Redskins To Interview Dennis Thurman For DC
Continuing to cast a wide net in their search for a defensive coordinator, the Redskins will interview Dennis Thurman for the position, per reports from Josh Reed of WIVB and Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
The 60-year-old Thurman spent the past four seasons working as ex-head coach Rex Ryan‘s defensive coordinator, first with the Jets and then the Bills. The two had success in New York, but the elite defense they inherited in Buffalo in 2015 declined sharply on their watch. After finishing second in the league in defensive DVOA in 2014, the Bills ranked 24th and 26th the past two years. Washington ended this season 25th, which helped lead to the firing of D-coordinator Joe Barry.
While his two-year tenure in Buffalo didn’t go well, Thurman wasn’t the mastermind behind its defense. That distinction belonged to Ryan, who brought in his twin brother, Rob Ryan, to work with him and Thurman in 2016. Rob has also interviewed for the job in Washington. As PFR’s Coordinator Tracker shows, the Redskins have six candidates to replace Barry on their radar. Another of those coaches, Mike Pettine, is also a Rex Ryan disciple.
Top 3 Offseason Needs: New York Giants
In advance of March 9, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the New York Giants, who exceeded expectations in the first season of the Ben McAdoo era. After four straight non-playoff years – including three consecutive sub-.500 campaigns – to close out Tom Coughlin‘s tenure, Big Blue went 11-5 in 2016 en route to a wild-card berth. The Giants were one and done in the postseason, though, as the Packers trounced them at Lambeau Field, 38-13.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Will Beatty, OT
- Orleans Darkwa, RB (RFA)
- Zak DeOssie, LS
- Larry Donnell, TE
- Ben Edwards, WR (ERFA)
- Robbie Gould, K
- Leon Hall, CB
- Johnathan Hankins, DT
- Mark Herzlich, LB
- John Jerry, G
- Josh Johnson, QB
- Matt LaCosse, TE (ERFA)
- Ryan Nassib, QB
- Marshall Newhouse, OT
- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE
- Bobby Rainey, RB
- Keenan Robinson, LB
- Coty Sensabaugh, CB
- Kelvin Sheppard, LB
- Robert Thomas, DT (ERFA)
- Will Tye, TE (ERFA)
- Trevin Wade, CB (RFA)
- Nikita Whitlock, RB (ERFA)
- Kerry Wynn, DE (RFA)
Top 10 Cap Hits For 2017:
- Eli Manning, QB: $19,700,000
- Olivier Vernon, DE: $16,000,000
- Janoris Jenkins, CB: $15,000,000
- Damon Harrison, DT: $10,600,000
- Victor Cruz, WR: $9,400,000
- Justin Pugh, G: $8,821,000
- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB: $8,500,000
- Shane Vereen, RB: $4,916,668
- J.T. Thomas, LB: $4,000,000
- Ereck Flowers, OT: $3,925,045
Current Projected Cap Room (via Over the Cap): $31,936,507
Other:
- Twenty-third overall pick in draft
- Must exercise or decline 2018 fifth-year option for WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Three Needs:
1.) Acquire more offensive weapons: Quarterback Eli Manning took a step backward this season, though it didn’t help his cause that the Giants had such a non-threatening ground game. Only two teams finished with a worse yards-per-carry average than the Giants’ 3.5, and the club went until Week 17 without a 100-yard rusher. That was Paul Perkins, who had a decent rookie season in a limited showing, but it’s debatable whether he did enough over 112 carries to earn a role as the Giants’ featured back going into 2017. No one else on the roster appears capable of filling the position, especially with Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen looking like potential cap casualties. It would make sense to move on from Jennings, who averaged a paltry 3.3 yards per rush in his age-31 season, in order to clear $2.5MM in spending room. While cutting Vereen would save $3.75MM, that might come down to whether New York is confident he’ll be able to bounce back from an injury-plagued season. The soon-to-be 28-year-old has been eminently useful as a change-of-pace, pass-catching back throughout his career, but he went on injured reserve twice because of triceps issues in 2016.
If the Giants look for a No. 1 back via free agency, Eddie Lacy, LeGarrette Blount and Latavius Murray stand out as the best soon-to-be available options (forget about Le’Veon Bell), while Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles could end up on the market if their teams cut them. In at least some of those cases, however, it’s questionable whether the Giants would actually be upgrading over Perkins. Regarding Lacy, it’s worth noting that he and McAdoo are familiar with one another. Before McAdoo joined Coughlin’s staff in 2014, he worked as the Packers’ quarterbacks coach during Lacy’s rookie year.
