Tag: Coaching Staff Hires

Report: Jaguars expected to hire Deshea Townsend to staff

Jacksonville is closing in on another assistant coach hire (likely for the secondary), according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

New Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson has worked quickly to put together a staff in Jacksonville despite the 49-day coaching search. He’s already hired both coordinators and a number of position coaches, and it seems that he’s poised to add another.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jags plan to hire former Bears secondary coach Deshea Townsend to their staff. Townsend was originally expected to join Kevin O’Connell with the Minnesota Vikings, which would’ve allowed him to remain in the NFC North.

However, per Rapoport, he never signed with the Vikings and had a change of heart. He is now set to fill a role on defense (likely as a cornerbacks or defensive backs coach). If he’s named the team’s cornerbacks coach, Townsend would be replacing Tim Walton, who is now with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Townsend, 46, is a former cornerback who played 13 years in the NFL, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he won two Super Bowls, but also for the Indianapolis Colts. He got into coaching immediately following his playing career, taking an assistant defensive backs coach role with Arizona in 2011.

In 2013 he became the cornerbacks coach at Mississippi State before returning to the NFL to coach defensive backs for the Tennessee Titans in 2016. He was there for two seasons and spent 2018 as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Giants before taking his previous role with Chicago in 2019.

Jaguars expected to hire former Lions OC Jim Bob Cooter as passing game coordinator

Cooter was the offensive coordinator in Detroit from 2016-18 and was most recently a consultant for the Eagles.

Jacksonville continues to put together a strong staff under new head coach Doug Pederson, and now it has added perhaps the best name in coaching to its staff.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jaguars plan to hire Jim Bob Cooter as their next passing game coordinator. Cooter is perhaps best known for his stint as the offensive coordinator in Detroit from 2016-18, where he worked with star quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Cooter is a Tennessee graduate, where he was a backup quarterback in college before beginning his career as a graduate assistant for the Volunteers. He worked with fellow UT alum Peyton Manning in Indianapolis from 2009-11 when he was an offensive assistant for the Colts under coach Jim Caldwell.

He would rejoin Caldwell with the Lions as a quarterbacks coach in 2014 after stints as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos. Cooter was elevated to the offensive coordinator role midway through the 2015 season, and he held on to that role through the coaching change in 2018. However, Matt Patricia wouldn’t renew his contract in 2019.

He spent the next two seasons with Adam Gase and the New York Jets as the running backs coach, and he was most recently a consultant for Philadelphia in 2021. Some linked Cooter to an offensive coordinator position when Caldwell was a candidate for the head coaching job, and it seems that the 37-year-old will end up in Jacksonville after all.

Pederson said during his introductory press conference that he intends to call plays this season, meaning that Cooter’s role would be more with developing game plans for Trevor Lawrence and the passing game.

The support structure around Lawrence is now in place, as Pederson — a quarterback specialist in his own right — has added a pair of former NFL offensive coordinators to work with the second-year passer in Cooter and Mike McCoy, who will serve as quarterbacks coach.

Report: Cortez Hankton to leave UGA for LSU

It appears the Brian Kelly staff is complete.

Almost a week ago, reports surfaced that current UGA wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Cortez Hankton was the favorite to fill the same role with LSU.

On Sunday morning, multiple outlets including On3 announced that it was a done deal and Hankton would be taking the final spot on the Brian Kelly staff. Hankton has spent the last four seasons on the Georgia Bulldogs staff. Prior to that run, he was a member of the Vanderbilt staff as the wide receivers coach from 2015-17.

The New Orleans native knows all about SEC football having spent the last seven seasons in the conference. All of that time in the SEC East, he now heads to the West division with LSU. Hankton played his high school days at St. Augustine in New Orleans before playing for Texas Southern.

He had a brief stint in the NFL for the Jaguars, Buccaneers, and Vikings. Hankton will now focus on his new role back in his home state with the Tigers. LSU has had a history of producing top wide receivers and Hankton will look to continue that trend.

He was credited with being the primary recruiter for top Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens, who entered the NFL draft following the national championship-winning season. He also had a hand in recruiting Lewis Cine out of Texas, who is also heading to the NFL. Hankton will see a familiar face in Major Burns, who he recruited to UGA before the transfer to LSU.

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