Latest on Bills’ Firing Of Greg Roman
The Bills’ front office forced Rex Ryan to shake up his coaching staff after the team’s 37-31 loss to the Jets on Thursday dropped it to 0-2, reports the Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. That led Ryan to fire offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Friday and replace him with assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn.
Ryan disputed the notion that the decision to make a change came from his superiors, telling reporters that he informed Bills ownership of his desire to move on from Roman on Friday morning. Bills owners Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula were supportive, Ryan said (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News), and Carucci writes that the Pegulas hadn’t been happy with Roman’s offense going back to last season. They expressed their concerns to Ryan on Friday, and he then took action, according to Carucci, who tweets that Roman was not a Ryan fan and had hoped to leave the Bills at season’s end.
“This was my move, 100 percent,” insisted Ryan (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
Ryan denied that he scapegoated Roman, per Rodak, but the head coach did distance himself from his ex-assistant’s run-first philosophy (Twitter link).
“I want to be multiple. I want to be able to throw the football,” stated Ryan, who called dual-threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor a “rare talent” and expressed a need to “showcase” his abilities (Twitter link via Carucci).
Thanks in part to Taylor’s legs, the Roman-led Bills had the top-ranked running attack in the NFL last season at 152 yards per game. That number has been more than cut in half in 2016, though, as Buffalo averaged a meager 75.5 rushing yards per contest in losses to the Ravens and Jets.
As a passer, Taylor – whom the Bills signed to a contract extension last month – completed 18 of 30 passes for 297 yards, three touchdowns and an interception Thursday. On paper, those are excellent numbers, but the bulk of Taylor’s success came on scoring tosses to receivers Marquise Goodwin and Greg Salas. He otherwise had difficulty connecting on short and intermediate routes.
Doug Whaley, the general manager who extended Taylor, is now “on notice,” as is the rest of the football operations department, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB (via Twitter). The long-struggling Bills showed some progress in Whaley’s first two seasons at the helm en route to a 17-15 record, but they’re now on track to miss the playoffs for a league-worst 17th consecutive year.
The chief reason for the Bills’ failures dating back to 2015 has been Ryan’s defense, not the Roman-coached offense. For his part, Ryan admitted Friday that the unit “has to improve” (Twitter link via Breer). The Bills’ defense was a below-average group last season after establishing itself as one of the league’s elite under ex-coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014. Journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick carved up the unit Thursday, hitting on 24 of 34 passes for 374 yards and a touchdown, and the beleaguered Bills will next have to deal with Carson Palmer and the Cardinals’ high-octane offense.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bills Fire Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman
After losing to the Jets on Thursday night, the Bills are shaking up their coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been fired, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Bills have appointed Anthony Lynn, their running backs coach, as their new OC (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Bills have confirmed the news via press release.
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Roman’s firing is a shocker for a number of reasons. Of course, it’s pretty rare that a team will can a coordinator two games into the season. Also, the Bills’ offense wasn’t necessarily the problem in Thursday night’s loss to the rival Jets. The Bills defense was picked apart all night by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Forte and the shortcomings on D can partially be chalked up to the missing pieces in Buffalo’s front seven. The Bills lost to the Jets 37-31, dropping them to 0-2.
Roman, hired in January of 2015, was the NFL’s highest paid offensive coordinator. The 44-year-old was expected to be the offensive counterbalance to head coach Rex Ryan, but Buffalo apparently wasn’t satisfied with what they’ve seen so far. While the Bills have not been an offensive juggernaut over the last year-and-change, Roman did help mold Tyrod Taylor into one of the league’s more promising quarterbacks. One could also argue that the offense has not been operating at full strength as Sammy Watkins played through injuries last year.
Lynn, meanwhile, is a rising star in coaching circles. This past offseason, Lynn interviewed for a number of other gigs, including the 49ers and Dolphins head coaching jobs. If Lynn can help improve the Bills’ offense, he will be a top candidate for vacancies around the league in the spring.
