Tag: Browns

Saints Twitter melts down after Jerrod Johnson backs out of OC search

Saints Twitter reactions to Jerrod Johnson returning to the Texans were mixed, but confidence in the offensive coordinator search is waning

There weren’t many names in this year’s hiring cycle drawing more buzz than Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson. The 35-year-old interviewed with the New Orleans Saints and five other teams looking for a new offensive coordinator — including playoff teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns as well as the rebuilding New England Patriots.

Instead, Johnson elected to stay another year in Houston, where he received a raise and an extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He’ll continue working with young star quarterback C.J. Stroud under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik which should give him a great opportunity to improve his stock ahead of the 2025 hiring cycle. If Slowik is hired away next year then Johnson is a natural successor on DeMeco Ryans’ staff.

But that didn’t leave Saints fans feeling happy. Reactions were mixed (some were turned off by Johnson’s lack of experience) but confidence in the offensive coordinator search is waning. Dennis Allen can’t afford to get this hire wrong. Here’s what fans are saying in the aftermath of Johnson returning to Houston:

Evan Engram replacing Travis Kelce in 2024 Pro Bowl Games

Evan Engram will join Josh Allen and Ross Matiscik on the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram was added to the AFC roster for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games as a replacement for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, the xxx announced Monday.

Engram, 29, recorded 114 receptions, 963 yards, and four touchdowns during the 2023 regular season. It was the second most catches in a single season ever recorded by a tight end, just two behind the record of 116 receptions set by Zach Ertz in 2018.

So it was a relative surprise when Engram was left off the Pro Bowl rosters in the first place. Kelce and the Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku received the two AFC spots instead, but the former is headed to Super Bowl LVIII and won’t participate in the Pro Bowl Games.

Engram, who earned Pro Bowl honors during his 2020 season with the New York Giants, will join pass rusher Josh Allen and long snapper Ross Matiscik as the three Jaguars represented at the event. It’s the most for the franchise since the 2019 season when Jacksonville had four Pro Bowlers.

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Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson schedules second interview with Saints

Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson scheduled a second interview with the Saints, meeting team brass in person on Saturday:

This could be big: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints are meeting Jerrod Johnson for a second interview on Saturday, this time speaking with him in person following a virtual interview earlier this week. He’s a candidate for their open offensive coordinator position.

Johnson, 35, has been a hot candidate as teams work to look for their new play caller. He’s also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles.

A highly productive quarterback at Texas A&M, Johnson has risen quickly through the coaching ranks as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers (under Kyle Shanahan) and Indianapolis Colts (under Frank Reich). Before joining DeMeco Ryans’ staff on the Texans, he was an assistant quarterbacks coach for the Minnesota Vikings under Kevin O’Connell. He’s worked closely with some of the most successful head coaches in the league and could be a good fit with the Saints.

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Eagles, Browns to interview Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore

With Jim Harbaugh expected to bring in his own staff, the Chargers are other teams to interview Kellen Moore.

The Eagles and Browns are set to interview Kellen Moore for their offensive coordinator vacancies.

The Bears recently requested to interview Moore, but the Chargers blocked their request.

With Harbaugh expected to bring in his own staff, Los Angeles is allowing other teams to interview Moore.

Hired last year, Moore’s unit finished 18th in total offense, 13th in passing, 25th in rushing and 21st in scoring in 2023.

Moore was brought in to boost the running game, but that never came to fruition.

Even though the offense was without Corey Linsley and Mike Williams for most of the season and a hampered Justin Herbert before he was out for the year, the results with Moore left much to be desired.

Before joining the Chargers, Moore oversaw the Cowboys’ offense since 2019. Dallas averaged the second-most points (27.7) in the NFL across those four seasons.

Moore was a backup quarterback with the Lions (2012-14) and Cowboys (2015-17) before starting his coaching career in 2018 as Dallas’ quarterbacks coach.

Saints interviewing Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson on Monday

The Saints are interviewing Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson on Monday for their vacant offensive coordinator position:

A couple of teams will be meeting with Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson this week; KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson reports that the New Orleans Saints will interview Johnson remotely on Monday before he travels to speak with Cleveland Browns brass in person on Tuesday.

Some fans might worry about Johnson’s first meeting with the Saints being virtual instead of face-to-face, but this is common practice around the league. Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges joined a Zoom interview with the New England Patriots last week. If these initial conversations go well they can lead to second, more-thorough interviews in person, as was the case for Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, per NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.

Still, it goes to show that Johnson is a coveted candidate. He’s done a great job preparing C.J. Stroud for life in the NFL and coaching up the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite. He’s known as a sharp football mind with a passion for teaching his players the intricacies of the game.

“I see myself as a teacher. My biggest thing is I want to teach,” Johnson told Wilson earlier this year. “Whatever is needed of the players in the room, from Case Keenum, to Davis Mills, to C.J., whatever I can do to teach and give them whatever they need, I try to be transparent and open and honest with them. It’s a joy to coach them.”

That’s exactly what the Saints need to get their offense right and maximize Derek Carr’s skills. A stronger attention to detail and eye for coaching up young players like Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Kendre Miller is going to be important for whoever earns the offensive coordinator job. Being able to connect with Carr and help him excel (and, critically, avoiding the mistake-prone start we saw from him last season) is critically important. We’ll see how things develop after Johnson goes through this round of meetings with the Saints and other teams.

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Browns interviewing Seahawks offensive line coach for OC position

Dickerson could do much better work with an organization really committed to OL development.

The Browns are interviewing Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson for their open offensive coordinator position, according to a report by Mary Kay Calbot at Cleveland.com.

