ACC basketball: Josh Pastner out after 7 years at Georgia Tech

Make that three coaching changes in the ACC this off-season.

Seven seasons and only one NCAA Tournament appearance was enough for Georgia Tech to decide to move on from head basketball coach Josh Pastner.  It’s a move that CBS Sports reports was expected for weeks and one that is hardly surprising.

In seven seasons at Georgia Tech, Pastner and the Yellow Jackets went just 109-113.  Five of those seven seasons saw them finish 10th or worse in the ACC.

Since appearing in the 2004 national championship game, Georgia Tech has made the NCAA Tournament just four times, winning just two total tournament games in that time and never getting past the second round.

Georgia Tech becomes the third ACC team to have a coaching change this off-season, joining Notre Dame and Syracuse.

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How Saints players graded the team’s travel strategy, training staff, and more

How Saints players graded the team’s travel strategy, training staff, and more from the NFLPA team report card:

We’ve already gone over the strangely-low grade that New Orleans Saints players gave their team for its cafeteria and nutrition options, but that’s just one area they were surveyed about on the first-ever NFL Players Association team report cards.

Ultimately, the Saints have built a great place to work, with players rating them 10th-best out of the league’s 32 teams — putting an emphasis on quality travel arrangements for road games, an intelligent and resourceful training staff, and good facilities at the team headquarters in Metairie.

But let’s go under the hood on each of the eight categories and where Saints players ranked their workplace around the NFL:

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:

Ravens give Seahawks QB coach Dave Canales second interview for open offensive coordinator spot

According to reports, the #Ravens will have Dave Canales in for his second interview for their open offensive coordinator spot this week

The Baltimore Ravens will conduct their second interview with Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales for their open offensive coordinator position this week.

After mutually agreeing to part ways with Greg Roman shortly after their playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in January, Baltimore was one of the first teams to seek a fresh face for the position. Given the organization’s stability and roster talent, this position should be considered a top landing spot for any coach seeking a low-risk-high-reward place on John Harbaugh’s already-established coaching staff.

Canales found success this year under Pete Carroll in Seattle and was an integral part of journeyman quarterback Geno Smith’s rise to stardom as a Seahawk. Under Canales, Smith passed for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2022, managing to get Seattle a spot in the NFC playoffs while he was at it.

The Ravens are in desperate need of a coordinator who can make the most of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s talents in 2023, and Canales seems to fit the bill after what he accomplished this season with the Seahawks.

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Get to know the QB prospects the Saints will be coaching at the Senior Bowl

Several Saints coaches will work closely with QB prospects Malik Cunningham, Jaren Hall, and Jake Haener at Senior Bowl practices. Get to know them better:

The New Orleans Saints will have several coaches on the ground at the upcoming Senior Bowl, with passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and offensive assistant D.J. Williams both tabbed to join the National Team coaching staff; Curry is the offensive coordinator, and Williams is the quarterback coach. That’s going to put them in close proximity with several quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL draft for a week of practices and classroom work, giving the Saints an early look at each of these promising passers.

And it’s an interesting group. All three National Team quarterbacks are listed at similar heights and weights in the 6-foot-1 and 200-pound range, though we’ll get a better idea of their athletic profiles once the Senior Bowl announces weigh-in results next week. Either way, unless something drastic appears they should pass the bar for New Orleans. The Saints have their prototypes but they aren’t about to pass on good players just because they’re a few pounds underweight. Let’s get to know each of them better:

Saints assistant D.J. Williams added to Senior Bowl coaching staff

Saints assistant D.J. Williams has been added to the Senior Bowl staff as a quarterbacks coach, working with draft prospects Malik Cunningham, Jake Haener, and Jaren Hall:

The Senior Bowl announced Saturday that New Orleans Saints offensive assistant D.J. Williams has been assigned to coach the National Team quarterback prospects, giving the black and gold an inside track on some of the passers eligible in the 2023 NFL draft. Williams will spend a week working with these quarterbacks in the classroom and on the practice field; it should help him cultivate some experience coaching young players while helping the Saints pad out their scouting reports.

This year’s National Team quarterbacks include Malik Cunningham (Louisville), Jake Haener (Fresno State), and Jaren Hall (Brigham Young), and it’s a good group. They’re each projected to be picked on the third day of the draft between rounds four and seven, but a strong predraft process — starting at the Senior Bowl and continued through the NFL Scouting Combine, pro day workouts, and interviews with interested teams — could raise their stock.

Williams is one of four Saints coaches who will be on the field in Mobile, Ala. next week working with prospects. He’s joined on the National Team coaching staff by offensive coordinator Ronald Curry (the Saints’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach) while the American Team features tight ends coach Declan Doyle and safeties coach Cory Robinson, who are assistants on offense and defense, respectively, for New Orleans. Everyone is hoping to make the most of this opportunity, so we’ll be watching them closely.