The Browns, Rams, Buccaneers, and other clubs had interest in hiring Roman prior to the 2015 season, but Buffalo outbid them all. Roman came with the reputation as an offensive guru even though his play-calling was suspect towards the end of his tenure with the Niners.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Murray, Morris, Bills, Dolphins
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com wrote earlier today that the Eagles and DeMarco Murray are headed toward a “stare-down” this offseason, but even though that may be the case, the running back likely isn’t going anywhere, says Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com. Rapoport’s report suggested that the Eagles hanging onto Murray is the most likely outcome, and Kempski goes into a little more detail explaining why that’s the case, despite the fact that it might not be the preferred outcome for both sides.
If Murray is released or traded at some point this year, it sounds like we can count Dez Bryant among those who would like to see the ex-Cowboy return to Dallas. “Come on home D.Moe,” Bryant wrote this afternoon in a tweet directed to Murray, Jason Witten, and Tony Romo.
- Washington general manager Bruce Allen appears prepared to let Alfred Morris depart as a free agent this winter, as Liz Clarke of the Washington Post writes. “Free agency is going to be a great test for him,” Allen said of Morris, during an appearance on ESPN 980. “If he gets a great contract, we’re going to applaud him. If not, we’ll see what happens with us.”
- The Bills don’t have a ton of cap flexibility this offseason, and are expected to simply focus on re-signing their own free agents rather than bringing in outside veterans. If the team needs to free up a little space though, it could potentially do so by extending the contract of cornerback Stephon Gilmore, lowering his $11.082MM cap number and ensuring that a talented player at a premium position remains in the fold. Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News explores the possibility – and the importance – of a Gilmore extension.
- Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman didn’t draw any head coaching interest this offseason, but veteran tight end Vernon Davis, who played under Roman in San Francisco, believes his former OC will make a “great head coach one day,” as Dunne writes in a separate Buffalo News piece.
- With 2015 first-rounder DeVante Parker waiting in the wings to take Rishard Matthews‘ spot in the Dolphins‘ lineup, James Walker of ESPN.com believes it’s unlikely that the free agent receiver will re-sign with Miami, putting the odds at just 20%.
Coach Rumors: Gase, Giants, Roman, Saints
Although nothing is scheduled yet, the Eagles remain interested in meeting with Adam Gase for a second time about their head coaching job, reports Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A source familiar with Gase’s thinking tells McLane that the Bears‘ offensive coordinator came away from the eight-hour meeting with a “favorable opinion” of Eagles executive Howie Roseman.
With the Eagles and Dolphins both reportedly strongly considering Gase for their respective head coaching jobs, the Chicago OC is in the right place at the right time, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio suggests that Gase is particularly appealing to teams because he doesn’t appear to have much of an ego, meaning he’ll be more likely to stay in his lane and stick to coaching rather than pursuing any sort of other agenda.
While we wait to see where Gase lands, here are a few more of this afternoon’s coaching updates:
- The Giants confirmed today in a press release that they’ve now interviewed defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for their head coaching job, in addition to OC Ben McAdoo. New York’s interviews continue today, as the team meets with Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
- Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman has received interest for head coaching roles in the past, but admits “it’s been pretty quiet on that front” this year, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. During an appearance on WGR 550 in Buffalo, Roman said the lack of interest is “somewhat strange, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
- While head coach Sean Payton is staying with the Saints, it looks like at least a couple of his assistants – secondary coach Wesley McGriff and quarterbacks coach Mike Neu – are headed for college jobs. Mike Triplett of ESPN.com has the details.
- Former NFL head coach Brian Billick, writing for NFL.com, views the Giants‘ and Eagles‘ head coaching jobs as the two most appealing openings this offseason. The 49ers‘ and Browns‘ positions are the least appealing, in Billick’s view.
East Notes: Revis, Kromer, Cofield, Giants
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis told Sports Illustrated that he considered retirement in 2012 after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee (partial transcript via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com).
“I did think about retiring,” Revis told SI. “I had never been seriously injured before, and I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Revis’ surgery was previously believed to be reconstructive surgery, but a microfracture procedure is more complicated and requires a longer recovery time. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..
- New Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman had actually pegged Chris Foerster as his first choice to coach the offensive line, a league source told Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. Instead, the Bills ended up with Aaron Kromer, who could be on his way out after his offseason incident.
- Defensive tackle Barry Cofield remains unsigned but he told SiriusXM NFL Radio (audio link) that he’s healthy and just waiting for a call. Cofield, 31, suffered his first major injury in 2014, as he missed about half the season for Washington after an ankle injury forced him onto the injured reserve list with the designation to return. While the veteran lineman returned to action in November, he only started three of eight games for the season, marking the first time since 2007 that he appeared in a game he didn’t start.
