The GM's, Coach's, Carousel

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis announced on Friday that the team is retaining head coach Dennis Allen for the 2023 season.

In his first season as the team’s head coach, Allen led the team to a 7–10 record and third place in the NFC South. The former defensive coordinator took over for Sean Payton when he stepped away from the team last offseason.

New Orleans is Allen’s second head coaching opportunity, after he coached the Raiders for parts of three seasons between 2012 and ’14. In total, Allen has a 15–38 record as a head coach in the NFL, with 2022’s seven wins standing as his most in a single season.

The Saints 10-loss season was the first time the team hit double-digit losses since 2005, the year before the team hired Payton. Despite that, Loomis said the team wants to stay course.

“One of the things we’ve had going for us the last 15 years is stability,” he said, via John DeShazier. “I’m looking for stable. That’s the attitude we have and the process we believe in.”

SI

 

Broncos deny Falcons’ request to interview Ejiro Evero for defensive coordinator

The Broncos are blocking defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero from interviewing with the Falcons for the same job.

Hours after news broke that the Falcons wanted to interview Evero, the Denver Post reported that the Broncos won’t let him.


Evero is under contract with the Broncos for the 2023 season, which means the Broncos can block him from interviewing for any job other than head coach. It’s still possible that the Broncos’ head coach will ultimately decide not to keep Evero as defensive coordinator, which could be a raw deal for him if by that point the other defensive coordinator jobs he was considered for have been filled. But the Broncos would still have to pay him his salary if he ended up out of a job next season.

It’s also possible that Evero will be a head coach in 2023. The Broncos and Colts have already interviewed him, and he is scheduled to interview with the Texans next week.

Last season was the 42-year-old Ejiro’s first as a defensive coordinator, and he did a solid job in a year when Denver’s defense kept it in a lot of games that its offense ultimately lost.

Dean Pees, who spent the last two years as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, announced his retirement after the season.

PFT

 

Browns to interview Dennard Wilson for defensive coordinator Saturday

The Eagles are off this weekend and one of their assistants will be spending some time on Saturday talking to the Browns.

The Browns announced that Eagles defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson is interviewing for their defensive coordinator position. Wilson joins Jim Schwartz and Brian Flores as candidates who have interviewed with the team.

Wilson joined the Eagles as their defensive backs coach in 2021 and got the coordinator title this season. He held the same titles with the Jets during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Wilson was also the Jets’ defensive backs coach in 2017 and 2018 and he spent his first five seasons in the NFL as an assistant with the Rams.

PFT

 

Sean Desai set to interview with Browns Monday



The Seahawks’ season ended on Saturday and that leaves associate head coach Sean Desai free to talk to the Browns on Monday.

The Browns requested permission to interview Desai for their defensive coordinator position last week and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the interview is scheduled for Monday.


Desai joined the Seahawks in 2021 after spending nine years on the Bears staff. He was the defensive coordinator for the last of those seasons and spent the previous two years as the safeties coach.

The Browns have also interviewed former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, Steelers linebackers coach Brian Flores, and Eagles defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson. Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo declined a chance to interview with the team.

UPDATE 10:21 a.m. ET: The Browns confirmed Desai’s interview will take place on Monday.

PFT

 

Ex-Broncos coach Vic Fangio interviews for Panthers’ DC job



Fangio’s interview with the Panthers could have potential implications for the Broncos: Sean Payton is believed to view Fangio as his preferred choice for DC with his next team.

Denver and Carolina are among the teams who have shown interest in Payton this offseason, with the Broncos set to interview him in person on Tuesday.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who was a candidate for Denver’s HC opening, has a connection to Fangio as well. Fangio worked as a defensive coordinator under Harbaugh at Stanford (2010) and with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2014).

Harbaugh’s connection to Fangio was more notable before Harbaugh announced Monday that he will remain at Michigan.

As the Broncos continue their search for a new HC, Fangio’s status as a DC candidate is worth monitoring.

BRONCOS WIRE

 

Commanders to interview Pat Shurmur Tuesday

The Commanders need a new offensive coordinator and they’re set to speak to an experienced candidate on Tuesday.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that they will interview Pat Shurmur for the opening created by last week’s firing of Scott Turner.

Shurmur was out of the league this season after spending the previous two years as the offensive coordinator with the Broncos. He spent the previous two years as the head coach of the Giants and also had a two-year run as the Browns head coach earlier in his career.

Shurmur got the Giants job after running a successful Vikings offense in 2017 and he’s also been a coordinator with the Rams and Eagles over the course of his career.

