Coaching Rumors: Shanahan, Rams, Broncos
It’s a New Year and a new start for many teams on the sidelines. With a zillion interviews being requested today, we’ll run down the latest coaching rumors and requests here:
- The Rams and Broncos have requested permission to talk to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. GM John Elway says the team will consider “three or four” candidates for the job, which means that Shanahan is on the short list. It will be interesting to see if the rocky relationship between Elway and Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, plays a role in his candidacy.
- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians confirmed that the Bills and Rams have asked permission to interview offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin (Twitter link via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). As previously reported, the Jaguars will interview Goodwin today.
- The Bills will make a push for former Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. La Canfora, like many, expects Anthony Lynn to shed the “interim” title this offseason and take over as head coach.
- The Rams have requested interviews with Lynn and Matt Patricia (Patriots defensive coordinator), according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
- The Jaguars will interview Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith for their head coaching vacancy, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
- Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said teams have contacted Miami about talking to Vance Joseph for head coaching jobs, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.
49ers Targeting Tom Cable, Others For HC Job
Josh McDaniels isn’t the only candidate on the 49ers’ list. The team is also looking to bring in Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, Jaguars interim coach Doug Marrone, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco.
The Jets interviewed Cable for their head coaching vacancy before the 2015 season, but he did not receive any interviews last offseason. Cable, of course, offers head coaching experience after nearly three years at the helm in Oakland. From 2008-2010, the Raiders went 17-27 under Cable and never finished higher than third in the AFC West.
Meanwhile, the top GM candidates right now are Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, and Seahawks co-player personnel directors Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.
CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe are leading the search to fill both vacancies. After witnessing years of discord between former coach Jim Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke (and perhaps some disagreement between Baalke and recent ex-coach Chip Kelly), the 49ers may opt for a ready-made GM/coach combo like McDaniels and Caserio. McDaniels appears to be one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market this offseason and Caserio has been viewed as a rising front office star for the last couple of years.
Vance Joseph A Candidate For Broncos HC?
Given reports that Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is likely to retire at season’s end, general manager John Elway & Co. could soon be conducting a head coaching search. Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph could be a strong candidate for the position, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
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Joseph, 44, interviewed for Denver’s vacant head coaching position during the 2015 offseason when he was still the Bengals’ defensive backs coach. Though the Broncos ultimately hired Kubiak, the club maintained strong interest in bringing Joseph in as defensive coordinator, but Cincinnati blocked the move. Since that time, Joseph has moved on to Miami, where he’s helped improve the team’s defense from a No. 25 DVOA rank in 2015 to No. 17 this year.
Meanwhile, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is also expected to be on the Broncos’ “radar,” tweets Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Shanahan will be a candidate for nearly every head coaching job that opens this offseason, but a move to Denver could be particularly difficult given Shanahan’s father’s relationship with Elway, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Some sources say Mike Shanahan — who coached Elway to two Super Bowl victories — doesn’t get along with the current Denver GM, per Florio.
Coaching/GM Notes, Pt. 1: Pagano, Payton, Kelly
We heard earlier today that Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is likely to step down while the Bears are expected to retain head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace. Let’s take a look at some other coaching and GM rumors from around the league, which are so abundant that we will split this post into two parts. Part 2 can be found here.
- Colts owner Jim Irsay has attempted to downplay the notion that head coach Chuck Pagano and/or GM Ryan Grigson are on the hot seat, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Irsay has been “very unhappy” with his team’s performance, and coaches within the organization believe that change is coming. It appears as if Pagano’s job is certainly in jeopardy, although it remains unclear whether Grigson could be fired as well. Irsay could not be reached for comment.
- There is “mutual interest” between the Rams and Saints head coach Sean Payton, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports that the ball is in New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis‘ court. If Loomis decides he’s willing to part with Payton for moderate compensation, Payton would be the clear front-runner to take over in Los Angeles. And if the Saints do move on from Payton, Jaguars interim head coach Doug Marrone would be a strong candidate to replace him in New Orleans, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Marrone could also take over the Jacksonville job on a permanent basis.
- The Jaguars will not, however, consider Chip Kelly, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
- La Canfora tweets out a list of names who could be in contention for the 49ers‘ GM job, a list that includes Louis Riddick, Scott Pioli, and George Paton. Meanwhile, San Francisco is said to be high on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Dolphins DC Vance Joseph as head coaching candidates.
- Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com tweets that Panthers DC Sean McDermott is lined up for multiple head coaching interviews.
Dolphins Extend TE MarQueis Gray
A day after awarding offensive lineman Sam Young a short-term extension, the Dolphins have re-upped tight end MarQueis Gray to a two-year deal, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Gray is now under the Dolphins’ control through the 2018 season.
The Dolphins are the fifth NFL organization for the 27-year-old Gray, who entered the league with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2013. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher debuted that year with the Browns and then spent parts of the 2014 and ’15 campaigns with the Vikings and Bills. All told, he appeared in 29 games, made seven starts and caught 12 passes in that span.
In Miami, which he joined on a one-year deal in March, Gray has given the team a useful option behind Dion Sims by setting career highs in appearances (15), starts (seven), targets (17) and receptions (14). In terms of overall performance, Gray ranks a respectable 28th among Pro Football Focus’ 64 qualifying tight ends.
Dolphins Extend OL Sam Young
The Dolphins are signing offensive lineman Sam Young to a one-year extension, according to Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). Per the terms of the deal, he will make $1.2MM in 2017, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.
Young missed the 53-man cut towards the end of the offseason, but he circled back to Miami in October. Since then, he has demonstrated his value as a backup to Branden Albert and Ja’Wuan James this season, playing in six games and making one start.
The Dolphins have both Albert and James under contract for 2017, so their tackle corps looks solidified. The Dolphins also have tackle-turned-guard Laremy Tunsil in the long-term fold as well.
Dolphins Place S Isa Abdul-Quddus On IR
The Dolphins are placing yet another starting safety on injured reserve. Isa Abdul-Quddus is done for the year, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. To take his place on the roster, rookie safety A.J. Hendy is being promoted from the practice squad. 
Abdul-Quddus was signed to a three-year, $12.75MM deal this offseason to play opposite of Reshad Jones in the secondary. The Dolphins have locked up their spot in the playoffs, but they’ll have to forge ahead without both players. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus ranked Abdul-Quddus as the No. 31 safety in the NFL out of 92 qualified players. His season ends with 78 tackles, two interceptions, one sack, and five passes defended in 15 games.
Without Abdul-Quddus, Michael Thomas will likely start at safety along with Bacarri Rambo. They are ranked as PFF’s No. 79 and No. 85 safeties, respectively. The rest of the Dolphins’ D will need to step up in order to advance beyond the Wild Card round.
Dolphins Audition Four
- The Dolphins also took a look at the aforementioned Tharold Simon, who joined fellow corner Demetrius McCray and two tight ends – Gabe Hughes and Chris Pantale – tweets Caplan.
Ryan Tannehill Could Return For Postseason?
The Dolphins are almost assured of making the playoffs as a AFC Wild Card team — FiveThirtyEight gives Miami a 92% chance of earning a postseason berth after yesterday’s win over the Bills — and quarterback Ryan Tannehill could potentially return in time for a Super Bowl run, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Tannehill has shed his cast from his injured left leg, and there is “real reason for optimism” that the Dolphins signal-caller could come back “at some point” during the tournament.
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Miami’s orginal plan was to consider Tannehill for Week 17 against the Patriots, but the Dolphins could clinch a playoff berth without beating New England — should the Broncos lose to the Chiefs tonight — so that would seemingly provide an extra week of rest while Miami prepares for what would be its first playoff game in eight years. However, news last week painted a grim picture for a Tannehill return, with his MCL injury being more severe than initially believed.
Backup quarterback Matt Moore has played well in two starts in relief of Tannehill, throwing six touchdowns against two interceptions while leading the Dolphins to consecutive victories. Still, Miami would surely prefer to turn back to Tannehill if he can return for a Wild Card weekend matchup against either the Steelers (the likely AFC North winner) or the Texans.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Mike Pouncey's Hip Issues Not Career Threatening
- Dolphins three-time Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey reiterated Wednesday that his hip issues are not career threatening, per James Walker of ESPN.com. Moreover, despite having landed on season-ending injured reserve last week, Pouncey won’t require surgery. The 27-year-old is optimistic he’ll be ready for the Dolphins’ spring program. “I feel good now. Obviously talking to my doctor made me feel real confident,” he said.