In the event the free agent crop doesn’t appeal to the Giants, there will be several early round possibilities available in the draft. Bleacher Report prospect guru Matt Miller currently places six backs (including the controversial Joe Mixon, whom the Giants probably wouldn’t dare take in the wake of the Josh Brown fiasco) in the top 50 of his player rankings.
Turning to the passing game, the Giants have an all-world receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. and a promising one in Sterling Shepard, but not much else. To Victor Cruz‘s credit, the longtime Giant bounced back from two straight lost seasons to play in 15 games in 2016, though he’s far from the star-caliber producer he was from 2011-13. The G-men could move on from Cruz this offseason and open up an extra $7.5MM in cap room. Regardless of his 2017 status, the Giants need at least one more legitimate option in their receiving corps – preferably someone with size.
With Beckham around to serve as the alpha dog among their receivers, it’s difficult to imagine the Giants pursuing either of the best soon-to-be free agent WRs, Alshon Jeffery or Terrelle Pryor. There will be plenty of other veteran choices with size, however, including Vincent Jackson (like Cruz, his health is a concern), New Jersey native and ex-Rutgers star Kenny Britt, Kamar Aiken, Brandon LaFell, Brian Quick, Justin Hunter and Terrance Williams. Any of those players would be a good fit for the Giants, who would be better off signing a free agent than investing another high pick in a receiver after taking Beckham and Shepard in the top two rounds in two of the past three drafts.
On the other hand, the Giants haven’t selected a tight end prior to Round 3 since 2009. Their incumbent starter, Will Tye, has back-to-back 40-plus-catch seasons under his belt, but he’s not an impact player, evidenced by both his 8.2 yards-per-reception mark and third-worst ranking among Pro Football Focus’ qualified tight ends this season. As a result, the likes of O.J. Howard (Alabama), David Njoku (Miami) and Bucky Hodges (Virginia Tech) could be on the Giants’ radar during the first couple rounds of the draft. In free agency, the Patriots’ Martellus Bennett should at least pique New York’s interest if he reaches the open market.
Seahawks To Sign Perrish Cox
Seeking insurance in the wake of cornerback DeShawn Shead‘s knee injury, the Seahawks will sign free agent Perrish Cox to a contract for 2017, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). This will be the second stint with the Seahawks for Cox, who was previously a member of the team in 2013.
Cox, 30, was most recently with Tennessee, which signed him to a three-year, $15MM deal prior to the 2015 season. That came after a successful run with the 49ers, though Cox wasn’t able to stick with the Titans. Even though he intercepted three passes in 11 games this season, they released him in November.
The Seahawks won’t be active in free agency this offseason, so they’ll hope a low-profile signing like this one pays dividends in 2017. In their second-round playoff loss to the Falcons last Saturday, Shead tore his ACL and will need eight months to recover. If he’s unable to bounce back next season, perhaps Cox will help make up for it.
Rams To Hire Greg Olson As QBs Coach
Greg Olson seemed like a lock to become the Bills’ next offensive coordinator, but they’re going to have to look elsewhere. Olson is on his way to the Rams to serve as their quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
In Los Angeles, Olson will reunite with newly minted head coach Sean McVay. The two previously worked together in Tampa Bay and will now exert heavy influence over the development of young signal-caller Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft. Olson has plenty of experience tutoring quarterbacks as both a position coach and coordinator. He has been part of several staffs, including the Rams’ (2006-07), since his NFL coaching career began in 2001.
Olson was most recently a coordinator in Jacksonville, where QB Blake Bortles hasn’t quite panned out since going third overall in 2014. Thanks in part to that, Olson lost his job with the Jaguars last October.
In rejecting the Bills for the Rams, Olson turned down “much more” money, per Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Staying in close proximity to his family was a motivating factor, Carucci adds (Twitter links).
When Brad Childress exited the race for the Bills’ O-coordinator role Tuesday, it appeared Olson would land the job. The Bills even hired one of Olson’s previous offensive assistants, running backs coach Kelly Skipper, on Wednesday. But it turns out he’ll serve under someone else in Buffalo. That could be Packers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, tweets CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. Van Pelt was a longtime backup QB with the Bills and had a stint as their OC in 2009.
Raiders To Bring Back OL Coach Mike Tice
The contract for Raiders offensive line coach Mike Tice expired after their season ended, but the team made retaining him a high priority. It’s now official that Tice will return to the Raiders next season, per Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).
