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Commanders, Ravens Interested In Eric Bieniemy For OC

January 26th, 2023 at 10:57am CST by Sam Robinson

A key talking point each January, Eric Bieniemy‘s head coaching candidacy has tapered off in recent years. Despite Matt Nagy and Doug Pederson landing HC jobs from Andy Reid‘s Chiefs staff, Bieniemy has been stuck at the coordinator level. Only one team — the Colts — has interviewed him for its HC post this year.

Others remain interested in the five-year Chiefs OC for a lateral move. The Commanders and Ravens are the latest rumored to want an OC meeting with Bieniemy, Aaron Wilson of KPRC tweets. The Indianapolis HC path remains in play for Bieniemy, but similar avenues have repeatedly closed for the longtime Reid lieutenant over the past several years.

The Commanders and Ravens jobs are not classified as lateral moves, since each position would come with full play-calling responsibilities. Thus, the Chiefs cannot block Bieniemy from an interview. Reid has been Kansas City’s primary play-caller throughout his 10-year Missouri stay, and the top-tier HC receives the bulk of the credit for Patrick Mahomes submitting arguably the greatest early-career resume in quarterback history. Bieniemy has been Kansas City’s OC throughout Mahomes’ run as the team’s starter, but after extensive interest emerged early during his time in this job, the league has cooled on him.

Bieniemy, 53, signed an extension with the Chiefs last year and has not been closely connected to other OC jobs prior to this month. It would be bring somewhat of a risk to leave the Reid-Mahomes infrastructure the Chiefs provide, but Bieniemy having success as a play-caller could also finally break down the door to a top job. Ex-Chiefs QBs coach Mike Kafka is now on the HC radar, after becoming the Giants’ play-caller. Mahomes is ticketed to win a second MVP award and has powered the Chiefs to a fifth straight AFC championship game, doing so this time without Tyreek Hill.

Washington has seen multiple options — Jim Caldwell and Darrell Bevell — turn down the chance to interview. Ron Rivera‘s hot-seat status also complicates this season, since the OC role has a greater chance of being a one-and-done here than it does in most places. Many around the league expect, for this reason, the Commanders to promote quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese to replace Scott Turner, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Baltimore has also begun its interviews to replace Greg Roman. While Bieniemy, Frank Reich and Byron Leftwich have been linked to the position, none has been confirmed as an interviewee just yet.

2023 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

January 25th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the head coaching carousel spins, many of the league’s offensive and defensive coordinator positions are open as well. Teams seeking new head coaches will soon begin OC and DC searches — some have already started those processes — but a handful of other teams that did not make HC changes are also searching for top assistants.

The Browns and Patriots have begun 2023’s coordinator hires. Here are the rest of the teams searching for new OCs and DCs. As new searches emerge, they will be added to the list.

Updated 1-26-23 (10:06pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Greg Roman)

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Joe Lombardi)

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Liam Coen)

New York Jets (Out: Mike LaFleur)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Byron Leftwich)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Todd Downing)

Washington Commanders (Out: Scott Turner)

Defensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Dean Pees)

Carolina Panthers 

Miami Dolphins (Out: Josh Boyer)

Minnesota Vikings (Out: Ed Donatell)

Ravens Interview James Urban, George Godsey, Zac Robinson For OC

January 24th, 2023 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Indicating he would include internal options for what he labeled one of the best jobs available this offseason, John Harbaugh has followed through on that. Two of Greg Roman‘s lieutenants have interviewed to replace him.

The Ravens interviewed quarterbacks coach James Urban and tight ends coach George Godsey for the offensive coordinator post, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. Additionally, the team completed its interview with Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson on Tuesday.

While Godsey joined Harbaugh’s staff in 2022, Urban has been Lamar Jackson‘s position coach throughout the star quarterback’s Baltimore tenure. That will count for something, as the Roman-Urban-Jackson troika was responsible for a quick turnaround that involved the team radically redesigning its offense to suit Jackson. But the former MVP may have grown tired of the setup. Jackson endorsed a tweet reminding he ran a pro-style attack at Louisville, providing another sign of unhappiness with recent Baltimore happenings. Despite an unusual end to his season and being mentioned loosely in trade rumors, Jackson will have input in the Ravens’ OC search.

