HEADLINES

Tom Telesco

Chargers Unlikely To Make HC, GM Changes Before Offseason

December 3rd, 2023 at 10:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

Many have pointed to the Chargers as a team which could shake up its staff on the sidelines and/or in the front office. While pressure is likely on Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco, the pair should be considered safe for the immediate future.

No in-season changes are expected to be made by the Chargers, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports (video link). Staley in particular is believed to be on the hot seat, barring a signficant turnaround to close out the 2023 campaign. Los Angeles entered Week 13 sitting at 4-7 and in need of a late-season push to get back into contention for an AFC wild-card spot. In the event that does not come to fruition, it would come as little surprise if a change were to be made.

As Jones notes, though, a final decision on the fate of Staley or Telesco will likely not be made until after owner Dean Spanos conducts an offseason evaluation. Staley is in his third season at the helm, but once again the Chargers have drawn criticism for their on-field play not matching the talent on their roster. He has served as the team’s defensive play-caller, allowing him to continue in that capacity after doing so during his time as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. The unit has generally struggled (today’s 6-0 win over the Patriots notwithstanding), however, which has contributed to an underwhelming overall performance in what may have deemed a make-or-break year.

Staley’s Chargers stint has been marked by last year’s 27-point collapse in the wild-card round, a game which represented a rare trek to the postseason for the organization during Telesco’s tenure. The latter has been in place since 2013, but the Chargers have made just three postseason appearances over that span. Only two playoff wins (in 2013 and ’18) have come about, but the presence of quarterback Justin Herbert has given the team significant potential for the short- and long-term future.

The former No. 6 pick was one of several young passers who inked a monster extension this offseason. Herbert’s five-year, $262.5MM deal has him on the books through 2029 and his play over the life of the pact will be a major factor in the Chargers’ success. If the team falls short of the postseason and a coaching change is indeed made, a number of candidates will no doubt be connected to the opening. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson could be one of them, though he is expected to be one of the hottest coaching candidates in the 2024 cycle.

In any event, plenty of pressure will likely be on Staley and Telesco over the coming weeks. Their respective job statuses will be a major storyline to watch through the remainder of the season and into the beginning of the upcoming hiring cycle.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

July 6th, 2023 at 9:25am CST by Sam Robinson

The latest NFL general manager hiring cycle only produced two changes, but each took over for an executive who appeared in good standing at this point last year.

Steve Keim had held his Cardinals GM post since January 2013, and the Cardinals gave both he and Kliff Kingsbury extensions — deals that ran through 2027 — in March of last year. Arizona has since rebooted, moving on from both Keim and Kingsbury. Keim took a leave of absence late last season, and the Cardinals replaced him with ex-Titans exec Monti Ossenfort.

[RELATED: The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches]

As the Cardinals poached one of the Titans’ top front office lieutenants, Tennessee went with an NFC West staffer to replace Jon Robinson. The move to add 49ers FO bastion Ran Carthon also came less than a year after the Titans reached extension agreements with both Robinson and HC Mike Vrabel. But controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk canned Robinson — in place as GM since January 2016 — before last season ended. Adams Strunk cited player unavailability and roster quality among the reasons she chose to move on despite having extended Robinson through the 2027 draft months earlier. The Titans are now pairing Vrabel and Carthon.

The Bills reached an extension agreement with GM Brandon Beane two weeks ago. Hired shortly after the team gave Sean McDermott the HC keys, Beane has helped the Bills to five playoff berths in six seasons. Beane’s deal keeps him signed through 2027. Chargers GM Tom Telesco has hit the 10-year mark leading that front office, while this year also marks the 10th offseason of Buccaneers honcho Jason Licht‘s tenure running the NFC South team. Although Jim Irsay fired Frank Reich and later admitted he reluctantly extended his former HC in 2021, the increasingly active Colts owner has expressed confidence in Chris Ballard.

