Vance Joseph

AFC West Notes: A. Smith, Broncos, M. Williams

November 26th, 2017 at 12:43pm CST by Rory Parks

After jumping out to a 5-0 start this year, the Chiefs have lost four of their last five games, making themselves vulnerable to the surging Chargers and even the Raiders in the AFC West. The team’s offensive struggles have contributed to that swoon, and quarterback Alex Smith has fallen off a bit after a torrid first half. He is coming off a miserable performance in Kansas City’s loss to the lowly Giants last week, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the Chiefs would only turn to rookie first-rounder Patrick Mahomes if Smith were to get hurt. Smith will remain under center the rest of the year, though Kansas City still plans to shop him in the offseason as it prepares to usher in the Mahomes era.

Now for more notes from the AFC West:

New Chiefs CB Darrelle Revis will likely make his Kansas City debut next week, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Paxton Lynch is back under center for the Broncos, and Rapoport (video link) says they want him to start the rest of the year so they can fairly evaluate what they have in last year’s first-rounder. The team will run a much simpler offensive scheme for Lynch than what it employed under former OC Mike McCoy, and Lynch has been encouraged to simply do what he does best, which is run around and improvise.
We learned earlier today that the Raiders are likely to fire OC Todd Downing at season’s end, and that McCoy is an obvious candidate to replace him. Within that story, we cited another La Canfora article in which the CBS scribe reported that the McCoy firing might have been just the tip of the iceberg for the Broncos. He suggests that there is speculation that head coach Vance Joseph could be out after just one year on the job, and at the very least, that Denver could shake up other parts of its coaching staff.
Broncos GM John Elway has taken a lot of heat for his club’s 3-7 record in 2017, but Mike Klis of 9News.com says that criticism is largely unwarranted. In an interesting piece that pits Elway’s draft results against those of his long-tenured colleagues, Elway comes out near the top of the heap of NFL general managers, which makes Klis believe he will be able to turn the ship around in 2018.
We learned Friday that Chargers rookie wideout Mike Williams avoided an ACL tear during his team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Cowboys, and Rapoport tweets that Williams has been diagnosed with a bone bruise. While Williams is expected to miss next week’s contest against the Browns, he will be week-to-week thereafter, which is a big deal for a team that has forced its way back into the playoff hunt.

AFC Notes: Bills, Phins, Cutler, Broncos, Jets

November 20th, 2017 at 9:31pm CST by Micah Powell

Though there weren’t many positives to glean from a 54-24 drubbing by the Chargers, the Bills did receive one bit of good news on Monday. Newly acquired wideout Kelvin Benjamin did not tear his ACL in the loss, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link).

Though the injury could force the physical receiver to miss a few games, he should be able to help the Bills, currently tied with Baltimore for the last playoff spot, contend for a wildcard berth down the stretch.

After letting Robert Woods walk and trading away Sammy Watkins in the offseason, Buffalo pulled off a deadline deal with Carolina for Benjamin, who was expected to serve as Tyrod Taylor‘s top target. That has yet to come to fruition with Benjamin catching four passes in two games and Taylor being benched for the first half vs. Los Angeles.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

Dolphins QB Jay Cutler is officially in the NFL’s concussion protocol, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The Dolphins are 4-6 and mired in a four-game losing streak, so their showdown with New England could be a make-or-break game for their slim playoff hopes. Matt Moore will assume the starting role should Cutler not be fit for the game.
After being placed on injured reserve earlier this month, Raiders first-round pick Gareon Conley underwent surgery to repair his injured shin on Monday, NBC Sports’ Scott Blair reports. The cornerback suffered the injury in training camp and aggravated it in Week 3 vs. Washington.
The Jets are still holding out hope for the postseason. With that in mind, the team will roll with Josh McCown as the team’s starting quarterback unless injured, reports Newsday’s Calvin Watkins. McCown is on the same page as Bowles and appreciates the vote of confidence.
Following the firing of Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator, the Broncos promoted Bill Musgrave to the post and named Klint Kubiak quarterbacks coach, according to Schefter. The offensive coordinator in Oakland the last two seasons, Musgrave helped the Raiders produce one of the league’s most potent offenses in 2016. Kubiak, the son of former Broncos head coach and team senior personnel advisor Gary Kubiak, served as wide receivers coach at Kansas in 2015 before joining the Broncos as an assistant in 2016.
Remaining with the shakeup in Denver, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes that John Elway should also receive some blame for the team’s downward spiral in 2017. Florio writes: “Despite efforts to blame the players and, as of Monday morning, to blame offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, and possibly to blame coach Vance Joseph, responsibility for the six-game losing goes to every layer and level of the organization, and the buck ultimately stops on Elway’s desk.”

