Coaching Notes: Raiders, Giants, Browns
Let’s check out some notable coaching rumors as we start off the weekend…
- Raiders owner Mark Davis “loves” Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, it’s uncertain whether the organization is willing to wait for Del Rio to finish up his playoff run with Denver.
- According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Giants have requested permission to interview Bills defensive line coach Pepper Johnson for their defensive coordinator opening. Johnson has coached since 2000, but he has yet to hold a coordinator position.
- The Browns have requested permission to interview a trio of NFL coaches for their offensive coordinator opening (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter): 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Raiders offensive assistant Al Saunders and current Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. The organization is also set to interview former Bears head coach Marc Trestman,
- Rapoport tweets that Roman’s interview with the Browns is on Monday, so a hiring shouldn’t be expected this weekend.
- Bills running back coach Tyrone Wheatley will be joining Jim Harbaugh‘s staff at Michigan, tweets John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. Wheatley was previously a coach at Syracuse, Ohio Northern and Eastern Michigan.
Coach Updates: Bears, Raiders, 49ers, Rams
Earlier tonight, we learned that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has emerged as the possible frontrunner for the Jets‘ head coaching position, with mutual interest between the two sides. Let’s round up a few more Friday coaching updates from around the NFL….
- The Bears have requested permission to interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin for their head coaching job, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. We should expect Chicago’s coaching search to ramp up now that the team has hired Ryan Pace as its general manager.
- The Raiders would like to hire an established, veteran coach for their head coaching opening, but the structure of the front office is making some candidates wary about the job, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Cole specifically mentions Mike Shanahan as an ideal target for Oakland, given his experience and track record.
- Speaking to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com, Raiders owner Mark Davis said a candidate with previous head coaching candidate would be “preferable,” but didn’t rule out the possibility of hiring someone who hasn’t even had a coordinator job — that seems unlikely, since all of the team’s reported candidates so far have been either coordinators or head coaches. In any case, Davis added that there’s no set deadline for his club to make a hire.
- Per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the contracts for all the Raiders‘ assistants except Tony Sparano are set to expire next Tuesday night.
- Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link) confirms that Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles had his interview with the 49ers in Santa Clara today. Maiocco calls it the Niners’ last “known” interview, which suggests there’s nothing currently on tap with rumored candidates Jim Mora, Jim Tomsula, and Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco also reportedly had interest in Gary Kubiak, whose Ravens are still alive in the playoffs.
- Speaking of the 49ers, they’ve granted the division-rival Rams permission to speak to offensive coordinator Greg Roman about the same job in St. Louis, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The Rams also want to speak to Kyle Shanahan, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Coach Updates: Bills, Raiders, Jags, Quinn
Earlier this morning, we rounded up a handful of coaching-related updates. Plenty more items have surfaced over the course of the day, so let’s check in on the latest:
- The Bills are looking to line up an interview with former Jets coach Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter).
- The Bills have spoken with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz about their head coaching vacancy, according to Tim Graham of The Buffalo News.
- The Bills have a number of head coaching interviews set up for this week — Tim Graham of the Buffalo News writes that the team’s meeting with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will happen on Wednesday, while Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will speak to the club on Saturday. Additionally, a source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link) that the 49ers have given offensive coordinator Greg Roman permission to pursue the Bills’ HC job, and that interview will take place on Friday.
- After speaking to several outside candidates, the Raiders will conduct their interview with interim head coach Tony Sparano tomorrow, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links).
- Former Raiders head coach John Madden sat in on Oakland’s interview with Mike Shanahan in recent days, multiple sources tell Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Bair adds that it’s not clear how involved Madden is in the Raiders’ coaching search, but “it speaks some to the legitimacy of Shanahan” as a candidate for the job.
- A pair of candidates’ names have surfaced as the Jaguars search for a new offensive coordinator. Rapoport tweets that Jacksonville has asked to speak to Vikings running back coach Kirby Wilson, and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link) says Roman will also interview for the position.
- Preparing for the possibility that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan leaves Cleveland this winter, the Browns have “reached out to guys like Charlie Weis,” tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
- A longtime NFL executive who has been involved in many interviews for coaches tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is “the most impressive candidate” he has seen.
Extra Points: Newman, McCloughan, Bradham
As Terence Newman nears potential free agency, the veteran cornerback will have to decide whether or not he’ll continue his playing career, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. While Newman would love a chance to compete for a Super Bowl, there’s also some appeal in going out on his own terms, as he explains.
“I think Barry Sanders did it best,” Newman said. “He just said, ‘Hey, this isn’t for me anymore.’ He was probably one of the only people that ever went out on his own terms; he wasn’t forced out age-wise or whatever. He just called it quits because he wanted to. He’s probably the only person I can think of that ever did that.”