Here is how the NFL’s GM landscape looks going into the 2023 season:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
  4. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  5. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  6. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010; signed extension in 2022
  7. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2022
  8. Tom Telesco (Los Angeles Chargers): January 9, 2013; signed extension in 2018
  9. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2021
  10. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  11. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  12. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  13. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2023
  14. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  15. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018; agreed to extension in 2022
  16. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  17. Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
  18. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
  19. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  20. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  21. Scott Fitterer (Carolina Panthers): January 14, 2021
  22. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021
  23. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  24. Trent Baalke (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 21, 2021
  25. Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders): January 22, 2021
  26. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  27. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  28. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022
  29. Dave Ziegler (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  30. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022
  31. Monti Ossenfort (Arizona Cardinals): January 16, 2023
  32. Ran Carthon (Tennessee Titans): January 17, 2023

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

Chargers’ Tom Telesco Addresses Justin Herbert Contract Outlook

May 29th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2019 quarterback class did not feature multiple members on Year 4 extension tracks last year, with only Kyler Murray on that radar. A year after Murray’s deal, the 2020 QB class’ first bite at the extension apple is producing more fireworks.

Jalen Hurts‘ $51MM-per-year Eagles deal laid the groundwork, but the Super Bowl LVII starter became a locked-in extension candidate much later than draft contemporaries Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. The Bengals and Chargers passers remain on their rookie contracts but will almost definitely sign extensions that surpass Hurts’ April accord. Both players have begun discussions regarding their second contracts.

A QB extension will not be new territory for Chargers GM Tom Telesco. In addition to hammering out Philip Rivers‘ four-year, $84MM deal in 2015, Telesco was with the Colts for Peyton Manning‘s entire tenure. As Telesco moved up from the scouting ranks to director of player personnel in Indianapolis, the Colts gave Manning two extensions. The first — a seven-year, $98MM pact — came in 2004, but the second (five years, $90MM — in 2011) did not lead to any playing time. Manning’s neck injury forced him to miss all of the ’11 season, and the Colts cut the all-time great in March 2012. Prior to the release, Indianapolis continually constructed championship-caliber rosters around its perennial MVP candidate. This included Super Bowl XLI and XLIV appearances despite highly paid pass rushers and wide receivers (though, Marvin Harrison was not on the second Super Bowl roster) joining Manning on Indy’s payroll.

Telesco, 50, has used Manning’s first Colts extension as a blueprint for building a team around a monster QB deal, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com notes. The 11th-year Chargers GM kept a binder in his office themed around how the Colts built around Manning. As Herbert is ticketed to become a $50MM-per-year player, Telesco’s Chargers team-building mission will soon change.

“Some of it doesn’t apply anymore, but there’s still some things in there that I’ve written down that I’ve learned that like, yeah, this definitely is going to apply,” Telesco said.

The 2011 CBA introduced the modern rookie-scale contract, changing roster-building equations and creating a tremendous advantage for teams that find impact quarterbacks in the draft. The Chargers have been unable to follow the paths of several teams — the Eagles (twice) and Chiefs among them — in making a Super Bowl trip with a rookie-QB contract, but they have found a superstar-caliber passer. Herbert seems unlikely to go into his fourth season without a new deal, and while typical extension terms leave teams early-years wiggle room regarding cap hits, the Chargers’ model will change during Herbert’s second contract.

Since Patrick Mahomes‘ 10-year, $450MM deal, only one QB — the Bills’ Josh Allen — has come relatively close to agreeing to a team-friendly extension like the one the Chiefs orchestrated. Allen signed a six-year extension in 2021. Of the other QBs to sign lucrative re-ups since Mahomes’ July 2020 deal — Deshaun Watson (twice), Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers, Murray, Russell Wilson, Hurts and Lamar Jackson — none have agreed to contracts longer than five years. The Mahomes model may not be realistic for Burrow or Herbert, given how their other peers have proceeded (and the Chiefs potentially needing to adjust the 10-year deal three offseasons after they finalized it), but Telesco views his centerpiece player as understanding how his contract will affect the Chargers’ team-building effort.

“At least in our situation, I don’t think I need to have that talk with our quarterback. I think he’s fully aware, has really good self-awareness on how much money he is going to make, how it affects the team,” Telesco said. “But like most agents will tell you, like, it’s my job to figure out how to make sure that the player gets the value that he deserves and we build a team around him.”

