Extra Points: Dolphins, H. Jackson, Bucs, Texans
Before hiring Adam Gase as their head coach Saturday, the Dolphins considered several other candidates. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald passes along some interesting information on a handful of those names.
The Dolphins interviewed ex-Falcons head coach Mike Smith, but they felt he lacked “some of the gravitas” for the position. In Mike Shanahan‘s case, Miami’s bigwigs were worried that too many of the two-time Super Bowl winner’s potential assistants had jobs elsewhere, which would’ve negatively affected his ability to assemble a staff. They also had concern about whether Shanahan would be prone to complacency. The Dolphins discussed the idea of pursuing another two-time champion, Tom Coughlin, but they decided the soon-to-be 70-year-old was too advanced in age to factor into their long-term plans. Dan Campbell, the Dolphins’ interim head coach for most of the 2015-16 campaign, was the runner-up to Gase. The team simply didn’t think he was ready for the full-time job. Doug Marrone came in third place, largely because his plan for quarterback Ryan Tannehill wasn’t as enticing as Gase’s.
Tannehill didn’t have the belief of ex-head coach Joe Philbin, Salguero offers, but the Dolphins are confident the relationship between him and Gase will bear more fruit.
“We’re convinced you’ll see a different Ryan Tannehill next year,” a team source told Salguero. “That’s how much Adam will affect things around here.”
More from around the NFL:
- Although a report Friday stated that Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is in the lead for the 49ers’ head coaching job, they’ll have serious competition for his services from the Browns, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Jackson will enter his Sunday interview with the Browns viewing them and the 49ers on a level playing field, per Cabot, who notes that other teams with head coaching vacancies could join them in trying to land the 50-year-old. As our head coaching search tracker shows, the only other current opening that Jackson has been connected to is the Giants’, though they haven’t requested a meeting with him at this time.
- Dirk Koetter isn’t the prohibitive favorite to land the Buccaneers’ head coaching job, and they didn’t fire Lovie Smith because they were worried about losing Koetter, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The Bucs canned Smith because their ownership was fed up with his ability (or lack thereof) to build a quality coaching staff, his struggles with repairing their defense, and his uninspiring work when it came to putting together the 53-man roster. General manager Jason Licht believes the team will find a capable replacement for Smith. “It’s an excellent situation,” he said. “I’ve already been shown from the interest we’ve received that people want to come to Tampa and coach.”
- After quarterback Brian Hoyer‘s five-turnover performance in the Texans’ 30-0 wild-card round loss to Kansas City on Saturday, Houston could look for a better option under center this offseason. With that in mind, Mike Sando of ESPN.com examined which roads the Texans might take in the coming months (Insider required). Draft-bound Penn State signal caller Christian Hackenberg, whom Texans coach Bill O’Brien recruited when he was at the helm of the Nittany Lions, is an obvious option. Otherwise, Sando lists Colin Kaepernick and free agent-to-be Sam Bradford as possible fits for the Texans.
East Notes: Gase, Giants, Eagles
Before the Dolphins reached out to Adam Gase about their head coaching vacancy, owner Stephen Ross sought advice from around the NFL on possible solutions for the position. Gase’s name kept coming up during the process, which helped lead the Dolphins to pursue him. After spending time with Gase this week, Ross became sold on the 37-year-old, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.
The Dolphins hired Gase on Saturday, but the job was his to lose two days earlier, according to Beasley. Gase “wowed” Ross and his advisers during an informal interview Wednesday on Ross’ private jet, per Beasley. The Dolphins then had Gase participate in a marathon interview Thursday as a way to assess his leadership skills. They came away impressed enough to make Gase an integral member of their franchise going forward.
Now for the latest from the NFC East:
- If Doug Marrone gets the Giants’ head coaching job, don’t expect him to retain offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, reports Tom Rock of Newsday. That would seem to be a less-than-ideal scenario for 35-year-old quarterback Eli Manning, who combined for 65 touchdown passes and nearly 9,000 yards under McAdoo the last two seasons.
- Speaking of the Giants, they erred in keeping general manager Jerry Reese, opines the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, who expects Reese to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs again next season. That means the next GM would have a second-year coach forced on him. Myers believes the Giants would’ve been better off letting Reese go and hiring a new GM to select Tom Coughlin‘s replacement.
- At the outset of their coaching search, the Eagles pursued Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sumlin is staying put, however, Rapoport adds.
49ers Meeting With John DeFilippo
SATURDAY, 7:38pm: The 49ers did interview DeFilippo, but they view him as a candidate for their offensive coordinator job more than their vacant head coaching position, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 10:18am: After having interviewed former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and Bills assistant HC Anthony Lynn, the 49ers are meeting today with Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), today’s sit-down between the DeFilippo and the Niners is more of an “informational” meeting, rather than a formal interview.
