The GM's, Coach's, Carousel

This is going to be the most interesting team to watch in 2021.

Khan is going to make bank off of these moves, and the envy from other owners (looking at you, Houston) is going to flow hot like lava.

 

Chargers announce Brandon Staley as franchise’s 17th head coach



The Chargers announced their agreement with Brandon Staley as the 17th head coach in franchise history.

Staley served as the defensive coordinator for the Rams in 2020 after three seasons as an outside linebackers coach for Chicago (2017-18) and Denver (2019).

The Chargers will introduce Staley at a news conference Thursday.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve known Brandon for five minutes or five years, what quickly becomes apparent is the amount of energy and passion he approaches each and every moment with,” John Spanos, the Chargers’ president of football operations, said. “The consistency of that enthusiasm is unique and, most importantly, it drives his ability to connect with people. His coaching journey to this particular moment is inspiring; if not for the sheer perseverance and determination of it all, then certainly for the dramatic results it has produced for the teams and players he has coached. I know it’s cliché, but I know Brandon quite literally cannot wait to get to work. I also know we cannot be more excited to have him as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.”

Staley has coached four Pro Bowlers in Khalil Mack in 2018, Von Miller in 2019 and Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey this season. Mack, Donald and Ramsey also earned All-Pro honors with Staley as their coach.

“It’s not just that Brandon possesses a tremendous football mind that makes him the ideal head coach to lead our team forward,” General Manager Tom Telesco said. “It’s that he excels in the ability to effectively tailor, apply and communicate his concepts to players. It’s clear that Brandon will not be out-worked. He’s the football equivalent of a gym rat, and that has earned him the universal respect of the players he has coached throughout his journey.”

Staley has had a meteoric rise from coaching at John Carroll University in 2016 to now one of 32 NFL head coaches.

He steps into perhaps the top job opening, too, with a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert and star players such as Joey Bosa, Derwin James and Keenan Allen returning.

“It’s hard to put into words just how excited I am for the opportunity to be the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach,” Staley said. “While this is certainly a dream come true, it’s also a dream that’s just beginning. There’s a reason this was probably the most sought after job out there — from ownership, to the fans, to the city, to the men in that locker room — it’s the total package. I can’t thank the Spanos family and Tom Telesco enough for placing their faith in us, and by the time everyone is reading this quote in a press release, we’ll already be hard at work developing a program Chargers fans everywhere can be proud of.”

NBC

 

I doubt we’ll ever get a complete answer to why Daboll was dropped before he was ever offered the job officially. I think there’s a possibility that Daboll had second thoughts about leaving the Bills and told his high school buddy “no thanks”.

I know virtually nothing about Staley - (but, boy, is that Cleveland school John Carroll Univ. a coaching factory). I’m a little surprised that the Chargers went with a DC; who they hire as OC will be critical.

 

Joe Cullen to interview for Jaguars defensive coordinator



Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen is in the mix for the defensive coordinator position in Jacksonville.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Cullen will interview with Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer this week about filling that key role on his staff. Former Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris is also set to interview for that job and Texans defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver is also in the mix for a job with the Jags.

Cullen has been with the Ravens since 2016 and had a previous stint as the Jaguars’ defensive line coach from 2010 to 2012. He’s also coached defensive linemen for the Buccaneers, Browns, and Lions. He served a one-game suspension while with Detroit after arrests for DUI and going through a Wendy’s drive-thru naked.

While there are a few names in the mix on the defensive side of the ball, Scott Linehan has been identified as the favorite to be the offensive coordinator under Meyer. His interview is also slated for this week.

NBC

 

Report: Kevin O’Connell candidate for Chargers offensive coordinator



The Chargers announced Brandon Staley is their new head coach on Sunday night. As the former Rams defensive coordinator, Staley’s plan to develop likely offensive rookie of the year Justin Herbert is paramount.

Apparently one part of the strategy could be to bring another Rams coach down the 405 to the Chargers’ headquarters.

