Broncos To Hire Vance Joseph As DC
Vance Joseph is coming back to Denver. The former Broncos head coach will make a quick return, agreeing to join Sean Payton‘s staff as defensive coordinator, Peter Schrager of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
This hire will come barely four years after the Broncos fired Joseph following a two-year HC run. While unusual, a coach coming back so soon is not unprecedented. Joseph beat out the likes of Rex Ryan, Matt Patricia and Sean Desai for the job. Joseph will again play the lead role in helming Denver’s defense, doing so under Payton this time around.
Joseph, 50, received extensive interest from the Eagles as well. He went through a two-day interview with Philly brass; that wrapped Wednesday. Despite a rocky history with the Broncos, Joseph kept the door open for a return. The University of Colorado alum has not worked with Payton previously, but these two will be the top coaches in the Broncos’ organization going forward. Payton will call plays offensively, and Joseph will now step into Denver’s defensive play-calling role.
The Broncos went 9-7 under Gary Kubiak in 2016; their decline began to hit under Joseph over the next two seasons. Denver went 5-11 and 6-10 in 2017 and ’18, respectively, though quarterback trouble did more to sink those teams than defensive issues. While the Broncos’ defense did dip from its Wade Phillips-overseen apex, Joseph immediately landed the Cardinals’ DC job upon being axed. It is not known if the Eagles offered Joseph their DC position, but the Broncos’ new ownership — as evidenced by the Payton hire — certainly would be in position to win a bidding war for a coach. Joseph left his Eagles interview believing he had a good chance at either that job or the Denver opening, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets.
The Cardinals interviewed Joseph for their HC position early in their lengthy search process but ended up preferring two other DCs — finalists Jonathan Gannon and Lou Anarumo. Gannon and Joseph soon came to an understanding, one that led the Cardinals to replace him with the NFL’s youngest active coordinator — 29-year-old Nick Rallis. The Cardinals took on water from all sides last season, with their defense ranking 24th in DVOA despite J.J. Watt‘s bounce-back finale. But Joseph’s unit played a major role in Arizona’s 2021 playoff voyage; DVOA ranked the 2021 Cardinals’ defense sixth. The metric placed Arizona’s 2020 defense, which did not have Chandler Jones for most of the season, 10th overall.
Joseph is the second former Broncos HC to return to the team as a defensive boss over the past 10 years. Phillips, Denver’s head coach from 1993-94, came back in 2015 and helped steer the Kubiak-led team to a Super Bowl win. This reminds more of the Chiefs rehiring Gunther Cunningham four years after firing him as head coach. Cunningham coached the Chiefs from 1999-2000, being promoted from DC, but he returned to his previous coordinator role under both Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards. Unlike those circumstances, when the same GM was in place (Carl Peterson), the GM who fired Joseph — John Elway — is no longer in a regular role with the team. Payton and George Paton are running the show. New ownership is also in place, with the Rob Walton-led group taking over last year.
“I’m over it. It was never a sore spot,” Joseph said (via Denver7’s Troy Renck) of being fired as Broncos HC in 2019. “That’s a great opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL. It didn’t work out, but I wasn’t the first guy and I won’t be the last. There were never any ill feelings. It was just a job. It didn’t get done and you move on.”
Justin Simmons and Josey Jewell are the only Broncos cogs left from Joseph’s first run with the organization. The Broncos ranked 10th and fifth, respectively, in defensive DVOA under Joseph from 2017-18. His 11-21 HC record aside, Joseph has shown an ability to lead upper-echelon defenses. He will now bring four additional years of experience back to Denver. Joseph’s experience helped sell Payton, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Phillips also reached out to Joseph before his interview with Payton, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com notes.
Ryan obviously brings more experience than Joseph, but the ESPN analyst — reported as the favorite for this job days ago — has also been out of the league since the Bills fired him late in the 2016 season. Desai, who also interviewed for the Eagles’ DC job, has one season of coordinator experience. Joseph has been a head coach or D-coordinator for seven combined seasons. This will be his fourth opportunity to lead a defense.
Defensive backs coach Christian Parker also interviewed for the job, Legwold notes, adding Mike Zimmer interviewed for a separate position on staff. Kris Richard, whom Payton hired with the Saints in 2021, also interviewed for the gig. Parker would appear to be a candidate to stay, while Zimmer — previously mentioned as a candidate to team with Payton again — could be in play for a senior defensive assistant-type position. Joseph should still be expected to have input in how Denver’s defensive staff looks.