Urban, 49, began his NFL run on Andy Reid‘s Eagles staffs and has stayed at least five years with each of his three NFL employers; Urban also spent seven years as the Bengals’ wide receivers coach during the 2010s. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens retain him, given Roman’s departure.

Godsey, 44, has experience as an OC, having served in that role with the Texans and Dolphins. Bill O’Brien promoted the ex-Patriots staffer to OC in 2015 but fired him after the ’16 campaign. Godsey has both coached QBs and tight ends during his time in the pros, holding dual roles of co-OC and tight ends coach under Brian Flores in 2021. With Godsey and Eric Studesville running the offense, Miami ranked 22nd in scoring last season.

It would surprise if the Ravens hired an in-house Roman replacement, though the team has promoted from within (Roman, Marty Mornhinweg) to fill this position the past two times it became open. Thus far, Baltimore has contacted seven coaches about the job. Here is how the Ravens’ search looks so far, via PFR’s offensive coordinator search tracker.

  • Brian Angelichio, tight ends coach (Vikings): Interview requested
  • Dave Canales, quarterbacks coach (Seahawks): Interview requested
  • George Godsey, tight ends coach (Ravens): Interviewed
  • Chad O’Shea, wide receivers coach (Browns): Interview requested
  • Justin Outten, offensive coordinator (Broncos): To interview
  • James Urban, quarterbacks coach (Ravens): Interviewed
  • Zac Robinson, quarterbacks coach (Rams): Interviewed 1/24

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/23/23

January 23rd, 2023 at 7:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

Mullen was a second-round pick by the Raiders back in 2019. Despite starting 31 of his 37 appearances through his first three seasons in the NFL, he was traded to the Cardinals for a seventh-round pick prior to the 2022 campaign. He got into eight games for Arizona before getting waived, and he caught on with the Cowboys in December. The 25-year-old won’t officially join Baltimore until the day after the Super Bowl (February 13).

Ravens To Interview Justin Outten For OC Position

January 23rd, 2023 at 2:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

The list of candidates for the Ravens’ vacant offensive coordinator position continues to grow. Baltimore has an interview lined up with Broncos OC Justin Outten, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The Ravens had been linked to four other candidates prior to this news (Zac Robinson, Chad O’Shea, Dave Canales and Brian Angelichio), as the team searches for its Greg Roman replacement. The latter’s departure came as little surprise given the increasing calls for his firing which emerged during the season, but it created an intriguing vacancy given the uncertain future surrounding quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Outten, 39, followed Nathaniel Hackett to Denver last offseason as a familiar coach to help form his first Broncos staff. Things did not at all go according to plan, however, and Hackett failed to last the full season before being let go. Not long before that happened, he ceded play-calling duties to QBs coach Klint Kubiak.

However, Outten did call plays for the final two games of the season, the time in which Jerry Rosburg operated as Denver’s interim head coach. That brief stretch marked the first time the former was given such responsibilities at the pro level, as his NFL resume is relatively short compared to some other staffers around the league. Outten spent three years as Green Bay’s tight ends coach before what will likely be a one-and-done stint in Denver. He was an assistant with the Falcons in 2017 and 2018.

Despite his relative lack of experience, Outten has drawn interest in this year’s sizeable OC market. Both the Titans and Rams have requested interviews with him, although in both cases it was not specified at the time what position they were seeking to give him. Tennessee is looking for a new play-caller, but, given the news that Sean McVay is remaining in Los Angeles, the Rams are not.