- The Giants‘ offense could put up major points with Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, and free agent addition Shane Vereen, but the club’s former offensive coordinator isn’t sure that enough has been done to address the team’s offensive line woes, as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. “The tragedy of that is they’ve made some strides over the last couple years to address that issue,’’ Kevin Gilbride told NFL Network. “The problem is it all went astray when William Beatty got injured in the offseason.’’
AFC Links: Dolphins, Robinson, Steelers
A quest to bring another receiver to Miami to join Kenny Stills and Jarvis Landry will conclude soon, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The two receiving prospects at the top of the Dolphins‘ list for their No. 14 selection are DeVante Parker and Breshad Perriman, the Nos. 8 and 20 overall talents available in the draft, according to Scouts Inc.
Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong serves as an option for the Fins in a trade-down scenario, notes Jackson, with Sammie Coates (Auburn), Phillip Dorsett (Miami) and Devin Smith (Ohio State) potentially there if the team addresses another need in Round 1. The Dolphins brought in each of the latter trio for visits.
Smith averaged 28.2 yards per reception last season, while Mel Kiper rates Dorsett as one of the class’ safest bets. Jackson also places Dorial Green-Beckham among this contingent who could be on the board for Miami at No. 47, with Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller reporting the Dolphins have “fallen in love” with the boom-or-bust prospect. It’s unlikely the elite-tools prospect falls that far. Our Rob DiRe lists DGB among first-round possibilities in his recent look at the 2015 class’ wideouts.
The Dolphins have worked out late-round hopefuls R.J. Harris and Harold Spears (New Hampshire), and Zach D’Orazio (Akron), per Jackson.
Elsewhere in the AFC as the week winds down …
- The Steelers‘ depth chart suggests they need cornerback help following Ike Taylor‘s retirement — their third defensive starter to leave the league in two months behind Jason Worilds and Troy Polamalu — but their recent history dictates they may gamble on a late-round prospect, writes Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Kiper has Pittsburgh taking Wake Forest corner Kevin Johnson at No. 22 (subscription required), but the team hasn’t expended its top pick on a corner since Chad Scott in 1997 and hasn’t used a second-rounder at the position since Bryant McFadden in 2005. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, whose team currently employs Cortez Allen and William Gay atop its figurative offseason depth chart at corner, attributed this drought to the team’s usual draft slot in the late first round coming after the top corners are usually off the board. “In Pittsburgh’s case, for years they didn’t have really good corners,” NFL.com’s Charley Casserly told Adamski. “That defense was won with the front seven.”
- A running back need persists in Jacksonville after Toby Gerhart‘s three-year pact last spring sputtered from the start, but the Jaguars still have the somewhat surprising contributions from Denard Robinson to evaluate from last year, offers Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Robinson’s work from Week 7 until he broke his foot in December — 582 rushing yards — helped elevate the Jags’ weak rushing attacks the past few years to a passable level: 21st in total ground gains last season.
- Four-decade NFL coaching veteran Chris Palmer will not have a role in coaching the Bills‘ quarterbacks this year, writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News, with new offensive coordinator Greg Roman and QBs coach David Lee handling that. Palmer, 65, whose title is senior offensive assistant, will help coach the wideouts and tight ends this offseason after following Roman from San Francisco to Buffalo.
Coach Rumors: Gailey, Bills, 49ers, Cardinals
It has been presumed that the Jets would hire Chan Gailey to become the team’s offensive coordinator, but it may not be a done deal, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Costello writes that Gailey has drawn interest from three other teams, and that an agreement with the Jets is far from a lock.
- As the Jets have cooled on Gailey, they have reached out to other potential candidates for their offensive coordinator opening, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter).
- The 49ers have denied the Bills permission to interview Ronald Curry for an opportunity to join Greg Roman’s staff in Buffalo, reports Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).
- The Bears wanted to consider Broncos wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert for the same position on their staff, but the Broncos have denied them permission, reports Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- The Cardinals have expressed interest in Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to replace Todd Bowles as their own defensive coordinator, reports Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Nolan’s defenses with the Falcons have been underwhelming, and his stint as 49ers head coach was equally unsuccessful.
