Jaguars Hire Joe Cullen As DC
The Jaguars have hired Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen as their new defensive coordinator, according to ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley and Dan Graziano (on Twitter). Cullen, who once served as Jacksonville’s DL coach, was Urban Meyer‘s No. 1 choice for the DC vacancy.
[RELATED: Jaguars Hire Trent Baalke As GM]
Cullen comes from the Wink Martindale coaching tree with experience spanning the league. Previous stops for Cullen also included the Buccaneers, Browns, and Lions. He also donned the headset for Indiana and Richmond at the college level.
The Jaguars’ new-look regime is coming together quickly. On Thursday morning, they officially hired ex-49ers czar Trent Baalke as their general manager. Now, they’ve got Cullen to manage Meyer’s defense. Scott Linehan and Raheem Morris were also considered for DC, though Morris has since accepted the same role with the Rams.
The Ravens, meanwhile, will have to fill multiple spots on their defensive staff. In addition to Cullen, they need replacements for linebackers coach Mike Macdonald and defensive backs coach Jesse Minter who left for UMich and Vanderbilt, respectively.
Coaching Rumors: 49ers, Chargers, Jaguars, Eagles
The 49ers‘ staff is starting to come together, as Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes. Chris Foerster has been bumped up to primary offensive line coach while Rich Scangarello will return as the quarterbacks coach. Scangarello served as SF’s QBs coach in 2017 and 2018 before the Broncos tapped him as their OC in 2019. After a rough time in Denver and one year in Philly, he’s headed back to the Bay Area.
Here’s a look at the latest coach and coordinator news:
- The Chargers will interview Colts defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon for their defensive coordinator job, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Gannon is also being considered by the Bears for their DC role.
- Meanwhile, new Chargers coach Brandon Staley is bringing Rams assistant Joe Barry along for the ride as his defensive passing game coordinator and linebackers coach (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
- The Jaguars have requested an interview with Colts quarterbacks coach Marcus Brady for their offensive coordinator job, as Pelissero tweets.
- The Eagles are interested in interviewing Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel, according to Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Fassel, the son of ex-Giants head coach Jim Fassel, spent eight years as the Rams’ ST coordinator. He also served as the Rams’ interim head coach for the final three games of 2016.
Jaguars Hire Trent Baalke As GM
Now, it’s official. On Thursday, the Jaguars formally hired Trent Baalke as their new general manager.
“Trent Baalke has had success at virtually every level of football, notably so as a GM who shrewdly and quickly built an NFL conference championship organization and team,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “Trent thoroughly knows the NFL and the dynamics of today’s game, has an exceptional eye for talent, and I know will have excellent chemistry with head coach Urban Meyer as they begin their mission to bring a consistent winner to our fans in Jacksonville.”
Baalke, 56, served as the Niners’ GM from 2011-2016. Roughly one year ago today, the Jaguars brought him in as their director of player personnel. Nine months later, he was bumped up to the interim GM role when David Caldwell was fired. Now, he has the full-time position where he’ll lead the Jaguars’ latest reboot alongside Meyer.
The Niners secured 35 Pro Bowl selections and made a Super Bowl appearance during Baalke’s six-year run with the team. Things cooled off near the end, however, following Jim Harbaugh‘s departure. The 49ers missed the playoffs in Harbaugh’s last season, and Baalke’s replacement hires — Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly — were one-and-dones.
Before hiring Baalke, the Jaguars also considered the likes of Jerry Reese, Rick Smith, Louis Riddick, Terry Fontenot, and Ray Farmer.
Jaguars Interviewing Scott Linehan, Joe Cullen
- Scott Linehan and Joe Cullen will interview for the Jaguars open coordinator positions this week, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). We learned of Urban Meyer‘s interest in both coaches this past weekend. Linehan, who’s candidate for the offensive coordinator gig, has had a long coaching career, including a stint as the head coach of the Rams. Cullen, a candidate for the defensive coordinator opening, has served as Baltimore’s defensive line coach since 2016. Rapoport notes that Raheem Morris was also a candidate for the defensive coordinator opening, but we’ve since learned that Morris will be taking the same role with the Rams.
Jaguars Plan To Hire Trent Baalke As GM
Although the Jaguars have interviewed a few outside candidates for their general manager job, they are expected to promote from within to replace Dave Caldwell.
The Jaguars are planning to install director of player personnel Trent Baalke as GM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Baalke, who served as 49ers GM from 2011-16, finished the season as the Jags’ interim GM.