Browns To Hire Bubba Ventrone As Special Teams Coordinator
Bubba Ventrone spent the past five seasons in Indianapolis and interviewed for the franchise’s head coaching job last month, but he will be moving soon. The Browns are hiring him as special teams coordinator, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets.
For Ventrone, this will be a return trip. His longest stint as a player came in Cleveland, where he played from 2009-12. The former special-teamer will now head up the Browns’ ST operation. Ventrone will also be an assistant head coach in Cleveland, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who notes that bump helped convince the well-regarded staffer to sign on with the Browns (Twitter link).
The Browns interviewed Ventrone, 40, this week for the position. They also met with Giants assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins and former return ace Leon Washington, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Washington has spent the past two seasons as the Jets’ assistant special teams coach.
Amid one of the most disappointing seasons in Colts history, they still charted as the eighth-best special teams unit on veteran NFL reporter Rick Gosselin’s annual list. (The Browns ranked 18th here in 2022.) The Colts were a top-five unit on Gosselin’s 2020 and 2021 lists. George Odum and Ashton Dulin earned All-Pro acclaim during that span, as did long snapper Luke Rhodes.
The Colts firing Frank Reich midway through this past season opened the door for most of his assistants to leave. Ventrone will return to the organization that signed him in 2009 and gave him a three-year extension in 2010. Ventrone had attended Shane Steichen‘s introductory press conference, and Mike Chappell of CBS4 notes the Colts attempted to convince him to stay; he was still under contract with the team. But they eventually permitted the Browns interview. Several players wanted Ventrone to be the interim HC, Zak Keefer of The Athletic tweets, but Jim Irsay of course gave that position to Jeff Saturday.
Cleveland dismissed Mike Priefer as its ST coordinator earlier this week. A veteran ST coordinator, Priefer had spent the past four seasons in this position. The Browns kept the Cleveland native on from Freddie Kitchens‘ staff, though Priefer had worked extensively with Kevin Stefanski in Minnesota during the 2010s. Still, Stefanski will now go with Ventrone; the two have not previously worked together. A 10-year NFL veteran, Ventrone began his coaching foray as the Patriots’ assistant special teams coach from 2015-17.
Titans Release LT Taylor Lewan
The Titans are following through with their expected Taylor Lewan release. After nine seasons in Tennessee, the Pro Bowl left tackle announced (via his Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, on Twitter) he is set to be a free agent.
Although Lewan initially indicated a pay cut could be a path for him to stay with the Titans, it looks like the sides are parting ways. Lewan said he would consider retirement this offseason. It is not yet known if the three-time Pro Bowler plans to play a 10th season, but the Titans will create another need along their offensive line with Wednesday’s transaction.
[RELATED: Titans To Cut WR Robert Woods]
The prospect of that above-referenced return at a reduced rate remains under consideration, according to veteran Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter), but the team has a few moving pieces up front at present. For now, this release will create significant cap savings.
No guarantees remained on Lewan’s contract; the release will shed $14.8MM from Tennessee’s payroll. While the 31-year-old blocker had been one of the game’s best left tackles, injuries have sidelined him for much of the past few seasons. Lewan has missed 30 games since the 2020 campaign.
Lewan signed a five-year, $80MM extension with the Titans back in 2018. He stood as the premier player on an O-line that helped Derrick Henry to the rushing title in 2019. Lewan was unable to play a significant role during Henry’s second rushing championship, tearing an ACL five games into the 2020 season, but he did re-emerge to assist the injury-battered Titans to the AFC’s No. 1 seed in 2021. Lingering knee trouble affected him that year, however, and another ACL tear sidelined the Michigan product in Week 2 of the 2022 season.
The Titans drafted Lewan 11th overall, selecting him during Ruston Webster’s GM tenure. Jon Robinson authorized the extension; new Tennessee GM Ran Carthon is signing off on the release. Although Lewan sits just outside the top 10 in franchise history for games started by an offensive lineman, his 100 starts are sixth in the Titans era. Only Michael Roos, Benji Olson, David Stewart, Ben Jones and Brad Hopkins have logged more starts with Tennessee among O-linemen. Lewan was the current Titans’ longest-tenured player.
