Rod Marinelli

Panthers Viewed Yannick Ngakoue Price As Too Steep; Bears Considered Justin Houston

Several weeks after the veteran edge rusher market’s ice began to thaw when Leonard Floyd and Frank Clark found new homes, Yannick Ngakoue and Justin Houston reached agreements to continue their careers. The Bears and Panthers, respectively, signed the veteran sack artists; each team, however, considered both players.

Rumored to be eyeing a veteran edge player opposite Brian Burns for the past two offseasons, the Panthers stood down on that front in the wake of Haason Reddick‘s 2022 exit. They did not do so this year, giving Houston a one-year deal worth $6MM guaranteed. The Panthers gave Houston more money compared to the 12-year veteran’s second Ravens pact (one year, $3.5MM), but they still did not want to meet Ngakoue’s asking price.

Ngakoue ended up collecting $10MM guaranteed from the Bears, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Panthers viewed this as too steep. In Houston, the Panthers will go with a player six years older but one who matched Ngakoue’s 2022 sack total (9.5) during his second Ravens season. Houston also loomed as a Bears consolation prize of sorts, with Fowler adding he was Chicago’s backup plan in case the team could not move Ngakoue’s asking price down to a level it deemed reasonable.

The Bears had eyed Ngakoue for a while, but Fowler adds the team spent time talking the seven-year vet down from a $13MM-per-year price point and had believed he wanted a multiyear deal. When Ngakoue changed agents earlier this year, a multiyear pact was indeed believed to be on his radar.

Marcus Davenport signed a one-year, $13MM deal ($10MM guaranteed) earlier this year, and Ngakoue’s production dwarfs the former first-rounder’s. Ngakoue is the only player riding a streak of seven straight eight-plus sack seasons. The former third-round pick began that surge to start his career in 2016. That said, Ngakoue has been viewed as a pass rush specialist of sorts; his issues in the run game undoubtedly led to the former Jaguars draftee/franchise tag recipient needing to wait until August before catching on somewhere.

Ngakoue, 28, will anchor the Bears’ edge-rushing corps. He had said previously landing with a surefire contender would not be a requirement for his latest free agency. While Ngakoue sought a deal that matched his 2021 Raiders AAV — from a two-year, $26MM contract that ended up being sent from the Raiders to the Colts — he still outperformed Floyd, Clark and Houston on the market. The Bears are not eyeing a designated pass rusher role for the well-traveled sack artist, with Matt Eberflus confirming (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns; subscription required) he views Ngakoue as an every-down player.

Former Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, whom Eberflus regards as a mentor, gave the second-year Bears HC a strong Ngakoue endorsement, Jahns adds. Marinelli, who coached Ngakoue in 2021, also factored into the veteran edge choosing Chicago. Of course, the Bears’ eight-figure guarantee likely provided the biggest push here.

As the Bears and Panthers made key additions to their edge corps, Jadeveon Clowney remains unsigned. While Robert Quinn, Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap are also unattached, Clowney is much younger — at 30 — and lines up as the top outside rusher available.

Rod Marinelli Expected To Retire

It sounds like Rod Marinelli is calling it a career. The former Lions head coach is planning to retire, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Rapoport cautions that the 72-year-old “had interest in continuing to coach.”

Marinelli started his coaching career back in the 1970s, and he got his first crack at the NFL when he was hired as the Buccaneers defensive line coach in 1996. He was hired as the Lions head coach in 2006, and he ended up having a historic stint in Detroit…not in a good way, though. The Lions went 3-13 during his first season at the helm, but there was some optimism when the team improved to 7-9 in 2007.

Perhaps the high point of the Marinelli era in Detroit was the 2008 preseason, when the team went a perfect 4-0. Of course, the Lions famously didn’t win a game during the regular season, and Marinelli was fired following that 0-16 campaign. With a record of 10-38, Marinelli has the second-worst record among coaches with at least three seasons on their resumes (behind Bert Bell’s 10-46-2 record and tied with Steve Spagnuolo’s 10-38 record).

The veteran coach bounced around the NFL a bit following his stint in Detroit. He served as the Raiders interim defensive coordinator in 2020 following the firing of Paul Guenther, and he served as the team’s defensive line coach in 2021.

Updates To Eberflus’ New Bears’ Staff

New head coach Matt Eberflus has wasted no time in starting to piece together his new coaching staff in Chicago. 

The Colts’ former defensive coordinator will bring some familiar names with him from Indianapolis on the defensive side of the ball. According to Zak Keefer, of The Athletic, it’s been confirmed that linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi will follow Eberflus to Chicago to retain the same position. Borgonzi has played a crucial role in the development of players like Darius Leonard, Anthony Walker, and Bobby Okereke. Rumors have been circulating that cornerbacks coach James Rowe and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli could soon follow in Borgonzi’s footsteps.

On the offensive side of the ball, Eberflus will have to build a new system. We’ve already seen Eagles’ passing-game coordinator Kevin Patullo’s name surface as a potential coordinator, especially being a former coworker of the Bears’ new skipper in Indianapolis. We’ve also seen Packers’ quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy‘s name mentioned as the favorite candidate to land the coordinator job.

Still nothing has been announced, but Sanjay Lal, who has coached wide receivers for six different NFL teams, most recently in Jacksonville, is reportedly interviewing today for the offensive coordinator job, according to Jane Slater of NFL Network. A London-native, Lal started out coaching in a California high school for about six years before earning opportunities to coach at a few local colleges, culminating in a position as the quarterbacks coach at the University of California, Berkeley. Lal got his first NFL opportunity joining Lane Kiffin‘s Oakland Raiders staff in 2007 as a quality control coach, getting promoted to wide receivers coach in 2009. The journeyman coach then spent time as a wide receivers coach for the Jets, Bills, Colts, and Cowboys before not being retained in Dallas when Mike McCarthy took over. After spending a year as a senior offensive assistant in Seattle for a year, Lal got another chance to coach wide receivers for the Jaguars under Urban Meyer, where he spent the past season.

The only other offensive position we’ve heard about comes from Sports Mockery writer Erik Lambert who reports that Eberflus and the Bears will pursue Browns’ offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Callahan has coached a laundry list of Pro Bowl players over the years and has two connections to the Bears’ job. Firstly, he worked with Eberflus in Dallas for about three seasons, and, second, Callahan was born and raised in Chicago.

Two names have surfaced so far at the special teams coordinator position. Lambert mentions Raiders’ interim-head coach Rich Bisaccia as the favorite to take over the special teams unit in Chicago as it becomes less and less likely that he’ll be retained as the head ball coach in Las Vegas. The other name mentioned came from Jordan Raanan who covers the Giants for ESPN. Ranaan tweeted out that Giants’ special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is scheduled to interview for the same position with the Bears tomorrow. McGaughey has already interviewed for the Chargers’ special teams coordinator job and has not ruled out remaining with the Giants.

It’s an impressive potential lineup for Eberflus as he attempts to put together his first full staff as a head coach. Updates should be expected shortly as all the names mentioned so far are no longer participating in the playoffs.

Raiders Fire DC Paul Guenther, Promote Rod Marinelli

The Raiders have fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. In his place, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will serve as the team’s interim DC what’s left of the 2020 season. 

[RELATED: Raiders Promote Vic Beasley]

The decision came on the heels of an ugly Sunday night loss to the Colts. The 44-27 loss saw the Raiders surrender 456 total yards, including 212 yards on the ground. With no real chance of reaching the postseason, the Raiders got a jump on their spring cleaning.

The Raiders did not register a single sack against Philip Rivers, emblematic of their front seven so far this year. They entered Sunday near the bottom of the league in sacks, and that’s where they remain with a few games to go in 2020. On the whole, the Raiders performed as the 22nd ranked D in the league under Guenther’s guidance. And, over the last two-years-and-change, they’ve been dead last in points allowed with 28.4.

