HEADLINES

Cato June

Colts Announce Finalized 2023 Coaching Staff

March 8th, 2023 at 9:55pm CST by Ely Allen

New Colts head coach Shane Steichen has officially put the finishing touches on his first NFL coaching staff, according to Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz. We’ve covered a number of staff announcements like the hiring of offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and the retaining of defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, but below are any moves from the announcement that we haven’t already reported on.

On the offensive side of the ball, we’ve covered most moves already. One piece of new information is that offensive quality control coach Brian Bratton has been retained in the same position for 2023. Bratton works primarily with wide receivers, assisting wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, who was also retained. Joining them and the rest of the offensive staff will be former Notre Dame graduate assistant Chris Watt. Watt was previously the offensive line coach at Tulane in 2021 and will serve as assistant offensive line coach for the Colts under new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.

We also received information that most of the defensive staff will be retained alongside Bradley. Linebackers coach and run game coordinator Richard Smith and defensive backs coach Ron Milus were both blocked by Indianapolis from interviewing for lateral moves and will stay in place in 2023. Their second-in-commands will both remain in place, as well, as assistant linebackers coach Cato June and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell were also retained. Similarly, defensive line coach Nate Ollie and assistant defensive line coach Matt Raich were kept on staff for next season. Lastly, Brent Jackson, who served last year as the team’s 2022 Tony Dungy Defensive Coaching Fellow, was promoted to defensive quality control assistant.

On special teams, it was confirmed that newly hired former Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason will serve as the Colts’ own special teams coordinator next year, despite this being his first NFL coaching position. Last year’s assistant special teams coach Joe Hastings will help Mason after being retained for 2023. Lastly, Indianapolis plans on hiring two Tony Dungy Diversity Fellows for next season, which it will announce at a later date.

And, with that, we have the first NFL coaching staff under Steichen. He retains much of what was put together in former head coach Frank Reich‘s last year but with a few of his own touches. Now Steichen can focus on roster-building as free agency and the draft loom on the horizon.

Coaching Notes: June, Vikes, Saints, Bengals

February 22nd, 2022 at 10:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts are making an interesting hire. Gus Bradley‘s first Indianapolis defensive staff will include Cato June, a former Pro Bowl Colts linebacker in the 2000s. June will make a big jump, going from Bowling Green’s outside linebackers coach to the Colts’ assistant linebackers coach, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweets. June made a name for himself in Indianapolis in the mid-2000s, climbing from 2003 sixth-round pick to 2005 Pro Bowler. June then started all four Colts playoff games during their 2006 Super Bowl-winning season. June played seven NFL seasons, before finishing his career in the United Football League, and has been coaching at the college level since 2015. Bradley coached June as the Buccaneers’ linebackers coach in the late 2000s.

Here is the latest from the league’s coaching staffs:

  • The Saints are also turning to the college ranks to fill one of their positional jobs. Kodi Burns will move from Tennessee’s wide receivers coach to the same position with the Saints, Thamel tweets. Burns is just 33 but has been a college position coach since 2014. He worked as Auburn’s passing-game coordinator in the two seasons prior to a 2021 move to Tennessee. Curtis Johnson, who interviewed for the Dolphins’ OC job, held this position last year. It is not yet certain if Johnson is part of new HC Dennis Allen‘s plans.
  • Veteran special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica will resurface in Minnesota. The Vikings hired Kotwica as their assistant ST coordinator. Formerly the ST coordinator with the Jets, Washington and Falcons, Kotwica sat out last season. The Falcons fired him midway through the 2020 campaign. The Vikings hired Matt Daniels as their ST coordinator.
  • Daronte Jones is also joining Kevin O’Connell‘s staff, doing so as the Vikes’ defensive backs coach. This will be a quick return for Jones, who served as Mike Zimmer‘s DBs coach for the 2020 Vikings. Jones became LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021. Tuesday saw both ex-Tigers coordinators — Jones and OC Jake Peetz — land on their feet in the NFL. Peetz is now on the Rams’ staff. Jones, 43, previously worked with the Dolphins and Bengals’ secondaries. The Vikings also hired Mike Smith as outside linebackers coach. Not the ex-Falcons HC, Smith spent the past three seasons coaching the Packers’ outside linebackers. Smith had left the Packers to pursue other opportunities; this will now mean providing intel to an NFC North rival.
  • The Bengals‘ offensive line stands as one of the league’s top position groups to monitor. The unit will feature a new coach, with Cincinnati naming Derek Frazier as an assistant O-line coach. Frazier, who formerly worked as the Jets’ assistant O-line coach (2019-20), has extensive experience at the college level. He will share assistant O-line coaching duties with incumbent Ben Martin. Frank Pollack remains the Bengals’ top O-line coach. Cincinnati will also move Jordan Kovacs from defensive quality control coach to assistant inside linebackers coach. Kovacs, 31, has been with the Bengals since 2019.
  • The Bills are adding Jaylon Finner to their staff, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com. Formerly the safeties coach at Division II Texas A&M Commerce, Finner will work as a defensive assistant in Buffalo.