Assuming Newman does decide to continue playing, another year with the Bengals is a possibility. The cornerback says he expects to be in contact with the team, adding “[we’ll] see what happens.” Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The draft order has been set for picks 21 through 24 this year, as Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk details. Based on record and strength-of-schedule tiebreakers, it’ll be the Bengals at No. 21, followed by the Steelers, Lions, and Cardinals, respectively.
- We heard on Monday morning that Washington has interest in hiring former 49ers GM Scot McCloughan to a front office role, and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) reports that McCloughan actually has offers from at least three teams for prominent front office positions. McCloughan is “relishing” being his own boss at the moment, but may seriously consider taking a role with an NFL team, says La Canfora. Meanwhile, Michael Silver of NFL.com (Twitter links) says the Raiders courted McCloughan, but were unwilling to give GM Reggie McKenzie‘s decision-making power to McCloughan, who would only have been interested in the role if he were running the team’s football department.
- Greg Roman, who is expected to land with another team as an offensive coordinator, definitely won’t be back with the 49ers, says Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who identifies a few possible candidates to oversee San Francisco’s offense in 2015.
- After reporting on Monday morning that the Bills were interested in negotiating a new deal for newly-extension-eligible linebacker Nigel Bradham, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Bradham has hired agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him.
- Addressing his team’s defensive line and its inability to create a consistent pass rush, Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said today, “We need to improve the guys who are coming back here next year and continue to improve, and we need to infuse some new players, to be honest with you” (link via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
- Nick Fairley‘s NFL future is largely tied to that of Ndamukong Suh, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, who explains that the Lions won’t have the ability to keep both defensive tackles this offseason.
- In response to a report that Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles, St. Louis officials released a statement today indicating that the city is “ready to demonstrate our commitment” to keeping the franchise in Missouri, per Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (TwitLonger link).
East Notes: Roman, Shanahans, Ballard, Bills
Add another name to the Bills head coaching candidate list, as Buffalo has requested permission to interview 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Roman isn’t expected to return as San Francisco’s play-caller, and unlike SF defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, he isn’t a candidate for head coach. Roman, who’s also in the running for the Buccaneers OC position, is the 14th coach linked to the vacancy in Buffalo. You can follow all the news surrounding the six open coaching slots with our tracker. Here’s more from the East divisions…
- One of the 14 with ties to the Bills job is Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, whom the club is hoping to interview by the end of the week, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN (via TwitLonger). Austin reportedly prefers to meet on Saturday.
- The Eagles have requested permission to interview Chiefs executive Chris Ballard for a personnel role (Twitter link via Schefter), but Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes that not only is permission expected to be denied, but Ballard probably wouldn’t take the meeting, as the job wouldn’t involve final say over the 53-man roster and draft decisions (which now belongs to head coach Chip Kelly thanks to Friday’s front office shakeup). Ballard is viewed as the favorite for the Bears GM post, where he presumably would have total control over the team’s makeup. The Eagles are also interested in Dolphins scouting director Chris Grier, Lions exec Sheldon White, and one internal candidate, assistant director of player personnel Ed Marynowitz (identified by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk over the weekend).
- We heard earlier tonight that several clubs could be aiming to reunite Mike and Kyle Shanahan as head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively, but the Bills might have another idea in mind. Per John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game (Twitter link), Buffalo is interested in hiring Kyle as head coach, and installing Mike in a GM role. The Bills have already requested permission to interview Kyle, and the team did lose out on hiring Bill Polian to a football-czar position, so the alignment could make some sense.
- Washington is the latest team up in Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap’s offseason previews — the club has roughly $13.4MM in cap space, and in Fitzgerald’s view, should opt to let nearly all of its free agents walk.
Coach Updates: Cowher, Quinn, Jets, Raiders
Shortly after Doug Marrone opted out of his contract with the Bills, former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was mentioned as a potential target for Buffalo, but appearing today on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Cowher took himself out of the running for the Bills’ job or any other head coaching openings.
“I’m in a really good place. I really enjoy my job at CBS,” Cowher said. “You’re not going to see me on the sidelines. I enjoy it, you miss it, but not enough to get back.”
Here are a few more coaching-related tidbits that have trickled in since our last round-up:
- Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has a jam-packed schedule today and tomorrow, according to Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Schefter reports that Quinn interviewed for the Jets‘ head coaching job this morning, and will speak to the Bears tonight, the Falcons tomorrow morning, and the Bills tomorrow night.
- In addition to interviewing Quinn, the Jets also completed their interview with Seahawks assistant Tom Cable today, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur interviewed with the Raiders today, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Shurmur is the second candidate to interview with the club, following Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
- While the 49ers and Falcons were able to schedule interviews with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels within this week’s allotted window, the Bills were not, says Peter King of TheMMQB.com (via Twitter). That doesn’t mean Buffalo couldn’t try to speak to McDaniels later on, but the team may not want to wait.