Of course, the Raiders’ struggles went beyond the veteran DC. The Raiders’ recent blowout loss to the Falcons, for example, could be largely blamed on the team’s six offensive turnovers. Regardless, the Raiders want to move their high-priced defense in a different direction, starting right now.

NFC East Notes: Eberflus, Eagles, Giants

Matt Eberflus may resurface on the coaching carousel in 2021, given the Colts’ defensive resurgence. This is Eberflus’ third year as the Colts’ defensive coordinator, with the would-be Josh McDaniels assistant coming to Indianapolis after seven seasons as Cowboys linebackers coach. The Cowboys were ready to make a major change to prevent Eberflus from leaving. They were prepared to promote him to defensive coordinator in 2018, Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports, in a move that would have meant Eberflus replacing Rod Marinelli (Twitter link). Eberflus, however, refused to accept that promotion out of respect for Marinelli. The latter served as Dallas’ DC from 2014-19, with his tenure ending after Jason Garrett‘s 2020 firing.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • For the first time since Week 14 of last season, Alshon Jeffery will suit up for a game. The Eagles did not give Jeffery an injury designation going into Week 10, putting the ninth-year wideout on track to make his season debut against the Giants. The Eagles shopped Jeffery for several months, but given the injury-prone receiver’s contract, the team was essentially forced to hang onto the 30-year-old target and wait for his recovery from a Lisfranc injury. Jeffery also battled a calf ailment this season. Jeffery will join previously injured cogs Jalen Reagor, Miles Sanders and Dallas Goedert in Philadelphia’s lineup. It will be easily the healthiest Eagles skill-position group this season.
  • The Giants deactivated Golden Tate for their Week 9 game, citing his recent effort and performance. They shopped Tate ahead of the trade deadline, and Tate’s wife expressed frustration about her husband’s role on Instagram. Tate liked another Instagram post championing a change of scenery for him. The 11th-year wide receiver, however, said Friday he did not want to be traded. “No, I wouldn’t say I was trying to get traded,” Tate said, via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz (on Twitter). “I love this organization, to be honest. I love everything it stands for, and I want to do my part and help us win any way I can.” Waiving Tate would cost the Giants a few million in dead money, but the team is expected to cut or trade him in 2021.
  • Patrick Graham has impressed many around the NFL with his work leading the Giants’ defense this season, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes. The former Dolphins DC and Patriots assistant may soon receive looks for HC opportunities. While the Giants’ defense ranks 22nd in DVOA, that is up from 28th last season. New York entered the season thin at cornerback and at edge rusher but still has one of the league’s best defensive lines.
  • The Giants worked out two former second-round cornerback picks Friday. Former Florida teammates Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor reunited for a Giants workout. The Jets acquired Wilson from the Colts earlier this year but cut him. Tabor has not played since the 2018 season.
  • The Eagles will be without defensive assistant Jeremiah Washburn this week, Tim McManus of ESPN.com tweets. An Eagles coach tested positive for COVID-19 this week. The team has not identified the staffer, but Washburn’s absence provides an indication he contracted the coronavirus. Washburn serves in an interesting capacity with the Eagles, working as a senior defensive assistant and director of player personnel. He previously coached the Bears and Lions’ offensive lines.

Raiders To Hire Rod Marinelli

The Cowboys firing Jason Garrett also displaced longtime defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, but the former Lions head coach landed a new job in Oakland. The Raiders are hiring him as their defensive line coach, Jim Trotter of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Marinelli will replace Brentson Buckner, who joined Jon Gruden‘s staff last year. While Buckner helped the Raiders improve on their anemic 2018 sack total (13) and assisted in Oakland’s run defense climbing from 30th in 2018 to eighth this season, he will be in search of a new gig.

Gruden worked with Marinelli in Tampa, keeping Tony Dungy‘s former D-line coach on as Buccaneers assistant head coach from 2002-05. While Marinelli is best known for his three-year Lions tenure ending in the NFL’s first 0-16 season, the now-70-year-old coach oversaw top-16 scoring defenses in each of his six years as Cowboys defensive coordinator. Marinelli will now work with Gruden and returning defensive coordinator Paul Guenther in Las Vegas.

