Jets Optimistic On Extension For DT Quinnen WIlliams
When talking with the media yesterday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas expressed some optimism towards the prospect of extending star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. The 25-year-old is headed towards a contract year in the fifth season of his rookie contract and doesn’t expect to play through it without a new deal. 
Williams made it known early after the season ended that he had desires for a new contract. The four-year defender in New York has certainly made a case to become one of the highest paid players at his position, and it sounds like the Jets are more than willing to accommodate. Costello reports that Jets ownership “gave Douglas the green light” for negotiations, and Douglas feels good about it so far.
“We’ve had several good discussions with (Williams’s agent Nicole Lynn) and Quinnen since the season,” Douglas said of the situation. “We feel really good about where we’re at. We feel good that this process is going to play out in the right way.”
It’s important that the process does “play out in the right way” as Williams has reportedly claimed that, barring an extension, he plans to “stay away from the voluntary portion of the offseason program.” With the voluntary offseason program just over a month away, Douglas and company will likely be focused on getting a deal done fairly quickly, with April as a deadline.
The thought that this is a priority for the New York front office should put a smile on Williams’s face. Williams put together some pretty good seasons over the first three years of his NFL career, but he saved his best play for the season just prior to when he wanted a new contract. In his most recent year of play, Williams put up career highs in sacks (12.0), tackles for loss (12), quarterback hits (28), and passes defensed (4), while matching career highs in total tackles (55) and forced fumbles (2). Williams’s career year was good enough to qualify him as the fourth-best interior defender, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), behind only stars of the game Chris Jones and Aaron Donald and fellow fourth-year standout Dexter Lawrence.
When looking at a new contract, we should have a good idea of what Williams could receive. For interior defensive lineman, we often see contracts of three or four years. The current highest annual earner at the position is, of course, Donald with the Rams, who makes $31.67MM per year on a three-year deal. Unfortunately, as Donald is a generational talent who is largely untouched by his colleagues, Williams likely won’t sniff Donald’s numbers. Besides Donald, though, Williams has an opportunity to set a new bar for defensive tackles.
Currently, Colts defender DeForest Buckner and Giants versatile lineman Leonard Williams lead the position in annual average value with $21MM. The Chiefs’ star, Jones, is just behind at $20MM and also headed towards a contract year. Williams will benefit from negotiating a new deal at a later date than Buckner and the Giants’ Williams, as contracts tend to continually rise as time goes on. Williams, of the Jets, should expect his new contract to surmount both players’ contracts on the way to an AAV of $22-24MM.
The Jets are hoping to avoid a hold out of their best defensive player. With April drawing ever nearer, New York will likely be putting forth an extension offer of four years worth around $88-92MM. If Donald gets more serious than just flirting with retirement, Williams stands a chance at becoming the highest paid defensive tackle in the league.
Cardinals Finalize Gannon’s New Staff
The Cardinals announced today that they have finalized their coaching staff under new head coach Jonathan Gannon, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. We’ve tracked many new hires, firings, and retainings as they’ve occurred, but today’s finalization fills in any holes that remained between last year’s staff and what we’ve reported on so far. 
On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve got the confirmations and official titles for two new hires. Drew Terrell, who was expected to leave Washington and rumored to be in the running for Arizona’s pass-game coordinator role after missing out on the offensive coordinator job, has officially been hired as the Cardinals’ passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Additionally, Israel Woolfork, who was rumored to become the new quarterbacks coach after being informed by the Browns that he was granted leave from his diversity coaching fellow position, has officially been made the quarterbacks coach in Arizona.
Two other new hires were announced today on the offensive staff. Former Charleston Southern head coach Autry Denson has joined the staff as a running backs coach. Denson has extensive experience coaching the position at the college level for Notre Dame, Miami (OH), and Bethune-Cookman, but this will be his first job in the NFL. Also joining the staff, Chris Cook will be under offensive line coach Klayton Adams as the team’s assistant offensive line coach. Additionally, two members of the offensive staff from former head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s tenure have been retained with slightly new titles. Formerly the co-pass game coordinator, Spencer Whipple will be retained in the role of pass game specialist. Similarly, former Bill Bidwill Fellowship and quarterbacks assistant Connor Senger has been retained in the position of offensive quality control coach.
