Extra Points: Broncos, Titans, 49ers, Bears
The Texans have released defensive line coach Bill Kollar from his contract in order for him to join ex-Houston coach Gary Kubiak and the Broncos, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). Kollar had been the Texans’ DL coach since 2009. He has family in the Denver area, and he credited Bill O’Brien for being gracious enough to let him leave. Per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Kollar is “considered an elite coach by his peers.” Here’s more from around the league…
- Linebacker Derrick Morgan told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the Titans want to re-sign him, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. The impending free agent has never lived up to his first-round billing, having posted just 23.5 sacks in five seasons as a pro.
- The Eagles let executive Tom Gamble go earlier this year as part of a reported power struggle, but it appears that he’ll land on his feet. Per John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game (Twitter link), Gamble has discussed taking a role with the 49ers, and is expected to accept it. Gamble previously worked in San Francisco’s front office from 2005-13.
- The Bears have found a new tight ends coach, hiring former Saints offensive assistant Frank Smith, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Former Saints executive Ryan Pace, now the general manager in Chicago, may have had some familiarity with Smith.
- New Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has hired a new front office member, bringing in Rams scout Brian Heimerdinger to serve in a front office role, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Heimerdinger could be installed as the new college scouting director or be given a new title, but he won’t be replacing anyone already on staff, per Cimini.
- The hiring of Adam Gase as offensive coordinator could be good news for Jay Cutler‘s future with the Bears, according to Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). Per Pompei, Gase’s system has similarities to that of Chargers head coach Mike McCoy, who is known to get the most out of his quarterbacks.
Coach Updates: Eagles, Raiders, Bucs, Fewell
We’ve already seen one club make a defensive coordinator hire today, as the 49ers promoted Eric Mangini from tight ends coach to DC. Let’s take a look at some position coach hires and news from around the league…
- The Eagles are expected to add Boston College offensive coordinator Ryan Day as their quarterbacks coach, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Day, who’s been at BC for nine years, will replace Bill Musgrave, who left to take the Raiders’ OC position. Day has a history with Eagles HC Chip Kelly, as Day played under and coached with Kelly at New Hampshire.
- The Raiders have also found a new QB coach, as they are set to hire Bills quarterbacks coach Todd Downing, per Caplan (on Twitter). Downing also interviewed for roles with the Browns and Buccaneers, according to Caplan.
- Not to be outdone, the Buccaneers have become the third team to hire a new QBs coach, as they’ve brought in Mike Bajakian to fill their vacancy, reports Roy Cummings of the Tampa Bay Tribune (Twitter link). Bajakian, previously the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, worked under Tampa Bay head coach Lovie Smith with the Bears. The Bucs have also added ex-Falcons assistant Andrew Weidinger as an offensive quality control coach, writes Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.
- Ex-Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has an interview lined up with the 49ers, according to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC4 (via Twitter). San Francisco just hired Mangini, so Fewell is presumably a candidate for the Niners’ DB coach job, as Cam Inman of the Mercury News tweets.
- Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com expects (Twitter link) that Falcons assistant offensive line coach Wade Harman will remain on staff as the tight ends coach; as McClure notes, Harman held that same role in Baltimore from 1998-2013.
- Former 49ers secondary coach Ed Donatell has accepted the same position with the Bears, but as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes, Donatell might have missed out on other opportunities in the past. In each of the last two offseasons, San Francisco blocked Donatell from accepting interview requests from the Buccaneers and the Saints, per Maiocco.
49ers To Hire Mangini, Sparano
5:04pm: Mangini’s deal will be for three years, tweets Schefter.
4:22pm: New 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula has begun to fill out his staff, as he’s added both a defensive coordinator and a tight ends coach today. Eric Mangini, who acted as San Francisco’s tight ends coach in 2014, will take over DC duties, while Tony Sparano, who served as the Raiders’ interim head coach for the latter portion of last season, will replace Mangini as TE coach (Twitter links via Adam Schefter of ESPN).
