Tag: Coaches

Texans’ Bill O’Brien ranks No. 17 on NFL coaches list

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien ranks in the middle of the pack in a recent listing of all 32 NFL coaches.

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien isn’t finding himself highly ranked on any NFL coaches lists this offseason.

Patrick Daugherty from Rotoworld released his ranking of all 32 coaches, and somehow O’Brien, who won the AFC South and a playoff game after being ranked No. 14 in Daugherty’s rankings a year ago, dropped three places.

For his six-year career, O’Brien boasts a .542 winning percentage but has outscored his opponents by only 23 points across 96 games. Things grow stranger in the front office, where O’Brien keeps winning power struggles and rewarding himself with promotions. He actually did not intend for that to be the case in 2019, but when his clumsy pursuit of Patriots executive Nick Caserio turned out to be obvious tampering, he was forced to back away. With no one to check his power this offseason, BOB formally named himself general manager before making one of the worst trades in NFL history. O’Brien didn’t even shop star wideout DeAndre Hopkins, a fact made clear by the fact that other GMs were forced to answer for his inexplicable acquisition of David Johnson. It is easy to believe O’Brien would have long ago been out of a job without Deshaun Watson, though that discounts the fact that he’s won divisions with Brock Osweiler and Brian Hoyer as his primary quarterbacks. Nothing about the man or his football team makes sense. I am not expecting that to change in 2020.

Among playoff-winning coaches, O’Brien’s No. 17 ranking is the fourth-lowest. The lowest playoff-winning coach was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Doug Marrone at No. 27.

O’Brien ranks third among AFC South coaches. The Tennessee Titans’ Mike Vrabel was No. 12 on the list with the Indianapolis Colts’ Frank Reich at 13th overall. Of course, Vrabel gets deserved credit for back-dooring the Titans into the AFC Championship Game. Reich remains a favorite for leading the Colts to a 7-9 record despite having no quarterback and injuries hitting the roster. Imagine if Reich had delivered back-to-back division titles with no quarterback and injuries to the roster.

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Texas regents set to approve four football coaches contracts

Texas regents are set to approve raises for three Texas football coaches, while finalizing new associate head coach Mark Hagen’s contract.

Texas football is still moving right ahead amid the COVID-19 outbreak that has hindered many operations. Continue reading “Texas regents set to approve four football coaches contracts”

Stunner – Muffet McGraw to Retire

Legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced her retirement on Wednesday. Find out all the news on this shocking story here.

Shocking news out of South Bend on Wednesday afternoon as legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw is retiring.  McGraw has not only coached the Notre Dame women’s team since the 1987-88 season but turned them into one of the top programs in collegiate sports.

McGraw released the following statement on Wednesday:

McGraw led the Fighting Irish to 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances beginning in 1996, a streak that would have ended this past year had the tournament been played.  In that stretch she won a pair of national championships while reaching the final five more times and the Final Four three more times.

McGraw retires with the seventh most coaching wins in the history of women’s basketball, compiling 936 wins between her five years at Lehigh before her 33 seasons at Notre Dame.  McGraw finishes with a career mark of 848-251 at Notre Dame and went 425-97 in Big East and ACC play.

McGraw was elected to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.  She was also awarded 10 different coach of the year awards in her time with the Fighting Irish.

Former Notre Dame player and McGraw assitant Niele Ivey will be the next head coach.  She takes the post after working most recently as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

More on the story as it comes but an absolute stunner to see a legend like McGraw, who would perhaps be on the Mt. Rushmore of Women’s Basketball coaches all-time, retires.

Lions announce suspended travel for coaches and personnel staff

The Detroit Lions are being proactive and have announced that they are suspending travel for coaches and personnel staff.

With mounting global concerns surrounding the coronavirus, the Detroit Lions are being proactive and have announced that they are suspending travel for coaches and personnel staff.

Typically this time of year, members of the Lions front office, coaching staff and scouting staff are spread out across the country attending college Pro Days — they were at Clemson’s today — but everyone is being asked to work remotely at this time.

Here is the Lions full statement:

“The Detroit Lions have been closely monitoring the global events surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and fully support the precautions being taken in response. Our organization has been in direct contact with the NFL, leading health administrators and city officials throughout this process.

“Over the past week we have asked employees to participate in a variety of proactive measures to reduce the risk of transmission at both Ford Field and the team’s training facility in Allen Park. At this time our organization has suspended travel for coaches and player personnel staff. Additionally, we have encouraged all employees, except operationally critical staff, to work remotely until further notice beginning Friday, March 13, 2020. It is imperative that we remain diligent in our responsibility to keep our players, coaches, staff members and their families safe and help slow the spread of the virus.”

Several other teams from around the league have taken a similar approach with their staff in the name of safety. NFL owner’s meetings have also been canceled and it’s fair to speculate if the opening of the league new year — set to take place next Wednesday — will also be postponed as it coincides with the NFL Free Agency period, which also requires travel for contracts, medical checks, etcetera.

Stay tuned to Lions Wire as this situation unfolds further.

