Latest On Dolphins’ Front Office
Former general manager Dennis Hickey, whom the Dolphins parted with Saturday, had his role diminished in 2015 to that of a scouting director, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link). With Hickey gone, there are sure to be more changes forthcoming to Miami’s front office, Jeff Darlington of NFL.com reports.
Those changes could involve executive vice president of football administration Dawn Aponte, though she has a fan in owner Stephen Ross. However, her specialties (namely the CBA and salary cap) might soon fall under the purview of executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, who is in position to become the franchise’s football czar. Despite that, Ross won’t let her go easily, Darlington writes.
Regardless of what happens with Aponte, the organization wants its all-time best player, Dan Marino, to take on a larger role. For his part, Marino – currently a special consultant to president and CEO Tom Garfinkel – is reluctant because of the commitment that would come with a higher ranking within the franchise. Nevertheless, the Dolphins do highly value the opinions of both Marino and vice chairman of the board Matt Higgins.
On the subject of the team’s coaching search, Breer tweets that Miami would be willing to let its next coach bring a personnel man with him. That goes hand in hand with Darlington’s notion that Tannenbaum would be open to decreasing some of his own power over the roster if it means hiring the right GM. If the Dolphins stay in house to hire their next GM, it’s likely to be director of college scouting Chris Grier. That would benefit Tannenbaum, who does not diligently scout players. Whether Grier or someone else becomes the GM, the Dolphins are cognizant that they need to put greater emphasis on scouting.
Of course, it remains to be seen whom the Dolphins will choose as their next GM and head coach. Two things are certain: Interim coach Dan Campbell won’t get promoted to the full-time role, per Darlington, and the team will enter its respective searches with Tannenbaum fully in control, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
Dolphins, GM Dennis Hickey Part Ways
SATURDAY, 7:10pm: The Dolphins and Hickey have parted ways, Salguero reports. Grier is likely to take Hickey’s place.
On Hickey’s departure, Tannenbaum said, “I want to thank Dennis for his work over the last two years. We talked about a number of different possibilities, but at the end we reached this agreement. I have a great deal of respect for what he accomplished here and wish Dennis and his family well.”
Hickey also issued a statement, which in part reads: “Over the past week, I have had a number of conversations with the Dolphins organization about my role in the team. Ultimately the Dolphins and I agreed that it would be best if we parted ways. I will always be proud of our accomplishments in Miami including many key additions to the team through the draft and free agency.”
FRIDAY, 2:19pm: After another disappointing season in Miami, the Dolphins are expected to fire general manager Dennis Hickey on Monday, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Another source tells Florio that although discussions are ongoing regarding Hickey’s fate, nothing has yet been finalized. Meanwhile, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that while no decision has been made, it’s unlikely that Hickey will be retained.
Hickey was named the club’s general manager prior to the 2014 season after Miami conducted a lengthy search. The former Buccaneers executive had a largely successful first year with the Dolphins — he hit on draft picks Ja’Wuan James and Jarvis Landry, and made smart free agent decisions, bringing in Branden Albert and re-signing Brent Grimes.
But Hickey has been largely marginalized since his hiring, as he notably was not able to select his own head coach, having been assigned Joe Philbin. Additionally, the Dolphins hired ex-Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum as something of a football operations czar, further lessening Hickey’s impact. Tannenbaum took the lead on the club’s free agency and draft decisions, leaving it unclear as to exactly what Hickey’s role was.
According to Florio, Tannenbaum won’t name himself as Miami’s new GM (whether or not that has any material impact is unclear, given that Tannenbaum already wields total control of football matters). One key name to watch in the upcoming general manager search, a source tells Florio, is Dolphins director of college scouting Chris Grier, who was a candidate for both the Jets and Eagles GM vacancies last offseason.
Meanwhile, in a letter to season ticket holders (and passed along by Salguero), Dolphins owner Stephen Ross expressed his disappointment with the club’s results this season, and pledged that the team has already identified “several promising candidates” in it search for a head coach (a search, it should be noted, that will be lead by Tannenbaum). Interim head coach Dan Campbell will be granted an interview, per the letter, while any mention of Hickey was notably omitted altogether.
AFC Rumors: Dolphins, Browns
The latest on a couple of AFC teams that are on the cusp of major overhauls:
- Doug Marrone and Jim Schwartz were the head coach and defensive coordinator, respectively, of a 2014 Bills team that finished 9-7. They could reunite soon in the same roles for the AFC East rival Dolphins, multiple sources have told the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero (Twitter link). Marrone, who is currently an assistant in Jacksonville, was the Jets’ offensive line coach in 2002-05. Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum was also with the Jets then, as Salguero notes (on Twitter), so Tannenbaum and Marrone are familiar with one another. Further, the Tannenbaum-led Dolphins reached out to Schwartz earlier this season when the team fired defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.
