Staff Notes: Tomsula, Callahan, Bills, Broncos
Jim Tomsula was out of football this season after a 5-11 campaign as San Francisco’s head coach in 2015, but it appears he’s about to resurface. The Redskins are targeting Tomsula, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, though he doesn’t specify which position the 48-year-old would take in Washington. It seems likely Tomsula would coach the Redskins’ D-line, though, considering he held that role with the Niners from 2007-14. The Redskins have an opening there thanks to the firing of Robb Akey earlier this month.
More on several coaching staffs:
- Newly minted Rams head coach Sean McVay has already reeled in one experienced coordinator in defensive chief Wade Phillips, and he could next add one on offense in Bill Callahan, reports Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson (Twitter link). Callahan is currently the Redskins’ offensive line coach – McVay, of course, was their offensive coordinator – and has been a coordinator in both Oakland and Dallas.
- Along with officially hiring Leslie Frazier as their new defensive coordinator, the Bills announced the additions of Juan Castillo (offensive line coach/run game coordinator) and Bob Babich (linebackers) to their coaching staff Friday. They’ll also retain special teams coach Danny Crossman for a fifth season. Castillo, who spent the past four years with the Ravens, was previously a longtime staff member in Philadelphia – where he became familiar with new Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Babich coached the Chargers’ linebackers this past season, which came after a three-year run as the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator.
- The Broncos have a couple candidates for their special teams coach job in Marwan Maalouf and Derius Swinton II, per Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter links). The Dolphins granted the Broncos permission to interview Maalouf, who’s Miami’s assistant special teams coach. Heading to Denver would mean once again working on the same staff as rookie head coach Vance Joseph, who was the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator in 2016. Swinton is currently the 49ers’ special teams coach, but his future there is in doubt with a new head coach on the way. He worked as the Broncos’ assistant special teams coach from 2013-14.
- The Browns have hired DeWayne Walker to coach their defensive backs, according to Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. Walker was in Jacksonville as its DBs coach over the past four years. In going to Cleveland, he’ll reunite with Browns head coach Hue Jackson and new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Walker worked with each of them in previous stops.
- Chargers defensive line coach Giff Smith, defensive backs coach Ron Milus and assistant DBs coach Chris Harris will remain in place under Anthony Lynn, relays Sporting News’ Alex Marvez (Twitter link). They could end up on the defensive staff of Gus Bradley, who will interview for the Bolts’ D-coordinator job.
Top 3 Offseason Needs: Minnesota Vikings
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. This edition will focus on the Minnesota Vikings, who entered the 2016 season as the defending NFC North champions and ended it with eight wins and a third-place finish in the division.
The Vikings began the year in an adverse situation on account of the devastating knee injury quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered at the end of August. Bridgewater sat out all of 2016 as a result, though the Vikings’ quarterback production was steady without him. That output came at a significant cost, however, as the Vikings reacted to Bridgewater’s injury by sending multiple draft picks – including their first-rounder this year – to the Eagles for Sam Bradford prior to Week 1. At the helm of a conservative passing attack, Bradford tossed 20 touchdowns against just five interceptions and set an NFL record with a 71.6 percent completion rate.
