T.C. McCartney

Brian Belichick To Stay With Patriots; Team To Hire T.C. McCartney

While a coordinator opportunity lured Steve Belichick to the college ranks for the first time, the Patriots will not lose all the Belichicks from their staff. Brian Belichick will stay with the team, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss notes.

The team moved on from six-time Super Bowl-winning HC Bill Belichick days after the season, but successor Jerod Mayo extended an offer for both of Belichick’s sons to stay on. Steve is now officially in place as the DC at the University of Washington, but Brian will continue with the Patriots.

[RELATED: Eliot Wolf Expected To Control Patriots’ Roster]

Brian Belichick has worked as the Pats’ safeties coach since 2020. This marked his first gig coaching a position under his father, who brought him aboard in 2016 as a scouting assistant. Steve had been with the team 12 years, moving from safeties coach — making a place for Brian — to outside linebackers assistant.

Additionally, the Patriots are set to hire T.C. McCartney as their next QBs coach, Reiss adds. Fired from the Browns on the same day the team axed Alex Van Pelt, McCartney will rejoin his previous boss in Foxborough. The Patriots named Van Pelt their new play-caller last week. McCartney, 34, spent the past two seasons as the Browns’ tight ends coach but has a past in charge of QBs. In 2019, McCartney served as the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach. The team moved on after one season, leading McCartney to Cleveland as an offensive assistant. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported Wednesday a McCartney hire was close.

The Patriots are also hiring Browns assistant offensive line coach Scott Peters as their offensive line coach, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adds. Peters will serve as the team’s next O-line coach, per ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Caplan. This will strip the Browns of their top two O-line coaches, with Peters’ exit coming days after the team allowed well-regarded O-line coach Bill Callahan to join son Brian on the Titans’ staff. A two-time jiu jitsu world champion, Peters saw brief NFL action in 2003 before spending time on practice squads. Peters was part of Kevin Stefanski‘s initial Browns staff back in 2020.

As the Browns transition to OC Ken Dorsey, they are starting over at most of their offensive staff positions. Firing Van Pelt, McCartney and running backs coach Stump Mitchell, Cleveland will also lose its O-line contingent.

Browns To Fire OC Alex Van Pelt, Two Others

10:18am: Van Pelt is indeed out. The four-year Browns OC confirmed to ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter he is no longer in place as Stefanski’s top lieutenant on offense. With Stefanski not going anywhere, the Browns will soon begin a search to fill their non-play-calling OC post. The Browns and Van Pelt explored a reassignment of duties, Trotter adds, but ultimately decided to separate.

8:22am: Kevin Stefanski may well collect his second Coach of the Year award in four seasons, but the Browns are coming off a one-sided wild-card loss. Days after the Texans’ Round 1 rout, the Browns are making changes on their offensive staff.

Cleveland is firing running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports. More significantly, Alex Van Pelt may well be on his way out as well. The four-year Cleveland OC has informed some with the team he has also been fired, according to Anderson.

While Mitchell and McCartney are out, both cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicate Van Pelt is being evaluated. The Browns are seeking fresh ideas on offense, per Cabot, who notes a Van Pelt dismissal is on the table. Van Pelt’s contract includes the 2024 season, Rapoport adds.

Operating as a non-play-calling OC throughout the Stefanski era in Cleveland, Van Pelt has been an NFL staffer since 2006. Aaron Rodgers‘ former QBs coach in Green Bay, Van Pelt is in his second go-round as a coordinator. While Van Pelt served as the Bills’ OC in 2009, it took him 11 years to land another coordinator opportunity. The 53-year-old assistant being moved off the Browns’ staff would certainly be notable, given the form the team’s offense showed amid injuries to its centerpiece players.

The Browns lost Nick Chubb and Jack Conklin for the season in September and were without Deshaun Watson and Jedrick Wills around midseason. Fill-in tackle starter Dawand Jones also sustained a season-ending malady. The Browns nevertheless made a surprising voyage to the AFC playoffs, finishing 11-6 behind a stunning Joe Flacco effort. Flacco could not carry his momentum into the playoffs, throwing back-to-back pick-sixes in a 45-14 loss to the Texans. But the Browns were able to withstand significant injuries to qualify for their second playoff berth under Stefanski, who may well still beat out DeMeco Ryans for Coach of the Year honors as a result.