The Bolts have four $20MM-per-year players on their payroll, though only one of those (Joey Bosa) may profile as a long-term roster cog. Khalil Mack is going into his age-32 season, while Keenan Allen is now 31. Mike Williams‘ deal runs through 2024, and the Bolts just drafted Quentin Johnston in Round 1. The Chargers also have Derwin James signed to the NFL’s top safety contract and Corey Linsley inked to a top-five center deal. Rookie-deal standouts like Rashawn Slater will become necessary around Herbert, especially if the Oregon product becomes the latest QB to eschew the Mahomes structure and opt for a more traditional extension.

It will be interesting to see which of the 2020 first-rounders signs his extension first and if Burrow — after two AFC championship game appearances and a Super Bowl start — pushes to create distance between himself and Herbert. Until these contracts are finalized, the Bengals and Chargers will continue to be linked due to their QBs’ parallel tracks.

Latest On Chargers, RB Austin Ekeler

May 12th, 2023 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

The bulk of free agency, along with the draft, has now come and gone. Most major roster-building moves have thus been made for 2023, but the future of Chargers running back Austin Ekeler remains unresolved.

Ekeler was given permission to seek a trade in March after extension talks failed to yield much in the way of progress. The 27-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract, and is due $6.25MM – a figure much lower than that of the other top backs in the league. After a second straight season in which he led the league in scrimmage touchdowns and eclipsed 1,500 total yards, Ekeler’s desire for a raise has been weighed against the underwhelming market direction his position has been headed in.

Given the overall devaluation of running backs – at least in 2023’s free agency period, if not the first round of this year’s draft – it comes as little surprise that a strong trade market for Ekeler has yet to take shape. Given the lack of willingness on other teams’ parts to move assets in acquiring him before making a signficant, multi-year financial commitment, the former UDFA acknowledged the possibility of playing out his contract year in Los Angeles. The chances of that taking place are increased by the Chargers’ lack of a desire to move him.

“Nothing’s changed,” general manager Tom Telesco said about Ekeler’s standing trade request during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show (video link). “His situation is unique. I completely understand that, which is why we kind of allowed them to kind of look and see if there was something out there available. We had no intent, no interest of trading him, but, fully knowing his situation, said go ahead and do it.”

The Chargers have a number of young options on their RB depth chart, but none with the track record of two-way production Ekeler has established over the past few years in particular. Los Angeles did not draft a running back, further pointing to their intention of keeping Ekeler in the fold for the 2023 campaign, one in which the team’s offense in particular will face considerable expectations. If he can deliver another strong performance, he will boost his free agent value, but that route appears to be the only one in which he could land in a new NFL home next offseason.

Latest On Chargers CB J.C. Jackson, QB Justin Herbert

May 7th, 2023 at 11:18am CST by Rory Parks

Saying that cornerback J.C. Jackson‘s first year with the Chargers could have gone better would be an understatement. Jackson, who signed a five-year, $82.5MM contract with the Bolts last March, underwent ankle surgery in August to repair an issue that cropped up during training camp, which forced him to miss the 2022 regular season opener. He also missed Los Angeles’ Week 3 contest, and while he suited up for the club’s next four games, he suffered a patellar tendon rupture in a Week 7 loss to the Seahawks and was sidelined for the rest of the campaign.

Even when he was on the field, Jackson did not come close to living up to his contract. In five games, he surrendered a 149.3 QB rating on passes thrown in his direction, according to Pro Football Reference. Pro Football Focus was even less friendly, charging him with a 152.4 rating and assigning him a dismal 28.1 coverage grade.

Nonetheless, it is clear that the Chargers are continuing to count on Jackson in a big way. The team neither drafted nor signed a cornerback, save for a handful of UDFA’s, so it will return Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, and Jackson as its top three boundary corners.

GM Tom Telesco‘s approach to the cornerback position not only suggests that he expects a rebound effort from Jackson, but also that he is confident in Jackson’s medical prognosis. While a torn patellar tendon can be one of the toughest injuries to overcome, Telesco says that Jackson is making good progress in his rehab (via Daniel Popper of The Athletic (subscription required)). Popper said that Jackson was working with a trainer on the first day of the Chargers’ offseason program, and that he had started running on a treadmill.

