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NFC Coaching Notes: Seahawks, Vikings, Falcons, Packers, Bears

February 16th, 2022 at 2:49pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the various changes to coaching personnel around the league winding down, teams are beginning to officially unveil their 2022 staffs. The Seahawks recently did so, confirming a number of changes following a disappointing season, but some important retentions as well.

As Bob Condotta of The Athletic tweets, Sanjay Lal is remaining with the team in his current role of wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator. The 52-year-old has worked with that position group on seven different teams dating back to 2009. He spent the 2020 campaign in Seattle, but spent last season in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Karl Scott, 36, is officially being brought in as the team’s secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator. That move had been expected since last week when it was reported the team was in talks with him.

In addition, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports (in a pair of tweets) more names on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Dave Canales will remain as the team’s QBs coach, a role he first had in 2018, but he will no longer have the passing game coordinator title. Brad Idzik has been added as an assistant WRs coach; he entered the NFL with Seattle in 2019. Lastly, Nate Carroll has been promoted to senior offensive assistant, after spending 11 years with the Seahawks in various roles.

As for the defensive staff, Aaron Curry is now an assistant defensive line coach; the former Seattle draftee spent the last two seasons on their sideline. He will be joined in that role by Damione Lewis. Another former player on staff is DeShawn Shead, who has been promoted to defensive backs coach. The last to fit that description is Will Tukuafu, who is coming aboard as a defensive quality control coach.

Here are some other coaching notes from the NFC:

  • USA Today’s Mike Jones tweets that it is “sounding like” Wes Phillips and Chris O’Hara will be following newly-hired head coach Kevin O’Connell to Minnesota. The former, who is also the son of Wade Phillips, has been a TEs coach with three different teams, the most recent being the Rams. It was reported earlier this week that O’Connell was expected to give him the role of either OC or passing game coordinator. The latter only spent the 2021 season in L.A., but worked as an offensive assistant in Jacksonville and Washington before that.
  • According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the Falcons are parting ways with WRs coach Dave Brock (Twitter link). The 54-year-old has an extensive background in the college ranks, but his only NFL experience was in Atlanta starting in 2017. Chandler Henley, who had been an assistant offensive line coach with them, has left to join the Dolphins.
  • The Packers are supporting new ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia with Byron Storer, reports Matt Schneidman of The Athletic (Twitter link).The 37-year-old has worked with Bisaccia in each of his other three NFL coaching locations, and even knows Aaron Rodgers dating back to their college days.
  • Lastly, the Bears are hiring Brent Salazar as their strength and conditioning coach (Twitter link via Wilson). He has more than a decade of experience in the NFL, having previously worked with three different teams. He also spent the years between 2017 and 2020 as the director of performance for the United States Tennis Association.

NFC Notes: Gordon, Dak, Falcons, Bucs

November 4th, 2019 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

There’s natural excitement for Josh Gordon‘s debut with the Seahawks, but Pete Carroll cautioned that the organization isn’t setting any expectations for the talented wideout.

“I’m telling you, I’m just waiting to see him,” Carroll said Monday (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). “I’ve seen him on film. He looks pretty special. He’s got a good history of making plays and all that, but I want to see him when he mixes with our guys and really just take it one step at a time with no expectations of how much he would contribute or play or whatever. I’m just going to see what happens.”

Gordon was sidelined in mid-October by a knee injury, and he was placed on the injured reserve and later cut by the Patriots. Despite the ailment, Carroll said the receiver is ready to go.

“Yeah, he’s been cleared to go,” Carroll said. “He’s ready to go, so Thursday when we get rolling again, he’ll be going. He’s in the building, studying and all that, getting ready. We’ll see how it goes.”

Let’s check out some more notes out of the NFC…

  • During the Cowboys‘ bye week, quarterback Dak Prescott had four wisdom teeth removed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Through the first half of tonight’s contest against the Giants, Prescott has completed 11 of his 20 pass attempts for 137 yards, one touchdown, and a pick.
  • The Falcons made a number of coaching changes this afternoon, according to Will McFadden of the team’s website. Wide receivers coach Raheem Morris will be the Falcons new secondary coach, while running backs coach Dave Brock will move back to his old position of wide receivers coach. Offensive assistant/assistant special teams coach Bernie Parmalee will become the team’s new running backs coach. We learned this weekend that head coach Dan Quinn would keep his job through the bye week.
  • Ronald Jones has secured the Buccaneers starting running back gig, coach Bruce Arians told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. The former second-rounder started the year in a timeshare with Peyton Barber, and he’s responded by rushing for 381 yards and averaging 4.1 yards per carry. “He’s been consistent (and) he’s been more explosive. It’s not that Peyton did anything wrong,” Arians said. The coach added that T.J. Logan and Dare Ogunbowale will also see reps at running back.

