Raiders Coaching Rumors: Saturday
The Raiders’ coaching search continues, and while interim head coach Tony Sparano remains in the running, the team has reached out to outside hires as well. The team has already asked for permission to speak with Broncos’ defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
Here are some other notes surrounding the team’s search:
- Sparano has remained confident in his abilities to lead the Raiders, but that may not be the best course of action for him, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio compares it to Hue Jackson campaigning for the job three years ago when on the brink of being fired, noting that owner Mark Davis was turned off by his public comments.
- Defensive line coach Terrell Williams has left the team to join the staff of the University of Florida, reports Steve Corkran of the San Jose Mercury News. Williams spent three seasons with the Raiders, and Corkran notes that other assistants are expected to leave the team soon.
- Raiders’ assistant coaches are all signed for only ten more days, reports Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Sparano is the only one under contract for 2015. Tafur writes if Sparano was to get the job, he would have the opportunity to hire a fully new staff to coach under him (via Twitter). Davis has made a habit of only signing assistants to one-year deals, and Sparano was the exception due to interest the Buccaneers had in him (via Twitter).
- Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is on the team’s wish list, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes that he could be very choosy in selecting a job (via Twitter). Rapoport picks Atlanta and Oakland as two jobs that he would be interested in taking.
NFC South Notes: Bucs, Trestman, Draft
The Buccaneers had a disastrous 2014, but with the New Year hope they will be able to turn things around quickly. Among their top priorities are landing an improvement at quarterback and finding an offensive coordinator to replace Jeff Tedford, who missed the season after having a heart procedure in August, according to the Associated Press in USA Today.
- Buccaneers current quarterback Josh McCown has pushed for the team to hire Marc Trestman as the offensive coordinator, reports Conor Orr of NFL.com. He mentioned his affinity for Trestman to the media, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. “I think Marc is an outstanding coach and an outstanding person and he has a great sense of offensive football, especially quarterback play,” said McCown. “I just know that, for me personally, I played my best football in my career under him. So obviously I have good things to say. But I’ve been around a bunch of different guys over the course of my career, and he was probably the most detailed with game plans and things like that. I really felt like he was on top of it.’’
- Today the Oregon Ducks will play the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl, and the Buccaneers will be watching that game closely according to Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune. The Buccaneers top need is quarterback, and they are expected to draft one with the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Their options will likely be either Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the past two Heisman Trophy winners. General manager Jason Licht will be in attendance for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and will probably be watching his team’s franchise quarterback one way or the other.
- The Falcons also have had a close eye on bowl games since missing the playoffs, with general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant general manager Scott Pioli in attendance for the Peach Bowl between TCU and Ole Miss on New Year’s Eve, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- The Saints have 11 players set to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, according to Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Woodbery writes that none of the 11 will have huge markets for themselves, except maybe Mark Ingram if another NFL team is in desperate need of a starting running back.
Bills Interested In Frank Reich
With Doug Marrone no longer employed as the Bills‘ head coach, the team will have to look elsewhere to replace the man who brought Buffalo its second winning season in the past 15 years.
Although news of Marrone’s departure only became public last night, the fallout has been quick, and the Bills may already have a frontrunner to replace him as head coach in Buffalo. The team will have a strong interest in Chargers‘ offensive coordinator Frank Reich, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Reich, who was the team’s backup quarterback behind Jim Kelly for the great Bills teams of the late 80s and early 90s, famously leading the team to a comeback victory over the Oilers after trailing 35-3 in the second half.
The team is also considering defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and could be interested in former Steelers’ coach Bill Cowher, but Vic Carrucci of The Buffalo News writes that Reich immediately became the team’s top target.
Reich would be the favorite for Bill Polian, who is expected to take over as the team’s head of football operations within the next month.
In anticipation of the hire, Mathew Fairburn of Syracuse.com put together a list of five things to know about the connection between Reich and the Bills. He obviously has a long history with the franchise, but Fairburn also points out that when Polian took over the expansion Carolina Panthers, he brought Reich in to be the team’s first quarterback.
Fairburn also writes that Reich worked under successful head coaches Tony Dungy, Ken Whisenhunt, and most recently Mike McCoy.
Bills’ Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed believes Reich would be a great hire in Buffalo, writes Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.
I think he would make — definitely would make a great head coach anywhere,” said Reed. “He’s definitely a viable candidate. I think he would do a great job. Not only would he bring a lot of credibility, but Bills fans would probably — the roof would probably come off if he came in there and became the head coach. I’m definitely a proponent of him being the head coach there, if that’s the way and that’s what goes down.”
