Tag: chuck pagano

Colts hire former Ravens assistant Chris Hewitt as secondary coach

Baltimore Ravens part ways with assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Chris Hewitt

The Ravens have made sweeping changes to their coaching staff. Hours after hiring Chuck Pagano as the Senior Secondary coach, the team parted ways with longtime assistant coach Chris Hewitt.

Hewitt had been on staff since 2012 and interviewed for the defensive coordinator position that went to Zach Orr last off-season.  Hewitt wasn’t unemployed long and landed with the Indianapolis Colts in a similar role.

Tom Pelissero reports that the Colts hired Hewitt as their passing game coordinator and secondary coach.

The Colts hired Lou Anarumo as their defensive coordinator after he was fired by the Bengals. They have also agreed to hire linebackers coach James Bettcher.

Hewitt just completed his 10th season leading Baltimore’s secondary, adding the assistant head coach title in 2024. He joined the Ravens as an assistant special teams coach in 2012, a post he held for two years before earning a promotion to assistant secondary coach in 2014. Hewitt has led Baltimore’s secondary since the 2015 campaign, helping the team consistently earn standout defensive rankings before this year.

The Ravens allowed 4,150 yards passing in 2024, the second time in their history that they had allowed more than 4,000 yards passing in a single season.

The Ravens’ secondary allowed 58 completions of 20 yards or more, the third-most in the NFL and the second-most by the Ravens since 2000.

Pagano will oversee a talented Ravens secondary that includes two Pro Bowl players, safety Kyle Hamilton, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and Nate Wiggins, a 2024 first-round pick. The only starter who is an unrestricted free agent is cornerback Brandon Stephens.

Ravens part ways with assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Chris Hewitt

Baltimore Ravens part ways with assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Chris Hewitt

The Ravens are making sweeping changes to their coaching staff. Hours after hiring Chuck Pagano as the Senior Secondary coach, the team is parting ways with longtime assistant coach Chris Hewitt.

Hewitt had been on staff since 2012 and interviewed for the defensive coordinator position that went to Zach Orr last off-season.

Hewitt just completed his 10th season leading Baltimore’s secondary, adding the assistant head coach title in 2024. He joined the Ravens as an assistant special teams coach in 2012, a post he held for two years before earning a promotion to assistant secondary coach in 2014. Hewitt has led Baltimore’s secondary since the 2015 campaign, helping the team consistently earn standout defensive rankings before this year.

The Ravens allowed 4,150 yards passing in 2024, the second time in their history that they had allowed more than 4,000 yards passing in a single season.

The Ravens’ secondary allowed 58 completions of 20 yards or more, the third-most in the NFL and the second-most by the Ravens since 2000.

Pagano will oversee a talented Ravens secondary that includes two Pro Bowl players, safety Kyle Hamilton, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and Nate Wiggins, a 2024 first-round pick. The only starter who is an unrestricted free agent is cornerback Brandon Stephens.

Chuck Pagano talks returning to NFL; Ravens job offer ‘coming out of nowhere’

Baltimore Ravens hire former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano as senior secondary coach

The Ravens’ defense improved down the stretch last season, but the secondary left much to be desired. To improve defense, Baltimore hires a defensive guru, Chuck Pagano, as senior secondary coach.

Pagano has been a weekly guest on the Pat McAfee show for the past couple of years. On Wednesday, he gave some insight into his return to coaching. Pagano says he’s always “thought about getting back” into coaching.

Pagano told McAfee that the job offer from John Harbaugh came out of nowhere.

“Chuck brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and coaching talent to our team,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “He has deep ties to the program and is excited to get to work.”

Last season, defensive coordinator Zach Orr had Dean Pees return to the franchise as a senior advisor in October, which helped turn around the Baltimore defense midway through the season.

In 2011, Pagano became the defensive coordinator for the Ravens, who ranked No. 3 in yards allowed and points allowed that season. Pagano parlayed that success into the Colts’ head coach from 2012 to 2017, compiling a 56-46 (.549) record, including the playoffs. He then was the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator for two seasons before announcing his retirement in July 2021, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Chuck Pagano unretires to join Ravens staff as senior secondary coach

Baltimore Ravens hire former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano as senior secondary coach

The Ravens’ defense improved down the stretch last season, but the secondary left much to be desired. To improve defense, Baltimore is hiring a defensive guru, Chuck Pagano, as senior secondary coach.

