Tag: Clancy Barone

Report: Saints retaining tight ends coach Clancy Barone for 2024

Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay in New Orleans on Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024:

This is a good move: Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay on board with the New Orleans Saints, joining incoming offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024.

Barone, 60, previously worked with him on the Denver Broncos when his father Gary Kubiak was head coach; Barone coached the offensive line while the younger Kubiak was an offensive assistant. Their paths diverged from there, with Barone most recently coaching tight ends for the Chicago Bears before coming to New Orleans.

So it makes sense to keep someone with familiarity to the system Kubiak is installing. Hopefully Barone can sustain the success the Saints’ tight ends found late in the season. Juwan Johnson finished strong by catching three touchdown passes and averaging 54 yards per game in the final four weeks. Taysom Hill was impactful throughout the season but they should be getting more out of Foster Moreau. Still, if the opportunity is there to add a game-changing talent like Georgia tight end Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL draft, the Saints should consider it as an upgrade.

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Dennis Allen explains Saints coaching changes, puts emphasis on familiarity

Dennis Allen explains Saints offseason coaching changes, puts an emphasis on familiarity with his new staff:

It’s been a busier-than-expected offseason for the New Orleans Saints so far. Last year’s story in the spring was all about continuity, and how the ties to Sean Payton’s management of the team was a strength. After sliding to 7-10 under Dennis Allen, the Saints are shifting gears and moving on from longtime assistants like Dan Roushar, Ryan Nielsen, Zach Strief, Declan Doyle, and Kris Richard.

The Saints announced replacements for many of those coaches on Wednesday, and Allen shared some insight to these decisions in a lengthy  conversation with NewOrleansSaints.com’s John DeShazier.

The way Allen tells it, his top priority was finding coaches who share his vision for the team’s success: “The No. 1 thing was, as I was looking to make some changes on the staff, I wanted guys that I knew exactly what I was getting. I had familiarity with these coaches, and they’re all really good coaches.”

That meant reuniting with some of his old Raiders coaches, with Joe Woods being introduced as defensive coordinator and Marcus Robertson taking over the defensive backs room. Allen also brought in experienced position coaches like Todd Grantham (defensive line), Clancy Barone (tight ends), and Kevin Carberry (offensive line assistant). They’re each well-qualified for the roles they’ll be filling in New Orleans.

“It’s hard,” Allen said of dismissing multiple assistants after the 2022 season. “You’re dealing with people, but yet we all understand that this is a business, so sometimes you have to make tough decisions. Some moves were moves that we made, some moves were moves that, in Ryan’s situation, he had a chance for advancement.”

Several former Saints coaches have already found new jobs around the league. Nielsen is the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator, while Strief and Doyle are working for Payton again on the Denver Broncos. Richard has been linked to a few different openings. Roushar went back to the college level, where he’s coaching Tulane’s offensive line.

“Change is always hard but change can also be positive because you bring in some new ideas, new thoughts and a new kind of enthusiasm for wanting to try to get this program back to where it needs to be,” Allen added.

The Saints are looking to rebound from a two-year playoffs drought, and the good news is that the NFC is wide-open. The Philadelphia Eagles haves significant challenges ahead of them, and the San Francisco 49ers haven’t been able to seal the deal either. After those two Super Bowl contenders it’s a couple of paper tigers (like the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings) and then a dozen teams all with mostly-equal footing. If these hires help New Orleans get back on track, they could be right in the middle of things in the fall.

If they slog through another underwhelming performance, well — sink or swim, Allen is going into it with his own support staff, not one he inherited.

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Saints announce 5 additions to Dennis Allen’s coaching staff

The Saints made it official, confirming five additions to Dennis Allen’s coaching staff that had been previously reported:

It’s official: the New Orleans Saints confirmed five new additions to Dennis Allen’s coaching staff on Wednesday, each of whom had been previously reported. There are still some vacancies to deal with run-game coordinator, a general offensive assistant, and maybe an assistant secondary coach on defense, but the coaching staff is pretty much set.

That’s assuming quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Ronald Curry doesn’t leave for a new opportunity after interviewing for offensive coordinator gigs, or that Sean Payton doesn’t poach anyone else as he rebuilds the Denver Broncos. For now, here are each of the five new assistants settling in with the Saints:

Hiring Clancy Barone could help the Saints send Juwan Johnson to the Pro Bowl

Hiring Clancy Barone could help the Saints send Juwan Johnson to the Pro Bowl. He has a history of coaching up his tight ends in the NFL, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Last year, New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson impressed with his performance. Johnson reeled in 42 receptions for 508 yards and 7 touchdowns. Looking ahead to 2023 the restricted free agent may be get a big boost in his production if the Saints land their target at tight ends coach, Clancy Barone.