In Baltimore, Outten would take on play-calling duties in the event he were to be hired at the OC level. The Ravens established themselves as a dominant run team during Roman’s tenure, but deficiencies in the pass game were prevalent both with and without Jackson in the lineup. That area is therefore expected to be a main point of focus in the team’s ultimate hire, though head coach John Harbaugh has maintained that a strong ground presence will still be relied upon moving forward. Whether Outten has a part to play in that could be revealed in the near future.

Ravens Request OC Interview With Vikings’ Brian Angelichio

January 22nd, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens continue to cast a wide net in search of their new offensive play caller. In addition to considering Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Browns wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea, and Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales, Baltimore has requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Angelichio has been a tight ends coach in the league since 2012 when he followed Greg Schiano from Rutgers to the Buccaneers. Since then, he’s had some bad luck finding head coaches who have stayed in their jobs long term, bouncing around to Cleveland, Green Bay, Washington, and Carolina before his most recent position in Minnesota. Angelichio joined the Vikings’ staff this year with first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell, who granted him the new added moniker of passing game coordinator.

Angelichio has a few notable coaching performances on his resume. In 2015, he coached veteran tight end Gary Barnidge to a career 1,043-yard season in which he caught nine touchdowns. He’s also coached some of the NFL’s best recent tight ends, overseeing Jimmy Graham with the Packers as well as Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis in Washington. With Angelichio as passing game coordinator, the Vikings ranked fifth in the NFL in passing yards gained and tied for fourth in the league in passing touchdowns this year.

Angelichio has now had his name added to the ever-growing list of candidates to become the Ravens’ new offensive coordinator, alongside Robinson, O’Shea, and Canales. Fowler added that there are a number of other names he’s hearing as potential candidates including former Colts head coach Frank Reich, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

In addition to the many outside candidates, the Ravens also have at least two in-house candidates in wide receivers coach Tee Martin and quarterbacks coach James Urban. Martin is a recent addition to the NFL coaching ranks, joining the Ravens in 2021 after years as a passing game coordinator and play caller for multiple Power 5 programs in college football. Urban has been with the team since 2018, coaching Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson since his rookie season. He’s never called plays, but he’s been in the NFL since 2004 and worked alongside Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for much of that time.

Baltimore is doing its due diligence with its search for a new offensive play caller. The team has doubled down on their intent to center the offense around Jackson, going as far as to allow him as much input into the coaching search as possible. Angelichio becomes one of many names for Jackson, Harbaugh, and company to consider.

Ravens’ Chuck Clark, Justin Houston Hoping To Remain In 2023

January 21st, 2023 at 9:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Baltimore’s offseason will be dominated by their contract decision with respect to quarterback Lamar Jackson, but a number of other notable players face uncertain futures as well. Two of the team’s key defenders have expressed their desire to remain with the Ravens for 2023.

One of those is safety Chuck Clark, who drew plenty of headlines last offseason with respect to his desire to stay with the team. The 27-year-old represented a logical trade candidate in the wake of Baltimore signing Marcus Williams to a big-money free agent deal and using their top draft pick on Kyle Hamilton. In the summer, he confirmed that he had in fact asked to be moved, though the Ravens held onto him throughout the campaign.

Williams essentially played on an every-snap basis when healthy, but the same was also true of Clark. That came as little surprise early on in the season, but many predicted Hamilton would gradually take over his role as (primarily) a box defender later on. Instead, the latter wound up with a 53% defensive snap share, operating as part of the team’s three-safety packages. That left Clark on the field full-time, where he totaled 101 tackles and four pass deflections.

The veteran is on the books for one more season, but he acknowledged (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, on Twitter) that there is once again “uncertainty” regarding whether or not he will continue his career in Baltimore. Clark is scheduled to carry a cap hit of just over $6.2MM in 2023, and Hamilton could presumably take on his role as a hybrid defender (if not the unit’s play-caller). Clark’s desire to remain nevertheless represents a notable departure from his stance last year.

His intention was echoed by pass rusher Justin Houston. The 34-year-old started only one contest in 2022, his second with the Ravens, and saw a rotational role on the edge. Despite his 44% snap share, Houston led the team in sacks with 9.5, demonstrating his continued ability to be a disruptive presence in the latter stages of his career. He is, to little surprise, then, eyeing a deal which allows him to play at least one more season.