With Tice coming back, the only offensive coach the Raiders will lose from 2016 is previous coordinator Bill Musgrave, whose contract they didn’t renew. Musgrave is now the quarterbacks coach with AFC West rival Denver, while Oakland tabbed its own former QBs coach, Todd Downing, to replace him.
The Raiders had one of the NFL’s top offenses this season, which was thanks in large part to their Tice-coached line. Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders’ front five as the fourth-best unit in the league. Stalwarts Donald Penn, Kelechi Osemele and Rodney Hudson were the group’s premier players.
Tice, who’s best known for his run as the Vikings’ head coach from 2002-05, has worked as an offensive assistant with various teams since his tenure in Minnesota ended. Next season will be his third with the Raiders.
Coaching Notes: 49ers, Rams, Bears, Bills
The fact that Kyle Shanahan is the only head coaching possibility remaining in the 49ers’ once-deep pool of candidates gives him significant leverage, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Along with helping the 49ers pick their next general manager, which he’ll do next week, Shanahan is expected to become the highest-paid rookie head coach of all-time, according to Florio. Moreover, Shanahan – not his GM – will likely have final say over the roster and draft in San Francisco.
One problem the 49ers have encountered during their head coaching search is the amount of influence that CEO Jed York’s right-hand man, Paraag Marathe, has over football matters, relays Florio. While it won’t bother Shanahan enough to avoid taking the job, Marathe’s presence could become an issue down the line, Florio suggests.
In the improbable event Shanahan turns the Niners down, it would be catastrophic for a franchise whose reputation has been in serious decline since it parted with Jim Harbaugh a couple years ago, observes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. The 49ers have fired their post-Harbaugh head coaches, Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly, after one season apiece and a combined 7-25 record. And those two were not coveted around the NFL when the 49ers hired them. Rather, the team had to settle in each case, and things could get even worse this year if Shanahan stays in Atlanta and San Fran has to go back to the drawing board as February approaches.
In other coaching news…
- The possibility of longtime NFL assistant Aaron Kromer serving as Rams head coach Sean McVay‘s offensive coordinator is “getting stronger,” tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. McVay wants someone with an O-line background to fill the role, and Kromer has plenty of experience in that regard. He has overseen the lines in Oakland, New Orleans and Buffalo, and has also been an offensive coordinator in Chicago.
- The Bears will hire Curtis Modkins as their running backs coach, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll replace Stan Drayton, who left after Chicago’s season ended to take a job at the University of Texas. Modkins, who was the aforementioned Chip Kelly‘s offensive coordinator in San Francisco in 2016, has also coached running backs in Kansas City, Arizona and Detroit.
- The Bills have named Kelly Skipper their running backs coach, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Skipper previously held those roles in Oakland and Jacksonville, two places where he worked under then-offensive coordinator Greg Olson. The connection is notable because Olson is the only known candidate for the Bills’ O-coordinator job.
49ers Narrow General Manager Search
The 49ers have informed several candidates from their general manager search that they’re out of the running for the job, per a team announcement.
“The 49ers pared down its list of general manager candidates (Wednesday) morning and thanked those who will not be included in the second round of interviews,” tweeted 49ers spokeman Bob Lange. “Upcoming interviews will be announced as they were in the first round.”
Specifically, the Niners will not invite Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Colts vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III or ESPN analyst Louis Riddick back for second interviews, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
Even before San Francisco eliminated those four from its GM mix, each seemingly had slim odds to land the role. Packers director of college scouting Brian Gutekunst emerged as the favorite earlier this week, and the Niners will also reportedly hold second meetings with Green Bay director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Vikings assistant GM George Paton next week. Those interviews will take place in Atlanta, where Kyle Shanahan coaches. The current Falcons offensive coordinator is the only candidate left for the 49ers’ head coaching position, and he’s set to help the team’s management pick a GM.
Along with Gutekunst, Wolf and Paton, Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough is still in play, per Barrows. However, the 49ers have not yet requested another sitdown with him.
NFLPA Announces Cap Carryover Amounts
The NFL Players Association has announced all 32 teams’ salary cap carryover amounts for the 2017 season (Twitter link). Next season’s cap figure isn’t yet known, but it’s likely to be in the $165MM range. When that becomes official, it can be added to each team’s carryover amount to determine that club’s official spending room for 2017.