On the defensive side of the ball, Patrick Toney and William Peagler, who were announced to be joining the Cardinals’ staff after working together at the University of Florida, had their titles officially announced today. Toney, who was originally expected to be the safeties coach, will be the Cardinals’ defensive backs coach. Peagler, after coaching tight ends in Gainesville, will serve as assistant defensive line coach. Additionally, a holdover from last year, former defensive assistant Ronald Booker has been retained to serve as defensive quality control.
On special teams, after the departure of assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons to Carolina, Sam Sewell will be filling the same role in 2023 for the Cardinals. Additionally, away from either side of the ball, the Cardinals hired two more new staffers and retained two others. Brandon Schwab has been hired as assistant to the head coach, and Shea Thompson has been hired as director of football performance. Coaching assistant Jay Razzano was retained from last year’s staff, and Kenny Bell, who served last season in Arizona as chief of staff and offensive assistant, will be retained as the team’s director of football strategy.
With the coaching staff finalized, Gannon and the Cardinals can turn their attention to the NFL Combine, the draft, and the rest of the offseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/1/23
Here are today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: RB Ricky Person
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DE Wyatt Hubert
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: LB Nathan Gerry
After taking some time away from football, Hubert, who retired before the start of his sophomore season in August, tweeted that he is coming out of retirement. Taking time away from the game helped Hubert to heal, and he’s reportedly missed the game a lot in his time off the field. The Bengals, though, have terminated Hubert through the waiver system, so he’ll have to find another squad willing to put him back on the field.
Cardinals Eyeing CB James Bradberry
Jonathan Gannon has been head coach in Arizona for just under two weeks now, and already, he is looking to bring along a former player from his 2022 Eagles defense, according to freelance journalist and former Cardinals staff writer Mike Jurecki. Jurecki reports that Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, currently set to hit free agency at the start of the new league year, is firmly on the Cardinals’ radar this offseason. 
Bradberry has played one season with Gannon under a kind of “prove-it” contract with the Eagles. Three years ago, Bradberry earned a sizeable second contract after an impressive rookie campaign, signing a three-year, $43.5MM contract with the Giants in 2020. Bradberry put forth two strong seasons for Big Blue, earning his first career Pro Bowl selection during his first year in New York and recording seven interceptions and 35 passes defensed over the two-year stretch. Despite his continued high level of play, the Giants couldn’t stomach the cap pressure his contract put on the franchise. Bradberry restructured his contract twice in order to clear some cap space for the team, but after failing to find a trade partner, New York released him after the 2021 season.
Part of the trouble New York had in finding a trade partner for Bradberry was that it would likely require an extension on top of the trade. Many suitors were hesitant to commit to the number Bradberry would likely command and, as a result, Bradberry’s stock was at a new low after his release. Instead of locking himself into a new long-term deal that failed to reflect his actual worth, Bradberry decided to bet on himself, opting for a one-year opportunity with the Eagles to reset his market value. After yet another strong season that resulted in a second-team All-Pro selection, Bradberry’s bet paid off. He should be heading into free agency competing with Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters and Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones for the honor of top cornerback on the market.
Although it’s still early in the offseason, this isn’t the first report we’ve heard on Bradberry’s free agency. A little over a week ago, Bradberry made comments that he had two main desires when deciding on his next contract. Firstly, he wants to join a team with a good roster and a capability to win. Secondly, he wants “the number to be right.” He may not become the highest paid cornerback in the league making north of $20MM, but his new contract should certainly surpass the annual average value of his Giants contract of $14.5MM.
“Good roster” is obviously a subjective phrase and can be interpreted many ways. The Cardinals’ offense certainly houses talented individuals in Kyler Murray, James Conner, (maybe) DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, and Zach Ertz. There is a bit of talent on the offensive line, where some improvements could certainly be made. The retirement of J.J. Watt is certainly a blow to the talent-level of the defense, but players like Zach Allen, Budda Baker, and Marco Wilson make sure it’s not a unit devoid of talent. Arizona could certainly use some strong leadership at the cornerback position. Wilson and Byron Murphy led the group last year, with Antonio Hamilton, Christian Matthew, and Jace Whittaker all contributing off the bench. Bradberry would provide the Cardinals with an immediate No. 1 cornerback and a strong influence for Wilson.
