Tom Coughlin

Raiders, Antonio Pierce Agree To HC Deal

January 19th, 2024 at 10:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mark Davis regretted passing on interim HC Rich Bisaccia two years ago. The owner is not going to let Antonio Pierce go. The Raiders and Pierce are finalizing an agreement for the linebackers coach-turned-interim leader to become the franchise’s full-time head coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. A deal is now in place, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.

Pierce’s experience level will make this one of the most shocking HC ascensions in modern NFL history, but Raiders players — in an effort Maxx Crosby spearheaded — lobbied for Davis to elevate Pierce to the full-time role. The former Super Bowl-winning linebacker was viewed as the favorite following Crosby’s threat at requesting a trade in the event the Raiders went in another direction; Pierce is now on the doorstep of making a major climb. This probably goes without saying in light of Friday’s developments, but SI.com’s Albert Breer notes Davis placed a premium on his players’ views of the matter this time around. Per his X account, Crosby appears excited about this decision.

Pierce, 45, will become the first interim HC moved to a permanent post since the Jaguars removed Doug Marrone‘s interim tag in 2017. Teams passing on an interim leader in order to hire a flashier option has been the modern NFL norm, and far more experienced options compared to Pierce — Bisaccia included — have come and gone. While Davis greenlighting a former Josh McDaniels assistant to take over less than three months after he pulled the plug on the McDaniels era 1 1/2 seasons in, Pierce went 5-4 as interim HC and became wildly popular with Raider players.

Other teams had noticed Pierce as well. The Falcons and Titans sent out interview requests; the then-temporary Raiders leader interviewed with the Titans virtually last week. As the interest escalated, the Raiders are making one of the bolder HC moves in NFL history.

A GM will now need to be hired, and interim leader Champ Kelly having sat in on HC interviews points to the Raiders giving strong consideration to keeping their end-of-season setup in place. Though, other candidates will need to be interviewed to comply with the Rooney Rule. Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds is viewed as a threat to Kelly’s grip on the job, with the Raiders not viewing Kelly-Pierce as a package deal. Kelly is believed to be meeting with Raiders brass today, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets. The Raiders have already met with Kelly twice during this cycle.

Pierce’s former Giants head coach, Tom Coughlin, is set to help his ex-pupil assemble a staff, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Coughlin was among the coaches who helped Pierce once the Raiders made him interim HC. One name who is expected to be on Pierce’s next Raiders staff: Marvin Lewis. The former Bengals HC, who coached with Pierce at Arizona State and joined Coughlin and Adam Gase in helping the unseasoned leader during the season, is on track to be a Las Vegas full-timer, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.

Pierce is less than two years removed from resigning from his co-defensive coordinator post at Arizona State amid an NCAA recruiting investigation. He spent four years with the Sun Devils, moving to the co-DC role in 2020, before McDaniels brought him aboard as Raiders linebackers coach shortly after his Arizona exit. As recently as 2017, Pierce was the head coach of Long Beach Poly High.

That said, Pierce’s coaching experience does not trail new Patriots HC Jerod Mayo‘s by too much. While Mayo has been viewed as the Bill Belichick heir apparent for at least two years, he only began work as a full-time Patriots staffer in 2019. This HC hiring period has featured 2000s and 2010s linebackers take starring roles.

Still, Davis passing on at least interviewing higher-profile coaching options — considering those now available — is rather surprising. The Raiders’ search committee only met with ex-Bills DC Leslie Frazier and former Seahawks and Saints DC Kris Richard. Those two meetings satisfied the Rooney Rule. Although Pierce is also Black, this process reminds of when Davis went through with only Rooney Rule interviews as he brought back Jon Gruden in 2018. The Raiders will pass on efforts to interview Belichick, ex-Oakland assistant Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel. While a Raiders Harbaugh push was rumored, Pierce quickly seized the lead here.

