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Author: Ben Levine

Vikings Eyeing Ejiro Evero For DC Job

By | at February 3, 2023 9:33 pm

FEBRUARY 3: The Vikings have put in a request to interview Evero, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). That comes as little surprise, given their interest already shown in him, but it remains to be seen if the Broncos will allow him to meet and discuss what would be a lateral move. If they do, Minnesota would presumably become a leading contender for the highly sought-after staffer’s services.

FEBRUARY 1: The Vikings are treading lightly with their defensive coordinator search just in case one of their preferred candidates becomes available. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert (on Twitter), the Vikings are waiting to see if they can get an interview with Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler hints on Twitter that Evero would be a top candidate for Minnesota’s DC vacancy.

[RELATED: Broncos Want Sean Payton To Retain Ejiro Evero]

The Vikings have been seeking a new defensive coordinator after moving on from Ed Donatell after the season. Seahawks defensive assistant Sean Desai, Steelers linebackers coach Brian Flores, Vikings defensive assistant Mike Pettine, and Saints co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen (who has since landed in Atlanta) have been mentioned as candidates for the vacancy. There haven’t been many developments regarding the interview process for a week.

Minnesota may be hard pressed to coax the Broncos into granting an interview. Denver previously blocked Evero from interviewing for the Falcons defensive coordinator gig since it would have been a lateral move. That was before the Broncos had clarity at head coach, and with Sean Payton now running the show, it remains to be seen if Evero will still be sticking around Denver.

For what it’s worth, we heard earlier today that Broncos brass was pushing Payton to keep Evero on the coaching staff. Besides the blocked interview with the Falcons, the Broncos organization has continually shown how much they value the coach. After being brought on to lead the defense last year, he was offered the interim HC role following the firing of Nathaniel Hackett. Evero declined that role out of respect for his ousted good friend, but it’s still clear that the front office values the coach.

Despite injuries and the loss of Bradley Chubb, the Broncos defense still ranked 10th in defensive DVOA and seventh in total defense this past season. As a result, the 42-year-old became a hot name on the head coaching market, and Evero ultimately interviewed for all five HC vacancies. He’s still still a candidate for the Colts and Cardinals head coaching jobs, moves that the Broncos wouldn’t be able to block.

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Todd Monken, Justin Outten Set For Second Ravens OC Interviews

By | at February 3, 2023 9:21 am

FEBRUARY 3: Monken has reached the second-interview stage with the Ravens, who are going through a thorough search to fill their offensive coordinator post. The Ravens will meet with the Georgia OC for a second time Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Monken joins Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales and Justin Outten as finalists for the Ravens’ play-calling position.

Outten, who made the leap from Packers tight ends coach to Broncos OC last year, has also advanced to the finals of this pursuit, Garafolo adds (on Twitter). That meeting is expected for next week. The Broncos’ 32nd-ranked offense has thus far not hurt the key principals behind that attack, with Nathaniel Hackett landing the Jets’ OC job and Outten in play to replace Roman. The Broncos initially passed over Outten for play-calling duties; Hackett gave QBs coach Klint Kubiak the reins amid the offense’s persistent struggles. But Outten called Denver’s plays in the final two weeks.

JANUARY 28: For the second straight year, the Ravens could turn to the college ranks to fill a coordinator vacancy. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter), the Ravens interviewed Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken for their own OC job this week.

[RELATED: Bucs To Interview Georgia OC Todd Monken]

Monken had recent stints as the Buccaneers and Browns offensive coordinator before joining Georgia as their offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2020. Per Pelissero, the 56-year-old has been looking to return to the NFL, and he should have a good opportunity this offseason. We heard yesterday that the Buccaneers also interviewed Monken for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

Monken was a potential NFL head coach candidate in 2019. Following his one-and-done stint in Cleveland, he joined a Georgia squad that has since won back-to-back national championships. Georgia has ranked as a top-10 offense nationally in each of the past two seasons, and the SEC powerhouse is paying the coach accordingly; per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud (on Twitter), Monken earns the highest salary among college assistants ($2.01MM).

The Ravens and OC Greg Roman parted ways following the team’s playoff loss. A number of names have emerged as potential candidates for the open positoon, including:

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Patriots Notes: Coaching, Meyers, Lawing

By | at February 2, 2023 9:23 pm

The Patriots offense was in disarray in 2022, and Andrew Callahan and Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald provided us with a peek behind the dysfunctional curtain. According to the report, the Patriots’ season was filled with tension on the offensive side of the ball, particularly between Mac Jones and coach Joe Judge.