Reich is coming off his first year as an offensive coordinator and play caller in San Diego, and while Chargers’ general manager Tom Telesco understands the interest, he is not looking forward to losing Reich, reports Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego.
“I think Frank, in his first year, did a very good job,” Telesco said. “He’s smart. He’s detailed. He’s prepared for this for a long time. He’s a great teacher, a great communicator, and he can really handle a room as far as handling the offense. He did an excellent job, and I’m not surprised that some teams would have interest in him. But selfishly, I hope he stays here.”
While Telesco may hope to retain Reich, his history in Buffalo and the opportunity to become a head coach for the first time may be difficult to pass up.
Jets Interested In Doug Marrone
From the moment Bills‘ head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract, he has been linked to another vacant job within the division, with the rival Jets. As Zach Links reported on the fallout from his decision, key parts of the story were the Jets immediately being expected to schedule an interview with Marrone, as well as a report that the coach does not believe in quarterback Geno Smith.
There is mutual interest between the two parties, according to Brian Costello and Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, and an interview will be scheduled shortly. They noted that Marrone is originally from the Bronx and was an offensive line coach for the Jets under Herm Edwards for four seasons before taking the head coaching job at Syracuse.
Marrone could be a perfect fit for the team, writes Steve Serby of the New York Post. He is a disciplinarian and a no-nonsense guy, according to Serby, and his decision to bench first-round pick EJ Manuel in favor of Kyle Orton almost propelled the team into the playoffs, while Rex Ryan refused to bench Smith, or wasn’t allowed to organizationally.
Serby compares him to a young Tom Coughlin, and notes that he has strong connections to both Coughlin and Saints’ head coach Sean Payton, with whom he built an offensive line good enough to help that team win a Super Bowl.
Jets’ owner Woody Johnson’s consultant Charlie Casserly reportedly loves Marrone, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. Casserly has been raving about the former Bills’ coach since he took the job at Syracuse in 2009, according to Cimini’s source.
“He was totally infatuated with him,” the source said. “You have to know Charley: When he gets on something, he’s a pit bull. I know he’s got Woody [Johnson] all lathered up.”
The Jets are still searching for their next general manager as well, but could hire Marrone immediately. The team has already satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn on Wednesday. If they were to hire Marrone first, he would likely have a say in who the team hires as a general manager to work with him.
Hiring a coach before a general manager puts the power structure of the organization in a very awkward position, according to Cimini. He writes that under that scenario, both of these new hires will likely report directly to the owner, and the system of checks and balances will be out of sorts.
“You might as well take a gun, aim at your foot and shoot twice,” said one longtime NFL personnel executive. “That would be absolutely stupid. As soon as you hire a coach, you have to understand that the GM would no longer be a GM. He’d be an MG. How do you have checks and balances? It seems to me that Woody is making this up as he goes along.”
Costello and Cannizzaro connect Marrone to two possible general manager candidates in Mike Maccagnan and Rick Mueller, both of whom have worked with Marrone before, as a player with the World League’s London Monarchs and as a coach with the Saints, respectively.
The Jets still have a number of interviews scheduled, including three in Seattle on Friday. They will interview Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, offensive line coach Tom Cable, and pro personnel director Trent Kirchner.
Jets To Fire Rex Ryan, John Idzik
MONDAY, 7:30am: The Jets have officially informed Ryan he has been fired, tweets Jay Glazer of FOX Sports. The Jets themselves have confirmed as much (via Twitter), adding that Idzik’s firing has been made official as well.
SUNDAY, 11:10pm: Not that this should come as much of a surprise as Black Monday approaches in the NFL, but the Jets and owner Woody Johnson are prepared to fire head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik, according to Chris Mortenson of ESPN (via Twitter).
Mortenson writes that Idzik will be fired as expected, and that Johnson will not keep Ryan hanging as to wait on the next general manager to decide that.
In the recent days, Pro Football Rumors has monitored the situation with the Jets’ head coach and front office very closely, constantly updating on the hirings Johnson has made and the general feeling surrounding both Ryan and Idzik.
Ryan was 45-50 as head coach of the Jets, including this disastrous 2014 season which saw the team win only four games. In his first two seasons, Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez won four road playoff games en route to back-to-back appearances in the AFC Championship game.
It was reported over the weekend that Johnson’s consultants had already made calls concerning available coach and general manager candidates, so the move does not come as a shock.
