Cowboys finalize 2024 coaching staff; WR coach Robert Prince adds new duties

From @ToddBrock24f7: Prince will add pass game coordinator to his existing job duties. Al Harris’ promotion is official; other staff tweaks were announced.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has put the final touches on his staff for the 2024 season, and several assistants have received promotions for the coming year.

Defensive backs coach Al Harris has, as expected and previously reported, been officially named the team’s assistant head coach, a role he’ll add to his current duties. The former Pro Bowl cornerback started on the coaching track when he interned with Joe Philbin’s Dolphins in 2012; he reunited with McCarthy, his onetime Packers coach, in Dallas in 2020.

“Al has been such an impactful member of our coaching staff and team,” McCarthy said, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “I’m looking forward to his leadership in this expanded role. He’s a highly effective mentor and motivator, and our entire team will benefit from him taking this elevated step. Al’s dedication, teamwork, understanding of the game, and experience in developing the unique dynamics necessary to support a championship locker room are all a part of his special fit for this.”

Harris isn’t the only Cowboys staffer adding new responsibilities to his plate.

Robert Prince, the team’s wide receivers coach for the past two seasons and a veteran NFL and college coach for the better part of the past three decades, will serve as Cowboys’ new pass game coordinator. That role was previously held by Joe Whitt Jr., who left this offseason to become the Commanders’ new defensive coordinator under Dan Quinn.

Prince, 58, has previous experience as pass game coordinator at both Boise State and Colorado.

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ESPN’s Todd Archer points out a handful of other tweaks made to the Dallas org chart. Game management specialist Ryan Feder adds the title of assistant quarterbacks coach, assistant defensive backs coach Cannon Matthews becomes the new full-time safeties coach (after filling in for Whitt during the 2023 season), and assistant tight ends coach Chase Haslett is now listed as the Cowboys’ pass game specialist.

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Notre Dame Football: Irish reportedly losing key staffer to Big Ten

More moves for Fighting Irish football…

According to FootballScoop, Notre Dame is losing a key member of their football staff.

Butler Benton joined the Notre Dame staff as Assistant Athletic Director for Player Personnel in April of 2023 after spending the two previous seasons as the General Manager at the University of Arkansas.

Accoring to the FootballScoop report:

Sources tell FootballScoop that Benton has left his post as the assistant athletic director to become the new GM for DeShaun Foster at UCLA.

The report goes on to mention that the deal could be announced as early as Monday.  Benton heading to UCLA sets him up to return to the Big Ten where he served as the player personnel coordinator at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio.

Former NFL HC Mike Vrabel takes new football job in Ohio

The Mike Vrabel-to-Wisconsin news looks less likely

Well, this news may make Mike Vrabel joining Wisconsin as an analyst or special assistant more challenging, if not impossible.

The former NFL Coach of the Year is signing on with the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant, according to reports from ESPN’s Field Yates and Adam Schefter.

Related: Ranking Big Ten football teams by highest 2024 ceiling

This move comes after the Tennessee Titans fired the longtime head coach after a disappointing 6-11 2023 season.

Vrabel moves back to the state of Ohio, where he and Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell shared the field for several years at Ohio State.

Fickell had said at a press conference in February that Vrabel may be around Wisconsin football ‘in some capacity’ this offseason. This news does not make that impossible, though it certainly makes it seem a lot less likely.

Wisconsin football is set to begin spring practice later this month in preparation for the 2024 season.

For more 2024 season preview work, we’ve already ranked all 18 programs in the Big Tenranked the 18 starting quarterbacksranked all 18 head coachespredicted each Big Ten team’s 2024 recordlooked at the early College Football Playoff tiersmade bold predictions for the season and checked in on the Las Vegas win totals for each team in the conference.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Sean Payton sees a high ceiling for Broncos’ new DBs coach Jim Leonhard

“I think that he’s extremely bright … he’s got one of these high ceilings,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Jim Leonhard.

After losing Christian Parker to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Denver Broncos replaced him with new defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard.

Leonhard is a former NFL safety who had brief stops with the Broncos and with the New Orleans Saints during his playing days. He transitioned to coaching in 2016 and he has quickly risen up the coaching ranks.

