Tag: Bret Bielema

Report: Giants’ Bret Bielema interviewing with University of Colorado

New York Giants outside linebackers coach/senior assistant Bret Bielema is interviewing with Colorado for their head coaching position.

The New York Giants breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month when outside linebacker coach/senior assistant Bret Bielema was passed over for the Michigan State job despite a strong “mutual interest.”

At the time, it appeared as if Joe Judge’s staff was stable and that Bielema would remain a part of it.

That may not be the case, however.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Bielema is now interviewing for the vacant head coaching position at the University of Colorado.

Judge has offered nothing but praise for Bielema to this point.

“There’s a lot of things (to like) about Bret,” Judge said. “I think Bret brings a great personality to the group, brings a great perspective on how he sees the game, he’s coached the front for some time, he’s coordinated defenses at a high level. Players respond to Bret in a positive way. He has a great way of teaching, he has a great way of getting the guys motivated, and he gets the most out of his players.

“He brings experience from the NFL, as well as college, so not only does he understand what’s going on in the league now, he understands what the players coming from college are used to and how to better translate the trends they’re going to see.”

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Barry Alvarez interviewed Mel Tucker after Bret Bielema left in 2012

More on Mel Tucker

Mel Tucker, who played football for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin in the early 1990s, did not become head coach of the Badgers. He has, however, become a Big Ten head coach, moving from Colorado to take the open job at Michigan State after Mark Dantonio retired earlier this month.

Barry Alvarez has had to fill multiple football coaching vacancies in his tenure as Wisconsin’s athletic director. He had to replace Gary Andersen when the former Utah State coach abruptly bolted from Madison and went to take the Oregon State job a few years ago. Alvarez tabbed Paul Chryst to replace Andersen, a move which has worked out really well.

A few years earlier, though, Bret Bielema left Wisconsin to coach Arkansas in the SEC. Bielema couldn’t resist the lure of coaching in the Southeastern Conference, apparently unsatisfied by the challenge of coaching in the Big Ten in a league with Urban Meyer of Ohio State and the aforementioned Dantonio at Michigan State. When Bielema left, guess whom Alvarez interviewed (among others) for the open UW job?

Yup. Mel Tucker.

You could look it up.

It is fascinating to wonder if Alvarez had looked around in December of 2012 and felt that Tucker, not Andersen, was the right man for the job. Consider the ripple effect this might have had on college football history over the next seven years.

Tucker doesn’t join Kirby Smart as defensive coordinator at Georgia, for one thing. Tucker probably wouldn’t have joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama before he moved to Georgia.

If Tucker had taken the Wisconsin job, first off, the bizarre actions of Gary Andersen never would have unfolded. The 59-0 loss to Ohio State in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game — a clear product of Andersen having mentally checked out of the UW job because he had one foot already out the door — never would have happened. Maybe Ohio State doesn’t make the College Football Playoff under adjusted circumstances… and therefore would not have won the 2014 national championship.

Tucker didn’t coach Wisconsin in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Gary Andersen did. Now we will have to see how Tucker’s arrival at Michigan State changes the course of Big Ten football history.

You could look it up… in five years.

Bret Bielema doesn’t get MSU job, will remain on Giants staff

MSU has passed over Bret Bielema as their next head coach. He will instead remain OLB coach/senior assistant with the New York Giants.

The New York Giants had a bit of a scare this week with word that outside linebackers coach/senior assistant, Bret Bielema, was “very interested” in the Michigan State head coaching job — an interest that was apparently mutual.

However, Big Blue dodged that bullet on Wednesday with reports that MSU has instead decided to hire Mel Tucker as their next head coach.

In addition to Bielema, MSU was also reportedly interested in former Giants head coach Pat Shurmur for the position, but he ultimately remained with the Denver Broncos as their offensive coordinator.

With Bielema remaining in place, Giants head coach Joe Judge will not be forced back into recruitment mode and can instead look ahead to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

“There’s a lot of things (to like) about Bret,” Judge said last week. “I think Bret brings a great personality to the group, brings a great perspective on how he sees the game, he’s coached the front for some time, he’s coordinated defenses at a high level. Players respond to Bret in a positive way. He has a great way of teaching, he has a great way of getting the guys motivated, and he gets the most out of his players.

