Category: Coaching Hires

Dallas Cowboys hire former Redskins defensive line coach Jim Tomsula

Jim Tomsula didn’t take long to find a new coaching job, as he has been hired by the Dallas Cowboys under Mike McCarthy.

While the Washington Redskins have brought in a number of new coaches to fill out their ranks under new head coach Ron Rivera, that has left several former Redskins coaches to find a job elsewhere.

With names like Kevin O’Connell, Bill Callahan, and Greg Manusky now on the market looking for work, news will likely start to trickle in over the next few weeks detailing where these former Redskins have found a new home. For defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, he has already found a new home, and he’s keeping it in the division.

According to ESPN, Tomsula has been hired by the Dallas Cowboys as the new defensive line coach, now under the Cowboys’ new head coach, Mike McCarthy. Tomsula spent three years in Washington under defensive coordinator Manusky.

Tomsula will reportedly be working under Mike Nolan, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator, and he will get to see his old pals in Washington at least twice a year going forward.

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Breaking down what the loss of Kevin O’Connell means for Redskins

With O’Connell seemingly out in Washington, and Scott Turner set to take his place, where does that leave the Redskins going forward?

The offensive coaching staff buzz was alive and well for the Washington Redskins on Tuesday afternoon, as they announced their willingness to let current offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell interview with other teams, while they started to turn their focus towards Scott Turner as their next OC. It was also reported that former Cleveland Browns QB Coach Ken Zampese was in the building interviewing to take over that same job with the Redskins.

Okay, so what does that all mean? Let’s answer some common questions that you might have.

Does this mean Kevin O’Connell is out in D.C.?

At this point, it feels like O’Connell is gone. The Redskins have been in talks with him over the past couple of weeks, and he was said to be their top candidate for the OC job in Washington because of his work with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins. However, it seems that the two sides were unable to get a deal done, and the Redskins are now willing to let another talented young offensive mind — a la Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and Matt LaFleur — walk out the door.

Why couldn’t a deal get done with O’Connell?

Obviously, we don’t know any of this for certain, but if I had to guess, O’Connell was uncertain of the control he would have under new coach Ron Rivera. In 2019, KOC had to run the offense with a head coach that was highly involved — be that Jay Gruden or Bruce Allen — and he was hardly set free to run things how he wanted to. It was reported earlier this year that O’Connell was after complete control over the offense, and it appears that he wasn’t going to get it with Rivera.

So where does this leave the Redskins?

As we said earlier, it appears that Washington is looking to hire Scott Turner as their next offensive coordinator. Turner previously coached for the Carolina Panthers as the QB coach, but he stepped in as the interim OC after Rivera was fired this past year. Assuming that Turner eventually does get hired by the Redskins, he will be reuniting with Rivera and helping to further the control that the HC has over the team, going along with the “one voice” mantra that team owner Dan Snyder laid out in his introductory press conference last week.

What’s next for O’Connell?

This is where other coaching jobs come into play. While O’Connell is not yet a candidate for head coaching jobs in the NFL, he is undoubtedly going to be a highly sought after coordinator, and my guess is that he ends up wherever Josh McDaniels — the New England Patriots longtime OC — is hired as a coach. McDaniels is currently set to make the interview rounds, and many believe that he could be a good fit in Cleveland with the Browns, as they are the only team left without a current head coach in the NFL. O’Connell is close with McDaniels and sees him as a mentor, so it would come as no surprise to see the two meet back up with McDaniels as the HC and O’Connell as the OC.

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Redskins interviewing former Browns QB coach Ken Zampese for same role in Washington

The Redskins are looking to hire Ken Zampese, the former Browns QB Coach, to work under Scott Turner, should he be named the new OC.

The coaching staff news is abuzz this afternoon in Washington, as the Redskins have reportedly allowed former offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell to take interviews with other teams, and they are zeroing their focus on Scott Turner for their new offensive coordinator.

Now, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Redskins are also interviewing Ken Zampese, the former Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach who spent the last season as an analyst at the University of Florida.

Should he be hired, Zampese will work with Turner — who has coached Teddy Bridgewater and Cam Newton — to develop Dwayne Haskins over the coming seasons.

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Redskins hoping to hire Scott Turner as next offensive coordinator

The Redskins are looking to hire Turner as their next OC after news broke that they’re letting Kevin O’Connell walk.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero is reporting that the Washington Redskins are starting to hone in on Scott Turner as their next offensive coordinator for the team. Turner was most recently the OC for the Carolina Panthers this past season.

This report comes on the heels of news breaking that the Redskins are granting Kevin O’Connell — the current Redskins’ OC — permission to speak to other teams about their coordinator openings, something that would seemingly only happen if the team had another option at the position. Now it is clear that the Redskins are fine with letting O’Connell walk, as they think they have their man in Turner.

Turner worked with new Redskins head coach Ron Rivera in 2019 with the Panthers, and he took over as the interim OC once Rivera was fired. If he were to land with the Redskins, it would be another coaching reunion for Rivera

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Redskins give Kevin O’Connell permission to interview with different teams for OC position

The Redskins are seemingly okay with Kevin O’Connell interviewing with other teams to take their offensive coordinator job.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell has been given permission to speak with other teams about a potential coaching position outside of Washington.