ESPN reports that Pagano, 64, is returning to Baltimore after a four-year retirement. In 2011, he served as defensive coordinator. He will look to help a Ravens defense that allowed 237.4 yards passing per game, ranked 26th in the NFL.

“Chuck brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and coaching talent to our team,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “He has deep ties to the program and is excited to get to work.”

Last season, defensive coordinator Zach Orr had Dean Pees return to the franchise as a senior advisor in October, which helped turn around the Baltimore defense midway through the season.

In 2011, Pagano became the defensive coordinator for the Ravens, who ranked No. 3 in yards allowed and points allowed that season. Pagano parlayed that success into the Colts’ head coach from 2012 to 2017, compiling a 56-46 (.549) record, including the playoffs. He then was the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator for two seasons before announcing his retirement in July 2021, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Commanders hire veteran NFL assistant John Pagano as senior defensive assistant

The Commanders add a highly respected defensive assistant to Dan Quinn’s staff.

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn continues to add to his coaching staff. On Monday evening, Brent Allbright of KOA 850 AM in Denver reported that veteran NFL assistant John Pagano was heading to Washington.

When someone asked Allbright what role Pagano would serve, he said “probably” senior defensive assistant.

Pagano, 56, is the brother of former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. He began his coaching career in college in 1989, with his first NFL opportunity coming in 1996.

Here is a look at Pagano’s list of coaching stops:

  • New Orleans Saints (1996-97): Defensive assistant
  • Indianapolis Colts (1998-01): Defensive assistant
  • San Diego Chargers (2002): Defensive assistant & defensive quality control coach
  • San Diego Chargers (2003): Assistant linebackers coach
  • San Diego Chargers (2004): Outside linebackers coach
  • San Diego Chargers (2005-11): Linebackers coach
  • San Diego Chargers (2012-16): Defensive coordinator
  • Oakland Raiders (2017-18): Assistant head coach & defensive coordinator
  • Houston Texans (2018-19): Senior defensive assistant & outside linebackers coach
  • Denver Broncos (2020-21): Outside linebackers coach

Pagano has a wealth of experience coaching multiple positions and as a two-time defensive coordinator. Per Allbright and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Pagano had multiple opportunities but chose Washington and Quinn.

Chuck Pagano on Michael Pittman Jr. : ‘Ballard, you better pay the man’

Chuck Pagano makes the case for Michael Pittman Jr. to be paid.

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is loudly banging the table for Michael Pittman Jr. to be paid.

After watching the Jonathan Taylor tug-of-war with the Colts this offseason, many around the league wondered whether the next most likely man to be paid — Pittman — would also end up struggling to land a deal with the team.

But Pittman has essentially put many of those questions (including whether or not he was a top receiver) to bed this season with some record-breaking performances.

His stellar play has turned heads and gotten the attention of former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. Pagno is advocating on his behalf and recently told a local Indy news station that Pittman “deserves a bag.”

(Warning: NSFW language.)

A second-round pick in 2020, Pittman is in the final year of his rookie contract. The market for wideouts is an expensive one, and Pittman has continued to prove he’s the catalyst of the offense.

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Former NFL HC: Panthers will be fast, aggressive under DC Ejiro Evero

Former Colts HC Chuck Pagano recently gave his outlook on how the Panthers defense will function under Ejiro Evero.

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How will the Carolina Panthers defense function under new coordinator Ejiro Evero? A former NFL head coach just provided us with his forecast.

Chuck Pagano recently gave The 33rd Team a preview of what he believes Evero is bringing to Charlotte. The ex-Indianapolis Colts head coach, who preceded Frank Reich at the position, looked to the rising star’s roots.

He writes:

He’s a 3-4 guy, a Vic Fangio disciple. They two worked together with the San Francisco 49ers when Fangio was the defensive coordinator and Evero was a defensive assistant. A lot of Evero’s fronts start in the 3-4; a lot of the coverage out of that base defense; and a lot of coverage out of that sub-defense are things we’ll see in Carolina.

He’ll probably have the guys line up in a base 3-4 — so three defensive linemen, two outside linebackers and two inside linebackers. In the secondary, it’ll be two safeties and two corners with base personnel not in that much.

Carolina’s move to a 3-4 front will be their first such shift since 2019, Ron Rivera’s last season with the organization.

To help accommodate the transition, the front office has retooled its personnel with a few notable additions such as defensive linemen Shy Tuttle and DeShawn Williams. Plus, some familiar names—Brian Burns, Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn—already have the skill sets to quickly adapt to the change.

