Coaching Notes: Fisch, Texans, Bears, Haslett
Some within the Lions organizations could be working elsewhere next season, but general manager Martin Mayhew has no issues with that. In fact, he spoke fondly about two members of his staff, endorsing both vice president of pro personnel Sheldon White and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Mayhew first touched on White, who is being considered for the GM job with the Eagles. Via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein:
“He’s been phenomenal. He’s exceptional at what he does. Outstanding evaluator. There are a lot of guys on this roster that he brought to the table. Rashean Mathis, for example, is a guy that he saw on tape and he brought up his desire to work Rashean out. I was against it. I was saying this is an older guy — how is this guy going to help us.
“He talked me into working him out and he had a phenomenal workout. He was exceptional in every way, shape and form, so we ended up signing him. Obviously he’s worked out great for us the last two years, having Rashean here.
“George Johnson is a guy who he brought to me who I had never seen, we signed him. I had never seen him on tape at the time that we signed him and, as you know, George made our team this year and was a big-time contributor for us. He’s always looking; he’s always in his office evaluating tape and trying to find players that can help us win. I think he’d be a great general manager.”
Mayhew also spoke about his defensive coordinator, who has multiple interviews for head coaching positions:
“He did a phenomenal job with the group and I think he has a lot of ability. I think he’s certainly capable of being a head coach in the NFL. I think I said that when he got here that at some point he’d have an opportunity to do that.
“He’s certainly worthy of the opportunity.”
Let’s take a look at some more coaching notes from around the league…
- Former Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch will be joining Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, as Peter Schrager of Fox Sports tweets that he’ll be offered the pass game coordinator job with the Wolverines. Bruce Feldman adds that Fisch will also be the quarterbacks and receivers coach. Fisch was let go by Jacksonville in late December.
- We learned yesterday that the Texans wouldn’t be bringing back offensive line coach Paul Dunn, and the team has already found a replacement. Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez tweets that Houston will add Jets assistant coach Mike Devlin to their staff to replace Dunn.
- The Bears announced (on Twitter) that they interviewed Todd Bowles for their head-coaching position yesterday. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that the interview went well, adding that the Cardinals defensive coordinator is set to meet with the 49ers today.
- Following up on a report that the Giants requested permission to interview Washington defensive backs coach Raheem Morris for their defensive coordinator opening, Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets that Washington granted gave the division-rival Giants the green light, while Albert Breer of the NFL Network says (via Twitter) that the interview will happen this morning.
- Since leaving his role as Washington‘s defensive coordinator, Jim Haslett has received inquiries from a number of teams, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link), who adds that it’s not clear yet whether he’ll interview for jobs.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
South Notes: Koetter, Bucs, Jaguars
Albert Breer of the NFL Network (on Twitter) wonders if the hiring of Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator will affect the Buccaneers‘ draft plans. With Greg Roman at the helm, he might have envisioned them selecting Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. With Koetter there instead, Jameis Winston makes more sense for Tampa Bay, in Breer’s opinion. More from the South divisions..
- Koetter’s experience in helping to develop Matt Ryan will be a plus as the Buccaneers prepare to draft a QB, tweets Rick Stroud of WDAE 620.
- In a radio appearance earlier tonight, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell said that coach Gus Bradley is “heading the search” for the team’s next offensive coordinator, according to Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union (on Twitter). Caldwell went on to say that he plans on interviewing candidates from teams that are still in the playoffs and he’s in no hurry to make a hire, as Alex Marvez of FOX Sports tweets.
- The Texans are not retaining offensive line coach Paul Dunn for a second season on Bill O’Brien‘s staff, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).
Coach Notes: Philbin, Ryan, Bowles, Trestman
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced last month that the team would be retaining head coach Joe Philbin for the 2015 season, and the next step is to lock up Philbin with an extension. As Aramando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins will indeed make an extension offer to Philbin, to ensure that he doesn’t enter 2015 as a lame-duck coach, and to make sure his price tag doesn’t go up if Miami has a strong ’15 campaign. Of course, if the Dolphins take a step back next season, Philbin could still be dismissed — Ross and the team would just have to eat the remaining cost of his deal.
Here are a few more Thursday coaching updates from across the league:
- Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle is hearing that Rex Ryan‘s first choice is the 49ers, followed by the Falcons (Twitter link). However, it’s not clear if Ryan would be atop the Niners’ list as well.