Mitchell and McCartney have been with the Browns since 2020 as well. A former NFL running back, Mitchell — save for a three-year stint as a college HC — has coached RBs in the league since 1999. The 64-year-old assistant did not have any history with Stefanski prior to his 2020 arrival. Chubb has continued his ascent under Mitchell, becoming one of the best backs in franchise history. The team made do without its Pro Bowl back this season, using Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt to intermittent success.

McCartney, 34, has been Cleveland’s tight ends coach since 2022, moving up from the offensive assistant level. The former Broncos QBs coach helped foster David Njoku‘s long-awaited breakout year. The former first-round pick smashed his career-high numbers in receptions (82) and receiving yards (881) this season, which also included a career-best six touchdowns. Regardless of the outcome with Van Pelt, the Browns will have some vacancies to fill on their offensive staff.

Cardinals Hire Drew Petzing As OC

The Cardinals are moving quickly to fill their coordinator positions. Shortly after he reported that Arizona was hiring 29-year-old Nick Rallis as its new DC, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says that the club is hiring Browns quarterbacks coach Drew Petzing as its new OC (Twitter link).

Petzing, 35, landed his first NFL position when he became a football operations intern for Cleveland in 2013. Like Rallis and Gannon, Petzing spent a number of years working under former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, serving on the Vikings’ offensive staff from 2014-2019 (Gannon was the Vikes’ assistant DBs coach from 2014-17, and Rallis was on the club’s defensive staff from 2018-20).

In 2020, Petzing returned to the Browns as the team’s tight ends coach, and he moved to the quarterbacks room last year, working with Jacoby Brissett and Deshaun Watson. Watson served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 campaign, and when he returned to the field, he was clearly rusty. In six games, he compiled a 3-3 record, completed a meager 58.2% of his passes, and threw seven TDs against five interceptions. That amounted to a poor quarterback rating and QBR of 79.1 and 38.3, respectively.

On the other hand, Brissett delivered a solid performance as Watson’s placeholder for the first 11 games of the season, and it is clear that both Zimmer and Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski saw Petzing as a valuable offensive mind worth retaining. Of course, the relative youth and inexperience of Gannon, 40, and his new coordinators will be a major talking point in the desert, though Gannon has been quick to downplay the significance of such matters.

Noting that the Eagles enjoyed success with an inexperienced trio of Nick Sirianni at head coach, Shane Steichen at offensive coordinator, and himself at defensive coordinator, Gannon said, “You never really know until you do the job. Experience, yes, it’s a good thing, but if you’re convicted on somebody, you roll the dice and that’s what you go with” (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, who adds that Gannon and Petzing developed a strong friendship and working relationship during their time in Minnesota).

“We (the Eagles) had the youngest staff in the NFL,” Gannon added. “You need to hire the right people, not necessarily their resume. It’s what’s the right fit.”

Though Petzing will be calling offensive plays for the first time in his career, his most important duty will be getting quarterback Kyler Murray to return to form (when he is cleared to play, that is). After earning Pro Bowl acclaim in the 2020-21 campaigns, Murray regressed in all major passing categories last year, and he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in December. That injury could keep him on the shelf until the halfway point of the 2023 season. Arizona might also part ways with star wideout DeAndre Hopkins in the coming months, adding another challenge for Petzing & Co. to overcome.

The Browns, meanwhile, could turn to receivers coach/passing game coordinator Chad O’Shea or tight ends coach T.C. McCartney to replace Petzing, as Cabot notes. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic suggests that Cleveland could also consider Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban, who may be allowed to make a lateral move to a different organization since Baltimore has a new OC in Todd Monken on the staff (Twitter links).

Browns Make Changes To Coaching Staff

The Browns coaching staff will look at bit different next season. Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Browns have promoted Drew Petzing to quarterbacks coach.

Petzing has made a name for himself as Cleveland’s tight ends coach, leading to him getting an interview for the Raiders offensive coordinator gig. While he didn’t end up getting that major promotion, he will be taking on a larger role on the Browns’ offense.

“We feel like he has a unique perspective that he can contribute with those quarterbacks and help in their development,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said (via Ulrich). “He’s an important piece of our offensive staff, and we’re excited to get him and [offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt] working together.”