AFC Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Rosen, Darnold, McDermott, Bills QB’s, Kizer, Broncos Offense

November 19th, 2017 at 7:47pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Dolphins dropped their fourth game in a row when the Bucs broke away in the fourth quarter of today’s contest, which has James Walker of ESPN.com saying that the team will start have to turn their attention to 2018. While Walker does note that the coaches and players will say that they’re still in the wild card hunt, the reality is that the team is showing no signs of making a run during the remaining weeks of the regular season. It’s a sobering thought for second-year head coach Adam Gase, who led Miami to a playoff birth during his first season as the Dolphins leader.

In addition to the defeat, the team also lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a concussion during today’s game. Cutler has already missed time earlier in the season, but the Dolphins continue to have an identity problem at the position, according to Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald. Although Matt Moore was effective in relief of Cutler in Week 11, the team did not signal what they intend to do at the quarterback position a week from now.

Gase told Beasley after the game that, “I want to get to tomorrow first, see how [Cutler is] feeling.” These situations usually get more light shed on them as the practice week goes on, however the Dolphins find themselves stuck in an unassuming gray area of the league with two veteran signal callers that can’t be relied on to deliver in the future. Miami still has Ryan Tannehill signed to a long-term deal when he fully recovers from his season-ending knee injury, but he hasn’t truly grabbed the reigns of the franchise since the team took the quarterback in the first round back in 2012.

Another team definitely looking ahead in regards to the QB position is the Jets, who had their general manager Mike Maccagnan, vice president of personnel Brian Heimerdinger and area scout Brian Shields on hand for the USC-UCLA game on Saturday to watch two of the best 2018 NFL Draft QB prospects in Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold square off, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini notes the interesting behavior of Maccagnan in particular, who he saw writing a “copious” amount of notes and decided to watch the game from behind the sidelines instead of in the press box, where most of the NFL scouts were sitting. The Jets are likely to cast a wide net in their search for their next franchise signal, but it would seem that the front office has a significant amount of interest in two of the best college quarterbacks in the country.
The Bills have produced themselves a tremendous QB controversy when they shockingly decided to bench starter Tyrod Taylor for rookie Nathan Peterman. However, after Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half of today’s loss at the hands of the Chargers, head coach Sean McDermott is confident and says that he is not second guessing his decision, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. The head coach didn’t reveal his intentions for who will start next week, even though Taylor did finish out the game today. The coach just said, “I’m going to evaluate.” when asked about his QB questions in his postgame media session, reports Vic Carruci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
On the other hand, Browns head coach Hue Jackson committed to his rookie signal caller for the rest of the season after today’s game, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Jackson has turned to both Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler throughout the season, but he seemed very set on DeShone Kizer after his team suffered their 10th straight loss of the 2017 season. “Where we are right now, I need to continue to see him,” said Jackson. “Let’s let him play. Let’s let him play this thing out. As long as he’s healthy, let’s keep putting him out there. I want to walk away from this season knowing exactly what DeShone Kizer is top to bottom. He deserves that. I know this is all tough for him. Week in and week out, it’s the consistency he has to keep chasing. He just has to keep working at it.” While seeing how Kizer reacts to this adversity seems like the franchise’s main priority, they’re quickly running out of chances to not fall into the same breadth as the 2008 Lions, who were the first team in league history to go 0-16 in a season.
The Broncos suffered their sixth straight loss at the hands of the Bengals after starting out 3-1 to start the season. The team has shifted to backup Brock Osweiler and could be looking to implement second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch at some point in the remaining six weeks of the season. However, apart from the QB problems, the team is apparently dealing with pushback from players regarding their current offensive scheme, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sources tell the reporter that players are starting to show frustration with the way the offense is running. The team does have two very good receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but there are a ton of holes throughout the unit that schemes won’t hide. We’ll see how first-year head coach Vance Joseph reacts to the losing streak, but it’s turning out that this is a lost season for the Super Bowl 50 champions.

Extra Points: Freeman, Broncos, Mack, Eifert

November 18th, 2017 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos have authored one of their worst modern-era stretches over the past five weeks, with now both their offense and defense struggling. John Elway lobbed some criticism at the team he put together.