Pagano adds that Evero’s weapons, as well as his approach, will lead to a pretty entertaining unit:

The Panthers are going to play fast. They’re going to be aggressive and technically sound. There will be a lot more zone coverage than man coverage, but he won’t be afraid to get after opposing teams when he has to.

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Former NFL coach Chuck Pagano doesn’t see 49ers defense falling off at all

Former NFL head coach Chuck Pagano doesn’t envision any significant steps back for the 49ers defense this year.

The 49ers defensive personnel won’t undergo many dramatic changes this season, but there are two key factors that could alter the unit that finished No. 1 in scoring defense and total defense last season. They added defensive lineman Javon Hargrave in free agency, which provides a massive lift on the interior. They’ll also be working under new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano doesn’t envision much of a drop off for the 49ers’ defense in 2023. And while Wilks is their biggest question mark on that side, he drew a strong review from Pagano who still likes that unit for San Francisco.

“This defense is stacked, then you add Hargrave to the mix,” Pagano said via the 33rd Team. “So to me, the biggest thing for them now is going to be the transition from DeMeco Ryans – who gets his shot in Houston, he’ll do wonderful there – he did an amazing job running that defense in San Fran the last couple years. So this transition, how quick can they adjust to Steve Wilks – who did a phenomenal job in Carolina as the interim (head coach). A lot of people thought he deserved a chance there after Arizona – having his opportunity there. But Steve’s a great coach, he’s a great teacher, he’s a great communicator. And he’ll put those guys in the best position possible to sustain this level of play.”

It’s fair to question exactly what how the 49ers’ defense will respond to a new defensive coordinator. Those same question marks existed when Robert Saleh took a head coaching job with the Jets and Ryans took over as the DC. The defense responded by actually getting better over Ryans’ two seasons at the helm.

Now they’re hoping the same will happen under Wilks, who won’t have to make many changes given the lack of turnover in personnel. There’ll be a new Sam linebacker and a new nickel cornerback, but beyond that this will largely be the same group of players that was dominant last year, with the addition of Hargrave who might’ve been the best available free agent.

Wilks will have to answer some questions as the DC, but Pagano’s ringing endorsement combined with the talent on that side of the ball makes it hard to believe San Francisco’s defense is due for any significant drop off in 2023.

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Former Colts HC has Dolphins defense among the league’s best

With acquisitions like Jalen Ramsey and Vic Fangio, they should be much improved.

The 2023 Miami Dolphins didn’t exactly have the best defensive season in team history. In fact, they allowed 399 points, the sixth most since the team was founded in 1966.

While a lot of that can be contributed to the slew of injuries that took out or slowed down impact players like Xavien Howard, Nik Needham, Brandon Jones, Emmanuel Ogbah and Byron Jones, the defensive scheme coached by Josh Boyer just wasn’t cutting it.

That’s why Miami opted to make a change this offseason, firing Boyer and bringing on an experienced defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio. On top of that, the Dolphins addressed the defensive side of the roster as well, adding Jalen Ramsey, David Long, DeShon Elliott and Malik Reed.

In the draft, they even selected South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith with their first pick despite the position not being their biggest need.

With all of this in mind, it’s not hard to see why former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, speaking with The 33rd Team, has the Dolphins’ defensive unit ranked as the fifth-best in the NFL.

One of the interesting points that Pagano made was his reference to Miami’s hiring of defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill. While the move has been mostly an afterthought with all of the splash news coming out with the team in the last year, having another coach with defensive coordinator experience to help one of the most talented secondaries in football can only help.

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Chuck Pagano: Giants’ Wink Martindale wants to dictate game tempo

Chuck Pagano discusses the aggressive approach of Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, noting that he wants to dictate game tempo.

The NFL assistant coach fraternity is a tight-knit one. Many of them have worked alongside one another as well as across the field as rivals.

Chuck Pagano, a long-time defensive assistant and former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, is one of those football lifers. He’s known New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale for many years and chimed in on his friend/rival’s coaching philosophy.

“Wink Martindale gets off the bus bringing seven, eight, nine guys,” Pagano said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “He’s of the mindset that he’s always gonna dictate the tempo of a football game.”

Pagano was the defensive backs coach for the Oakland Raiders while Martindale served as the linebackers coach there in 2005-2006.

Both have held the position of defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.

Pagano’s comments are music to the ears of Giant fans, who are clamoring for the days where they possessed a dominant defense with a devastating pass rush.

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