The issues started in the spring, when Jones irked Patriots brass by indicating that he would be teaching the offense to his new quarterbacks coach. While the players and coaches would ultimately work together “in good faith,” the team was unable to overcome the shortcomings of Judge and de facto offensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The duo tried a simplified approach to Sean McVay’s offense in Los Angeles, but this resulted in an incomplete and underwhelming catalogue of plays.

“A lot of guys were getting worried because when we were in the middle of camp, we were wondering what the plan was for our offense. Because we hadn’t put enough install in,” a source told the Boston Herald. “We had a couple protections, a couple core run plays, but our pass game didn’t have much in it.”

While Patricia seemed to garner most of the criticism, the Boston Herald points a finger at Judge. Bill Belichick would later phase Judge out of the offense, but not before frustrations boiled over. Per the report, both Jones and Belichick got into shouting matches with the former special teams coordinator, and there were even occasions where positional coaches would have to correct Judge’s mistakes.

Ultimately, the relationships that underpinned “the offense became so strained, they engendered internal doubt” about Belichick’s decision making. The head coach was quick to make changes following the season; shortly after announcing that they’d be conducting an offensive coordinator search, the Patriots hired Bill O’Brien to fill the role. Still, both Judge and Patricia are expected to be back in 2023.

More notes out of New England…

  • Speaking of, Belichick had a much larger role on offense than he let on, according to Albert Breer of SI.com. The head coach was “active on the headsets” during games, providing the same “oversight over the offense that he’d traditionally had over the defense.” Belichick even had a stint “moonlighting” as the offensive play-caller, which resulted in the offense occasionally looking “messy from an operational standpoint.”
  • For what it’s worth, Patricia’s contract has expired, according to Breer. This provides the coach with an open opportunity to pursue a different role elsewhere, something he may consider since he’s already facing a reduced role in New England. Tight ends coach Nick Caley also has an expiring contract, but Breer says the coach still has a chance to return to New England. Caley has received several OC interviews, including an interview for the Patriots job.
  • Top receiver Jakobi Meyers played through a small tear in his knee this past year, per Callahan and Guregian. Despite the inconsistent Patriots offense, Meyers continued to produce in 2022, topping 800 receiving yards for the second-straight season while also establishing a new career-high in touchdown receptions (six). The former undrafted free agent is set to hit free agency this offseason and should be in line for a significant pay day as one of the top available players at his position.
  • O’Brien is already starting to add to his new offensive staff. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter), the Patriots are adding Will Lawing to their offensive staff. The 37-year-old coach has worked alongside O’Brien at multiple stops, including Penn State, Alabama, and the Texans. Lawing held multiple roles during his time in the NFL, including tight ends coach. He spent the past two seasons as an offensive analyst at Alabama.
6 comments New England Patriots

Bills May Have To Choose Between LB Tremaine Edmunds, S Jordan Poyer

By | at February 2, 2023 8:34 pm

The Bills are going to have some difficult decisions to make during free agency. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, the Bills have “confronted the reality that it’s going to be tough” to retain both linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and safety Jordan Poyer.

The Bills already have $240MM on the books for the 2023 campaign, and they’ve previously invested in sizable contracts at both linebacker (Matt Milano) and safety (Micah Hyde). As a result, the cash-strapped Bills will be hard pressed to find the necessary cap space to retain both of their key free agents, leading to a difficult choice as they prepare for the offseason.

ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg writes that the Bills “appear more likely to re-sign Edmunds than Poyer.” Edmunds’ impact on both the passing game and running game is invaluable, and while Poyer also brings top-notch production, the Bills would have a more difficult time replacing Edmunds’ production on defense. The linebacker has spent his entire career in Buffalo after being selected in the first round of the 2018 draft. The two-time Pro Bowler finished with his fifth 100-tackle season in 2022, adding six tackles for loss and seven passes defended. GM Brandon Beane acknowledged that the franchise tag could be in play for the impending free agent.

Poyer completed his sixth season with the Bills in 2022, finishing with 63 tackles and four interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl selection. The veteran earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2021 after finishing with five interceptions and three sacks. After signing a four-year contract with the organization back in 2017, he inked a two-year extension with the Bills in 2020. Beane previously expressed interest in retaining Poyer, although he cautioned that the organization will need clarity on the cap before knowing how to proceed.