Coaching Rumors: Panthers, Packers, Giants

January 10th, 2019 at 9:21pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Eric Washington will return as the Panthers‘ defensive coordinator in 2019, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer. Head coach Ron Rivera took over defensive play-calling late last season and will continue with those responsibilities next year, but Washington will be back as DC. Carolina is interviewing former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano and former Jaguars defensive backs coach Perry Fewell, but neither of those potential hire would affect Washington’s standing on the Panthers’ staff.

Here’s more from the 2019 hiring cycle:

  • The Cardinals will retain special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers, tweets Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com. Kliff Kingsbury convinced Rodgers to stay even though he was fielding offers from other clubs, per Darlington. Meanwhile, the Cardinals received permission to interview Packers wide receivers coach David Raih for the same position, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Green Bay wasn’t planning to retain Raih, who coached alongside Kingsbury at Texas A&M in 2013.
  • Former Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers was thought to be following Todd Bowles to the Buccaneers, and while that union may still occur, Rodgers today interviewed for a senior defensive position with the Giants, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. If Rodgers does end up in Tampa Bay, he’ll be the club’s new defensive line coach, but it’s unclear what exactly his role would be with New York. Per RapSheet, the Giants would actually create a new position for Rodgers if he were to come on board.
  • Rodgers’ status with the Buccaneers is still up in the air, but Tampa Bay and new head coach Bruce Arians are well on their way to formulating a staff. In addition to a few hires which were reported yesterday, the Bucs will hire former NFL offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen as quarterbacks coach, reports Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Additionally, former Cardinals defensive backs coaches Kevin Ross and Nick Rapone will join Arians in Tampa Bay. Wide receivers coach Kevin Garver is also making the Arizona-to-Tampa trek, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.
  • The Falcons have made of number of small changes to their coaching staff, tweets D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Dave Brock will move from running backs coach to assistant wide receivers coach, while Bernie Parmalee will switch from running backs coach to assistant special teams coach.

Extra Points: Young, Falcons, Cowboys

February 19th, 2017 at 8:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here’s the latest from around the league as teams continue to prepare their free agency plans and Combine itineraries. We’ll begin with a player who’s interested in another NFL comeback.

  • Vince Young‘s agent Leigh Steinberg hinted Saturday that the quarterback was interested in a return to football, but Young will have to work his way through another league — and another country — before reaching the NFL again. Steinberg announced on Twitter today that he’s begun negotiations with the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Given that Young hasn’t thrown an NFL pass since 2011, he faces a long road back to the league, but the CFL could be the first step in that (admittedly long) journey.
  • The Falcons announced that they’ve hired a swath of new coaches, including Kyle Flood (assistant offensive line), Dave Brock (offensive assistant), Justin Outten (offensive assistant), Charlie Weis Jr. (offensive assistant), and Charlie Jackson (defensive assistant). Flood, a longtime collegiate staffer, was fired as Rutgers’ head coach amid controversy in 2015.
  • Jerome Henderson will return as the Falcons‘ defensive passing game coordinator after missing out on the 49ers’ defensive coordinator position, as Alex Marvez of the Sporting News reports (Twitter links) Henderson has re-signed with Atlanta. Henderson, who originally joined the Falcons prior to the 2016 campaign, was in consideration to serve as San Francisco’s co-defensive coordinator with Robert Saleh, but Saleh alone landed the job. (Editor’s note: PFR originally relayed Marvez’s report indicating Henderson had resigned from the Falcons before the scribe’s source realized he had forgotten a hyphen. We have removed the original post in order to eliminate any confusion.)
  • Would the Cowboys taking an offensive lineman with their No. 28 overall pick sound crazy given their line’s status as arguably the NFL’s best? However, right tackle Doug Free is entering a contract year, and Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes the team could consider Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk with its top pick in a developmental scenario. Archer expects Free to return for the 2017 season. If nothing else, cutting Free — and saving $5MM — would create a hole not easily filled in a weaker tackle market. But the 33-year-old blocker might be entering his final season in Dallas. ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft (Insider link) has Ramczyk going to the Seahawks at No. 26 and the Cowboys taking Florida cornerback Teez Tabor.
  • The Bears have infiltrated a Las Vegas sports book’s top picks for Tony Romo‘s landing spot. Sportsbook.ag’s R.J. Bell (via the Dallas Morning News) projects the Bears as Romo’s fourth-most likely 2017 employer — behind the Texans, Broncos and Cowboys. Houston’s emerged as the favorite despite the organization’s known stance being to avoid getting involved for Romo. Interestingly, the Chiefs are down at No. 5 after being viewed as a primary destination. ESPN.com also projected a Bears/Romo partnership as being more likely than many believe.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report.