Tennessee already has right guard Nate Davis on the cusp of free agency, and Jones is considering retirement after finishing the season on IR. The veteran center is signed through 2023, however. Tennessee cut Rodger Saffold last year and replaced him primarily with former UDFA Aaron Brewer, who can be retained as a restricted free agent. Nicholas Petit-Frere, a 2022 third-round pick, may be penciled in at right tackle, but Carthon and Co. will have plenty of work to do to assemble a line around him. Thanks to the Lewan and Woods moves, additional cap space will now be available to do so.
Ravens Rumors: Taggart, Martin, Lynn
The Ravens announced a flurry of moves today as they continue to remake their staff this offseason. The biggest new name in Baltimore is former college head coach Willie Taggart, who will take over as the Ravens new running backs coach.
This will be Taggart’s first NFL job. To start his extensive college coaching career, Taggart coached quarterbacks, wide receivers, and served as a co-offensive coordinator over eight years with the Hilltoppers. After a three-year stint as Jim Harbaugh‘s running backs coach at Stanford, Taggart returned to Western Kentucky for his first head coaching gig.
He quickly elevated through college head coaching jobs. After three years at Western Kentucky, Taggart accepted a head coaching position at South Florida. Four years with the Bulls and Taggart was offered the head coach job at Oregon. After only one year with the Ducks, Taggart left Eugene to become head coach at Florida State. After a rough first season and disappointing start to his second year at the helm, Taggart was fired mid-season and replaced Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic the following year. Taggart was let go last November after an overtime loss to his alma mater and former team, Western Kentucky. While the results were ultimately mixed, Taggart is notable for being the first African-American head coach at all five universities.
Taggart played for Jack Harbaugh when he was a quarterback at Western Kentucky in the late 1990s, he coached under Jim in the late 2000’s at Stanford, and he will now have an opportunity to play under John Harbaugh in Baltimore. Running back Gus Edwards may be in danger as a potential cap casualty next season, but if he’s still around in 2023, Taggart will have a strong 1-2 punch in J.K. Dobbins and Edwards to work with. He’ll have four-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard in the room, as well.
Here is a breakdown of the other moves made to the Ravens’ staff today:
- With former quarterbacks coach James Urban reportedly not returning in the same role, the Ravens have elected to move wide receivers coach Tee Martin to quarterbacks coach. The former college offensive and passing game coordinator will now be in charge of the continued development of MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Martin’s extensive experience coaching the passing game should help as the Ravens move on from former offensive coordinator Greg Roman‘s run-heavy attack.
- The Ravens will be losing a position coach in all the commotion. According to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports, safeties coach D’Anton Lynn will be leaving Baltimore for the defensive coordinator position at UCLA. Lynn was in his second year on the job with the Ravens after earning his first position coaching gig in Houston. The coordinator job is an enticing opportunity as Lynn continues to climb the coaching ladder.
- Lastly, Harbaugh announced that the organization is parting ways with head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders. Saunders was previously suspended back in 2020 due to his role in a brutal COVID-19 outbreak within the team midseason. Saunders will be replaced by Scott Elliott who has been with the team for four seasons. Along with Elliott, strength and conditioning coaches Anthony Watson, Ron Shrift, and Kaelyn Buskey will all be retained.
Cardinals To Hire QBs Coach, Several Others
New Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has already announced his dedication to quarterback Kyler Murray and hired a new mentor for the young passer in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Petzing will be bringing along another former Browns’ assistant to Arizona.
Browns diversity coaching fellow Israel Woolfork has reportedly been informed by Cleveland that he has been granted leave to join the Cardinals staff. While not yet official, Woolfork is expected to be hired as Arizona’s next quarterbacks coach. Petzing coached passers in Cleveland and will likely continue to work with the group in Arizona, as well, giving Woolfork some nice support in his first position coaching job. The two will work together in continuing the development of one of the league’s promising young quarterbacks.
Here are a few other updates to Gannon’s new staff in Arizona as it continues to come together:
- Gannon has reportedly filled another position coaching job, hiring former Broncos assistant offensive line coach Ben Steele as his new tight ends coach, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The veteran coaching assistant has worked on four other teams’ staffs since first entering the NFL coaching ranks in 2014. Tight ends Stephen Anderson and Maxx Williams are facing free agency this offseason, but Steele should have Zach Ertz and Trey McBride to work with next year.
