Jacquies Smith

NFC Coaching Updates: Falcons, Vikings, Garcia, Glenn

As the offseason chugs along, teams continue to reconstruct their coaching staffs. The Falcons made a number of moves just before the weekend, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN. The staff continues to take shape under new head coach Raheem Morris.

On offense, two announcements were made on assistants looking to hold over from Arthur Smith‘s staff last year. Rothstein reports that assistant offensive line coach Shawn Flaherty and offensive assistant Patrick Kramer, who each came to Atlanta last offseason, will be retained in their previous positions.

A new hire was announced, as well, with the team naming Jacquies Smith as their new outside linebackers coach. Formerly a seven-year NFL defensive end, the former undrafted player out of Missouri will now accept his first NFL coaching position. After disappearing from the NFL-world for a spell and making an appearance in the XFL, Smith worked with draft-eligible players in pre-draft training. He most recently spent the 2023 season as an assistant edge coach for the Texas Longhorns.

In the front office, the team announced the hires of John Griffin as director of player performance and Rob Dadona as manager of coaching operations. Griffin follows Morris after spending the past three years with the Rams. Dadona replaces Brian Griffin, who departed to serve as Chief of Staff at the University of Maryland. Dadona spent the past five seasons with the Jets, serving as assistant to the head coach for the last three.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFC, starting with a couple out of Minneapolis:

  • The Vikings announced two staff additions this weekend, naming assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett and assistant to the head coach Henry Schneider IV. Sarrett replaces Justin Rascati, who departed for Los Angeles to serve as the Chargers pass-game coordinator. The two essentially swapped places, as Sarrett spent the past three years in the assistant offensive line coaching role with the Chargers. Schneider spent the last five years with the Raiders, most recently as the manager of coaching operations.
  • The Cowboys added a hot, young name out of Washington to their defensive staff this weekend. Cristian Garcia, who spent part of last year as the Commanders interim defensive backs coach, will head to Dallas as a defensive quality control coach, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. Garcia was a name that former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera turned to for leadership after firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Now he’ll join the NFC East rival.
  • Washington added their own coaching assistant last week. According to ESPN’s John Keim, John Glenn will join the staff as the Commanders’ new assistant special teams coach. Glenn replaces Ben Jacobs, who had served in the same role since following Rivera from Carolina in 2020 but was not retained by the new staff. Glenn changes roles a bit after spending the past six seasons as the Seahawks linebackers coach.

XFL Draft Day 1 Fallout

The XFL’s two-day draft began Tuesday. In addition to certain quarterbacks being assigned to teams, several notable players went off the board in the rebooting league’s selection event.

The league divided its draft into sections. Skill-position players (and other quarterbacks) went in one portion of the draft, with offensive linemen going second and then select defenders in another section. Connor Cook was the first quarterback to go in the non-allocation portion of the draft, being selected by the Houston franchise at No. 2 overall.

Here are some recent NFL skill-position players taken:

Here are the notable offensive linemen selected in that section of the draft:

Lastly, some front-seven names of note came off in that part of this event:

For a full team-by-team breakdown, Sporting News cataloged the first parts of this event.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/18

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Raiders Sign DE Jacquies Smith

Kony Ealy wasn’t the only veteran defensive end the Raiders signed this week, as Oakland announced that it has also inked edge rusher Jacquies Smith.

Smith, 28, had established himself as a serviceable pass rusher for the Buccaneers (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in only one 2017 contest with Tampa Bay before being cut. He latched with the Lions for two games, but spent the last two months of the campaign out of football.

Earlier this summer, Smith drew a bit of interest, working out for the Colts before landing a one-year deal withe Cardinals in July. He played in three games for Arizona but didn’t make much of an impact, as he saw only 29 snaps on defense to go along with 23 on special teams. After being released in late September, Smith worked out for Oakland last week before landing a deal Tuesday.

Smith (and Ealy) should both be given a chance to contribute in the Bay Area, as the Raiders have fielded the NFL’s worst pass-rushing unit through a half-season. After trading Khalil Mack prior to the regular season, and waiving defensive end Bruce Irvin last week, Oakland ranks dead last in the league in both sacks (seven) and adjusted sack rate. The Raiders’ defensive end rotation is now led by Frostee Rucker, Fadol Brown, and rookie Arden Key.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • T Andrew Nelson (link)

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/18

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals 

  • Claimed off waivers from the Browns: DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
  • Released: DE Jacquies Smith

Baltimore Ravens

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Cardinals Sign DE Jacquies Smith

The Cardinals signed defensive end Jacquies Smith to a one-year deal, according to a team announcement. To make room, the club waived/injured defensive lineman Praise Martin-Oguike

[RELATED: Cardinals Sign Tre Boston]

Smith, 28, established himself as a serviceable edge rusher for the Bucs (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in his first contest of the year during Week 4 last year, but saw action on only seven snaps. Smith wound up signing with the Lions during their bye week in 2017, but did not play in any games for them. A second stint with Detroit later in the year resulted in two appearances for Smith, but he recorded only one tackle.

Smith is the third noteworthy defender to join the Cardinals this week, following safety Tre Boston and linebacker Arthur Moats. The Cardinals signed Benson Mayowa earlier this year to be their first defensive end off of the bench, but Smith has a real chance to also make the roster as a reserve.

Colts Try Out Keenan Lewis, Jacquies Smith

The Colts have eight tryout players on hand this week, including cornerback Keenan Lewis and defensive end Jacquies Smith (Twitter link via George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin). Wide receiver Paul McRoberts, cornerback Juante Baldwin, running back Jordan Huff, safety Tim Scott, defensive end Evan Panfil, and defensive end Christian French are also among those looking to hook on in Indy. 

Lewis, 32, has not played since the 2015 season when he suffered a leg injury. In 2016, the Saints released him as he was slow to recover from a hip malady. He nearly rejoined the Steelers in 2017, but a medical red flag kept him from signing. Pittsburgh doctors reportedly found that Lewis had undergone a “failed surgery” and he filed a grievance against the Saints this year to recoup some of his lost salary.

Lewis, a 2009 third-round pick of the Steelers, spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. After serving as a reserve through his first few seasons, he started all 16 games for the Steelers in 2012, compiling 71 tackles and one forced fumble. He ended up signing a five-year, $26.3MM deal with New Orleans during the 2013 offseason, and he started all 32 games for the Saints in 2013 and 2014. However, he suited up just six times in 2015.

Smith, 28, established himself as a serviceable edge rusher for the Bucs (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in his first contest of the year during Week 4 last year, but saw action on only seven snaps. Smith wound up signing with the Lions during their bye week in 2017, but did not play in any games for them. A second stint with Detroit later in the year resulted in two appearances for Smith, but he recorded only one tackle.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/17

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/17

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders