Coaching Notes: Chargers, Saints, Sirmon, Wilber, Eagles, Vikings, Chiefs, Steelers
Jim Harbaugh now has former Michigan offensive and defensive coordinators on his staff. A year after bringing Jesse Minter with him, the Chargers HC is hiring Kirk Campbell from Ann Arbor, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Campbell moved up to Wolverines OC following Harbaugh’s exit but was in place as QBs coach during the team’s unbeaten national championship-winning season. Campbell, 38, moved up the ranks quickly, rising from offensive assistant in 2022 to OC two years later. Serving as Old Dominion’s OC before heading to Michigan, Campbell will be in place as a Chargers offensive assistant in 2025.
The Bolts have also promoted Dylan Roney to edge rushers coach, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz adds. Roney, 29, had joined Minter in following Harbaugh to Los Angeles last year, working as a defensive assistant. He was previously in place as a Michigan graduate assistant.
Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:
- The last team to make an HC hire this year, the Saints continue to fill out Kellen Moore‘s staff. New Orleans is hiring two former NFL linebackers. They are adding Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon as its linebackers coach, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel tweets. Sirmon played seven seasons with the Titans, starting for the final four (2003-06). He had been the Golden Bears’ DC for the past six years. This will be the former NFLer’s first coaching job in the league. Another retired linebacker, Kyle Wilber, will join Moore as Saints assistant special teams coach, NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill tweets. Wilber was a Moore teammate in Dallas, playing with the Cowboys from 2012-17; he comes over after two years on the Packers’ staff.
- Elsewhere on New Orleans’ staff, the team is hiring Bo Davis to be its D-line coach, NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson tweets. This is a local hire, as Davis was previously in place as LSU’s D-line coach. Davis previously spent time on the Dolphins and Lions’ staffs. They are adding Texas assistant Terry Joseph to be their defensive pass-game coordinator, per Pelissero. Terry Joseph is the younger brother of Broncos DC Vance Joseph; he had been the Longhorns’ pass-game coordinator for four seasons.
- Needing a QBs coach because the Saints poached theirs (Doug Nussmeier) for OC, the Eagles interviewed Syracuse QBs coach Nunzio Campanile, per 247Sports.com. Campanile had previously served as interim HC and OC at Rutgers; he spent the past two years at Syracuse, being retained despite the Orange changing HCs in 2024. The Eagles are also are bringing back a familiar face, hiring Greg Austin, according to 94WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks. Austin was the team’s assistant O-line coach under Chip Kelly from 2013-15. After some time in the college ranks, Austin worked in a quality-control role on Doug Pederson‘s Jaguars staff. He will likely work under Jeff Stoutland, Shorr-Parks adds.
- Keith Carter has resurfaced in Minnesota. The Vikings hired the former Jets and Titans offensive line coach as their assistant O-line coach. An NFL assistant for the past nine years, Carter was fired from his post as Titans O-line coach after the 2022 season. He resurfaced under Nathaniel Hackett in New York in 2023.
- The Chiefs are also greenlighting a reunion, rehiring Matt House. Formerly the Chiefs’ linebackers coach form 2019-21, House is now in place as a senior defensive assistant with Kansas City. The veteran staffer had been working as the Jaguars’ ILBs coach, having served as LSU’s DC during the two years prior. He also served as DC at Kentucky, Pitt and Florida International over the past decade. The Chiefs also hired Chris Orr as a defensive quality control coach.
- After Aaron Curry joined the Jets’ staff, the Steelers have replaced him as ILBs coach. They brought in Scott McCurley to fill the job. A Western Pennsylvania native, McCourley was the Cowboys’ linebackers coach throughout Mike McCarthy‘s tenure. He previously spent 13 years under McCarthy in Green Bay, working his way up to Packers LBs coach.
NFC North Coaching Updates: Lions, Packers, Vikings
The Lions announced earlier this month that they have finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 season. Much of the staff remains identical to last year’s coaches who helped the Lions to some surprising success. Many of the minor changes that did occur, such as promotions and the additions of assistants, have already been covered on this site. There were a couple that still need to be announced.
On the offensive side, the Lions hired Jim Hostler as a senior offensive assistant. Hostler has served in Washington for the last three years and has an extensive history as a position coach in the NFL for several franchises, including a stint as offensive coordinator for the 49ers back in 2007. Hostler’s most recent experience was assisting with wide receivers for the Commanders, but there didn’t appear to be a place for him on Eric Bieniemy‘s new staff in Washington.