“I think we got a little bit soft. To be dead honest with you, we got a little bit soft,” the Broncos GM said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “We went 4-0 in preseason; we started out 3-1; we get a bye week, and if you exhale in this league, you’re in trouble. To be dead honest with you, I think we exhaled and it’s hard to recover from that.”

However, the seventh-year front office leader offered support for Vance Joseph despite the first-year coach having the Broncos in danger of their first sub-.500 season in seven years. The Broncos’ schedule eases up after the Chiefs-Eagles-Patriots gauntlet, with the Bengals making a trip to Denver in on Sunday, but Joseph may profile as a one-and-done candidate if this pace continues. The Broncos have lost all five games by at least 10 points. Elway threw some cold water on that prospect, though.

“There’s going to be growing pains as a head coach, especially as a first-year head coach (and) we got a lot of youth on staff when it comes to coordinators, too,” Elway said. “So there’s growing pains there. Just like with players, we have to give them a chance to grow and get better and learn from certain situations. Vance, in my mind, is doing just fine and continues to get these guys to play hard and the energy is still there. So we’ll work our way through.”

Here’s the latest from around the league going into Week 11 Sunday.

Devonta Freeman has been ruled out for Monday night’s Falcons-Seahawks game. This wasn’t a surprise given the star running back’s concussion history. He suffered a second concussion of the season against the Cowboys. Tevin Coleman will start.
Reggie McKenzie wants to sign Khalil Mack to an extension next year, and the cornerstone Raiders defender has no problem with that. Mack does not seem interested in exploring a potential path elsewhere down the line. “Of course; that’s not even a question,” Mack said, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Fallon Smith, about wanting to stay with the Raiders for the rest of his career. “That’s a no-brainer for me, especially when you think about coming into this organization and try to build something special, that’s something you want to be a part of for a lifetime.” Given his age (26), durability, production history and the fact Von Miller‘s extension occurred during the 2016 league year, Mack is a mortal lock to become a $20MM-per-year defender and surpass his fellow AFC West pass-rushing dynamo in that department. Mack’s under contract through 2018 via fifth-year option.
In addition to the back surgery Tyler Eifert underwent, the impending UFA tight end had a knee procedure done recently, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). This was not a major operation, with Graziano noting it was for a cyst that had developed on the Bengals pass-catcher’s knee. Eifert is out for the season and will profile as one of the more interesting UFAs due to his injury history and high-ceiling production when healthy.
The Jaguars will be without two starting offensive linemen on Sunday in Cleveland. Both Jermey Parnell and Patrick Omameh are out and didn’t travel with the team to northeast Ohio. This will be Parnell’s second straight absence due to a knee injury. A quadriceps injury will sideline Omameh, who’s worked as Jacksonville’s starting left guard throughout the season. The Jags have 10 offensive linemen on their active roster, so they’re prepared to handle the first-unit cogs’ absences.

Broncos Hire Vance Joseph

January 11th, 2017 at 1:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos’ coaching search is over. The Broncos have agreed to a four-year deal with Vance Joseph, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). General manager John Elway has since confirmed the news via Twitter.

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For the last week or so, Joseph has been identified as the frontrunner for the Denver vacancy. From the start, GM John Elway indicated that the team had about “three or four” candidates in mind and Joseph was reportedly in the driver’s seat before he ever interviewed.

Joseph interviewed for Denver’s vacant head coaching position prior to the 2015 season when he was the Bengals’ defensive backs coach. When the Broncos hired Gary Kubiak, the club pushed to hire Joseph as their defensive coordinator, but Cincinnati blocked the move. After that, Joseph moved on to Miami and helped improve the team’s defense from a No. 25 DVOA rank in 2015 to No. 17 this year.

Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub also interviewed for the job. Anthony Lynn was “expected” to interview with Denver, but he never got the chance.

Next up for Denver is rounding out the staff. The Broncos have two offensive coordinator interviews set up for Thursday: Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Denver defensive backs coach Joe Woods will likely be elevated to DC, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Meanwhile, in Miami, linebackers coach Matt Burke is likely going to be promoted to DC.

