Tag: assistant coaches

LSU passing game coordinator Cortez Hankton earns high praise from Sports Illustrated

Hankton is already making a major impact since he joined the Tigers’ staff under Brian Kelly.

Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated released his list of black football coaches that should be on the radar of the sport’s decision-makers. LSU wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Cortez Hankton appeared on the list.

“Hankton has experience developing wide receivers, which paid off at his previous stop at Georgia, where the depth of the position was severely tested,” Johnson wrote

Johnson points to Hankton’s broad resume, which includes the Ivy League and places such as UGA and LSU. Hankton was a big addition to Brian Kelly’s staff in January. LSU needed someone to replace [autotag]Mickey Joseph[/autotag], who had plenty of connections in New Orleans and around the state of Louisiana.

As a New Orleans native, Hankton was a guy that could bring his own ties to the state. He was also coming off a national title at UGA, where he helped the Bulldogs craft one of the most efficient offenses in college football.

He took over a room at LSU stacked with talent and his group should be a strength of the Tigers this fall. He’s already made strides in recruiting, landing commitments from blue-chip recruits [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Brown[/autotag].

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Big-name coaches that have been on LSU’s staff over the years

LSU’s had some big time assistants come through the program over the years. Here’s a look at the top names.

A lot of big names in the coaching ranks have come through LSU over the years.

Several LSU assistants have gone on to have big-time head coaching jobs in the SEC or elsewhere. Some have even won national championships.

LSU’s had a lot of success in the 21st century and these all-star coaching staffs have had a lot to do with it. The fact that they have been so good is what has allowed so many names to cycle in and out as assistants move on to bigger and better things.

Today, we’re going to look at all the recognizable names that have been a part of the LSU staff since 2000, the year [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] arrived.

LSU Football Assistant Coach Profile: Quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan

Sloan is tasked with managing one of the most contested QB battles in college football in his first year as a Power Five coach.

It’s not often you see an FBS coordinator jump programs to be a position coach. That’s exactly what LSU quarterbacks coach [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] did when he left Louisiana Tech to join Brian Kelly’s staff at LSU.

Sloan spent the last nine years at Louisiana Tech. In his time with the Bulldogs, Sloan was a wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator before eventually taking over the offensive coordinator duties.

He is a native of Virginia and got his start in college football when he was the backup quarterback for East Carolina. From there, he got into coaching, working in recruiting and operations at ECU and South Florida.

In 2019, Louisiana Tech had one of the best offenses in Conference USA. The past couple of years, they weren’t up to that standard, but the passing offense continued to be one of the more prolific in the conference.

That 2019 offense saw its quarterback, J’Mar Smith, take home Conference USA’s offensive player of the year award.

Sloan’s resume speaks for itself. Whether it’s quarterbacks, wide receivers or recruiting, Sloan has experiences to point to. The fact that LSU was able to get a guy who was calling plays to be a position coach is impressive. The offense will be led by Kelly and offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag], but Sloan is a younger coach the staff can turn to if they need some fresh ideas.

This will be his 10th year working in Louisiana. He’s a part of an offensive staff with plenty of Louisiana ties. When Kelly first got the job, a big discussion centered around who would be hired to recruit Louisiana, and Sloan fits the mold.

At the same time, recruiting quarterbacks is often about what can be done nationally. This is where Sloan will have to prove himself.

Louisiana Tech isn’t a program trying to land five-star signal-callers, so these are waters Sloan hasn’t even dipped his toes in. It’s an area where he’ll have guys like Kelly and [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] to lean on, but Sloan will need to do a large chunk of the work himself.

Sloan is also tasked with overseeing an uber-competitive quarterback battle. There are three guys in that room right now that have a chance to start and in the spring, Kelly highlighted how effective Sloan has been in rotating guys in and out.

There are unknowns, but it looks like LSU got a good one in Sloan. He’s a well-rounded coach with no shortage of ties to the region. He’s got a lot on his plate right now and whoever starts in the fall will have some struggles, but Sloan has an opportunity to show he’s deserving of a coordinator job at a Power Five school.

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LSU basketball coach Matt McMahon adds final assistant to complete staff

The Tigers added the final piece to their new coaching staff in Ole Miss assistant Ronnie Hamilton.

The Tigers have now completed their on-court basketball staff under new coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag]. The former Murray State coach already added Memphis assistant [autotag]Cody Toppert[/autotag] and former Racers assistant [autotag]Casey Long[/autotag].

On Friday, [autotag]Ronnie Hamilton[/autotag] agreed to join McMahon’s staff, providing the final piece of the puzzle. Hamilton has experience as an SEC assistant, coming from Ole Miss, where he spent the last four years and primarily worked with guards.

