The GM's, Coach's, Carousel

The Las Vegas Raiders will interview an in-house candidate for their general manager vacancy.

Via Mike Jones of USA Today, the Raiders will interview director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph to fill the opening created by the firing of Mike Mayock earlier this month.


Joseph has spent the last three seasons as the Raiders’ director of pro scouting alongside Mayock. He has spent 24 years working in NFL front offices since ending his playing days following the 1996 season.

Joseph joined the Chicago Bears front office as a player programs coordinator and spent six years with the team before joining the Miami Dolphins as a regional scout in 2004. He spent four years with the Dolphins, moving up to assistant director of player personnel, before returning to the Bears as an assistant director of college scouting in 2012. He was promoted to assistant director of player personnel the following season and spent three years in the role before becoming director of pro personnel of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

After five years with the Eagles, Joseph moved to the Raiders in 2019.

Joseph spent three seasons playing for the Bears from 1994-96 before moving into personnel.

The Raiders have also planned to interview New England Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler, Indianapolis Colts assistant G.M. Ed Dodds, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly and Cincinnati Bengals scout Trey Brown for the role.

PFT

 

@Willie must be napping.

Sean Payton has announced he will be stepping down as Head Coach of the Saints.

 

Bears fans must be loving that they’re hiring another 37 year old Ryan P. as GM.

And another Chiefs connection to boot lol

 

Presumably they will stay in-house with Dennis Allen once they appease the Fritz Pollard Alliance

 

Vikings working to hire Browns exec Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as new general manager

A chain reaction could expedite the Vikings' search for a general manager.

Minnesota working to hire Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as its next GM, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Adofo-Mensah is the "final finalist" per Rapoport, and is in the process of completing a second interview with the Vikings.

Minnesota had been interested in both Adofo-Mensah and Chiefs executive Ryan Poles for the Vikings' GM vacancy, but after Chicago hired Poles as its new GM on Tuesday, that left Adofo-Mensah as the remaining finalist in Minnesota. With their pool cut down to one, the Vikings don't appear to be wasting any time.

Adofo-Mensah has spent the last two seasons as the Browns' vice president of football operations, working under wunderkind GM Andrew Berry as part of an operation that saw the Browns to an 11-5 finish and their first playoff victory since the 1994 season in 2020. Cleveland came back to earth in 2021, finishing 8-9 while battling multiple injuries at key positions.

Prior to his time in Cleveland, Adofo-Mensah worked for the San Francisco 49ers from 2013-2019, beginning as manager of football research before advancing to director of football research. He moved east to Cleveland after Berry returned to the Browns in his current role.

Adofo-Mensah was one of seven initial candidates for the opening, with Brandon Brown (Eagles), Glenn Cook (Browns), Catherine Raiche (Eagles), Eliot Wolf (Patriots), John Spytek (Buccaneers) and Poles (Chiefs) rounding out the group. Minnesota scheduled second interviews with Adofo-Mensah and Poles for this week, with the former's return to Minnesota coming Tuesday and Poles' originally planned for Wednesday.

The Princeton-educated Adofo-Mensah would be tasked hiring a head coach to replace Mike Zimmer and returning the Vikings to the postseason after missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

NFL.com

 

Report: Bears have scheduled second interviews with Dan Quinn, Matt Eberflus



The Bears hired General Manager Ryan Poles on Tuesday. The former Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel hit “the ground running” as he said he would.

Poles began the process of in-person second interviews on his first day on the job.


The Bears met with Jim Caldwell in Chicago, Albert Breer of SI.com reports.

The team has second interviews scheduled with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Wednesday.

Quinn also is a finalist for the Broncos job and had interviews with the Vikings and Dolphins. Eberflus is scheduled for a second interview with the Jaguars on Thursday. Caldwell interviewed for the Jaguars and denied an ESPN report that he declined interview requests from the Raiders and Vikings.

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Leslie Frazier will have second interview with Giants



Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier previously met with new Giants General Manager Joe Schoen virtually. Frazier now is scheduled for an in-person interview Friday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.

Schoen spent the past five years as the right-hand man of Bills General Manager Brandon Beane, so it’s no surprise Frazier and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll are high on the Giants’ list.


The Giants have completed in-person interviews with Daboll and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. They are scheduled to interview their current defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, on Wednesday and former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores on Thursday.

Frazier has spent the past five seasons as Buffalo’s defensive coordinator.

He has head coaching experience, taking over the Vikings as interim coach in 2010 before getting the full-time job from 2011-13. He went 21-32-1 and made the postseason once in his tenure in Minnesota.

