Tag: Coaching news

Mike Rhoades rumored to be next coach of Penn State basketball

Penn State coaching rumors suggest VCU’s Mike Rhoades could be the next coach of the Nittany Lions.

On Sunday, Penn State met with the current VCU head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] about their open position. He’s been at VCU for six years boasting a 129-60 overall record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. This past season he led the Rams to an A-10 Conference regular season and postseason title.

Rhoades is a Pennsylvania native from Mahanoy City about two hours from State College. He has a very experienced background, coaching at the Division 3 level before becoming an assistant under Shaka Smart at VCU. He took over the head coaching position at Rice for three years before coming back to VCU in 2017.

It’s clear that jumping to the Big Ten would be a step up for Rhoades. The A-10 is a one-bid conference for the winners of the conference tournament. The Big Ten got eight teams into the NCAA Tournament this season.

Penn State is reportedly willing to pay around $4 million annually for their next head coach. This would be a major commitment of resources that the athletic department had not made in the past.

It’s expected that a contract around that range could get Rhoades to come to State College.

Rhoades would be a good hire for Penn State. He’s been a good coach at the mid-major level and proved that he can build a sustainable program. Getting to the tournament in a one-bid league is hard to do and he accomplished it three times in six seasons.

We’ll see if Rhoades decides to leave Virginia to come back home to Pennsylvania, but it’s certainly looking like Penn State has found its next head coach of the basketball program.

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Commanders interviewed former NFL standout for vacant WRs coaching job

Bobby Engram played 14 seasons in the NFL.

The Washington Commanders have one remaining vacancy on the coaching staff. Washington still needs to hire a wide receivers coach. And one thing is clear, new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will be making that hire.

Just before Bieniemy’s introductory press conference, he and the Commanders interviewed Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis for a role on the new offensive staff. Bieniemy also interviewed Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, who he recently hired as QB coach.

Earlier this week, the Commanders interviewed longtime NFL assistant and former college head coach Karl Dorrell for the vacant WRs coaching position.

Washington also interviewed former NFL wide receiver and coach Bobby Engram, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Engram was a second-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 1996 out of Penn State. He spent five seasons with the Bears, before signing with the Seattle Seahawks in 2001, where he’d spend the next eight seasons. Engram played for the Chiefs in 2009.

He jumped into coaching as an offensive assistant with the 49ers in 2011. In 2012, he was hired as the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons. In 2014, Engram signed with the Baltimore Ravens as the wide receivers coach where he remained for five seasons. In 2019, Engram moved to tight ends coach for Baltimore for the next three seasons.

In 2022, Engram was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Engram finished his 14-year NFL playing career with 650 receptions for 7,751 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Chiefs assistant Greg Lewis to interview with Commanders

Greg Lewis is a former NFL wide receiver and spent the past six seasons on Andy Reid’s staff.

New Washington Commanders assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is wasting no time assembling an offensive staff. On Tuesday, it was revealed that senior offensive assistant Jim Hostler and wide receivers coach Drew Terrell would not return to the Commanders in 2023. Terrell has a potential role on Arizona’s new staff.

As for the Commanders, they met with Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis on Wednesday, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

If Lewis sounds familiar to Washington fans, that’s because he spent six seasons as a wide receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles [2003-08] under Andy Reid. After beginning his coaching career in college in 2012, Lewis got his first NFL gig in 2015 as an offensive assistant with the Saints. In 2016, he was Philadelphia’s wide receivers coach under Doug Pederson. In 2017, he joined his old coach in Kansas City, where he coached wide receivers for four seasons.

So why is Lewis now a running backs coach?

Lewis wanted a challenge, so he asked Reid to coach a different position and coached running backs over the last two seasons. If he comes to Washington, the Commanders currently have running backs coach Randy Jordan and assistant running backs coach Jennifer King in place. Would Lewis be coaching receivers again?

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Lewis could receive a “top spot” on Bieniemy’s new offensive staff.

Bieniemy’s introductory press conference is set for Thursday morning.

The Cardinals want to interview Commanders WR coach for offensive coordinator

Could the Commanders be losing another position coach?

New Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is wasting no time putting together his first NFL staff. Gannon reached out to the Washington Commanders with a request to interview one of their bright, young offensive coaches.

On Thursday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Gannon wants to interview Washington wide receivers coach Drew Terrell for his vacant offensive coordinator position with the Cardinals.

Terrell, 31, began his coaching career in 2014 as a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech. From 2015-17, Terrell was a graduate assistant at Michigan before landing with the Carolina Panthers under Ron Rivera in 2018 as an offensive quality control assistant.

After two years in that role, Rivera brought Terrell with him to Washington in 2020. After one year as the assistant wide receivers coach, Rivera promoted Terrell to wide receivers coach in 2021. In his three seasons with Washington, Terrell has coached Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, Cam Sims and others. He’s widely lauded as an up-and-coming coaching star.

Terrell played wide receiver at Stanford under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw.

If Gannon hires Terrell, it would be the third coach the Commanders have lost since the end of the season. Washington fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner and lost DBs coach Chris Harris to the Tennessee Titans.

With Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy currently interviewing for Washington’s OC job, he may prefer to bring in some of his own assistants.