YAHOO

 

Browns hire Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator



Jim Schwartz is the new defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns finalized the hiring of Schwartz this morning, according to multiple reports.


Cleveland began its defensive coordinator search a week ago after firing Joe Woods. In addition to Schwartz, the candidates were Steelers linebackers coach Brian Flores, Seahawks associate head coach Sean Desai and Eagles defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson. Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo declined a chance to interview.

The 56-year-old Schwartz is best known for his five-year stint as head coach of the Lions from 2009 to 2013. He has also been defensive coordinator of the Eagles, Bills and Titans. His first NFL job was in Cleveland as a personnel scout in the 1990s. He was more recently an assistant on the Titans’ staff.

PFT

 

Al Holcomb set to interview with Falcons Tuesday



The Falcons will be meeting with Panthers defensive coordinator Al Holcomb on Tuesday.

Atlanta requested an interview with Holcomb about their vacant defensive coordinator position and Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that it will be taking place Tuesday.


Holcomb was promoted to the coordinator job after the Panthers fired Phil Snow as part of some house cleaning that went on after head coach Matt Rhule was dismissed. Holcomb also served as Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks’ coordinator during Wilks’ lone year as the Cardinals head coach.

Garafolo notes that Holcomb would likely remain with the Panthers if Wilks gets the job on a permanent basis, but he won’t be waiting to explore other opportunities until that decision is made.

PFT

 

Commanders request interview with Charles London for offensive coordinator



The Commanders are set to meet with Pat Shurmur about their offensive coordinator opening on Tuesday and they are also working on setting up another interview.

Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports that the team has requested an interview with Falcons quarterbacks coach Charles London. The Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner last week.

London has spent the last two seasons in Atlanta. He was previously the running backs coach for the Bears, Texans and Penn State.

The Commanders also reached out to former Lions and Colts head coach Jim Caldwell about their opening, but he declined to interview for the position. They have also requested an interview with Dolphins quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell.

PFT

 

Report: Bucs to Fire Steelers Top OC Candidate Byron Leftwich
The Pittsburgh Steelers first choice to replace Matt Canada is expected to hit the open market.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are rumored to be waiting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to fire Byron Leftwich before letting go of current offensive coordinator Matt Canada. And according to one report, that's expected to happen soon.

The Buccaneers' season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys, which opened the door for all moves to officially be made. Their first priority seems to be to release their OC, according to Scott Reynolds of the Pewter Report.

"Tampa Bay won the NFC South despite averaging just 18.4 points per game in the regular season, which was the lowest in the division," Reynolds writes.

"Todd Bowles, who will return as the Bucs’ head coach in 2023, inherited Bruce Arians’ coaching staff when he stepped down on March 30 and named Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator as his replacement. Now, Bowles will have the chance to make a change at play-caller after the Bucs’ offense ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring this year."

According to Reynolds, the Bucs contemplated firing Leftwich during the season but held on until their year was over.

Leftwich played for the Steelers in 2008 and remained a strong candidate to replace Canada throughout the season. After three years in Tampa Bay, that could finally become a reality.

The Steelers have been very quiet about their decision at offensive coordinator but made it known that they will not rush the process in the early stages of the offseason. With a new candidate and one that may be their first choice, now on the market, that could change.

ALL STEELERS/FAN NATION

 

The grandson of Vince Lombardi won’t be pursuing a Lombardi Trophy in 2023 with the Chargers.

The Chargers have announced that they have “parted ways” with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Also out is quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Shane Day.


The move implies that coach Brandon Staley will return for a third season, 27-point playoff collapse notwithstanding. If that’s what ownership has decided, that’s ownership’s business.

But there’s a bigger business consideration for ownership to ponder. They surely want to compete with, if not overtake, the Rams in the L.A. market. With quarterback Justin Herbert nudging toward the front end of his prime, do they want an offensive-minded head coach who can get the most out of his unique skills and abilities?

Apparently, they’re content to let their defensive-minded coach try again, when it comes to hiring coaches tasked with getting the most out of Herbert. (If, of course, they do, they’ll become head-coaching candidates elsewhere — and may have to be replaced for very different reasons.)

It makes sense to make changes to the offensive approach. Throughout 2022, it seemed as if their offense wasn’t what it could have been, not with Herbert as the straw stirring what had become a lukewarm glass of pulp-filled orange juice.

Would it have been expensive to buy out Staley and go all in for someone like Sean Payton? Yes. Would that expense potentially have to untold profits? Quite possibly.