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Kyle Allen on the situation in Texans’ quarterback room: ‘You’ve got to reset’

Allen spoke to the media on Wednesday about the situation inside the #Texans’ quarterback room

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Houston Texans’ decision to make a change at the quarterback position, and as the dust starts to settle, it seems that things are starting to take shape for the offense behind closed doors. The team sent their new starter, Kyle Allen, out for their Wednesday press conference to address the media about his role with the team, and he gave some insight into what the situation has looked like amid the switch.

Though he wasn’t ready to say that things feel normal for him yet, Allen told reporters that he appreciates the help he has received from his coaches as he acclimates to his new role.

“You’ve got to reset, come back every week and still have motivation to want to fix it,” Allen explained. “It can get tough when you lose a bunch of games in a row to keep wanting to come back to work and motivate yourself to try and fix it when you’re giving it your all every week, and it’s not working. But Pep [Hamilton], Ted [White] and all the guys in that room, we all come ready to go come Tuesday or Wednesday when it’s the next week. I really appreciate that from all of them. Some guys could cash in at this point, but no one has.”

Though he made no mention of his benched counterpart Davis Mills in this particular comment, Allen spoke with a poise that was indicative of his character amid the Texans’ unstable situation. By deferring credit to his coaches and teammates, Allen made it clear that he is trying to be a part of a greater system that will, if everything works as intended, begin bearing fruit for Houston before the season ends.

It will likely take more trial and error, and, unfortunately, losses, to get the Texans’ offense figured out, but with Allen at the helm, it seems the team has a steady hand to guide them through the last six games on their 2022 schedule.

Los Angeles will face four Cowboys coaches who were former Rams

Los Angeles will face stiff competition from former #Rams in Week 5 against the #Cowboys

The Los Angeles Rams have become a feeder system for other teams in search of new coaches. One of the franchises that has leaned on their development of administrative talent are the Dallas Cowboys, who have no less than four former Rams on their coaching staff.

Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, running backs coach Skip Peete, secondary coach Al Harris, and special teams coordinator John Fassel all coached or played for the team over the years and could have special insight into Los Angeles’ strategies in the Week 5 matchup.

Nussmeier was with the team in 2006 and 2007, so his experience may be a bit dated. Peete and Fassel, though, had extensive experience with the Rams, from 2016 and 2012 respectively with both of their tenures ending in 2019. Harris was a player for the team before they relocated to Los Angeles, seeing the field for just one season in 2011.

The accumulated experience of these coaches adds up to well over 10 years, so their inside knowledge of the organization could end up playing a critical factor in the Cowboys’ success against the Rams. It is likely that Dallas circled this game on their schedule as a must-win matchup heading into the season given Los Angeles’ position as the incumbent Super Bowl champion, and they are sure to be seeking revenge on their former employer.

Each week is a unique challenge in the NFL, especially early in the season as teams feel out and adjust to their new schemes that were developed in the offseason. This matchup will be a good litmus test for the Rams’ efficacy as a NFC contender in 2022, and may prove to be one of the more crucial games they play this season.

Head coach Sean McVay will have his work cut out for him in preparation for the tilt, and may need to take advantage his former Cowboys coaches, special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to mitigate Dallas’ overwhelming familiarity with the Rams’ system.

2022-23 college football coaching tracker

Who else will join the list?

It’s safe to say we may never again see a college football off-season quite like we did following the 2021 season.  Heck, before the conference championship games were even played Lincoln Riley bolted Oklahoma for USC.  I started up a coaching tracker at Fighting Irish Wire shortly after, thinking there was no way Notre Dame would be added to the list but as sure as sure gets, Brian Kelly wound up ditching Notre Dame for LSU seemingly hours later.

Traditional powerhouses such as Florida, Miami, Oregon, and Washington would join the coaching party before in-full, 29 college football FBS programs made changes.

What will 2022 bring?  A couple of coaches who entered the year on very hot seats have already been relieved of their duties and a few more seem like they’re just a matter of time.

Keep up to date all season and off-season long with the 2022-23 college football coaching tracker:

Happy 15th anniversary, college football fans and Mike Gundy

What is your favorite football coach rant of all-time?

15 years ago today wasn’t a particularly memorable day if you’re a Notre Dame fan as the 2007 Fighting Irish squad was beat up by Michigan State 31-14 and fell to 0-4 for the first time in program history.  That team was bad, it got worse before it got better, and ultimately finished 3-9.

On that day however it wasn’t [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] who went on a legendary postgame rant that still gets played on countless sports radio shows to this day.  It was instead a young head coach by the name of [autotag]Mike Gundy[/autotag] who met the media following a shootout victory over Big 12 rival Texas Tech.

The rest as they say is history.

I’m not sure how many of us thought Gundy, who improved to just 13-15 as Oklahoma State’s head coach on this day, would still be leading the Cowboys by the time he was 55, but having led Oklahoma State to 16-straight bowl games and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame a year ago, it certainly doesn’t appear that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

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