Tag: coaching staff

Wisconsin adds longtime NFL coach to coaching staff entering 2024 season

Wisconsin adds longtime NFL coach to coaching staff entering 2024 season

Wisconsin has hired longtime NFL coach Jack Del Rio as a senior advisor to head coach Luke Fickell before the 2024 season, as first reported by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

Del Rio has been spotted at the Badgers training camp over the last few weeks. This news ends speculation about whether he was hired to an official role with the program.

Related: Ranking the biggest storylines entering Wisconsin’s Week 1 contest vs. Western Michigan

The longtime NFL coach was most recently the Washington Commanders’ defensive coordinator from 2020-23. His coaching experience spans back to 1997 and includes stints as a head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-11) and the then-Oakland Raiders (2015-17).

He has decades of experience in the sport and should bring a valuable perspective to Fickell’s staff.

This is Del Rio’s first job at the college level — though he has experience as a linebackers coach, defensive coordinator and head coach. This stint with the Badgers could serve as a valuable springboard into another NFL job for Del Rio after he was fired by the Commanders in November.

This news comes after Fickell first reportedly wanted to bring in former NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel to help on the Badgers staff. Vrabel, Fickell’s college teammate, went on to take a consultant job with the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason.

Del Rio still fits that mold as an experienced NFL coach with a valuable perspective that the Badgers currently lack on their staff.

Fickell, Del Rio and the Badgers begin their 2024 season on Friday night against Western Michigan. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, 9 p.m. ET.

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Blake Lampman talks new position on the staff with Michigan State basketball

Blake Lampman talks about his new position on the staff with MSU

Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo added Oakland University legend Blake Lampman to his coaching staff in a support role. Bringing in the Haslett native is a big deal for both the Spartans and the Golden Grizzlies legend.

Courtesy of WILX’s Owen Oszust, Lampman spoke about Michigan State and the opportunity he has to work for a coach like Izzo.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

NFL team tried to sign Broncos coach as a QB during 2023 season

An NFL team approached Broncos assistant coach Davis Webb about unretiring and playing quarterback last season.

During an interview with Kay Adams on the “Up and Adams Show” earlier this week, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton dropped a fascinating nugget about quarterbacks coach Davis Webb.

“Davis Webb is doing a great job,” Payton told Adams. “He just — it’s unusual that you get a quarterbacks coach that literally just finished playing. And then even last season, gets an email from a team about possibly playing still. And he’s coaching that room. So you do have a little bit of a caddie there and a real smart up-and-coming coach who’s working with those guys.”

Payton convinced Webb to step away from playing as a backup quarterback in the NFL to join his coaching staff last year. Apparently, one team last season wanted Webb to make a comeback as a player. Payton did not mention the specific team by name.

Before joining the Broncos as a coach, Davis spent time as a player with the New York Giants (two stints), New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.

This certainly isn’t the first time an NFL team has asked a coach to switch to quarterback. During the 2020 season, the Broncos wanted coaches Rob Calabrese and Justin Rascati to suit up as quarterbacks after all of Denver’s QBs were deemed ineligible to play due to COVID-19 protocol.

The Broncos weren’t able to pull it off because NFL rules prevent coaches from playing for their team. Instead, Denver turned to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton to fill in at QB (and it didn’t go well).

Webb couldn’t play for the Broncos in a pinch, either. He would have to step down from his coaching role and unretire and sign with the team as a player, but the league probably would not allow that to happen on short notice just like it wasn’t allowed with Calabrese and Rascati four years ago.

It’s a moot point, anyway, because Webb seems content to continue coaching. By all accounts, he has transitioned well to the new role.

“I think he does a great job,” quarterback Zach Wilson said earlier this month. “I really love working with him. You wouldn’t think he’s only been in the league coaching for a couple years. He does a phenomenal job [and] is just fun to be around.”

Webb, 29, seems to have a bright future as a coach in the NFL.

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Ex-NFL coach Jason Garrett visits Broncos training camp

Former NFL coach Jason Garrett visited Broncos training camp on Thursday.

The Denver Broncos had a special guest at Thursday’s training camp, a former quarterback. Not John Elway. Not Peyton Manning.