Barone has been working with various teams with the tight end and offensive line groups since 2004. His biggest achievement? He’s the only tight ends coach in NFL history to coach up four different Pro Bowler at the position with four separate teams. Those tight ends; Alge Crumpler of the Atlanta Falcons, Antonio Gates of the then San Diego Chargers, Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings pass-catcher Kyle Rudolph, are all some of the best to play their positions. Barbie showed quickly his ability to maximize that talent.

For New Orleans, this hire would be a huge bargaining chip in keeping Johnson in the Big Easy. As a restricted free agent, they have a lot of leverage anyway. The team gets right of first refusal one they place a qualifying tender on Johnson. This effectively acts as a one-year deal but isn’t exclusive. On the tender, Johnson would be able to receive offers from other teams, but New Orleans would get a chance to match that deal to keep the converted wideout in town. Depending on the tender level, they would be able to also recoup a second- or even first-round pick if they did not match the offer.

But keeping Johnson in New Orleans should be a priority for the Saints. Especially if they wrap up the deal with Barone. In addition to his Pro Bowl-making track record, Gates and Crumpler also led their teams in receptions their first years with Barone. Perhaps another jump in production for Johnson awaits in 2023.

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Saints nearing deal with Clancy Barone as new TE coach

The Saints are nearing a deal with Clancy Barone as their tight ends coach and he has quite the resume, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

As coaching staffs get rebuilt around the NFL, the New Orleans Saints have no made many changes on the offensive side of the football. One change they did make was moving on from tight ends coach and run game coordinator Dan Roushar and now it looks like the team is closing in on his replacement. As first reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints are nearing a deal with long-time NFL position coach Clancy Barone as their next tight ends coach.

Barone has a ton of NFL experience working with various teams since 2004. He has worked with Pro Bowl tight ends like Alge Crumpler, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, and Kyle Rudolph. He also follows the trend of overlap with head coach Dennis Allen and his colleagues. Barone coached at Texas A&M while Allen was a player, overlapped with Allen with the Denver Broncos in 2011 and also spent time with recently-hired Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods in Denver in 2015 and 2016.

He also has five years of NFL playing experience, a piece the Saints covet in coaches. During his years with Crumpler, Gates, Thomas, and Rudolph each tight end went on to a Pro Bowl while working with Barone and Crumpler and Gates led their teams in receptions each year. Should the Saints get the deal done with Barone, a push to retain Juwan Johnson who is a restricted free agent would certainly pick up some steam. Barone has a successful track record that Johnson and 2020 third-round tight end Adam Trautman could benefit from working with him.

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5 takeaways from Bears’ jarring 26-6 loss to the Browns

The Bears had the worst offensive performance we’ve seen since the turn of the century. But that’s just the start. Here are our takeaways.

The Justin Fields era began with a massive thud on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Hype and excitement quickly turned to anger and pain faster than it took Myles Garrett to bulldoze through Jason Peters. The Bears netted just 47 yards of offense in a brutal 26-6 loss against the Browns to drop them to 1-2 on the season.

To sum it up nice and quick, the offense was nonexistent, the defense held on for as long as they could, and the coaching staff failed to properly give Fields a fighting chance to succeed.

All in all, it was arguably the worst offensive performance we’ve seen since the turn of the century. But that’s just the start. Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s loss in Cleveland.

‘I think he’s going to be a star.’ Rookie TE Cole Kmet receiving rave reviews

One rookie that has stood apart from the rest has been second-round TE Cole Kmet, who has been impressing early and often during practices.

The Chicago Bears are a week into padded practices, which has allowed for some better looks at some of the team’s rookies. But the one rookie that has stood apart from the rest has been second-round tight end Cole Kmet, who has been impressing early and often during practices.

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates and coaches.

Safety Tashaun Gipson has been impressed by the rookie, saying that he believes Kmet is “going to be a star” in the NFL. Which is certainly high praise from a proven veteran that’s been in this league for awhile.

Kmet has the benefit of working with Jimmy Graham, who in his prime was one of the biggest threats in the NFL. And Graham has been impressed with Kmet’s overall football intelligence at such a young age. He even sees a bit of himself in the rookie.

“First, his intelligence,” Graham said. “His football intelligence and his ability to soak in these plays and understand his assignments and to understand football and defenses is extremely impressive for a young kid. That’s been the most impressive thing that I can say I notice with him. Also, he’s every bit of 260. He reminds me of a young me. He’s got big legs and the amount of potential that the kid has and the amount of talent that he has is truly unbelievable.”

Normally there’s an acclimation period with rookies, which has been even more prevalent during an offseason where players were confined to virtual offseason programs. Tight ends coach Clancy Barone has been impressed by the fact that Kmet hasn’t lost a step despite the lack of reps.

“I would say based upon the lack of reps that we’ve had — OTAs, and that’s been well established, the lack of reps really that we’ve had during training camp; this is a really strange camp,” Barone said. “Yesterday was the 18th and that was our second day in pads, something like that. That’s never happened before in my life. All that being said, if you put all that in there together, I would say Cole is on schedule if not maybe a tick ahead of schedule. Not to make it sound too grand, but I have zero concerns about Cole Kmet. I really do.”