Given both Bradford’s decent performance and Bridgewater’s uncertain health, Minnesota is planning on going into 2017 with the former under center. General manager Rick Spielman will of course have to supplement the talent around Bradford to get the team back to the playoffs next season, and that task will obviously be more difficult without a first-rounder. Spielman does have eight other picks at his disposal, though, and the Vikings aren’t at risk of losing a slew of crucial contributors from 2016 to free agency.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Matt Asiata, RB
- Audie Cole, LB
- Rhett Ellison, TE
- Chad Greenway, LB
- Mike Harris, G/T
- Shaun Hill, QB
- Charles Johnson, WR (RFA)
- Matt Kalil, LT
- Zac Kerin, LG (ERFA)
- Zach Line, FB
- Jeff Locke, P
- Jake Long, LT
- Captain Munnerlyn, CB
- Terence Newman, CB
- Cordarrelle Patterson, WR/KR
- Jeremiah Sirles, LT (ERFA)
- Andre Smith, RT
- Adam Thielen, WR (RFA)
- Justin Trattou, DE
Top 10 Cap Hits For 2017:
- Adrian Peterson, RB: $18,000,000
- Sam Bradford, QB: $17,000,000
- Everson Griffen, DE: $8,200,000
- Xavier Rhodes, CB: $8,026,000
- Harrison Smith, S: $7,500,000
- Linval Joseph, DT: $6,850,000
- Kyle Rudolph, TE: $6,800,000
- Sharrif Floyd, DT: $6,757,000
- Alex Boone, LG: $6,700,000
- Brian Robison, DE: $6,600,000
Current Projected Cap Room (via Over the Cap): $23,437,353
Other:
- No first-round pick
- Must exercise or decline 2018 fifth-year options for LB Anthony Barr and QB Teddy Bridgewater
1.) Repair the offensive line: The Vikings’ offensive line finished the season as Football Outsiders’ 30th-ranked group after clearing the way for an NFL-low 3.2 yards-per-carry average and allowing the league’s 10th-most sacks (38). Injuries were a major part of the problem, particularly at tackle, as Matt Kalil, Andre Smith and Jake Long missed most of the year. All three of those players are scheduled to become free agents this offseason, leaving Minnesota without an obvious solution at either tackle spot. T.J. Clemmings remains under contract after leading Vikings linemen with 882 snaps, but he also ranked as Pro Football Focus’ third-worst tackle. Exclusive rights free agent Jeremiah Sirles racked up significant on-field time, too, with 772 snaps, though he wasn’t particularly effective (49th among PFF’s 81 qualified tackle). While Clemmings and Sirles could again serve as depth next season, the Vikings are going to have to do something about both starting spots.
Of Kalil, Smith and Long, all are expendable when considering their performances, but the latter two seem especially likely to depart. Minnesota’s decision to sign Smith to a one-year deal last March wasn’t panning out even before he succumbed to an elbow injury a few weeks into the season. And the Vikings didn’t add Long until October, which only happened because Kalil and Smith went on injured reserve. Long then suffered a torn Achilles in November, potentially ending the soon-to-be 32-year-old’s career.
Kalil, who started 66 straight games prior to suffering a season-ending hip injury in Week 2, has been a staple with the Vikings since they drafted him fourth overall in 2012. However, he has struggled since a quality rookie year, meaning the Vikes could stand to upgrade over him. The problem is that they might have a hard time doing that via the draft, which doesn’t feature a deep tackle class (again, no first-rounder hurts). Free agency is rather light on left tackles, too – despite his age (35), longtime Bengal Andrew Whitworth is easily the best of a weak lot and would be a more-than-capable stopgap for Minnesota. It’s worth noting that Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer previously worked as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator from 2008-13, so he’s quite familiar with Whitworth.
Meanwhile, unless he re-signs with Jacksonville before March, Luke Joeckel will represent another option. He’s all too similar to Kalil, though, as both a high pick (No. 2 in 2013) who hasn’t lived up to his draft stock and someone who’s coming off an injury-shortened year. Longtime NFC North rival Riley Reiff isn’t great, either, but the five-year Lion does bring vast experience at both tackle spots and has started 14-plus games in four straight seasons.
Shifting to the right side, the Ravens’ Ricky Wagner stands out as the top soon-to-be free agent blocker. The 27-year-old has logged 14 or more starts in each of the past three seasons, and he ranked as PFF’s 19th-best tackle in 2016. Mike Remmers (Panthers), Austin Pasztor (Browns), Sebastian Vollmer (Patriots), Jordan Mills (Bills) and Marshall Newhouse (Giants) have also amassed plenty of experience, but it’s debatable whether any would be clear upgrades over what the Vikings already have. At the very least, any could act as competition to the Vikes’ in-house options. Vollmer and Bell did miss all of 2016, however, which could preclude Minnesota from kicking the tires on either after injuries ravaged its line during the season.
