Tag: Adrian Klemm

Report: New England Patriots still targeting Adrian Klemm despite filling OC position

The Patriots filled their OC position with former Alabama OC Bill O’Brien. New England may still be after Oregon’s Adrian Klemm, though.

The New England Patriots filled their offensive coordinator position on Tuesday morning, reportedly hiring former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, bringing him back to the NFL where he used to be the head coach of the Houston Texans.

This hiring made waves in the college football world, now leaving Nick Saban with vacancies at both OC and DC positions. It also might have caused a sigh of relief in Eugene, where OL coach and Run Game Coordinator Adrian Klemm had been up for the position as well.

With the OC spot in New England now filled, that means that Klemm is staying in Eugene, correct?

Well, it may not be time to breathe a sigh of relief for Oregon fans just yet. According to a report from Albert Breer, the Patriots are still looking to potentially bring Klemm onto the coaching staff in New England.

Klemm was an offensive lineman for the Patriots from 2000-2004, winning three super bowls in his NFL career, and also spent time coaching at UCLA, as well as with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.

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Report: Patriots could have several offensive coordinator candidates on 2023 staff

Several of the Patriots’ offensive coordinator candidates could end up on the 2023 coaching staff.

The New England Patriots have been busy interviewing candidates for their offensive coordinator position, and it appears as though they want to have more than one offensive candidate on staff.

NBC Sports Boston’s Albert Breer floated this idea during his appearance on Sports Sunday. He indicated that Bill O’Brien is the “likely scenario” for the job based on his past history in New England.

The search for offensive coordinator has been a busy one, as New England has interviewed several candidates. All of the candidates have familiarity with Bill Belichick, having worked under him as players or coaches.

The thought is one of the candidates could join the fray alongside O’Brien as an offensive assistant. Of course, that’s assuming the Patriots even get O’Brien, who still isn’t necessarily a done deal.

“Bill O’Brien has talked to other teams. I know that,” said Breer. “He hasn’t formally interviewed with any of them, but if you look at the sort of structure of the interviews and the way that this has all happened, it feels at least like Bill O’Brien is going to be the offensive coordinator, and the other four guys could wind up on staff in some capacity: Adrian Klemm potentially as a run game coordinator/offensive line coach. Now, he’s not gonna come cheap. He’s making almost $1 million at Oregon right now. Shawn Jefferson potentially coming in as a receivers coach and on down the line.”

The other two offensive coordinator candidates for New England right now is Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley and Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell.

New England has been trying to improve their offensive game planning, as the 2023 season could be a crucial one for several players. It will be fascinating to see how this pans out, as the Patriots look to get back into playoff contention.

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Patriots 2023 offensive coordinator candidate tracker

These are all of the candidates that have been interviewed or will be interviewed for the Patriots’ vacant offensive coordinator position.

The New England Patriots have officially started the process of hiring a new offensive coordinator.

It’s a process that appears to be moving along quickly with the team being more open with fans about their intent. Everything seemingly goes back to that letter to season ticket holders from ownership promising “critical evaluations” and change.

One of the obvious critiques has been the state of the offense with Matt Patricia calling the plays. The Patriots clearly need an experienced offensive play-caller to give their team a better chance of competing in 2023.

This decision could make or break the team considering they’re coming off a year where they had a top-10 defense. Even a mediocre offensive effort would have been good enough to get the Patriots into the playoffs. But they’re sitting at home watching the postseason unfold from their couches for the second time in three seasons.

The good news is change is indeed coming, and it all starts at the top on offense. Here are the offensive coordinator candidates that have been interviewed or will be interviewed by New England.

Former Bill Belichick draft pick interviewing for Patriots offensive coordinator job

The Patriots will be interviewing a former Bill Belichick draft pick for their offensive coordinator job.

Even the outside offensive coordinator candidates have at least some previous ties with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and Adrian Klemm is no different.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the news on Wednesday that the Patriots intend to interview the Oregon Ducks associate head coach for their offensive coordinator job.

Not only is Klemm a former Patriots player, but he was actually the first player drafted by the team at the start of the Belichick era in 2000. He was an offensive tackle out of the University of Hawai’i taken in the second-round of the draft with the No. 46 overall pick.

Klemm’s previous coaching experience in the NFL was as an offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Patriots are scheduled to interview tight ends coach Nick Caley on Tuesday, and they have also requested for an interview with Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, who played under Belichick during his head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns.

So Klemm is another name in a long line of coaches that have worked under Belichick in some form, as a player or coach. Now, he finds himself in a position to vie for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job.

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Report: Oregon OL coach Adrian Klemm to interview for OC job with New England Patriots

It looks like Oregon OL coach Adrian Klemm is going to interview with the New England Patriots for their OC job.

One of the biggest worries that Oregon Duck football fans have had over the past year is the prospect of losing offensive line coach Adrian Klemm to another school in college football.

Now a bigger worry might have popped up.

According to a report from ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the New England Patriots are interviewing Klemm as part of their search for a new offensive coordinator. Klemm was an offensive lineman for the Patriots from 2000-2004, winning three super bowls in his NFL career.

Klemm has also spent time coaching at UCLA, as well as with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.

It’s hard to argue against the idea that Klemm was one of the most impactful hires that Dan Lanning made when coming to Eugene. Klemm led one of the best offensive line groups in the nation last year in Eugene, and has been invaluable on the recruiting trail this year as well.

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Despite losing 4 starters, Oregon’s offensive line could be a major strength in 2023

The Ducks are losing 4 starters on the OL this offseason. To retool, they turned around and picked up two of the top transfer portal lineman on the board.