Last offseason, the Bills made one of the biggest splashes when they inked Von Miller to a mega-deal.. This time around, the Bills aren’t expecting as many fireworks. Beane previously told reporters that he’s not anticipating a major move at any point this offseason, admitting that they’re instead going to “have to work to get under the cap.”

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49ers OL Trent Williams Considering Retirement?

By | at February 2, 2023 7:30 pm

Eyeing his 14th professional season, 49ers offensive lineman Trent Williams is considering hanging up his cleats. Following another deep playoff run that ended in disappointment, the 49ers All-Pro offensive lineman admitted that he’s contemplating retirement.

“It’s a long season,” Williams said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “And having two long seasons back-to-back, it does get pretty grueling for a 34-year-old guy like myself. I’ll be 35 when the (2023) season starts. You do kind of think about what’s life like after football. I’ve done this every year of my life since the second grade.

“You do get to that age, especially at the end the year like this, as exhausting as it was. And still not getting quite where you want to be. I get it. You get to that age, But, honestly, I’m just taking it one day at time and we’ll see how that goes going forward.”

Williams hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. This past season, he earned his second-straight first-team All-Pro nod and his third-straight Pro Bowl appearance. While he told Branch that he’s still able to generate hype for playoff games, he acknowledged that the monotony of the regular season is starting to get tiresome. When asked about the lineman’s comments, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan opined that Williams was simply reflecting on the season vs. seriously contemplating retirement.

“If everyone had to do a press conference and talk for a while after these games, I’m sure we’d say a lot of things that didn’t tell you guys exactly everything that’s going to happen for the next eight months, but I didn’t read his words as that’s a big thing for him,” Shanahan said (via Jacob Hutchinson of KNBR.com). “I know Trent loves football. I know it’s very hard at his age, in any situation, to do what you do for that long and come up short, but I’d be really surprised if Trent wasn’t fired up in a few weeks.”

Williams has plenty of financial incentive to stick around the NFL. He inked a six-year, $138MM deal with San Francisco in 2021 and is set to earn close to $40MM in base salary over the next two years.

The offensive lineman isn’t the only 49ers veteran who’s discussing his NFL future. However, unlike Williams, kicker Robbie Gould is making it clear that he wants to stick around.

“I’m nowhere near retiring,” Gould said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area on Twitter). “I got a lot left to do from a career perspective–No. 1 being winning a Super Bowl. And, two, I’m pretty close to a lot of milestones I think would be pretty neat to be able to accomplish.”

The 40-year-old kicker has spent the past six seasons in San Francisco, connecting on 87.5 percent of his field goal attempts. Gould connected on 27 of his 32 field goal attempts this past season while also setting a career-high with 50 extra point makes. A strong 2023 season could put Gould in the top-five on the all-time field goals list.

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Doug Nussmeier Interviews For Ravens OC Job

By | at February 2, 2023 6:10 pm

Doug Nussmeier won’t be back in Dallas next season, but he could land a promotion elsewhere. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer (via Twitter), the now-former Cowboys quarterbacks coach interviewed for the Ravens offensive coordinator job today.

Archer tweeted yesterday that Nussmeier won’t be back with the Cowboys next year. The coach’s contract expired, allowing him to pursue another gig elsewhere. Archer hinted in that tweet that there were “a few teams” that already reached out to the veteran coach, including “at least one” for a coordinator job.

Following multiple stints as offensive coordinator in college football, Nussmeier joined the NFL in 2018. After spending his first two years as the Cowboys’ tight ends coach, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach following the hiring of head coach Mike McCarthy. During Nussmeier‘s three years on the job, he dealt with five different starters at the QB position, including the unheralded Cooper Rush, who went 4-1. Dak Prescott also saw plenty of success playing under Nussmeier, with the QB setting the team record for touchdowns in a season.

As a result of his success in Dallas, Nussmeier has become an increasingly popular name on the coordinator market. He was previously mentioned as a potential candidate for the Patriots OC job (before the organization ultimately hired Bill O’Brien), and now he’s got his first official interview with the Ravens. The 52-year-old coach is also drawing overtures to return to collegiate football; per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter), Nussmeier has emerged as a strong candidate for the offensive coordinator job at the University of Miami.