- In other important Dolphins news, they could soon name director of college scouting Chris Grier their next general manager, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. They’ll first have to fire current GM Dennis Hickey, which appears likely. If the Dolphins do ax Hickey, they’ll be able to quickly promote Grier – a minority candidate – instead of having to follow the Rooney Rule process.
- Significant changes to both the Browns’ front office and coaching staff seem imminent, as the team is expected to fire general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. As a result, names that will be connected to the club in the coming days include Adam Gase, Tom Cable and the aforementioned Doug Marrone as head coaching candidates and Green Bay executive Eliot Wolf as a GM possibility (via ESPNCleveland.com’s Tony Grossi on Twitter). Interestingly, if the Browns hire Gase, their quarterback next season could be Peyton Manning, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Gase and Manning worked closely together in Denver from 2012-14.
Chargers Expected To Retain Mike McCoy
SATURDAY, 5:55pm: In an unexpected turn of events, it appears the Chargers will retain McCoy, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Chargers’ hierarchy is confident in McCoy, per Gehlken, and president of football operations John Spanos will make a final decision Monday. Spanos, Telesco and McCoy have a good working relationship, Gehlken notes. That should help McCoy’s chances. Moreover, he has the support of franchise quarterback Philip Rivers.
“Mike’s not the problem,” Rivers said Friday. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, if it was another head coach who wasn’t Mike, this team would’ve done that.’ Nah. That’s crazy. That’s a crazy assessment.”
FRIDAY, 8:40pm: Sunday’s game in Denver will be Mike McCoy‘s last as the head coach of the Chargers, multiple sources have told Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link).
Until now, reports regarding McCoy’s lack of job security have only come in sporadically. In November, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that general manager Tom Telesco would remain with the Chargers and, if changes were going to be made in the offseason, they’d happen on the coaching staff. The first part has proven true, as CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora revealed earlier this month that Telesco was safe after signing a multiyear extension with the Chargers during the summer. Similar to Acee, La Canfora also noted that McCoy was on the hot seat.
McCoy, who joined the Chargers in 2013 with Telesco, helped the Bolts to consecutive winning campaigns (including a playoff appearance and a victory in ’13) in his first two years, but the team has taken a significant step back this season. The Chargers enter Sunday at 4-11, guaranteeing McCoy a sub-.500 mark (22-25) if his tenure with the club ends.
Christian Hackenberg To Enter 2016 NFL Draft
We learned earlier this week that college quarterbacks Jared Goff (California), Paxton Lynch (Memphis) and Cardale Jones (Ohio State) will enter the 2016 NFL Draft. Joining them will be fellow signal caller Christian Hackenberg, who announced Saturday that he’ll forgo his final season at Penn State in favor of the pros (Twitter link via Onward State). Hackenberg is currently rated as the fifth-best QB in this year’s class, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay (link via ESPN’s Jared Shanker).
Hackenberg, who will turn 21 in February, was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school and ultimately garnered extensive experience at Penn State. The 6-foot-4, 228-pounder started 38 games and attempted nearly 1,300 passes in three seasons as a Nittany Lion, with whom he tossed 48 touchdowns against 30 interceptions. Hackenberg’s accuracy was an issue throughout his time at Penn State, where he never finished a season with better than a 58.9 percent completion rate and concluded 2015 at a personal-worst 53.3. One contributing factor was an offensive line whose struggles aided in opposing defenses sacking Hackenberg 82 times (most in the nation) over the past two years.
Hackenberg’s Penn State career ended in less-than-ideal fashion Saturday in the team’s 24-17 loss to Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl. He left the game early with a sprained right shoulder after completing 8 of 14 passes for 139 yards and an interception, but Penn State head coach James Franklin said afterward that the injury isn’t serious (link via Dan Parr of NFL.com).
In addition to Hackenberg, Penn State will also lose defensive tackle Austin Johnson. The potential first- or second-rounder declared Saturday that he’ll forgo his senior year to turn pro, according to Jordan Rodrigue of the Centre Daily Times.
Jaguars Rumors: Caldwell, Henne, Wisniewski
As opposed to this past year when the Jaguars extended numerous free agent offers and signed many early in the offseason, their next shopping period won’t be as frenzied.
The Jags won’t have as much money as they did last year and a slight on-field improvement doesn’t leave as many holes to fill, GM Dave Caldwell told the Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran.
“I think it’s going to be tough,” Caldwell told O’Halloran on the upcoming market. “But for us, we can really start to narrow down our needs. In the past, we were just trying to get guys come in and plug holes. Now, we can focus on what our 4-5 areas of needs are and be aggressive instead of saying, ‘Shoot, we have 16 or 18 needs so let’s see who we can get.”
Caldwell said Jacksonville will have “one to two” targets on Day 1 of free agency, which is March 15.
As of now, the Jags possess $43.14MM of cap space, which is fourth in the league behind the Raiders, Bears and Buccaneers. O’Halloran expects the team to release Chris Clemons and Toby Gerhart, clearing up an additional $7.5MM.