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One Commanders’ offensive coordinator candidate is off the board

Charles London lands a new job.

The Washington Commanders have formally interviewed at least six known candidates for their vacant offensive coordinator position. Pat Shurmur, Ken Zampese, Charles London, Eric Studesville, Thomas Brown and Anthony Lynn have each had formal interviews with head coach Ron Rivera and Washington.

The Commanders fired former offensive coordinator Scott Turner over three weeks ago and appear no closer to hiring his replacement. However, Washington wants to speak with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy but will have to wait until after the Super Bowl to speak with him in an official capacity.

While the Commanders wait for Bieniemy, one of the aforementioned contenders landed a new job on Tuesday. London, the Falcons quarterbacks coach, accepted the pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach job with the Tennessee Titans.

London was believed to have interviewed for Tennessee’s offensive coordinator position, but the Titans promoted Tim Kelly to offensive coordinator and also brought in London. London was the offensive coordinator for the American team at last week’s Senior Bowl and earned major praise.

The Commanders liked London, who was coming from Atlanta, which had one of the more impressive running games in the NFL last season. However, he was not likely to be the team’s hire. Bieniemy [if he wants it], Shurmur and Zampese would appear to be the frontrunners for the Commanders.

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Former Washington draft pick promoted to WRs coach with 49ers

Leonard Hankerson was a third-round pick of Washington back in 2011 — Ryan Kerrigan’s draft.

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Leonard Hankerson was a third-round selection by Washington back in the 2011 NFL draft. Many Washington fans thought Hankerson was a steal. A physical presence, Hankerson tied Michael Irvin for the most receiving touchdowns by a Miami receiver in 2010.

Unfortunately, his NFL career didn’t quite mirror his successful college career. Hankerson wasn’t a bad pro; he just didn’t quite live up to what many believed he could be as an NFL wideout. Sadly, injuries played a part, as Hankerson played in four games as a rookie and just one game in his final season of 2014.

Hankerson caught 81 passes for 1,081 yards and six touchdowns in his four seasons with Washington. His final NFL season in 2015 was split between three teams: Atlanta, New England and Buffalo.

It didn’t take long for Hankerson to get into coaching. Now, at 33-years-old, Hankerson is a full-time NFL position coach. The San Francisco 49ers officially announced Hankerson as the new wide receivers coach on Monday.

Hankerson spent the 2021 season with the 49ers as a quality-control coach on offense. Before coming to the NFL in 2021, Hankerson spent time in the college ranks at UMass and Stephen F. Austin as a wide receivers coach.

San Francisco’s head coach is Kyle Shahanan. Shanahan was Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2011 when Hankerson was drafted, and he spent three seasons coaching him. Shanahan later brought Hankerson to Atlanta for a brief time when he was the offensive coordinator.

Washington announces multiple coaching moves

Washington promotes several coaches Tuesday, including the son of Jack Del Rio and the nephew of Ron Rivera.

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On the first day of the 2022 NFL combine, the Washington Commanders announced some coaching moves.

No, head coach Ron Rivera didn’t fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. However, a Del Rio was involved in the coaching news Tuesday, as Jack’s son, Luke, was promoted from a quality control coach to assistant quarterbacks coach.

The younger Del Rio joined Washington’s staff as an offensive quality control coach in 2020 under Rivera. A former college quarterback at Florida, Del Rio spent time at three different colleges before ending his collegiate career with the Gators.

A Rivera was also involved in Washington’s moves Tuesday. Rivera’s nephew, Vincent, was promoted from a defensive quality control coach to assistant linebackers coach. Like his uncle, Rivera played his college football at California. The 2022 season will be Rivera’s third in Washington. He spent three seasons in Carolina before following his uncle to Washington.

Offensive quality control coach Todd Storm was promoted to tight ends coach. With Pete Hoener’s recent retirement, Washington hired veteran coach Juan Castillo to replace him. Now, Storm has the opportunity to work under the respected Castillo. Storm also followed Rivera to Washington from Carolina.

Coaching intern Cristian Garcia was promoted from coaching intern to defensive quality control.

Rivera always likes to have a position coach and an assistant position coach. It’s a way for Rivera to mentor young coaches and also have them ready should the position coach take a job elsewhere.

 

Falcons hire T.J. Yates as passing game specialist

The Atlanta Falcons added another former NFL quarterback to their coaching staff on Saturday, naming T.J. Yates as the team’s passing game specialist.  

The Atlanta Falcons added another former NFL quarterback to their coaching staff on Saturday, naming T.J. Yates as the team’s passing game specialist.

Yates played at North Carolina before being selected in the fifth round by the Houston Texans in 2011. He would go on to lead the Texans to their first ever playoff win as a rookie. After that, Yates spent several years as a backup, including a one-year stint with the Falcons in 2014.

Retiring in 2017, Yates would go on to join the Texans coaching staff as an assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019. After serving two years in Houston, he joins the Falcons new staff as a passing game specialist under offensive coordinator Dave Ragone.

Ragone, who also played quarterback in the NFL, won’t be calling the plays. Head coach Arthur Smith will be Atlanta’s play-caller in 2021.

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