Peter King On Riley, Murray, Haskins
Towards the end of the 2018 season, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley and a potential jump to the pros. Ultimately, Riley opted to stay put with the Sooners.
Recently, Peter King of NBC Sports had the opportunity to catch up with Riley and ask him about the possibility of moving to the NFL at some point down the line.
“I certainly wasn’t tempted at all this year. I would say right now it wouldn’t surprise me at all if I am a college lifer,” Riley said. “I think it’ll be interesting how a lot of things go on from here … if there’s a lot of changes in both games. Football is evolving; there’s a lot of changes obviously at the NFL level right now. There’s a lot of changes with all the transfers and recruiting and all the different things going on at the college level. You never know how those games are going to evolve. I might’ve been tempted honestly had I not been at a place like Oklahoma. But this is one of the best jobs there is in football. Like I’ve said before, I’ll never say never. I never want to promise things that I can’t 1,000% guarantee. It’s not something that really tempts me at all right now.”
After coaching Heisman Trophy winners in back-to-back seasons, Riley is certainly in a great position at Oklahoma. He also recently inked a lucrative extension with OU, so his comfort in Norman, Oklahoma is certainly understandable.
Here’s more from King:
- There has been a lot of talk about Kyler Murray and his lack of bulk, but King hears the quarterback has bulked up to 206 pounds, a significant jump from his playing weight of 190 pounds at Oklahoma.His added size may give teams confidence that he’s ready to withstand bigger hits at the next level.
- Murray and Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins are solid top 10 picks, based on what King is hearing. Meanwhile, King doesn’t put a lot of stock into the will-they-won’t-they talk about whether the QBs will throw at the combine. In King’s experience, he’s never heard post-draft chatter of a team executive having downgraded a QB because he did not throw at Indianapolis.
- King gets the sense that the Rams are hoping that left tackle Andrew Whitworth will come back for one more season, even though he’ll earn a substantial $10.7MM in the final year of his three-year pact. Right now, the 37-year-old is wrestling with the idea of retirement, but the Rams could use his skill and experience, especially since the Rams could lose free agent left guard Rodger Saffold in March. Rising sophomore Joseph Noteboom could take over for Saffold, but the 2018 third-rounder may be forced to fill even bigger shoes at left tackle if Whitworth hangs ’em up.
Rams Hire Zac Robinson As Asst. QBs Coach
The Rams have found their Zac Taylor replacement. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Sean McVay has hired Zac Robinson as the team’s new assistant quarterbacks coach.
After helping Jared Goff establish career-highs in completion percentage (64.9-percent), passing yards (4,688) and touchdowns (32), Taylor was hired as the Bengals new head coach earlier this month. Since that time, McVay and the Rams have been searching for a replacement. Schefter notes that the decision ultimately came down to Robinson and former NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
Robinson will see what he can do with one of the most desirable non-coordinator gigs in the league. The 32-year-old originally joined the NFL as a player, as he was a seventh-round pick by the Patriots back in 2010. He ended up having brief stints with the Seahawks, Lions, and Bengals before hanging it up in 2013.
Since that time, Robinson has spent time as an analyst for Pro Football Focus, and Schefter notes that he’s also been working as a “QB trainer.” Now, he’ll have a chance to take these experiences to the coaching circuit. One of his first duties as the Rams assistant quarterbacks coach will be working with the front office to find a backup for Goff. Former third-rounder Sean Mannion is set to be a free agent this offseason.
Rams Hire Eric Henderson As Defensive Line Coach
- The Rams are making another change to their coaching staff. So far this offseason they’ve lost Zac Taylor to the Bengals, promoted Jedd Fisch and Shane Waldron, and hired Wade Phillips’ son Wes to be their tight ends coach. Now, they’re hiring away Eric Henderson from the Chargers to be their new defensive line coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Henderson had been serving as an assistant defensive line coach with the Chargers. Before that, he had been an assistant with Oklahoma State. The Rams haven’t made any announcement, but Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic was able to confirm that their incumbent defensive line coach, Bill Johnson, won’t be back with the team next year (Twitter link).
NFL Awards Compensatory Draft Picks
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks to several teams, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The full rundown, which is below, includes two third-round picks for both the Rams and Patriots.
The NFL awards compensatory draft picks to teams, as directed by the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The compensatory pick system provides additional picks to teams who lose more/better qualifying free agents in the previous year than gained. As the NFL explains:
“Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula. No club may receive more than four compensatory picks in any one year. If a club qualifies for more than four compensatory picks after offsetting each CFA lost by each CFA gained of an equal or higher value, the four highest remaining selections will be awarded to the club.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the number of compensatory selections to the number of clubs then in the League (32). This year, six clubs: the Ravens, Bengals, Colts, Rams, Giants, and 49ers qualified for compensatory selections under the net loss formula but will not receive those picks because the final numerical values of the CFAs who were lost by those clubs ranked 33rd through 39thamong the final numerical values of all compensatory selections. Each of those six clubs will receive compensatory selections for other CFAs lost whose final numerical values ranked within the top 32. “
Third Round
- (No. 33 in third round-No. 96 overall) Redskins
- 34-97 Patriots
- 35-98 Rams
- 36-99 Rams
- 37-100 Panthers
- 38-101 Patriots
- 39-102 Ravens
Could Rams Trade For OBJ?
