Kevin Wilkins

Coaching Notes: Lombardi, 49ers, Shula, Bills, Broncos, Titans, Saints, Wilkins

Mick Lombardi will resurface in San Francisco. The 49ers are hiring the former Raiders offensive coordinator, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. This marks a return trip for the second-generation NFL staffer. Lombardi worked on the 49ers’ staff from 2013-16, rising up to the quality control level during his first NFL gig. This came before Kyle Shanahan‘s arrival. Lombardi, 35, worked under Josh McDaniels in New England before being brought to Las Vegas as OC. Hours after the Raiders fired McDaniels, they canned Lombardi at the midseason point. Lombardi, who coached wide receivers and QBs in New England, does not have a specific title yet in San Francisco.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • The Bills are not retaining Mike Shula for their 2024 staff. The veteran coach’s contract expired, per WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio, who adds the Bills will not renew the deal. Shula had served as a senior offensive assistant on the past two Buffalo staffs. Shula, 58, had previously served as OC for the Panthers and Giants. The Carolina OC years overlapped with Cam Newton‘s MVP season and the team’s Super Bowl 50 trek. Son of Don Shula, Mike has been an NFL assistant since 1988. Prior to coming to Buffalo, he was in Denver for two seasons as QBs coach under Pat Shurmur.
  • On the subject of the Broncos, they will replace defensive line coach Marcus Dixon with an in-house promotion. Denver will bump Jamar Cain up to D-line coach. A former college and high school staffer, Cain worked as a pass rush specialist last season, joining the team shortly after the Sean Payton trade.
  • The Titans have a special teams coordinator in place now. Colt Anderson is in place here. A former Eagles, Colts and Bills special-teamer in the 2010s, Anderson previously coached with Brian Callahan in Cincinnati, serving most recently as the Bengals’ assistant ST coach. The Titans also hired Scott Fuchs as assistant O-line coach and Steve Donatell as a defensive assistant. Donatell spent last season in Miami under Vic Fangio, who had worked with Steve’s father (Ed) for many years. Fuchs comes up from the college ranks, having spent 31 seasons at that level. He spent the past three years at Kansas, serving as the Jayhawks’ O-line coach.
  • The Saints promoted Jordan Traylor to assistant quarterbacks coach and have hired Keith Williams to coach wide receivers. Despite the Saints hiring Klint Kubiak as OC, they will retain a previous staffer in Traylor for this role. Traylor, 30, was a Payton hire who has been with the team five years. Williams spent the past three seasons with the Ravens, his first NFL gig.
  • Kevin Wilkins, whom the Giants fired just before the simmering Don Martindale-Brian Daboll feud boiled over, is following the former New York DC to Michigan, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz tweets. Brothers Kevin and Drew Wilkins each worked under Martindale with the Giants and Ravens. Drew landed a job with the Patriots last month; Kevin will work as a defensive analyst at Michigan.

Giants Fire ST Coordinator Thomas McGaughey; OC Mike Kafka, DC Don Martindale Likely To Be Retained

2:14pm: Further changes to the Giants’ staff are coming. Offensive line coach Drew Wilkins and his brother, defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins have been let go, Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic reports. Both staffers have a history with Martindale given their shared time in Baltimore, and the latter has publicly praised both on several occasions. For that reason, speculation continues to point to a Martindale departure even though Daboll suggested otherwise this morning.

10:30am: Changes have been made to the Giants’ coaching staff, but a degree of stability is set to remain in place. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson have been fired, head coach Brian Daboll announced on Monday.

All three coordinator have been mentioned as potentially being on the hot seat, so McGaughey’s dismissal comes as little surprise. The 50-year-old’s NFL coaching career dates back to 2001, and he had a stint as an assistant with the Giants from 2007-10. He returned to New York after as the team’s coordinator in 2018 (following stints in that same role with the Jets, 49ers and Panthers), enjoying relative success early on.

In recent years, however, the Giants’ third phase performances have taken a turn for the worse. In 2023, New York finished 21st in terms of special teams DVOA, marking a continuation of the team’s underwhelming showings. Now, for the first time since Pat Shurmur‘s tenure as head coach, the Giants will need to find a replacement special teams coordinator.

Johnson followed Daboll to the Giants in 2022 after their shared time with the Bills. The O-line was a sore spot throughout the campaign, though, and New York allowed a league-leading 85 sacks. That figure is in part a result of the slew of injuries the Giants dealt with up front, but also a lack of development from certain young members of the unit. That includes right tackle Evan Neal, who struggled before missing the latter portion of the season due to an ankle injury which will require surgery.

Notably, though, Daboll added that he expects both offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive coordinator Don Martindale to be retained for 2024. Both staffers were reported to be on the chopping block in November, something which came as little surprise given the team’s regression from its impressive playoff run in 2022. New York faced issues in the passing game both before and after Daniel Jones‘ ACL tear, leading to a 30th place finish in scoring (15.6 points per game).

The team’s defense did not fare much better under Martindale this season, and tensions between he and Daboll became a major talking point during the season. A November report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer pointed to a parting of ways being likely given the Daboll-Martindale rift, something the Giants attempted to publicly downplay. Martindale himself has also stated an intention to remain with the Giants, and it now appears that will be the case.

Significant improvement on both sides of the ball will be needed by New York if the team is to avoid a repeat of this season’s shortcomings. Plenty of significant decisions loom, including one on the future of running back Saquon Barkley. Jones’ contract has also not quelled doubts about his Giants tenure beyond the 2024 campaign. While ownership is on board with general manager Joe Schoen‘s rebuilding efforts, Daboll appears to likewise be satisfied a largely intact coaching staff will be able to rebound in 2024.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/27/20

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

  • Released: P Lachlan Edwards

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Waived: LS Wes Farnsworth

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

 

New York Giants

  • Signed: RB Tavien Feaster
  • Released: WR Tony Brown

New York Jets

  • Released: RB Pete Guerriero

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Reserve/Futures Contracts: 12/30/19

With the regular season behind us, teams can start signing players to reserve/futures contract. This ties the player to the team’s 90-man offseason roster.

Several teams have already started completing these deals, which we’ve compiled below:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 12/3/19

Today’s notes from the workout/visit circuit:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/19

Today’s practice squad moves:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: LB Reshard Cliett

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Workout Updates: 9/24/19

Here is the latest from the workout circuit:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 9/10/19

We’ve got another busy day of workouts, with many teams across the league hosting players.

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Eagles Reach 53-Man Limit

The Eagles have gotten down to 53, making some notable cuts to get there. The team released guard/center Stefen Wisniewski, who they re-signed to a $1.5MM deal back in May. He had gotten $150K guaranteed, so Philly will eat that. Wisniewski had started at least six games in each of the past three seasons for the Eagles.

To help thin out their crowded running backs room, they got rid of a few well-known names. They waived Josh Adams, who rushed for 511 yards for them last year, as well as 2017 fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey, who has battled injuries ever since entering the league. They also cut Wendell Smallwood, who had 364 yards rushing and three touchdowns and another 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air last year.

Offensive tackle Brett Toth also failed to make the team. Toth only recently got permission from the Army to join the NFL, and he signed with the Eagles only a couple weeks ago. He seems like a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.

Aside from that, and other announced moves, the Eagles made the following roster moves over the weekend to reach the 53-player limit:

Waived:

T Riley Mayfield

G Sua Opeta

TE Joshua Perkins

RB Boston Scott

DT Aziz Shittu (injured)

QB Clayton Thorson

WR Greg Ward

Released the following players:

Reserve/PUP

CB Jalen Mills