Stefanski didn’t have a QB coach on his staff through the first two years of his tenure in Cleveland, with Van Pelt basically holding those duties. The Browns filled their new TEs coach opening by promoting T.C. McCartney.

With McCartney getting a bump, the Browns have also promoted Jonathan Decoster to offensive assistant to offensive quality control coach. Decoster has had coaching stints at Old Dominion, West Virginia State, Nevada, and LSU. Per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com, the Browns have also moved Ashton Grant to offensive quality control coach, moved Stephen Bravo-Brown from defensive quality control coach to assistant special teams coach, and added the title of “assistant wide receivers coach” to chief of staff Callie Brownson. The Browns also hired Jordan Thomas as assistant defensive line coach and Jeff Anderson as defensive quality control coach.

Coaching Notes: Ravens, Colts, Bills, Browns

Ken Norton Jr. is heading to the NCAA. The long-time coach is expected to join UCLA as their new linebackers coach, reports Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Norton Jr. started his coaching career with USC, but he’s been in the NFL since 2010. After winning three Super Bowl rings as a player, Norton Jr. added another championship to his resume as the Seahawks linebackers coach. After five seasons in Seattle, Norton Jr. was defensive coordinator for three years with the Raiders and four years with the Seahawks (second stint).

Norton Jr. was let go by Seattle following the 2021 campaign. Now, he’ll be joining Chip Kelly’s staff in Los Angeles.

More coaching notes:

  • The Ravens announced that they’ve officially promoted Anthony Weaver to be their assistant head coach/defensive line coach. Weaver had a long coaching stint with the Texans, culminating in him serving as their defensive coordinator in 2020. The 41-year-old joined the Ravens last year as their defensive line coach/run game coordinator.
  • Former NFL safety Mike Mitchell is joining the Colts staff as an assistant secondary coach, according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic (on Twitter). Mitchell had a 10-year playing career, including a one-year stint with Indianapolis. The Colts are also hiring Nate Ollie as their defensive line coach, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter). Following two seasons with the Eagles, Ollie spent last season as the Jets assistant defensive line coach.
  • Bills secondary coach John Butler got a promotion, adding the role of defensive passing game coordinator to his title, according to Wilson. The veteran has spent the past four seasons as the secondary coach in Buffalo. The Bills also confirmed a number of additional hires, including Kyle Shurmur (defensive quality control coach), Nick Lacy (strength and conditioning assistant coach), Marcus West (assistant defensive line coach), Jaylon Finner (defensive quality control coach), Cory Harkey (assistant special teams coach), and Austin Gund (fellowship coach).
  • The Browns are expected to promote offensive assistant T.C. McCartney to tight ends coach, according to Wilson (on Twitter). The 32-year-old has bounced around the NFL a bit during his coaching journey. After spending the 2019 campaign as the Broncos quarterbacks coach, McCartney spent the 2020 season as an offensive assistant on the Browns.

Browns Place RB Kareem Hunt, Seven Others On Reserve/COVID-19 List

The Browns have placed more players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including running back Kareem Hunt. The team announced that the following players have landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list:

In his third season with the Browns, Hunt has totalled 386 rushing yards and five touchdowns, along with an additional 174 yards on 22 catches in eight games. The 26-year-old has been a key member of the Browns’ backfield alongside Nick Chubb, helping the team average 143.5 rushing yards per game, ranking fourth in the NFL.

The team also announced that offensive assistant coach T.C. McCartney has tested positive for COVID-19. We learned earlier today that the NFL was pushing Saturday’s game between the Browns and Raiders to Monday.

Meanwhile, Cleveland activated linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. from the reserve/COVID-19 list, and they’ve signed quarterback Kyle Lauletta to the active roster off the Jaguars practice squad. Lauletta, 26, has appeared in just two NFL games. Both were with the Giants in 2018, where he went 0-for-five with one interception. He has since spent time on the Eagles’, Falcons’ and Browns’ practice squads, only going to Jacksonville’s after being waived at the end of August.

AFC Rumors: Jones, Patriots, Browns, Tags

While the Chiefs are not planning to let Chris Jones get away, the dynamic interior pass rusher staying in Kansas City long-term is another matter. The Chiefs have a $20MM defensive lineman already, in Frank Clark, and will likely have to give Patrick Mahomes a deal in the $40MM-AAV neighborhood. Nevertheless, the Chiefs have the UFA-to-be entrenched as their top priority going into March.