“The way I feel right now – I’ll be back,” the pending free agent said, via Clifton Brown of the team’s website. “We’ll see if the chips work out, and I’ll be here. That’s out of my control. We’ll see what they do. [But] I’d like to be back here.”

Much of Baltimore’s cap situation will be dictated by Jackson’s cost on either a franchise tag or a long-term deal. When they have established more financial clarity, though, the degree to which Clark’s and Houston’s desire to return is reciprocated will be a notable subplot.

Ravens Request Interview With Seahawks’ Dave Canales For OC

January 21st, 2023 at 3:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters this week that the franchise will “cast a wide net” for what he considers to be “one of the top football coaching jobs in the world,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The team has followed through on that promise thus far, continuing a trend today as they made their third request to interview a candidate in the past two days. This time, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the target is Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales.

Canales is a longtime Seattle staffer who has spent his entire life on the west coast. Growing up and schooling in California, Canales took the progressive steps from high school coordinator to community college position coach to Power Five strength coach all within a five-year period.

He left his position at USC, following then-head coach Pete Carroll, to join the Seahawks as a wide receivers coach in 2010. Canales stayed in the position for eight years before moving to the quarterbacks room. After two seasons as quarterbacks coach, Canales was granted the title of passing game coordinator for two years before going back to the quarterbacks coaching position this season.

As the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach, Canales ensured the seamless transition from one Pro Bowl quarterback to another. Working closely with quarterback Geno Smith, who had started five games in the previous six seasons, Canales coached Smith to a career year in the quarterback’s ninth season. During Smith’s first two seasons in the NFL, his only two as a full-time starter prior to this year, Smith had a paltry completion percentage of 57.5 and threw more interceptions (34) than touchdowns (25). This year, under Canales, Smith led the NFL with a completion percentage of 69.8 and was the only quarterback in the league to throw 30 or more touchdowns while tossing less than 12 interceptions.

The move to Baltimore may be a bit of a culture shock for the longtime westerner, but the Ravens would be rewarding him with a promotion to coordinator and the keys to an offense with an MVP quarterback if he gets the position. Lamar Jackson, while still completing a respectable 62.3-percent of his passes this year, finished the season with his lowest completion percentage since his rookie year. He has also seen his QBR plummet ever since his league-leading 83.0 rating during his MVP campaign. Bringing in a coach who has experience with a mobile quarterback like Russell Wilson and helped develop a veteran passer like Smith could be just what the doctor ordered in Baltimore.

For now, Canales is one of many coaches expected to fall under the widely cast net as Harbaugh and the Ravens look to fill one of the top football coaching jobs in the world. The team has also recently requested meetings with Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson and Browns wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. There is likely to be several more names in consideration as Harbaugh, Jackson, and company decide who will best help them to take the next step.

Ravens Request OC Interview With Chad O’Shea

January 21st, 2023 at 11:07am CST by Ben Levine

The Ravens’ search for a new offensive coordinator has led them to a division foe. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter), the Ravens have requested permission to interview Browns wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea for their OC vacancy.

[RELATED: Ravens, OC Greg Roman To Part Ways]

O’Shea spent time with the Chiefs and Vikings before a long stint with the Patriots. During his decade as New England’s wide receivers coach, the Patriots won three rings. He joined Brian Flores in Miami as the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator in 2019, but he only lasted a year before earning his walking papers. The 50-year-old has spent the past three years as the Browns wide receivers coach.

The Ravens parted ways with Greg Roman earlier this week, opening up a major hole on the coaching staff. We’ve since learned that Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson is a candidate for the position, and more names will surely join the fray in the coming days. We also heard the other day that quarterback Lamar Jackson would play a role in the hiring of a new offensive coordinator.

While speaking to reporters earlier this week, Ravens coach John Harbaugh expressed his belief that Baltimore’s OC gig will be a highly sought-after job.