On the defensive side of the ball, Detroit has hired John Scott Jr. to take over as defensive line coach. With Todd Wash departing to rejoin Frank Reich in Carolina, the Lions went to the college ranks for their next defensive line coach. Scott will return to the NFL for the first time since serving as the assistant defensive line coach for the Jets in 2016. Since then, Scott has coached the defensive lines at Arkansas, South Carolina, and Penn State, adding the title of run game coordinator for the Nittany Lions in 2022.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFC North:
- The Packers made a couple additions to their coaching staff near the start of the month. Similar to Detroit, Green Bay also pulled from the college ranks, hiring recently dismissed Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester to a senior analyst position, according to Matthew Ehler of MLive.com. Lester has worked plenty with college quarterbacks but will be making his NFL debut in 2023. The team also hired two new quality control coaches, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Rob Grosso joins as offensive quality control and Kyle Wilber will be special teams quality control. Grosso, a former defensive assistant who followed Vance Joseph from Denver to Arizona, was expected to once again follow Joesph back to Denver but will part ways with Joseph while switching from defense to offense. Wilber, a former NFL linebacker, recently finished a 10-year career in which he played for Packers assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia at both Dallas and Las Vegas.
- The Vikings joined the Lions and Packers in dipping into the college ranks of coaching, hiring Michael Hutchings as assistant linebackers coach, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. Hutchings most recently served as outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky and previously worked at USC and Oregon.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/21
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Designated for return: LB Tanner Vallejo, LB Ezekiel Turner
- Released: P Ryan Winslow
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: QB Matt Barkley
Chicago Bears
- Placed on IR: CB Xavier Crawford, S Teez Tabor
Cincinnati Bengals
- Designated for return: OG Xavier Su’a-Filo
Dallas Cowboys
- Designated for return: WR Noah Brown, WR T.J. Vasher, OT Josh Ball
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: OT Cole Van Lanen
- Activated from IR: CB Jaire Alexander
Houston Texans
- Extended: S Grayland Arnold
- Placed on IR: OG Cole Turner, WR Phillip Dorsett
Kansas City Chiefs
- Designated for return: RB Jerick McKinnon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Tyrell Adams
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Justin March-Lillard, LB Kyle Wilber
- Designated for return: TE Derek Carrier
Los Angeles Chargers
- Designated for return: LB Kyler Fackrell, S Mark Webb
Miami Dolphins
- Designated for return: LB Brennan Scarlett
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: QB Kyle Sloter
- Designated for return: TE Ben Ellefson
- Placed on IR: WR Adam Thielen
New England Patriots
- Designated for return: LB Harvey Langi
New York Giants
- Designated for return: LB Trent Harris
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Javin White
Contract Details: Anderson, Pennel, Alexander
A handful of contract details to pass along:
- Robby Anderson, WR (Panthers): Two years, $20MM. $8MM signing bonus plus $2MM (of $4MM) base salary are guaranteed at signing. $12MM in cash in 2020 (via Manish Mehta of New York Daily Post).
- Mike Pennel, DL (Chiefs): One year. $1.047MM deal, including $887.5K guaranteed. $137.5K signing bonus plus $750K (of $910K) base salary are guaranteed (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Mackensie Alexander, CB (Bengals): One year, $4MM. $1.5MM signing bonus, up to $250K per-game roster bonus (via Wilson).
- Greg Van Roten, OL (Jets): Three years. $10.5MM, including $3.25MM guaranteed. Can be worth up to $14.25MM with incentives (via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
- Nick Vigil, LB (Chargers): One year. $2.4MM fully guaranteed. Can be worth up to $3MM with incentives (via Pelissero).
- Kyle Wilber, LB (Raiders): Re-signed. One-year, $1.187MM deal. Includes $137,500 signing bonus, $1.05MM salary (via Wilson).
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/20
Here are today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DT Trevon Coley
- Re-signed: RB D.J. Foster
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: QB Tyler Bray
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB LeShaun Sims
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: LB Kyle Wilber
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Anthony Zettel
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Jarron Jones (XFL), S Tyree Kinnel (XFL), DT Cavon Walker (XFL)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: LB Kevin Minter
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Jeremy Vujnovich
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DB Brynden Trawick
- Placed on IR: CB Iman Marshall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G John Jerry
- Placed on IR: G O’Shea Dugas
Detroit Lions
- Waived/Injured: WR Andy Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Released: LB James Crawford
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: S Rolan Milligan
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Coleman Shelton
- Placed on IR: OLB Justin Lawler
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Albert McClellan
- Placed on IR: OL Brent Qvale
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Josh Mauro, LB Kyle Wilber
- Placed on IR: Isaiah Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Nick Bellore
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed: RB T.J. Logan (from Cardinals) Waived: DL Pat O’Connor
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DT Treyvon Hester
- Claimed: LB Tanner Vallejo (from Cardinals)
Raiders Get Down To 53 Players
The Raiders have made their slew of cuts. They placed defensive tackle Justin Ellis on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss the entire season. After starting 14 games in 2017, Oakland signed Ellis to a three-year, $15MM extension. Injuries limited him to just six games last season, so he’ll have barely played through the first two years of that extension.