According to NFL media’s Tom Pelissero, Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is a candidate to be Staley’s OC. Though O’Connell does not call plays for the Rams, it would be a lateral move on paper, so head coach Sean McVay would have to approve O’Connell’s departure.

McVay has a history of doing so. Before he became the Packers head coach, Matt LaFleur went from Rams offensive coordinator in 2017 to the same position with the Titans in 2018 so he could call plays.

Pelissero reports O’Connell and Staley are “very close.” But if O’Connell’s move to the cross-town Chargers isn’t approved, Staley could keep Shane Steichen as offensive coordinator.

O’Connell just finished his first year as the Rams’ offensive coordinator after spending three years as an offensive assistant with Washington.

NBC

 

49ers promote Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator



San Francisco run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel is getting a promotion.

McDaniel has been promoted to offensive coordinator, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Last season the 49ers didn’t have an offensive coordinator, instead splitting the job between passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur and McDaniel. McDaniel’s promotion comes after LaFleur left San Francisco to become the Jets’ offensive coordinator.

The 37-year-old McDaniel has been with the 49ers since Kyle Shanahan became head coach in 2017 and previously worked with Shanahan on the staffs in Atlanta, Cleveland and Washington.

NBC

 

Front office guys, too. Gotta be the highest ratio of NFL employees to student body size of any school out there.

My son graduated from there last year and he has no interest in football but I told him he should apply to teams anyway...he’d probably at least get some interviews lol

 

Good school, too.

On a personal note, Carroll is my maternal family name. I wear my John Carroll tshirt proudly in Portugal.

 

Sounding more and more like the Eagles are hiring Josh McDaniels, whose cold feet a few years ago may have been what started this mess when Frank Reich left to fill his spot with the Colts.

 

Mark me down as 100% against that move.

 

I'm against it as well but I don't know if I'd say 100%. He could be a real solution but there seems to be a larger chance it blows up. I'm still on the fence but the fence is more like a wide wall and I'm on the edge with a bunch of barbs sticking into my ass and a spike threatening to find it's way home.

 

Everything about the guy signals that he will up and run at the first sniff of a problem.

People look at it like he has limited options (leave NE again and not get invited back), but he could take the job in Philly, fuck it up and run to the collegiate level for a huge paycheck on a long contract.

 

Fucking Lurie doesn't understand that when you part with a coach over limited control and vision issues like assistants, you aren't gonna be first choice. The Eagles could have started their search first and still be waiting until last. It almost feels like McDaniels and the eagles are both desperate for each other.

 

I mentioned it when the Browns hired Berry - It was a great get for Cleveland (a return, actually) and a potentially huge loss for the Eagles.

Now, there is no exit plan away from Roseman when that inevitability arrives. I mentioned it in another thread, but it falls into this conversation as well... The Eagles are on the edge of the crevasse with a long drop awaiting them. Now is the time to cut ties, regroup and rebuild with the pieces necessary to bridge into the next long term regime.

But I don't believe ownership is going to have the intestinal fortitude necessary to make the slice deep enough to make a difference.

 

Roseman has to go but he's using Pederson as a draft and development scapegoat. Roseman used to be great but he was never a great drafter and this isn't the type of roster that can use his talents. In fact if I'm not mistaken he fucked the Eagles for yet another offseason of cap hell when this could have been the last one to come out clean. Instead I think the buck got seriously pushed for at least one more season.

 

Report: Eagles interested in interviewing John Fassel



The Eagles have cast a wide net in their coaching search and it may be getting wider.

Philadelphia is interested in interviewing Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel, according to a report from Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Fassel spent eight seasons as the Rams’ special teams coordinator under Jeff Fisher and Sean McVay before moving on to Dallas under Mike McCarthy in 2020. He served as Los Angeles’ interim head coach for the final three games of 2016, with the Rams going 0-3. He’s long been considered one of the league’s best special teams coordinators, coming up with creative fakes, returns, and blocks.

Fassel, 47, is the son of former Giants head coach Jim Fassel.