- The Cardinals will be going to the college ranks to fill out their coaching staff, as well, hiring Northwestern cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith to coach the same group in Arizona, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Smith inherits a talented young cornerbacks group led by Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson.
- Gannon will be adding two other former college coaches from the University of Florida, according to Matt Zenitz of On3. Former Gators co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick Toney is expected to join the Cardinals as the new safeties coach. Although the specific position has yet to be announced, Gators tight ends coach William Peagler is expected to join Toney in Arizona. With Steele’s announcement as tight ends coach, that position is filled, so Peagler will have to find another role on Gannon’s staff.
NFC Coaching Updates: Bieniemy, Rams, Panthers
The Commanders have their new play caller in former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and they are wasting no time in allowing the new assistant head coach and offensive coordinator to explore some options for his new staff. Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis both visited Washington today for potential roles on Bieniemy’s new offensive coaching staff, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.
Pritchard has been a longtime Cardinal staffer since finishing his college playing career as a quarterback at Stanford. The year after his final season as a player, Pritchard joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. He slowly worked his way up the staff from GA to defensive assistant to running backs coach to quarterbacks and wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He had spent the past five years in that last role after the departure of Mike Bloomgren to become head coach at Rice. Pritchard was retained by new head coach Troy Taylor following David Shaw‘s resignation but, reportedly, will only serve as quarterbacks coach, no longer holding the title of offensive coordinator.
Lewis is a former NFL wide receiver who has been coaching football since 2012. Following the conclusion of his eight-year career as a player, Lewis coached wide receivers at a couple of different universities before getting his first NFL opportunity as an offensive assistant with the Saints in 2015. The next year saw Lewis get his first NFL position coaching job over wide receivers with the Eagles. In 2017, Lewis joined the Chiefs’ staff in the same position, moving to running backs coach in 2021. He is reportedly highly regarded in league circles and has interest from several suitors this offseason, according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Lewis’s extended tenure under Bieniemy bodes well for the 43-year-old coach to find a top role in Washington.
Here are a couple other coaching updates from around the NFC:
- The Rams have a new special teams coordinator after hiring the former Panthers coach of the same position, Chase Blackburn, according to Rams staff writer Stu Jackson. Blackburn began his coaching career in the city where he ended his tenure as a player as the assistant special teams coach for the Panthers. After two years, Blackburn was promoted to special teams coordinator in Carolina, where he remained until being fired by former head coach Matt Rhule following the 2021 season. He will return to his role as a coordinator after spending the 2022 season as the Titans assistant special teams coach.
- New Panthers head coach Frank Reich is bringing along a lesser known assistant with him to Carolina, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Reich told the media yesterday that he has hired George Li as his game management coach. Li served a similar role under Reich in Indianapolis with the title of senior football strategy analyst and game management coach.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/22/23
Here are some minor transactions from around the league today:
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: LS Liam McCullough
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: G Dieter Eiselen
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: LS Cal Adomitis
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: K Tristan Vizcaino
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Kevin Toliver II
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: G Calvin Throckmorton
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LS Christian Kuntz
Seahawks Sign Nick Bellore To Extension
The Seahawks are confident Nick Bellore will remain a reliable contributor into his mid-30s. The team announced a two-year extension for the veteran special-teamer Wednesday.
Bellore, who will turn 34 in May, re-signed with Seattle for $6.6MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. This marks a raise from Bellore’s previous Seahawks pact — a two-year, $4.45MM accord agreed to in March 2021.
A former Jets, Lions and 49ers role player, Bellore has enjoyed an interesting NFL career. Excepting the 2016 season, in which a 2-14 49ers team turned to him as a regular starter at linebacker, Bellore has seen action mostly on special teams. The Seahawks have barely lined him up on defense at all during his four-season run in the Pacific Northwest, though he did log nine defensive snaps last season. But the team has used the Central Michigan product at fullback on occasion. Bellore played 17 offensive snaps last season.
“I feel as good as I’ve ever felt, and I’m ready to play as long as my body and a team will allow me to,” Bellore said. “If I felt like things were starting to go, I wouldn’t do it, because I don’t want to go out there just to go out there. I want to stay at the level I’ve been playing at the last couple of years and continue to improve, which I think I can still do. Obviously on paper I’m quite old — and in reality, probably — but it was never a question that I was done.”