- With the Cardinals considering options at defensive coordinator, Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean notes that former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is in the mix as a senior assistant (via Twitter). Wyatt still believes LeBeau could land with the Titans (via Twitter).
- 49ers assistant coach Eric Mangini will interview with the Raiders in pursuit of their defensive coordinator job, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
- While Mangini is moving closer to the Oakland, former Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is still expected to rejoin the 49ers, reports Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
- Former Cardinals and Chiefs defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast interviewed to be the defensive coordinator in Washington, reports John Keim of ESPN.com.
- The Bears have hired former Broncos assistant coach Jeff Rodgers as their special teams coordinator, reports Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
Coach Notes: 49ers, Jets, Falcons, Raiders
After promoting one coach earlier today, it sounds like the 49ers will be parting ways with the rest of their coaching staff. Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez reports (via Twitter) that the organization plans on dismissing all assistants except running backs coach Tom Rathman. A member of that coaching staff told CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco that they are “in the dark” regarding the team’s plans (Twitter link). Its unclear if any of the remaining coordinators, including defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, are safe.
Meanwhile, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets that “several” 49ers assistants will likely join former offensive coordinator Greg Roman with the Bills, while others will likely follow Fangio.
Let’s take a look at some more coaching notes from around the league…
- Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is set to interview with the Broncos on Friday, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Austin was late arriving to Atlanta, and D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that his second interview with the Falcons will be pushed back to Thursday.
- The Raiders want to talk to Falcons offensive line coach Mike Tice, but Atlanta is denying them permission, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- Cardinals linebacker coach Mike Caldwell will likely join Jets head coach Todd Bowles in New York as the team’s assistant head coach, tweets Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 in Phoenix.
- ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson says Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio is “aiming high” in his coaching staff search, and the writer notes that Kyle Shanahan could be among the offensive coordinator candidates (via Twitter).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Bills Hire Greg Roman As OC
TUESDAY, 12:05pm: The Bills and Roman have officially signed their agreement, making the former Niners offensive coordinator the new OC in Buffalo, tweets Marvez.
MONDAY, 11:08am: Roman has finalized a deal with the Bills to become their new offensive coordinator, a source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter). He’s expected to officially sign on Tuesday in Buffalo.
SUNDAY, 2:41pm: Roman, who had already interviewed with the Bills (albeit for their head coaching vacancy), will meet with the club a second time, and is expected to be named OC, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
10:14am: We heard this morning that 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was expected to fill the same position with the Bills, who just hired Rex Ryan as their new head coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms (via Twitter) that the Bills are expected to hire Roman, who worked with Ryan when the two men were Ravens coaches, as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
The Browns, Rams, and Buccaneers, among others, were also interested in Roman, who is regarded as a talented offensive mind but whose play-calling came into question during the latter stages of his tenure in San Francisco. Roman became available when former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh opted to take the top job at the University of Michigan, as he was never one of the internal candidates under consideration to replace Harbaugh. The Bills have some talent on the offensive side of the ball but have a major question mark at the quarterback position, which will be the primary concern facing both Ryan and Roman.
NFC Coaching Notes: Quinn, 49ers, Rams
Here are some updates on open NFC coaching positions:
- If Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn gets a head coaching job, potential offensive coordinators he could hire include Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable or former Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
- Since losing offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the University of Georgia, the Rams have expressed interest in 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and former Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to fill the open position, reports Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
- The 49ers announced that it would take seven to ten days to hire a new coach, but made the announcement on December 29th, and have yet to make significant progress, reports Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. Gutierrez notes that three candidates are still coaching playoff teams, and lists the eight coaches interviewed so far.
- The three candidates for the 49ers job that will be coaching this weekend are Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. If everything breaks perfectly, all three could be available by Sunday night.
- Six coaching jobs have opened up this offseason and six jobs remain unfilled. Everyone may have their own theory for why it is taking so long to hire new head coaches, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report believes it is because teams are waiting for the Seahawks‘ season to be over and for Quinn to become available (via Twitter).
- As the Giants continue to search for a new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo is among leaders in the clubhouse for the job, reports Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (via Twitter). Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator under Tom Coughlin during the team’s 2007-08 Super Bowl run.