[RELATED: 49ers meet with Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn]
DeFilippo, in his first year as the Browns’ offensive coordinator, has also drawn interest from the Rams for St. Louis’ OC position, even though he didn’t exactly work miracles in Cleveland. The Browns’ offense finishing 25th in the NFL in yards per game (331.9) and 30th in points per game (17.4).
Still, given the players he had to work with, it may have taken a miracle for DeFilippo to produce above-average results. The Browns started three different quarterbacks – Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel, and Austin Davis – and saw free agent signee Dwayne Bowe, who received a $9MM guarantee, catch just five balls. The team was also missing top wideout Josh Gordon, who was suspended for the year.
As for the 49ers, Rapoport describes their mutual interest with Kelly as “very real” (Twitter link), while Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) hears that Kelly is a big fan of Colin Kaepernick. That may work in Kelly’s favor as the Niners consider their head coaching options, but as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes, several other candidates for the job would be excited about working with Kaepernick, or have had interest in him in the past.
Be sure to check out PFR’s head coaching search tracker for the latest on San Francisco’s hunt for Jim Tomsula‘s replacement, as well as updates on the other six openings around the NFL.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On NFL’s Potential Return To LA
A return to Los Angeles in 2016 is looking likelier than ever for the NFL. In a 48-page report distributed Saturday to the league’s 32 teams, commissioner Roger Goodell criticizes the respective stadium proposals in St. Louis, Oakland and San Diego, referring to them as “unsatisfactory and inadequate,” according to the LA Times’ Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno. Further, in the opinion of Goodell, each market had “ample opportunity but did not develop their proposals sufficiently to ensure the retention of its NFL team.” The Rams, Raiders and Chargers agree, having applied for LA relocation earlier this week.
Last month, the city of St. Louis approved financing on a plan to construct a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium. That proposal 
includes $300MM from the league, whose policy is to spend a maximum of $200MM on stadiums. Goodell subsequently called the notion of using $300MM of the league’s money “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.” The Rams, for their part, said in their application to move that no NFL team would accept the St. Louis deal, Farmer and Fenno write.
Oakland has not made a formal stadium proposal, on the other hand, while San Diego – like St. Louis – has proposed a $1.1 billion stadium. At $200MM in funding from the NFL, the potential San Diego stadium doesn’t exceed the league’s maximum. The problem is that a public vote to OK $350MM of city funding isn’t scheduled until June. That clearly won’t work, as league owners will gather next week in Houston – Jan. 12-13 – to vote on possible relocation.
The Raiders and Chargers have a proposal to share a stadium in Carson, and the Rams want their own facility in Inglewood. In order for any of the teams to move, they’ll need 24 approval votes from league ownership. Goodell’s report indicates LA is capable of supporting two teams, which ostensibly helps both the Chargers and Raiders. However, the Cowboys have proposed a measure for ownership vote that would see the Chargers head to Inglewood with the Rams instead of Carson with the Raiders, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports (Twitter link). La Canfora adds (on Twitter) that many owners would prefer to see the Rams and Chargers as the two LA-bound teams. However, as Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal points out (via Twitter), Chargers owner Dean Spanos rejected the idea of partnering with Rams owner Stan Kroenke in a letter to the LA committee last month. At least for now, Spanos seems committed to teaming with the Raiders’ Mark Davis.
For any potential LA scenario to come to fruition, all three clubs must sign final economic term sheets for relocation by Monday, per La Canfora (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC Notes: Luck, Weddle, Jets, Broncos
Earlier this week, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said signing a contract extension to stay in Indianapolis “would be great.” It appears he’ll be in luck (no pun intended), as Colts owner Jim Irsay told Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star that an extension for the 25-year-old this summer “is the goal.”
“If we don’t get an agreement, we still have time,” Irsay continued. “And he is going to be signed. There’s a reasonably good chance we can come to that agreement this offseason. He will be here, trust me. Andrew and I have talked – we talked after the end of the season – and he couldn’t be more excited.”
Luck is set to count over $16MM against the Colts’ cap in 2016, the final year of his deal, before he’s scheduled for free agency. The chances of Luck hitting the market are essentially nonexistent, though, as the Colts will either extend the four-year veteran or, worst-case scenario, place the franchise tag on him. An extension could potentially make Luck the NFL’s highest-paid player.
More from the AFC:
- Standout Chargers safety Eric Weddle, a pending free agent, said this week that he doesn’t expect to stay with the organization that took him in the second round of the 2007 draft. General manager Tom Telesco agrees. “He’s stated he’s ready to move on,” Telesco said, per ESPN’s Eric D. Williams. “And probably for all parties involved, that’s probably the best case.”
- There’s no shortage of important Jets who are without contracts for 2016, as Kimberly A. Martin of Newsday writes. The best of the bunch is Pro Bowl defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, whom the Jets might slap the franchise tag on and then use as trade bait at the draft, according to Martin. It’s possible the Jets will pay D-lineman Damon Harrison instead, team him with Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams long term, and move Wilkerson for help elsewhere.
