HEADLINES

Pete Carroll

NFC Notes: Wolf, Seahawks, Vikings, Rams

January 19th, 2017 at 2:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf has accepted a new contract in Green Bay and withdrawn from the 49ers’ search for a general manager, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today. He’s the second candidate this week to bow out of San Francisco’s hunt for a GM, joining Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner. One of Wolf’s colleagues in Green Bay, director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton are continuing to vie for the 49er job and will conduct second interviews with the team next week.

More from the NFC:

  • The Seahawks could lose a second-round pick for not disclosing cornerback Richard Sherman‘s knee injury during the season, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN. Seattle is cooperating with the NFL’s investigation, though the team doesn’t believe it deserves major punishment because Sherman didn’t miss any time on account of the ailment. Head coach Pete Carroll, who revealed Monday that Sherman had a “significant” MCL issue, could also face a fine. Last September, the league fined Carroll $200K and heavily punished the Seahawks – they received a $400K fine to go with a loss of a a fifth-round pick and a week of OTAs – after they violated its rules regarding contact practices in the offseason. As a result of this violation, the league could elevate the fifth-rounder to a second, per Mortensen. League policy clearly indicates the Seahawks were in the wrong for not listing Sherman on the injury report.
  • Pending free agent linebacker Chad Greenway is either going to re-sign with the Vikings or retire, the 34-year-old told Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune. “If playing in Minnesota for another year is an option — and pretty much all season, I’ve felt like this is going to be my last year — and now I’m just trying to make sure that decision is the one I want to make,” said Greenway. “I’ve lived every day like I wanted to, like it could be my last game in the NFL, and I enjoyed the season. Now I can take some time and think about it, and we’ll come to a decision real soon.” Greenway is the longest-tenured current Viking, having spent his entire career with the team since it selected him 17th overall in 2006. In 2016 – his 11th year – the remarkably durable Greenway logged his 10th season consisting of 16 appearances, though he recorded career lows in starts (nine) and tackles (41).
  • Redskins assistant defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant is likely to join ex-Washington offensive coordinator and now-Rams head coach Sean McVay‘s staff in Los Angeles, tweets Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. However, a deal isn’t done yet, notes Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The Redskins want to retain Pleasant, who just finished his fourth season with the club.

10 Coaching Candidates For The Rams

December 13th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

In an iconic scene from season nine of The Simpsons, Krusty the Klown announced his retirement to a scrum of not-so-stunned reporters. Krusty The Clown

“But Krusty,” one reporter asks. “Why now? Why not twenty years ago?”

It wouldn’t have been out of place for any Rams beat reporter to channel that sentiment and ask a similar question of COO Kevin Demoff when he addressed the media on Monday. Jeff Fisher‘s dismissal was long overdue and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of the coach’s family who disagrees.

For now, the Rams will turn things over to special teams coordinator John Fassel on an interim basis. While this is ostensibly a chance for Fassel to impress team brass and land the head coaching job for 2017, most are expecting the Rams to hire a name brand coach that will energize the fan base and give the team some additional panache in free agency.

With a few weeks to go between now and the official end of the Rams’ season, here are ten names that could be considered for the job:

Jim Harbaugh (vertical)Jim Harbaugh, head coach at the University of Michigan: Some say that living well is the best revenge. Others say that the best revenge against your former employer is setting up shop across the street and destroying them. Santa Clara-to-Los Angeles is a lengthy drive, but you get what we’re getting at.

Harbaugh, in theory, could leave his alma mater and crush the 49ers by joining up with a divisional rival. The Rams have reportedly been loafing in practice and Harbaugh is the kind of throwback disciplinarian that the team badly needs. It’s fair to assume that the Rams will get in contact with Harbaugh, but it will be tough to get him to leave his lucrative job in Ann Arbor.

With National Signing Day around the corner, Harbaugh could publicly remove himself himself from consideration if he is not at all interested in an NFL return. Alternatively, if Harbaugh wants to get sweet revenge against the Niners, Stan Kroenke better have his checkbook ready. Signing Harbaugh could cost upwards of $10MM/year and that’s before factoring in his buyout clause with the Wolverines. If Harbaugh bolts, he’ll owe U-M the prorated portion of his $2MM signing bonus. With two of the seven years served, 5/7ths of that amount comes out to roughly $1.43MM.

Click here to read more from Zach Links..