Bellore earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and saw an 81% snap share on special teams last season, a 15-tackle slate. The Seahawks ranked second in veteran NFL writer Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams assessment in 2022; they have ranked in the top three in each of the past three years.
Titans Release LB Zach Cunningham
Making a fourth major cut Wednesday, the Titans will now move north of $10MM in cap space. They are jettisoning veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
A waiver claim in 2021, Cunningham has been a regular starter for most of his career. The former second-round pick has spent his six-year NFL run in the AFC South, moving from the Texans to the Titans. The 28-year-old off-ball ‘backer will have an early chance to catch on somewhere else, perhaps in another division this time around. The Titans cut Cunningham with a failed physical designation, Aaron Wilson of KPRC tweets.
Over the past few hours, the Titans have released four starters — Cunningham, Taylor Lewan, Robert Woods and Randy Bullock — and cleared more than $35MM in cap space. This purge of veterans will give the quartet opportunities to land elsewhere before free agency’s March 13 soft opening.
Cutting Cunningham creates $8.9MM in room for Tennessee, which entered Wednesday more than $20MM over the cap. This move will cost $4.5MM in dead money, thanks in part to a 2022 restructure. The team has now moved well under the $224.8MM salary ceiling, with the Cunningham transaction giving the retooling squad more than $12MM in space as of 2pm CT.
Teams still have until the start of the new league year — 3pm CT March 15 — to comply with the 2023 salary cap, but new Titans GM Ran Carthon is moving early to create space. The team is almost definitely not done on this front.
While Woods and Lewan’s positional markets are not especially strong, Cunningham’s is. A host of off-ball linebackers — fellow Titans starter David Long, ex-Tennessee starter Rashaan Evans, Bills standout Tremaine Edmunds, Bucs stalwart Lavonte David among them — are set to be available once the market opens. Cunningham should still be able to find a gig, though his next contract should not be expected to approach the four-year, $58MM deal the Texans gave him in August 2020.
Cunningham led the NFL in tackles in 2020, totaling 164 in the league’s final 16-game season. He racked up an NFL-most 106 solo stops that year as well, but the Texans’ 2021 regime change altered his standing with the organization. Cunningham’s playing time yo-yoed during the ’21 season in Houston, and he finished his tenure there as a healthy scratch. The Titans claimed the Vanderbilt alum off waivers that December, and Cunningham became an instant starter for his new team. He started Tennessee’s final four regular-season games that year and logged a playoff start.
Injuries slowed Cunningham in 2022, however, and he joined numerous Titan starters on IR. An elbow injury sidelined him at multiple points this season. The Titans used one of their injury activations on Cunningham, bringing him off IR late in the season, but he finished the year back on the injured list because of the elbow issue. As such, Cunningham will not hit street free agency with much momentum.
Titans Release K Randy Bullock
Tennessee’s early start to clearing cap space now includes Randy Bullock as well. In addition to cutting Taylor Lewan and Robert Woods, the Titans are releasing their kicker.
The Titans had re-signed Bullock on a two-year, $4.68MM deal in April 2022. The team will create just more than $2MM by moving that contract off its payroll. Between its three Wednesday cuts, Tennessee will create $28.9MM in cap space. While more work will be ahead for new GM Ran Carthon, the Titans are now just more than $4MM under the cap.
Bullock, 33, had been the Titans’ kicker for the past two seasons. Making 85% of his field goal tries last season and 84% in 2021, Bullock stabilized Tennessee’s wayward kicker situation. In 2019 and 2020, the Titans used a host of kickers. Their 2019 season made the kicker spot a crisis point, and Stephen Gostkowski wrapped his career after the ’20 campaign. Bullock came in and contributed, but he will look to do so elsewhere in 2023.
A former Texans draftee back in 2012, Bullock has now kicked for six NFL teams. The Titans initially signed him after a four-plus season Cincinnati stay. The Texas A&M product missed five of his field goal tries from 40-49 yards in 2021 and only attempted three 50-plus-yarders during his two-year Tennessee stay, making two (both from 51 yards out). Bullock did not miss an extra point last season.
The Titans may have an in-house replacement lined up. They gave Caleb Shudak a reserve/futures contract last month. Shudak kicked in only one game last season, as a Bullock injury replacement, and missed most of the slate due to injury himself. But the young specialist may have an opportunity to win the job in 2023. Shudak, 25, should be expected to face competition for the gig.