Telesco is optimistic that Jackson will be able to participate in training camp. That would obviously go a long way towards getting the 27-year-old back to the Pro Bowl form he displayed as a member of the Patriots, thus bolstering a defense that surrendered the seventh-fewest passing yards per game in 2022 despite what was essentially a lost season from last year’s biggest free agent investment.

Another high-profile Charger who is currently on the mend, quarterback Justin Herbert, provided a recent update on his recovery. Herbert, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, said he has not thrown a football since the procedure and estimates that he is 75% recovered (via ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry).

Herbert expects to begin throwing this month, and the five- to six-month recovery timeline he provided would allow him to be at full strength for training camp. Telesco, who picked up Herbert’s fifth-year option for 2024 and who has commenced negotiations on what will be a massive contract extension, clearly does not have any concerns about his quarterback’s health status.

When asked about those contract talks, Herbert did not provide much of an update.

“I’m kind of left out of those negotiations, and I think my job now, my focus is to be the best quarterback that I can be and to rehab my shoulder,” the 2021 Pro Bowler said. “I’ve got complete faith in the Chargers organization and the front office. They’ve done such a great job of taking care of us as players, and I’ve loved to be a part of this team, being a part of this organization, and it’s kind of beyond my control of as to what happens now. I’m just doing everything I can that I can control.”

Restructure Details: Armstead, Dolphins, Hill, Chubb, Chargers, WRs, Ravens, Pierce, Panthers, Moton, Jets, Cardinals, Eagles, Vikings

March 10th, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm CT Wednesday — the start of the 2023 league year — to move under the $224.8MM salary cap. With the legal tampering period beginning at 3pm Monday, teams are working to create cap space for free agency pursuits. Here are the latest maneuvers teams have made on that front:

  • The Dolphins have created more than $43MM in cap space over the past two days, being the runaway leaders on this front this week. They agreed to restructures with Bradley Chubb and Terron Armstead to free up $25MM-plus, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter links), but they are also using Tyreek Hill‘s receiver-record contract to create room. Miami created $18MM in space by restructuring Hill’s $30MM-AAV deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Hill was due a $16MM roster bonus; that and most of his 2023 base salary have been shifted into a signing bonus. Chubb’s base salary is now down to $1.1MM in 2023.
  • Rather than trade Keenan Allen to carve out cap space, Chargers GM Tom Telesco firmly opted against that strategy. The Bolts are keeping Allen, and both he and Mike Williams‘ 2024 cap numbers will balloon. The team freed up $14MM-plus in 2023 cap space by restructuring both their $20MM-per-year wide receiver deals, per Yates. While new funds are available for 2023, Williams and Allen are now tied to $32.5MM and $34.7MM cap numbers in 2024 (Twitter links). Neither should be expected to play on those numbers, which will undoubtedly lead to more maneuvers down the road.
  • The Panthers freed up more than $11MM in cap room by restructuring Taylor Moton‘s deal, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. This marks the second straight year Carolina has adjusted Moton’s contract. A Xavier Woods tweak also added $1.5MM to Carolina’s cap space, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
  • Michael Pierce accepted a $2MM pay cut to remain with the Ravens, Pelissero tweets. The move added $2.7MM in funds, Yates tweets. Pierce, who returned to the Ravens in 2022, can earn the money back via incentives. Pierce missed most of last season due to a biceps tear.
  • Pierce’s former team, the Vikings, took the same path with Ross Blacklock. The 2022 trade acquisition accepted a near-$700K slash which he can earn back via incentives, Pelissero adds (on Twitter).
  • D.J. Humphries missed much of the 2022 season, and while the Cardinals have a new regime in place, they are not moving their veteran left tackle. They will use Humphries’ 2022 extension to free up funds, with Pelissero noting (via Twitter) the Cards created $5.3MM in cap space with this restructure. Arizona has moved past $32MM in cap space. More could be coming via a DeAndre Hopkins trade as well.
  • C.J. Uzomah‘s three-year Jets deal became a vehicle for the team to carve out some room. The team freed up $3.6MM in cap space with a recent restructure for the veteran tight end, Pelissero tweets.
  • The Eagles also went to the restructure well Friday, with Yates noting (via Twitter) they are creating $2.5MM in space by adjusting Jake Elliott‘s deal.