Hamilton followed coach Kermit Davis from Middle Tennessee State, where the pair worked together for an additional four years. Before that, he worked as an assistant at Houston, Tulane, The Citadel and Division II Tarleton State.

Hamilton has an undergraduate degree from Duke, where he was a four-year letterman for the Blue Devils in football rather than basketball, playing defensive back.

This new staff certainly has its hands full. Every player from last year’s team has now either entered the 2022 NBA draft or the transfer portal. McMahon and Co. have already added three players through the portal themselves, and they will need to add quite a bit more between now and the beginning of the season.

But with a full staff in place, the Tigers can hit the trail at maximum strength, which should help in convincing transfers to head to Baton Rouge despite potential impending sanctions.

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Jaguars hiring Ryan Paganetti as director of coaching analytics

Paganetti has been an assistant for the Eagles since 2015, working under Doug Pederson previously.

New Jaguars coach Doug Pederson has already announced his full on-field coaching staff, and he continues to fill several off-field roles. Most recently, the team announced the hiring of Ryan Paganetti as the director of coaching analytics.

Paganetti was previously a longtime assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles. He served in several roles since joining the team in 2015 but was most recently an assistant linebackers coach who also worked in game management.

In his new role with the Jags, it’s presumable that he will take a more behind-the-scenes approach, working with coaches to formulate game plans based on analytics. In his introductory conference, Pederson mentioned taking advantage of analytics.

Paganetti worked with Pederson in Philadelphia, and he’s one of several of his former assistants to join the staff.

Before his time with the Eagles, Paganetti worked as an assistant coach at Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts and has also been a scouting intern for the Dallas Cowboys, per his LinkedIn account.

Poll: How would you grade Doug Pederson’s staff in Jacksonville?

Pederson opted for a mix of experienced assistants and up-and-comers.

Jacksonville may have taken 49 days to hire its head coach in Doug Pederson, but Pederson himself put together a staff much more expeditiously. That group is now complete, and the Jaguars announced the full lineup on Thursday.

This group features a good mix of experienced guys and younger, up-and-comers. On the offensive side of the ball, the highlights include offensive coordinator Press Taylor, the brother of Bengals coach Zac Taylor who was previously an offensive assistant with Indianapolis.

He’s joined by passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy, who will both work closely with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The pair has worked with Peyton Manning in the past, and both are experienced offensive play-callers with McCoy also touting head coaching experience.

Offensive line coach Phil Rauscher also notably worked under Bill Callahan, a former head coach and longtime OL coach, in Washington.

The defensive side is arguably more impressive. Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell comes from Tampa Bay, where he was an inside linebackers coach. Caldwell worked with Todd Bowles in Arizona and New York, then followed him to the Buccaneers.

Defensive line coach Brentson Buckner has served in the same role for several other teams and has a good reputation around the league. Meanwhile, cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator Deshea Townsend carries a lot of wisdom from his 13-year playing career (in which he won two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers) in addition to a decade as an NFL assistant.

Townsend also played for legendary Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, which almost certainly had at least some impact on his philosophy.

Overall, this is a solid group. It may not be the flashiest, but it has several guys who have made their rounds around the league in addition to a couple of gambles on younger guys.

It would be hard to grade this staff any lower than a B, in my opinion, but we want to hear from you. What grade would you give Pederson’s new staff in Jacksonville?

Let us know in the poll below.

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Report: Plenty of salary increases for Georgia assistant coaches this offseason

A lot of salary changes since the Dawgs won it all.

Per a report from DawgNation, multiple Georgia assistant coaches have received pay increases this offseason.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken remains the highest paid assistant on Kirby Smart’s staff and received a $150,000 salary increase – bringing him from $1.1 million annually to $1.25 million.

Defensive line coach Tray Scott received a nice pay raise as well, taking him from $400,000 up to $750,000, DawgNation reported.

29 year outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe, whose hiring was announced in early February, will earn $450,000 per year, DawgNation learned in an FOIA request.

Georgia hired Bryan McClendon as receivers coach to replace Cortez Hankton – who left for the same position at LSU – in January. He is set to earn an annual salary of $700,000, whereas Hankton was earning $550,000 with Georgia in 2021. Hankton’s new deal at LSU is reportedly worth $900,000 per year.

Last year with Oregon, McClendon earned $515,000, according to the USA TODAY assistant coaching salary database.

Co-defensive coordinators Will Muschamp and Glenn Schumann will earn $800,000 per year. Muschamp, who was on Georgia’s staff last season as a defensive analyst was earning a salary of $500,000, while Schumann was making $600,000 as the linebackers coach, a duty he shared with former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning who is now the head coach at Oregon.

