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Adam Gase

AFC Notes: Bills, Allen, Gase, Mays, Texans

August 21st, 2014 at 4:43pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a rough few weeks for Jon Bon Jovi‘s Toronto-based group that is bidding on the Bills. The group had to resubmit its initial bid, which was unacceptably low, and only advanced to the final stage of the sale process after providing additional assurances that the team wouldn’t be moved out of Western New York. Now, according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun, the Toronto group is debating whether or not to even continue its pursuit of the Bills.

“They’re hanging on by the skin of their teeth,” one source told Kryk. “The bid’s on life support.”

As Tim Graham of the Buffalo News writes, finalists have been invited to tour the Bills’ facilities at Ralph Wilson Stadium, but a source tells Kryk that Bon Jovi and company canceled their Wednesday visit to the stadium, and don’t have plans to reschedule. According to Kryk, the Toronto group will take the next week or so to assess and discuss what they do at this stage to mount “a formidable, effective bid.”

Let’s check out a few more links from out of the AFC….

  • After locking up kicker Shaun Suisham and tackle Marcus Gilbert to contract extensions, the Steelers continue to work on new deals for their players. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter), the team is now focusing on an extension for cornerback Cortez Allen, and is hoping to get something done before the preseason ends.
  • While Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase focused on the Broncos’ playoff run last season rather than actively pursuing a head coaching job elsewhere, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com thinks the demand for Gase will be too high after this season for him not to be running his own team in 2015.
  • Linebacker Joe Mays, who signed with the Chiefs this offseason, will undergo wrist surgery, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The timetable for Mays’ recovery isn’t yet known.
  • Texans general manager Rick Smith spoke at length to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle on the team’s disappointing 2013 season, and the retooling process that followed. “We’re trying to get our organization to a place where we are successful every year,” Smith said. “We were moving along that path and we had the setback.”
  • Monotony may be boring, but it’s welcome when it comes to the Raiders‘ offensive line, writes Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group. Oakland had an NFL-high eight different combinations up front, and no starter made it through all 16 games last season. Now, center Stefen Wisniewski has had guard Khalif Barnes and tackle Donald Penn to his left and guard Austin Howard and tackle Menelik Watson to his right all offseason long.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Broncos Notes: Franklin, Knighton, Gase

June 22nd, 2014 at 4:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Broncos have done some reshuffling along their offensive line this offseason — Ryan Clady will return from injury to protect Peyton Manning‘s blindside at left tackle, meaning his replacement last season, Chris Clark, will move to right tackle to compete with Winston Justice. In turn, Orlando Franklin, the 2013 starter on the right side, will find a new home at left guard, taking over for the departed Zane Beadles. As Mike Klis of the Denver Post writes, Franklin initially perceived the position switch as a slight, before deciding to embrace the move for the good of the team. The 6’7″, 320-pound Franklin is larger than a typical guard, and he admits he still has some work to do in order to master the position. “I’m definitely not a finished product, but I’m more comfortable today than what I was nine weeks ago at the position,” said Franklin. “It’s like learning all over again. Offensive tackle is a little different. They’ve got a lot more moves and there’s a lot more space. Being inside, yeah, they’re a lot bigger in there, but it’s like fighting in a phone booth.”

  • In a separate piece, Klis expounds on the confidence of defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, who excelled last season after signing a two-year contract with Denver. “…I think I’m in the prime of my career. I honestly don’t feel like there’s a center that can block me,” said the 27-year-old. “I’ll just keep working at it. I’ve watched film from last year, and I’ve watched future opponents. Right now, I’m just trying to go out there and dominate and continue where I left off.” Knighton, who will earn a base salary of $1.5MM in 2014, could be in line for a sizeable deal next offseason if he continues to perform well.
  • Offensive coordinator Adam Gase was the hot name among head coaching candidates this offseason, and was atop the Browns’ wishlist, writes Woody Paige of the Denver Post. However, Gase admits he made some poor play-calls in the Super Bowl, and feels the Broncos can accomplish even more on offense in 2014. Of course, that would lead to his being even more in demand next offseason, but Paige thinks Gase might stick around in Denver for the remainder of Manning’s tenure, and even posits that the 36-year-old could become the Broncos’ head coach at some point in the future.
  • Fielding an imposing pass rush shouldn’t be a problem for the Broncos given the presence of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, but ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold thinks 2013 fifth-rounder Quanterus Smith could be a wild card next season. Smith was leading the nation in sacks while at Western Kentucky in 2012 before he tore his ACL; he then spent all of last season on injured reserve.
  • In a separate piece focusing on OTA highlights, Legwold opines that receiver Emmanuel Sanders, signed to a three-year deal in the offseason, has exhibited versatility and put in extra work with Manning, leading Legwold to believe that rapport could continue into the regular season.

