Eagles Interested In Extending Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Vinny Curry
NFL teams are now free to extend the rookie contracts of players selected in the 2013 draft, and the Eagles are interested in locking up a couple of their top ’13 draftees, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. Shorr-Parks reports that Philadelphia has prioritized getting new contracts done with offensive tackle Lane Johnson and tight end Zach Ertz.
In addition to Johnson and Ertz, defensive end Vinny Curry is also a top priority for the Eagles. Having been selected in the second round of the 2012 draft, Curry’s rookie contract is expiring this winter, and doesn’t feature a fifth-year option, so he’ll hit the open market in March if he and the Eagles can’t reach a new deal by then. According to Shorr-Parks, the Eagles have already made a contract offer to Curry in the hopes of getting something done. If he reaches the open market, the defensive end could draw interest from the Giants, among other teams, say Shorr-Parks.
Although Philadelphia is expected to make extension offers soon to Johnson and Ertz, getting something done with Johnson shouldn’t be an urgent item on the team’s to-do list. As a 2013 first-rounder, Johnson has a fifth-year option for 2017 on his rookie deal, so assuming the Eagles exercise that option, the offensive lineman will remain under team control for at least two more seasons.
The same can’t be said for Ertz though, who was a second-round pick. He’ll become eligible for unrestricted free agency a year from now if he and the Eagles don’t work something out. The 25-year-old tight end is coming off a career year, having caught 75 passes for 853 yards in 2015.
As for Curry, his overall numbers took a hit in 2015 — after recording nine sacks and four forced fumbles in 2014, he had 3.5 and zero, respectively, this past season. Still, Pro Football Focus graded him 10th among interior defensive linemen as a pass-rusher, so he was putting pressure on quarterbacks even if he wasn’t bringing them down.
PFF also ranked Johnson 24th among offensive tackles, out of 81 qualified players at the position. The former fourth overall pick could become the Eagles’ full-time left tackle if and when the team decides to move on from Jason Peters, so locking up Johnson sooner rather than later, while not absolutely necessary, could save the club some money down the road. He has primarily played right tackle up until this point of his career.
With Chip Kelly out of the picture in Philadelphia, decisions on contract extensions and signings will be made by some combination of Howie Roseman, Tom Donahoe, Jeffrey Lurie, Doug Pederson, and the club’s new head of player personnel, who has yet to be hired.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coach Notes: Giants, Texans, Bills, Titans
There aren’t many offensive or defensive coordinator jobs still available, as our tracker shows, but teams continue to tweak their coaching staffs in preparation for the 2016 season, interviewing and hiring position coaches and other assistants. Here are a few of Thursday’s updates on that front:
- First-time head coach Ben McAdoo appears to be considering an assistant with head coaching experience for his staff. Per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Giants interviewed former Niners head coach Mike Singletary today for their linebackers coach job.
- On the other side of the ball, the Giants interviewed Packers assistant Mike Solari on Wednesday for their offensive line coach position, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. According to Marvez, Solari is a “strong candidate” to be added to McAdoo’s staff.
- As expected, the Texans have hired former Ravens and Texans defensive lineman Anthony Weaver as their defensive line coach, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Weaver, who last played for Houston in 2008, will replace Paul Pasqualoni.
- According to Marvez (via Twitter), the Bills are making Pat Meyer their assistant offensive line coach.
- Marvez also reports (via Twitter) that the Titans have promoted Nick Eason from defensive line assistant to defensive line coach.
- The Bengals announced three coaching moves today (via Twitter), re-assigning Robert Livingston as assistant defensive backs coach and adding Robert Couch and Dan Pitcher to their offensive staff.
Schefter On NFL Head Coaching Searches
While the Browns liked Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the team recognized the importance of upgrading its offense, which was one reason Hue Jackson was the choice as Cleveland’s new head coach, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. According to Schefter, the Browns believe that by hiring Jackson they not only strengthened their own organization, but weakened a division rival, in the Bengals.
Schefter has some details on the rest of the head coaching decisions as well, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….
- The Giants “seriously entertained” the possibility of hiring Mike Smith as their head coach and keeping Ben McAdoo at offensive coordinator, says Schefter. However, when the Eagles expressed legit interest in McAdoo, the Giants knew they couldn’t risk losing him.