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Bears complete second interview with Jim Caldwell



The Chicago Bears have wrapped up their second interview with Jim Caldwell for their open head coaching position.

Caldwell met with new Bears General Manager Ryan Poles, who was hired by the team earlier in the day on Tuesday.


Caldwell has twice been a head coach in the NFL with the Colts and Detroit Lions. He replaced Tony Dungy as head coach of the Colts and spent three years in the role from 2009-11. After spending the next three years as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, Caldwell was hired by the Lions in 2014 and led them to the playoffs twice in four seasons. Caldwell was by far the most successful head coach the Lions have had since the turn of the century.

Caldwell last served as a consultant for the Miami Dolphins in 2019 after taking a leave of absence from his initial position of assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach for health issues.

The Bears have also scheduled secondary interviews with Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Interviews with Quinn and Eberflus are set to take place on Wednesday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have also interviewed Caldwell for their head coach vacancy.

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Report: Raiders request interview with Bucs executive John Spytek for G.M.



The Las Vegas Raiders have requested permission to speak with Tampa Bay Buccaneers vice president of player personnel John Spytek for their general manager opening, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Spytek has also spoken with the Minnesota Vikings regarding their G.M. opening.


The Raiders are looking for a replacement for Mike Mayock, who was relived of his duties in the position earlier this month. The Raiders also planned to interview their own director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph, New England Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler, Indianapolis Colts assistant G.M. Ed Dodds, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly and Cincinnati Bengals scout Trey Brown for the role.

Spytek is in his first year in the role with the Buccaneers in his sixth season overall with the team.

Spytek played linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1999-2002 and began working in the NFL in 2004 as an intern with the Detroit Lions. He interned again with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 before moving into a full-time scouting role in 2006. He became the Cleveland Browns director of college scouting in 2010 before moving on to join the Denver Broncos scouting department in 2013.

Spytek left the Broncos to move to Tampa following Denver’s Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers.

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Report: Jaguars trying to finalize deal to make Byron Leftwich head coach



It looks like one of the nine head coach vacancies is about to be filled.

According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Jaguars are trying to finalize a deal with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to become the team’s new head coach.


Leftwich had a second interview with the Jaguars on Tuesday after the Bucs were eliminated from the postseason by the Rams on Sunday.

Should the two sides land the plane, it would represent a homecoming of sorts for Leftwich. Jacksonville selected Leftwich with the No. 7 overall pick back in 2003. He started 44 games in four years for the franchise, compiling a 24-20 record while throwing for 9,042 yards with 51 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

Leftwich’s No. 1 charge will be to develop 2021 first overall pick, quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

According to Stroud, current Buccaneers receivers coach Kevin Garver could follow Leftwich to Jacksonville as a potential offensive coordinator.

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians said he would consider taking back play-calling duties should Leftwich get a head coaching job. It increasingly looks like that will be the case.

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Vikings hire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as GM



The Vikings have their new General Manager.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Browns’ vice president of football operations, has been hired as the Vikings’ G.M., according to Adam Schefter.


Adofo-Mensah looked like the favorite after he got a second interview with the team yesterday. The other finalist was believed to be Ryan Poles, but Poles was hired by the Bears to be their G.M. first.

The next step for the Vikings will be hiring a head coach. Adofo-Mensah is believed to be high on 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.

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New Giants G.M. Joe Schoen: “I think you can compete today and still build for tomorrow”



New Giants General Manager Joe Schoen believes he can field a competitive roster in Year One.

Schoen said he doesn’t think the Giants need to tear the team down to build them back up, but can instead have a competitive team in 2022 while also having an eye on succeeding in the years ahead.


“I’m not a big tear-it-up-rebuild guy. I think you can build a roster where you can compete today and build for tomorrow,” Schoen said.

Frankly, the Giants have already largely been torn down under former General Manager Dave Gettleman. Just about the only thing Gettleman did well was leave the Giants with an extra first-round draft pick, which they got by trading with the Bears last year. Schoen needs to hit on those two first-round picks, both to improve in 2022 and to build for the future.

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I agree with Schoen. It sure hurts as a fan to go through your teams rebuilding process. I see it all the time, though.

Sometimes its necessary to blow things up and start over... sometimes it's just a knee-jerk reaction that isnt necessary. I suppose it depends on 'who' is doing the rebuilding and the individual teams situation.

 

Report: Jaguars aren’t close to a deal with any head coach



The Jaguars are trying to hire Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Unless they aren’t.