Both of the 49ers’ hires have previous head coaching experience, which will no doubt be valuable to Tomsula as he embarks upon his first HC opportunity. Despite the fact that he’s been an NFL coach since 1996, Mangini is still just 44 years old. After rising through the defensive ranks in New England, Mangini was hired as the Jets head coach in 2006, and accrued a 23-25 in three seasons at the helm. He moved on to Cleveland, where his run was less successful, as he finished with a 10-22 mark before being fired after the 2010 season. Mangini, who’s been with the Niners since 2013, also was considered for the vacant defensive coordinator positions in Oakland and Washington.
Despite being nearly ten years older than Mangini, Sparano has actually spent less time coaching in the NFL, as he broke in as a quality control coach with the Browns in 1999. He most notable time came as head coach of the Dolphins from 2008-11, when he posted a record of 29-32, but only made the playoffs once (during his first season). Sparano spent the ’12 season as the Jets’ offensive coordinator before taking over as assistant head coach/OL of the Raiders in ’13. Following Dennis Allen’s firing in September of last year, Sparano was promoted to interim head coach, and guided Oakland to a 3-9 finish.
Mangini will replace Vic Fangio, who left to take the Bears’ DC job. Mangini always employed a 3-4 front during his tenure as a head coach, so the club shouldn’t be looking at any dramatic changes in terms of scheme. Meanwhile, San Francisco is still in need of an offensive coordinator, and Alabama play-caller Lane Kiffin is considered the favorite for the job. A Kiffin hire, of course, would have Tomsula employing three former NFL head coaches on his staff.
Extra Points: 49ers, Gase, Phillips
The 49ers continued to pursue Adam Gase as offensive coordinator after bypassing him for their head coaching position, a source told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. They were not successful, however, as Gase landed with the Bears earlier tonight. More from around the NFL..
- Former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips could draw interest from the Broncos and Raiders as a defensive coordinator candidate, according to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Raiders are hiring Marcus Robertson as their new defensive backs coach, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The team is still on the hunt for its next defensive coordinator, however. Veteran Charles Woodson pushed for the hire, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).
- Former Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano interviewed with the 49ers for their tight ends coach position, a league source told Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Bears met with a pair of Chicago natives at the Senior Bowl, according to Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times (on Twitter). Defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat (Iowa) and guard Laken Tomlinson (Duke) met with reps from the team.
- Long rumored to be headed across the Bay, former Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is joining the 49ers as the team’s linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant, reports Jim Trotter of ESPN (via Twitter). While Tarver may have some input on the play-calling, the Niners are still on the lookout for a defensive coordinator.
Extra Points: Luck, Wilson, Ireland, Chudzinski
With Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson now eligible for extensions, there’s speculation that new high watermarks could be set for quarterback salaries and guarantees, but there’s also “major concern” among rival agents about negotiations for the two star signal-callers, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). As Cole explains, both players are represented by fairly inexperienced agents — Wilson is repped by Mark Rodgers, primarily a baseball agent, while Luck’s uncle William Wilson reps the Indianapolis star.
These two deals are expected to have a significant trickle-down effect on future contracts for players at every position, not just for other quarterbacks. Wilson and Luck already have such impressive resumés that they should be in line for guarantees in excess of $50MM+ on their next contracts, rather than anything close to the limited guaranteed money that players like Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton accepted in their recent extensions, so fellow agents are hoping that neither Luck’s camp nor Wilson’s camp settles for a modest deal, lowering the bar for future extensions.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- After Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reported overnight (via Twitter) that former Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland was expected to become the Saints’ college scouting director, general Mickey Loomis confirmed today to reporters that Ireland had indeed been hired to oversee the team’s college scouting process (Twitter links).
- Having reported earlier that the Colts were denying Rob Chudzinski permission to speak to teams about offensive coordinator jobs, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds an important piece of clarification (via Twitter): Chudzinski’s contract is set to expire in a week, at which point he’s free to interview anywhere, meaning he could still be in play for a team like the Bears, 49ers, or Rams.
- In addition to having their attempt to talk to Chudzinski rebuffed, the 49ers were denied permission to speak to Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph about their defensive coordinator opening, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Cincinnati also blocked the Broncos’ efforts to pursue Joseph for a DC job.