- As for those Eagles, they were determined to be more patient this time around than when they hired Chip Kelly, but two of their top candidates – Adam Gase and McAdoo – were hired by other teams while Philadelphia was being patient. Since the club was already familiar with Doug Pederson, it was “completely comfortable” turning to him despite the fact that his initial interview was ordinary, according to Schefter.
- The 49ers viewed Kelly, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, and Anthony Lynn as viable candidates, and felt they would have been in good shape no matter which direction they went in. The fact that Kelly is the only one of the group without a Super Bowl ring was a factor in San Francisco’s choice, since the club feels he’ll be hungry to get that championship.
- The Buccaneers took a week to hire Dirk Koetter even though most people expected him to be the choice all along, leading to some whispers that the Glazers “attempted a big swing” before officially promoting Koetter, says Schefter.
- Despite a final push from Ray Horton last Saturday, the Titans‘ owners never wanted to get away from Mike Mularkey, who was their top choice all along.
- As for the Dolphins, they entered their coaching search planning to be aggressive, and Gase’s desire to land a head coaching job – after being passed over last year – matched up well with that aggressiveness from the team, making him the first new coach hired this month.
Staff Updates: Giants, 49ers, Bills, Bears, Fins
The latest coaching staff-related news from around the NFL:
- The Giants have hired Frank Cignetti as their quarterbacks coach, according to Newsday’s Tom Rock, and Dwayne Stukes as their assistant special teams coach (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports). Marvez reported Monday that Cignetti was a candidate to join Ben McAdoo‘s staff as the QBs coach, which has now come to fruition. Cignetti held the position in St. Louis from 2012-14 before a promotion to offensive coordinator last year. That didn’t work out, though, as the Rams fired him during the season.
- In other Giants news, their offensive line coach, Pat Flaherty, is interviewing for the same position with the 49ers, Marvez tweets. The Giants seem set to part ways with Flaherty, so it would obviously be in his best interest to land the 49ers job.
- The Bears have blocked outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt from becoming the Dolphins’ defensive line coach, reports Thayer Evans of SI.com. Hurtt, who has one year left on his contract with Chicago, is rising up the assistant coaching ranks in the NFL and has drawn interest at both the pro and college levels, according to Thayer.
- Bills assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn is a candidate to become the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. If he does, the Bills could replace him with Wilbert Montgomery, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak (Twitter link). Montgomery – who has spent the past two seasons coaching Cleveland’s running backs – is familiar with Bills head coach Rex Ryan. Both were on the Ravens’ coaching staff in 2008.
East Notes: McAdoo, Jets, Dolphins, Patriots
New Giants head coach Ben McAdoo still isn’t sure whether he’ll call offensive plays in 2016, he told SiriusXM NFL Radio today (link via Tom Rock of Newsday). Mike Sullivan, who is expected to be promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, does have experience calling plays (with Tampa Bay from 2012-13). But McAdoo plans to speak with his old boss, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy — who reclaimed play-calling duties midway through the season — before he makes a final decision.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:
- The Jets were major players during last’s year free agent period, but with only about $10MM in cap space to work with this offseason, their plan might have to change, as GM Mike Maccagnan tells Brian Costello of the New York Post. “It’s kind of a little different scenario from last year to this year,” Maccagnan said last week. “We’ll still have money to be active and do things with, but it ends up being like a puzzle and it’s not only trying to put all the pieces in different scenarios.” New York should be able to clear out about $20MM more in room, figures Costello, and it can start by releasing (or lowering the cap figures of) cornerback Antonio Cromartie and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
- If the best player available when the Dolphins are on the clock in this year’s draft is a quarterback, then the club needs to select him, regardless of Ryan Tannehill‘s presence, opines Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Miami — and new head coach Adam Gase — can’t win unless the club finds a long-term answer at signal-caller, and until Tannehill proves he is that, the Dolphins need to keep taking swings at finding one.
- Washington worked out defensive lineman Ziggy Hood, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). A former first-round pick, Hood spent about two months with the Bears during the 2015 season.
- The Giants also tried out several players recently, including receiver Eric Rogers, running back Cameron Marshall, and defensive end Euclid Cummings, reports Wilson (Twitter link).