Of course, as Bradberry has said, the number must be right. Currently, the Cardinals rank 11th in cap space in the NFL, according to OverTheCap.com, with $13.8MM of cap room heading into the offseason. With a little maneuvering, they should be able to create plenty of space in order to accommodate a new contract for Bradberry.
It’ll be up to the Cardinals to convince Bradberry they’ve got the right roster and the right offer to entice him to Arizona. It should certainly help that Bradberry is familiar with Gannon and knows he can perform in Gannon’s system. But, considering Bradberry wasn’t even prepared to offer a discount to stay in Philadelphia, it likely will still boil down to the main factors Bradberry has already made clear: talent and money.
Browns Add Bill Musgrave To Staff
Veteran offensive coach Bill Musgrave has found his way back to the NFL, landing a job with the Browns, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. A former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for several NFL franchises over the years, Musgrave’s initial reintroduction to the league will be as an offensive assistant. 
Musgrave began his coaching career before his playing career had even ended. After announcing his retirement in 1997, Musgrave joined the Raiders as a quarterbacks coach. When Oakland head coach Joe Bugel was fired, Musgrave made an attempt to return as a player with the Colts but was released before the season began. He quickly found a job as an offensive assistant with the Eagles and took over play-calling duties for the final 10 games of his second season as a coach in the NFL.
Since then, Musgrave has served as either an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach for the Panthers, Jaguars, Falcons, Vikings, Broncos, and Washington, as well as second stints with both the Eagles and Raiders. The only time he didn’t hold one of those two titles was when he served a season as the Falcons’ assistant head coach. He also spent two seasons from 2001-02 at the University of Virginia as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and tight ends coach. His most recent position was a return to the college coaching ranks, calling plays and coaching quarterbacks at Cal. He was fired by the Golden Bears midway through the 2022 season after the team had lost their sixth game in a row.
Musgrave’s career has seen a repetitive pattern. Musgrave excels as an offensive assistant or quarterbacks coach, mentoring the likes of Michael Vick, Matt Schaub, and Matt Ryan in Atlanta and helping Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez to combine for 4,581 passing yards in 2014, a total that would’ve ranked sixth in the league that year if accomplished by a single passer. Upon viewing that success and being aware of his experience calling plays, he’s then rewarded with an opportunity as a play caller. Ultimately, all of his offensive coordinator opportunities at the NFL level have ended in termination or refusal to retain.
In years where he hasn’t served primarily as quarterbacks coach, his development of quarterbacks has been less than stellar. In Jacksonville, quarterback Byron Leftwich had middling seasons. When he called plays for the Vikings, he had the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in running back Adrian Peterson, but his quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder, also returned middling results. His next opportunity to call plays was for the Raiders. He helped lead breakout years by quarterback Derek Carr, but Carr continued to develop even after Musgrave was let go.
With former Browns quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing taking the next step in his career as Jonathan Gannon‘s new offensive coordinator in Arizona, the position mentoring quarterbacks was open in Cleveland. Any speculation that Musgrave would be coaching Deshaun Watson, Kellen Mond, and company was quickly put to bed, though, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported that Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt would be adding quarterbacks coach to his duties.
Van Pelt has coached quarterbacks for the Bills, Buccaneers, Packers, and Bengals over his career and will now take on the additional duties of mentoring Watson this season. It stands to reason that, with Musgrave’s specialty teaching passers over the years, Musgrave will assist Van Pelt in this endeavor, but Van Pelt will be the one leading the room in 2023.
Bills LB Tremaine Edmunds Bound For Free Agency
Having just played out the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, the Bills’ first-round pick from 2018 may not be long for Buffalo, according to Henry McKenna of Fox Sports. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is set to hit free agency when the new league year begins, and based a number of factors including Edmunds’s own opinion, it doesn’t sound like the Bills will be doing anything to prevent him from testing the open market. 
“I’m gonna let the process take shape,” Edmunds said when asked if he was interested in returning to the Bills. “Like, you know, they’ve been good to me, so I definitely say ‘thank you’ to the Bills for everything that they’ve done for me these last five years, but like I said, man, I’m…in the backseat.”