Mike Klis of 9NEWS (on Twitter) first reported the Broncos’ offer to Joseph. Additional details provided by Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Chargers, 49ers, Rams To Interview Vance Joseph

January 10th, 2017 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Broncos have completed their head coaching interview with Vance Joseph, and the Dolphins defensive coordinator will now continue his busy schedule with three more meetings this week. Joseph will interview with the Chargers, 49ers, and Rams over the course of the next three days, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Joseph, 44, is among the hottest head coaching candidates of this year’s hiring cycle, as five of the six clubs — all but the Jaguars — have requested permission to interview the Miami DC. Joseph will have one interview per day during the next three days, but no date has yet been set for a meeting between Joseph and the Bills, the remaining team that has expressed interest.

Thought to be the favorite for the Denver job after Gary Kubiak announced he was stepping away from the NFL, Joseph has apparently completed his interview without being offered the head coaching position, as general manager John Elway tweeted a message signalling the meeting had come to a close. At last check, however, Joseph was still in the Broncos facility, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter link).

Joseph interviewed for Denver’s vacant head coaching position during the 2015 offseason when he was still the Bengals’ defensive backs coach. Though the Broncos ultimately hired Kubiak, the club maintained strong interest in bringing Joseph in as defensive coordinator, but Cincinnati blocked the move. Since that time, Joseph has moved on to Miami, where he’s helped improve the team’s defense from a No. 25 DVOA rank in 2015 to No. 17 this year.

Dolphins Eyeing Matt Burke As Potential DC

January 10th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is in the mix for five different head coaching gigs and the Dolphins have a funny feeling that he might leave the nest. With that in mind, the Dolphins are likely to promote linebackers coach Matt Burke to DC, sources tell Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald.

Joseph is scheduled to interview with the Broncos on Tuesday and the 49ers on Thursday. The Rams, Bills, and Chargers also have been granted permission to interview Joseph. Reportedly, he is the frontrunner for the Denver gig and he already has guys in mind to serve on his staff.

The Fins hired Burke away from the Bengals roughly one year ago today for this exact reason, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Miami won’t be left scrambling if Joseph goes and that’s a good thing, because seems more and more likely every day that he will be someone’s else head coach in 2017.

West Notes: 49ers, Rams, Joseph, Raiders

January 8th, 2017 at 9:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The only team with GM and head coaching vacancies, the 49ers have several interviews on the east coast forthcoming in the next few days. On Monday, San Francisco’s brass will meet with Redskins OC Sean McVay for the HC job and conduct an interview with Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane for the GM position, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports.

Panthers DC Sean McDermott will follow Beane by meeting with the 49ers about their HC gig on Tuesday, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick will interview for the GM position during the day as well. The 49ers may not be in a rush, being scheduled to interview Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable next Sunday. The following Monday, the team will meet with more GM candidates. Both of the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel, Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, will interview then in what’s become quite the expansive search.

CEO Jed York and fellow high-ranking 49ers staffer Paraag Marathe are leading this search, one that may come down to whether or not the team is willing to wait on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels to conclude his 2016-season responsibilities. The 49ers have already interviewed three for the HC position and four execs for the GM job.

Here’s more from some of the Western-division franchises.

Vance Joseph‘s long-rumored Broncos interview will be on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Joseph will follow Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub and Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan in interviewing for this position. The Colorado alum and current Miami DC has been most connected with the Denver job and was viewed as the favorite going into the weekend.
Despite deploying defensive player of the year candidate Khalil Mack and signing Bruce Irvin in free agency, the Raiders finished with a league-low 25 sacks. Jack Del Rio singled out the team’s inside pass-rushers as a culprit for this shortcoming. “Interior pass rush, it’s critical for us to get that going,” Del Rio said, via Jerry McDonald of the San Jose Mercury News. “I think Stacy McGee had 2.5 sacks, we got Mario Edwards Jr. back and he wasn’t a huge factor, and (Jihad Ward) wasn’t a huge factor. I didn’t feel we got that inside push.” The Raiders have several young players under contract here, including Denico Autry and full-time defensive tackles Dan Williams and Justin Ellis, but Mack and Irvin combined to record 18 of the team’s sacks.
Derek Carr, who said he would have played in the Super Bowl had the Raiders miraculously qualified without him, said he will be ready for the beginning of offseason workouts in April, Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area reports.
Teryl Austin has set up an interview time with the Chargers, with a Tuesday summit on tap. But the Rams‘ meeting the sides have been attached to remains in the to-be-determined category, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson tweets. A Rams-Kyle Shanahan interview hasn’t been officially rescheduled, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link), after weather interrupted the team’s contingent after a McDaniels meeting in New England.