Here are some more notes from the Southern franchises.
- The Jaguars will likely offer Chad Henne a contract paying him around the $3.5MM-per-year deal he’s finishing Sunday, O’Halloran notes. In a piece detailing the team’s roster going into 2016, O’Halloran expects Marcedes Lewis to remain with the Jaguars. This runs counter to the logic that dictated the longtime tight end would be jettisoned after Julius Thomas‘ lucrative accord, but a thin tight end class and the 10th-year player accepting his backup role, in O’Halloran’s view, looks to keep him in Jacksonville. Lewis, though, will be a free agent entering his age-32 season off of a campaign that’s thus far included just 15 receptions for 181 yards and no scores.
- Stefen Wisniewski‘s status in Jacksonville is uncertain after the fifth-year center signed a one-year pact late during last year’s free agency. The former Raiders snapper said he’s “open to anything” in terms of a return to the Jaguars, Vito Stellino of the Times-Union reports. Wisniewski rates as Pro Football Focus’ No. 18 center.
- Jacksonville wouldn’t be smart to allocate any resources to adding wideout help, either in free agency or the draft, Hays Carlyon of the Times-Union writes. Both Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns under contract for two more seasons on incredibly affordable deals, and backups Rashad Greene and Marqise Lee remain projects.
Latest On Chargers’ Los Angeles Pursuit
The Chargers and San Diego may be on incompatible timelines.
A looming June 2016 election will have a significant impact on whether San Diego can invest in a new stadium, but the Los Angeles relocation matter may be decided by then, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
San Diego’s latest proposal hinges on $350MM coming from the city, but a public vote scheduled for June will determine whether that money is available. The league’s relocation meeting comes in less than two weeks.
Funding for a prospective new Chargers venue costing upwards of $1.1 billion would, per this plan, come from the NFL providing $200MM, the Chargers paying $363MM and personal seat license sales accounting for $187MM.
As Florio notes, in the unlikely event the Chargers decide to wait on this vote passing, the measure failing to do so could well mean the Chargers would be shut out of the Los Angeles race and forced to remain in their near-50-year-old stadium. But with the Chargers very much in the LA pursuit, such passivity would be unexpected.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke is reportedly pushing for a one-year delay in this derby in hopes of this June vote showing the Chargers have a more viable stadium plan than the Rams do in St. Louis, Florio offers. St. Louis, however, appears further along than San Diego or Oakland in its stadium efforts.
The Chargers not waiting and securing approval to relocate Jan. 13 would mean San Diego would be voting on the above legislation to lure another team to the city.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/2/16
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Saints promoted fullback Toben Opurum to their active roster to fill the vacant roster spot created when they sent Kendall Hunter to injured reserve, ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett, on Twitter) reports. The 25-year-old Operum’s spent time with the Saints and Texans this season, appearing only in the Saints’ Week 1 loss to the Cardinals.
Lions Put Travis Swanson On IR
Travis Swanson‘s first season as a full-time starter will end prematurely, with Tim Twentyman of Lions.com reporting the Lions sent their starting center to injured reserve.
Detroit promoted defensive lineman Kerry Hyder from their practice squad to fill the roster spot.
The Lions ruled out Swanson on Friday with a shoulder injury. A second-year player, Swanson started all 14 games for which he dressed after breaking with the first unit in five of 16 games last season.
The former third-round pick beat out trade acquisition Manuel Ramirez for the starting center position but didn’t impress in his first full season up front, according to Pro Football Focus, which rated Swanson as its No. 33 overall center.
An ex-UDFA, Hyder will ascend to the 53-man roster due to Jason Jones entering Week 17 with a doubtful designation. The team opted for Hyder over 2014 fourth-round pick Larry Webster, per Twentyman, as its 11th-hour defensive front call-up from the taxi squad.
49ers Send Michael Wilhoite To IR
A rebuilding 49ers season will end with another starter unavailable for Week 17 action after the team sent linebacker Michael Wilhoite to injured reserve, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports.
San Francisco’s corresponding move comes in the form of backup running back Mike Davis being activated from IR-DTR.
Despite being an undrafted free agent from Division II Washburn, Wilhoite’s started 28 games for the 49ers the past two seasons.
The 29-year-old inside linebacker’s 2015 season, however, has been an uphill struggle, per Pro Football Focus. The advanced-metrics site rates Wilhoite as the league’s worst linebacker.
Davis played in five games this year, the most recent coming in Week 8 against the Rams. Prior to suffering a broken hand, the fourth-round rookie didn’t make much progress, gaining 24 yards on 25 carries as a backup. Per Barrows, Davis runs the risk of becoming the first running back since ex-Chiefs committee cog Donnell Bennett, who gained 24 yards on 27 totes in 2000, to average fewer than one yard per carry.