Edmunds has been extremely productive for the Bills, but due to the presence of strong side linebacker Matt Milano, whom they view as a star at his position, Buffalo feels it can put a lesser player in Edmunds’s position for less money and not experience a large drop off in production. Currently, behind starters Edmunds and Milano, the Bills used Tyrel Dodson and rookie third-round pick Terrel Bernard. They also currently roster Tyler Matakevich and seventh-round rookie Baylon Spector, both of whom spent most of their playing time on special teams in 2022. If they choose to let Edmunds walk, they could probably commit Dodson and/or Bernard to higher snap counts as the two continue to develop. If not, they may choose to address the position in the draft or free agency.
Edmunds certainly has played himself into a favorable position for free agency, which may factor into why he doesn’t sound super eager to work out a deal in Buffalo. The 24-year-old has been extremely consistent with his production over the past five years. Despite having missed at least one game in every season of his career but one, Edmunds has never failed to surpass 100 total tackles, reaching his career high of 121 during his rookie campaign. With only 6.5 sacks to his name, he’s not especially known for getting after the quarterback, but Edmunds can be disruptive as evidenced by 32 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback hits over his five seasons of play.
While he’s always been disruptive in the passing game, as well, with five interceptions and 35 passes defensed in his career, Edmunds took his play in that area to a new level in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), his coverage grade of 90.0 (1st of 70 qualifying linebackers) assisted in him grading out as the 5th best linebacker in the league with defense grade of 81.9. The analytics-based site has not always favored Edmunds. In his first four years of play, the site ranked him as the 67th, 48th, 74th, and 60th best linebacker, respectively. His run defense has usually been a stronger point of his game while coverage has tended to sink his overall score. When it mattered most, though, in a contract year, Edmunds turned in the best performance of his young career in what now seems like an audition for free agency.
There’s no doubt that after this past season, Edmunds should likely be the top-earning inside linebacker in free agency this offseason. His top competition for a new deal this summer should be newly released Zach Cunningham, who was one of several cap casualties of the Titans this week. Besides Cunningham, the top inside linebackers set to hit free agency are likely Lavonte David, Deion Jones, Denzel Perryman, and Germaine Pratt.
David is a wily veteran who, despite his advanced age of 32 years old, is still playing at an elite level in the NFL. He has played his entire career in Tampa Bay and is currently wrapping up a two-year, $25MM deal. Jones is also a veteran who had spent most of his career in Atlanta before being traded to the Browns this past year. His transition to a new team, along with an injury that forced him to miss the first six weeks of the season, resulted in one of his worst seasons, but he has shown the ability to play at an elite level in the past.
Perryman has always graded out fairly well in his career but has usually been limited by injuries. He signed a relatively low deal with the Panthers after his second bout with free agency before getting traded to the Raiders before the season began. Perryman has been stellar during his two years in Las Vegas, earning his first Pro Bowl selection last year. He played well again this year, despite injuries returning to plague his season. Pratt, drafted the year after Edmunds, has similarly been consistently productive over his career but waited until his contract year to have his best season.
David, Jones, and Perryman should all earn strong new contracts, but the numbers in them will likely reflect their age. Pratt, at 26 years old, will probably be the strongest competition for Edmunds alongside David and Cunningham. When determining what these contracts will look like, we can refer to recent deals. The Ravens recently made Roquan Smith the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. No one in this group is reaching Smith’s annual average value of $20MM. Likewise the salaries of top players at the position like Shaquille Leonard, Fred Warner, and C.J. Mosley are likely out of reach.
Most linebackers around Edmunds age earn four- to five-year contracts. There are a number of linebackers making $10MM per year that will likely set the starting point for negotiations. Between the $10MM earners and Mosley are only David’s old contract at $12.5MM per year, Jones’s old contract at $14.25MM per year, and Cunningham’s old contract at $14.5MM per year. While Jones and Cunningham were known as higher-volume tacklers than Edmunds when they signed those deals, Edmunds recent endeavors in coverage surpass theirs at that time, and coverage for a linebacker in today’s NFL is an extremely valuable trait.
That being said, Edmunds should find a five-year deal with an average annual value of up to $15-16MM. A $75MM or $80MM contract may seem high for an inside linebacker, but the Ravens set the market by giving Smith $100MM, and now it’s up to the rest of the league to keep up if they want a top-end linebacker like Edmunds.
NFL Coaching Updates: Cards, Fins, Browns
Jonathan Gannon has continued to put together his new coaching staff in Arizona over the past week, making numerous hires. The Cardinals have made three new additions this past week to the team’s defensive coaching staff.