Moving inside, the Vikings might not feel the need to do anything major with left guard Alex Boone, center Joe Berger and right guard Brandon Fusco in place. Fusco is somewhat of a weak link, though, as he ranked 62nd among PFF’s 74 qualified guards in 2016. Therefore, the team could try to upgrade over him with a free agent like T.J. Lang (Packers), Kevin Zeitler (Bengals; again, there’s a Zimmer connection), John Jerry (Giants), Larry Warford (Lions) or Brian Winters (Jets). The Vikings might otherwise bring back key 2015 cog Mike Harris, who missed all of this season with an undisclosed illness but is optimistic about his recovery.
Chargers To Relocate To Los Angeles
The Chargers will have a new home in 2017: The franchise could announce as early as Thursday that it’s moving from San Diego to Los Angeles, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). In doing so, the Chargers will end their 55-year run in San Diego and join the Stan Kroenke-led Rams, who departed St. Louis for LA last winter.
The Chargers and Rams agreed in principle to a deal last January to share a stadium in Inglewood, which is currently under construction and set to open in 2019. Chargers owner Dean Spanos could have headed to LA then, but he instead kept the franchise in San Diego for 2016 in hopes of working out a new stadium deal there.
Spanos was unable to make anything happen in San Diego, however, as the money the city, the county, the Chargers and the league had combined to commit still fell $175MM short of what a Qualcomm Stadium replacement would have cost. Spanos had until Jan. 17 to strike a deal in San Diego and avoid relocation, but he is abandoning that possibility less than a week before the deadline.
It’s unclear where the Chargers will play the next couple seasons as they wait for the Inglewood facility to open. They could share the Los Angeles Coliseum with the Rams and USC Trojans, though the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., has also come up as a potential stopgap. However, that stadium is only capable of holding 27,000 people. The Chargers called the Coliseum home in 1960, their inaugural season, before relocating to San Diego the next year. That partnership worked out for five and a half decades, but now the Chargers are headed back to where they began.
With the Bolts’ future now known, all eyes will turn to the Raiders, who could also go elsewhere – Las Vegas – by next season. The Raiders were an outside possibility for LA, but that’s now officially off the table. The franchise has until Feb. 15 to file for Vegas relocation, and the league’s 31 other owners could vote on its fate sometime in March.
Coaching/FO News & Rumors: 1/11/17
General manager candidate Louis Riddick‘s interview with the 49ers “went well,” relays Yahoo’s Charles Robinson, who adds that the team won’t make a decision on a GM without having input from its next head coach. Josh McDaniels, the potential favorite for the 49ers’ head coaching job, and Riddick would likely end up as a package deal in San Fransisco, per Robinson (Twitter links).
More of the latest coaching news and rumors (here’s a roundup from earlier):
- If new Bills head coach Sean McDermott is unable to land No. 1 target Mike McCoy as his offensive coordinator, he could look to Norv Turner as an alternative, according to both Michael Silver of NFL.com and John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter links). The 64-year-old Turner would bring significant experience, having worked as an offensive coordinator with six teams since 1991; however, his latest stint – with the Vikings – ended when he abruptly resigned in November.
- Bills wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal interviewed for the same position with the Eagles on Wednesday, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). Philadelphia is looking to replace the fired Greg Lewis, and Caplan noted Tuesday that its interest in Lal is “strong.” Before hooking on with Buffalo’s staff in 2015, Lal coached wideouts with the Raiders and Jets for a combined six years.
- Broncos receivers coach Tyke Tolbert could join the Titans, thereby enabling him to reunite with head coach Mike Mularkey, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. Tolbert was once the receivers coach in Buffalo under Mularkey, and has also held that post with three other clubs.
- Dolphins assistant offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn is a candidate for the Broncos’ O-line coach role, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. That would mean following ex-Dolphins defensive coordinator and now-Broncos head coach Vance Joseph to Denver. Washburn previously worked as Detroit’s offensive line coach from 2013-15. For now, Clancy Barone is atop the Broncos’ O-line, though it appears that won’t be the case for much longer as a result of previous head coach Gary Kubiak‘s retirement.
Latest On Chargers’, Raiders’ Relocation
The Chargers had been facing a Jan. 15 deadline to decide whether to join the Rams in Los Angeles by next season, but the NFL pushed that date back Wednesday, per the Associated Press. The Bolts now have until Jan. 17 to choose their fate, and the league is still holding out hope that they’ll remain in San Diego, a source told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. However, the league won’t prevent owner Dean Spanos from relocating the team if he’s unable to find a stadium solution in San Diego, another source informed Acee.
