opinions of both Marino and vice chairman of the board Matt Higgins.

On the subject of the team’s coaching search, Breer tweets that Miami would be willing to let its next coach bring a personnel man with him. That goes hand in hand with Darlington’s notion that Tannenbaum would be open to decreasing some of his own power over the roster if it means hiring the right GM. If the Dolphins stay in house to hire their next GM, it’s likely to be director of college scouting Chris Grier. That would benefit Tannenbaum, who does not diligently scout players. Whether Grier or someone else becomes the GM, the Dolphins are cognizant that they need to put greater emphasis on scouting.

Of course, it remains to be seen whom the Dolphins will choose as their next GM and head coach. Two things are certain: Interim coach Dan Campbell won’t get promoted to the full-time role, per Darlington, and the team will enter its respective searches with Tannenbaum fully in control, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Taylor, Dolphins, Ball

December 16th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The 2015 Jets are showing a lot of similarities to the 2011 Jets, and they’d better hope those similarities end soon, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Four years ago, the Jets crushed the a pitiful Chiefs team to go 8-5. On Sunday, this year’s Jets team crushed the hapless Titans to improve to 8-5. In 2011, the Jets imploded in their last three games to finish 8-8, and that’s a fate that Gang Green must try and avoid.

“8-5… That’s all it is: 8-5,” linebacker David Harris said over the weekend. “We still have three games to go. So come see me January 4th.”

Here’s more from around the AFC East, including one more Jets note:

  • In addition to helping make the Jets competitive this season, Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s solid year has had the added benefit of allowing the team to be patient with rookie Bryce Petty, says Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Within the piece, Mehta also makes the case for why Fitzpatrick should get a multiyear extension offer from the Jets.
  • While New York beat writers are calling for Fitzpatrick to be extended, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com says the Bills don’t need to rush a new deal for quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In Rodak’s view, Taylor is well on his way to proving he can be a long-term solution at QB in Buffalo, but the Bills should be 100% sure before they invest big money in him.
  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes it’s time for Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to either move to Miami or sell the franchise.
  • Although running back Montee Ball earned a spot on the Patriots‘ practice squad, he isn’t in top shape, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. According to Werder, Ball – who weighed about 205 pounds when he was drafted by the Broncos – was up to 240 when he worked out for the Packers earlier this season, and is now in the 230s.
  • Earlier today, we heard that the Patriots are bringing in free agent running back Steven Jackson for a look.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Dolphins’ Coaching Staff

October 3rd, 2015 at 8:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

On Friday, we heard the Dolphins were considering coaching changes if the season didn’t begin to turn quickly, and more of that’s emerged from Miami media hours before 2015’s first London game.

A blowout loss in London will force Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to consider firing Joe Philbin, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. The fact that multiple division rivals will, in this scenario, have routed the Dolphins in consecutive weeks won’t doom Philbin as much as the looming bye week that teams forced to play in the London game receive the following Sunday.

With that expanded window to reshape matters, it’s paramount for the fourth-year coach to have the Fins ready, and for the team to avoid a listless performance should a bad start again occur as it did in the 41-14 loss to the Bills, Salguero writes.

The Raiders executed this schedule-based maneuver after the Dolphins’ 38-14 win last season in London.

A lack of a presumptive in-house successor could prevent Ross from making such a move, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offers, in assigning much of the blame for the Dolphins’ 1-2 start on Bill Lazor and Kevin Coyle as Philbin. The Raiders went to ex-Dolphins coach Tony Sparano after firing Dennis Allen last season.

As for Coyle, players are cloaking themselves as anonymous sources in venting frustration about the defense, according to Barry Jackson of the Herald. Topics like using practice time on inconsequential issues and a vanilla defensive scheme are causing the gripes about Coyle, a 59-year-old first-time NFL coordinator, Jackson writes.

The Dolphins rank 26th defensively with 391.0 yards ceded per game, with quarterbacks’ passer ratings against a thus-far-woeful secondary soaring. Although Walt Aikens and Reshad Jones have enabled QBs to post ratings in excess of 130, Bobby McCain‘s 232 yards yielded are the fourth-most in the league, Jackson offers.

So, a lot could be on the line for a Week 4 neutral-site game that will occur before many football fans are awake.

Best Fits For Rex Ryan

December 6th, 2014 at 8:28pm CST by Rob DiRe

Rex Ryan is as good as doomed as Jets‘ head coach as far as the New York media is concerned, and reports of his tenure ending have been numerous during the team’s 2-10 start to the season.

The Jets might already have their focus elsewhere in their coaching search, but Ryan will not have a hard time finding new employment himself. If the Falcons head coaching position becomes available, Ryan could find a perfect landing spot in Atlanta, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

First of all, this would be contingent on Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank deciding to fire head coach Mike Smith at the end of the season. The team has been tremendously disappointing at 5-7, but could still win the NFC South. It is uncertain of whether that would save his job, and Mehta writes that it wouldn’t, but the general mood surrounding Smith is that the team and fan base is unhappy with the job he has done this season.

Falcons’ general manager Thomas Dimitroff actually interviewed Ryan for the job back in 2008 before eventually hiring Smith. Mehta writes that sources say Ryan was the leading candidate prior to Dimitroff being hired as general manager.

“Arthur wants a tougher team,” according to one of Mehta’s sources. “He wants guys that have an edge to them.”

Ryan could have a myriad of options, and Mehta believes that Dolphins‘ owner Stephen Ross loves Ryan, and could consider making a change should the Dolphins miss the playoffs again this year (via Twitter).

Mehta writes that Ryan would consider any head coaching vacancies, but would elect to take a big money TV deal over becoming a defensive coordinator (via Twitter).