As Pierce takes the unusual route of rising to a head coach position without being a college head coach or an NFL coordinator, he will be assembling a new staff. Most of Pierce’s offensive staff will not be retained, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The Raiders fired OC Mick Lombardi soon after they canned McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler on November 1, installing Bo Hardegree as their offensive play-caller. Hardegree is among the staffers not expected to stay in Las Vegas, per Rapoport. Considering Pierce was elevated to the interim job instead of DC Patrick Graham, it would surprise if the latter stayed on as well.

Momentum crested for Pierce to be hired after the Raiders upended the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day. That came just after the team bashed the Chargers, leading them to fire their HC-GM combo, in a 63-21 rout. Behind Pierce and Graham, the Raiders finished in the top half of the league in scoring defense for the first time since the 2002 Super Bowl season. Graham’s unit ranked ninth, which came after Vegas’ 2022 defense finished 26th.

The team finished 8-9 despite Aidan O’Connell largely struggling in his second-half audition; the team ranked 23rd in points scored and 27th in total offense. The Raiders’ to-be-determined GM should be expected to make a genuine quarterback pursuit.

The Raiders undeniably turned their operation around following McDaniels’ ouster, though this will be a gamble due to Pierce’s limited experience. Pierce grew up a Raider fan in Los Angeles, and Davis is believed to have appreciated the young leader’s grasp of the team’s culture and history. While Davis was connected to taking another big swing for the HC gig, his past two — Gruden and McDaniels — did not succeed. The Raiders have just two winning seasons since Super Bowl XXXVII; Pierce will be tasked with turning the operation around. With Davis giving McDaniels and Ziegler less than two years — after signing the pair to six-year contracts — it is worth monitoring how long of a leash Pierce will have.

As for Lewis, he has been out of the NFL since the Bengals fired him following the 2018 season. The former Super Bowl-winning DC has not been an NFL assistant since 2002, coaching the Bengals for 16 seasons. Lewis’ longevity made him a somewhat divisive figure during that stint, as playoff losses mounted, but he has interviewed for NFL HC jobs in the years since his Cincinnati dismissal. Lewis, 65, looks likely to be one of Pierce’s top aides for the 2024 season.

Champ Kelly Gaining Support To Remain Raiders’ GM; Team Eyeing High-Level Football Ops Staffer

December 22nd, 2023 at 10:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

When the Raiders signed up for a Patriot Way blueprint, they added Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler together. Mark Davis‘ upcoming HC-GM search will likely feature a different approach.

Indicating he would want his GM hire to have some say in the team’s HC choice, Davis said the Raiders will plan to hire their top front office exec first, according to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. While the owner stopped short of ensuring that is how the Raiders’ next round of searches will unfold, he said that will be the likely play (subscription required).

Davis cut the cord on the Ziegler-McDaniels partnership in the middle of the night, canning both hours after the Halloween trade deadline. Champ Kelly and Antonio Pierce are serving in those roles for the time being. It should be expected, barring a freefall over this season’s final three games, both will have a shot to see their interim tags removed. Kelly is viewed around the league as a legitimate candidate to keep his job, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

A well-regarded exec, Kelly interviewed for the job Ziegler received in 2022. We heard just after the firings that Kelly had support to ascend to the full-time role. Unlike Pierce, Kelly has a long track record as an NFL staffer. After a five-year tenure as the Broncos’ assistant pro personnel director — a run he began during McDaniels’ infamous Denver tenure — Kelly spent six years with the Bears, finishing out his run as their assistant director of player personnel.

The Raiders hired Kelly, 43, to be their assistant GM shortly after going with Ziegler to lead the way, though SI.com’s Albert Breer notes fellow 2022 interviewee Ed Dodds impressed as well. Dodds has been the Colts’ assistant GM for the past seven years. Dodds has been a popular name on the GM interview circuit in recent years, though he did not interview for any positions in 2023.