NBC

 

It seems to me that the Eagles want Wentz and the riff between Wentz and Pederson was so eminent that now the Eagles are looking for a HC that can work with Wentz. With Pederson gone now, its crucial the Eagles find the right man that Wentz will be comfortable with so this doesnt happen again. I might be all wet, but it just looks that way to me.

 

Washington finalizing deal with Marty Hurney to be general manager

The Washington Football Team has turned the corner toward reunion.

Washington is finalizing a deal with Marty Hurney to become the team's general manager, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources informed of the situation. The move reunites Hurney with head coach Ron Rivera, with whom Hurney worked in Carolina, where the two assembled key pieces of a Super Bowl-caliber roster in the early part of the last decade.

Hurney visited with Washington brass (including Rivera) Monday, clearly emerging as the top candidate for the position. It took the Football Team less than 24 hours to advance from "top candidate" to working out the fine print to bring Hurney to Washington.

The writing has been on the wall for this pairing since late December, when Hurney was fired as a result of a difference in approach. With Washington in need of a GM and Rivera having a history with Hurney that included selecting some of the players most important to Carolina's run to Super Bowl 50 (starting with Cam Newton), the two seemed like a natural fit in D.C. Hurney's beginning as an intern in Washington only further sweetened the full-circle narrative.

They'll join forces once again with the hopes of improving a Washington team that released its first-round quarterback (Dwayne Haskins) after less than two full seasons and faces plenty of uncertainty at the position in the short and long term. The bright side: Washington's defense is equipped to continue to be a force, as it was in the franchise's run to a 7-9 finish and a playoff berth in 2020.

The cupboard is far from bare in Washington, and with Hurney and Rivera sharing an understanding, they should be able to hit the ground running into 2021.

NFL.com

 

Not long after losing their season to the NFC South-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints are losing their assistant general manager to another division foe.

As expected, the Atlanta Falcons are hiring Saints assistant GM/VP of pro personnel Terry Fontenot to be their next general manager, the team announced Tuesday.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported last Thursday that a deal wouldn't be put together until New Orleans was out of the playoffs and that came to be on Sunday with a Divisional Round loss to the Bucs.

Along with Fontenot, the Falcons interviewed in-house with their director of college scouting Anthony Robinson and outside with Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown, new Lions GM Brad Holmes and former Texans GM Rick Smith. The Broncos and Lions also had Fontenot in for interviews.

Fontenot has been a mainstay within the Saints organization, having been with the club for the last 16 seasons. The latest season was his sixth as the director of pro scouting.

Moving on from a Saints organization that has won four consecutive NFC South titles, Fontenot will look to move forward a Falcons franchise that has absent from the playoffs since 2017.

With his arrival, Fontenot will replace Thomas Dimitroff, who was fired this past season as the team's GM, as was Dan Quinn as head coach.


Fontenot will join forces with first-year head coach Arthur Smith, who the Falcons brought on board Friday, to begin an eventful and impactful stretch for the franchise.

NFL.com

 

Report: Jaguars hiring Trent Baalke as G.M.



The Jaguars did their General Manager hiring a little differently than other teams. The team hired is head coach first, before the G.M.

The Jaguars announced Urban Meyer as their head coach Thursday. They are nearing an announcement on their G.M.

NFL Media reports that Jacksonville has settled on Trent Baalke, giving him a promotion from director of player personnel.

Baalke joined the Jaguars in that role last February. He became interim G.M. when the team fired Dave Caldwell in November.

Baalke is a veteran of 20-plus years in the NFL. He spent 12 seasons with the 49ers, including six as the team’s General Manager.

The 49ers fired Baalke after the 2016 season.

San Francisco went 51-44-1 during Baalke’s time as G.M., with three consecutive NFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl appearance.

In 2011, Baalke earned NFL executive of the year, as selected by Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers of America, after helping transform a 6-10 team into a 13-3 team in his first season as G.M.

The 49ers produced 24 All-Pro selections and 35 Pro Bowl nods during Baalke’s time.

The Jaguars also interviewed former Browns General Manager Ray Farmer, former Giants General Manager Jerry Reese, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick and former Texans G.M. Rick Smith.

NBC