First, Arizona is bringing in former Vikings assistant linebackers coach Sam Siefkes, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Siefkes spent two years with Minnesota before accepting the linebackers coaching position in Arizona. He’ll be paired with fellow new hire Robert Rodriguez who will be the new outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Rodriguez coached on the same Vikings staff as Gannon for a number of years but has spent the past three football seasons coaching the defensive line at Arizona State. He’ll remain in-state for his next NFL coaching job.
Lastly, the Cardinals have landed their new defensive line coach in Derrick LeBlanc, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. LeBlanc was most recently the assistant defensive line coach for the Dolphins and has coached at the college level, as well, at Arkansas and Kentucky.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFL:
- After losing LeBlanc to Arizona, the Dolphins have already filled his position, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. Miami has hired Western Kentucky defensive line coach Kenny Baker to fill the position of assistant defensive line coach. Baker’s defensive line helped the Hilltoppers to finish second in Conference USA in sacks, scoring defense, and yards per carry allowed in 2022.
- New Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has opted to retain Ben Bloom in a different role for 2023. Bloom, who spent last season as the Browns defensive run game coordinator, has been given the position of defensive line coach, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. This isn’t Bloom’s first position coaching role, after coaching linebackers for the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019. He’s well-respected in league circles and is expected to be a rising name in NFL coaching.
Details On Saints’ Recent Restructures
We reported a bit this week on some of the Saints’ recent cap-clearing moves as they reworked the contracts of offensive linemen Ryan Ramczyk and Erik McCoy, as well as kicker Wil Lutz. We’ve been provided a bit more detail on the financial moves New Orleans has made this week and how it will impact them in the future. 
In regard to Ramczyk’s new deal, the Saints reportedly added a voidable year to his contract, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football. Ramczyk’s cap hit for this year is now at $11.1MM, a reduction of about $10MM, but with cap hits from 2024-27 of $27.03MM, $28.03MM, $25.26MM, and $2.58MM (dead money), the team will likely have to restructure his contract more in the future. His base salaries from 2024-26 are $17MM, $18MM, and $19MM, respectively, giving the Saints some flexibility to restructure. His contract makes him very difficult to trade in the near future, as well, as New Orleans would be facing about $43MM in dead money to have him dealt.
Underhill also provided some details about Lutz’s new deal. His contract now has a base salary of $1.25MM, freeing up $1.5MM of cap space. He will receive a per game active bonus of $26K for a potential season total of $450K, and he can earn $750K in incentives based on field goal percentage and total points.
Additionally, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported yesterday that the team has also restructured safety Tyrann Mathieu‘s contract in order to clear another $4.67MM in cap space for next season. Underhill added that they have also added a voidable year to the veteran’s contract. His cap numbers will now stand at $4.23MM in 2023, $12.07MM in 2024, and $7.30MM of dead money in 2025.
There’s lots to speculate about where this cap space could be going. They could be attempting to make room to accommodate taking on the contract of quarterback Derek Carr, as they were once viewed as frontrunners to land his services, or they could be gearing up to make a run at cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Regardless, the Saints are building some room as they deal with their annual troubles with cap space.
NFL Draft Rumors: Richardson, TEs, Wright
Every year come draft time there are prospects that divide scouts and analysts. Never has that been more apt than this year with Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. We reported this dichotomy back when Richardson first announced his intentions in December, and nearly four months later, teams are still torn.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler went on NFL on ESPN to discuss first-round quarterbacks and the conversation eventually fell to Richardson. Fowler reported that he’s never seen “a bigger variance leaguewide on a feeling about a” quarterback, saying that while some talent evaluators have him as a first-round talent, others (sometimes on the same team) aren’t thinking to look for him until the fourth round.
Fowler believes that Richardson is a bit of a project who will need to find a situation in the NFL where he can sit for a year and develop but notes an NFL executive who calls Richardson a combination of Cam Newton and Justin Fields. Quoting NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 asserts that some teams have Richardson as the second-best quarterback on the board. I’ve personally seen a mock draft by Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports that has the Bears trading Fields and taking Richardson at No. 1 overall.