Although Pierce and Kelly are both Black, the Raiders will still need to follow Rooney Rule procedures during their search. Two external minority candidates or women are required to interview for teams’ HC and GM positions. At the league meetings last week, buzz pointed to Davis being more likely to retain Kelly than Pierce, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes. This makes sense given Pierce’s limited experience. The ex-Giants Super Bowl-winning linebacker has no NFL coaching experience prior to his Raiders gig, separating this situation from Davis’ call to pass on longtime ST coordinator-turned-interim HC Rich Bisaccia in 2022.

Recently, Pierce had his former Giants coach (Tom Coughlin), along with Adam Gase and ex-Arizona State coworker Marvin Lewis, in the building. The trio sat in on Raiders meetings and offered input on all team aspects, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, with Pierce attempting to gain intel from experienced HCs as he attempts to make a case for the full-time job. Coughlin and Lewis have counseled Pierce since the Raiders named him interim HC, Rapoport adds. No interim head coach has ascended to a full-time position since the Jaguars removed Doug Marrone‘s interim tag in 2017.

Regardless of the Raiders’ decisions regarding their interim staffers, a third power broker may enter the equation soon. Citing Hall of Famer Ron Wolf‘s impact as a scout during his 11-year tenure with the Raiders — ahead of a successful run as the Packers’ GM — Davis alluded to a non-GM hire having a significant say in the next Raider regime.

“I think that the triumvirate in that regard worked very well together,” Mark Davis said (via Reed) of his father, Wolf and the Raiders’ HCs. “People think that their egos were all out there, but there was no ego at all. It was about who could they give to the coach to help him do his job and be great. Today, I don’t know.

“Because I don’t have that ability that my father had in judging talent. So, that’s a missing piece to the puzzle, so to speak, is a solid football mind that isn’t the GM or the head coach. And I think that’s a piece that’s probably going to be necessary somewhere down the line is bringing in somebody that understands that football that’s above the day-to-day work.”

The Raiders hiring a high-level football operations exec would stand to limit the GM’s power. This was the case when the Jaguars hired Coughlin to work above Dave Caldwell in 2017, and the Dolphins used this setup with Mike Tannenbaum and GM Chris Grier from 2016-18. Mark Davis, however, has struggled throughout his ownership tenure. Eight HCs have stopped through Oakland and Las Vegas since Al Davis‘ death in 2011; the team has two winning seasons since its Super Bowl XXXVII appearance 21 years ago. Bringing in an additional voice would be an interesting effort on the owner’s part. Although the GM and HC hires will generate the most attention, a third pillar coming in would represent a significant development.

Given McDaniels’ experience, it was assumed the three-time Super Bowl-winning OC was running the show during his brief Las Vegas tenure. Ziegler, however, was believed to have the final say on the 53-man roster. Davis confirmed this was the case but stopped short of indicating Ziegler wielded that power regularly.

“I think there’s been a misconception on the last head coach and general manager and who had the authority,” Davis said. “Lately, some articles have come out making it seem like the head coach had more authority on that, and that’s the furthest thing from the truth. The general manager had the final authority on all of it. Whether he accepted that authority or not is a different story, but it was very clear when they were hired where the buck stopped.”

The McDaniels-Ziegler duo’s shortcomings will undoubtedly be on Davis’ mind as he determines the franchise’s course for the mid-2020s and beyond.

This Date In Transactions History: Giants Extend Tom Coughlin

February 21st, 2022 at 7:46pm CST by Ben Levine

On this date in 2014, the Giants were coming off their first losing season in almost 10 years and head coach Tom Coughlin was about to enter lame-duck status. So, to avoid any controversy regarding their coaching staff, the organization decided to give their head coach an extension.

On February 21, 2014, the Giants signed Coughlin to a one-year extension. The deal kept the long-time head coach on the sideline through the 2015 campaign, with the new deal paying Coughlin around $7MM.