- The Falcons pushed their interviews for Teryl Austin and Todd Bowles back to Friday and Saturday, respectively, due to the passing of Molly Blank, tweets D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That’s why Bowles is meeting with the Bears today instead of Saturday.
- Meanwhile, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says (via Twitter) that the Raiders have been “knocked off” Bowles’ list, while Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) hears the Cardinals defensive coordinator is making a “very strong impression” in his head coaching interviews. Bowles met with the Jets yesterday, and had the Bears on tap today, before he moves on to the 49ers on Friday and Falcons on Saturday.
- Following Kyle Shanahan‘s departure from the Browns, Marc Trestman‘s name has come up as Cleveland considers new candidates, and the former Bears head coach would be interested in talking to the team, tweets Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
- The Jaguars, on the other hand, aren’t leaning toward Trestman to be their new offensive coordinator, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
- The Giants have requested permission to interview Washington defensive backs coach Raheem Morris for their defensive coordinator position, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Noting that the contract of Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver expires in less than two weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) says Tarver is a DC target for some head coaching candidates around the league. The Raiders would like to keep him, but Tarver could choose to pursue a DC job under a new head coach for another team, depending on who lands where.
Minor Moves: Wednesday
We’ll recap today’s minor transactions from across the NFL in the space below, with any new moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Chiefs also signed wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- It appears that quarterback Terrelle Pryor has signed with the Chiefs, based on his Sqor post from this evening. The Ohio State product auditioned for KC earlier today exclusively as a quarterback. A source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) that’s a one-year deal.
- The Lions have added another reserve/futures contract signing to the list of players they announced yesterday, with Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweeting that defensive back Crezdon Butler has inked a deal with the club. Butler spent most of the season with the Buccaneers before being waived by the team in December.
Earlier updates:
- Former Southern Connecticut State defensive end Ike Igbinosun, who finished the season on the Bills’ practice squad, has signed a reserve/futures deal with the Jaguars, according to John Oehser of Jaguars.com (Twitter link).
- Washington has signed outside linebacker Austin Spitler to a reserve/futures contract, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. Spitler most recently spent time with the Ravens, but was cut near the end of the 2014 preseason.
- The Giants are signing kicker Chris Boswell, who worked out for the team early in the season, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Boswell signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Rice this spring, and spent a little time on Houston’s practice squad in September.
Coach/GM Notes: Falcons, Bears, Jets, Eagles
According to our head coaching search tracker, there are eight candidates involved in the Falcons‘ hunt for Mike Smith‘s replacement, and if no new names are added to that list, the team’s first round of interviews should conclude tomorrow after a meeting with Todd Bowles. So it makes sense that Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests today (via Twitter) that Atlanta intends to bring in its finalists for a second round of interviews. According to Rapoport, Rex Ryan will be among those finalists, though it’s not clear yet who will join him.
Here are a few more items from around the league related to coaches and front offices:
Coaching:
- Todd Bowles and Frank Reich completed their interviews with the Jets today, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Bowles’ next visit will be with the Bears.
- A Tuesday report indicated that the Bears would likely meet with Mike Shanahan about their head coaching position after hiring a new general manager, but despite Shanahan’s past success with Jay Cutler (and Brandon Marshall), he’s not currently on Chicago’s list of candidates, says Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter). We’ll have to see if anything changes on that front after the team makes its GM hire.
- After sitting in on the Raiders‘ interview with Shanahan, John Madden is expected to be in attendance for Tony Sparano‘s meeting with the club as well, tweets Fallon Smith of CSNBayArea.com.
- In the wake of Perry Fewell‘s dismissal, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com offers a few suggestions for the Giants to consider for their defensive coordinator job, including Bills defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, who Graziano thinks could be among New York’s top candidates.
Front office:
- The Bears confirmed that they interviewed Chris Ballard and Ryan Pace for their GM vacancy, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
- Jon Robinson‘s interview with the Jets will take place tomorrow, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
- The Jets announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve lined up an interview with Buccaneers personnel executive Jon Robinson for their general manager position. The club also confirmed the candidates they’ve spoken to so far: Chris Grier (Dolphins), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Bill Kuharich (Browns), Mike Maccagnan (Texans), Rick Mueller (Eagles), and their own Rod Graves.
- The Jaguars have granted pro director Chris Polian permission to interview with the Eagles for their GM job, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network (via Twitter).