“No one is going to tell Dean he can’t go,” said the source. “They’re going to tell him he shouldn’t go.”
Spanos doesn’t seem eager to leave San Diego, but he also hasn’t made enough progress toward a new facility that would replace the 50-year-old Qualcomm Stadium. As of last week, the Chargers were of the belief that a $100MM to $175MM gap existed between the funds the city, county, league and team were willing to put forth and what a new stadium would actually cost. That remains the case, per Acee, who now lists the figure at exactly $175MM.
The Chargers would welcome more financial aid from the league, but its owners – especially the Rams’ Stan Kroenke – haven’t shown any urgency to make that happen, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). With that in mind, the Chargers are operating as if they’re about to relocate, Acee reports. The franchise has already drafted a press release and planned a news conference, though Acee adds that it did the same a year ago before delaying its LA decision.
The league’s stadium and finance committees met Wednesday to discuss the futures of the Chargers and Raiders, but the latter club was the primary focus.
“There was little to no discussion on the topic of the Chargers,” league executive Eric Grubman revealed.
The Raiders have until Feb. 15 to file for relocation to Las Vegas, where businessman Sheldon Adelson could contribute $650MM to a $1.9 billion stadium. The two sides continue making progress after some previous hiccups in negotiations, tweets Cole, but the Raiders aren’t going to be content to let their Vegas dreams slip away if Adelson backs out.
“The Raiders are looking at the potential of doing [it] without Mr. Adelson if it comes down to that,” said Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who’s also chairman of the league’s stadium committee.
There’s no word on exactly how the Raiders would raise $650MM in Adelson’s absence. The team is set to put forth $500MM toward the cause, while Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Legislature previously signed off on contributing a record $750MM in public funds.
Panthers To Name Steve Wilks D-Coordinator
With Sean McDermott having departed Carolina to become Buffalo’s head coach on Wednesday, the Panthers are now without a defensive coordinator. That won’t the case for long, per the Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person, who reports that assistant head coach/secondary coach Steve Wilks could take over for McDermott as early as Thursday.
Wilks is also in the running for the Rams’ head coaching job, but he’s clearly a long shot for that position. Thus, it appears he’ll accept a promotion in Carolina, which would keep him and head coach Ron Rivera together for at least another year.
Before joining Rivera’s staff with the Panthers in 2012, Wilks worked with him in Chicago and San Diego. The two had a years-long understanding that Wilks would become the Panthers’ defensive coordinator in the event of a McDermott departure, sources told Person, and Rivera is now set to make good on that promise.
Handing the 47-year-old Wilks the defensive reins means the Panthers will essentially keep McDermott’s system in place, notes Person. The club’s defense had its fair share of success in six years under McDermott, and while the unit finished just 21st in yardage and 26th in scoring in 2016, it did post an impressive 10th-place DVOA ranking.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/11/17
Wednesday’s minor moves:
Reserve/Futures Contracts
New York Giants
New York Jets
- WR Deshon Foxx
- FB Julian Howsare
- WR Myles White
Philadelphia Eagles
- OL Josh LeRibeus
- WR Dom Williams
Practice Squad
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Gus Johnson
- Practice squad/injured: RB Dreamius Smith
Coaching Notes: Redskins, Rams, Ravens
The Redskins announced that they interviewed Gus Bradley for the defensive coordinator position on Wednesday. The former Jaguars head coach is reportedly Washington’s prime target to take over for the fired Joe Barry. Bradley was a successful D-coordinator in Seattle from 2009-12, during which time he became familiar with then-Seahawks executive and now-Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan.
As is the case with their defensive staff, changes might be on the horizon for the Redskins’ offensive coaches. With coordinator Sean McVay emerging as a serious candidate to grab the reins as Los Angeles’ head coach, the Redskins could turn to ex-Chargers HC Mike McCoy as his replacement, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. McCoy is also a candidate in Denver (where he served as an O-coordinator from 2010-12) and Buffalo, both of which named head coaches Wednesday.
