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Ryan Slowik

AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Bills, Pioli

February 19th, 2024 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

The dominoes continue to fall in NFL coaching circles and that’s certainly the case in the AFC East. The Dolphins made a trio of adjustments to their 2024 staff with two promotions and an external hire.

We learned about a week and a half ago that, after failing to land Miami’s defensive coordinator position, which went to Anthony Weaver, outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik was set to remain on the team’s staff for next season in a different capacity. Thanks to Charean Williams of NBC Sports, we now know that Slowik’s new position will be as defensive backs coach and pass game specialist. Williams also informed us that assistant defensive backs coach Mathieu Araujo has earned a promotion, as well. Araujo will serve as cornerbacks coach in 2024.

Additionally, we learned today that University of Montana defensive coordinator Ronnie Bradford will be taking the role of senior special teams assistant with the Dolphins for next season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Bradford has extensive history as an NFL special teams coach, even serving as special teams coordinator in Denver back in 2005, when both Slowik and head coach Mike McDaniel were low-level staffers for the Broncos.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the AFC East:

  • The Bills made a serious addition to their defensive staff with the recent hiring of Scott Booker as their new nickel coach and senior defensive assistant. Booker spent the last four years as safeties coach for the Titans, mentoring one of the league’s best in Kevin Byard. Thanks to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, we also learned that last year’s midseason hire, DJ Mangas, has earned a promotion in Buffalo. After spending the back half of the season as an offensive assistant, he will serve as an offensive quality control coach in 2024. The former teammate and roommate of offensive coordinator Joe Brady joined the team after Brady’s interim promotion last year.
  • Lastly, we learned that the Patriots had finalized their coaching staff today, but changes are still expected in the front office. Now, we know that New England plans to take their time in making the decisions in the player personnel department, but we did throw out a few names to watch for. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that former Falcons assistant general manager Scott Pioli is another name that could be a factor. Pioli held the Patriots vice president of player personnel position for nine years back from 2002-08, essentially helping to set the stage for the team’s eventual dynasty.

AFC Coaching Notes: Dickerson, Browns, Bills, Addae, Day, Chargers, Dolphins, Colts

February 9th, 2024 at 4:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns allowed Bill Callahan out of his $3MM-plus contract to join son Brian in Tennessee. Given Bill Callahan’s status as one of the NFL’s best O-line coaches, this left a void on Cleveland’s staff. The team will fill it with one of the candidates it interviewed for its OC post. Seahawks O-line coach Andy Dickerson will take the same position with the Browns, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets. Set to work under Ken Dorsey, Dickerson was one of the ex-Sean McVay staffers who followed Shane Waldron to Seattle. The Seahawks promoted Dickerson to their O-line coach in 2022. Upon removing Pete Carroll from his longtime HC post, the Seahawks let their assistants speak with other teams. Additionally, the Browns are adding Roy Istvan as their assistant O-line coach, per the Associated Press’ Tom Withers. Istvan was most recently the Eagles’ assistant O-line coach under acclaimed staffer Jeff Stoutland; Istvan had been in that role for five seasons.

Here is the latest from the AFC coaching ranks:

  • Recently retired safety Jahleel Addae will return to the NFL as a coach. The former Chargers starter will join the Bills as their cornerbacks coach, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel tweets. Addae, 34, had been on the Miami Hurricanes’ staff. Addae started 63 games during his nine-year career, with most of the starts coming as a Charger.
  • The Bills are not bringing back DBs coach John Butler, Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News tweets. Butler had been Buffalo’s DBs coach since 2018. With the Bills moving Bobby Babich to DC, some changes are being made. Another will be the hire of Matt Edwards as assistant D-line coach. The team recently bumped up Marcus West to D-line coach, replacing the departed Eric Washington. Edwards previously worked as a Raiders defensive assistant, concentrating on the team’s pass rush.
  • Shane Day is coming back to Los Angeles. Spending two seasons as the Chargers‘ QBs coach under Joe Lombardi, Day was with the Texans as a senior offensive assistant. Jim Harbaugh will bring Day back to the Bolts as their QBs coach, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Justin Herbert became the AFC’s Pro Bowl starter under Day in 2021, and Garafolo adds the star QB enjoyed working with Day. Though, Brandon Staley fired both Lombardi and Day following the Bolts’ wild-card collapse in Jacksonville. The veteran assistant was with the 49ers on two separate occasions, though neither was during Harbaugh’s San Francisco run.
  • The Chargers are also hiring Sanjay Lal as their wide receivers coach, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Lal has been coaching wide receivers in the NFL since the late 2000s. One of those tenures — 2015-16 with the Bills — overlapped with new Bolts OC Greg Roman. Lal was most recently the pass-game coordinator and WRs coach with the Seahawks.
  • Recent Titans assistant Ryan Crow will move to Miami. The Dolphins are hiring Crow as their outside linebackers coach, Breer adds. The Vikings, Seahawks and Giants showed interest as well, per Breer. The Browns also interviewed Crow last month, but he will instead work with the likes of Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips in Miami. Crow’s former boss, Shane Bowen, is now in New York, explaining the Giants’ interest. Crow will replace Ryan Slowik, who interviewed for the DC job that went to Anthony Weaver. But Slowik is set to stay with the Dolphins in a different capacity, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. The older brother of Texans OC Bobby Slowik, Ryan has been an NFL assistant for more than 15 years. Although Mike McDaniel hired him in 2022, the two were low-level staffers in Denver in 2005.
  • The Colts found their next D-line coach at the college level. Charlie Partridge, who spent the past seven seasons as Pitt’s D-line coach, will take the same position under Shane Steichen in Indianapolis, Fox59’s Mike Chappell notes. The former Florida Atlantic HC, Partridge has never coached in the NFL previously, spending more than 25 years in the college ranks. Partridge coached recent first-round pick Calijah Kancey at Pitt and was J.J. Watt‘s position coach at Wisconsin.

2024 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

February 9th, 2024 at 1:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a crowded carousel previously stopped, the 49ers opened their defensive coordinator position. Here is how the NFC champions’ search looks:

Updated 3-2-24 (10:00am CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Dave Ragone)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Ken Dorsey)

  • Joe Brady, interim offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (Bills): Hired
  • Thad Lewis, quarterbacks coach (Buccaneers): Interviewed

Carolina Panthers (Out: Thomas Brown)

  • Marcus Brady, senior offensive assistant (Eagles): Interview requested
  • Brad Idzik, wide receivers coach (Buccaneers): Hired

Chicago Bears (Out: Luke Getsy)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Brian Callahan)

  • Andy Dickerson, offensive line coach (Seahawks): To interview
  • Dan Pitcher, quarterbacks coach (Bengals): Promoted

Cleveland Browns (Out: Alex Van Pelt)

Las Vegas Raiders (Out: Mick Lombardi)

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Kellen Moore)

New England Patriots (Out: Bill O’Brien)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Pete Carmichael)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Brian Johnson)

  • Jerrod Johnson, quarterbacks coach (Texans): Interviewed
  • Kliff Kingsbury, senior offensive analyst (USC): Interviewed 1/23
  • Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator (Chargers): Hired

Pittsburgh Steelers (Out: Matt Canada)

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Shane Waldron)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Dave Canales)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Tim Kelly)

  • Nick Holz, passing game coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
  • Thad Lewis, quarterbacks coach (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • Eric Studesville, associate head coach/running backs coach (Dolphins): Interview requested

Washington Commanders (Out: Eric Bieniemy)

  • Chip Kelly, former head coach (Eagles/49ers): On team’s radar
  • Kliff Kingsbury, senior offensive analyst (USC): Hired

Defensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Ryan Nielsen)

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Mike Macdonald)

  • Zach Orr, inside linebackers coach (Ravens): Promoted

Buffalo Bills

  • Bobby Babich, linebackers coach (Bills): Promoted
  • Mike Caldwell, former defensive coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed
  • Sean Desai, former defensive coordinator (Eagles): To interview

Chicago Bears (Out: Alan Williams)

