Coaching Notes: Ravens, Colts, Bills, Browns
Ken Norton Jr. is heading to the NCAA. The long-time coach is expected to join UCLA as their new linebackers coach, reports Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Norton Jr. started his coaching career with USC, but he’s been in the NFL since 2010. After winning three Super Bowl rings as a player, Norton Jr. added another championship to his resume as the Seahawks linebackers coach. After five seasons in Seattle, Norton Jr. was defensive coordinator for three years with the Raiders and four years with the Seahawks (second stint).
Norton Jr. was let go by Seattle following the 2021 campaign. Now, he’ll be joining Chip Kelly’s staff in Los Angeles.
More coaching notes:
- The Ravens announced that they’ve officially promoted Anthony Weaver to be their assistant head coach/defensive line coach. Weaver had a long coaching stint with the Texans, culminating in him serving as their defensive coordinator in 2020. The 41-year-old joined the Ravens last year as their defensive line coach/run game coordinator.
- Former NFL safety Mike Mitchell is joining the Colts staff as an assistant secondary coach, according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic (on Twitter). Mitchell had a 10-year playing career, including a one-year stint with Indianapolis. The Colts are also hiring Nate Ollie as their defensive line coach, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter). Following two seasons with the Eagles, Ollie spent last season as the Jets assistant defensive line coach.
- Bills secondary coach John Butler got a promotion, adding the role of defensive passing game coordinator to his title, according to Wilson. The veteran has spent the past four seasons as the secondary coach in Buffalo. The Bills also confirmed a number of additional hires, including Kyle Shurmur (defensive quality control coach), Nick Lacy (strength and conditioning assistant coach), Marcus West (assistant defensive line coach), Jaylon Finner (defensive quality control coach), Cory Harkey (assistant special teams coach), and Austin Gund (fellowship coach).
- The Browns are expected to promote offensive assistant T.C. McCartney to tight ends coach, according to Wilson (on Twitter). The 32-year-old has bounced around the NFL a bit during his coaching journey. After spending the 2019 campaign as the Broncos quarterbacks coach, McCartney spent the 2020 season as an offensive assistant on the Browns.
Latest On Trade Market For Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo
Carson Wentz and Jimmy Garoppolo will be popular names on this website throughout the offseason, but their respective teams may have difficulties finding trade partners suitors. According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, interest in Wentz and Garoppolo has been “lukewarm as best.”
Wentz got the majority of the blame for the Colts ugly Week 18 loss to the Jaguars, and the quarterback’s decision to go through the season unvaccinated (which caused him to miss a week of practice leading up to the Colts’ Week 17 loss to the Raiders) drew the ire of some Colts decision makers, including owner Jim Irsay. Chris Ballard‘s noncommitment to Wentz exiting the season provided a fairly clear indication the team is not sold on its starter.
So, despite giving up a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 first to acquire the former Eagles QB, the Colts now have Wentz on the block. The Colts could save $13MM by cutting Wentz before March 19. Should Wentz stay a Colt, he will be attached to a $28MM cap number.
The writing was on the wall for Garoppolo in San Francisco when the organization gave up a haul to draft Trey Lance with the third-overall pick. Despite an uncertain future, the veteran still went 9-6 in his 15 starts this past season (plus a pair of postseason victories). We heard recently that the 49ers were seeking a Day 2 choice for the 30-year-old. Garoppolo’s contract includes a $24.2MM salary in 2022.
Colts To Add Cato June To Staff
The Colts are making an interesting hire. Gus Bradley‘s first Indianapolis defensive staff will include Cato June, a former Pro Bowl Colts linebacker in the 2000s. June will make a big jump, going from Bowling Green’s outside linebackers coach to the Colts’ assistant linebackers coach, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweets. June made a name for himself in Indianapolis in the mid-2000s, climbing from 2003 sixth-round pick to 2005 Pro Bowler. June then started all four Colts playoff games during their 2006 Super Bowl-winning season. June played seven NFL seasons, before finishing his career in the United Football League, and has been coaching at the college level since 2015. Bradley coached June as the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach in the late 2000s.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/21/22
Latest On Colts, Carson Wentz
The Colts’ January collapse has put Carson Wentz‘s tenure with the franchise in jeopardy. Despite the team giving up a hefty trade haul for the former Eagles starter — a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 first — a weekend report indicated Wentz may well be a one-and-done in Indianapolis.