- The Broncos are hoping to retain soon-to-be free agent linebacker Danny Trevathan, but he’s down on their priority list, per Mike Klis of 9News. “We’re going to get paid,” said Trevaithan, who Klis notes should be able to ink a deal worth $3MM to $6MM annually. Fellow linebacker Brandon Marshall‘s contract is also up, though he’ll be a restricted free agent. The Broncos could give him a first-round tender worth $3.5MM.
Latest On Browns, 49ers Coaching Vacancies
The Browns and 49ers progressed in their searches for new head coaches, interviewing new candidates Saturday.
Matt Patricia interviewed with the Browns, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, and Dirk Koetter met with the 49ers, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
The 41-year-old Patricia’s only been connected to two teams, and the other, the Dolphins, decided on a coach today.
A Patriots assistant since 2004, Patricia’s been the defensive coordinator in New England since 2012, leading a series of imposing units. As Ulrich points out, Patricia would gel with the Browns’ new analytics-geared approach. An engineering major who spent time in that field before 
breaking into coaching, Patricia helped modernize the Patriots’ film study.
Before Patricia, the Browns interviewed Adam Gase, Teryl Austin, Doug Marrone and Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson. Cleveland would need to wait out the Patriots’ playoff campaign before hiring Patricia.
Considered a strong candidate to fill Lovie Smith‘s spot, the 56-year-old Koetter aided the Buccaneers’ offense after guiding the Falcons’ and Jaguars’ units the previous eight seasons. Prior to running the Atlanta attack, Koetter served as current 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert‘s first offensive coordinator in Jacksonville in 2011.
Architect of the Bucs’ fifth-ranked offense this season, Koetter interviewed for the 49ers’ job in Tampa, Inman reports. Koetter’s also been mentioned as a candidate for the Eagles’ top sideline opening.
He last served as a head coach for Arizona State, running the Sun Devils’ operation from 2001-06. The 49ers have already interviewed Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn and John DeFilippo, and will meet with
Hue Jackson on Sunday.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/9/16
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Bills agreed to one-year deals with running back Mike Gillislee, cornerback Mario Butler and punter Colton Schmidt, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. The trio will be restricted free agents after the 2016 season. A 2013 fifth-round pick, Gillislee figures to be an intriguing part of the LeSean McCoy-led Buffalo backfield after he averaged 5.7 yards per carry in five games down the stretch, doing so following two nondescript seasons with the Dolphins.
East Notes: Dolphins, Marrone, Bills, Jets
Here are some notes from the Eastern divisions as the playoffs begin.
- Dan Campbell did not react well when told the Dolphins were hiring Adam Gase, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Although the interim coach who guided the Dolphins to a 5-7 mark, per Salguero (on Twitter), finished second to Gase after a “great” interview (Twitter link), the team will wait a few days before contacting him again after the way the 39-year-old coach took the news. Campbell’s future in the organization will be up to Gase, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
- The Dolphins studied Tom Coughlin‘s work from this past season and had a long conversation about the viability of the 69-year-old coach but opted against (Twitter links, per Salguero).
- Doug Marrone officially interviewed with the Giants today, Michael Eisen of Giants.com reports. The Jaguars assistant and former Bills coach is the fifth coach Big Blue’s visited with about the possibility of succeeding Tom Coughlin. That list will expand to six soon, with Mike Smith set to interview for the position. Thus far, however, Marrone and Steve Spagnuolo are the only former head coaches the Giants have interviewed, and neither enjoyed notable success. Spagnuolo went 10-38 in St. Louis, and Marrone went 15-17 with the Bills after guiding Syracuse to two winning seasons from 2009-12. The Jags new offensive assistant did help the team score 127 more points than it did in 2014, however.
- Bills offensive line assistant coach Kurt Anderson will leave his Buffalo post after agreeing to become the offensive line coach at Arkansas, according to a FootballScoop.com report. A member of the Bills’ staff from 2013-15, Anderson served under both Marrone and Rex Ryan.
- According to OverTheCap, the Bills are $373K+ over the projected salary cap. Although the official number for the 2016 cap hasn’t been released, the Bills likely won’t be big spenders during free agency, Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News reports. Skurski notes it’s a matter of if, not when in terms of Mario Williams‘ impending release. He also lists Corey Graham, Kyle Williams and Leodis McKelvin as potential salary cap casualties.
- Re-signing Damon Harrison needs to be a priority for the Jets, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Mehta projects the Jets’ nose tackle’s AAV will be around $4MM-$5MM per year. The New York scribe also advises the Jets to rework D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s contract, which will count $14.1MM against the ’16 cap at present. Considering Ferguson’s declining play, that’s an untenable number for Gang Green. The longtime left tackle has two years remaining on an eight-year, $73.6MM accord, and Mehta estimates the team will attempt to reduce his 2016 number by nearly $8MM.