Chris is obviously a great player, and he’s a priority,” GM Brett Veach said via KCChiefs.com’s B.J. Kissel on his In the Trenches podcast (h/t Chiefs Wire). “We have a lot of priorities. Look, we know how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. It hadn’t been done in 50 years and we won it with the group we had last year. So I think that as we attack this offseason, first up its free agency before the draft, our goal and mindset is to do whatever we can to retain as many players as we can. And Chris is at the top of that list because of the talent he is.”

It will likely take near-Aaron Donald-level money ($22.5MM per year) to lock down Jones long-term, but the franchise tag is only estimated to cost $16.3MM. Despite the Chiefs currently holding $13.7MM in cap space, that is likely where this situation is headed for the time being. Here is the latest from the AFC:

  • Karl Dorrell‘s decision to leave the Dolphins to become Colorado’s head coach may impact other staffs. The Browns recently hired T.C. McCartney as an assistant, but Dorrell has the young coach on his radar, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The Broncos’ 2019 quarterbacks coach, McCartney is the son of late Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese and grandson of longtime Buffaloes coach Bill McCartney. T.C. McCartney has worked on the Buffs’ staff previously. Signs point to the Browns having a job opening soon.
  • Three Patriots are changing agents. Both defensive tackle Danny Shelton and cornerback J.C. Jackson will now be Drew Rosenhaus clients, with Mike Reiss of ESPN.com adding that Pats right tackle Marcus Cannon will be represented by Joby Branion and Eugene Lee. Cannon recently said there is nothing to retirement rumors, and this move points to the 31-year-old blocker coming back for a 10th season. Shelton is an unrestricted free agent, while Jackson is due for restricted free agency in 2021.
  • With the CBA coming down to the wire before the 2020 league year, teams may be able use both their franchise and transition tags this offseason. There will be many players mentioned in tag rumors this week. The tight end market could lose a key member, with Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com writing it makes sense for the Chargers to tag Hunter Henry at the near-$11MM price. That move would help a Tom Brady pursuit. Additionally, Rosenthal sees Ryan Tannehill‘s franchise tag making a Derrick Henry transition tag sensible for the Titans. The running back transition tag is projected to come in at less than $9MM. If a new CBA is agreed to, however, teams can only use either their franchise or transition tags. That would complicate matters for the Titans.

Latest On Browns Coaching Staff

The Browns finally hired Joe Woods as their defensive coordinator this week, and the organization is now switching focus to other parts of their coaching staff. Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal reports (via Twitter) that the Browns have hired Jason Tarver as their linebackers coach. Meanwhile, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes that T.C. McCartney has joined the staff as an offensive assistant.

Tarver spent three years as the Raiders defensive coordinator between 2012 and 2014, and he spent the past two years in the same role with Vanderbilt. He lost that gig following a disappointing 2019 campaign. In Cleveland, Tarver will be coaching the linebackers, a role he held with the 49ers, Stanford, and Vanderbilt.

While McCartney was canned as Broncos QBs coach following the 2019 season, he earned praise for his work with quarterback Drew Lock. He’ll likely take on a quarterbacks-centric role in Cleveland, where he’ll be coaching under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. McCartney previously worked for the Browns, serving as an offensive quality control coach under OC Kyle Shanahan in 2014.

The Browns have completely revamped their coaching staff and front office this offseason. The team hired former Eagles’ VP of Football Operations Andrew Berry to be their GM and EVP of Football Operations, and they hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach, Woods as defensive coordinator, and Van Pelt as offensive coordinator. The team has also hired several notable names for assistant roles, including Dolphins OC Chad O’Shea as their WRs coach and former Redskins head coach Bill Callahan as OLs coach.

Coaching Notes: Giants, Kitchens, Cowboys

The Giants have interviewed both former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and incumbent offensive coordinator Mike Shula for their vacant OC position, but new head coach Joe Judge may have a few other names in mind, as well. Judge is interested in speaking to ex-Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens and former Dolphins OC Chad O’Shea about positions on his staff, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. Kitchens served as the Browns’ offensive play-caller during the latter portion of the 2018 campaign before becoming head coach in 2019, while O’Shea lasted only one year in Miami. Both could presumably also be considered as position coaches on Judge’s staff.