- The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which works with the NFL on minority hiring issues, has filed a complaint with the league over Washington‘s general manager search, writes Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Washington spoke to Jets executive Rod Graves about the GM job, but didn’t run the request for permission by the league, and seemed to do it only as a formality while working out an agreement with Scot McCloughan, so as to abide by the Rooney Rule.
- Meanwhile, the Dolphins appear to have evaded a Rooney Rule violation by changing the role of recently-hired Mike Tannenbaum, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains. The club has altered Tannenbaum’s and Dennis Hickey‘s duties since first announcing the hiring, so that Tannenbaum doesn’t qualify as a GM-type hire, meaning the club wouldn’t have needed to meet the Rooney Rule.
Extra Points: Shanahan, Trestman, Ryan
Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will consider leaving the Browns, even for a lateral move, because of friction within the organization, writes Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer. Shanahan is aiming to become a head coach somewhere (perhaps in Buffalo) but he’d also like to reunite with his father, Mike Shanahan. The 49ers, Raiders, and Bills are have interest in hiring Mike as a head coach with Kyle as the offensive coordinator. More from around the NFL..
- Washington interviewed Rod Graves on Monday for their GM position, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). By interviewing Graves, Washington has satisfied the Rooney Rule, so that is not a roadblock in their talks with Scot McCloughan.
- Former Bears head coach Marc Trestman will interview for the Jaguars‘ offensive coordinator position, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Trestman has already interviewed with the Buccaneers.
- Rex Ryan will be meeting with CBS executives tomorrow to discuss a possible TV role if he doesn’t land a head coaching job, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
- The Eagles have requested permission to interview recently promoted Packers exec Eliot Wolf for their personnel opening, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Wolf was recently promoted by Green Bay, ostensibly to keep him in-house as the heir apparent to their own GM job.
- The Eagles requested GM interviews with Chris Grier (Dolphins), Chris Polian (Jaguars), and Brian Gaine (Texans), sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Texans might have interest in former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, according to Dan Pompei of Sports On Earth (on Twitter).
- Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson is scheduled to interview with the Jaguars for their offensive coordinator position on Thursday, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Gaine and Lake Dawson, the Titans‘ vice president of player personnel, completed their interviews with the Bears for their GM opening, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
- Saints GM Mickey Loomis says that the team will take linebacker Junior Galette‘s arrest “very seriously,” as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com writes. “If at some point we deem it necessary for the club to take some action, we’ll do that,” Loomis said.
- Loomis feels that the Saints are in better shape financially, Evan Woodbery of The Times Picayune (on Twitter). “I would say we’re in a better situation than we were a year ago — on pure salary cap.” He also scoffed at a recent report indicating that he will move into a new role with the team (link).
Coach Updates: Bills, Raiders, Jags, Quinn
Earlier this morning, we rounded up a handful of coaching-related updates. Plenty more items have surfaced over the course of the day, so let’s check in on the latest:
- The Bills are looking to line up an interview with former Jets coach Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter).
- The Bills have spoken with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz about their head coaching vacancy, according to Tim Graham of The Buffalo News.
- The Bills have a number of head coaching interviews set up for this week — Tim Graham of the Buffalo News writes that the team’s meeting with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will happen on Wednesday, while Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will speak to the club on Saturday. Additionally, a source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link) that the 49ers have given offensive coordinator Greg Roman permission to pursue the Bills’ HC job, and that interview will take place on Friday.
- After speaking to several outside candidates, the Raiders will conduct their interview with interim head coach Tony Sparano tomorrow, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links).
- Former Raiders head coach John Madden sat in on Oakland’s interview with Mike Shanahan in recent days, multiple sources tell Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Bair adds that it’s not clear how involved Madden is in the Raiders’ coaching search, but “it speaks some to the legitimacy of Shanahan” as a candidate for the job.
- A pair of candidates’ names have surfaced as the Jaguars search for a new offensive coordinator. Rapoport tweets that Jacksonville has asked to speak to Vikings running back coach Kirby Wilson, and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link) says Roman will also interview for the position.
- Preparing for the possibility that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan leaves Cleveland this winter, the Browns have “reached out to guys like Charlie Weis,” tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
- A longtime NFL executive who has been involved in many interviews for coaches tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is “the most impressive candidate” he has seen.
Coach Updates: Shanahans, Bears, Bills, Jags
Mike Shanahan has already talked to the 49ers, Bills, and Raiders about their head coaching vacancies, and it sounds like he’ll have at least one more interview. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Shanahan will meet with the Bears about their head coaching position after the team hires a general manager, which could happen soon — Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times says the team has set a Saturday deadline.
