Category: Coaching Hires

Report: Scott Turner ‘won’ Redskins OC job over Kevin O’Connell

A report out of Washington details that Turner impressed in his interview so much that he was gifted the job over O’Connell.

A new report is coming out of Washington that goes to explain why the Redskins chose to hire Scott Turner as the new offensive coordinator of the team, rather than Kevin O’Connell, who helped transition rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins into the league during his first year.

According to NBC Sports Washington, Turner won the job. Simple as that.

Turner’s resume working with Cam Newton and Teddy Bridgewater mattered, as did the plan Turner presented for working with Haskins. 

It’s important to note that Rivera had years of experience working with Turner, as well as his father Norv Turner. That mattered too, and one source explained Rivera “believed” in Turner.

O’Connell is now in Los Angeles coaching under his former colleague Sean McVay, who used to coach in Washington.

Many fans and media members, ourselves included, have been pining for the team to retain O’Connell, as his time in Washington showed encouraging signs of growth with Haskins, and his offensive play calling was successful near the end of the season. However, if this report is to be believed, Turner impressed enough in his interviews that he was given the job over the incumbent OC. Your thoughts on the new coach can now rest in alignment with your thoughts on Ron Rivera. He got his man, and time will tell if that man is the right one for the job.

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Former Redskins coach Jay Gruden to interview for Jaguars OC position

Gruden is looking to get back into the coaching game after having a few months off following his firing in Washington.

Former Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden is possibly jumping back into the coaching game after having a few months off, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Gruden will interview for the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator position.

Gruden, who was fired by the Redskins in October, cited that he was “itching to do something” after spending some time outside of the game.

The Jaguars are searching for a new OC after firing John DeFilippo following the 2019 season, though he only spent one year with the team. Now the Jaguars will look to revamp their offense under either Gardner Minshew or Nick Foles going forward, with Gruden helping them succeed, should he be given the job.

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Redskins should bring Luke Kuechly on as a linebacker coach under Ron Rivera

Kuechly is reportedly interested in getting into coaching, and it would make sense for him to join his former coaching staff in Washington.

Now that future Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly has announced his retirement from the NFL, he is likely to have some time on his hands.

It was reported on Saturday afternoon that Kuechly was open to the idea of returning to the game in a coaching role in the future, now that he is no longer going to be putting the pads on each and every Sunday. For the former Carolina Panther great, it could make some sense for him to look to join the Panther’s coaching staff in some capacity…

…or he could join up with the coaching staff he played under for years, most of whom are now employed by the Washington Redskins.

Kuechly, 28, played for eight seasons with the Panthers, all of which were spent under Ron Rivera, the new head coach for the Redskins. Rivera has shown a propensity to bring many former coaches from Carolina to Washington, and it would not come as a surprise to see him bring his former player under his wing to start a new chapter in his football career.

You take the talent that the Redskins have on the defense, and you add the experience that Kuechly has to that linebacker room in order to lead them down the right path?

That’s a dangerous combination.

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Former Redskins coach Bill Callahan could find work while staying in NFC East

Now that Callahan has seen his time come to an end in Washington, it appears that he might be headed to another NFC East team.

While the Washington Redskins have brought in a whole host of new coaches ahead of the 2020 season, that leaves many former coaches left out on the open market to try and find new jobs as the NFL coaching carousel continues to churn.

For Bill Callahan, who was formerly the Redksins offensive line coach and interim head coach once Jay Gruden was fired in 2019, it appears that he might have the chance to find work while remaining within the NFC East and traveling just a short way up north.

Callahan saw his time in Washington come to an end once Ron Rivera was hired by the team, and he finished with a 3-8 record as a head coach. Now, if he is hired in New York as the offensive line coach, he will join up with Joe Judge, the Giants’ new head coach, and Jason Garrett, the newest offensive coordinator in New York who was recently removed from his post as the HC of the Dallas Cowboys.