  • Joe Barry, former defensive coordinator (Packers): To interview 1/27
  • Chris Harris, secondary coach (Titans): To interview
  • Eric Washington, assistant head coach/defensive line coach (Bills): Hired
  • Terrell Williams, assistant head coach/defensive line coach (Titans): To interview

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Dan Quinn)

Green Bay Packers (Out: Joe Barry)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Mike Caldwell)

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Derrick Ansley)

  • Jesse Minter, defensive coordinator (Michigan): Hired

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Raheem Morris)

Miami Dolphins (Out: Vic Fangio)

New England Patriots

  • DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Patriots): Promoted
  • Michael Hodges, linebackers coach (Saints): To interview
  • Tem Lukabu, outside linebackers coach (Panthers): To interview
  • Christian Parker, defensive backs coach (Broncos): Interviewed

New York Giants (Out: Don Martindale)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Sean Desai)

  • Mike Caldwell, former defensive coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed
  • Vic Fangio, former defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Hired
  • Ron Rivera, former head coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/22

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Steve Wilks)

  • Gerald Alexander, safeties coach (Raiders): Interviewed 3/1
  • Daniel Bullocks, defensive backs coach (49ers): Interviewed 2/28
  • David Merritt, defensive backs coach (Chiefs): To interview
  • Nick Sorensen, defensive passing game specialist (49ers): Promoted
  • Brandon Staley, former head coach (Chargers): Interviewed

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Clint Hurtt)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Shane Bowen)

  • Brandon Lynch, cornerbacks coach (Browns): Interviewed 1/30
  • Dennard Wilson, defensive backs coach (Ravens): Hired

Washington Commanders (Out: Jack Del Rio)

  • Joe Cullen, defensive line coach (Chiefs): Considered a candidate
  • Joe Whitt, defensive backs coach (Cowboys): Hired

Dolphins To Interview OLBs Coach Ryan Slowik For DC Position; Team Meets With LBs Coach Anthony Campanile

January 29th, 2024 at 2:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

2:15pm: The Dolphins have also interviewed inside linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, Wilson reports. The 41-year-old has coaching experience on both sides of the ball dating back to his time in the college ranks, which included co-DC duties in 2018 with Boston College. Campanile spent one season as Michigan’s LBs coach before taking the same position with the Dolphins in 2020. He, like Slowik, will be a candidate for promotion.

11:40am: The Dolphins are among the teams in need of a new coordinator after DC Vic Fangio departed to take charge of the Eagles’ defense. Miami has looked outside the organization for replacement options, but the team will consider at least one internal candidate.

[RELATED: Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker]

The Dolphins are expected to interview outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik for their defensive coordinator position, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. Slowik joined the Dolphins’ staff last offseason after a number of stops at the NFL level. He has been an NFL staffer dating back to 2005, with the exception of a stint in the college ranks in 2017 and ’18.

The son of Bob Slowik and brother of Texans OC Bobby Slowik, Ryan has spent time with the Broncos, Cardinals, Jets, Browns and Dolphins. His tenures have seen him work with a number of position groups on defense, but his most common title has been OLBs coach. He has never worked as a defensive coordinator at the college of NFL levels.

Miami ranked third in the league in sacks in 2023 (Slowik’s first year in his current post), despite losing Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb to season-ending injuries midway through the campaign. The Dolphins’ defense was dealt a number of blows in the injury department late in the season, something which factored into the team’s Week 18 loss that dropped them out of the division lead as well as its wild-card defeat. Still, Slowik’s work as a member of Mike McDaniel‘s staff is sufficient to put him on the team’s radar for an interview.

Here is an updated look at the Dolphins’ DC search:

  • Bobby Babich, linebackers coach (Bills): Interview requested
  • Anthony Campanile, inside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interviewed
  • Ejiro Evero, defensive coordinator (Panthers): Interview blocked
  • Ryan Slowik, outside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interview expected
  • Brandon Staley, former head coach (Chargers): To interview

AFC Coaching Updates: Dolphins, Ravens, Titans, Jets, Patriots

March 31st, 2023 at 9:04pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins announced that they had finalized their 2023 coaching staff three weeks ago. We have reported this offseason on most of the major changes, but here are a few included in their announcement that are new.