“He brings experience from the NFL, as well as college, so not only does he understand what’s going on in the league now, he understands what the players coming from college are used to and how to better translate the trends they’re going to see.”

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New York Giants assistant coach Bret Bielema interested in MSU Football coaching job

Former Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema is interested in the Michigan State Football head coaching position.

Many MSU Football fans were despondent today, and perhaps rightfully so, after finding out the news that the candidate who seemed most likely to join the Spartans as their next head coach, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, had turned down the job. Despite the apparent setback, the coaching search continues, and former multi-time Big Ten champion Bret Bielema has expressed ‘definite interest’ in the position, according to Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press.

Bielema was the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year and won three Big Ten championships in a row from 2010-2012 with the Wisconsin Badgers. He would go on to Arkansas where he was… less successful. He is now the outside linebackers coach and senior assistant for the New York Giants. He just joined the team after previously acting as the Defensive Line Coach for the New England Patriots in 2019.

Bielema’s success in the Big Ten, and experience, certainly can’t be overlooked.

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Report: Giants’ Bret Bielema has ‘definite interest’ in Michigan State job

Newly hired New York Giants OLB coach Bret Bielema reportedly has ‘definite interest’ in the Michigan State head coaching job.

The New York Giants are slightly less than a week removed from officially announcing the entirety of Joe Judge’s coaching staff, which includes outside linebackers coach/senior assistant Bret Bielema.

“There’s a lot of things (to like) about Bret,” Judge said last week. “I think Bret brings a great personality to the group, brings a great perspective on how he sees the game, he’s coached the front for some time, he’s coordinated defenses at a high level. Players respond to Bret in a positive way. He has a great way of teaching, he has a great way of getting the guys motivated, and he gets the most out of his players.

“He brings experience from the NFL, as well as college, so not only does he understand what’s going on in the league now, he understands what the players coming from college are used to and how to better translate the trends they’re going to see.”

Unfortunately for Judge and the Giants, Bielema’s tenure in East Rutherford could be remarkably short-lived.

Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press reports that Bielema has “definite interest” in the Michigan State head coaching job, which has also reportedly drawn the interest of former Giants head coach and current Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, former Wisconsin and Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has “definite” interest in succeeding Mark Dantonio, who retired Tuesday after 13 seasons.

. . .

Word is he is eager to return to the college game and has set his sights on the Big Ten, where he played at Iowa and achieved his most success as a head coach at Wisconsin.

If the Giants and Judge were to lose Bielema to Michigan State, it would be an unexpected blow to the newly assembled staff. It would also send New York reeling in an effort to find an immediate replacement.

MSU’s search committee met on Monday morning and have a Monday evening meeting scheduled with the board of trustees where the next steps will be discussed. Might they include Bielema?

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Bret Bielema’s role on Giants’ staff defined

Bret Bielema will join the New York Giants’ coaching staff as the outside linebackers coach and senior assistant.

According to multiple reports, Bret Bielema’s title on the New York Giants’ coaching staff will be outside linebackers coach/senior assistant.

Bielema was hired this week by new Giants head coach Joe Judge to the staff, but his role was not immediately defined. He joins Jerome Henderson (defensive backs) and coordinator Patrick Graham on the Giants’ defensive staff. Still open are the defensive line and inside linebackers jobs and perhaps another hire to help in the secondary.

Bielema’s main charges will be Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines, two young linebackers the Giants hope will develop into top-notch pass rushers.

The 50-year-old Bielema was the New England Patriots’ defensive line coach in 2019 after spending the previous season as a special consultant to head coach Bill Belichick.

Bielema has a long history of coaching success on the college level compiling a 97-58 record as the head coach at Wisconsin and Arkansas.

He is another hire out of the Belichick/Saban coaching tree where Judge made his bones over the years. Graham worked under Belichick in New England, while offensive coordinator Jason Garrett got his first coaching gig under Nick Saban in Miami.

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Report: DL coach Bret Bielema leaving Patriots for Giants

The Patriots now have three vacancies to fill.

The New England Patriots saw their second coaching departure of the offseason on Tuesday, with the New York Giants luring away defensive line coach Bret Bielema, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Bielema was in his first year as defensive line coach in 2019 after serving as an assistant in 2018. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Arkansas from 2013 to 2017 and Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012. Bielema will serve in an undisclosed role for the Giants under head coach Joe Judge, who joined New York this offseason after eight years with the Patriots. Most recently, Judge was the team’s special teams coordinator and receivers coach.