Ryan will be a highly desired coach on the open market this offseason, according to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com (via Twitter). Fitzgerald does believe Ryan will do better long term if he sits out a year before coming back to coaching.
A PFR poll tallied in mid-October had a majority of readers believing Ryan would most likely be working in TV in 2015, but a significant number thought he would still be coaching in the NFL somewhere, with those votes split amongst a few teams.
Atlanta seems like the obvious fit, and after being embarrassed today against the Panthers and failing to make the playoffs, Mike Smith could be out as head coach there. Owner Arthur Blank reportedly considered Ryan a front runner back when that job was open in the first place.
Idzik’s tenure with the Jets was far less celebrated, lasting only two seasons with the team. It would be difficult to imagine him achieving another general manager job in the NFL anytime soon, but he could go back to Seattle – where he had past success – or pursue another front office job with an NFL team.
Giants Notes: Coughlin, Manning, Kiwanuka
Head coach Tom Coughlin may believe he has the team trending in the right direction, but Dan Graziano of ESPNNewYork.com believes the best thing for the Giants this offseason would be to be honest with themselves.
He writes that Coughlin’s 49-47 record over the last six seasons leaves much to be desired, and that the team has regressed that past two years. He also thinks that defending defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s job is unrealistic, as Fewell’s unit has been disappointing.
He does not believe the team needs to fire Coughlin, but wants them to take a good look on what they have actually accomplished, as opposed to where they think the team is trending.
Here are some other notes from around Big Blue:
- Gary Myers agrees with Graziano that the team needs to move on from Fewell, according to his article for the New York Daily News. He writes that the defense needs a new voice, but believes Coughlin deserves another year.
- Players will be available to the media on Monday, reports Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (via Twitter). Coaches, front office executives, and decision makers will likely brief fans on the state of play sometime on Tuesday,
- The schedule for coach Coughlin to speak gives a hint that he will be returning in 2015, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Schwartz believes if he was going to be fired, the team wouldn’t have announced when he would be available at all, and the organization would not wait until Tuesday to deliver that news.
- If quarterback Eli Manning has any input, he would encourage the team to keep Coughlin anyway, according to Schwartz (via Twitter). “I think coach Coughlin is an excellent coach,” said Manning. “And he deserves to be the coach and we’ve got to play better for him.”
- Graziano adds that Manning will lower his cap hit because the Giants will most likely extend him at some point (via Twitter). He did say he would be willing to play out the final year of his deal, according to Raanan, but after a successful season, the team would be smart to negotiate a longer extension.
- One Giant who will not be returning is Mathias Kiwanuka, according to Raanan (via Twitter). Raanan cites his cap number and high salary as reasons the team will move on from him.
Eagles Links: McCoy, Sanchez, Roseman
After beating the Giants in Week 17, a number of writers for the Philadelphia Inquirer came out to eulogize a promising season that ended in disappointment.
One of the biggest questions the Eagles have heading into the offseason is the contract of Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy. Zach Berman caught some of what McCoy said about his future with that team in a series of tweets.
“I’m an Eagle, I love it here. My six years here have been excellent. I’ve been very, very, very productive here,” said McCoy. “We’ll see what happens. It’s a business. Anything can happen; I know that. But I’m sure we can work something out.”
“It depends how they want to do it. …I love this team, and I’ll do whatever it takes. …We’ve got some time.”
While he has made it clear that he would be willing to restructure his deal, Jeff McClane writes that he would be surprised if McCoy took a pay cut to remain with the team (via Twitter).
- McCoy may be the most talented player on the offense, but Chip Kelly’s offense needs a quarterback to make it go. Mark Sanchez has likely played his final game as the team’s starting quarterback, and his time as an Eagle in general may be up, writes Mike Sielski.
- Owner Jeffrey Lurie was unwilling to commit to the team’s other quarterback, Nick Foles, according to McClane (via Twitter). He said the team would know more by March about the situation developing at the position.
- The Eagles are coming off two good seasons, one that ended in a playoff appearance and one that fell just short of the mark. Bob Ford believes the team needs to make the next step, which won’t be easy. “The hardest part is to go from good to great,” Lurie said. “We’re at the good, but we don’t want that. We want to be great. I just look at what we could have accomplished this year. It’s exciting. We’re not sitting here 2-14 or 4-12 or whatever. . . . I think we’re pretty close. We know exactly what we need to upgrade. We’ve got a great group of young players, a lot of up-and-coming stars in this league. It’s all in front of us.”