On the offensive side of the ball, there were some updates to the team’s assistants. Ricardo Allen moved on to coaching shortly after retirement last year, taking a role as the Dolphins special teams assistant. This year, Allen has moved to the offensive assistant position. Another new offensive assistant, Mike Judge returns to a coaching role after spending some time in the personnel department. Miami will also give former NFL wideout Max McCaffrey his first NFL coaching position. McCaffrey will serve as an offensive assistant after time coaching wide receivers at Northern Colorado.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins hired Steve Donatell. The son of former Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell worked under his father last year and will serve as a defensive assistant with Miami. Lastly, the team has promoted Ryan Slowik, who served as a senior defensive assistant in 2022. In 2023, Slowik will be the Dolphins outside linebackers coach.

Here are a few other coaching updates from around the conference:

  • With Tee Martin moving to quarterbacks coach, the Ravens hired former Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis to fill the wide receivers coaching position, according to the team’s Twitter account. Lewis coached the position in Kansas City for four seasons before moving to running backs.
  • Leaving Baltimore will be former safety Anthony Levine, according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport. Levine had reportedly taken up a role with the Ravens as a scouting and coaching assistant after retiring but will now accept a role with the Titans as a special teams assistant. Tennessee will also bring on Tom Quinn as a special teams assistant and Matt Jones as an offensive line assistant.
  • The Jets have hired Shaq Wilson to fill their assistant defensive line coaching role, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. Former assistant defensive line coach Greg Scruggs became the defensive line coach at Wisconsin, so New York went to the college ranks that took him away to find Wilson at South Carolina.
  • The Patriots have also added a former college staffer in Keith Jones, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. The former Arkansas assistant spent time with New England during the 2022 training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship. Jones, who mostly worked with the Patriots’ defensive line, will be a coaching assistant in New England.

Coaching Rumors: Bills, Jags, Raiders, Ravens

January 10th, 2017 at 6:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Anthony Lynn has long been viewed as the favorite to take over as the Bills‘ head coach, team ownership has been extremely impressed by Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Indeed, Buffalo is now in something of a “holding pattern” as Lynn and McDermott interview elsewhere, tweets Vic Carrucci of the Buffalo News. Lynn has been linked to every head coaching job that remains open, while McDermott has drawn interest from the Chargers and 49ers in addition to the Bills, as PFR’s 2017 Head Coaching Search Tracker shows.

Here’s more on the 2017 hiring cycle:

  • The Jaguars will retain defensive coordinator Todd Wash under new head coach Doug Marrone, but nearly every other member of the defensive staff is being let go, reports Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Defensive assistant Mike Rutenberg is the only other defensive coach who will remain on board. Jacksonville had 24 coaches on staff at the end of the regular season, and that number figures to be reduced, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
  • Ken Norton Jr. will remain the Raiders‘ defensive coordinator, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Head coach Jack Del Rio assumed play-calling duties midway through the 2016 season, and Oakland ultimately finished 23rd in defensive DVOA. While Norton Jr. will stick around, defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson has been fired, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link).
  • Former Buffalo offensive coordinator Greg Roman could potentially join the Ravens staff in some undefined role, per La Canfora (all Twitter links). Baltimore recently announced that offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will return for the 2017 campaign, so Roman — who has remained in contact with head coach John Harbaugh — could join the Ravens in a run-game director capacity.
  • The Eagles have fired wide receivers coach Greg Lewis, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. Lewis spent just one season as a coach with Philadelphia (after having spent the 2003-08 seasons with the club as a player). Current Bills WRs coach Sanjay Lal is of “strong interest” to the Eagles, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Browns announced that they’ve begun to restructure their defensive staff under new coordinator Gregg Williams, parting ways with defensive backs coach Louie Cioffi, inside linebackers coach Johnny Holland, assistant defensive backs coach Cannon Matthews, and outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik. Cleveland also fired offensive line coach Hal Hunter.

Browns Add Eight To Coaching Staff

February 8th, 2016 at 5:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns continued to fill out their coaching staff Monday, with Hue Jackson announcing the hiring of eight coaches to work for him during his first season in Cleveland, according to a report on the team’s website.