By any metric you want to look at, it’s pretty easy to see that the Oregon Ducks had one of the best offensive lines in the nation last season. They were loaded with veteran leaders on the offensive front, utilizing the experience of guys like Alex Forsyth, T.J. Bass, Ryan Walk, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Oregon gave up only four sacks all season, which was the best in the nation.

Unfortunately for Duck fans, it seemed early in the offseason like that may have been the mountain-top for OL play in Eugene. With four of those veterans leaving Eugene after exhausting their collegiate eligibility, it leaves only LG Marcus Harper as the returning starter.

Sure, there are guys like Josh Conerly, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and a handful of other younger players who have some experience playing in games, but it’s no secret that the Ducks don’t have the same depth and experience going into 2023 as they did going into 2022.

It’s a good thing the transfer portal exists, isn’t it?

Both Dan Lanning and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm attacked that need for the Ducks this offseason, and the early returns have been spectacular for Oregon. On Tuesday night, former Texas Longhorns OL Junior Angilua announced that he would transfer to the Ducks, and Wednesday afternoon saw former Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius do the same.

Angilua started 34 games across multiple spots on the line during three seasons in Austin, and was named a team captain for the Longhorns, as well as a Preseason Big-12 All-American in 2022 before an injury sidelined him for the year.

As for Cornelius, he is among the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this off-season, and has held offers from some of the top Power-5 schools in the nation, including Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, Miami, and Penn State.

When it comes to new coaching staffs who haven’t had a few years to stack recruiting classes on top of each other and build up a depth chart full of their own guys, losing a group of seniors at a single position could be catastrophic, with not many places to turn. However, Lanning and Klemm took the opportunity to attack the transfer portal this offseason and get the offensive line back to a strength for the offense with a couple of big-time commitments.

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BREAKING: Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius commits to Oregon Ducks

The Ducks just landed arguably the most coveted player in the 2023 transfer portal. OT Ajani Cornelius is coming to Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks have officially landed arguably the most coveted player in the transfer portal this offseason, getting a verbal commitment from offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius, a former Rhode Island Ram.

Cornelius has made waves in the transfer portal this offseason, garnering attention from some of the top Power 5 schools in the nation and receiving scholarship offers from places like Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Penn State, and many others.

He was the feature of a piece from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, who tabbed Cornelius as the “hottest commodity in the portal” this year. Now he is a Duck and will be coming to Eugene for the 2023 season.

Cornelius started the last 22 straight games at tackle for Rhode Island, and standing at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, he projects to instantly come to Oregon and insert himself into the offensive line as a Day 1 starter. This was a big need for the Ducks to address over the offseason, with four of their five starters from the 2022 season moving on from Eugene.

Now with projections that former 5-star OT Josh Conerly Jr. will start at one tackle position, while Cornelius starts at the other, the Ducks’ offensive line is shaping up nicely for the 2023 campaign.

Ajani Cornelius Transfer Portal Profile

Report: Texas Longhorns OL Junior Angilau takes visit to Oregon

The Ducks are hosting former Texas OL Junior Angilau on an official visit this weekend, per a report from 247Sports.

We knew that the Oregon Ducks were going to get some late, under-the-radar visitors in town for this weekend ahead of the early signing period, and one was finally revealed on Friday night.

According to a report from 247Sports, former Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Junior Angilau is on an official visit to Eugene to check out the Ducks and get to know Dan Lanning and Adrian Klemm, along with the rest of the staff.

Angilau is a veteran player who missed the 2022 season in Texas because of an injury, but before that he had started in 34 games over the previous three seasons, being named a Second-Team Big-12 Preseason All-American leading up to the 2022 season.

We will see how the visit goes for the Ducks this weekend, but with so many spots to fill on the offensive line this offseason, it would certainly be a big get for Oregon.

Junior Angilau’s Transfer Portal Profile

Report: Coveted transfer portal OL Ajani Cornelius to take official visit to Oregon

Former Rhode Island OL Ajani Cornelius, one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal, is taking an official visit to Oregon this weekend.

The Oregon Ducks are making in-roads early on when it comes to one of the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this year, getting former Rhode Island offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius to come out to Eugene on an official visit this weekend, per a report from 247Sports. 

Cornelius, who stats at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, has received upwards of 24 scholarship offers since entering the transfer portal at the end of November, with teams like Oregon, Auburn, Florida, and Nebraska all after him, among others.

The Ducks also got former Alabama Crimson Tide WR Traeshon Holden on an official visit in Eugene this week as well.

As the early signing period in the 2023 recruiting class draws near, the Oregon coaching staff is going all out in their efforts to add talented players to the roster. You can bet that Cornelius is near the top of the list of guys they want to bring in.

Ajani Cornelius Transfer Portal Profile

8 major questions for Dan Lanning and the Ducks to answer this off-season

Will the transfer portal be a positive or negative? What changes for Oregon’s offense in 2023? How do the Ducks get the defense on track?

With the way that the 2022 regular season ended for the Oregon Ducks, there are going to be a lot of questions facing the team over the next few months. Of course, regardless of the outcome, there would be questions to answer, but with a pair of losses to your biggest rivals and a blown opportunity to play for the Pac-12 Championship game, it was a rough way to go out.

At the top of the list of things to answer for Dan Lanning and the Ducks is who is going to be the new offensive coordinator now that Kenny Dillingham left to take the head coaching job at Arizona State. Beyond that, who will the quarterback be in 2023? What will the coaching staff look like? Which players will still be around from the 2022 roster?

Like I said, there’s a lot to get into. Let’s dive into some of the biggest questions that Lanning and the Ducks have to answer over the next few months.