Florio also wonders if the already star-studded Rams could reignite their OBJ pursuit. Brandin Cooks seems to have the WR1 position covered, but they could theoretically put together a package with draft capital and a receiver like Robert Woods to make a strong offer.
Rams Promote Shane Waldron, Jedd Fisch
After losing former quarterbacks Zac Taylor (who was formally announced as the Bengals’ new head coach last week), the Rams are re-shuffling their offensive staff. Shane Waldron will be promoted from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach while retaining his title as Los Angeles’ passing game coordinator, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter links). Meanwhile, senior offensive assistant Jedd Fisch will be named assistant coordinator/offense.
How much these changes will actually affect the day-to-day — and game-to-game — operations for the Rams’ offense is unclear. Head coach Sean McVay will continue to call offensive plays, and Los Angeles still hasn’t formally replaced former offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur since he left for Tennessee following the 2017 season.
But the moves are considered steps-up. As Breer notes in indicating Waldron will keep his passing game coordinator title, Waldron is merely shifting his position of focus — he’ll be as involved in the Rams’ offense as he ever was, if not more so. Waldron, who has also spent NFL time with the Patriots and Redskins, interviewed for Cincinnati’s head coaching vacancy earlier this year but lost out to his ex-coworker Taylor.
Fisch, meanwhile, now has a title that sounds the closest to “offensive coordinator” of anyone on the Rams’ staff. The Jaguars’ OC from 2013-14, Fisch joined Los Angeles in 2018 and serves as the club’s clock management specialist. He interviewed for the head coaching job at Temple University earlier this year.
Rams Pair Up Wade Phillips, Wes Phillips
The Rams will bring in Wade Phillips‘ son to be part of their offensive staff. Wes Phillips will move from the nation’s capital to Los Angeles, with Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio reporting (on Twitter) the former Redskins tight ends coach will take over that position with the Rams. This move was rumored prior to Super Bowl LIII, and it will come to fruition. The father-son tandem has not been on the same staff since Wade’s days as Cowboys head coach. Wes Phillips’ move west will likely coincide with Rams tight ends coach Shane Waldron focusing on his duties as passing game coordinator and Jedd Fisch shifting to quarterbacks coach.
- While the Rams are hiring their defensive coordinator’s son, the Patriots are expected to add the son of former executive Mike Lombardi. Mick Lombardi is expected to be one of Bill Belichick‘s new hires, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter). The Patriots employed the younger Lombardi from 2011-12; he served as the Jets’ assistant quarterbacks coach the past two seasons. New England just lost assistant QBs coach Jerry Schuplinski to Miami.
Bengals Granted Permission To Interview Aubrey Pleasant
The Bengals requested permission to interview Rams cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant for defensive coordinator last week, and Cincinnati has now been granted that opportunity, according to Vincent Bosnignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Pleasant, regarded as a rising star in the coaching ranks, worked for the Browns and Redskins before joining Los Angeles in 2017. The Bengals’ DC job is the only vacant coordinator position remaining in the NFL, and a number of candidates (Dom Capers, Jack Del Rio, Dennis Allen) have bowed out of the running to become a top aide to head coach Zac Taylor. Other coaches who have been linked to the job include Saints linebackers coach Mike Nolan, former Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, Texas A&M DC Mike Elko, Florida DC Todd Grantham, and Saints defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn.
Latest On Rams' Offseason Plans
- Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic examines how the Rams might address some of their biggest needs this offseason. The club is projected to have about $41MM in salary cap space, and Bonsignore suggests that LA must find a dominant edge rusher to take some pressure off of Aaron Donald. Luckily, this year’s draft features quite a bit of pass rushing talent if the Rams choose to steer clear of the pricey free agent market for edge defenders.
- Todd Gurley will obviously be back with the Rams, but given his history of knee problems, and the impact that his most recent knee injury had on the team’s playoff run, Bonsignore says LA will think long and hard about adding another back to share the load (we learned last week that the club is interested in bringing back C.J. Anderson). He also suggests that the Rams could bring back Ndamukong Suh on a two-year deal, and that Mark Barron could be a cap casualty.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/8/19
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Los Angeles Rams
- OL Aaron Neary
- DB Steven Parker
- DB Ramon Richards
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB Robert Spillane
- RB Malik Williams