Read more

Rams Eyeing Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll

December 13th, 2016 at 12:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Let the rumors begin. In a city dominated by celebrity gossip, it only makes sense that there will be rampant speculation about the Rams’ head coaching vacancy and several big names bandied about. The “power brokers” within the Rams organization have Seahawks coach Pete Carroll high atop their wishlist, multiple sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. That group includes owner Stan Kroenke and vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff. Pete Carroll

[RELATED: Pete Carroll Fined $200K By NFL]

There are a few important things to note here. One, Carroll is under contract with Seattle through the 2019 season, and the Seahawks aren’t about to give their star coach away to a divisional rival. Secondly, there’s no indication in Robinson’s report that the Rams have reached out to Carroll. Third, it’s not known whether the job would be of interest to the former USC head coach, though some believe that a return to California would appeal to him. Robinson’s report is clear on all of these points: the interest is there, but it is not necessarily mutual, nor is it particularly likely to come to fruition.

“Pete makes sense in a lot of ways,” one source said. “There is already a defensive core in place for him to work with. He has deep coaching ties across [the NFL] and knows how to build an offensive staff that can bring along [Goff]. … He’s a California guy at heart and has a track record there with the L.A. fan base [from his time at USC]. He’s also a great, great coach.”

Would Carroll consider leaving the Seahawks? Would the Seahawks even entertain the notion of sending a Super Bowl winning coach to another NFC West team? And, when push comes to shove, are the Rams ready to give Carroll a record-setting contract and forfeit several draft picks? It’s a situation to keep an eye on this offseason, but the roadblocks here are massive.

For what it’s worth, Carroll responded in the affirmative today when asked if he’d rule out any chance of wanting to coach the Rams (Twitter link via Jack Wang of the Daily News).

Seahawks Lose Fifth-Round Pick

September 19th, 2016 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks will lose their fifth-round pick in 2017 for violating the league’s rules regarding contact practices in the offseason, according to an announcement from the NFL. The Seahawks will also lose a week of OTAs and face a fine of $400K. Coach Pete Carroll personally will have to pay $200K in fines for his role. Pete Carroll

The NFL and NFLPA’s agreement on excessive contact in offseason workouts was breached on June 6th when Carroll’s team doled out hard hits during OTAs. This is not the first team that the Seahawks have run afoul of these regulations and, therefore, they were docked a draft choice in addition to the fines.

In this year’s draft, there were three instances of teams losing draft picks as a result of rules violations. The Patriots (first round), Chiefs (third round), and the Falcons (fifth round) were all penalized for different infractions by the league office.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Seahawks Extend Pete Carroll Through 2019

July 26th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks have signed head coach Pete Carroll to a long-term extension that will keep him in Seattle through the 2019 season. Carroll’s contract had been set to expire after the upcoming season.Pete Carroll

[RELATED: Seahawks, Michael Bennett’s agent to discuss contract]

Carroll’s extension comes just two days after the Seahawks locked up general manager John Schneider through the 2021 campaign, meaning the club’s brain trust will be together for at least the next four seasons. Seattle was always expected to hammer out a new deal with its head coach, and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reported yesterday that there was no rancor in negotiations. Rather, the Seahawks (and Carroll) simply wanted to follow their usual offseason plan — tackling free agency, the draft, and extensions for contract year players — before working out a new agreement.

In addition to allowing Carroll avoid a lame-duck status in 2016, the extension also gives both Seattle and Carroll some added security — Carroll will be guaranteed a salary for a few extra years, and the Seahawks mitigate the risk of their head coach eyeing another job. While there has been no indication that Carroll would want to leave Seattle, one January report suggested that the former USC head coach may eventually have interest in a Los Angeles NFL job, with the Rams – and possibly Chargers – returning to L.A.

Carroll’s current contract is believed to place him among the NFL’s top three highest-paid coaches, with an annual salary in the range of $7-8MM per year. Presumably, his new deal wouldn’t involve a pay cut of any sort, so Carroll will continue to rank near the top of the salary leaderboard for coaches after signing his extension.

Since taking over as the Seahawks’ head coach in 2010, Carroll has led the team to a 60-36 regular-season record, with a 9-6 record and a Super Bowl win in the postseason. Seattle has won at least 10 games and made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, winning at least one postseason contest every year and earning a spot in the Super Bowl twice.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) was the first to report the extension and noted that it runs through 2019. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Gamble, Davis, Carroll

July 25th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 49ers have hired Tom Gamble as assistant general manager, the club announced today. Gamble is in his second stint with San Francisco, as he worked alongside GM Trent Baalke in the club’s front office from 2005-2012 before re-joining the team in January 2015 as a senior personnel executive. Notably, current 49ers head coach Chip Kelly brought Gamble with him to Philadelphia as his top personnel man, but Gamble was ousted following the 2014 campaign.

