Taylor Embree

Patriots Gave Bill O’Brien Chance To Stay; Latest On Team’s Coaching Staff

February 15th, 2024 at 6:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bill O’Brien‘s second stint with the Patriots ended after one season. The Pats’ 2023 offensive coordinator has since committed to both Ohio State and Boston College, becoming the ACC program’s head coach after initially pledging to be the Buckeyes’ OC.

With O’Brien set to replace Jeff Hafley as Boston College’s HC, he not do so after being booted from the Patriots. The veteran coach said he was given an opportunity to stay on under Jerod Mayo. A number of Bill Belichick assistants are still in place, including Brian Belichick, but O’Brien is now back in the college ranks.

“I definitely had an opportunity to stay,” O’Brien said (via WEEI.com’s Mike Kadlick). “I thought it was really important for coach Mayo to hire his own staff. I came and worked for Bill Belichick, and I think it’s really important for Jerod to be able to hire his own staff. The Krafts were great about that, and I really appreciate that. And Ryan Day was awesome about offering me a job, so that’s why I made that decision.”

Robert Kraft played a key role in bringing O’Brien back to Foxborough. A rumor pegged Belichick as remaining interested in keeping Matt Patricia on as the Patriots’ de facto OC. But O’Brien — the Pats’ OC in 2011, closing out a multiyear play-calling stint with the team — brought extensive experience on the offensive side. This led Patricia to Philadelphia. O’Brien committed to Ohio State on Jan. 18. The Packers hired Hafley on Jan. 31. Days later, O’Brien agreed to come back to Boston.

A January report indicated the Pats were not planning to run it back with O’Brien as OC; he would have needed to vie for the job as part of a search. O’Brien took his name out of consideration early. After a thorough search, the Patriots ended up with ex-Browns OC Alex Van Pelt, who has one season of play-calling experience. But Van Pelt represents a new voice in a building still filled with Belichick assistants.

Mayo having only worked for the Patriots led to some concerns about his ability to fill out a staff, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes. This helps explain why Eliot Wolf, who is believed to be the team’s new front office boss, was involved in coaching searches and why a few ex-Packers assistants are part of Mayo’s first staff. Wolf was a regular presence in coaching interviews during this hiring period. He and Van Pelt overlapped as Packers staffers from 2012-17.

Ben McAdoo is another ex-Packers assistant who is now with the Patriots. The former Giants HC and Van Pelt worked together in Green Bay from 2012-13, a stay that ended with McAdoo as QBs coach and Van Pelt as running backs coach. After the Giants hired McAdoo as their OC in 2014, Van Pelt — a longtime NFL backup QB — shifted over to become Aaron Rodgers‘ position coach. While McAdoo will now work for Van Pelt, Volin adds he hold the title of senior offensive assistant in New England.

Additionally, the Patriots will split up their linebacking coach role. Dont’a Hightower will coach the team’s outside ‘backers, per Volin. Drew Wilkins is overseeing the ILBs. This will allow Hightower a smoother path into the coaching ranks. The standout Patriot has not held a full-time coaching job previously.

The Pats are also hiring Taylor Embree as their running backs coach, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. Embree, 35, spent the past three years coaching the Jets’ running backs. The team dismissed the former Mike LaFleur hire earlier this offseason. The son of Dolphins TEs coach/ex-Colorado HC Jon Embree, Taylor had been a lower-level staffer under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. The Jets gig marked the 35-year-old assistant’s first position coach role in the NFL.

Patriots tight ends coach Will Lawing is on track to follow O’Brien to Boston College, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel tweets. This is not exactly surprising, as Lawing has worked with O’Brien for more than 10 years. Lawing followed O’Brien to Penn State, the Texans, Alabama and then the Patriots.

Jets Part Ways With RBs Coach Taylor Embree; Team Interested In Duce Staley, Tony Dews

January 23rd, 2024 at 10:15am CST by Adam La Rose

Many members of the Jets’ coaching staff and front office will remain in place after a highly underwhelming performance in 2023. Some changes are being made, however, including the departure of one coach on Robert Saleh‘s original staff.

Running backs coach Taylor Embree will not be back next season, Connor Hughes of SNY reports. Embree has experience at both the college and NFL levels, and he was brought in by Saleh in 2021 after the pair worked together in San Francisco. As Hughes notes, Saleh considered Embree an “untouchable” member of the staff upon offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett‘s arrival last offseason, but he is now headed elsewhere.