Marinelli did well to help DeMarcus Lawrence become a high-end pass rusher and will be tasked with elevating No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell. Buckner did well to coax fourth-round rookie Maxx Crosby into a key pressure artist, with the Eastern Michigan product leading the Raiders with 10 sacks. Ferrell finished with 4.5.

East Notes: Brady, Flores, Cowboys

The knee injury that Patriots QB Tom Brady has been battling this season is an MCL sprain, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports that Brady sustained the injury when going out for a pass against Tennessee on November 11. However, Brady has no structural damage, and Rapoport says the 41-year-old will head into today’s playoff game as healthy as he has been since the start of the season. He will likely not require any offseason procedures.

Let’s round up a few more east-related rumors:

  • The Dolphins are simply waiting for the Patriots‘ season to end so that they can finalize a deal with New England de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores to become their next head coach, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. No one anticipates this turning into another Josh McDaniels situation, and Flores is fully expected to join Miami. Schefter also says that Miami is already planning its rebuild and is looking to the 2020 crop of rookie QBs, which is expected to include Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon’s Justin Herbert.
  • Albert Breer of SI.com names Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly as a potential replacement for Flores on New England’s staff, while Mike Reiss of ESPN.com sees former Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano — who was rumored to be a candidate for the Pats’ DC job last year following Matt Patricia‘s departure — as a logical choice. Rapoport (video link) agrees with Reiss.
  • Dolphins LB coach Frank Bush is expected to follow Adam Gase to the Jets, and while DL coach Kris Kocurek may do the same, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio says that four to five teams are interested in Kocurek’s services (all Twitter links).
  • Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, whom the Jets reportedly preferred to Gase, confirms that he did not join Gang Green because the team wanted to pick his staff for him. Per Jake Nisse of the New York Post, Rhule said, “[a]t the end of the day, I’m never going to be in an arranged marriage.” 
  • Longtime Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee is technically under contract through 2019, but the club could save $7MM against the cap by cutting him, and given the emergence of quality younger options and Lee’s injury history, it is difficult to imagine that Dallas will bring him back under his current deal. Lee, of course, could retire, and Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News says that the 32-year-old will sit down with his family and make a decision on his football future, though Lee did not provide a timeline for that decision.
  • After the Cowboys‘ playoff loss to the Rams last night, which saw defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli‘s unit get thrashed, Marinelli was unwilling to address speculation that he could step into an advisory role while Kris Richard takes over as DC. Per Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News, Marinelli said, “[w]hy do people keep asking me the same question? I can’t figure it out? Can somebody tell me why everybody asks me that?”

Cowboys Looking To Extend HC Jason Garrett

The Cowboys are focused on tonight’s playoff matchup against the Rams, but they’ll shift their focus to extending their head coach whenever their season ends. Appearing on Good Morning Football, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said that the Cowboys intend to begin negotiating a long-term contract with Jason Garrett during the offseason (Twitter link).

Following the Cowboys lackluster start, there were whispers that the organization could look to move on from Garrett. Furthermore, we heard that the team hadn’t considered extending the 52-year-old. However, the Cowboys finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, and they won last week’s playoff matchup against the Seahawks.

The recent run apparently convinced the organization that Garrett was “their coach of the future.” The head coach’s contract is set to expire at the end 2019 campaign, but the team is hoping to extend him before that time. After having previously signed a five-year, $30MM contract, Rapoport expects Garrett’s next contract to be among the most lucrative in the entire game.

Garrett has been with the organization since 2007, and he took over head coaching duties in 2010 after the team fired Wade Phillips. Garrett has put together a 77-59 record during his tenure as head coach, leading the Cowboys to three playoff appearances.

Meanwhile, defensive backs coach and passing-game coordinator Kris Richard wasn’t able to get a head-coaching gig this offseason (although Rapoport notes that he was a finalist for the Dolphins gig). However, based on his quick ascension through the organization, many believe the Cowboys will make Richard their full-time defensive coordinator in 2019. Rod Marinelli is the Cowboys current defensive coordinator, but Rapoport could envision a scenario where the 69-year-old transitions to a senior defensive assistant role.