“This is going to be a highly sought-after job; this is one of the top football coaching jobs in the world,” Harbaugh said (via Cabot). “Everybody’s going to want this job. So, I’m looking forward to getting started, and it won’t just be me; it’ll be other coaches and scouts involved in it. We’re going to cast a wide net, and we’re going to look far and wide and close. We’ll get the best fit for what we’re trying to accomplish, and it’s going to be a highly-qualified candidate.”

Rams’ Zac Robinson OC Candidate For Chargers, Ravens

January 20th, 2023 at 9:55pm CST by Ely Allen

After parting ways with offensive coordinators Joe Lombardi and Greg Roman, the Chargers and Ravens are both searching for new play callers to lead their young quarterbacks next season. Both teams took a step towards filling their empty roles today, requesting an interview with Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, according to reports from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.

Robinson enjoyed a short career as an NFL quarterback after being drafted in the seventh round out of Oklahoma State in 2010. He bounced around from the Patriots to the Seahawks to the Lions all within his rookie season. After being waived by Detroit just prior to the 2011 NFL season, Robinson signed with the Bengals. He would remain in Cincinnati until injuries would effectively end his playing career in 2013.

After then-Rams quarterback coach Zac Taylor left to become the head coach of the Bengals, Robinson was hired as the assistant quarterbacks coach six years later in Los Angeles. He would momentarily be asked to change rooms as the assistant wide receivers coach but would switch back to assistant quarterbacks coach with the first departure of Liam Coen to Kentucky. When Coen returned as offensive coordinator, Robinson was promoted to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, officially dropping the assistant moniker from the title.

The Rams offensive unit had an uncharacteristically poor statistical season this year. They were surely hampered by injuries and losses to key players such as quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and last year’s leading rusher Sony Michel. Still, for a Rams offense that has routinely finished top-ten in the league in yards and scoring since Sean McVay took over in 2017, finishing 27th in the league in scoring and dead last in yards gained this season is a stark change from the norm in Los Angeles.

This downturn in production hasn’t stopped the Chargers and Ravens from showing their interest in the 36-year-old assistant. The other Los Angeles team is set to interview Robinson on Monday, according to Albert Breer of NBC Sports. The date and time of his interview with Baltimore has yet to be determined.

Robinson has a connection to Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, who coached alongside him for the Rams in 2020, when Staley served as the team’s defensive coordinator. Los Angeles is a potentially attractive destination full of offensive talent. With a young quarterback in Justin Herbert, star running back in Austin Ekeler, veteran receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and others, Robinson would be gifted a full cupboard of weapons.

The Ravens pose a different challenge for a rookie coordinator. The team certainly has weapons with former-MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson expected to return, a dangerous one-two punch of running backs in J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, a star tight end in Mark Andrews, and young wideouts Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay, who were both having career years before getting injured. The challenge comes from the style of offense that Baltimore has run lately. Under Roman, the Ravens ran several run-pass option plays that utilized the team’s rushing ability while allowing Jackson to punish defenses with his arm, as well. With some speculation that Jackson and company could move towards a pro-style offense, similar to what Jackson ran at Louisville, Robinson or any other new offensive coordinator would be tasked with implementing a whole new playbook in Baltimore.

The name Matt Weiss had been floated around Baltimore, as well, for the offensive coordinator position, but after being fired by the University of Michigan as he undergoes criminal investigation, according to Josh Alper of NBC Sports, Weiss is likely no longer being considered. Weiss had spent 12 years with the Ravens in a vast array of roles before joining the younger Harbaugh brother in Ann Arbor. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator for the Wolverines this season before his off-the-field activities led to his termination.

Regardless, Robinson will throw his hat in the ring for both jobs. The Chargers and Ravens are the first teams to kick the tires on Robinson, but they surely won’t be the last. Robinson looks to continue the branching out of McVay’s coaching tree, adding to the list of young assistants who have found success out from under McVay’s wing.

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