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Titans Promote Shane Bowen To DC

By | at January 29, 2021 12:55 pm

The Titans promoted outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen to defensive coordinator, per a club announcement. Between Bowen and newly-minted offensive coordinator Todd Downing, the Titans’ staff is mostly set.

Last year, it was rumored that Bowen would get bumped up to defensive coordinator following Dean Pees‘ retirement. That didn’t happen, however, as head coach Mike Vrabel kept control over the defense. This year, the longtime NFL linebacker reconsidered his position and promoted Bowen.

“Shane will move into the dedicated role of coordinator, with [special teams assistant Ryan Crow] taking over the outside linebackers this year, and I am looking forward to him growing in that role,” Vrabel said. “We are going to work hard to improve that side of the ball through better coaching, improving our system and our players. I like the group we have on the defensive staff and I am confident that we will improve.”

Before landing on Bowen, the Titans offered Pees an opportunity to return to his old job. Pees declined, however, choosing to instead make his return with the Falcons.

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Titans To Promote Todd Downing To OC

By | at January 29, 2021 9:26 am

The Titans are expected to promote tight ends coach Todd Downing to the role of offensive coordinator (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Downing takes over for Arthur Smith, who has left to serve as the Falcons’ head coach.

Smith also went from the Titans’ TE guru to the OC role, so the organization is hoping for similar success this time. Downing, 40, started out in the NFL as a football systems analyst with the Vikings in 2003. Since then, his NFL journey has included stops with the Rams, Lions, Bills, and Raiders.

This marks Downing’s second pro stint as an OC with his first coming in Oakland. Things didn’t go as planned for Downing as he lost quarterback Derek Carr to a serious back injury in the fall. Ultimately, his team placed near the middle of the pack in total yards and in the lower-third of the NFL for points scored.

Now, Downing will direct a Titans’ offense featuring QB Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry, and wide receiver A.J. Brown. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, head coach Mike Vrabel may hire a coordinator to take some of the defensive responsibilities off of his plate.

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Titans Made Dean Pees Offer To Return

By | at January 26, 2021 8:03 pm

Dean Pees has pledged to join the Falcons as defensive coordinator, completing a second unretirement in the past four years. But the Titans were also interested in the veteran assistant.

After Pees committed to follow Arthur Smith to Atlanta, Mike Vrabel offered him a chance to return to Tennessee. However, the Titans sought Pees in a consultant-type role instead of a return to their DC post, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

We first heard of a Falcons-Pees partnership over a week ago, a day after Smith’s official hire, pointing to the ex-Titans OC prioritizing his former Tennessee coworker. The Falcons announced the hire less than a week later.

The Titans turned to outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen as their de facto DC last season. Bowen was the team’s primary defensive play-caller and remains on Vrabel’s staff. Pees, 71, unretired to join Vrabel’s staff in 2018 — after leaving the Ravens — but left Tennessee after the 2019 season and did not coach this past season. The Titans gave Steelers assistant Teryl Austin a DC interview earlier this month but have not filled the position. It remains uncertain if the team will do so.

While Pees will be tasked with elevating a Falcons defense that has struggled for the better part of the past three years, the Titans will need to make some improvements as well. They slid from 16th in defensive DVOA in 2019 to 29th this past season. Opponents also converted third downs at a historically great rate (51.9%) against the Titans, after the team ranked eighth in this category in 2019.

7 comments Atlanta Falcons Tennessee Titans

Coaching Notes: Seahawks, Titans, Dolphins

By | at January 24, 2021 9:36 pm

We’ve got another couple of names to pass along for Seattle’s wide-ranging offensive coordinator search. The Seahawks want to interview Bills quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey and have already spoken with Rams pass-game coordinator Shane Waldron, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. They’ve been linked to what seems like every offensive coach in the league now, including Adam Gase and other big names. Dorsey was a backup quarterback in the league for a handful of years, and the 39-year-old was the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach from 2013-17.

He joined the Bills last season. Waldron is another young guy who has coached under Rams coach Sean McVay since 2016 since they were both with Washington. He started as McVay’s tight ends coach in Los Angeles before getting promoted to quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. The Seahawks don’t appear to be honing in on anything in particular, and at this point it’s anyone’s guess who they’ll hire.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