Jets suspend travel as concerns over coronavirus grow

The Jets are among the NFL teams who pulled their scouts off the road amid the spread of the coronavirus.

Jets scouts and coaches won’t travel for the foreseeable future as the spread of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, continues to rise, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

This comes less than a day after it was reported the Jets wouldn’t restrict their employees from traveling to draft prospects’ Pro Days. The team has yet to make a decision on amending their Top-30 prospect visit process, though, according to the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta. That would include prospects traveling to the team facilities for evaluation before the draft.

Schefter also reported that teams discussed shutting down training facilities, which would not only influence Top-30 visits but also how the league handles the beginning of the league year on March 18. However, the NFL said it is not currently planning to change the start of the league year.

Every team in the league had discussed safety measures for the coronavirus as early as Wednesday, according to Yahoo Sports. But only the Steelers, Eagles and Saints had limited travel for coaches and scouts until the Redskins, Giants and Jets suspended all travel Thursday.

There has been no word on if other offseason dates will be changed, but the league said in a statement Monday that it wasn’t planning on changing the offseason schedule – which includes April OTAs and the draft on April 23.

Things could easily change, though. Until then, lots of NFL teams will be in stasis as they get more information from the league and health officials.

Report: Saints step away from college pro day circuit, citing coronavirus precautions

The New Orleans Saints are one of two teams to alter travel plans ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, recalling coaches amid coronavirus concerns.

The New Orleans Saints are one of two teams reportedly recalling coaches from the college pro day circuit ahead of next month’s NFL draft, per Eric Edholm and Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. The move is considered a precaution against the rising coronavirus pandemic spreading nationally and around the globe; keeping the coaching staff based in New Orleans would limit exposure to potential infections, which could spread rapidly throughout the team facility.

It’s a big departure from the norm. Coaches only really get involved in the pre-draft evaluating process at all-star games like the Senior Bowl and during interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine. These college pro days give coaches an opportunity to work out prospects through specific drills and meet one-on-one afterwards, scheduling future meetings and private visits at the team facility.

However, the Saints won’t be flying blind before April’s draft. Their scouts are expected to remain on the road visiting dozens of college campuses, working remotely as usual and filing daily reports digitally or through conference calls. Their ability to continue working away from the facility should limit potential chances of infection.

The Yahoo Sports adds that every NFL team has held meetings to address health and safety concerns, updating personnel on what they can do to stay safe with the virus still spreading. But the Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles are the only teams to have pulled coaches off the road, at least so far.

It’s unclear how these changes in travel plans will impact draft-day decisions, as well as the weeks of research that factor into them. Teams are allowed to fly as many as 30 prospects into their home cities for private meetings, interviews, and workouts, but they often supplement those official visits with informal meetings surrounding these pro days. It’s certainly a situation to monitor ahead of the April 23 draft in Las Vegas.

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Cassius Winston named first-team All-Big Ten for second straight year

The senior point guard averaged 18.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.5 rebounds this season

It may have been a *slight* step back by the numbers, but Cassius Winston proved all year long that he is one of if not the best players in the Big Ten.

Winston has been named first-team All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches and media for the second consecutive season. Last year he also won conference player of the year, which went to Iowa’s Luka Garza this time around. It’s the third time Winston has been named to an All-Big Ten team; he was third-team his sophomore season.

Winston averaged 18.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.5 rebounds this season. He finished the season third in scoring average and fourth in assist average in the Big Ten. Winston also finished the season second in the conference in three-point shooting percentage at 43.2%. All three counting numbers were just slightly below what Winston averaged during his standout junior season.

Winston became Michigan State and the Big Ten’s all-time leading assist getter on January 17 of this year and currently sits at 890 career assists. Winston is 31 points shy of joining the Big Ten’s 2,000 career points list. He is currently fourth all-time in scoring at Michigan State and needs 28 points to pass Kalin Lucas for third.

Winston is the 14th Spartan to be named first-team All-Big Ten in consecutive seasons and the first since Lucas in 2009-2010.

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Watch: The Lions behind the scenes at the Senior Bowl

The Detroit Lions media department continues its “Road to the Draft” video series, with a new perspective, going behind the scenes at the Senior Bowl.

The Detroit Lions media department has put out a series of videos based on the Lions “Road to the Draft”, and so far, the videos we have seen — like being mic’d up at Senior Bowl practices, and coach Matt Patricia mic’s up during the Senior Bowl game — have been mostly from the coaches’ point of view. But this video is different.

In this video, the Lions’ media department shifted away from traditional mic’d up videos and presented a narrated video reminiscent of an NFL Films documentary.

The video opens by setting the table for the Lions offseason, showing clips from general manager’s Bob Quinn’s end of the year press conference and coach Matt Patricia’s opening day Senior Bowl press conference.

At the 4:55 mark, we get our first offseason interview with Kyle O’Brien the vice president of player personnel, who is one of Quinn’s top advisors. O’Brien overviews how the Lions scouts begin draft prep and how they’re able to extend their prospect research in the Senior Bowl setting.