Latest On Browns’ Front Office

February 13th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

After parting ways with the Browns, former Cleveland general manager Michael Lombardi doesn’t seem likely to rejoin the NFL Network or another media outlet. Instead, it appears Lombardi could reach an agreement with the Patriots to join New England’s front office. Chris Fedor of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland first reported (via Twitter) that Lombardi seemed to be on track to join the Patriots, though he cautioned that nothing was finalized yet. Several other similar reports followed, most recently from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who tweets this morning that Lombardi has had discussions about joining the Pats, though “nothing is firm or official yet.”

While Lombardi talks to the Patriots, Ray Farmer is settling into his role as the Browns’ new GM, and CEO Joe Banner is in the process of transitioning out of the organization. We have a few more details on them and some leftovers from the Browns’ coaching search, so let’s round up the highlights….

  • League sources tell Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Banner and Lombardi ended on bad terms with one another in Cleveland, with their discord prompting owner Jimmy Haslam to let go of both execs.
  • According to Cabot, Banner wanted to fire Lombardi by the end of the team’s lengthy coaching search. At the same time, Haslam had grown weary of Banner, feeling that some of the Browns’ head coaching targets weren’t willing to accept, or even interview for, the club’s coaching job because of Banner’s position in the front office.
  • Ken Whisenhunt and Bill O’Brien were among the candidates who had concerns about the Browns’ management team, according to Cabot.
  • In addition to there being internal discord over Greg Schiano‘s candidacy, as we heard yesterday, Haslam and Banner were also at odds over Josh McDaniels, says Cabot. Haslam was more enthusiastic about McDaniels, and while reports indicated McDaniels pulled out of the mix, the Patriots offensive coordinator actually contacted the Browns to get his name back into consideration. He remained in the running right up until the Browns decided on Mike Pettine, according to Cabot.
  • Cabot writes that Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was the only candidate on the Browns’ list to actually decline an interview, which seems to contradict an earlier suggestion that O’Brien wasn’t interested in interviewing with the team. Perhaps O’Brien wasn’t formally on the Browns’ list of targets this time around, after interviewing with the club a year ago.
  • In the first installment of a two-part piece for ESPNCleveland.com, Tony Grossi spoke to Farmer about taking over as the Browns’ general manager.

Latest On Browns’ Front Office Shakeup

February 11th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Browns shocked the football world today when they announced that Ray Farmer has been promoted to general manager, replacing Michael Lombardi, who is leaving the organization. Meanwhile, CEO Joe Banner is also on his way out, though not immediately. The Browns held a press conference this morning to discuss the front office overhaul, but before they did, a number of reports about the moves surfaced:

  • A league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that owner Jimmy Haslam felt like Lombardi had to go and that Farmer deserved to have complete control over the football decisions, “unfettered by Banner’s authority” in football operations.
  • Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports suggests (via Twitter) that failing to deliver on who they could hire to replace former coach Rob Chudzinski may have doomed Lombardi and Banner in Cleveland.
  • NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport passes along a few notable tidbits on the Browns’ coaching search, tweeting that Farmer wasn’t present during Pettine’s interview. Rapoport adds that if Cleveland had been able to hire Adam Gase of the Broncos, the club wanted to pair him with Seahawks exec Scot McCloughan, replacing Lombardi (Twitter link).
  • Rapoport also reports (via Twitter) that the team secretly interviewed Wisconsin’s Gary Andersen back in January. The Badgers coach confirmed as much to Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports (Twitter link): “After our initial conversation, I decided not to pursue the position.”
  • Lombardi and Banner were surprised and “devastated” by the Browns’ decision, according to Will Burge of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Burge also hears from a source (Twitter link) that Haslam made the announcement rather abruptly in a meeting this morning.

