Jets Hire Two Former Pittsburgh Staffers
As Jets head coach Aaron Glenn continues to shuffle his staff in Year 2, he added a pair of former Steelers staffers freed up by expiring contracts and the departure of Mike Tomlin from Pittsburgh. He also looked at an internal candidate to fill a vacant role on his defensive staff.
On Wednesday, New York announced that Karl Dunbar would be trading out his black and yellow for green and white as the Jets’ new defensive line coach. Dunbar should be fairly familiar with the role, considering he held it from 2012-14. In addition to his two stints with the Jets, the veteran 58-year-old assistant has held DL coaching roles with college powerhouses LSU and Alabama and the Bears, Vikings, Bills, and Steelers in the NFL.
A five-year stint in Minnesota saw him build the “Williams Wall,” coaching interior defenders Kevin Williams and Pat Williams on the league’s best run defense for three straight seasons. Arriving in Pittsburgh the year after Cameron Heyward‘s first first-team All-Pro season, Dunbar’s defensive lines with the Steelers became notorious for bringing pressure as other contributors like Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Chris Wormley, Keeanu Benton, and Derrick Harmon all scheduled frequent meetings at the quarterback over his eight-year tenure.
Joining Dunbar in the trip from Pittsburgh is tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts who, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, will be assuming the same role in New York. Roberts started his coaching career working two years at FAU as running backs coach and spending two more with the Owls coaching wide receivers. After that, apart from a single 2016 season in which he coached tight ends at Indiana’s high school powerhouse Carmel, the 60-year-old assistant has enjoyed a 22-year career as an NFL coach. Aside from a three-year stint as a running backs coach with the Chargers, his NFL career has been spent solely as a tight ends coach with stops at Jacksonville, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.
He’s coached such veterans as Marcedes Lewis in Jacksonville, Kellen Winslow in both Cleveland and Tampa Bay, Dallas Clark, Coby Fleener, and Dwayne Allen in Indianapolis, Hunter Henry in Los Angeles, and Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Jonnu Smith in Pittsburgh. He’ll take over a position room that should return talented rookie Mason Taylor in 2026.
Lastly in New York, as the Jets looks to replace linebackers coach Aaron Curry, one of several departures shortly after the end of the 2025 season, Glenn has opted to interview Nathaniel Willingham for a potential promotion, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The son of storied collegiate head coach Tyrone Willingham, Nathaniel first came to the NFL as a quality control coach for the Broncos in 2019 after a four-year stint at Stanford. He joined the Jets in 2022 as a defensive assistant, was promoted to defensive backs/nickelbacks coach in 2024, and was retained as assistant linebackers coach last year. He’ll how hope to earn his way back to a position coaching role under Glenn for 2026.
Steelers TE Darnell Washington Unlikely To Play Signficant Role In 2023
The Steelers added an intriguing member to their tight end group during the draft by selecting Darnell Washington. Their incumbents at the position appear likely to delay his ascent into a significant role as a rookie, however. 
Washington was one of several members of a celebrated TE class in 2023 after his three-year career at Georgia. He won a pair of national titles with the Bulldogs, and set new personal marks in receptions (28), yards (454) and touchdowns (two) in 2022. The 6-7, 270-pounder’s draft stock was aided primarily by his high degree of success as a run-blocker, though, and that will no doubt be his path to playing time early in his NFL career.
Pittsburgh has 2021 second-rounder Pat Freiermuth in place as their top pass-catching tight end. The 24-year-old recorded 732 yards last season, the sixth-highest figure in the NFL at the position. He will be complimented by veteran Zach Gentry, whose strength as a run blocker earned him a one-year deal in free agency to remain with the Steelers. The presence of those two will lead to a slow approach on the team’s part as it pertains to Washington.
“It takes a little bit of pressure off Darnell because of what you’ve got in that room,” tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts said, via Joe Rutter of TribLive.com. “As he comes in, he can come in slowly and be allowed to grow. As he does that, I think he can be a real problem for people to handle.”
Washington, 21, saw his draft stock take a hit due to a foot injury, but his stellar Combine performance convinced the Steelers to add him to an already young skill-position group. Many tight ends shoulder small workloads in their rookie campaigns, and the depth at the position in Pittsburgh will give the team the luxury of time in developing Washington. His long-term potential remains intriguing given his size and athleticism, though.