Before the news of Embree’s departure, it was reported the Jets were one of the teams looking into former Panthers RBs coach Duce Staley (along with the Browns). Saleh met with Staley last Thursday, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports. The Jets are expected to make an offer to the 48-year-old, who was let go midseason as part of Frank Reich‘s firing. Staley had held the title of assistant head coach during his brief Carolina tenure.

The same was true for Staley during his time with the Eagles and Lions which preceded his arrival with the Panthers. He is likely to receive continued interest from the Browns in the event New York does not reach an agreement with him. Failing that, a number of teams looking to make additions could also look into him. The Jets are eyeing another staffer for the RBs coach posting, however.

Tony Dews is interviewing with the Jets, ESPN’s Turron Davenport reports (via colleague Rich Cimini). Dews had a lengthy coaching career at the college level before taking his first NFL opportunity with Tennessee in 2018. He served as the Titans’ running backs coach for five seasons before working with tight ends in 2023. He would represent an experienced option for New York as the team seeks to tweak its staff ahead of a 2024 campaign in which signficant improvement on offense will be needed.

Of course, lead back Breece Hall will be a major factor in that effort. Recovering in full from last year’s ACL tear, the 2022 second-rounder totaled 1,585 scrimmage yards in 2023 despite the Jets being saddled with several offensive line injuries and poor quarterback play. The team’s hire at the RBs coach spot will thus be an important one as the team considers at least a few different options.

Coaching Notes: Rams, WFT, Jets, Falcons, Broncos, Steelers

January 21st, 2021 at 9:44pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams have found their new special teams coordinator, as the team announced that they’ve hired Joe DeCamillis. The veteran coach will be replacing John Bonamego, who’s transitioning to a senior coaching assistant role.

DeCamillis brings 32 years of NFL coaching experience, including the past four years as the Jaguars special teams coordinator. During his stint in Jacksonville, the team traditionally ranked top-10 in many special teams categories, and in 2019, DeCamillis helped guide punter Logan Cooke and kicker Josh Lambo to becoming the first teammates to lead the NFL in net punting average and field goal percentage.

Prior to working with the Jaguars, the 55-year-old spent time as special teams coordinator with the Broncos, Bears, and Cowboys, and he also spent time on the Falcons and Giants coaching staffs.

Bonamego, 57, joined the Rams last February. He spent the 2019 season as special teams coordinator of the Lions, and he was Central Michigan’s head coach between the 2015 and 2018 seasons.

Some more coaching notes from around the league…

Jennifer King is expected to become a full-time offensive assistant on Washington‘s coaching staff, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). This makes King “the first full-time Black female coach in NFL history,” per The Athletic. The Guilford College product spent the 2020 season as a full-year coaching intern on Ron Rivera‘s staff.
It’s looking like new Jets head coach Robert Saleh has finalized his offensive coaching staff. We previously heard about the hirings of Mike LaFleur as offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp as quarterbacks coach, John Benton as offensive line coach, and Rob Calabrese as passing game specialist. ESPN’s Rich Cimini passed along a few names we can add to the list, including wide receivers coach Miles Austin, running backs coach Taylor Embree, and tight ends coach Ron Middleton. As Cimini notes, the staff doesn’t feature a whole lot of experience, with Calabrese, Embree, and Austin serving as first-time NFL positional coaches.
The Falcons are expected to hire Charles London as their new quarterbacks coach, reports NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). It’s a bit of an interesting hire, as London has spent the last nine years serving as a running backs coach with the Texans, Bears, and Penn State. However, the 45-year-old does have experience as an offensive assistant/quality control coach with the Titans and Bears.
Mike Klis of 9News in Denver tweets that Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins has drawn interest “from around the league as offensive coordinator.” The 50-year-old has consistently served as an NFL running backs coach since the 2008 season, spending time with the Chiefs, Cardinals, Bills, Lions, 49ers, and Bears.
Mike Tomlin interviewed Hank Fraley for the Steelers OL coach gig, reports Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Fraley actually started his NFL career in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2000. Following a playing career that saw him appear in 142 games (mostly with the Eagles and Browns), Fraley has served as a coach at both the collegiate and professional level, including a recent stint as the Lions offensive line coach.