Former Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also got the boot. He started nine games for Los Angeles in 2017 and racked up four sacks. Last year he had a smaller role, although he did appear in all 16 games for the Rams. ‘Hard Knocks’ star Keelan Doss unfortunately failed to make the roster. He’s an undrafted rookie receiver from UC Davis. Additionally Keith Smith, who served as the team’s fullback last season, was released.
Waived:
WR Marcell Ateman
DE Quinton Bell
RB James Butler
LB Jason Cabinda
LB Te’von Coney
G Lester Cotton Sr.
WR Keelan Doss
LB Koa Farmer
WR Rico Gafford
WR Keon Hatcher
G/T Denver Kirkland
CB Dylan Mabin
T Justin Murray
CB Nick Nelson
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
T Tyler Roemer
DT Anthony Rush
Released:
FB Keith Smith
DE Ethan Westbrooks
LB Kyle Wilber
Waived/injured:
TE Paul Butler
Placed on season-ending injured reserve:
DT Justin Ellis
Raiders To Retain Jordy Nelson For 2019
Jordy Nelson appears to have a second Raiders season on tap. The longtime Packers wide receiver signed a two-year deal with the Raiders, but some speculation existed about the rebuilding team moving on after one season.
Jon Gruden confirmed Friday that Nelson will return next season. The Raiders also moved up a $3.6MM Nelson roster bonus to be paid today rather than in 2019, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
“If you watched Jordy play carefully the last four weeks when he’s been healthy, you see what he’s capable of doing, … I think you can even see better and better days ahead,” Gruden said, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter links). “So yeah, he’ll be back. … Normally when you hand out a bonus for next year’s season, there’s a pretty good chance those guys are coming back.”
That puts Tahir Whitehead, tight end Lee Smith and linebacker Kyle Wilber in line to be Raiders in their to-be-determined city next season. The Raiders paid Whitehead his $3.325MM bonus, with Smith collecting $1.1MM and Wilber $500K, Yates adds. These moves will spread out said bonuses’ cap hits across 2018 and ’19.
Nelson will be 34 when next season starts. He said earlier this week (via Bair, on Twitter) he wanted to play at least one more season. Jared Cook leads the Raiders in receiving, but Nelson has, to some degree, bounced back from a dismal 2017 with 661 receiving yards on one of the NFL’s worst offenses, bumping his yards-per-catch average from a career-low 9.1 (in the largely Aaron Rodgers-less ’17 Packers slate) to 12.2 with Derek Carr. While the latter figure is still below his prime work, Nelson is one of the NFL’s oldest wideouts.
Contract Details: Jordy, Glennon, Incognito
Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:
New Contracts
- Jordy Nelson, WR (Raiders): Two years, $14.2MM. $13MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
- Mike Glennon, QB (Cardinals): Two-year, $8MM deal contains void years in 2020 and 2021. $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com).
- Spencer Long, C (Jets): Four years, $27.5MM. $6MM guaranteed (link via Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap).
- Jaron Brown, WR (Seahawks): Two years, $5.5MM. $2.75MM guaranteed. $1.95MM signing bonus. $750K available annually via receptions, yards, and touchdowns incentives (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
- Christian Jones, LB (Lions): Two years, $6.35MM. $2.8MM guaranteed. $1.75MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com).
- Kyle Wilber, LB (Raiders): Two years, $2.75MM. $1.4MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM).
- Billy Turner, OL (Broncos): One year, $2MM. $750K guaranteed. $500K signing bonus (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News).
Restructures
- Richie Incognito, G (Bills): 2018 base salary reduced from $6.325MM to $3.65MM. Earned $1MM bonus. Bills created $1.675MM in cap space (Twitter link via Yates).
- John Jerry, G (Giants): 2019 contract season eliminated. 2018 base salary reduced from $3.05MM to $1.075MM, $525K of which is guaranteed. $400K roster bonus added and paid on 3/21. Per-game roster bonuses increased from $250K to $500K (all Twitter links via Dan Duggan of NJ.com). Giants created $525K in cap space.
Raiders Sign LB Kyle Wilber
Kyle Wilber has found a new home. The Raiders announced that they have signed the free agent linebacker.
The 2012 fourth-round pick had spent his entire six-year career with the Cowboys, and he’s missed only a single regular season game over the past two seasons. The 28-year-old finished last season with 10 tackles and one forced fumble in 16 games. His best season came back in 2013, when he had 44 tackles and a pair of sacks.
Wilber will have plenty of competition for playing time, as the Raiders seemingly have their starters in Bruce Irvin, Marquel Lee, and Tahir Whitehead. Wilber will compete with Cory James, Nicholas Morrow, Shilique Calhoun, and Brady Sheldon for playing time. Wilber will probably most contribute on special teams.