“Jim was someone that I had spoken with last offseason,” Denver coach Sean Payton said at the NFL combine on Feb. 27. “He actually played for us briefly. I know he [also] played for Denver for a year. He had hip replacement surgery last year, so he was going to be in a position where he couldn’t commit to a full-time job. He helped out Illinois.

“I think that he’s extremely bright and he was as a player. He solved all the problems as a player. He was in Buffalo, with the Jets, Baltimore and Denver. He played for 10 years and I think he’s got one of these high ceilings that we see with some young coaches. I say young, but it’s kind of all relative. I think a lot of him, and we spent a lot of time on that process.”

Leonhard, 41, served as a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin from 2017-2021 before being promoted to interim head coach in 2022. Before joining the Broncos this offseason, he previously interviewed for two defensive coordinator openings in the NFL.

Leonhard might one day be a DC candidate in Denver. For now, though, he’s an overqualified DBs coach set to replace Parker in 2024.

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Broncos wish Christian Parker well as he exits team

Broncos coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton gave Christian Parker glowing reviews when he left the club to reunite with Vic Fangio.

Before what ended up being his final season with the Denver Broncos, Vic Fangio hired Christian Parker as the club’s defensive backs coach in 2021.

Fangio was fired after that season and the team’s next coach, Nathaniel Hackett, kept Parker on his staff in 2022. Hackett lasted less than a full season before he was also fired. The club’s next coach, Sean Payton, also kept Parker on his staff in 2023, and he also attempted to bring Fangio back as a coordinator.

Fangio did not want to return to Denver, so Payton ended up hiring Vance Joseph instead. Parker stuck around for one season under Joseph before asking to leave this spring to reunite with Fangio, who now coaches with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Broncos could have blocked Parker’s lateral move — he’s now a “passing game coordinator,” a title Denver easily could have given him — but Payton let the coach exit.

“Christian was with us and he got promoted,” Payton said at the NFL combine on Feb. 27. “[The Eagles are] getting a bright young coach. Obviously, Vic knows him because he’s work with him before. Christian’s really sharp. I’d say his degree, if you will, in defensive football is in that scheme.

“He was a pleasure to work with. I’m excited that he has that opportunity. Vic and I talked at length about Christian. He was one of the coaches that we kept from last year’s staff.”

Broncos general manager George Paton was also full of praise when asked about Parker at the combine.

“Christian is outstanding,” Paton said. “He’s young, poised beyond his years. Very good teacher. I don’t know how old he is but he came in here to coach Justin Simmons, Pat Surtain and Kareem Jackson. I would just say he’s a really good teacher.

“In regard to me, he’s a very good evaluator and when we got involved in the draft process, free agent process, he was outstanding as an evaluator. I feel like [the Eagles] really got a star in Christian Parker.”

To replace Parker, Denver hired Jim Leonhard as their new DBs coach.

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Former Wisconsin defensive lineman joins Florida coaching staff

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman joins Florida coaching staff

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman Jeremy Patterson is joining the staff at Florida as an assistant defensive line coach and graduate assistant, according to a report from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

He joins the traditional SEC power after having previously been a player development assistant at Rutgers.

Patterson played at Wisconsin from 2014-2016, appearing in four total games along the defensive line — two each in 2015 and 2016. He then transferred to Tennessee State for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. His second stop included 18 total games, 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.

Related: Breakout candidates for Wisconsin football 2024 spring practice

The former Badger joins a Florida program coming off three consecutive losing seasons and a 5-7 2023 campaign. He will help coach a defensive line that in 2023 had Florida finish with the No. 81-ranked rush defense with 155.58 yards allowed per game.

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Broncos expected to make Jamar Cain their new DL coach

After losing Marcus Dixon to the Vikings, the Broncos are expected to make Jamar Cain their new defensive line coach.

The Denver Broncos lost two members of their coaching staff this offseason. Both of the positions vacated by those departures have now been filled.

First, the Broncos lost defensive backs coach Christian Parker, who left the club to join the Philadelphia Eagles and reunite with Vic Fangio. Denver replaced Parker with Jim Leonhard, an overqualified DBs coach who might one day become a defensive coordinator.