  • The Texans are the only team still with a head coach opening, but they aren’t letting one key assistant go out the door yet. They recently blocked offensive coordinator Tim Kelly from interviewing for OC openings with two other teams, and those interested teams were the Titans and Lions, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Since it would be a lateral move and he’s still under contract, Houston can block those requests. As Breer points out, there has been buzz that Deshaun Watson likes Kelly, and the team could be looking to keep him in order to curry favor with their disgruntled starting quarterback. Detroit has since filled their vacancy with former Chargers coach Anthony Lynn.
  • Speaking of the Titans’ opening, Tennessee will be interviewing Pep Hamilton for the job in the next few days, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Hamilton was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach this past year, and did a great job helping with the development of Justin Herbert, so he’s been drawing a lot of interest for OC jobs. He was talked about as a candidate in Miami, and is one of the finalists in Pittsburgh as well. The Titans of course are looking to replace Arthur Smith, now the head coach in Atlanta. Hamilton coordinated the Colts’ offense from 2013-15, and had a lot of success with Andrew Luck.
  • The Dolphins are still looking for their OC, but they have made a different key hire on offense. The team has parted ways with quarterbacks coach Robby Brown and replaced him with former NFL passer Charlie Frye, they announced in a tweet. It’s the first NFL coaching gig for Frye, who was Central Michigan’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons. It’s interesting that they’d hire the QBs coach before the OC. A third-round pick of the Browns back in 2005, Frye also played with the Seahawks and Raiders until 2009.
4 comments Buffalo Bills Detroit Lions Houston Texans Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/21/21

By | at January 21, 2021 7:48 pm

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Arizona Cardinals

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

  • WR Mason Kinsey
1 comment Arizona Cardinals New Orleans Saints Tennessee Titans Transactions

Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order

By | at January 18, 2021 11:08 am

With the Divisional Round in the books, the 2021 NFL Draft order is mostly complete. The Rams, Browns, Ravens, and Saints now have their draft spots locked in, though the Rams’ first-round pick belongs to Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. The Rams traded those rights to Jacksonville as a part of the Jalen Ramsey blockbuster.

Here’s the updated draft order, through the top 28:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Rams)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints

25 comments 2021 NFL Draft Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans

Falcons Hire Arthur Smith As Head Coach

By | at January 15, 2021 3:49 pm

Arthur Smith accepted the Falcons’ offer to become their head coach. The Falcons announced Friday afternoon they have hired the Titans offensive coordinator.

After two years as Tennessee’s OC, Smith received widespread interest. Every team with a head coaching vacancy reached out to the young coach for an interview. The Falcons landed him and will move forward with the breakout play-caller in charge.

Tennessee’s tight ends coach prior to being promoted in 2019, Smith will become the second straight Titans OC to make the leap to a head coaching job. The Packers hired Matt LaFleur in 2019, but Smith’s Titans work exceeded his predecessor’s. Ryan Tannehill revived his career under Smith, posting a historic 9.6 yards-per-attempt figure in 2019 and finishing with a 33-7 TD-INT ratio this season. Both years ended with Titans playoff berths, and each involved Derrick Henry rushing championships.

Riding their retooled offense, the Titans made a run to the 2019 AFC championship game. Henry became the first player to win back-to-back rushing titles since LaDainian Tomlinson in the 2000s, and the 2020 rushing champ’s 2,027-yard performance ranks fifth all time. After making just one playoff berth between 2009-18, the Titans went 2-for-2 in postseason qualification during Smith’s two seasons as their OC. Smith, 38, began his NFL coaching career as a low-level assistant in Washington in 2007 but was with the Titans since 2011.

This will mark a change for the Falcons, who have used defensive-oriented head coaches throughout Matt Ryan‘s career. Atlanta hired Mike Smith in 2008 and Dan Quinn in 2015. Smith will now oversee the final chapter of Ryan’s Falcons career. After an MVP season under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta’s 2016 NFC championship season, Ryan has not made a Pro Bowl since.

The Falcons remain in search of a GM, though former GM Rich McKay played a key role in hiring Smith. Both Atlanta power brokers will now turn their attention to bringing in Thomas Dimitroff‘s successor. The Falcons are believed to be favoring Saints GM Terry Fontenot for that job. This new regime will be tasked with restoring the Falcons to contender status. They fell well off the pace late in Quinn’s tenure, starting 1-7 in 2019 and 0-5 this year.

27 comments Atlanta Falcons Newsstand Tennessee Titans Transactions

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/21

By | at January 15, 2021 3:06 pm

Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts given out:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

  • QB Kyle Sloter

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

0 comments Baltimore Ravens Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Hunter Thedford Las Vegas Raiders Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Transactions

2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at January 15, 2021 1:24 pm

Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

18 comments Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Cincinnati Bengals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans

Falcons Offer Head Coaching Job To Arthur Smith

By | at January 15, 2021 10:40 am

The Falcons have offered their head coaching position to Arthur Smith, according to sources who spoke with ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter). The Titans’ offensive coordinator, who has been tied to every vacancy in the NFL, could be hours away from making it all official. 

Smith was set to chat with the Lions this week, but that meeting has been called off (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Texans, Chargers, and Eagles were also intrigued by the 38-year-old, but they’ll have to look elsewhere. The Jaguars and Jets were also tied to Smith, but they’ve since addressed those openings with Urban Meyer and Robert Saleh, respectively.

Smith’s stock has skyrocketed in recent years, especially after guiding Ryan Tannehill‘s remarkable resurgence. He’s only served as an OC for two years, but the Falcons — and plenty of other clubs — believe that he’s ready to run his own show.

11 comments Atlanta Falcons Detroit Lions Tennessee Titans
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