Dickerson earned a lot of praise early in the season for his unit’s performance despite injuries to left tackle Charles Cross and right tackle Abe Lucas. However, as the schedule got harder the unit quickly fell to pieces as they faced better pass rushing teams that tended to dominate them. Seattle also only managed three or four strong run blocking games all year.

Then again, Dickerson wasn’t given much to work with. The Seahawks had the cheapest offensive line in the league this season by a huge margin, whereas the Browns are near the top of the NFL in this category, with only six teams spending more up front in 2023. Dickerson could do much better work with an organization really committed to OL development.

The only other Seahawks assistant to draw interest thus far is offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Saints and Bears have requested to interview him for their offensive coordinator openings.

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Mickey Loomis can’t stop making bad excuses for Dennis Allen

Mickey Loomis can’t stop making bad excuses for Dennis Allen, comparing his second head coaching gig to rough starts from a couple of Hall of Famers:

Is Mickey Loomis proud of the turnaround the New Orleans Saints achieved back in 2006? Everything the longtime general manager has said in recent weeks would suggest he isn’t. First, Loomis compared Derek Carr’s ugly first season with the Saints to a fictitious retelling of Drew Brees’ debut way back when.

Then, on Wednesday when speaking to local media, Loomis tried to get clever and compare head coach Dennis Allen’s lack of success to similar rough starts for a couple of Hall of Fame coaches like Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, and Bill Belichick — and Sean Payton, who Loomis recalled facing public outcry after underwhelming performances in 2007 and 2008.

“I think sometimes the easy thing to do, the lazy thing to do is look at the results of the season and say ‘ah it’s the coach’s fault, it’s the quarterback’s fault.’ I think sometimes you have to look beyond that,” Loomis said, pointing to the records each of those coaches achieved in their first two years on the job. Walsh went 8-24 in his first two years with the San Francisco 49ers. Noll was 6-22 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Belichick had a 13-19 showing after his first two years with the Cleveland Browns. Payton went 7-9 and 8-8 in his second and third years on the job.

But it’s a bogus comparison. Allen may be 16-18 after two seasons with the Saints, but you can’t compare these situations the way Loomis is trying to. It isn’t like Allen is new to the responsibilities of being a head coach. He had three years to figure these things out a decade ago with the Raiders. Walsh, Noll, Belichick, and Payton were all first-timers. Allen has been here before but he doesn’t have the results to show for it.

To be clear, Loomis should believe in Allen seeing that he brought the coach back for a third year at the helm. Loomis, however, doesn’t need to make ridiculous comparisons to attempt to defend his guy. The comparisons are meant to express things haven’t gone well but can get better, and Dennis Allen’s record isn’t a full reflection of his ability Comparing Allen to Payton and Belichick, and multiple Hall of Famers, dilutes the point.

And Payton, specifically, accomplished much more than Allen had to this point in his career. Has Loomis forgotten that he led the Saints to the NFC championship game in his first season with New Orleans? That he won more games in his first year as a head coach than Allen has ever managed in five? Allen can’t even win the weakest division in pro football two years running.

But Loomis hired Allen, and he’s going to keep making excuses for Allen’s shortcomings until things change. And hopefully they will. There’s enough talent on this roster to get into the playoffs. Maybe the Saints can make enough changes to the coaching staff this offseason to get over that hump. But they can do that without having their general manager embarrass himself whenever he gets in front of a microphone.

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5 free agents for Saints fans to scout in Browns-Texans playoff game

Here are five free agents for Saints fans to scout in Saturday afternoon’s Texans-Browns playoff game:

We’re closing in on kickoff of the NFL’s wild-card round, which is a great opportunity for New Orleans Saints fans to scout upcoming free agents while they compete on the biggest stage. And there are plenty of prospects worth watching when the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns match up.

Whether the Saints are looking to get more explosive in the running game or deeper on the defensive side of the ball, here are five players we’re watching closely:

Jaguars’ 2024 opponents finalized after 2nd place finish

The Jaguars’ list of 2024 opponents is officially set.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ slate of 2024 opponents is officially set after the team finished second in the AFC South with a 9-8 record.

Next season, the Jaguars will play the entire AFC East and NFC North along with one opponent each from the AFC North, AFC West, and NFC East.

The entire schedule with the dates of those games won’t be announced until later in the offseason, as the NFL typically waits until May to reveal the entire slate.

It’s also a guarantee that the Jaguars will play at least one game in London. Last year, the league announced the list of teams that would play overseas in January, so it may not be long before Jacksonville can get the first puzzle piece in place for its 2024 schedule.

Here’s every team the Jaguars will face next season:

Saints signed a former Falcons OL before critical Week 18 finale

The Saints signed a former Falcons guard before Week 18’s rematch. Maybe he can give Dennis Allen some pointers on how to not allow 228 rushing yards this time:

This is interesting: the New Orleans Saints signed former Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Colby Gossett to their practice squad this week, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This pickup comes just days before the Saints kick off with Gossett’s old Falcons team in their Week 18 regular season finale.

A sixth-round pick out of Appalachian State by the Minnesota Vikings back in 2018, Gossett has spent time with five different teams before coming to New Orleans. But the bulk of his game experience has been with the Falcons, where he played 314 snaps at left guard and 70 reps at right guard during the 2021 and 2022 seasons (including the 2022 preseason). He most recently played for the Browns in the 2023 preseason.

So are the Saints hoping Gossett can give them some inside info? Probably not. There won’t be anything he can share with them they won’t pick up studying game tape themselves, and New Orleans had to have learned a lot when the Falcons ran for 228 yards on Dennis Allen’s defense in a 24-15 road loss earlier this season. Gossett adds depth and some veteran experience to an offensive line that could use it, but don’t expect his presence to determine the outcome on Sunday.

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