- One big decision for Lurie that could be the difference between taking the team from good to great is the choice to keep or move on from general manager Howie Roseman, writes McClane. As of now, Lurie says that Roseman will be back with the team. Roseman’s first-round pick in 2014 was unable to see much playing time, and reports have it that the hierarchy is unclear between himself and Kelly.
- A weakness of the 2014 Eagles was the secondary, and that will be a priority this offseason, according to Marc Narducci. He writes about how they fared without Bradley Fletcher, and with inconsistent play even in the Week 17 win, there will surely be changes in time for 2015.
Bears Notes: Trestman, Cutler, Shanahan
Fans and pundits have believed that the Bears’ coaching staff could be fired as soon as Monday, but general manager Phil Emery says that the coaches will hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com.
“Obviously, it’s at the end of the season,” Emery said. “So on Monday, we’ll have a team meeting. Our coaches will hold that meeting. After that, they’ll start evaluating players. We’ve already done that from a personnel perspective, and we’ll move forward.”
Still, major changes are in order for the Bears this offseason, from either a coaching standpoint, a personnel standpoint, or more likely both:
- While head coach Marc Trestman and his coaching staff are unlikely to return, a big question is whether Emery will lose his job as well, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune. Haugh also questions whether the team will begin to look into moving on from Jay Cutler as well. Cutler will be playing for his fifth offensive coordinator since 2009, should Trestman’s staff lose their jobs as expected.
- Despite the end of the Trestman-era, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes that the organization needs to stop consulting their quarterback when making decisions on coaching. Biggs points out that Cutler has been the common denominator in the team’s perennial underachieving.
- Cutler did give a vote of confidence to former coach Mike Shanahan, writes Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cutler played under Shanahan with the Broncos during his first few years in the NFL, where he experienced some of his best play at quarterback. “[Shanahan is] a heck of a coach. He deserves to be a coach somewhere. He’s out of the game so I’m sure he is looking to coach somewhere,” said Cutler. “My three years with him were very, very enjoyable. He does a great job of leading teams, on and off the field, and offensively he knows how to get it done.”
AFC East Notes: Wallace, Caserio, Bills
Dolphins‘ receiver Mike Wallace was benched during today’s game against the Jets for what was apparently an attitude problem, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (via Twitter). Breer highlights this as a situation to watch going forward into the offseason.
Wallace is signed through 2017, with cap numbers of $12.1MM, $13.7MM, and $13.7MM the next three seasons. The team would only save $2.5MM by cutting him this offseason, according to OverTheCap.com.
Here are some other notes from around the AFC East:
- The Patriots extended the contract of director of player personnel Nick Caserio earlier today, and one reason for this could be the opinion of head coach Bill Belichick, writes Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. “He contributes in a lot of different ways, and I’m glad I have him. I need him,” Belichick said. “He probably does more than any other person in his position in the league in terms of his amount of responsibility and the number of different things at the coaching and scouting level. He’s really a valuable guy that has great working knowledge of really everything that we do on the scouting end and the coaching end.”
- Bills‘ CEO Russ Brandon and head coach Doug Marrone both confirmed that they do not have any scheduled meetings with new owners Terry and Kim Pegula, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “I’m sure at some point we’ll get into some more in-depth meetings,” Brandon said. “There’s nothing scheduled at this point. I talk to Terry all the time, and I have nothing on the books right now for any meetings.” Marrone confirmed that he had not been contacted regarding a meeting.
- Marrone has three days after the end of the season to opt out of his contract with the Bills due to a change in ownership, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio does not believe Marrone will exercise this clause in his contract.
- Bills‘ running back Fred Jackson earned an incentive of $150,000 in the team’s Week 17 victory over the Patriots, reports Rodak (via Twitter).
Draft Order Set For Non-Playoff Teams
The 2015 NFL Draft is looking clearer now, after the Ravens clinched the final playoff seed in the AFC. That means the 20 teams to miss the playoffs have their orders set.
The Chiefs will pick right after the Chargers based on divisional tiebreakers.
The first 20 picks are as follows, based on overall record and strength of schedule, according to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com.
- Buccaneers
- Titans
- Jaguars
- Raiders
- Washington
- Jets
- Bears
- Falcons
- Giants
- Rams
- Vikings
- Browns
- Saints
- Dolphins
- 49ers
- Texans
- Chargers
- Chiefs
- Browns (from Bills, via trade)
- Eagles