- The Patriots visited with linebacker James Vaughters, per Wilson (Twitter link). Vaughters, a Stanford alum, was placed on the Packers’ practice squad injured reserve in September.
Injury Updates: J. Allen, O. Bolden, JPP
Our newest round of injury updates has an impact on two teams still alive in the postseason, along with one notable player eligible for free agency this winter. Let’s dive in and check out the latest….
- Per David Newton of ESPN.com, Panthers defensive end Jared Allen met with Dr. Robert Anderson – one of the country’s top foot doctors – during Sunday’s game and was scheduled to meet with him again today. Initially diagnoses with a fractured foot, Allen aimed to get a more definitive diagnosis today, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests (via Twitter) that nothing has changed since Sunday — it’s still believed to be a small broken bone, and Allen hopes to play through it. The veteran pass rusher’s status will be worth keeping a close eye on this week.
- Broncos defensive back and return man Omar Bolden will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his PCL, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Bolden was used somewhat sparingly as a returner this season, but made the most of his opportunities, with one of his five regular-season punt returns going for an 83-yard touchdown, and his lone playoff return going for 42 yards. He’ll be placed on IR and the Broncos will decide within the next couple days how to place him, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Giants defensive end and free-agent-to-be Jason Pierre-Paul posted a photo on his Instagram revealing that he’s undergoing more surgery on his injured hand today. New York is unlikely to use its franchise tag on JPP again, so he figures to hit the open market in March if he and the Giants can’t work out an extension. You can bet teams will be closely monitoring the state of his that right hand.
Eagles Had Interest In Steve Spagnuolo
With Tom Coughlin resigned as the Giants’ head coach, it created some uncertainty about Steve Spagnuolo‘s future with the team. The incumbent defensive coordinator interviewed for New York’s head coaching job, but it was Ben McAdoo, the former offensive coordinator, who ended up landing the job instead.
[RELATED: Eagles hire Doug Pederson as head coach]
Despite not receiving a promotion like McAdoo, it doesn’t appear that Spagnuolo is going anywhere. Several Giants beat reporters, including Paul Schwartz of the New York Post and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter links) that Spagnuolo is expected to remain the team’s defensive coordinator.
Still, it’s not as if Spagnuolo is staying put due to a lack of opportunities elsewhere. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Eagles explored the idea of bringing the Giants’ defensive coordinator to Philadelphia as Doug Pederson‘s defensive coordinator. Anthony Gargano of 97.5 The Fantatic (Twitter link) said this morning that the Eagles actually requested permission to talk to Spagnuolo, but were denied by New York.
Assuming Gargano’s report is accurate, it doesn’t come as a real surprise. Coughlin interviewed with the Eagles for their head coaching job, but withdrew from that process at least in part because he was unlikely to have the freedom to bring his old Giants assistants with him. If the Giants wouldn’t let Spagnuolo join Coughlin in Philadelphia, they weren’t likely to let him join Pederson there. Of course, it’s not clear if Spagnuolo even reciprocated the Eagles’ interest.
As our coordinator tracker shows, Jim Schwartz and Mike Pettine have been mentioned as potential defensive coordinator candidates in Philadelphia. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles appear to be closing in on a deal to make Frank Reich their offensive coordinator, while the Giants are expected to promote Mike Sullivan to their OC role.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles Expected To Hire Frank Reich As OC
MONDAY, 12:22pm: Reich is expected to join Pederson’s staff in Philadelphia, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport clarifies (via Twitter) that the former Chargers offensive coordinator is expected to hold the same position with the Eagles.
SUNDAY, 1:49pm: Now that his club has been eliminated from the postseason, Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson is expected to introduced as the Eagles’ new head coach at a press conference early this week. But he’s already at work filling out a coaching staff, and his first choice for offensive coordinator is former Chargers OC Frank Reich, reports Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
[RELATED: Eagles to hire Doug Pederson as head coach]
Reich, recently fired after three seasons leading San Diego’s offense, interviewed for the same position on Adam Gase‘s Dolphins staff, but Miami ultimately chose Clyde Christensen as their new offensive coordinator. Reich wouldn’t have called plays in Miami (Gase will do that), and it’s unclear if he would handle that responsibility in Philadelphia — or if Pederson himself will take on that role.