“The Giants have always done that,” Coughlin said of his one-year deal (via Conor Orr of NJ.com). “That’s the way it has been indicated to me. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it to be honest with you. We’ve got a lot of work going on in our business, as you know. I had great confidence that it would happen. And it did.”

Following a relatively successful stint as the Jaguars head coach, Coughlin joined the Giants in 2004. During his first five season at the helm, the Giants won 47 regular season games, made four postseason appearances, and won a Super Bowl. After dropping to 8-8 in 2009, they rebounded with 10 wins in 2010 before going 9-7 and earning another ring in 2011. After that second championship, the Giants inked Coughlin to a three-year, $20MM deal.

Following their Super Bowl XLVI victory, the Giants had another 9-7 record in 2012, but this time the team failed to reach the playoffs. The team fell to 7-9 in 2013, but there was still some reason for optimism. The team had an awful start to the season, going 0-6 through the first month-plus. However, they managed to rebound, going 7-3 for the rest of the season. Plus, the head coach had shown an ability to rebound from underwhelming seasons with championship-winning squads. So, when the Giants committed to Coughlin beyond the upcoming 2014 campaign, it raised few eyebrows.

However, things wouldn’t get better for the organization. The team fell to 6-10, but Coughlin still got another one-year extension to once again avoid lame-duck status. The team had another 6-10 season in 2015, and the writing was on the wall. There were whispers that the Giants were prepared to move on from Coughlin, but naturally, the organization allowed their successful coach to save face. So, Coughlin announced that he was stepping down from his position after the two sides decided to part ways.

The Giants took it year-by-year with Coughlin during his final seasons with the organization, but the team has been willing to commit to their recent hires. The team inked Ben McAdoo to a four-year deal, and they signed Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge to five-year deals. We haven’t heard anything about the length of Brian Daboll‘s contract, but the new HC is surely hoping he’ll last longer than his predecessors.

This Date In Transactions History: Tom Coughlin, Giants Part Ways

January 4th, 2022 at 9:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Six years ago today, the Tom Coughlin era in New York came to an end. On January 4th, 2016, we learned that the Giants and their Super Bowl-winning head coach were parting ways.

Following a relatively successful stint as the Jaguars head coach, Coughlin joined the Giants in 2004. During his first five season at the helm, the Giants won 47 regular season games, made four postseason appearances, and won a Super Bowl. After dropping to 8-8 in 2009, they rebounded with 10 wins in 2010 before earning another ring in 2011. At that point of time, it seemed inconceivable that the organization would let go of their head coach.

However, after falling to 9-7 in 2012, the Giants failed to finish above .500 between 2013 and 2015, averaging 6.33 wins per season during that three-year span. Following a 6-10 2015 campaign that featured a handful of miserable losses, the writing was clearly on the wall. There were whispers that the Giants were prepared to move on from Coughlin, but naturally, the organization allowed the successful coach to save face. So, on this date six years ago, Coughlin announced that he was stepping down from his position after the two sides decided to part ways.

“I met with John Mara and Steve Tisch this afternoon, and I informed them that it is in the best interest of the organization that I step down as head coach,” Coughlin said in a statement. “I strongly believe the time is right for me and my family, and as I said, the Giants organization.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as head coach of the New York Football Giants. This is a not a sad occasion for me. I have spent 15 years with this organization as an assistant and head coach and was fortunate to be part of three Super Bowl winning teams. A Lombardi Trophy every five years is an achievement in which we all take great pride.”

And like that, the then-third-longest-tenured head coach in the NFL was out in New York. While Coughlin seemed to hint at wanting time away from the game, he was immediately connected to a number of coaching gigs. At different points, Coughlin was connected to HC jobs with the Eagles (a job that he reportedly could have had), 49ers, and the Jaguars. Jacksonville quickly pivoted their focus and pursued Coughlin as a top executive … a position he eventually accepted. In 2017, Coughlin was hired as the Jaguars new Executive Vice President of Football Operations, a role that required him to oversee the front office (including GM Dave Caldwell). While the former coach didn’t technically have any executive experience, he essentially acted as the Jaguars’ general manager during his first stint with the organization.