All of which are position coaches or other assistants after the Browns announced more than two weeks ago the additions of Ray Horton, Pep Hamilton and several others.

Here’s the full list of coaches and their respective titles.

  • Rock Cartwright, offensive quality control
  • Louie Cioffi, defensive backs
  • Ken Delgado, assistant defensive line
  • Johnny Holland, inside linebackers
  • Cannon Matthews, assistant defensive backs
  • Robert Nunn, defensive line
  • Eric Sanders, defensive quality control
  • Ryan Slowik, outside linebackers

Cioffi served in the same position under Horton during his previous one-year stint as the Browns’ defensive coordinator in 2013. Cioffi’s worked with Horton in 10 of his 21 seasons.

Nunn was the Giants’ defensive line coach from 2010-15, collecting a Super Bowl ring in guiding the NASCAR package-powered team to the 2011 championship.

Slowik served as the Jets’ defensive line coach last season.

AFC North Notes: Browns, Benjamin, Ravens

January 25th, 2016 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

When the Browns hired Paul DePodesta away from the New York Mets, there was an assumption from observers and fans that Cleveland would be relying more heavily on an analytics-based approach going forward. However, that’s not exactly the case, as executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown explains (link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).

“We have a talented analytics group already in place,” Brown said. “Paul’s strength, to us, was the ability to think about, build, execute on putting together championship-caliber organizations. He understands people. He understands processes. He understands standards and accountability. His talents aren’t limited to analytics That’s really what Paul’s role is here — to help us set a vision, set strategies, execute on those, keep us on strategy and aligned.”

Here’s more on the Browns and one of their AFC North rivals:

  • The Browns are adding former Jets assistant Ryan Slowik to their coaching staff, according to Doug Samuels of FootballScoop (Twitter link). Alex Marvez of FOX Sports adds (via Twitter) that Slowik will become Cleveland’s outside linebackers coach.
  • Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com wonders if the Browns’ new decision-makers will be more inclined to sign the team’s own free agents than previous regimes have been. Grossi also identifies a handful of potential free agents who Cleveland should try to bring back, including wide receiver Travis Benjamin.
  • Although Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has said he’d like to add two receivers this offseason, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun believes the club would be satisfied with one, assuming that player is a high draft pick or an established veteran. Zrebiec also notes that, given the Ravens’ fondness for compensatory picks, the team is more likely to sign a receiver who is cut by another team, rather than a true unrestricted free agent.

Coach/Exec Notes: Nolan, Gamble, 49ers, Jets

January 29th, 2015 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Executives around the NFL are looking forward to seeing Josh McDaniels‘ game plan for the Patriots this Sunday against the Seahawks, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, who says that a Pats win would boost McDaniels’ stock and make him one of the top head coaching candidates in the league a year from now. The New England offensive coordinator drew interest from teams seeking a head coach over the past month, though those clubs ultimately went in other directions.

Let’s check out a few more items from around the NFL relating to coaching staffs and front offices….

  • Former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan has joined the Chargers as the team’s linebackers coach, replacing Joe Barry, the team announced today in a press release. With Barry heading to Washington to take a defensive coordinator job, San Diego adds a coach in Nolan who has plenty of experience as a DC himself, including the last three seasons in Atlanta. If there was any lingering doubt that Dan Quinn would bring in his own coordinator when he takes over the Falcons‘ job, that doubt was dispelled with the Chargers’ announcement.
  • Mere weeks after he was let go by the Eagles, personnel executive Tom Gamble is returning to San Francisco. The 49ers announced today that their former director of player personnel is rejoining the organization as a senior personnel executive. The announcement of Gamble’s hiring comes on the same day the Eagles confirmed that they were promoting Ed Marynowitz to Gamble’s old position in Philadelphia.
  • The Jets made a pair of announcements today, naming ex-Bears scout Rex Hogan as their director of college scouting and formally hiring three more position coaches – Jimmie Johnson (TEs coach), Daylon McCutcheon (DBs assistant), and Ryan Slowik (DL assistant) – to Todd Bowles‘ staff.