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Update On Broncos’ Fant, Chubb, Gordon

February 17th, 2022 at 12:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

With a new head coach in place, the Broncos now face a number of key decisions on their roster. In a recent conversation with the team’s website, general manager George Paton outlined his views on a number of players and position groups, including tight end Noah Fant, edge rusher Bradley Chubb and running back Melvin Gordon. 

The team needs to decide by May whether or not to pick up Fant’s fifth year option. Considering Paton waited until after the draft to make that same decision with Chubb, it may be a while before the former 20th-overall pick learns his fate. When asked about Fant, Paton said, “he probably wasn’t as productive as he would have liked… He needs to work in the run game, and he knows that”, while still acknowledging his pass-catching ability. Fant has put up almost identical numbers the past two seasons, averaging 65 catches for just over 630 yards and seven total touchdowns in that span.

As for Chubb, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, Paton remains optimistic that he can recover from the ankle surgery that cut his 2021 season short. Even though Chubb was held without a sack in seven games, Paton said “I expect great things from him”. More work will be done with the team’s pass rushers, though, as Malik Reed and Stephen Weatherly are pending restricted and unrestricted free agents, respectively. Paton made clear his desire to add a “mismatch-type rusher”, especially given the void left by Von Miller.

Finally, Paton seemed to open the door to Gordon returning. The 28-year-old signed with Denver two years ago, but is now a pending UFA. While he topped 1,100 scrimmage yards in both seasons with the Broncos, the presence of 2021 second round pick Javonte Williams has many feeling the veteran will need to find a new home. Paton said, though, that Gordon “had a heck of a year”, adding ” I like Melvin a lot”.

The decisions made with those three players – and within their respective position groups – will go a long way to shaping the rest of the team’s offseason moves, and in turn, their attempt to return to the postseason.

AFC Coaching Notes: Chargers, Steelers, Jaguars

February 15th, 2022 at 10:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Al Golden is leaving Cincinnati after all. The Bengals coach is joining Notre Dame as their new defensive coordinator, reports ESPN’s Pete Thamel (on Twitter). Golden is inking a three-year deal with the school.

The 52-year-old had spent the past two seasons with the Bengals as the team’s linebackers coach. Following a successful 2021 season, Golden was expected to ink a new deal with Cincy. Instead, he’ll be heading back to the college ranks.

Golden spent almost two decades in the NCAA, including stints as head coach at Temple and Miami. He joined the NFL in 2016 when he was hired as the Lions tight ends coach, and he eventually switched over to the defensive side of the ball in 2018.

More coaching notes out of the AFC…

  • The Chargers are looking to hire Brendan Nugent as their offensive line coach, as Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com passes along. Frank Smith left to become the Dolphins offensive coordinator, leaving a vacancy on the LAC staff. Nugent had spent the past seven years with the Saints, earning the promotion to OL coach in 2021.
  • The Steelers have also been seeking a new OL coach, and Brooke Pryor of ESPN tweets that the team is hiring Pat Meyer for the role. Meyer spent the past two seasons as the Panthers offensive line coach, and he also served in that role with the Chargers. The 49-year-old has also had coaching stints with the Bills and Bears.
  • Richard Angulo is heading south. The Ravens assistant offensive line coach is joining the Jaguars as their new tight ends coach, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (on Twitter). The former player had been coaching in Baltimore since 2014. Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that the Jaguars have finalized deal with Deshea Townsend as defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach. Before his three-year stint as the Bears secondary coach, Townsend had stints on the Giants and Titans coaching staffs.
  • Nathaniel Hackett continues to add to his Broncos staff. According to Wilson (on Twitter), Denver has hired Ramon Chinyoung as an offensive quality control. Chinyoung had been serving as head football coach/athletic coordinator at Willowridge High in Houston. Meanwhile, the team announced (on Twitter) that they’ve hired Derek Haithcock as assistant to head coach (Dwight Schrute?) and John Vieira as instructional designer.
  • The Colts are finalizing a deal with Richard Smith to be their new linebackers coach, reports Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports in Indy (on Twitter). Smith has had a long NFL coaching career that saw him serve as the defensive coordinator with the Dolphins, Falcons, and Texans. He’s also been on the coaching staffs for the Oilers, Broncos, 49ers, Lions, Panthers, Chargers, and Raiders.
  • The Jets are adding Nathaniel Willingham as a defensive assistant, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter). The son of former college coach Tyrone Willingham, Nathaniel Willingham worked at Stanford for four years before spending the past three seasons as a quality control coach with the Broncos.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/14/22

February 14th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Tennessee Titans

Per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the Broncos (with Bassey and Waitman), Lions (with Hughes), and Texans (with Keke) placed their respective claims earlier in their offseasons. Since these players were on playoff teams, they weren’t immediately assigned. Instead, the teams needed to wait for the league year to switch over to 2022, allowing the players to join their new squads.