New England will have to replace their defensive line coach for the second consecutive season after Brendan Daly joined the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2018 season, which led to Bielema’s promotion.

There isn’t an obvious candidate to replace Bielema on the Patriots. They have pass-rush specialist Joe Kim, who works largely on hand technique with New England’s players. He is likely to help with continuity, even if he is unlikely to serve as the next positional coach. The team can follow their custom by picking an internal assistant coach, who has yet to earn a position group. Or they can look for a suitable out-of-house candidate.

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Report: Giants adding Bret Bielema, Jerome Henderson to coaching staff

The New York Giants are expected to add Bret Bielema and Jerome Henderson to their coaching staff.

The New York Giants are reportedly bringing in New England Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema to join Joe Judge’s coaching staff.

Bielema, the former head coach at Arkansas and Wisconsin before that, joined Bill Belichick’s staff in 2018 as a consultant to the head coach. He was elevated to defensive line coach last season.

Bielema is another familiar face Judge has chosen to surround himself with. It is not known what position Bielema will be assigned, but he has been a defensive coach his entire career which began as a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1994.

Judge has already hired several former Patriots assistants in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski.

In addition, the Giants are expected to hire former Atlanta Falcons assistant Jerome Henderson as their defensive backs coach.

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Former Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda Named Baylor’s Head Football Coach

Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda named the new head coach at Baylor.

Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was announced as the new head football coach at Baylor on Thursday.

Aranda, 43, will replace former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule who accepted the head coaching position with the Carolina Panthers following Baylor’s loss to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Prior to coming to Wisconsin in 2013, Aranda served as the defensive coordinator at Utah State for one season under Gary Andersen in 2012. Andersen replaced Bret Bielema as the head coach at Wisconsin in 2013 when Bielema left for the Arkansas head coaching position. Despite the one season together at Utah State Andersen hired Aranda to coordinate Wisconsin’s defense.

In Aranda’s three seasons with the Badgers as the defensive coordinator, the Badgers consistently ranked as one of the top defenses as Aranda made the switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4.

Despite Aranda’s short stay at Wisconsin, his impact had a lasting effect.

In his three seasons with the Badgers, his defense’s consistently improved. In 2013 Wisconsin’s defense ranked seventh nationally in total defense (305.1 yards per game), in 2014 they ranked fourth nationally (294.1 yards per game), and in 2015 they ranked second nationally (268.5 yards per game).

Not to mention in two of his three seasons at Wisconsin the Badgers scoring defense ranked in the top 10 nationally, which includes ranking 1st in his last year as the Badgers allowed 13.7 points per game.

Even when Aranda was hired away from Wisconsin by LSU his defenses were still some of the top nationally in his four seasons with the Tigers. Aranda was able to help the Tigers win their first national championship since 2008 on Monday night when LSU beat Clemson 42-to-25.

This will mark Aranda’s first head coaching job as prior to him accepting the head coaching position in Waco he was being discussed as the head coach for the opening at UNLV.

With Aranda being named the head coach at Baylor he is the sixth former Badger defensive coordinator since 2004 to be named head coach of a college football program. Aranda joins a list that already includes Bielema (Wisconsin), Dave Doeren (Northern Illinois), Charlie Partridge (Florida Atlantic), Chris Ash (Rutgers), and Justin Wilcox (California).

Report: Patriots’ Bret Bielema could follow Joe Judge to Giants

Could Joe Judge bring Bret Bielema to New York?

New York Giants coach Joe Judge seems open to taking some of this former co-workers in New England with him, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema is in the mix to take over the Giants defensive coordinator job, per Raanan.

Bielema had a successful season getting the most out of defensive linemen Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Danny Shelton and Deatrich Wise. Though the group didn’t feature any big names, they managed to hold together a defensive front-seven which played a major role in the NFL’s top defense in scoring, yards per game and interceptions. They were seventh in sacks.

The Patriots’ inability to incorporate Michael Bennett remains an oddity — they were forced to trade him after his relationship with the team deteriorated while his playing time plummeted. Bennett was suspended after getting into a philosophical disagreement with Bielema, according to Bennett.

Bielema joined the Patriots after serving as the head coach at Arkansas from 2013 to 2017. He was also the head coach at Wisconsin from 2016 to 2012.

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