As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter), there are multiple signs pointing to Shanahan as a viable candidate in Chicago. For one, Chiefs executive Chris Ballard is considered a strong contender to be the Bears’ next general manager, and he’d likely be pro-Shanahan. La Canfora adds that Shanahan and quarterback Jay Cutler have remained close, and believe they could thrive together.
According to La Canfora (Twitter links), while it’s possible that Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan ends up working for the same team as his father, the two men are charting their own courses, and aren’t shopping themselves as a package. The younger Shanahan is set to interview for the Bills‘ head coaching opening on Thursday, tweets La Canfora.
Here are a few more non-Shanahan coaching updates from around the NFL:
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms (via Twitter) that in addition to Shanahan and Teryl Austin, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will interview with the Bills this week.
- Rapoport also has an update on Washington‘s defensive coordinator interviews, reporting that Chargers linebacker coach Joe Barry arrived in town yesterday to meet with the team, while 49ers defensive backs coach Ed Donatell will speak to the club on Wednesday (Twitter links). Wade Phillips‘ interview for the Washington DC job is scheduled for Thursday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com.
- With no concrete updates to provide on the Jaguars‘ hunt for an offensive coordinator, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union suggests that head coach Gus Bradley either hasn’t shifted the search into high gear, or he’s secretly casting a wide net.
Minor Moves: Monday
We’ll keep tabs on Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Rams have signed to two players to reserve/futures deal, adding tight end Brad Smelley and punter Michael Palardy, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The Giants have added a veteran to their offseason roster by singing linebacker Victor Butler to a reserve/futures deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Butler, 27, played for the Cowboys from 2009-12, but has bounced around in recent years, spending time with the Saints, Cardinals, and Colts in the past two seasons.
Earlier updates:
- In addition to formally announcing the signing of DeMarcus Van Dyke (noted below), the Vikings also tweeted out word of their signings of defensive end Leon Mackey and defensive tackle Chigbo Anunoby.
- The Jaguars announced three signings today, two of which had been previously reported. The new one is kicker Derek Dimke, who inked a reserve/futures contract with the team, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter).
- Washington also confirmed a handful of signings that had already been reported, and added one more to the list. According to the club (via Twitter), former Abilene Christian wideout Braylon Bell has signed a futures deal.
- Tight end Dorin Dickerson has signed a reserve/futures contract with the Titans, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The team removed Dickerson from their IR list back in August with a settlement, but worked him out again in November.
- The Vikings have signed cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke to a one-year futures contract, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Van Dyke was placed on injured reserve by the Chiefs at the end of the 2014 preseason, and was later released with an injury settlement.
- The Buccaneers have added three players to their list of reserve/futures signings for 2015, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link). The most notable player in the trio is safety M.D. Jennings, who spent his first three seasons with the Packers before being signed and cut by the Bears in 2014. Tampa Bay also signed tight end Taylor Sloat and punter Chase Tenpenny, whose agreement was previously reported.
- Having previously signed nine of their 10 practice squad players to reserve/futures contracts for the 2015 season, the Eagles made it a clean sweep today, announcing that linebacker Brandon Hepburn had inked a deal of his own (Twitter link).
AFC Mailbags: Chiefs, Revis, Raiders, Jags
It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers have opened up their mailbags and are answering questions from readers. Let’s check out some interesting whispers from the AFC…
- Adam Teicher wonders if Alex Smith‘s tendency to be a checkdown quarterback may hurt the Chiefs in their pursuit of free agent wideouts. The writer cites the team’s pursuit of Emmanuel Sanders last offseason, who was originally expected to sign with Kansas City.
- Speaking of the Chiefs and wide receivers, Teicher believes the organization will part ways with veteran Dwayne Bowe if the sides can’t agree on a new contract.
- If cornerback Darrelle Revis doesn’t end up sticking around with the Patriots, Rich Cimini basically guarantees that the Pro Bowler will eventually reunite with Rex Ryan.
- The Raiders and free agent center Stefen Wisniewski have discussed a new deal but are not close to an agreement, writes Bill Williamson. The former second-round pick has expressed interest in staying in Oakland, but the writer believes the lineman could ultimately test free agency.
- As long as the Broncos don’t place the franchise tag on tight end Julius Thomas, Michael DiRocco believes the Jaguars “have a chance” at signing the offensive weapon.