Bengals’ Vance Joseph To Miami: ‘Done Deal’
Adam Gase‘s new staff in Miami is already taking shape, with Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph set to come aboard as the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com tweets.
Marvez notes the second-year Bengals DBs coach will become the Dolphins’ new DC once the Bengals are eliminated from postseason play.
Marvez’s report comes on the heels of NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeting Joseph will have options after the Bengals’ season is over, but the Dolphins would definitely be targeting him. Joseph is in the final year of his contract, although other outlets say he’ll wait to see where Bengals OC Hue Jackson lands before deciding on his own future.
Joseph has extensive seasoning as a secondary coach, presiding over the 49ers and Texans DBs from 2006-10 (in San Francisco) and 20
11-13 (in Houston).
The Broncos attempted to interview the 43-year-old Joseph for their defensive coordinator position last season, but the Bengals didn’t permit the meeting, leading Denver to go with Wade Phillips.
Marvez also reports (on Twitter) Joseph’s staff in Miami’s forming swiftly, with Bengals linebackers coach Matt Burke, Bears defensive line coach Clint Hurtt and Cowboys defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson set to come to Miami in those same positions under Gase and Joseph.
Henderson already interviewed for the Browns’ head-coaching job, so a report linking him to another position coach job may be premature. He’s been the Cowboys’ secondary coach since 2012.
Burke finished his seventh season as a linebackers coach. He taught the Lions’ backers for five seasons before coming to Cincinnati.
Hurtt doesn’t have as much NFL experience, with 2015 representing his first season as a position coach. He was the Bears’ assistant defensive line coach in 2014.
Although Reggie Nelson‘s eight interceptions finished the 2015 season tied for the league lead, the Bengals enter their wild-card game with the 20th-ranked pass defense.
The Dolphins fired their defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle, in October.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.
Fallout From Dolphins’ Adam Gase Hiring
The lead conductor of the Dolphins’ coaching search, Mike Tannenbaum, initially preferred Doug Marrone before the franchise decided to offer its head-coaching job to Adam Gase, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets.
Marrone interviewed for the position, but the 37-year-old Gase became the “unanimous favorite,” according to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross (via SportsTalk 1040 The Team’s Jenna Laine, on Twitter).
[RELATED: Dolphins hire Adam Gase as head coach.]
“(Gase) has worked extremely hard his entire career and is very deserving of this opportunity. I wish he could stay with us in Chicago, but everyone has a journey and this is the next part of his,” Jay Cutler told media, including Larry Meyer of ChicagoBears.com. “His work with quarterbacks is well documented and I know firsthand how good he is.“
Here is some more news on Marrone, Gase and more from the Eastern divisions.
- New Dolphins GM Chris Grier will have control over whom the team signs, but Gase will be in charge of determining the 53-man roster, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). A fair amount of power will come for the new youngest head coach in the game. Fewer than 10 coaches currently possess that control, according to NFL.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Tannenbaum’s presence still looms, however, so the Fins could have a complex power structure this season.
- As expected, Gase will call plays for the Dolphins this season, as he’s done for the Broncos (in 2013-14) and Bears in 2015, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets. Gase’s offenses ranked first, fourth and 21st over the past three seasons, with the injury-ravaged Bears being the only one of his units to fall out of the top five.
- Beasley tweets the Dolphins, per Tannenbaum, considered 25 coaches for the position before settling on seven for interviews.
- Peyton Manning also endorsed Gase (per Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk), focusing on the 37-year-old’s attention to detail. “He’s an extremely hard worker, a grinder,” Manning said. “He’s extremely bright on all things football, an excellent communicator and always eager to learn more. He asks a lot of questions and writes everything down. I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his eagerness to learn more.” Although he passed over the wunderkind offensive mind in favor of Gary Kubiak last offseason, John Elway also endorsed the Broncos’ former offensive coordinator from 2013-14. Gase, of course, guided Manning to the record-setting 55-touchdown pass campaign two seasons ago after serving as the Broncos’ quarterback coach in 2011, when the team orchestrated a midseason overhaul of its offense for Tim Tebow.
- Gase could take Bears quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains to Miami with him, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports, or John Fox could promote him to Gase’s old position. The former Titans OC contributed to Gase’s play-calling this season. Both Cutler and John Fox hold Loggains in high regard, Campbell reports. Either way, this season will bring Cutler’s sixth offensive coordinator since he was traded to Chicago.
- Loggains would create the least disruption for the Bears, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs tweets. But the Chicago reporter also notes Fox could pursue newly unemployed offensive bosses Ken Whisenhunt or Pat Shurmur (Twitter link).
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