Shad Khan made it fairly clear new HC Urban Meyer will be calling the shots in Jacksonville, while the owner will continue to have a strong say in personnel decisions. Jags ownership made a push to sell Meyer on Baalke, according to Albert Breer of SI.com (on Twitter).
In Baalke, 56, the Jags will retain a veteran personnel exec who previously worked alongside a college coach. Baalke hired Jim Harbaugh from Stanford in 2011, and the duo piloted the 49ers to three straight NFC championship games in their first three years together. However, that relationship soured and led to Harbaugh’s 2014 exit. The 49ers fired Baalke after the 2016 season.
Prior to joining the 49ers as a scout during the 2000s, Baalke spent time with the Jets and Washington. The Jaguars hired Baalke in February 2020, and Caldwell’s brief lieutenant will be called upon to play a central role in Meyer’s rebuilding effort — one expected to center around Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars had Caldwell in place as GM from 2013-19, though Tom Coughlin called the shots for three years during that span. Khan fired Coughlin near the end of the 2019 season and canned Caldwell late in 2020 during a losing streak that swelled to 15 games.
Baalke’s 49ers run dovetailed after Harbaugh’s departure. The 49ers missed the playoffs in Harbaugh’s final season, and Baalke’s two replacement hires — Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly — became one-and-dones during a 7-25 San Francisco stretch from 2015-16. While Baalke brings extensive GM experience, he was not connected to any GM jobs between his 49ers firing and this expected promotion. The Jags interviewed former GMs Jerry Reese, Rick Smith and Ray Farmer for the position while also meeting with Louis Riddick and now-Falcons GM Terry Fontenot for the position.
Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order
With the Divisional Round in the books, the 2021 NFL Draft order is mostly complete. The Rams, Browns, Ravens, and Saints now have their draft spots locked in, though the Rams’ first-round pick belongs to Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. The Rams traded those rights to Jacksonville as a part of the Jalen Ramsey blockbuster.
Here’s the updated draft order, through the top 28:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Rams)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
Jaguars To Interview Texans DC Anthony Weaver
Urban Meyer is continuing to flesh out his inaugural staff in Jacksonville. Former Cowboys OC Scott Linehan is reportedly the favorite to be offensive coordinator, while former Texas head coach Charlie Strong will be joining as linebackers coach and assistant head coach.
We heard earlier today they’d be interviewing Raheem Morris for defensive coordinator, and now we have word of another candidate on that side of the ball. The Jags will interview current Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, a source told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. It’s unclear as of right now whether Weaver, who also coaches Houston’s defensive line, is interviewing to be coordinator or for a lesser role.
His first season as a coordinator this past year didn’t go too well, as Bill O’Brien was fired after just a handful of games and the defense played terribly. The Texans gave up 416.8 yards per game, the third-worst mark in the league. Weaver was previously the Texans’ D-line coach from 2016-19, and the team thought highly enough of him this past offseason to promote him to DC.
Prior to that the 40-year-old former second-round draft pick of the Ravens coached the defensive lines of the Browns and Bills. He was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2010 in Meyer’s last year coaching the Gators, so there’s an obvious connection there.
Jaguars To Interview Raheem Morris For DC
New Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer is no stranger to success as a sideline general, but the professional game brings with it a whole host of considerations and problems that don’t exist at the college level. Perhaps as a result of that, Meyer is eyeing a former NFL head coach for his defensive coordinator post.
As Albert Breer of SI.com reports (via Twitter), Raheem Morris will interview for the Jacksonville DC job this week. Morris actually interviewed for the team’s HC gig after he finished out the 2020 campaign as the Falcons’ interim head coach, and he of course served as the Buccaneers’ HC from 2009-11. In total, Morris has a 21-38 head coaching record.
Despite that less-than-impressive mark, Morris remains well-respected both as a coach and as a defensive mind. He got the Falcons to show some signs of life this year after Dan Quinn‘s dismissal, and he did get an interview for Atlanta’s full-time HC position, which ultimately went to Arthur Smith. He was also a potential candidate for the Raiders’ DC job, though Vegas opted for Gus Bradley instead.
Morris will have a lot of work to do if he joins the Jags. The club has some talent on the defensive side of the ball, but it did finish towards the bottom of the pack in terms of total defense this year.
Breer notes that Meyer was considering Quinn for the DC position — Quinn recently accepted the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator job — and that Meyer is a big fan of the type of scheme that Quinn ran in Seattle earlier this decade. After having worked for Quinn for six years in Atlanta, Morris would presumably bring some of those same concepts in addition to his own defensive acumen.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com first reported (via Twitter) that Morris and Meyer were in contact about the defensive coordinator position.