Things went great during Coughlin’s first season back in Jacksonville, as the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship for the first time since Coughlin was head coach. After Jacksonville won 10 regular season games during that 2017 run, they only managed to win 11 games over the next two seasons. Off the field, matters were worse. Players were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars during offseasons (leading to the NFLPA winning a grievance against the organization), and the old-school leader was the driving force behind Jalen Ramsey‘s decision to request a trade. Further, Coughlin was criticized for his handling of the quarterback position; while he wasn’t with the organization when the Jaguars selected Blake Bortles, he authorized the QB’s three-year, $54MM extension. Further, among Coughlin’s 21 draft picks, only two made Pro Bowls, and he also selected RB Leonard Fournette with his first draft selection (No. 4 in 2017, ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, no less).

Coughlin was ultimately canned by the Jaguars at the end of that 2019 campaign. When he was fired, ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen said “there is plenty of football left in Tom Coughlin.” We haven’t heard much from the 75-year-old since that time, and it remains to be seen whether his name will be tossed around for any HC vacancies this offseason. Speaking of, in the six seasons since Coughlin left New York, the Giants have shuffled through three head coaches, with Joe Judge currently on the hot seat. Interesting…

Latest On Tom Coughlin, Jaguars’ Plans

December 18th, 2019 at 9:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Tom Coughlin is expected to pursue other opportunities in football, the since-fired Jaguars executive was planning to leave the team on his own accord at season’s end, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

Furthermore, Jags owner Shad Khan did not give Coughlin a chance to resign before firing him, Florio notes, adding that Coughlin was expected to announce next week he was leaving after the regular season’s conclusion. This lends further credence to the notion Khan’s dismissal of the third-year executive VP came as a result of an arbitrator’s ruling in favor of the NFLPA regarding player grievances against the franchise.

Khan has kept seventh-year GM Dave Caldwell and third-year head coach Doug Marrone on board, despite the team’s struggles over the past two seasons, rather than opting for a full housecleaning. While this could point to the owner leaning toward giving the duo a full season to operate without Coughlin, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets Khan has long admired the Patriots’ way of doing business. This has led to weeks-long buzz of the Jags being interested in pairing Scott Pioli and Josh McDaniels together in a front office-sideline tandem.

McDaniels has caused rather notable chaos in Denver and Indianapolis, the latter instance coming when he spurned an agreement to become the Colts’ HC in 2018. But the Patriots OC has generated consistent interest for much of this decade. Despite his recent Colts decision, McDaniels took an interview with the Packers earlier this year. Pioli’s opportunity running a team did not go well, either, with he and the Chiefs parting ways after four seasons. The former Patriots exec resigned from his post as Falcons assistant GM in May, ending a five-year tenure. McDaniels and Pioli have not worked together since the 2008 season.

Tom Coughlin Does Not Intend To Retire

December 18th, 2019 at 8:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shad Khan fired Tom Coughlin from his post as Jaguars executive vice president earlier Wednesday night, doing so after initially planning to remove him from the role at season’s end.

Coughlin does not intend to retire. His agent, Sandy Montag, told ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (Twitter link) “The only thing I would say is there is plenty of football left in Tom Coughlin.”

“As head of football operations for the Jaguars for the last three years I was responsible for all things related to football,” Coughlin said in a statement (Twitter link via Mortensen). “I take great pride in our accomplishments, especially in 2017. I’d like to thank Shad Khan for the opportunity to come back to Jacksonville, all the players and staff for their efforts and the fans here for their support.”