At today’s press conference, Haslam began by taking questions from reporters on his own, addressing many lingering questions, including a few of the topics mentioned in the above list. Here are the highlights from Haslam (all link go to various reporters’ Twitter accounts):

  • Banner will continue to work in a transitional role in the organization until May or June.
  • Farmer, head coach Mike Pettine, and team president Alec Scheiner will all report directly to Haslam.
  • Haslam had nothing but praise for Banner and Lombardi, suggesting that the duo had left the team in a good position with regard to the draft and cap space.
  • The team has no regrets about its head coach and is happy with the one it landed, in Pettine. Haslam added that reports of candidates not wanting to speak to the Browns are inaccurate.
  • Haslam shot down the idea of the Browns as a dysfunctional organization, or one without any continuity, pointing to the fact that Farmer has been in the front office for a year and the team’s scouts are already in place, so it’s not a complete overhaul.
  • Today’s moves are the last major changes coming to the Browns organization. Presumably, that statement applies to the 2014 offseason.
  • Farmer will have the final say on the Browns’ 53-man roster, while Pettine will make the decisions on game-day rosters.
  • Farmer played a key role in the Browns’ coaching search. However, that role primarily involved information gathering rather than actually being in on the interviews.
  • Haslam wouldn’t say whether any coaching candidates told him they wouldn’t accept the job if Banner or Lombardi was employed.
  • Haslem didn’t promise Farmer the Browns’ GM job to get him to remove his name from the Dolphins’ GM search.

Finally, Farmer took to the microphone and spoke to the media about a number of topics. Here were the noteworthy takeaways from the new GM’s portion of the presser (all Twitter links):

  • Farmer has signed a four-year deal with the Browns, which should keep him under contract through the 2017 season.
  • The Dolphins GM job was “not right” for Farmer, according to the new Browns GM, dismissing the idea that he withdrew his name from consideration because he knew the promotion in Cleveland was coming.
  • Farmer sidestepped football-related questions about the franchise tag and D’Qwell Jackson‘s contract situation, indicating that those decisions will be made at a later date.
  • While Farmer had been in communication with Haslam for a few days about the upcoming front office changes, he didn’t know definitively until last night that he’d be promoted to GM.
  • The team is in contact with troubled receiver Davone Bess, and the Browns’ top priority is making sure he gets any help he needs.

Broncos Notes: Gase, Manning, Roster

January 28th, 2014 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

As Denver prepares for this Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, let’s round up a few of Tuesday’s Broncos-related notes:

  • Before the Browns hired Mike Pettine as their head coach, Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was viewed as a top candidate for the job. However, Gase said today that he didn’t feel like the time was right to pursue a head coaching position, as Marc Sessler of NFL.com details. “It just wasn’t the right time, as far as the timing with us [going to the Super Bowl] and the focus I wanted on this game,” Gase said. “I’m not worrying about it right now… it’s on the backburner for me.”
  • Peyton Manning has indicated that, win or lose this weekend, he intends to continue his playing career, but that didn’t stop reporters today from asking about what he expects to do after he retires as a player. Manning ducked the question, however, telling reporters, including Mike Klis of the Denver Post, that he’d figure that out when the time comes: “I don’t think John Elway wants to hear about a player that’s thinking about a second job after he’s done playing.”
  • In a piece for CBSSports.com, Joel Corry takes an in-depth look on how the Broncos built the roster that will compete for a title this Sunday. As Corry writes, Josh McDaniels, Elway, and, of course, Manning all played a large role in the makeup of the current Denver roster.

Latest On Browns’ Coaching Search

January 20th, 2014 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Browns are the NFL’s only team with a head coaching vacancy, meaning there’s little risk now of another club grabbing their preferred candidate. As such, Cleveland’s search seems to progressing deliberately, with a number of options still in play. Here are the latest updates on the Browns’ hunt for Rob Chudzinski‘s replacement:

  • According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, the Browns would be exercising a little too much patience if they waited until after the Super Bowl to possibly interview Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase. Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn remains interested in Cleveland’s opening, and La Canfora expects the Browns to “put the full-court press” on Quinn this week in the hopes of securing a handshake deal.
  • The Browns conducted some background research on 49ers defensive line coach Jim Tomsula last week, according to ESPN’s Bill Williamson, who says (via Twitter) that Tomsula could become a candidate for the Cleveland job.
  • Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com (Twitter link) hears that the Browns may still make one last run at Josh McDaniels, though he appears likely to remain with the Patriots.