Latest On Jaguars Coaching Staff
With Urban Meyer officially joining the Jaguars as their new head coach, his staff is beginning to take shape. One name that has emerged as an offensive coordinator candidate is Scott Linehan, according to Todd Archer and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport echoes this sentiment (on Twitter), noting that Linehan “is the favorite” for the gig.
The 57-year-old Linehan has had a long coaching career, including a stint as the head coach of the Rams. He’s been an offensive coordinator with four different organizations (Vikings, Dolphins, Lions, Cowboys), and his most recent NFL gig saw him leading the offense in Dallas. After spending a year away from football in 2019, Linehan served as the passing-game coordinator for LSU in 2020.
While Meyer and Linehan have never worked alongside each other, their lengthy stints in the collegiate ranks has established a camaraderie between the two (per Fowler).
Let’s check out more coaching notes out of Jacksonville…
- For the defensive coordinator vacancy, Meyer is eyeing Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen, with Rapoport describing Cullen as the “top target.” Cullen actually served as the Jaguars defensive line coach from 2010 and 2012. Following brief stints with the Browns and Buccaneers, the coach found a home in Baltimore. The 53-year-old has served as Baltimore’s defensive line coach since 2016, and he’s played a major role in the development of Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, and Timmy Jernigan.
- Ryan Stamper will be joining the Jaguars as director of player assessment, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo (on Twitter). Stamper, a Jacksonville native, has spent the past nine years serving as the ‘assistant athletic director, player development’ with Ohio State. Meyer, who served as Ohio State’s head coach from 2012 through 2018, had previously made it clear that we wouldn’t poach the Buckeyes’ staff, but Stamper was apparently an exception. Stamper also played for Meyer at Florida.
- Charlie Strong is heading to Jacksonville, likely as the team’s linebackers coach, per Brett McMurphy of Stadium (via Twitter). Following stints as head coach of Louisville, Texas, and South Florida, the 60-year-old Strong spent the 2020 season serving as a defensive analyst for Alabama.
Latest On Jaguars’ QB Plans, Roster Control
The Jaguars became the team to lure Urban Meyer to the NFL. Their situation — two first-round picks and a projected league-high in cap space — helped lead to the former national championship-winning head coach making the college-to-pro jump.
Meyer, 56, described the Jags’ draft capital and cap situation as “huge” in convincing him to try his hand in the NFL. He will be the sixth head coach in franchise history and second to come directly out of the college ranks, following Tom Coughlin in 1995.
“I think Shad [Khan] and the organization is positioned, and it’s not by accident,” Meyer said Friday. “Shad got very involved in the entire roster, etc. And I think it’s primed. l think it’s primed to put together a good team. People that know me, I’m not going to jump into a situation where I don’t believe we can win. I won’t do that. I think everything is here.”
Jacksonville defeated Indianapolis in Week 1 but lost 15 straight games to secure the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft. The team’s roster has numerous holes, but quarterback will become the franchise’s chief priority. Trevor Lawrence has long expected to be the first name called in the 2021 draft. Meyer has been high on the Clemson superstar, but he also invoked Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields — whom Buckeyes HC successor Ryan Day coached — and BYU passer Zach Wilson when asked about the top pick.
While the Jaguars have employed a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback (Mark Brunell) and used three first-round picks on passers (Byron Leftwich, Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles), the franchise’s highest-profile signal-caller will almost certainly arrive in April. Meyer’s comments make it extremely unlikely the Jaguars will do anything else with the pick than select a passer.
“You see Trevor, you see Justin, you see Zach, this is going to be, as Shad said, this is a monumental moment for this franchise,” Meyer said. “… Who we pick at that quarterback spot, that’s going to be one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my lifetime, along with the partnership of our owner and our general manager. And the ones that are out there, my initial study, because I have been studying a lot, I like to use the term elite, I see some elite quarterbacks out there right now.”
Khan caused a few waves earlier this month when he said he will maintain control over the Jaguars’ 53-man roster, rather than ceding it to a GM. The owner attempted to push back on that, insisting Meyer will run the show. It appears Jacksonville’s to-be-determined GM will be answering to the new head coach.
“The issue of roster control is more technical or symbolic,” Khan said. “My whole aspect, and this started really about 15 months ago, is that we need to be a coach-centric team and organization, where the head coach has to lead the kinds of players he wants, the kind of team we need to be. And the general manager and myself, we have to support that vision.”