- According to Jason Fitzgerald’s projections at Over the Cap, the Patriots, Chiefs, and Bengals appear likely to land third-round compensatory picks in this year’s draft for losing Aqib Talib, Branden Albert, and Michael Johnson – respectively – in free agency a year ago. Fitzgerald also forecasts rookie pool amounts by team for 2015, with the Buccaneers’ rookie cap projected to exceed $8MM.
- While the Rams are often said to be “only” a quarterback away from contention, finding that QB isn’t exactly an easy task, writes Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. Wagoner passes along a number of quotes from Rams general manager Les Snead about the team’s quest to identify a long-term answer at the position.
- Former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com takes a look at the upcoming offseasons for the league’s championship weekend losers, the Packers and Colts.
Coach Updates: Chudzinski, Ravens, Raiders
We rounded up one set of coaching updates and rumors this morning, but several more have trickled in since then, so we’re due for another recap. Here’s the latest:
- The Colts are blocking offensive assistant Rob Chudzinski from interviewing for any teams’ offensive coordinator jobs, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The Bears, 49ers, and Rams are among the teams that have been linked to Chudzinski and will have to look elsewhere.
- A day after being officially replaced as the Jets’ offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg has found a new job, according to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who announced today that Mornhinweg had joined his staff in Baltimore as the team’s quarterbacks coach (Twitter link). Mornhinweg replaces Rick Dennison, who left the Ravens to become Denver’s offensive coordinator.
- During Harbaugh’s conversation with reporters, the Ravens head coach added that he was very impressed with Adam Gase‘s interview for the club’s offensive coordinator job, but that he viewed Marc Trestman as a better fit (Twitter link via Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com).
- Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) provides an update on the Raiders‘ defensive coordinator hunt, writing that Jack Del Rio has been talking to Mike Smith about the position for about a week, Eric Mangini is interviewing today, and Mel Tucker is also on the team’s radar.
- The 49ers are interested in former Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, who says San Francisco would likely want Sparano as a tight ends coach.
- Rumors about Dick LeBeau closing in on a deal to become the Cardinals‘ linebackers coach are a surprise to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who tweets that as of a couple days ago, LeBeau was only interested in becoming a defensive coordinator, not a position coach.
Coach Notes: Weis, Gase, Bears, Mornhinweg
The Bears are considering a handful of offensive coordinator candidates, including Charlie Weis, Geep Chryst (49ers), Jim Bob Cooter (Lions), and Adam Gase (Broncos), according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Weis, the former head coach of Notre Dame and Kansas, has been linked to the Browns’ offensive coordinator vacancy in the past. More coaching news..
- Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie will be back with Atlanta after getting strong overtures from multiple teams in recent weeks, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals are looking to finalize a deal that would make former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau the team’s new linebackers coach, a source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- The Browns interviewed Rams quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti for their offensive coordinator vacancy, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- Gase is flying to Chicago to meet with the Bears about their offensive coordinator opening, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and things could move very quickly.
- The 49ers are considering Eric Mangini for their defensive coordinator opening, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee. Mangini served as the team’s tight ends coach last season and was an offensive consultant with the 49ers the year before that.
- The Browns are expected to interview former Jets and Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg this week at the Senior Bowl, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- A source tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that the Bengals will not allow defensive backs coach Vance Joseph to leave his contract. Joseph was previously linked to the Broncos’ defensive coordinator vacancy.
- Washington was interested in Vic Fangio, who ultimately landed in Chicago as the Bears’ defensive coordinator, but never made a formal offer to him. As head coach Jay Gruden explained today, that was because the club felt like Fangio’s mind was already made up on choosing the Bears (Twitter link via Mike Jones of the Washington Post).
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) speculated earlier today that – if Chan Gailey‘s deal fell through – former Packers coach Mike Sherman would have been interested in the Jets‘ offensive coordinator job, though the interest might not have been mutual. Sherman has a relationship with GM Mike Maccagnan dating back to his time in Houston. Hours later, the Jets finalized their deal with Gailey.