Broncos Hire Three Assistant Coaches

February 14th, 2022 at 3:41pm CST by Adam La Rose
  • Defensively, the Broncos are adding Bert Watts to their staff. He was most recently the associate head coach at Auburn, but he also held the titles of special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. The latter will be his purview in Denver, where he was an assistant in 2012 (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dan Graziano).

    [SOURCE LINK]

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

February 14th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  26. Tennessee Titans: 12-5
  27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
  28. Green Bay Packers: 13-4
  29. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
  31. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
  32. Detroit Lions (via Rams)

Former Broncos’ HC Fangio Won’t Coach In 2022

February 12th, 2022 at 11:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite lots of interest and multiple offers for defensive coordinator jobs, former head coach of the Broncos Vic Fangio has decided against taking any of the opportunities offered to him for next season, according to league sources of ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

In three years as the Broncos’ head coach, Fangio failed to accomplish a winning season, coming closest in 2019 with a 7-9 record that was good for 2nd place in the AFC West. The next two seasons saw the Broncos finish 4th in the AFC West. This past season, Fangio’s Broncos started strong with a 3-0 start. Finishing the season 4-10 the rest of the way led to the end of Fangio’s tenure in Denver.

Denver was Fangio’s first head coaching job at any level of football. Before that, Fangio had several successful stints as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Since 1995, Fangio has served as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers, Colts, Texans, 49ers, and Bears. In his last year in Chicago, Fangio was awarded the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.

It’s no surprise, then, that Fangio was so sought after following his departure from the Broncos. Schefter asserts that it’s likely Fangio will take the 2022 season off from coaching and return next year as a highly coveted candidate for open defensive coordinator positions.

Broncos To Hire Dom Capers

February 11th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dom Capers has lent his services to three different teams since his time as Packers defensive coordinator ended. The former head coach is now set to head to Denver.

The Broncos are hiring the longtime defensive staffer, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Capers will again serve as a senior defensive assistant, adding decades of experience under Ejiro Evero, who is expected to become Denver’s new defensive coordinator following Super Bowl LVI. Evero is set to be a first-time coordinator.

Since 2019, Capers has worked with the Jaguars, Vikings and Lions as a senior defensive assistant. Two of those seasons featured multiple game-planning weeks against Nathaniel Hackett‘s offense ahead of NFC North matchups. Hackett was not in Green Bay during Capers’ nine-season stint as Packers DC, though Aaron Rodgers obviously was. The Broncos continue to be linked to the now-two-time reigning MVP, but several hurdles remain on that path.

Capers will turn 72 before the 2022 seasons begins. He has been coaching since 1972 and served as head coach for two expansion teams, taking over the Panthers in 1995 and Texans in 2002. Carolina experienced more success under Capers, venturing to the NFC championship game in 1996. In between those stints, Capers served as the Jaguars’ DC. He has been a defensive coordinator for four teams — the Steelers, Jags, Dolphins and Packers — in addition to the HC tenures. While Capers’ Steelers defenses featured top-tier units, his Packers group helped the franchise win its fourth Super Bowl in 2010.

Byron Allen, Alec Gores Named As Candidates For Broncos’ Ownership

February 10th, 2022 at 3:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

Not long after the Broncos were officially put up for sale, the first two candidates to purchase the team have been named. According to multiple reports, media mogul Byron Allen and billionaire Alec Gores have plans to place a bid on the franchise.

[Related: Broncos Officially Up For Sale]

Allen, whose bidding intention was first reported by Bloomberg, has been in the national spotlight dating back to his time on The Tonight Show. He has since acquired dozens of national and regional media outlets, raising the profile of the Allen Media Group, which he fully owns. The 60-year-old’s net worth is estimated to be $450MM, but he is said to be assembling a “who’s who” of fellow investors from across the business, sports and entertainment industries, though none of them have been identified as of now.

Allen’s name being linked to the Broncos is nothing new. As Troy Renck of Denver7 writes, he said, “[NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell and [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft came to me in November 2019 and asked me to take a good look at buying an NFL team. After serious consideration, I strongly believe I can effectuate positive changes”. Those “changes” are a reference to the fact that Allen, if successful, would become the NFL’s first Black owner.