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Breaking down the Redskins power dynamic heading into 2020

With Bruce Allen out of the picture, the pyramid of power has shifted greatly in Washington, with Ron Rivera calling the shots.

Incremental change is what the Washington Redskins needed after a fourth-consecutive season without a playoff berth, and incremental change is what they got.

Bruce Allen is gone. Ron Rivera is in. Larry Hess is gone. Ryan Vermillion and Larry Wilk are in. Eric Schaffer is gone. Doug Williams is in a new role. Any which way you look at it, the power dynamic in Washington has changed, and according to NBC Sports Washington, this is now how it looks.

Dan Snyder — Team Owner
Aug 29, 2019; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, as the owner of the team, Snyder remains at the top of the power pyramid. Though he may endlessly say that head coach Ron Rivera is the only voice that matters in the organization, it is still his final stamp of approval that is needed on every major decision that happens. As long as Snyder is the owner of the team, it will be his word that goes.

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This Redskins GM candidate makes almost too much sense under Ron Rivera

The Redskins are still searching for a new GM, and if Rivera gets to make the hire, it would make sense to look at his former colleague.

The Washington Redksins organizational staff has undergone a litany of changes since the start of the new year, and many of them are just a handful of days old, with the front office experiencing a major shakeup late last week.

After it was announced that Eric Schaffer — a longtime front office member for the Redskins — would be leaving, and Doug Williams, the VP of Player Personnel and former Super Bowl-winning QB in Washington, would be changing his role, it was clear that head coach Ron Rivera was taking his power to heart. When he was introduced as the man in Washington, team owner Dan Snyder said that it was Rivera’s voice that would be prevalent in the organization, and what he said would go. If that sentiment is to be believed, then we can use that knowledge to project who the next general manager will be for the Redskins.

Based on Rivera’s propensity to team up with old coworkers that he had in Carolina with the Panthers, it seems like the current GM in Carolina, Marty Hurney could be making the trip to Washington.

According to a recent piece from The Athletic, Rivera’s un-rivaled power in the Redskins’ organization could lead him to continue his sack of Carolina, in a sense.

At least one person close to Rivera reminded the new coach that putting the band back together might not be ideal, considering the Panthers missed the postseason in three of the last four seasons.

Then again, Rivera did not have the final say on various personnel matters at Carolina, including the annual draft. Now he does. If the two-time NFL coach of the year winner believes in his teammates, welcome aboard.

Maybe Panthers general manager Marty Hurney joins the masses taking the express train from Charlotte to Ashburn.

Of course, Hurney is currently under contract in Carolina until 2020, and there doesn’t seem to be too much turmoil in the Panthers’ camp between owner and GM. But still, Hurney was rumored to be linked to the Redskins job even before Rivera was hired, and if we are to follow recent trends in coaching hires under the former Carolina man, this would make a great deal of sense.

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Kevin O’Connell becomes latest ‘recovering-Redskin’ to likely find success outside of Washington

A number of coaches have left the Redskins to find great success elsewhere, and Kevin O’Connell is likely the newest member of that club.

Another year, another bright offensive mind choosing to leave the Washington Redskins to coach elsewhere, and likely find great success.

It was reported late on Friday night that The Los Angeles Rams are hiring former Redskins’ offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell to be the new OC under Sean McVay, a former Redskins coach. The move feels like a great fit for O’Connell, who was given permission to interview with other teams for their job openings after Washington decided to hire Scott Turner, the former QB Coach and interim OC for the Carolina Panthers. Now, O’Connell will reunite with McVay — who he succeeded as the OC in Washington — and they will likely team up to further the Rams’ recent success of deploying a potent offense that keeps defenses on their toes.