A poll here on Pro Football Rumors from October 18th asked our readers where Ryan would be employed in 2015. The Falcons and Dolphins head coaching jobs received about 9% and 4%. Of course, the readers gave Ryan a 13% chance of staying with the Jets, which would be an unlikely number if the vote was taken again today. Still, almost 39% of the votes went to Ryan being on television in 2015, and according to Mehta, that seems like a real possibility.

Dolphins’ Internal Strife Continues

September 28th, 2014 at 8:38am CST by Rory Parks

Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin was at the source of some mild team controversy earlier this week, when he was asked about the job security of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill but gave an ambivalent response. Philbin later expressed regret that his noncommittal approach to the question created a distraction for the club, which has fallen to 1-2 after a promising opening week win against the Patriots.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, however, a deeper and more troubling internal struggle may be brewing in Miami. La Canfora writes that Dolphins players have expressed concerns with Philbin and his coordinators, and the relationship between Philbin and team executive Dawn Aponte has become frayed. Aponte hired former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum as a team consultant, but since Tannenbaum’s primary job is as an agent representing coaches–like Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who will likely be on the list of top head coaching candidates after the season–it is fair to wonder how much longer Philbin will be roaming the Dolphins’ sidelines.

La Canfora adds that owner Stephen Ross has not, as he promised after the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin debacle, taken a more active role in the guidance of his team, but he is said to be covertly trying to lay the foundation to trade for current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Between those rumors and Philbin’s apparent wish to play backup signal-caller Matt Moore–which has displeased the front office, who have committed to Tannehill–the Dolphins may soon be in for a second front office overhaul in as many years.

L.A. Team “Certainly Within Five Years”

May 31st, 2014 at 1:55pm CST by Rob DiRe

Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross spoke about the possibility of Los Angeles getting an NFL franchise.

The idea of bringing the NFL to Los Angeles was reinvigorated after the Clippers were sold to Steve Ballmer for a reported sum of $2 billion. The NFL franchises should certainly be worth more than an NBA franchise in a similar market.

Ross sees it happening, definitively stating that it would occur, “Certainly within five years,” according to Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal (via Twitter). Ross also mentioned that the team Los Angeles inevitably will get will not be an expansion team, but a current franchise relocated to the city.

Ross clarified that the team moving would not be his Dolphins, but that a team would definitely be moving, reports Clark (via Twitter).

Dolphins Owner Responds To Wells Report

February 14th, 2014 at 6:53pm CST by Matt Feminis

After taking the day to review the Wells report detailing the Dolphins bullying scandal centered around Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross issued a statement via the team’s website (full report here), saying, “I now have had a chance to read the report and obviously, the language that was used and the behavior as described is deeply disturbing.”

While Ross did not directly address the futures of Incognito or Martin, neither will play another down for the team, which is expected to place an increased emphasis on character under new GM Dennis Hickey. Although he’s a rookie GM, Hickey has a reputation as a trustworthy information gatherer in the college scouting process, according to former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, who was quoted in a story by the Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins at the time of Hickey’s hire in Miami.

“He got accurate information because people trust him,” Dominik said. “When he goes to a school he can talk to a coach to get accurate information about the kid’s character, his background.”

More On Dolphins’ GM Saga

January 26th, 2014 at 3:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey will have complete control over roster decisions, a team source tells Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. This news comes amid reports that several Miami GM candidates opted against taking the position due to lack of clarity regarding personnel management.

Salguero also reports that Titans VP of Football Operations Lake Dawson and Patriots VP of Player Personnel Nick Caserio turned down the job due to potential conflicts with Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin. Dawson reportedly would have been agreeable to keeping Philbin on for one season before wanting to clean house and hire a new coach. Caserio, however, wanted to install a new regime immediately upon his arrival. Neither approach was acceptable to Dolphins ownership, as they wanted a GM who would continue to work with Philbin as the head coach.

Hickey presumably agreed to keeping Philbin on staff, and will likely have no say in coaching matters. Hickey will report directly to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Vice president of football operations Dawn Aponte, rumored to be gaining power behind the scenes, will report to Hickey on all matters, not just the salary cap, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

More On Dolphins’ Front Office

January 26th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Rory Parks

3:07pm: Several Dolphins players have expressed an interest in leaving the team, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. The unidentified Dolphins are likely frustrated by the public dysfunction exhibited by ownership regarding the GM search and control over roster decisions.

1:55pm: Hickey was likely going to be fired by the Buccaneers after the draft, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Additionally, many candidates for the Miami GM job may have turned down the position due to a lack of personnel control, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It appears as though head coach Joe Philbin has gained more sway during the Dolphins power struggle, as Salugero also tweets that Philbin will have “some say” over personnel.

12:56pm: Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine is not likely to stay with the team long-term, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Gaine was one of the candidates brought in for a second interview for the Dolphin’s general manager job, which was given to Dennis Hickey earlier today. Although the Dolphins would like to keep Gaine on board, Salguero further tweeted that Gaine understands he has no real chance of advancement with Miami.

Miami’s search for a GM would have certainly left Gaine with that impression, as the job was offered to several candidates who turned it down before Hickey accepted. As Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com tweets, Gaine did not have a chance to be Miami’s GM unless everyone declined it. A source told Marvez that Gaine is too connected with recently-departed GM Jeff Ireland.

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora believes that whoever accepted the Dolphins GM job may not have that position for very long anyway. La Canfora tweets that, if the Dolphins stumble in 2014, it is believed that owner Stephen Ross will likely renew his pursuit of a big-name head coach. If he is able to land such a coach, the entire front office will probably be purged.