The NFL’s Longest-Tenured GMs

June 30th, 2022 at 10:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Wednesday, we took a look at how the 2022 offseason changed the HC landscape. While 10 new sideline leaders are in place for 2022, not quite as much turnover transpired on the general manager front. Five new decision-makers, however, have moved to the top of teams’ front office hierarchies over the past six months.

The Bears, Giants, Raiders and Vikings rebooted their entire operations, hiring new HC-GM combos. The Minnesota move bumped out one of the previous top-10 longest-tenured GMs, with 16-year Vikings exec Rick Spielman no longer in power in the Twin Cities. The Steelers’ shakeup took the NFL’s longest-tenured pure GM out of the mix. Kevin Colbert was with the Steelers since 2000, and although he is still expected to remain with the team in a reduced capacity, the 22-year decision-maker stepped down shortly after Ben Roethlisberger wrapped his career.

Twelve teams have now hired a new GM in the past two offseasons, though a bit more staying power exists here compared to the HC ranks. Two GMs (the Cardinals’ Steve Keim and Chargers’ Tom Telesco) have begun their 10th years at the helms of their respective front offices. They have hired three HCs apiece. The Buccaneers’ Jason Licht is closing in on a decade in power in Tampa Bay; Licht will now work with his fourth HC in Todd Bowles. Beyond that, a bit of a gap exists. But a handful of other executives have been in power for at least five seasons.

Here is how long every GM or de facto GM has been in place with his respective franchise:

  1. Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
  2. Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
  3. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
  4. Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
  5. John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010; signed extension in 2021
  6. Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010; signed extension in 2022
  7. Les Snead (Los Angeles Rams): February 10, 2012; signed extension in 2019
  8. Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013; signed extension in 2022
  9. Tom Telesco (Los Angeles Chargers): January 9, 2013; signed extension in 2018
  10. Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014; signed extension in 2021
  11. Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016[4]
  12. Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016; signed extension in 2022
  13. John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  14. Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017; signed extension in 2021
  15. Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  16. Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017; signed extension in 2020
  17. Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
  18. Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019
  19. Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
  20. Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
  21. Nick Caserio (Houston Texans): January 5, 2021
  22. George Paton (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2021
  23. Scott Fitterer (Carolina Panthers): January 14, 2021
  24. Brad Holmes (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2021
  25. Terry Fontenot (Atlanta Falcons): January 19, 2021
  26. Trent Baalke (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 21, 2021
  27. Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders): January 22, 2021
  28. Joe Schoen (New York Giants): January 21, 2022
  29. Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears): January 25, 2022
  30. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Minnesota Vikings): January 26, 2022
  31. Dave Ziegler (Las Vegas Raiders): January 30, 2022
  32. Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers): May 24, 2022

Footnotes:

  1. Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
  2. Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
  3. Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
  4. Although Grier was hired in 2016, he became the Dolphins’ top football exec on Dec. 31, 2018

AFC Rumors: Jackson, Ravens, Jaguars, Chargers

January 23rd, 2022 at 10:26pm CST by Ely Allen

The Patriots’ defense struggled in their Wild Card loss to the division rival Bills. That struggle could perhaps have a noticeable effect on cornerback J.C. Jackson‘s future. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Jackson was on a one-year extension this season, meaning last week’s loss is the last game he will have played before potentially hitting the free agent market.

The game was possibly Jackson’s worst in his four-year career, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN, who called out Jackson’s technique playing the ball, coverage breakdowns, and overall effort. Reiss went on to deliberate on the odds of New England tagging the second-team All-Pro, which currently projects as a $17.28MM tag. Reiss believes that Jackson’s playoff performance could prevent New England from using their franchise tag on him at all. The Patriots could always agree on an extension with Jackson, but after an impressive, healthy season, the 26-year old will likely want to test the free agency waters.