After losing Parker, the Broncos also lost defensive line coach Marcus Dixon, who left the team in a lateral move to join the Minnesota Vikings. It sounds like Denver will now replace Dixon with an in-house candidate.

The Broncos are expected to promote pass rush specialist Jamar Cain to defensive line coach, according to The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman. Cain previously coached defensive linemen at four college programs before joining Denver’s staff in 2023.

The Broncos could fill Cain’s old rule with a new pass rush specialist, but they don’t necessarily need to. Denver already has an outside linebackers coach (Michael Wilhoite), so promoting Cain does not leave them without a position coach.

If the Broncos do bring in another assistant in a pass rush role, Rob Ninkovich could be a name to watch after he served as a part-time guest coach last season.

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Vikings hire two assistants to coaching staff

The Minnesota Vikings announced the hirings of Shaun Sarrett as assistant offensive line coach and Henry Schneider IV as assistant coaches

The Minnesota Vikings have lost a few assistants this offseason to other jobs. They came one step closer to finalizing their staff for the 2024 season.

On Friday afternoon, the Vikings announced the hirings of Shaun Sarrett as assistant offensive line coach and Henry Schneider IV as the assistant to the head coach.

Sarrett was with the Los Angeles Chargers for the last three seasons under head coach Brandon Staley. During his time there, he helped develop Rashwn Slater into a second-team All-Pro. He also spent time with special teams coordinator Matt Daniels at Duke when they were both in college.

Schneider was with the Las Vegas Raiders over the last five seasons in different managerial capacities: football operations assistant, football operations coordinator and manager of coaching operations.

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Falcons add nine more assistants to coaching staff

The Falcons have added nine more assistants to Raheem Morris’ coaching staff, the team announced

The 2024 NFL offseason is only getting started but the Atlanta Falcons have been busy since the 2023 season ended. After firing Arthur Smith, the team spent weeks interviewing possible replacements before hiring Raheem Morris as the 19th head coach in franchise history.

With the NFL scouting combine less than a week away, the Falcons are trying to round out Morris’ staff. On Thursday, the team officially hired nine more assistant coaches:

  • OLB coach: Jacquies Smith
  • Asst. QB coach: D.J. Williams
  • Offensive Asst.: Pat Kramer
  • Asst O-Line coach: Shawn Flaherty
  • Dir. of Performance: John Griffin
  • Associate Strength/Conditioning: Paul Constantine
  • Asst. Strength/Conditioning: Erik Jernstrom
  • Dir. of Performance Science: Josh Nelson
  • Manager of coach. operations: Rob Dodona

Two of the seven coaches — Flaherty and Kramer — were retained from the previous coaching staff. Smith comes from the University of Texas. Griffin was previously with the Los Angeles Rams. Constantine comes from the University of Alabama’s staff.

Nelson spent last year at Penn State. Jernstrom worked for Eforce Sport. Williams spent the last five years with the New Orleans Saints. Lastly, Dodona was an assistant coach for the Jets in 2023.

Wisconsin hires its new defensive line coach

Wisconsin’s coaching staff is now complete, again:

Wisconsin is hiring E.J. Whitlow to be its new defensive line coach, according to reports from ESPN’s Pete Thamel and BadgerExtra’s Colten Bartholomew.

Whitlow takes over for Greg Scruggs, who recently left to take the same position at Michigan.

The Badgers’ new hire spent the last two years as the defensive line coach at Air Force. That stop came after four years at Miami (OH) and four at Grand Valley State — the latter where he coached current Patriots star defensive end Matthew Judon.

Related: Big Ten starting quarterback rankings for 2024

Whitlow is set to coach Wisconsin defensive line that underwhelmed in 2023. Veteran defensive end James Thompson Jr. returns to anchor the unit, with sophomore Curt Neal and junior T.J. Bollers also set to play prominent roles.

Luke Fickell’s coaching staff is now complete again after a turnover-filled offseason. The Badgers needed replacements at defensive line coach (Scruggs left for Michigan), wide receivers coach (Mike Brown left for Notre Dame) and safeties coach (Colin Hitschler left for Alabama). 

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