Coughlin took one season off, 2016, after his Giants tenure ended after 12 seasons. The Jaguars rehired him in January 2017. They went 10-6 and made an unexpected run to the AFC championship game in 2017 but have gone 10-20 over the past two seasons. The extensive grievances filed against the Jaguars during Coughlin’s tenure, and an arbitrator’s ruling in favor of the NFLPA on Monday, likely accelerated Coughlin’s departure.

The Jaguars’ head coach/de facto GM from 1995-2002, Coughlin went on to win two Super Bowls with the Giants. Coughlin, who briefly served in the NFL’s football operations department in between Giants and Jags stays, was a candidate for the head coach position Doug Marrone received but instead became the team’s executive VP. Coughlin initially hoped to coach in 2017 and may want to return to such a role, but at 73, he’s far older than any NFL HC ever hired.

Jaguars Fire Executive VP Tom Coughlin

December 18th, 2019 at 6:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The major changes in Jacksonville are starting. The Jaguars fired executive vice president Tom Coughlin on Wednesday night, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). The team has announced the move.

Coughlin, 73, was in his third season with the franchise. This marked the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach’s second stint in Jacksonville. He was the Jags’ first head coach, serving in that role from 1995-2002.

This move comes, obviously, as the Jaguars are wrapping up a second consecutive disappointing season. It also follows Monday’s news of an arbitrator ruling against the Jaguars and the NFLPA indicating in a statement that 25% of player grievances over the past two years have been against the Jags. In the statement, which centered around the Coughlin-led organization levying offseason fines, the union urged players to avoid signing with the Jaguars as free agents.

Owner Shad Khan said in a statement he determined earlier this season he would fire Coughlin at year’s end but changed his mind after recent days. It would appear the grievance ruling accelerated this timetable. Khan added that GM Dave Caldwell and HC Doug Marrone will report directly to him for the time being.

“I determined earlier this fall that making this move at the conclusion of the 2019 season would be in everyone’s best interests but, in recent days, I reconsidered and decided to make this change immediately,” Khan said. “I thank Tom for all his efforts, not only over the past three years but for all he did from our very first season, 25 years ago, to put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the map.”

Khan hired Coughlin in January 2017, stripping some of Caldwell’s powers to bring the longtime Giants HC into the fold. After Caldwell’s first four years as GM did not produce any winning seasons, the Coughlin-Caldwell tandem installed Marrone as the team’s full-time HC. The Jaguars went 10-6 and came as close to reaching a Super Bowl as they had in their 25-year history, losing a lead late in the 2017 AFC championship game.

On the field, the Jaguars have gone 10-20 since. Off the field, matters have been worse. Players were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars during offseasons, with Dante Fowler and Leonard Fournette confirming they filed grievances against Coughlin. The old-school leader also was the driving force behind Jalen Ramsey‘s decision to request a trade earlier this season, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes players had become frustrated by Coughlin’s mere presence in the building (video link). While the disciplinarian adapted in New York, winning over the Giants and guiding them to two Super Bowls, Coughlin’s methods did not go over well with a younger crop of players in Jacksonville.

Marrone looks like a Black Monday candidate, and although Caldwell has managed to avoid ouster rumors, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes (via Twitter) Jags coaches and scouts have inquired about other jobs for weeks. Quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich landed another CFL head coaching job last week. Caldwell made the Blake Bortles draft pick in 2014 and, along with Coughlin, authorized a 2018 extension for the embattled quarterback. The Jaguars, who selected Fournette over Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in Coughlin’s first draft, took a $16.5MM dead-money hit to cut Bortles this year. Neither Marrone nor Caldwell, however, are locks to be fired, Rapoport adds.

NFLPA Wins Grievance Against Jaguars

December 16th, 2019 at 5:55pm CST by Rory Parks

The NFL Players Association has won a grievance against the Jaguars and has released a rather scathing statement on the team’s policies, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets.

The entire statement from the union may be found at the Twitter link above, but essentially, the Jags (read: executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin) have recently required their players to get all offseason medical treatment at the team facility. When players failed to do so, they were disciplined by the club.