Here’s a look at the latest from the NFC West:

  • Although the 49ers are reportedly more interested in keeping offensive tackle Anthony Davis than trading him, the club is “wary” of Davis’ reinstatement and could be questioning his commitment to football, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). San Francisco is somewhat worried that Davis will be challenged in his return to the everyday grind of the NFL, and the team’s staff will watch him closely as camp and the preseason progresses. Davis, a former first-round pick, is far more talented than the Niners’ incumbent right tackle, Erik Pears, so the club doesn’t have much to lose by letting Davis attend training camp and compete for a starting position.
  • Now that the Seahawks have extended the contract of general manager John Schneider, head coach Pete Carroll will be next, sources tell Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Seattle uses a specific approach to the offseason, tackling free agency, the draft, and then extensions for their players entering the last year of their deals. Carroll, sources tell Condotta, merely wanted to get through that period of the club’s to-do list, and there’s been no rancor of any kind in negotiations. Plus, Carroll likely wanted to ensure that Schneider was kept under contract before agreeing to re-sign, as he did when the pair was up for new deals previously.
  • The Seahawks are in good shape for the future after extending Schneider, writes Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, and Schneider says the most critical part of the club’s success is a lack of vanity. “No ego. Ego is the enemy,” said Schneider. “And it’s being able to communicate, being able to communicate in a clear, concise fashion and make decisions as quickly as you possibly can. But knowing that, first and foremost, we’re looking out for the organization, No. 1, what’s best for the organization.” Carroll has final say on personnel moves in Seattle, but that distinction has never proved controversial among the team’s leadership.
  • Earlier today, we learned that the Seahawks will meet with the agent for defensive lineman Michael Bennett to discuss a new contract.

Seahawks To Extend GM John Schneider

July 24th, 2016 at 9:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks and longtime GM John Schneider have reached an agreement on an extension that will make him one of the highest-paid GMs in the NFL. It’s a five-year extension for Schneider set to run through the 2021 season.

The deal, per Clayton, will approach $3.75MM per year, matching Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome for the highest full-time GM salary in the NFL . Schneider was set to be seeking a contract worth $4MM per season, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

Schneider’s contract was set to expire after the 2016 season. Pete Carroll‘s deal expires after 2016 as well and the Schneider pact is expected to soon lead to an extension for the team’s highly-regarded head coach.

The team has qualified for the playoffs in five of the pair’s six years together, including each of the past four. Assembling a mostly homegrown group of talent during this decade, Seattle’s gone to two Super Bowls, winning one and coming closer than perhaps any big-game loser has to claiming another title one year later.

Under Schneider’s regime, the Seahawks have been one of the league’s best at drafting talent and possibly the best reaching extensions with cornerstone players — including Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner. They received the most productive years of Marshawn Lynch‘s career after trading for the then-maligned running back and recently hammered out an extension with former UDFA Doug Baldwin, the latest member of Seattle’s deep core now locked up long-term.

The agreement was first reported by ESPN.com’s John Clayton. FOXSports.com’s Jay Glazer (on Twitter) was first to report the length of the agreement. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Fallout From Doug Baldwin’s Extension

June 29th, 2016 at 4:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

With Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin‘s four-year, $46MM extension in the books, the Broncos’ Emmanuel Sanders is now at the front of the line of wideouts set to land new deals prior to the season, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN. Baldwin, the Chargers’ Keenan Allen and the Jaguars’ Allen Hurns have all signed extensions worth upward of $40MM – including $20MM-plus in guarantees – this month, but each is younger than Sanders. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns, having combined for 177 catches and 15 touchdowns during that span, and figures to net a sizable raise over the $5.6MM he’s scheduled to make in 2016. The Broncos and Sanders are already in negotiations, as 9NEWS’ Mike Klis reported earlier this month.

More out of Seattle:

  • The Seahawks will now turn their attention to locking up the Super Bowl-winning duo of general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Caroll, whose deals expire after this season, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Extensions for the pair could come during training camp, per Condotta. Defensive end Michael Bennett, meanwhile, is the next member of the Seahawks’ roster likely to rake in a big payday, writes Condotta. Bennett won’t be a free agent until after the 2017 campaign, however, so he might have to wait another year.
  • Baldwin went undrafted in 2011 out of Stanford, where he was teammates with superstar Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. After all 32 NFL teams snubbed Baldwin for seven rounds, Sherman – a fifth-rounder that year – contacted the wideout and encouraged him to sign with the Seahawks. “They’re going to call you. I want you to be here,” Sherman said (via Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times). Baldwin has since morphed into one of the pros’ best and richest wideouts because of his football-first mindset, which has come at a cost to his personal life, details Jenks. “I’m not the fastest, the strongest, the most athletic, the tallest,” Baldwin told Jenks. “But in order for me to be good at what I do, I have to focus on my craft so much that it alleviates those other things. I can’t have personal relationships like other people do. I can’t spend time on that.”
  • Baldwin’s extension means the Seahawks will enter camp with one fewer distraction, observes ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia, who adds that Baldwin’s 1,000-yard season in 2015 was just the fourth by a slot receiver over the past five years. Baldwin is also the only receiver since 1992 – when targets were first tracked – to rack up 1,000-plus yards while hauling in at least 80 percent of the passes intended for him, per Kapadia.