Here’s the other thing to consider. Saturday night’s game will leave a mark that could be hard to overcome, even with a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. And even though multiple players have spoken out in favor of Staley, they’re like the rest of us. They don’t like change. They want to try it again with the apparatus in place. They believe that a reset to 0-0 will lead to different results.

For the Chargers, different hasn’t happened. It’s been nearly 30 years since their lone Super Bowl appearance, a blowout loss to the 49ers that capped the 1994 season. Do they go all in to alter the status quo, or do they keep treading water?

The Chargers have chosen a half-measure. And half measures don’t work, more than half the time.

Consider prior teams that have had a season end with a devastating and historic playoff loss. It doesn’t evaporate quickly. The 2014 Seahawks, with the fateful decision to pass when they should have run, loomed over the team until the day Russell Wilson was traded. The 2016 Falcons, who blew a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI, are still trying to chart a new course.

Do the Chargers believe that Saturday night’s loss will, or won’t, linger? History tells us that it will. And, if it does, 2023 could be Staley’s last season on the job, swinging the door open for someone like Jim Harbaugh or whoever else is at the top of the “A” list in 2024.

PFT

 

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the team (TITANS) is ready to move onto a second round of interviews. The finalists moving on to that stage of the process are their vice president of player personnel/interim General Manager Ryan Cowden, 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon and Bears assistant G.M. Ian Cunningham.

 

I think I'd be ok with this.

 

Titans to hire Ran Carthon as their General Manager



Word on Tuesday afternoon was that the Titans had identified three finalists for their General Manager job and things moved quickly from there.

According to multiple reports, 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon will be the team’s next General Manager. The Titans fired Jon Robinson in December.


Carthon is the son of former NFL running back Maurice Carthon and he played in nine games as a running back for the Colts in 2005 and 2006. He became a scout for the Falcons in 2008, moved on to the Rams as their director of player personnel in 2012 and then joined the 49ers in 2017.

Titans vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden and Bears assistant G.M. Ian Cunningham were also identified as finalists for the job, but Carthon’s second interview carried the day and he will be charged with trying to put together a Titans team that can get back to the postseason.

PFT

 

The Colts are adding another name to the long list of candidates to be their next head coach.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN, Indianapolis has put in an interview request for Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

 

The Steelers are expected to retain offensive coordinator Matt Canada for the 2023 season, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Canada finished his second season as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator, leading the offense of a team that scored just 29 touchdowns in 17 games, tied for the second-worst mark in the league with the Jets, Broncos and Texans. Only the Colts (28) scored fewer touchdowns in the league this season. He joined the franchise as quarterbacks coach in 2020, before being promoted to OC in ’21.

The Steelers bounced between veteran Mitchell Trubisky and rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett at quarterback during the season. While Pickett showed flashes as the year wore on, his numbers were pedestrian at season’s end. In 13 games (12 starts), he completed 63% of his throws for 2,404 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions, adding 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

The team missed the playoffs at 9–8, just the sixth time it has gone without a postseason appearance under Mike Tomlin, and the first since 2019.

Canada had a lengthy college coaching career before joining Tomlin’s staff, serving as the offensive coordinator at a host of schools including Maryland, LSU, Pitt, NC State, Wisconsin and Indiana.

SI

 

Yikes.

 

Reading this cast a pall on my day. I just feel like the Steelers could do better. I hope they're making the right choice but I suspect they aren't.

 

Makes no sense to keep Canada. Need a more aggressive mix it up type coach.

 

From a glass is half full view - Too me, Tomlin must like the guy. Maybe and If the O-line is shored-up and the QB play (with better protection) becomes more consistent... things turn around in a hurry. Bouncing back and forth from Trubs and Pickett couldnt have been ideal. The Steelers need to build an offense around Pickett to start with, it must be tailored to his best abilities. In spite of some poor offensive stats , he still finished, 7-5 to go along with a great run by the Steelers down the stretch at 6-1... so, imo, they arnt too far away offensively. If Khan picks a WR in the Draft, that could go a long way also... more targets, the better. I also understand the Steelers need to address key issues defensively, so who knows what approach they will take.

I read an article that the Steelers offense was intentionally conservative last season, Tomlin said so recently, but Pickett showed some good play and leadership down the stretch, so its even possible Tomlin opens it up for Pickett and lets him fly so to speak or feel more comfortable doing what he does best.

If Pittsburgh nails the draft and maybe lands a few vets in some fashion, they could very quickly have the right pieces to succeed. Point being, even a monkey could be the OC, lol.