Staff Notes: Pats, Fins, Bolts, Hawks, 49ers

February 13th, 2017 at 8:59pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Alabama Crimson Tide are searching for an offensive coordinator in the wake of Steve Sarkisian‘s departure and will likely interview Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll for the role, reports Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Daboll previously served under Alabama head coach Nick Saban at Michigan State, as Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com notes, and worked as an NFL offensive coordinator in Cleveland, Miami and Kansas City from 2009-12.

More coaching news from around the league:

Former defensive end Andre Carter is joining the Dolphins’ staff as an assistant D-line coach, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN. Carter, 37, played in the league from 2001-13 and piled up 80.5 sacks.
The Chargers have hired ex-Atlanta defensive coordinator Richard Smith to coach their linebackers, per a team announcement. Smith, who was atop ATL’s defense the past two years, became a coaching free agent when the team fired him last week. The 61-year-old has been working with pro linebackers since 1988, when he was with the now-defunct Houston Oilers, and has since coached LBs in Denver, San Francisco, Detroit and Carolina.
Sherman Smith is out as the Seahawks’ running backs coach, a position he had held since 2009, according to Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. The Seahawks are promoting assistant RBs/assistant special teams coach Chad Morton to Sherman’s former spot (Twitter links).
The 49ers have landed ex-Buccaneers tight ends coach Jon Embree as an assistant head coach/TEs coach, writes Kevin Lynch of the San Francisco Chronicle. His son, Taylor Embree, is coming aboard as a quality control coach. The younger Embree spent last season as a defensive assistant in Kansas City.
Elsewhere on the 49ers’ staff, the team has interviewed Falcons assistant special teams coach Eric Sutulovich to become its special teams coordinator, per Marvez (Twitter link). Caplan reported last week that the Niners were likely to meet with Sutulovich.
The Redskins have hired Cannon Matthews as a defensive quality control coach, relays JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Matthews served as the assistant defensive backs coach last year with the Browns, who parted with him in January.

Extra Points: 49ers, Chiefs, Suggs, Pats

April 1st, 2016 at 10:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

We learned in late February that 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis was set to apply for reinstatement after taking a hiatus from football last season. That still hasn’t happened yet, but Davis tweeted Friday that he’ll file for reinstatement “later this year.” Interestingly, Davis added that “[d]ealing with Trent is giving me a headache.” That’s likely a reference to 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Davis is trying to goad the Baalke-led Niners into releasing him. The 26-year-old is under 49ers control through 2019.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Chiefs announced a slew of changes to their coaching staff Friday, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports. One of the moves was to promote Britt Reid, head coach Andy Reid‘s son, to defensive line coach. Britt Reid was the Chiefs’ assistant D-line coach last season and will take over for Tommy Brasher, whom the team shifted to special projects. The Chiefs also elevated Al Harris from assistant defensive backs coach to secondary coach. He’ll mostly work with cornerbacks, per Paylor. Further, assistant quarterbacks coach Corey Matthaei will add offensive line assistant to his title and assistant linebackers coach Mark DeLeone will take on a greater defensive role. The club also hired Joe Bleymaier (offensive quality control), Taylor Embree (defensive assistant), Mike Smith (assistant defensive line coach), and Devin Woodhouse and Ryan Reynolds (strength and conditioning).
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs pleaded not guilty Friday to a pair of misdemeanor charges stemming from a one-car accident last month, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Suggs was arrested by Arizona police and charged with driving on a suspended license and failure to notify after striking a fixture. He could face up to six months in jail if found guilty, though Zrebiec notes that this type of violation is usually handled with fines. Some form of punishment from the league is also a possibility for Suggs.
One of Suggs’ ex-teammates, free agent receiver Tandon Doss, ran routes and caught passes at Indiana’s pro day on Friday and is hoping to sign with a team, Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com writes. Doss caught 26 passes in 29 games with Baltimore from 2012-13. He hasn’t suited up for a game since. Doss’ previous club, Jacksonville, cut him last summer.
In draft news, the Patriots observed two offensive linemen – tackle Clay DeBord and guard Aaron Neary – at Eastern Washington’s pro day, according to Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. Both figure to be Day 3 picks or undrafted free agents.