Here are this year’s carryover totals:
- Cleveland Browns: $50,123,269
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $39,314,310
- San Francisco 49ers: $38,708,916
- Tennessee Titans: $24,046,522
- Washington Redskins: $15,055,131
- Carolina Panthers: $13,208,020
- Miami Dolphins: $8,363,708
- Chicago Bears: $8,103,197
- Oakland Raiders: $8,000,000
- Green Bay Packers: $7,984,687
- Philadelphia Eagles: $7,933,869
- Denver Broncos: $7,243,248
- Indianapolis Colts: $6,614,106
- Cincinnati Bengals: $6,578,866
- New Orleans Saints: $5,754,000
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $5,330,779
- New England Patriots: $5,292,335
- Kansas City Chiefs: $5,002,168
- Houston Texans: $4,935,924
- Detroit Lions: $4,725,644
- Arizona Cardinals: $4,405,068
- Pittsburgh Steelers: $3,269,367
- Buffalo Bills: $2,837,222
- Baltimore Ravens: $2,553,126
- Dallas Cowboys: $2,401,553
- Seattle Seahawks: $2,065,865
- New York Giants: $1,800,000
- Atlanta Falcons: $926,541
- Minnesota Vikings: $400,184
- New York Jets: $371,487
- Los Angeles Rams: $304,311
- Los Angeles Chargers: $113,693
AFC Notes: Titans, Texans, Steelers, Jaguars
Less than a year after swinging a blockbuster trade to give up the No. 1 position in the 2016 draft, Titans general manager Jon Robinson isn’t ruling out more bold maneuverings this offseason. While Tennessee has the fifth and 18th picks in this year’s draft, Robinson told Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com that “it would be a mistake” to assume he’ll end up selecting in those spots. Robinson also implied that, if anything, he’ll move down again. The Titans are without a second-round pick, but they would “love” to have one, Robinson said. “Draft currency is a powerful thing in this league because it gives you a chance to acquire young talent,’’ he added. “They are less expensive players than guys who have played in the league six, seven or eight, nine or 10 years. So to be able to get two of those guys, or one of those guys if we trade, or three of those guys if we trade. … Whatever it is, draft picks are valuable currency as it relates to team building.”
More from the AFC:
- The Texans retained Romeo Crennel on Wednesday, shifting him from defensive coordinator (Mike Vrabel‘s new role) to assistant head coach. While Crennel’s contract was set to expire later this month, he would not have left Houston for another team this offseason, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Crennel, 69, was either going to remain on head coach Bill O’Brien‘s staff or retire.
- Speaking of O’Brien, he will not hire an offensive coordinator to replace George Godsey, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). As expected, O’Brien will call the Texans’ offensive plays. He has also moved Sean Ryan from receivers coach to quarterbacks coach.
- In the wake of Tuesday’s news that suspended Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant will soon apply for reinstatement, agent Thomas Santanello told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his client is “clean” and “on a mission to come back” (via Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk). Bryant, 24, is currently serving his second substance abuse-related ban – this one a yearlong suspension – since he entered the NFL in 2014, but Santanello insists the highly talented offensive weapon has put his drug issues behind him. “He’s working out four days a week, watches film. He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in. He’s added 10 pounds of solid muscle. He’s a new person,” Santanello continued.
- Bills outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich is likely to interview with the Jaguars on Wednesday for a job on their defensive staff, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN. Rebrovich previously worked under newly named Jags head coach Doug Marrone in Buffalo and at Syracuse.
NFC Notes: 49ers, Panthers, Cardinals
Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf is among the general manager candidates the 49ers and soon-to-be head coach Kyle Shanahan will invite to Atlanta for an interview next week, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). The team will also conduct second meetings with one of Wolf’s Packers colleagues, Brian Gutekunst, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
More from San Francisco and a couple other NFC cities:
- Falcons secondary coach Marquand Manuel could become the 49ers’ defensive coordinator under Shanahan, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com hears (Twitter link). The two are on the same staff now, of course, and Manuel garnered prior coaching experience in Seattle from 2012-15. The 37-year-old was an NFL safety from 2002-09.
- The Panthers worked out free agent quarterback Aaron Murray on Tuesday, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Murray spent 2016 on the Eagles’ practice squad, but he has been available since they elected against signing him to a reserve/futures deal earlier this month. The 26-year-old was a star at Georgia, where he became the SEC’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, but he hasn’t recorded an NFL statistic since the Chiefs took him in Round 5 of the 2014 draft. With Panthers QBs Cam Newton, Derek Anderson and Joe Webb under contract next year, there’s no clear fit for Murray in Carolina.
- Cardinals defensive lineman Josh Mauro‘s recently signed two-year contract is worth just over $2MM total, per Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Mauro will make $750K next season and $1.3MM in 2018.