Coaching Rumors: Cowboys, Falcons, Jets

Former Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus will reportedly become the Colts’ next defensive coordinator under presumptive head coach Josh McDaniels, but Dallas was willing to promote Eberflus to DC in order to retain him, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The Cowboys would have named current defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli assistant head coach, paving the way for Ebeflus to become the club’s new defensive play-caller. But Eberflus “did not want to step on the toes” of Marinelli, per Archer, and therefore decided to head to Indianapolis.

Here’s more from the 2018 coaching carousel:

  • The Falcons are interviewing former UCLA offensive coordinator/interim head coach Jedd Fisch and longtime NFL coach Greg Knapp for their quarterback coach position, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) and Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). Fisch, 41, has served in both the collegiate and pro ranks over the past 20 years. In the NFL, Fisch was the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator from 2013-14, and has also worked for the Texans, Ravens, Broncos, and Seahawks, mostly as a quarterbacks or wide receivers coach. Knapp, meanwhile, has coordinated offenses for the 49ers, Falcons, Raiders (two stints), and Seahawks, but was most recently the Broncos’ QBs coach from 2013-16.
  • Now that he’s been passed over for a promotion to Packers defensive coordinator, cornerbacks coach Darren Perry is interviewing to become the Texans‘ secondary coach, according to Marvez (Twitter link). Perry, who’s worked in Green Bay since 2009, would replace John Butler, who was fired by Houston earlier this month. One of three internal candidates to replace former Packers DC Dom Capers, Perry could now leave Green Bay given that Mike Pettine is leading the club’s defense. However, Perry isn’t a lock to defect from the Packers, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while Texans assistant defensive backs coach Anthony Midget is also in the running for Houston’s secondary coach job, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
  • The Buccaneers have exercised their 2018 club options for each of their assistant coaches, reports Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). That should come as no surprise, given that Tampa Bay made the relatively surprising decision to retain head coach Dirk Koetter. However, there could be several “tweaks” to the Buccaneers’ coaching staff, per Stroud, although it’s unclear what those changes might entail. Koetter is signed through the 2020 campaign, while general manager Jason Licht recently had his 2018 option picked up.
  • Assistant defensive backs coach Daylon McCutcheon will not return to the Jets in 2018, sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. McCutcheon, who worked in New York for the past two seasons, will leave the club in order to move closer to his family on the West Coast, per Mehta.

Cowboys Want To Keep Linehan, Marinelli

There will be some coaching changes in Dallas, but it sounds like the main coaches will be staying in place. In a radio interview on Wednesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the team wants to retain offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli for 2018 (link via Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News). Scott Linehan

Starting this week, the team will evaluate the futures of assistants such as running backs coach Gary Brown, wide receivers coach Derek Dooley, and linebackers coach Matt Eberflus, who are on expiring deals. Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and secondary coach Joe Baker have already been fired, according to Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

Both Marinelli and Linehand signed extensions with the team last March. The length of Marinelli’s contract is unknown, but we do know that Linehan is under contract through 2019.

Meanwhile, Jones says that he has given no consideration to replacing Jason Garrett as head coach.

It’s not even a thought for me,” Jones said. “I do like the fact that we’ve invested, if you will. We’ve got several years of Jason evolving in this profession in the NFL. There’s no question the familiarity with teams that we’re playing, especially in our division, is a big plus. You pay a big price when you make a change at the head coach. You pay some price when you make a change at any position coach situation. On the other hand, freshness we’re talking about, new ideas, nothing set in stone, that’s a plus too. But I think that Jason’s in a good spot. We’re in a good spot with Jason. He certainly has the mentality of doing things differently, again not just to be doing them differently, but basically recognizing that we’ve got some things we do need to do differently. We’ll make that happen through our assistant coaches.”

While several jobs are up in the air, there is one confirmed vacancy on the Cowboys’ staff following the retirement of tight ends coach Steve Loney.