Wentz’s role in the Colts’ final two losses has moved the team to consider outside options, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. Chris Ballard‘s noncommitment to Wentz exiting the season provided a fairly clear indication the team is not sold on its starter, despite decent numbers in his first season back with Frank Reich.
After the unvaccinated quarterback struggled upon return from his COVID-19 contraction, which caused him to miss a week of practice leading up to the Colts’ Week 17 loss to the Raiders, he failed to come through again in Jacksonville in one of the uglier regular-season losses in recent NFL history. Wentz’s decision to go through the season unvaccinated did not sit well with Jim Irsay, Zak Keefer of The Athletic notes (subscription required), and the Week 18 loss to the Jaguars prompted a meeting during which the owner, Ballard and Reich discussed Wentz at length.
The Colts have not made a decision on Wentz, ESPN.com’s Mike Wells notes, but it is not difficult to see which way they are leaning. The six-year vet’s chances of being given a second shot probably hinge on Indianapolis’ search for a replacement. The Colts would save $13MM by cutting Wentz before March 19. Should Wentz stay a Colt, he will be attached to a $28MM cap number.
Finding an upgrade is not automatic here. Aaron Rodgers has been connected to the Broncos most frequently as an outside destination, but signs are starting to point to the four-time MVP staying with the Packers. No strong indicator has yet emerged to point Russell Wilson out of Seattle, and the Vikings are preparing to keep Kirk Cousins. Derek Carr is going into the final year of his contract, and the Raiders have changed regimes. But Josh McDaniels is believed to hold Carr in high regard. None of this is set just yet, but unless the Colts view Jimmy Garoppolo as an upgrade, the team would fight an uphill battle thanks to having given up its 2022 first-rounder for Wentz. The Colts’ lack of a first-rounder also removes them from the mix to add one of this year’s top prospects.
Availability aside, this would be an intriguing destination for one of the potentially available QBs. The Colts rostered three defensive Pro Bowlers and have one of the NFL’s top offensive lines. They intend to extend Quenton Nelson this year, locking down their All-Pro left guard after reaching long-term agreements with center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith. The team does need help at wide receiver, which makes Wentz’s 27-7 TD-INT ratio and ninth-place QBR finish last season look fairly impressive. But Indy’s roster is in good shape otherwise. Even with Wentz’s contract on the books, the Colts are projected to hold more than $37MM in cap space — seventh-most in the league.
AFC Coaching Notes: Chargers, Steelers, Jaguars
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.
Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
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:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
QB Wentz’s Future With Colts In Question
Reports have been circulating concerning the future of quarterback Carson Wentz in Indianapolis. It started earlier today when ESPN’s Chris Mortensen went on “NFL Countdown” and stated that, “By March 18, (Wentz) will probably be traded or released.”
The Colts traded for Wentz last offseason. Wentz played well for most of the year, throwing for 3,563 yards while tossing 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. However, Wentz’s struggles down the stretch cost the Colts a playoff spot as they lost their final two games.
$15MM of Wentz’s salary for 2022 was guaranteed last March and the remaining $7MM of his 2022 salary will be guaranteed on March 18. March 18 is also the date that triggers a fully guaranteed roster bonus of $6.3MM for Wentz. So if the team were to cut Wentz before then, they would only be on the hook for the $15MM guaranteed last year and would save the $13.3MM due to him next month.
Joel Corry, who writes for CBS Sports on NFL contracts and salary caps, tweeted out some skepticism about releasing Wentz. He points out that the price the Colts paid to obtain Wentz last year (a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 first-round pick) doesn’t point to a one-year rental.
The best case scenario is likely finding a trade candidate willing to take on Wentz’s full contract. They wouldn’t have much leverage in the negotiations, though, considering they’d be asking a team to take on a contract they don’t want to take on themselves. A more likely scenario would see the Colts include Wentz in conversations with a trade candidate wherein they can agree to a re-worked contract that works for both Wentz and the new team. That way, they can attempt to redeem some of the value they gave up to get Wentz last year while allowing them to move on from the sixth-year quarterback.