With Greg Roman out in Baltimore, the Ravens are casting a wide net to find their new offensive coordinator. The following individuals have been connected to the gig at some point over the past few weeks:

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Texans Interviewed Nick Caley For OC Job

By | at February 1, 2023 9:10 pm

We can add another name to the list of Texans offensive coordinator candidates. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the Texans interviewed Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

[RELATED: Latest On Texans’ Coordinator Searches]

Caley has spent his entire NFL coaching career in New England, working his way up to tight ends coach. The Patriots got plenty of production out of the position during Caley’s first few seasons at the helm thanks to the presence of Rob Gronkowski. Since Gronk left New England, the Patriots haven’t been able to generate even a fraction of those numbers.

Still, Caley became a consistent and respected voice in the Patriots locker room, and following the loss of Josh McDaniels last offseason, Caley was expected to take on a larger role on offense. Ultimately, that responsibility ended up being divided by Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, and Bill Belichick.

Despite recent underwhelming performances from Hunter Henry and (especially) Jonnu Smith, Caley still emerged as a popular name on the coaching circuit. He previously interviewed for the Jets offensive coordinator job, and he was also considered for the Patriots OC job before they added Bill O’Brien.

The Texans agreed to a deal with DeMeco Ryans to become their new head coach, and it didn’t take long for the organization to start looking for replacements for Pep Hamilton, who is presumably out in Houston. 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik and Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters are both candidates for the job, and we’ll presumably hear of more targets in the coming days.

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Buccaneers Interviewed Ronald Curry For OC Job

By | at February 1, 2023 8:17 pm

The Buccaneers are looking within their own division to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy. The team announced that they interviewed Saints passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry for their OC job on Tuesday night.

[RELATED: Bucs To Interview Georgia OC Todd Monken]

Curry wasn’t the only candidate in the building yesterday. We previously learned that Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Giants QBs coach Shea Tierney also met with Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The team previously interviewed Jaguars passing-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, Broncos QBs coach Klint Kubiak, Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, and Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher (who ultimately decided to stick in Cincy) for the job. Former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has also been mentioned as a potential candidate, while Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton (who is likely on his way out in Houston) declined his interview request.

Curry has been with the Saints organization since the 2016 season, working his way from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach to quarterbacks coach. While New Orleans has dealt with an inconsistent quarterback depth chart during Curry’s two seasons in the role, the Saints have still managed to put up impressive passing numbers. Jameis Winston and Trevor Siemian combined for 25 touchdowns vs. only six interceptions in 2021, and the coach squeezed an 18-touchdown, nine-interception season out of Andy Dalton in 2022.

During Curry’s stint as New Orleans’ WRs coach, Michael Thomas established himself as one of the most product wideouts in the NFL. Thomas earned a pair of first-team All-Pro nods playing under Curry, and the receiver also set the single-season record with 149 catches in 2019.

The Buccaneers are looking at some major changes on offense next season with Byron Leftwich out as offensive coordinator. Of course, we also learned earlier today that quarterback Tom Brady was hanging up his cleats, leading to major question marks at the quarterback position heading into the offseason.

2 comments New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Aaron Glenn Gets Second HC Interview With Colts; Cardinals Seeking Another Meeting

By | at February 1, 2023 6:18 pm

Aaron Glenn is getting a second look in Indy. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (via Twitter), the Colts will conduct a second interview with the Lions defensive coordinator regarding their head coaching vacancy. The second interview is expected to take place tomorrow.

[RELATED: Colts To Conduct Second HC Interview With Brian Callahan]

Glenn is also considered a finalist for the Cardinals head coaching job, and Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets the NFC West team would like to talk more with him ahead of its decision. While the Cards’ HC search has not received as much attention as the Colts’ expansive process, the they added some new candidates to the mix Monday. Glenn was part of the original process and went through his first interview Jan. 21.

The 50-year-old helped boost his stock following a strong second half of the season in Detroit. During the Lions’ 8-2 finish, the defense yielded 20.2 points per game, the 11th-best mark in the league. Glenn also earned praise for his development of defensive players like Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, Jeff Okudah, and Kerby Joseph, putting the coach firmly on the HC radar.

Among all the teams with head coaching vacancies, the Colts have cast the widest net, interviewing 13 candidates for the position. We’ve heard recently that the organization had moved on to the second phase of their search. The team conducted a second interview with Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan today after having previously conducted second interviews with interim HC Jeff Saturday, Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale, Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and Colts special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone have also been mentioned as finalists. Considering all the names that are still in the running, Nate Akins of the Indy Star is a bit skeptical that these are indeed “finalists” and hints that the organization could require another round of interviews after this (Twitter link).

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