For instance, one player — whom Mark Long of the Associated Press identified as former Jaguar and current Ram Dante Fowler (Twitter link) — was fined 25 times for a total of $700K in 2018 for missing offseason appointments at Jacksonville headquarters. Fowler confirmed (via Twitter) that he was indeed the player referenced in the statement, and he said, “[the Jaguars] literally hated me.” All of the fines have now been rescinded.

An arbitrator found that, except in very limited circumstances, offseason activities of any kind are voluntary and a team cannot make them mandatory. The statement goes on to say that, in the last two years — Coughlin has served in his current post since 2017 — 25% of grievances filed by NFL players have been filed against the Jaguars.

This development obviously reflects poorly on the Jags, who are expected to make major organizational changes this offseason. That could include the departure of Coughlin, which may not be a bad thing as far as attracting free agents is concerned.

Jaguars Expected To Make Major Offseason Changes

December 15th, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Rory Parks

It has been speculated for some time that the Jaguars may undergo a major organizational overhaul this offseason, and sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that the club is indeed expected to make significant changes in the new year.

Many around the league expect head coach Doug Marrone to be fired, per Schefter. Others believe that executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin could step aside to spend more time with family.

Schefter’s report did not offer any concrete rumors as to GM Dave Caldwell, but recent reports have suggested that he may be on the chopping block as well. Of course, owner Shad Khan considered a shakeup after the 2018 season, but he opted to remain patient. However, his patience has not been rewarded, and the Jags have sputtered to a 4-9 record in 2019.

This same power structure guided Jacksonville to the AFC Championship Game in 2017, and the team was one quarter away from upsetting the Patriots in that contest and advancing to the Super Bowl. The Jags looked like a team on the rise, but they have regressed in a big way and now look like they could be headed for yet another rebuild.

AFC South Notes: Jags, Tannehill, Funchess

December 1st, 2019 at 12:05pm CST by Rory Parks

As they limp towards the end of their second consecutive disappointing campaign, the Jaguars could be looking at a major organizational overhaul this offseason, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Several members of head coach Doug Marrone‘s staff believe Marrone will be fired at season’s end, and questions remain as to how long team president Tom Coughlin will remain with the club.

Indeed, La Canfora says members of Jacksonville’s front office are just as concerned about their job security as the team’s coaches and are beginning to explore opportunities elsewhere. Owner Shad Khan did consider a significant shakeup last year before opting to retain Marrone, Coughlin, and GM Dave Caldwell, but he may not be as patient this time. If Khan does elect to make a GM change, La Canfora names Scott Pioli as a potential replacement, and Patriots OC Josh McDaniels could be on the short list of replacements for Marrone.

Now for more from the AFC South:

The Titans are interested in extending their relationship with quarterback Ryan Tannehill beyond 2019, and as La Canfora writes, the franchise tag could be in play for Tannehill. The tag would come with a roughly $27MM cap hit, but with Tannehill suddenly a hot commodity, the club could hit him with the tag as a precursor to a multi-year pact. Of course, much depends on how Tannehill finishes the season, and while the two sides are unlikely to engage in contract talks in the short term, Tannehill looks set to cash in once the season is over.
Despite some hope that veteran wideout Devin Funchess would be returning to the field soon, the Colts have decided to shut him down for the year, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Funchess, who suffered a fractured collarbone during Indianapolis’ Week 1 loss to the Chargers, simply has not healed enough, per Rapoport, who says the plate inserted into the fracture did not work out as hoped. This is a difficult blow for the Colts, who have seen many of their top skill players miss time due to injury this year.
The Texans have been in the news a great deal over the last two days. The team placed first-round rookie Tytus Howard on IR on Saturday, and today we learned that the club will operate without a GM in 2020. Houston also got some potentially exciting news, as J.J. Watt could return to the field in time for the playoffs.

Load More Posts