Pederson is also interested in bringing a fellow Chiefs staffer with him, as Hayes reports that Brad Childress is on the Eagles’ radar. It’s unknown in what capacity Childress would serve — he’s currently labeled as Kansas City’s spread game coordinator — but he has a history with both the Eagles and Pederson. Childress worked with the Eagles from 1999-2005, and his time in Philadelphia overlapped with that of Pederson’s (who was an active player) in 1999.
Incumbent Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur reportedly isn’t out the picture quite yet, as Hayes indicates that Pederson isn’t averse to keeping Shurmur on staff, perhaps even in his same role. Shurmur, of course, interviewed for the head coaching position in Philadelphia, and is respected due to his work with quarterback Sam Bradford in 2015.
On the defensive side of the ball, Pederson’s top target for coordinator is Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo, per Hayes. That could prove difficult, as all indications have been that the Giants and new head coach Ben McAdoo plan to keep Spagnuolo on as coordinator.
Pederson, who has no head coaching experience himself and has only been an NFL assistant since 2009, is clearly targeting coaches who do have experience at the top. Between them, Childress, Shurmur, and Spagnuolo offer 10 years of HC experience, which would be valuable to a first-time head coach.
Coach Rumors: 49ers, Mangini, Giants, Titans
New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly hasn’t been formally introduced by the team yet, and hasn’t made any announcements on his coaching staff, but it appears a handful of Eagles assistant coaches will be following him to San Francisco, writes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
As Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, the Eagles assistants remain under contract through 2016, so Philadelphia could block some of them from heading to the Niners if Doug Pederson wants to keep them, but the Eagles’ new head coach is likely to hire many of his own assistants as well.
One notable Niners assistant who may end up remaining in San Francisco is defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. Marvez tweets that there’s a “strong possibility” of Mangini, who met with Kelly on Friday, returning to head the 49ers’ defense in 2016.
As we wait to see how Kelly’s staff shakes out, here are a few more coaching-related updates from around the NFL:
- The Giants appear set to move on from offensive line coach Pat Flaherty and defensive line coach Robert Nunn, per reports by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Nunn will interview for the Titans‘ DL coach job, says Garafolo.
- Meanwhile, Marvez has a note on a potential incoming coach for the Giants, tweeting that ex-Rams offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is in the mix for New York’s quarterbacks coach job.
- The Titans have put in a request to interview Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie for their offensive coordinator job, sources tell Marvez and Garafolo (Twitter link).
- Doug Pederson‘s biggest decision as he takes over the Eagles‘ head coaching job will be naming his defensive coordinator, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who writes that Pederson “can’t just blindly go with one of the big-name coordinators who are available.”
East Notes: Henry, Washington, C. Jones
New Giants head coach Ben McAdoo is starting to fill out his coaching staff, as Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, citing FootballScoop Staff, tweets that former 49ers WR coach Adam Henry will join McAdoo in New York as Big Blue’s WR coach. Interestingly, Henry was Odell Beckham‘s coach at LSU, and per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (via Twitter), Henry and Beckham have a very close relationship. We learned earlier today that Bob Bicknell will replace Henry in San Francisco.
Now let’s take a look at some more links from around the league’s east divisions:
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com examines Washington‘s biggest needs that must be addressed this offseason, with running back and safety topping the list.
- In a separate piece, Tandler looks at Washington‘s 2015 free agent class and points out that, although there were some bright spots, the team did not get much bang for its free agent buck this year.
- Chandler Jones‘ recent marijuana-related incident could have serious financial ramifications for the Patriots‘ defensive end, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes. Although Jones is technically under contract for 2016, the final year on his current deal is the fifth-year option for former first-round picks, and it does not become guaranteed until March 9. Therefore, the Pats could cut Jones with no penalty prior to that date if they so choose. Even if New England does not go that route, Volin believes the incident will at least reduce Jones’ leverage in negotiating an extension with the club.
- Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News asked six “panelists”–Rich Gannon, Warren Moon, Mark Brunell, Brian Billick, Kevin Gilbride, and Eric Wood–if Tyrod Taylor has what it takes to become the Bills‘ long-term solution at quarterback. Wood, predictably, was the most supportive of Taylor, while the other panelists were largely encouraged by Taylor’s play in 2015 but admitted that he had a ways to go before establishing himself as a franchise signal-caller.