All this to reiterate sentiments from our breakdown of his initial draft announcement. Teams are evaluating Richardson off of 13 games of film of the one-year starter in Gainesville. That single season saw him complete only 54.2% of his passes for 2,631 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He added 680 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 115 rush attempts. He went 6-7 as a starter for the Gators. The college stats aren’t great, but there’s so little to work with that scouts are still betting on the potential he held as a four-star recruit coming out of high school.
Last year, experts predicted as many as four quarterbacks would be taken in the first round. Only Kenny Pickett actually heard his name on Day 1 of the draft. Evaluators are equally bullheaded this year on quarterbacks going early and often, but with nearly two months until Draft Day, there is still much that we don’t know.
Here are a few other quick notes on upcoming prospects:
- Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer has long been thought of as the 2023 NFL Draft’s best prospect at the position. Well, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, one tight end made a strong case for himself at the Senior Bowl. Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave made a lasting impression on scouts at the all-star event. Musgrave measured at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds and impressed with his physicality, speed, route-running, and hands. Breer posits that Musgrave did enough to earn the top spot on position rankings.
- Another prospect who may be higher than initially thought is Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright. The O-lineman also attended the Senior Bowl with many believing that he had a lot that he still needed to prove. According to Matt Miller of ESPN, Wright may have already done enough. Miller claims Wright is a top-32 prospect and finds it hard to believe that he’ll slip past the first round. The Volunteers didn’t expect to keep the consensus five-star out of West Virginia for all four years and the fact that they did had many thinking Wright is not a first-round talent. An impressive performance at the Senior Bowl and a first-team All-SEC selection in 2022 should prove otherwise as Wright continues to work towards the goal of hearing his name called on the first night of the draft.
Texans Finalize 2023 Coaching Staff
The Texans have made changes to most of their coaching staff this offseason, following the hire of new head coach DeMeco Ryans and then the additions of offensive and defensive coordinators Bobby Slowik and Matt Burke. Houston has since announced that the finalization of its coaching staff for the 2023 season, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. We’ve covered several of the minor staff updates as they’ve happened in real time, but here are the final updates that we have not yet reported. 
On the offensive side of the ball, Houston announced a few names from former head coach Lovie Smith‘s staff that have been retained under Ryans. Running backs coach Danny Barrett will be sticking around after coaching rookie running back Dameon Pierce to an impressive first season of play. Also being retained are offensive assistants Jarrod James and DeNarius McGhee. McGhee has been with the team in this position since 2020, while James joined the staff last year.
Three other coaches were officially hired to the offensive staff. We had seen rumors that former Colts offensive line coach Chris Strausser was the favorite to coach the same position for Ryans in Houston, and that rumor was confirmed today as he was announced with the finalized staff. Also announced was assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich, who hasn’t coached in the NFL since he parted ways with the Patriots in 2021. He spent last year as the offensive line coach at Troy. Lastly, Ryans and Slowik have brought on Bill Lazor as a senior offensive assistant. Lazor didn’t coach last year after being fired by the Bears but brings experience as someone who’s been an offensive coordinator for three NFL franchises.
On the defensive side of the ball, Houston kept a few mores names from Smith’s former staff. Cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso will return to coach a talented group that includes veterans Steven Nelson, Desmond King, and Tavierre Thomas, as well as youngster Derek Stingley. Ryans has also chosen to retain defensive assistant Ben Bolling. Other defensive assistants Ilir Emini and Dele Harding were not retained by Ryans and Burke. Lastly on defense, it had been rumored that former 49ers defensive passing game specialist and secondary coach Cory Undlin would be reuniting with Ryans in a similar role with the Texans. This latest announcement shows that Undlin will not have a position coaching role but has been officially hired as the team’s defensive pass-game coordinator.
There are a few more updates to wrap things up. We knew that special teams coordinator Frank Ross was being retained in Ryans’s new staff, but now we have word that assistant special teams coordinator Sean Baker will also be sticking around. We also have the official title for former Kent State director of football operations and Yale chief of staff Jake Olson. He will serve as assistant to the coaches in Houston. Lastly, Smith’s special assistant to the head coach for football performance, Tobijah Hughley, has not been retained under Ryans’ new staff.
There it is. The Texans are now ready to herald a new era under Ryans and his staff. The teams needs a lot of work following a 3-13-1 season, and now Ryans has the group of coaches on which he’ll rely to usher in this new age of Texans football.