The desire for added diversity in NFL ownership is a stated goal of Gooddell’s in this bidding process. “We would love to see a diverse owner of the team, whether that’s a person of color, or a female, or a Black man, we think that would be a really positive step for us. And something we’ve encouraged”, he said.

Allen’s interest in the Broncos isn’t simply because they are the only team up for sale, according to Mike Klis of 9News. “Oh my gosh. I love the Broncos“, he said in an interview. “And I have a great deal of respect for Pat Bowlen… I have an enormous respect for him and his family and what they’ve done… I wouldn’t get involved unless I believed I could grow on what they’ve built”. 

Gores, meanwhile, is at the head of a triumvirate of investors – the other two being Dean Metropoulos and Mat Ishbia – involved in the competing bid. The 69-year-old owns the Gores Group, which is based in Beverley Hills and “purchases and sells companies”, according to the original report of his interest in the L.A. Times. The three men are reportedly valued at $10B. Gores’ brother Tom currently owns the Detroit Pistons.

Former Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning are still believed to be involved in a bid, but not for a controlling share. Renck adds that “there is expected to be an additional minority-led group bidding as well”.

Any successful bid would require the majority owner to hold at least a 30% stake in the team, which would equate to a cost of $1.2B if the total sale price ends up at the estimated $4B mark.

Vikings Officially Hire Ed Donatell As DC

February 10th, 2022 at 2:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

The coach thought to be taking over the defense in Minnesota has officially been hired. Ed Donatell is the new defensive coordinator of the Vikings, reports Ben Goessling of The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). 

It was reported yesterday that Donatell was the favorite for the position. With the move now confirmed, soon-to-be head coach Kevin O’Connell will have a very experienced lieutenant on the defensive side of the ball. Donatell, 65, has been an NFL coach for 31 years; 10 of those have been as a DC.

Donatell had spent the past three seasons as the Broncos’ DC, although head coach Vic Fangio called the plays. In 2021, Denver allowed the third fewest points per game in the league (18.9), and ranked eighth in yards allowed (326.1). It had been his third stint with the team, having worked as a secondary coach at two points a decade apart from each other.

One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the fact that Donatell had agreed to take on an assistant role with the Seahawks not long after he interviewed with them. Instead of reuniting with Pete Carroll, he will change course to take a fourth DC position. The Vikings ranked 24th in scoring defense last season, and 30th in yards allowed. They will at least have a highly qualified coach leading the unit as they look to rebound in 2022.

Position Coaching Notes: Giants, Broncos, Jaguars

February 10th, 2022 at 11:53am CST by Adam La Rose

As the days go by, more and more position coaches are finalizing jobs with new teams. One of the busiest clubs remains the Giants. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team is hiring former Vikings assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson as its defensive line coach (Twitter link). The 61-year-old has a wealth of coaching experience at the NCAA and NFL ranks. While he has a defensive background, Patterson also served as a head coach at two stops along the way to the pro level.

His first NFL coaching gig came in 1997 with the Patriots. After stints with the Vikings, Cowboys, Browns and Broncos, he returned to the college ranks. Following seven additional seasons, six of which were spread across three colleges, he came back to Minnesota in 2014. He remained there until now, serving as the team’s d-line coach, but also holding the co-DC title for the past two campaigns.

Here are some other updates to Brian Daboll‘s new staff, along with those of the Broncos and Jaguars:

  • According to Jonathan Alexander of The Observer, Tony Sparano Jr. is making a lateral move from the Panthers to the Giants as their new assistant offensive line coach (Twitter link). The 35-year old already has a decade of coaching experience in the NFL spent with five different teams.
  • One hire the Giants won’t be making is that of Adam Henry for the role of wide receivers coach. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that the team will be heading “in another direction” after they interviewed Henry earlier. The 49-year old coached the position at LSU for three years, then at the NFL level with the 49ers, Giants, Browns and Cowboys. Many felt a reunion in East Rutherford was likely, but that won’t be the case.
  • As for the Broncos, they will be adding to their defensive staff from the college ranks. ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweets that Ola Adams is coming aboard as an assistant secondary coach. Adams spent spent seven seasons at Villanova, and his success there earned him a promotion to co-defensive coordinator at Temple recently. Now, he will be on the move again, but this time up to the NFL level.
  • Finally, the Jaguars are hiring Brentson Buckner as their d-line coach (Twitter link via Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson). It had been reported earlier this week that the 50-year-old was a candidate for the position, so the move is not a surprising one. Buckner has coached the position with three NFL teams previously, dating back to 2013.

 

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