Whatever route they plan on taking, the Colts have a little over a month to navigate it. There are certainly some quarterback needy teams that would consider Wentz an upgrade and may have the cap space to take on a contract that would keep Wentz happy.
AFC Coaching Notes: Colts, Bills, Jaguars, Ravens
Since Frank Reich was able to land defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to replace Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus, Bradley has begun the process of putting his staff together. Today Bradley added longtime defensive backs coach Ron Milus to coach his secondary, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Milus first started coaching defensive backs at his alma mater, the University of Washington, about eight years after playing cornerback there. He held the college position for seven years before getting an NFL coaching opportunity in 2000. Since then, Milus hasn’t spent a season out of work with stints in Denver, Arizona, New York (Giants), St. Louis, Carolina, San Diego, and Las Vegas. His longest stint was with the Chargers, spending eight years in southern California and transitioning with the team to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that Milus was retained when Bradley joined the Chargers’ staff. He followed Bradley to Las Vegas and will join him once more in Indianapolis.
Here are a few other coaching notes from around the AFC starting with another bit from the Hoosier State:
- In addition to Milus, Mike Chappell of Fox59 reports that Indianapolis is also in the process of hiring linebackers coach Richard Smith, who worked with Bradley and Milus in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Smith has coached in the NFL since he debuted for the Houston Oilers in 1988 coaching special teams and tight ends. He found his niche as a linebackers coach in 1997 for the 49ers and has had three short stints as a defensive coordinator in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.
- ESPN’s Yates also tweeted out a report that the Bills have added former QB Kyle Shurmur on staff in a defensive quality control position. After four years at Vanderbilt, Shurmur signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, spending time on their practice squad as well as on the Bengals’ and Washington’s practice squads. He was released by Washington a little over a month ago and that appears to mark the end of his playing career. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his father, Pat Shurmur, and joining the coaching track.
- A castaway from the Matt Nagy Bears’ staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey will not be without work for long as Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports reports that Shuey is joining Doug Pederson‘s staff in Jacksonville in the same role. Shuey and Pederson had two separate tenures together in Philadelphia.
- Pederson also made a crucial move of retaining running backs coach Bernie Parmalee. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tells us that keeping Parmalee was a priority for Pederson, especially due to his strong relationship with star running back James Robinson.
- Baltimore has hired Rob Leonard as outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter). Leonard will replace Drew Wilkins who left to join Brian Daboll‘s staff in New York. Leonard spent the past three seasons in the same position with the Dolphins. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that former Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn will follow Mike Macdonald to the Ravens for a quality control position. Osborn is credited with having a role in the development of Wolverines’ EDGE players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.
Jaguars Hire Press Taylor As OC
One of the names immediately linked to Doug Pederson in Jacksonville is being hired, and for a notable role. Press Taylor is set to become the Jaguars’ new offensive coordinator (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero).
[Related: Jaguars Hire Doug Pederson As Head Coach]
Taylor, the younger brother of Bengals HC Zac Taylor, was thought to be a candidate to join Pederson right away. The role he was expected to have, however, was lower ranking than that of OC. That made Pep Hamilton the first known candidate for the position when he was linked to the Jaguars on Monday. Instead, Taylor will indeed take on an OC role for the first time in his career.
Taylor’s connection to Pederson dates back to their time together in Philadelphia. The 34-year-old worked with the Eagles from 2013 to 2020, acting as passing game coordinator in his final season. He spent this past campaign with the Colts as a senior offensive assistant.
The news comes one day after it was announced the Jaguars are also hiring Jim Bob Cooter to be their passing game coordinator, a role for which Taylor was mentioned as a candidate. Now, the head assistants on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball are in place, as Mike Caldwell was brought in as Jacksonville’s DC earlier this week.
With most of the new staff assembled, Pederson and the Jaguars can now look to the offseason to begin reshaping the AFC’s worst team in 2021.