Here’s more from the coaching circuit:

  • The Broncos have formally announced the addition of former Giants head coach Pat Shurmur as their new offensive coordinator, and Shurmur will receive a two-year contract, tweets Mike Klis of 9 News. Shurmur reportedly had other offers on the table, but chose the opportunity in Denver after the Broncos surprisingly fired first-year play-caller Rich Scangarello earlier this week. A longtime NFL OC, Shurmur will bring in his own quarterbacks coach, as incumbent T.C. McCartney has been fired, per Benjamin Allbright (Twitter link).
  • Former Maryland interim head coach Matt Canada has been hired as the Steelers‘ new quarterbacks coach, the club announced. Pittsburgh did not have a formal QBs coach in 2019, as offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner held the role. Canada, who has a long history of coaching in the collegiate ranks, took over as the Terrapins’ interim coach in 2018 after D.J. Durkin was placed on administrative leave.
  • New Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has hired Skip Peete as running backs coach, reports Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Peete, who previously coached in Dallas from 2007-12, spent the last four seasons with the Rams, and also has experience with the Raiders and Bears. He’ll be replacing Gary Brown, who had taken over for Peete in 2013.
  • The Panthers requested permission to interview Saints assistant offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, but New Orleans rejected the ask because Carolina is a division rival, according to Jeff Duncan of The Athletic (Twitter link), who adds Nugent is a longtime friend of new Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Nugent previously spent time with the Bears as well as in the collegiate ranks.
  • Michigan linebackers coach Anthony Campanile is joining the Dolphins‘ staff in an as-yet unspecified role, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Campanile recently turned down an opportunity to become the defensive coordinator at Rutgets, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Staff Notes: Broncos, Redskins, Eagles

A few pipelines have led to the Broncos this offseason. Following’s Ed Donatell Chicago-to-Denver move alongside Vic Fangio, another 49ers staffer will take a key job on the Broncos’ staff, joining new OC Rich Scangarello. T.C. McCartney, an offensive assistant with San Francisco, will become Denver’s new quarterbacks coach, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets. McCartney interviewed on Tuesday, per Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link), and represents a unique addition to the Broncos’ staff. The 29-year-old assistant is the grandson of former Colorado Buffaloes head coach Bill McCartney. It will be T.C. McCartney’s first NFL time as an NFL position coach.

But the latest pipeline to lead to the Denver staff is the most interesting. The Broncos will hire another former Wagner College assistant, with Rob Calabrese set to become a Broncos offensive assistant, per Klis. Scangarello and Calabrese worked together at the Division I-FCS, Staten Island, N.Y., program in 2016, with Calabrese succeeding Scangarello as Wagner’s OC and serving in that capacity for the past two seasons. (Fun fact: former Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton is an assistant at Wagner.)

Here is the latest from coaching staffs around the league:

  • Although Jim Tomsula‘s Redskins contract had expired, the parties look to have worked out another agreement. Tomsula will return as Washington’s defensive line coach, the team announced Tuesday. This will be the former 49ers HC’s third season instructing Redskins defensive linemen.
  • Washington did some staff rearranging Tuesday, shifting Kevin O’Connell to OC and Matt Cavanaugh to an advisory role. Ken Zampese met with the Redskins about O’Connell’s old QBs coach job, per Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link). The Browns fired Zampese from his quarterbacks coach post after one season, which included overseeing the development of Baker Mayfield. He previously served as the Bengals’ OC. Prior to that promotion, Zampese worked as Cincinnati’s QBs coach from 2013-15, the first of those years overlapping with Jay Gruden‘s Cincy tenure.
  • The five teams that coveted former Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi — the Bills, Jets, Lions, Packers and Vikings — are no longer in the running for Rizzi, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. But two other teams are interested. Rizzi and incoming Dolphins HC Brian Flores met recently and decided to part ways, per Salguero (on Twitter).
  • Former Dolphins DC Matt Burke will land on the Eagles‘ staff, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Burke succeeded Vance Joseph as Miami’s DC and held the job for two seasons, both of which ending with the Fins being among the worst at preventing points.