More of the latest coaching-related info:
- A potential head coaching interview between Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and the Rams is “in limbo,” per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. With the Falcons preparing for a Saturday playoff game against the Seahawks, Shanahan might not have time to meet with the Rams this week, La Canfora adds (Twitter link).
- Former Buffalo offensive coordinator Greg Roman will sign on with the Ravens‘ coaching staff, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets. The Ravens are sticking with Marty Mornhinweg as OC, so Roman will be there in some kind of assistant role. Cabot notes that the Browns were eying him for an assistant gig.
- The Jets will hire Dennard Wilson to succeed the fired Joe Danna as their defensive backs coach, according to Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. Wilson had been with the Rams since 2012, when they hired him as their defensive quality control coach. He became the team’s defensive backs coach in 2015.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Rams, Chargers To Interview Teryl Austin
SUNDAY, 8:45pm: The Chargers will interview Austin on Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 8:05am: Now that the Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs, Austin will interview with the Rams and Chargers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It is not yet clear when those interviews will take place.
TUESDAY, 5:36pm: Two teams with head coaching vacancies, the Rams and Chargers, have requested interviews with Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links). Austin, who’s preparing for the Lions’ wild-card game against the Seahawks on Saturday, will likely meet with the Rams and Chargers at the end of this week, per Rapoport.
The Rams and Chargers are the first clubs this offseason to court Austin, who has been a popular head coaching candidate over the past couple years. The well-regarded 51-year-old interviewed with four teams last winter, but he ended up staying in Detroit for his third season atop its defense. The results weren’t particularly impressive, though, as the Lions’ defense finished 13th in scoring, 18th in yardage and dead last in DVOA.
Austin is already the 10th known candidate whom the Rams at least hope to interview, as PFR’s head coaching search tracker indicates. The Chargers, who could join the Rams in Los Angeles next season, have Austin, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub on their target list thus far.
Texans, Bill O’Brien Could Part After Season
SATURDAY, 7:44pm: Texans owner Bob McNair said O’Brien will be back next season, via Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com (on Twitter). “I’m not going to fire him,” McNair said (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, on Twitter) after the Texans’ 27-14 wild-card win over the Raiders.
The 49ers, however, were intrigued by the possibility O’Brien could have been a late-arriving coaching free agent, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports tweets.
SATURDAY, 8:15am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that several teams with head coaching vacancies are waiting to see how everything will play out in Houston before they make a hire. If O’Brien is fired, Rapoport notes that he “may soar to the top of the list” for many teams.
THURSDAY, 4:52pm: Although the Texans just reeled off their third straight nine-victory regular season and second consecutive AFC South-winning campaign under head coach Bill O’Brien, his job is in jeopardy, reports CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. O’Brien is currently preparing for a wild-card round showdown with the Raiders, which could be his last game with Houston if the team loses. Even a win over the banged-up Raiders wouldn’t necessarily save O’Brien, suggests La Canfora.
O’Brien’s problems with the Texans are related to a less-than-ideal relationship with general manager Rick Smith and an unenthusiastic view of quarterback Brock Osweiler, per La Canfora. The Texans guaranteed Osweiler, an ex-Denver backup, $37MM last offseason, but the 6-foot-8 signal-caller has been a colossal disappointment thus far.
Osweiler was among the league’s worst starters throughout the regular season, leading O’Brien to bench him in favor of Tom Savage toward the end of the year. Savage suffered a concussion in Week 17 and won’t be available against the Raiders, meaning O’Brien’s fate is back in the beleaguered Osweiler’s hands. The Texans will likely be stuck with Osweiler in 2017, too, as the team would incur $25MM in dead money by releasing him this offseason.
In the event the Texans do move on from O’Brien within the next couple weeks, it could significantly impact coaching searches around the league. The 47-year-old O’Brien is a proven commodity, having succeeded in leading roles with both Penn State and the Texans, and the offensive mind would surely draw interest from teams with head coaching vacancies if he were to hit the market. Of course, with the Texans joining the hunt for other candidates, it would also lead to an increase in clubs searching for head coaches. Both Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, an ex-Texans assistant, and former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy would be names to watch, according to La Canfora.