In response to a report from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times that the Jags are attempting to finalize a contract with Leftwich, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team continues to talk to Leftwich and Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, and that the Jaguars “are not close to a deal with anyone at this time.”


“Jags still haven’t decided which way they’ll go,” Schefter adds.

We trust Stroud’s reporting on the issue. And, frankly, we wouldn’t be surprised — at all — to learn that the Jaguars are trying to leverage Leftwich (as part of the negotiations) with the possibility that they’ll pivot to Eberflus if Leftwich wants too much money, that the Jaguars have leaked what was leaked to Schefter in an effort to advance that agenda, and that Schefter tweeted what he tweeted to curry favor with the Jaguars.

Some may not like that we’re putting it that way. Oh well.

It’s a logical and reasonable way to harmonize conflicting reports. Stroud has a very solid track record, bolstered by recent reporting regarding both the Buccaneers (fake Antonio Brown vaccination card) and the Jaguars (real Urban Meyer kicker kick). And Schefter has become regarded as a favor-trader who will push certain things now in anticipation of getting future five-minute head’s-up scoops later.

Such as, for example, first word from the Jaguars that they’ve hired Leftwich. Or Eberflus. Or whoever gets the job.

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I am very happy for Kwesi, but also for the Browns. With this hire, they now get a 3rd round comp pick in the 2022 draft and a 3rd round comp pick in the 2023 draft.

 

Head coach John Harbaugh just completed his 14th season with the Ravens and it doesn’t look like the end of his run is coming anytime soon.

Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports that Harbaugh and the Ravens are closing in on a contract extension. The 2022 season is the final one of his current deal with the team.


Harbaugh is 137-88 in the regular season and 11-8 in the playoffs. One of those postseason wins was over the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, but the team missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2017.

One of Harbaugh’s next moves will be hiring a new defensive coordinator. The team parted ways with Wink Martindale last week, but they haven’t announced any other changes to Harbaugh’s staff.

NBC

 

Stroud and his team are probably the best sports reporters alive today. Schefter is a hack who has made a career off of hype, and NOT accuracy or truth - there are numerous examples of him flat-out lying in his "reporting".

We need a lot more Stroud and a lot less Schefter, in this world.

 

Broncos finalizing deal to hire Nathaniel Hackett as head coach



The Broncos are on the verge of hiring their next head coach: Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Hackett and the Broncos are finalizing a deal this morning after contract talks heated up on Wednesday night, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.


The 42-year-old Hackett was a hot name in this year’s coaching cycle and was scheduled to have a second interview with the Jaguars today.

Hackett has spent the last three seasons as the Packers’ offensive coordinator and three seasons before that as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator. He has also been the Bills’ offensive coordinator and the offensive coordinator at Syracuse.

The Packers have had a great offense during Hackett’s tenure with the team, but how much of that was Hackett, how much was head coach Matt LaFleur, and how much was quarterback Aaron Rodgers is an open question. The biggest question now is who the quarterback running Hackett’s offense in Denver will be.

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Report: Steelers want to interview Joe Whitt for defensive coordinator



The Steelers need a defensive coordinator after the retirement of Keith Butler and their list of candidates for the job is continuing to take shape.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the team wants to interview Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt for the opening. They’ve already shown interest in speaking to Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Saints secondary coach Kris Richard as well.


Whitt has also drawn interest from the Seahawks and Ravens in their searches for new coordinators.

While the Steelers are showing interest in outside candidates, Dulac notes that they remain likely to bump secondary coach/senior defensive assistant Teryl Austin up to the top defensive job. Until that becomes official, though, others could still wind up in Pittsburgh.

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The Bears have found their next head coach.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team will hire Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. He was joined as a finalist in the search process by former Lions and Colts head coach Jim Caldwell and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.


The news comes a couple of days after the Bears hired Ryan Poles as their new General Manager.

Eberflus also had a pair of interviews with the Jaguars, who appear set to make Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich their next head coach.

The Chicago job will be Eberflus’ first head coaching position. He was hired as the Colts’ defensive coordinator in 2018 when it appeared Josh McDaniels would be their head coach and remained on the staff under Frank Reich when McDaniels reneged on an agreement. The Colts made the playoffs twice with Eberflus running the defense and finished in the top 10 in points allowed in three of his four seasons.

Defense has generally been the stronger side of the ball in Chicago in recent years, so Eberflus’ offensive coordinator choice is sure to draw a lot of interest as that coach will be charged with helping to develop 2021 first-round quarterback Justin Fields in hopes of building the kind of offense that can push the team beyond the performance they attained under Eberflus’ predecessor Matt Nagy.

PFT