This is what makes Redskins fans, and those who cover the team, extremely frustrated. After enduring a 2019 season that was wrought with terrible losses and had injuries and incompetence sprinkled every which way, the 2020 year was starting to look up. A new head coach, a new general manager, and a new coaching staff was expected to right the ship and get things back on track. While many of the coaches in Washington needed to go, there was arguably one coach that nearly everyone wanted to stay, and that was O’Connell. His young offensive mind proved to do wonders with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins in 2019, as the two found several things that worked late in the season, and he was said by many respected people to be the next McVay, or Kyle Shanahan, or Matt LaFleur, all of whom came from the Redskins coaching tree. Now, like the aforementioned coaches, O’Connell will realize his success away from Washington D.C.

Of course, none of this is to say that the Redskins made a bad hire with Turner, who could very well be a solid coordinator under Ron Rivera. This is more of an airing of grievances, and something that feels like we should have seen it coming. If you were to build a Redskins coaching staff a month ago, you would bring in a host of new people, and keep the few people who were finding success. That means that KOC remains, and better coaches are brought in around him. Instead, an entirely new staff reigns in Washington, and what feels like the cool-kids club — or maybe the ‘recovering-Redskins’ — are elsewhere, reveling in the joy of realizing success.

Let’s just hope that a bit of that success can be realized in Washington somewhat soon as well.

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Kevin O’Connell hired as LA Rams offensive coordinator under Sean McVay

O’Connell succeeded McVay as the OC in Washington, and now he will travel to LA to take the same job under McVay with the Rams.

It didn’t take long for former Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell to find work after leaving Washington this past week. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, O’Connell is close to being officially named the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, working under Sean McVay, another former Redskins’ coach.

O’Connell succeeded McVay as the Redskins’ OC a couple years ago in DC, and now he will reportedly be joining back up with his former colleague on the other side of the country.

The Redskins had a chance to keep O’Connell on under Ron Rivera as the offensive coordinator, and they reportedly were interested in bringing him back, but the two sides started to drift apart as it appeared that O’Connell wouldn’t have full control of the offense going forward. Now, O’Connell will join the growing list of offensive minds to leave Washington and expectedly find great success elsewhere, like Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and Matt LaFleur.

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The OC position is more than just a job for Redskins’ Scott Turner

Turner grew up in Washington D.C. and he has been a part of the Redskins family for years while his dad was the coach of the team.

When Scott Turner was named the offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins this past week, it probably felt like more than just a new job. Not only was it a promotion — Turner was the OC for the Carolina Panthers this past season, but with the interim tag only — but it was also an opportunity for him to return back home.

Turner is the son of longtime NFL head coach Norv Turner, who coached the Redskins from 1994-2000. While he moved a lot during his childhood, as any offspring of an NFL head coach does, his time spent in Washington D.C. was memorable, Turner says.

“I grew up, I was a kid on the sidelines with my dad coaching. I’ve been at different places in college and in the NFL, and now to have my first shot to be a coordinator back here [is surreal],” Tuner said, via NBC Sports Washington. “I’ve had people reach out to me, my high school coach, different people that I hadn’t heard from in years welcoming me back to the area. It means a lot.”

Turner spent his formative years in the D.C. area; his family moved there when he was 11, and his dad left the Redskins during his senior year in high school. He says that when people ask him where he’s from, it’s this area. Now, with his dad already entrenched in Washington lore, Turner will have a chance to carve his own path in the organization’s future.

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Kevin O’Connell pops up as a candidate for Eagles offensive coordinator job

O’Connell might have the chance to stay within the NFC East, as he’s been mentioned as a candidate for the Eagles open OC position.

The Washington Redskins former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, is popping up as a potential candidate for the open position with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN’s Tim McManus.

The Redskins allowed O’Connell to interview with other teams of the OC position, as they hired former Carolina Panthers’ QB coach and OC, Scott Turner, to take over in Washington.

O’Connell is reportedly one of two candidates for the position, alongside former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell. Philadelphia fired OC Mike Groh and wide receiver coach Carson Walch Thursday.

It is unclear whether or not O’Connell would be interested in the job, but should he be named the OC of the Eagles — keeping him in the NFC East division along with the Redskins — he would get the chance to work with Carson Wentz, one of the better young quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL.

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