According to the USA TODAY Sports database, Georgia had the highest assistant coach salary pool in the SEC in 2021, totaling $7.93 million. At this present time, based on the information UGA provided to DawgNation, Georgia’s assistant coach salary pool equates to $7.475 million, a $455,000 decrease from 2021.

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Notre Dame set to hire new tight ends coach

How do you like the hire?

The vacancy at tight ends coach at Notre Dame doesn’t appear to have remained open very long.  John McNulty left the Irish to coordinate the offense at Boston College earlier this week and already multiple reports from both 247Sports and The Athletic have Marcus Freeman hiring a former co-worker of his for the position.

Related: All-time Super Bowl points scored by each college

Gerard Parker is leaving West Virginia where he coached wide receivers and will be the next Notre Dame tight ends coach.  He brings more than 15 years of coaching experience mostly at the wide receiver and running backs position.  He did coach tight ends specifically at Purdue during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  Parker also filled in as Purdue’s interim head coach for the second half of the 2016 season.

From Parker’s bio page on the West Virginia website:

In 2020, despite having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia had one of the most improved offenses in the nation in terms of total yards, showing gains of more than 60 yards rushing per game, almost 30 yards passing a game, more than 90 yards of total offense and almost seven more points a game.

The offensive line had a productive year with Leddie Brown rushing for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns, Jarret Doege throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 14 touchdowns and receiver Winston Wright Jr. was an All-Big 12 Conference Second Team performer after leading the Mountaineers with 47 catches for 553 yards and two touchdowns and T.J. Simmons finished with 23 catches for 401 yards and a team-high four receiving touchdowns. Simmons was named the WVU Offensive MVP as well as the Bowl MVP for finishing with two touchdowns, including the game-winning score.

Parker obviously must have a solid relationship with Marcus Freeman as the two were on the same staffs at Purdue as well as for one season at Cincinnati.

I’m not going to front and say this is a slam dunk hire but I won’t act like it’s a bad one, either.  Freeman is clearly putting his staff together and these decisions will ultimately play a huge part in just how much success the Irish will have in this new era.

And let’s hope that is a ton and that Notre Dame continues its great run of tight ends with this hire.

Related:  

Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

Notre Dame names new running backs coach – a Super Bowl winner

Notre Dame lands Super Bowl winning running backs coach

How do you grade this hire?

It wasn’t going to be easy to replace running backs coach Lance Taylor who left to become the offensive coordinator at Louisville but Marcus Freeman appears to have hit a home run.

Deland McCullogh is reportedly set to become Notre Dame’s new running backs coach and brings with him quite the resume.

McCullogh played running back at Miami (OH) from 1992-1995 and rushed for over 1,000 yards in three separate seasons.  His career concluded with over 4,300 career rushing yards and 37 touchdowns for the Red Hawks.

McCullogh got into coaching in 2010 as he joined Miami (OH) as a coaching intern before being hired as Indiana’s running backs coach in 2011 and coached star Hoosier running backs Stephen Houston, Tevin Coleman, and Jordan Howard before taking the same position at USC.

After one year with the Trojans in which running back Ronald Jones ran for over 1,500 yards, McCullogh was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs.  The next three seasons saw the Chiefs make an AFC Championship appearance all three years, play in the Super Bowl twice, and win Super Bowl LIV 31-20 over the San Francisco 49ers in large part due to their running game.

McCullogh has turned into a coaching star despite only being in the profession for a decade and brings a track record of success that makes it incredibly easy for Notre Dame fans to get excited about.

Related:

Notre Dame football coaching tracker

Notre Dame’s all-time all Super Bowl team

Notre Dame officially names new special teams coordinator

Officially official.

We’ve known for a couple weeks now that Brian Mason from Cincinnati would be taking over as Notre Dame‘s special teams coordinator and Thursday saw that news finally made official.

In a statement released by Notre Dame athletics, Marcus Freeman spoke about Mason, who he coached with at Cincinnati.

“In designing our staff, I want to surround our players with coaches who are excellent teachers, relentless recruiters and intentional in building relationships. I am excited to introduce Brian Mason as our special teams coordinator, as I know he will be a dynamic fit for our program.

“Brian is the best in his field, and has a proven track record of producing elite special teams units. We look forward to him bringing that edge to Notre Dame.”

Mason has coached at Cincinnati since 2017 as his special teams units played a significant factor in the Bearcats going 13-0 and earning a College Football Playoff spot this past season.

Related:

Notre Dame football coaching staff tracker 

Notre Dame transfer portal tracker (2022)