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Carroll, Cardinals

June 3rd, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Those who are criticizing the Seahawks‘ first-round selection of Germain Ifedi will come to regret it, offensive line coach Tom Cable told ESPN Radio (link via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com).

“You watch him and see what you think then,” Cable said. “People don’t have to be accountable, they can say or think what they want, and that’s OK. But what they really don’t realize is how they could screw up a young person, because all these kids read all the Twitter and social media. One minute they’re loved and the next minute they can’t do this or they can’t do that, it was a bad pick, or whatever. Fortunately … Germain is a strong-minded, strong-willed kid. … So I just think watching him play, it will be kind of cool, whoever they are, they’ll kind of eat their words.”

Here’s a look at the NFC West:

NFC Notes: Locke, Seahawks, Cardinals, Bucs

May 8th, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

A fifth-round pick in 2013, Jeff Locke looks to be set to face some competition to finish out his contract with the Vikings. Minnesota is expected to add rookie punter Taylor Symmank on Monday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The Vikings brought in Symmank and Nick O’Toole to compete at their rookie minicamp this weekend, but O’Toole left the Twin Cities on Sunday, while Symmank looks to be staying. Symmank averaged 46 yards per punt last season at Texas Tech. After Locke’s per-punt figure hovered at 44.2 yards in each of his first two seasons, it slunk to an NFL-worst 41.6 in 2015.

Symmank told Tomasson he’s been asked to take a physical with the Vikings, who currently have 89 players on their roster. Locke has a nonguaranteed $721K due this season.

Check out the latest from around the league as teams continue to assemble their 90-man rosters.

  • The Seahawks envision former Notre Dame running back/wide receiver C.J. Prosise becoming a potential replacement for Fred Jackson as the team’s third-down back, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Seattle initially placed the third-round pick with the running backs to start its rookie minicamp but shuttled him into receiver drills on Sunday. Converted to running back before the 2015 season, Prosise totaled 1,337 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns in 2015. “I’ve never had anyone that was a receiver that went to running back that could do both. You commit one way or the other,” Pete Carroll told media, including Condotta. “… It’s a real prize for us. I don’t really have a guy to compare him to at this point.”
  • Also from Condotta: Rees Odhiambo will compete with Mark Glowinski for the Seahawks‘ starting left guard position, and Carroll plans to use Jarran Reed at both nose tackle and 3-technique. “It’s just such a crucial pick for us,” Carroll said. “Jarran can really jump right in and give us the stout play, he’s just got a great savvy for the running game. He’ll play both spots, for sure.”
  • The Cardinals are planning to replace the still-unsigned Jerraud Powers with Justin Bethel, but given that third-round pick Brandon Williams has only played the position for one season after playing running back from 2011-14, Arizona could use a veteran corner to help lead Patrick Peterson‘s cadre of sidekicks, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic writes. Beyond Bethel and Peterson, no Cardinal cornerback has more than one year of NFL experience. Joining Powers among the top unattached corners right now are fellow former Cardinal Antonio Cromartie, Leon Hall and Phillip Adams.
  • Although Ryan Smith lined up at cornerback in 2015 for North Carolina Central, he’s expected to work at safety for the Buccaneers, Roy Cummings of Today’s Pigskin writes. The Bucs added Vernon Hargreaves III in the first round after signing Brent Grimes in an attempt to fortify a cornerback corps that helped yield 31 touchdown passes last season and allow the second-highest quarterback rating in the league. The 5-foot-11, 198-pound Smith arrived in Tampa as the No. 108 overall pick and will compete with the likes of Chris Conte and Keith Tandy for playing time on the Bucs’ back line. Cummings identifies Bradley McDougald as a starter at either the free or strong safety spots, with his complement undecided. Pro Football Focus graded Conte as the Bucs’ best safety last season and tabbed the now-27-year-old veteran as its No. 32 safety.
Load More Posts