La Canfora’s Latest: Joseph, Eagles, Bradley

January 8th, 2017 at 7:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers’ 30-12 wild-card romp past the Dolphins is not expected to affect Vance Joseph‘s standing as an attractive head coaching candidate. Joseph will decide on which interviews he will take soon, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports, with the expectation the Broncos’ job will be atop his list.

With the Broncos essentially down to to Joseph, Kyle Shanahan and Dave Toub among their finalists, La Canfora estimates this search might not last long after Joseph’s upcoming interview with Denver. Mike Klis of 9News notes that meeting is expected to occur in Denver early this week. The 44-year-old DC has been connected to five of the six teams in need of coaches, with the Jaguars being the only one to balk at the rising sideline talent thus far. According to PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Joseph is slated to interview with both the Broncos and 49ers but hasn’t yet decided on summits with the Bills, Chargers and Rams. He’s now free to do so after the Dolphins’ elimination.

Here’s more from around the coaching carousel.

The Eagles‘ decision not to allow quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to interview for the Jets‘ OC job was not based on any grudge but rather a desire to see Carson Wentz develop under the instructor’s guidance. La Canfora also notes Teryl Austin hoped to hire DeFilippo as his OC if he ends up taking a head coaching job. The Eagles’ front office came out against that as well, intending to retain the position coach and former coordinator.
Gus Bradley continues to have options despite his historically unsuccessful HC tenure in Jacksonville. The former Seahawks DC is “by far” the favorite to become the Redskins‘ DC, but La Canfora notes Bradley still has a standing offer to become Anthony Lynn‘s top defensive coach should he get a head coaching job.
Josh McDaniels will remain a centerpiece in the NFL’s hiring period despite the Patriots being projected to advance deep in this year’s playoffs, with La Canfora expecting the 49ers to be a major player for the coach’s services. We heard on Saturday McDaniels holds the 49ers’ job in high esteem, but longtime friend and fellow Patriots staffer Nick Caserio turned down an interview request from the 49ers. San Francisco seems undeterred, though, and will likely still attempt to find a GM it can pair with the Patriots’ OC, per La Canfora.
Doug Marrone remains positioned to be given a “very strong look” by the Jaguars in their coaching search, La Canfora reports. The Jags have interviewed five outside coaches thus far but obviously know more about Marrone given his work with the team as the offensive line coach and interim HC the past two seasons.

NFL Coaching Updates: 1/7/17

January 7th, 2017 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here’s the latest coming from the first week of the NFL’s January hiring period.

Just because Texans owner Bob McNair declared he wouldn’t fire Bill O’Brien doesn’t necessarily mean the coach will be back for a fourth year, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reporting O’Brien may decide to leave on his own accord. Sources informed Florio that O’Brien is unhappy with the Texans more so than the team being dissatisfied with his performance. Friction with GM Rick Smith again appears to be at the root of this, but Florio notes the team continues to maintain the parties don’t have to like each other but only need to work together. “I have a five-year contract here. I have two years left on my contract. I’m looking forward to coaching here, and I’m looking forward to getting ready for this next game,” O’Brien said after today’s wild-card win (via James Palmer of NFL.com, on Twitter).
The Rams are doing their homework on Redskins OC Sean McVay, Florio reports. Just 30, McVay would be the youngest head coach hired in NFL history, but the latest coming out of Los Angeles is a belief the wunderkind offensive guru could get the most out of Jared Goff. The Rams have cast a wide net for their next HC, with numerous candidates having already been interviewed or still on the docket. Florio deems a Sean Payton trade or a Jon Gruden hire unlikely at this juncture.
Saturday’s Rams/Josh McDaniels summit appears to have impacted the team’s meeting with Kyle Shanahan. Weather will force a postponement, with Rams representatives being unable to get out of Boston on time, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). The Jaguars, 49ers and Broncos have already met with the Falcons’ OC.
The Broncos are eyeing a coach that won’t interfere too much with the dominant defense the team has assembled in recent years, Florio writes, but that doesn’t necessarily disqualify Vance Joseph. Denver wants its next coach to preserve continuity defensively and fix an offense that has fallen off the historic pace of the Peyton Manning era. The team’s brass reportedly realizes Shanahan would be best suited of their three apparent finalists — Shanahan, Joseph and Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub — to do this but views Joseph as a quality candidate to coax the best effort out of their players.

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