Even defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has made note of Kmet’s solid performance during practices, which leads him to believe he’s going to be a great player in this league.

“They pose a great threat. That’s a great opportunity to find out who can cover and who can’t,” Pagano said. “We match them up in one-on-one situations, you guys saw that yesterday. We were down in the red area. Those are two big-time players. Cole being a rookie coming out, he’s gonna be a phenomenal football player. I think we can all see that.”

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Bears believe rookie TE Cole Kmet might be ‘a tick ahead of schedule’

Bears TEs coach Clancy Barone believes that rookie Cole Kmet is already playing at an NFL level.

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There’s always an acclimation period for rookies as they adjust from the college game to the NFL. And that certainly hasn’t been made any easier with the limitations with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prevented rookies from seeing the practice field with teammates until training camp.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case for Bears rookie tight end Cole Kmet, who has been impressing early on in training camp. Which is certainly encouraging given Chicago lacked solid tight end production from a season ago.

Bears tight ends coach Clancy Barone believes that Kmet is already playing at an NFL level, which is on par with what’s been said of Kmet during a virtual offseason.

“I would say Cole is on schedule — if not maybe a tick ahead of schedule,” Barone said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “Not to make it sound too grand, but I have zero concerns about Cole Kmet. I really do.”

Kmet was the Bears’ top draft choice in the NFL Draft at pick No. 43, and there’s a belief that he can develop into the kind of tight end that Matt Nagy’s offense needs to thrive.

Luckily, he’s learning from one of the best in veteran Jimmy Graham, who has also been impressive in the first two padded practices of training camp.

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Bears still have plans for TE Adam Shaheen in this offense

Adam Shaheen’s time in Chicago seems all but finished at this point, but he still has a believer in new TE coach Clancy Barone.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace has had his share of disappointing draft picks, but former second-round pick Adam Shaheen might be one of his biggest misses. And, where it stands, Shaheen’s time in Chicago seems all but finished at this point.

In three seasons, Shaheen has just 26 catches for 249 yards and four touchdowns in 27 games. He’s failed to live up to his second-round billing and injuries have hindered his development on the field. He’s missed 21 games over the last three seasons due to injury.

Following a brutal collective outing by their tight ends last season, Chicago has overhauled the tight ends room with new faces like Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet and Demetrius Harris, which doesn’t bode well for Shaheen.

But Shaheen still has at least on believer in new tight ends coach Clancy Barone, who told reporters that the Bears have plans for him in this offense.

But we’ve been here before, with several players. Hoping this is the year that they finally turn things around. As far as Shaheen is concerned, his biggest challenge will be a crowded tight ends room.

It’s not exactly a shock that Shaheen will still be on the roster heading into training camp, considering his cap hit is relatively low on the final year of his rookie deal. What would be a shock is if Shaheen made the 53-man roster.

Ultimately, when it comes down to it, Shaheen figures to find himself on the outside looking in. Kmet and Harris will likely be the two Y tight ends, which would spell the end of Shaheen’s tenure in Chicago.

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5 reasons why the Bears offense will be better in 2020

Don’t expect the Bears offense to be one of the best in the league this season, but they should be much better than they were in 2019.

The success of the Chicago Bears in 2020 depends on their offense. While the defense has carried this team for the better part of their storied 100-year history, the defense can only do so much, especially in a pass-happy league.

The Bears had one of the worst offenses in 2019, where they ranked among the bottom dwellers in the NFL that had top-five draft picks. Disappointing considering Chicago had a great defense, even amid some devastating injury blows.

While head coach Matt Nagy has cultivated this amazing culture in Chicago, ultimately he was brought in to bring the Bears’ offense out of hibernation. And that hasn’t exactly happened over these last two years.

Don’t expect this offense to be one of the best in the league this season, but they should be much better than they were in 2019. Let’s take a look at five reasons why the Bears offense will be better in 2020.

1. It can’t get much worse than 2019

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears offense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, and that’s just using the eye test. But were things really as bad as they seemed? Yes, the Bears offense was really that terrible in 2019. Here are some of the ugly statistics.

  • 17.5 points per game (29th in NFL)
  • 296.8 yards per game (29th)
  • 4.7 yards per play (31st)
  • 5.3 net per attempt (32nd)
  • 3.7 yards per rush (30th)
  • 35.6% 3rd-down conversion (25th)
  • 52.2% red-zone TDs (24th)

Luckily there’s nowhere to go but up for this offense, and the Bears have been making some offseason adjustments accordingly. According to running back Tarik Cohen, the Bears are looking to simplify things in 2020. Cohen said that it’s “going to be hard to tell who’s getting the ball and when or how they’re getting the ball” on offense this year, which wasn’t exactly the case last season.

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