HEADLINES

Terry Bradden

Extra Points: Cowboys, Chiefs, Darkwa

February 19th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Jerry Jones only helped add fuel to the fire today regarding Earl Thomas potentially joining the Cowboys. When asked if the organization would pursue some help at safety, the team’s owner made his answer pretty clear.

“Yes,” Jones told ESPN’s Todd Archer (Twitter link). “That’s about all I’ll say, but yes.”

Of course, it’s important to note that Jones never explicitly mentioned Thomas, but it’s pretty easy to assume that the organization will pursue the veteran defensive back. The mutual interest between the two sides has been covered extensively, although the NFL recently made it clear that the Cowboys didn’t tamper when it came to the 29-year-old.

Of course, Dallas ultimately may look to leverage Thomas’ interest in joining the Cowboys. The team is projected to have around $50MM in cap space, but a solid portion of that total will go towards a DeMarcus Lawrence franchise tag and other extensions. As a result, the team may not have a whole lot of money to give Thomas.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL…

  • The Chiefs have finalized their defensive coaching staff under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. As Brooke Pryor of KansasCity.com writes, the biggest addition was defensive line coach and run game coordinator Brendan Daly, who previously served in that role with the Patriots. The organization has also added linebackers coach Matt House, defensive backs coach Dave Merritt, defensive backs/cornerbacks coach Sam Madison, linebackers coach Britt Reid, defensive quality control coach Terry Bradden, and defensive assistant Alex Whittingham.
  • Steelers linebacker Jon Bostic may have appeared in all 16 games this season, but his role was reduced as the season went on. While the journeyman may be able to find a bigger role elsewhere, he’s still hoping to stay in Pittsburgh. “Obviously this is my first year here and whatnot; hopefully we can make this place a home,” Bostic told Chris Adamski of TribLive.com. “It’s been a fun year; definitely didn’t go the way we would have planned (missing the playoffs). But that’s football. You can’t plan everything out. But I do (feel like the Steelers’ organization can be home).” Bostic is set to earn $1.8MM next season, and the team would be left with only $700K in dead cap if they released the 27-year-old.
  • It sounds like we now have an explanation for why Orleans Darkwa never joined an NFL team last season. The veteran running back told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan that he tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg during an October audition with the Jaguars. The 26-year-old was coming off his most productive NFL season in 2017, rushing for 751 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 171 carries. The Giants had offered him a contract that would have kept him in New York, and he also received interest from the Redskins, Patriots, and Bills.

Coaching Notes: Monken, Chiefs, Lions, Bills

January 29th, 2018 at 4:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Todd Monken became the Buccaneers‘ offensive coordinator once Dirk Koetter rose to the HC spot, but he will now have more time to concentrate on the offense from a macro sense. The Bucs announced the promotion of Skyler Fulton to the role of wide receivers coach. Monken had served in a dual capacity of overseeing Tampa Bay’s wideouts and running the offense the past two years. This staff adjustment, however, won’t result in Monken calling plays, with Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk noting Koetter will still do that next season.

Fulton joined the Bucs’ staff during the 2016 preseason as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. The 35-year-old assistant played wide receiver under Koetter at Arizona State before a short NFL career. He received his first assistant-coaching opportunity in instructing running backs at Grossmont College, a community college in California, in 2015.

More coaching carousel happenings took place on Monday. Here’s the latest:

  • The Lions will move George Godsey to the side of the ball with which he’s most familiar, shifting him from a defensive assistant/special projects to their quarterbacks coach, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. OC for the Texans from 2015-16, Godsey will replace Brian Callahan — whom the Lions let go last week. While the rest of the defensive staff Godsey was working with was dismissed as Matt Patricia is slated to take over, the team will be making an exception by transitioning Godsey — who worked with the Patriots as an offensive assistant (2011) and tight ends coach (2012-13) during Patricia’s stay in New England — back to offense.
  • In addition, the Lions added former coordinators Jeff Davidson to coach their offensive line and Brian Stewart to head up their secondary, Marvez reports. A former Panthers OC and five-year Vikings offensive line boss, Davidson will coach a third O-line in the past three seasons after leading the Chargers’ group in 2016 and the Broncos’ front last season. Stewart, the Cowboys’ DC from 2007-08 under Wade Phillips, will leave his post as Rice’s DC to jump back to the NFL. Coaching at Houston, Nebraska and Rice during the 2010s, Stewart hasn’t coached in the NFL since that ’08 season in Dallas.
  • An NFL defensive line coach for the past 20 seasons, Mike Waufle will retire after spending the 2017 campaign with the Bills, he told the Evening Tribune (N.Y.). Position coach of the famed 2007 Giants’ Super Bowl champion defensive front, Waufle said various injuries have him in constant pain and will induce a retirement — one he informed Sean McDermott of shortly after Buffalo’s first-round loss in Jacksonville. As a result, the Bills will bring on Bill Teerlinck as their D-line coach, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Teerlinck spent last season as Waufle’s assistant. Teerlinck’s assistant DL coach will be Aaron Whitecotton, who spent 2017 as an assistant to McDermott.
  • The Chiefs announced a slew of hirings and transitions. Most notably, Gary Gibbs will no longer serve as Kansas City’s linebackers coach. Gibbs served on staff for nine seasons, hired as part of Todd Haley‘s first group. The Chiefs will divvy up Gibbs’ responsibilities by placing previous assistant defensive line coach Mike Smith in charge of the outside linebackers and previous assistant linebackers coach Mark DeLeone in command of the inside ‘backers. Corey Matthaei is now K.C.’s assistant O-line coach, while Joe Bleymaier will become assistant quarterbacks coach under new QBs instructor Mike Kafka. Terry Bradden and David Girardi will take quality control positions, on defense and offense, respectively.