O’Connell, who spent the 2019 season developing a relationship with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins as the offensive coordinator, now has an open door to leave Washington and coach somewhere else. The Redskins have been in talks with KOC about returning as the OC in Washington, but it now appears that talks are slowing down if he is starting to look elsewhere.

The other coaches that the Redskins were considering for their OC position were former Carolina Panthers’ OC Scott Turner and former New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.

The report from Rapoport doesn’t specifically mean that KOC will not be the OC for the Redskins in 2020, but it is starting to seem less likely, given the extended nature of the interview that preluded this report. If O’Connell — who was searching for control over the offense that he didn’t have under Jay Gruden or Bruce Allen — was satisfied with his future role in Washington, he likely would have taken the job by now.

We will see what ends up happening, but O’Connell’s time in Washington might be coming to an end.

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Ron Rivera is filling out Redskins coaching staff with Carolina connections

Ron Rivera has made several position coaching hires in the past couple of days, and most of them come from the Carolina Panthers.

While several of the NFL teams who are in need of a new head coach are still scrambling to conduct interviews with head coaching prospects, the Washington Redskins are onto the next stage of things, filling out their roster of position coaches that will work under new head coach Ron Rivera.

When Rivera was introduced as the Redskins’ new coach last week, it was reported that he wanted to move fast and get through the hiring process so that they could get down to business. Now it seems that he is doing just that, as a report has surfaced that he’s hired a couple of defensive coaches that used to work with him.

NBC Sports Washington reported on Saturday that Rivera had done some work to fill out the offensive coaching staff, though an offensive coordinator had not yet been settled on. Rivera brought over two coaches from the Carolina Panthers to join him in Washington; John Matsko, for the offensive line, and Jim Hostler for the wide receivers. Now it’s being reported that Rivera has brought in Steve Russ, the former linebackers coach in Carolina, to head up the same job for the Redskins.

Many of these moves on the defensive side of the ball should be highly encouraging to fans, as they are surely getting a stamp of approval from defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. However, it is a bit interesting to see a couple of offensive coaches get hired while an offensive coordinator is yet to be put into place. The Redskins are currently in talks with at least two people — Kevin O’Connell and Scott Turner — while reportedly having an interest in former Giants head coach Pat Shurmur as well. Once an OC is hired, expect the offensive side of the coaching staff to move just as quickly as the defense.

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Report: Redskins show interest in former Giants coach Pat Shurmer as next OC

The Redskins are looking to fill their offensive coordinator role, and a report has surfaced that they might look to hire the ex-Giant.

It was reported earlier on Saturday evening that the Washington Redskins are highly active in their search for a new offensive coordinator, and former New York Giants head coach, Pat Shurmur, is being considered for the opening as well. Shurmur was fired by the Giants earlier this week after ending the year with a 4-12 record, making him 9-23 in two seasons with the team.

The Redskins have also talked to both Kevin O’Connell, who was the OC last season, as well as Scott Turner, the son of former Redskins coach Norv Turner, and the former OC for the Carolina Panthers. It has been reported that O’Connell would be the teams first choice, but it is unclear if he wishes to continue in the current position under new head coach Ron Rivera. O’Connell has one year left on his contract with the team.

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Redskins interview Scott Turner for OC/QB coach; What that means for Kevin O’Connell

With O’Connell not yet committed to the Redskins, Panthers OC Scott Turner was interviewed for the position this week.

The Washington Redskins are moving forward with their decision to interview prospective offensive coordinators for the future, as their current OC Kevin O’Connell might not be long for the job.

Take this all with a grain of salt, because there are a number of things that can be drawn from the situation.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, new Redskins head coach Ron Rivera is conducting an interview with Scott Turner — the son of longtime NFL coach Norv Turner — who was the OC for the Carolina Panthers under Rivera. Turner, who is 37-years-old, started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oregon State University in 2005, and he has moved through the NFL and college ranks since then, spending time with the Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and Minnesota Vikings.

Turner’s potential is great, as his father was one of the better offensive coaches since the turn of the century, and he has a high upside in the NFL. However, you may be wondering what this means for current OC Kevin O’Connell, who has been compared to the likes of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan over the past year. Rivera has not officially named O’Connell the OC in Washington, nor has O’Connell declared that he wants to keep that job. But does the consideration for Turner mean that KOC is out in Washington?

Not exactly. In fact, there is a scenario that is likely to play out, and it greatly benefits all parties involved. In that scenario, KOC — who is under contract for at least one more year — is named as the OC, and Turner is named the QB coach. In the future, whether that be next year or a few years down the road, KOC will be able to take the head coaching jobs he earns due to high production in Washington, and Turner steps up into the OC position, and repeat. This would keep a solid line of continuity in the Redskins’ offense, which is ideal for rookie QB Dwayne Haskins.

Of course, there are a number of other possibilities that can easily happen, such as KOC asking out this year, and Turner coming right into the OC position, giving Haskins a new playbook to learn less than a year after he started to figure out the first one.

Until anything concrete happens, all we can do is speculate. However, don’t be too quick to think that KOC is out just because Turner might be in. There is a highly plausible outcome here that bolsters the offense in Washington.

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