His former Georgia teammate, left tackle Broderick Jones, is likewise in danger of beginning the 2023 season out of the starting lineup. The latter faces considerable expectations after the Steelers traded up to select him in the first round, but veteran Dan Moore impressed during the spring. Padded practices will commence during training camp, giving Washington an opportunity to earn a larger workload ahead of his rookie season.
Extra Points: Chargers, 49ers, Bills, Bucs
The NFL is “besides itself” over the Chargers’ choice to exit San Diego in favor of Los Angeles last week, a league source told Adam Schefter of ESPN. “There are a ton of owners very upset that [the Chargers] moved,” said another source, who interestingly added the league hopes Chargers owner Dean Spanos realizes he “bungled” the situation and moves the team back to San Diego. Unsurprisingly, the chances of that happening are rather slim, Schefter notes.
More from LA and several other NFL cities:
- It looks as though the 49ers are “making a huge offer” to reel in Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator, tweets Drew Copley of CBS47. That jibes with Sporting News’ Alex Marvez report from earlier Friday that there’s “buzz” regarding a Kyle Shanahan-Bradley ticket in San Francisco and runs contrary to the notion that Bradley would’ve only gone to the Niners had they hired Tom Cable as their head coach.
- The Bills announced Friday that wide receiver Sammy Watkins underwent foot surgery for the second time and will be unavailable until training camp. Watkins’ foot was an issue throughout the 2016 campaign, as the three-year veteran sat out eight games and played injured during the other eight en route to a 28-catch, 430-yard, two-touchdown showing. Like Watkins, Bills pass rusher Shaq Lawson also had surgery – on his knee. Lawson’s procedure was minor and won’t keep him from participating in offseason activites. The 2016 first-round pick from Clemson missed six games as a rookie after undergoing shoulder surgery and didn’t make a significant impact during his initial 10 NFL contests (13 tackles, two sacks).
- With $65MM-plus in cap space, the Buccaneers will prioritize re-signing their own soon-to-be free agents before the market opens, general manager Jason Licht revealed Friday (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). “We have a track record of rewarding our players that produce, keeping key players that thrive in the system and we have the salary cap flexibility to make it happen,” said Licht. In light of Licht’s statement, Stroud expects the Bucs to make an effort to retain defensive end William Gholston and Jacquies Smith, wide receiver Russell Shepard and cornerback Josh Robinson.
- Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan had surgery to repair “loose bodies” in his left elbow, he informed John Keim of ESPN.com. Kerrigan, who injured his elbow Dec. 19, will need six to eight weeks to recover. The 28-year-old is coming off his second Pro Bowl season, in which he piled up 11 sacks. Kerrigan hasn’t finished with fewer than 7.5 sacks in any of his six seasons.
- The Chargers will hire Alfredo Roberts as their running backs coach, per Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll replace Ollie Wilson, who had been with the Chargers for 14 years. Roberts and new Bolts head coach Anthony Lynn will now work together for a third time – the two were previously on the same staffs in Cleveland and Jacksonville.
Coach Notes: Dolphins, Gase, Raiders, 49ers
The Dolphins announced on Tuesday evening that they have completed head coaching interviews with former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
The Dolphins have several more candidates lined up this week, including Bills assistant head coach Anthony Lynn, former Bills head coach Doug Marrone, and their own interim head coach Dan Campbell. However, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald hears that, at the start of the search, team owner Stephen Ross‘s favorite candidate is Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who is scheduled to meet with Miami on Thursday.
Having seen multiple coaches with previous head coaching experience fail in Miami over the last decade or so, Salguero is unconvinced that Gase is the right man for the job, suggesting that the Dolphins need a more seasoned NFL coach for the role. As we wait to see if the team agrees with that assessment and passes on Gase in favor of someone with more experience, let’s round up a few more Wednesday morning coaching notes…
- Speaking of Gase, the Eagles confirmed that they interviewed the Bears offensive coordinator for their head coaching position on Tuesday. Per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Tuesday’s marathon meeting lasted for about eight hours.
- A year after Jack Del Rio took over as the team’s head coach, the Raiders don’t plan to make any changes to his coaching staff, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- There’s a good chance that the 49ers‘ new head coach will be a quarterback-friendly, offensive-minded candidate, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. A few of the candidates already linked to the Niners, including Sean Payton, Hue Jackson, and Mike Shanahan, definitely fit that bill.
- After firing defensive coordinator Greg Manusky on Tuesday, the Colts also parted ways with tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts and secondary coaches Mike Gillhamer and Roy Anderson, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- Earlier today, we recapped the latest updates on the Giants‘ head coaching search.
Zach Links contributed to this post.