Roman Phifer, a former NFL linebacker and current Lions’ area scout, and Lance Newmark, director of player personnel (another of Quinn’s top advisors), expand on O’Brien’s ideas, discussing the advantages of learning about players in this environment.

The next segment focuses on blending the new Lions coaches with the old, showing candid interactions between Patricia and new coordinators Cory Undlin (defense) and Brayden Coombs (special teams). The film room discussion between coaches was very fun to watch.

The video concludes with a look at the game. You can watch the entire 22 minutes video below:

Dolphins formalize 2020 coaching staff changes

The Miami Dolphins formalized a number of coaching changes for the 2020 staff this week.

The deed is done! The Dolphins entered this offseason with little expectation for a coaching staff overhaul — yet that is exactly what transpired for Miami as the team big farewell to both of their coordinators and several key position coaches along the way. Gone is Chad O’Shea’s Patriots system. So, too, is Patrick Graham, who went off to New York to take the same role with the Giants. The heavy hitters are established at the top of the coaching staff — as Chan Gailey comes out of retirement to steer the offense and Josh Boyer steps up to the plate to act as Miami’s new defensive coordinator.

And while the news of other new additions has been trickling in for a few weeks now, the Dolphins have formalized the coaching staff changes this past week — including some promotions amid the surviving coaches on Brian Flores’ staff.

The team formally announced the hirings of Gerald Alexander as the defensive backs coach, Anthony Campanile as their linebackers coach and Lemuel Jeanpierre as the Dolphins’  assistant offensive line coach.

Miami’s promotions included Karl Dorrell to assistant head coach/wide receivers and Josh Grizzard to assistant wide receivers coach.

Rob Leonard was reassigned and will now serve as assistant defensive line coach.

Alexander and Campanile come to Miami from the college ranks — Alexander spent his last three seasons with the Cal program, while Campanile was the linebackers coach at Michigan.

The remaining changes all include NFL coaching veterans — with Jeanpierre serving as the only new addition (he spent 2019 in Oakland with the Raiders in the same position).

The biggest domino for the Dolphins is the promotion of Karl Dorrell to assistant head coach. Dorrell was on staff in Miami from 2008-2011 before bouncing around and returning to Miami in 2019 to serve as the team’s wide receivers coach for the second time. Now, Dorrell will be the wide receivers coach and Brian Flores’ main lieutenant as the assistant head coach — filling the void left behind by Jim Caldwell, who vacated his coaching position this offseason after taking a leave of absence in 2019.

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Sean McVay explains his decision to hire an offensive coordinator

Kevin O’Connell will not only be the offensive coordinator, but quarterbacks coach, too.

When Sean McVay was hired by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, he not only took over as head coach, but also as the de facto offensive coordinator. He was an offensive-minded coach who would call the plays on that side of the ball, taking full control of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and the rest of the Rams’ playmakers.

McVay had an offensive coordinator on his staff that year in Matt LaFleur, but he wasn’t the play caller. He left after one season, taking the same job with the Titans in 2018 before being hired as the Packers’ head coach last offseason.

That 2017 season was the last time the Rams had an offensive coordinator on McVay’s staff, but he brought back that title this offseason. After a disappointing 2019 campaign, McVay hired Kevin O’Connell as his offensive coordinator.

But why now? Put simply, McVay wants to figure out a way to field the best version of the Rams offense next season, which wasn’t the case in 2019.

“We’ve operated under a very similar structure before Kevin, our first year when Matt LaFleur was in that same role. When you look at Coach Kromer, Shane Waldron – those guys will continue to play instrumental roles and really, it’s always a collaboration of the coaching staff and how we formulate the best game plan to attack the opposing defense and ultimately put our players in the right spots with our weekly rhythm and how that translates to that three-and-a-half-hour window,” McVay said Wednesday during the introductory press conference for his new coordinators. “But his ability to communicate, his big picture – I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for Jared to work with somebody like him because of some of the things that he’s done that maybe I haven’t gotten exposed to. So I’m really excited about learning from him, working together and us positively pushing each other to ultimately figure out what’s the best version of the 2020 Rams offense and how does that look as we continue to put that together with our players in mind.”

It’s interesting that McVay mentioned Goff specifically, as it seems O’Connell will be working closely with the quarterback. The Rams announced their official coaching staff Wednesday and absent was a quarterbacks coach – a job previously held by Shane Waldron in 2019 and Zac Taylor in 2018.

That’s because O’Connell will assume that role, with the help of assistant QBs coach Liam Cohen and Shane Waldron, as well.

“In a lot of instances, Kevin will assume those roles, working with those guys,” McVay said. “But whether it’s Liam Cohen that’ll be in that room, Shane will still have some interaction. But ultimately, Kevin will take on the typical responsibilities of a quarterbacks coach, very similar to what Matt had done a couple years ago.”

Having an offensive coordinator who also serves as the quarterbacks coach will not only help McVay in the game-planning process, but also take some pressure off of Waldron, who remains in his role as the pass game coordinator.