Here are a few more notes from the AFC, starting with an item out of the North:

  • We got a bit of peek behind the scenes from Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager who tweeted out that, after some debate on who to take with their first of two third-round picks, the Rams got intel that Baltimore planned to draft Cooper Kupp at 74th overall. The Rams selected the now first-team All-Pro and Baltimore used their pick on current Steeler Chris Wormley.
  • Jalen Ramsey spoke recently with Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic about the events that lead to his exit from Jacksonville. Rodrigue did a deep-dive on Ramsey’s journey and the three-time All-Pro expanded on how undervalued he felt by the Jaguars’ staff and detailed an explosive meeting with the team’s top brass that lead to his eventual trade request.
  • In a tweet earlier this week, LA Daily News reporter Gilbert Manzano gave an account from Chargers’ general manager Tom Telesco on the pending free agency of wide receiver Mike Williams. Telesco praised Williams, who topped 1,000 yards receiving for the second time in his career this season, calling him a big part of the team but didn’t discuss how he planned to move forward on contract talks with the fifth-year Charger.
  • Also, in Chargers’ news, Giants’ assistant linebackers and special teams coach Anthony Blevins was interviewed to become Los Angeles’s new special teams coordinator, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN. Giants’ special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey also met with Los Angeles and is being considered for the position.

Bears Request To Interview Chargers’ Wooden

January 14th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Do not be surprised if you start getting calls from Chicago because the Bears are searching far and wide to fill their vacant general manager position and they are interviewing EVERYBODY! The newest candidate to add to the list is Chargers’ director of player personnel, JoJo Wooden, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Wooden has been with the Chargers since 2013 overseeing the pro and college scouting department for the Chargers. He got his start with the Jets in 1997 and spent 10 seasons working his way up from pro personnel assistant to the assistant director, player personnel, a position he held for six more years.

What makes Wooden an interesting candidate for the Bears’ job is the connections he has to the search committee. Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer reported a couple days ago that Bill Polian, who has spent time as a general manager for the Bills, Panthers, and, most notably, the Colts, will be a resource to the Bears as they go through the process of hiring a new head coach and general manager. Wooden is known as a key lieutenant for the Chargers’ current general manager Tom Telesco, and Telesco worked under Polian during Polian’s entire tenure in Indianapolis.

To date, the Bears have already interviewed the Browns’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Glenn Cook and their own assistant director of player personnel, Champ Kelly. They’ve also requested interviews with the Colts’ Morocco Brown and Ed Dodds, the 49ers’ Ran Carthon, the Saints’ Jeff Ireland, the Steelers’ Omar Khan, the Giants’ Joe Schoen, and the Patriots’ Eliot Wolf. Texans’ former general manager Rick Smith has also been identified as a candidate.

Bills OC Brian Daboll Is “Favorite” For Chargers HC Job

January 16th, 2021 at 8:49am CST by Ben Levine

Brian Daboll could soon be heading to the west coast. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bills offensive coordinator “has emerged as a favorite” for the Chargers head-coaching gig.

Predictably, the Chargers organization is waiting to see how tonight’s Bills game goes before making any moves. If Buffalo loses, Los Angeles can offer Daboll the job as soon as possible. If the Bills win, then the organization has to wait until Buffalo is eliminated before they can negotiate a contract with their new head coach.

As Schefter notes, there are two logical reasons why Daboll has emerged as the leading candidate for the vacancy. For starters, Daboll received a lot of credit for Josh Allen‘s emergence this season, and the Chargers are hoping the coach can help Justin Herbert take the next step. Daboll also went to high school and played football with Chargers general manager Tom Telesco, so there’s an obvious connection there.

Daboll, 45, started his NFL coaching career back in 2000 with the Patriots. He got his first coordinator gig with the Browns in 2009, and he’s since held the same role with the Dolphins, Chiefs, and the Bills (along with Alabama). Daboll was mentioned as a candidate for the Jets vacancy, and he was one of the nine reported candidates for the Chargers job. As our 2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker shows, that list includes:

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