- A pair of potential candidates cited early in the process for the two Bay Area teams have yet to set up interviews — Bill Williamson of ESPN.com tweets that the Raiders haven’t requested permission to speak to Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio yet, while Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle says (via Twitter) that the 49ers have yet to set anything up with Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
- The Buccaneers interviewed current 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman for Tampa Bay’s OC position today, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
- Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) hears that Vic Fangio‘s interview for the 49ers‘ head coaching position lasted more than six hours and was “very impressive.”
- Michael C. Wright and Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com have the details on the coaching recommendations made by the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel.
Coach Updates: Raiders, Ryan, 49ers, Bucs
As they search for a new head coach, the Raiders have requested permission to interview Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Anderson (via Twitter), the Raiders are genuinely intrigued by Hamilton, having heard good things about him. Because Indianapolis has a game this weekend, Hamilton won’t be able to speak to Oakland until next week at the earliest, assuming he has interest in the job.
Here are a few more coaching-related notes from around the NFL:
- Reports have suggested that Rex Ryan has no interest in accepting a coordinator job this offseason, but that doesn’t mean that teams won’t try. According to Joe Fortenbaugh of the National Football Post, the Dolphins made an offer to the former Jets head coach to become Miami’s next defensive coordinator. Per Fortenbaugh, the offer was for multiple years and was worth approximately $8MM in total.
- A league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that “a perception exists that Rex has been politicking too aggressively” for the Falcons‘ head coaching vacancy, which could rub owner Arthur Blank the wrong way. Ryan is scheduled to interview for the position.
- Multiple Shanahans appear to be in the mix for the 49ers‘ head coaching job — Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com indicated that Niners GM Trent Baalke spoke to Mike Shanahan on Tuesday, while Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweeted earlier this week that Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is a candidate for San Francisco. It’s not clear if the team has set up an interview with either coach yet.
- The 49ers got their interview process underway yesterday, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was the first candidate to sit down with the team, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. As we heard last night, Seahawks DC Dan Quinn interviewed later in the day.
- Rick Stroud of the Tampa Tribune identifies 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg as likely candidates for the Buccaneers‘ OC job, with the team expected to request interviews for both. Like Dirk Koetter of the Falcons, whose name surfaced yesterday, those coordinators work for teams that recently parted ways with their head coaches. According to Stroud, the Bucs may also pursue ex-Bears head coach Marc Trestman.
Latest On Jim Harbaugh, 49ers
Even before last night’s ugly home loss against the Seahawks, the future of 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was very much up in the air, with many observers around the league believing someone else will be coaching the club in 2015. Following yesterday’s loss, Harbaugh’s seat seems to be even hotter. Niners CEO Jed York tweeted after the game that his team’s performance “wasn’t acceptable,” and apologized to fans for the showing, prompting speculation that Harbaugh might not even last until season’s end. While I don’t think a move involving Harbaugh is imminent, there’s certainly a sense of unease in San Francisco, where the Niners’ 7-5 record makes it an uphill battle to a playoff spot.
Here’s more on Harbaugh and the 49ers:
- While the notion of firing Harbaugh with several games left in the season “seems beyond ludicrous on the surface,” there’s a strong sense in league circles that the front office is looking forward to Harbaugh’s exit, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As such, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the club parts ways with Harbaugh and promotes Jim Tomsula to head coach to try to make a last-ditch run to the postseason. Still, with just four games left on the 2014 schedule, it seems more likely that the team will play out the year with Harbaugh and then try to see if they can trade him in the offseason to a team in need of a new coach.
- As something of an aside, Florio notes in the aforementioned piece that multiple league insiders believe Tomsula has the inside track to succeed Harbaugh as the Niners’ next head coach.
- The daughter of Niners general manager Trent Baalke tweeted after last night’s game that offensive coordinator Greg Roman “can take a hike,” though she has since deleted the tweet. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link) acknowledges that replacing Roman is one major move the team could make, but says there’s no indication Harbaugh is looking to make a change.
- Asked after last night’s loss if it was time to reevaluate the offense and make major changes, Harbaugh replied, “We always do that. We’ll do that again. We’ll evaluate it. I don’t know what you refer to with major changes” (link via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News).
- For what it’s worth, Harbaugh had no reaction to York’s tweet, writes Maiocco at CSNBayArea.com.
- Prior to last night’s game, Florio wrote in a separate PFT piece that the 49ers’ silence on Harbaugh’s future has been deafening. With little support from the San Francisco front office, the question is now where Harbaugh will wind up — per Florio, many expect him to stay in the Bay Area, or at least on the West Coast, and the Raiders are viewed as the most likely landing spot.
Zach Links contributed to this post.