West Notes: 49ers, Chargers, Broncos
Broncos GM John Elway has high expectations for new head coach Gary Kubiak, but that’s alright with him, as Mike Klis of The Denver Post writes. “He is the boss,” Kubiak said. “Believe me, he’s the boss. That’s all right. I want to coach. He’s the boss.” More out of the AFC and NFC West..
- Former 49ers personnel executive Tom Gamble, who was recently let go by the Eagles, had a “long talk” with Niners GM Trent Baalke today, tweets Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. While that doesn’t necessarily mean a return to San Francisco for Gamble is imminent, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News notes (via Twitter) that the club’s director of player personnel position is open at the moment.
- Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego spoke with The Mighty 1090 Sports Radio (audio link) about the Chargers replacing Joe Barry and their biggest priorities in free agency.
- Tom Krasovic of U-T San Diego graded the Raiders‘ hire of new head coach Jack Del Rio.
- Former Bears special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has been hired by the Broncos, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Raiders announced that they have hired Brad Seely (formerly with the 49ers) to be their special teams coordinator.
- Jets special teams coach Thomas McGaughey will likely take Seely’s old job with the 49ers, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Jaguars Hire Doug Marrone
11:50am: The Jaguars have officially announced Marrone’s hiring in a press release.
10:58am: Former Bills head coach Doug Marrone has found a new job with another AFC team, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, who reports (via Twitter) that the Jaguars have hired Marrone. Per O’Halloran, Marrone’s title in Jacksonville will be assistant head coach and offensive line coach, so it seems the club is still looking for an offensive coordinator to replace Jedd Fisch.
Marrone, who led the Bills to a 9-7 record in 2014, narrowly missing a playoff spot, opted out of his contract following the team’s final regular season game. Marrone’s agreement with the Bills allowed him to receive his full $4MM salary for 2015 despite the fact that he’s no longer coaching the team.
When Marrone made his decision to opt out, there was some speculation that he may have another opportunity lined up, but it doesn’t appear that was the case. The former Bills coach interviewed with the Falcons, Bears, Jets, and – according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link) – the 49ers for their head coaching openings, and also had a meeting lined up with the Broncos before he canceled it. All five teams ultimately went in other directions.
As Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com observes (via Twitter), the Jaguars still technically have offensive line coach George Yarno under contract, in addition to Marrone. However, Yarno won’t coach in 2015, as he continues to battle cancer.
Coach/GM Notes: Gase, 49ers, Eagles
Following his nine seasons as John Elway‘s backup, Gary Kubiak bounced around a bit when he entered the coaching profession. He started as the running backs coach at Texas A&M before spending a year with the 49ers as the quarterbacks coach. Kubiak then spent more than ten seasons with the Broncos before he was hired as the Texans head coach. Last season, the 53-year-old was the Ravens offensive coordinator.
As a result, Kubiak is hoping to have a lengthy tenure in Denver (via Mike Klis of The Denver Post):
“I’m excited. I’m looking forward to the work. It’s great to be home again.
“Hopefully it works out so this is the last coaching job I have in my career.”
Here are some more assorted coach and front office notes from around the league:
Coaching:
- Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase will interview with the Ravens this evening, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Ironically, Gase’s meeting would be for the position previously held by the current Broncos head coach.
- The 49ers have requested permission to interview Colts special assistant Rob Chudzinski to become the team’s offensive coordinator, tweets Rapoport. We learned earlier today that the Bears had also requested permission.
- The Eagles have hired former Broncos defensive backs coach Cory Undlin for the same role, the team announced. The team also promoted assistant Justin Peelle to tight ends coach.
- Meanwhile, former Eagles defensive backs coach John Lovett and former tight ends coach Ted Williams will stay with the organization in the pro scouting department, according to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (via Twitter).
Front office:
- The Buccaneers have denied the Eagles the opportunity to interview director of player personnel Jon Robinson for the open general manager vacancy, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. While the Philadelphia job may have the GM title, Chip Kelly will have final say over roster and personnel decisions, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a promotion for an exec who already holds a director of player personnel title.
- The Eagles will have an opportunity to interview candidates from the front offices of both the Patriots and Seahawks this week, reports Jeff McClain of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). However, the team will still need organizational permission to reach out to candidates.
Rob DiRe contributed to this post.