Okay, okay, you already read the headline. It was Jason Garrett.

Garrett played quarterback in the NFL from 1989-2004, but many football fans today know him from his time as a coach. Garrett started his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach with the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 and later worked his way up to offensive coordinator and then head coach.

Dallas did not renew Garrett’s contract when it expired in 2020 and he went on to serve as an offensive coordinator with the New York Giants from 2020-2021. So is he now returning to league on Denver’s staff? Probably not.

Garrett was a quarterback with the Giants from 2000-’03, overlapping with then-New York offensive coordinator Sean Payton (2000-’02). Payton went on to coach on Dallas’ staff from 2003-’05 and Garrett joined the Cowboys in 2007, one year after Payton became head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Garrett now works for NBC’s Sunday Night Football and while the Broncos do not have any initially scheduled SNF games this year, Thursday was likely an opportunity for Garrett to reconnect with an old friend and do some prep on Denver’s roster ahead of the 2024 season.

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Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell discusses hire of Alex Grinch after rough USC tenure

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell discusses hire of Alex Grinch after rough USC tenure

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell addressed one of the program’s headline-grabbing moments of the offseason at Big Ten media days on Tuesday.

That is the hire of former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to its new safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Related: The 6 most likely scenarios for Wisconsin’s 2024 football season

The Badgers made the hire in late January after safeties coach Colin Hitschler left for the same position on Kalen DeBoer’s staff at Alabama.

Grinch was available after being fired as USC’s defensive coordinator midway through the 2023 season.

“I want guys that have had a lot of tough situations,” Fickell said. “Guys that have gone through that and humbled themselves and you can recognize that, I think they are a hell of a lot better in the long run.”

USC decided to move on from Grinch as his 2023 defense was in the midst of a season where it finished ranked No. 119 in the nation with 432.8 yards allowed per game, No. 121 in scoring defense with 34.4 points allowed per game and finished ranked No. 105 in ESPN SP+. That is after his unit finished No. 106, No. 93 and No. 87 respectively in 2022.

The Trojans were among the worst defensive teams in the nation during his two years at the helm, prompting many fans to wonder why the Badgers would make the hire.

Grinch does have a successful track record as an assistant, however, just not as a coordinator. He was a four-time Broyles Award nominee for the nation’s top assistant coach, including a semifinalist in 2017 and 2019.

His coaching experience includes working as the safeties coach at Missouri (2012-2014), defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Washington State (2015-2017), co-DC and safeties coach at Ohio State (2018), DC and safeties coach under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma (2019-2021) and in the same position once Riley left for USC (2022-2023).

“We didn’t overlap at the time at Ohio State, but had some mutual connections and knew that our ideas and things we do aligned in a lot of ways,” Fickell added. “Once I got to know him and met him a little bit, to see and feel the humility that he had and all the things he went through, never complained, never made an excuse, never pointed a finger. He’s a very smart football coach that is a hell of a lot better now even then he was then because of those experiences.”

Grinch is set to coach a safeties room that will be led by star Hunter Wohler in 2024. He will also co-coordinate a defense that is expected to take a significant step forward after a solid performance in 2023.

Wisconsin’s head coach is certainly confident in Grinch being a positive addition to his staff despite his recent track record as a defensive coordinator.

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

Sean Payton says Jim Leonhard has a bright future as a coach in the NFL

“This guy has got a real good future as a coach in this league,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of new DBs coach Jim Leonhard.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton tried to hire Jim Leonhard to his staff last year, but Leonhard took a break from coaching in 2023 while recovering from hip surgery.

After fully recovering, Leonhard joined Payton’s staff this spring as a defensive backs coach. Leonhard, 41, spent 10 years as a safety and special teams player in the NFL, including a summer with the New Orleans Saints in 2013.

“I had him briefly as a player and he reminds me that I cut him,” Payton said on June 12. “I think he [also] came here. He played for a long time. He’s extremely smart. Even last year in the process, he was going through a hip replacement surgery, so I was trying to hire him, but he was going to have trouble with that. He spent that year — last year — just working kind of as a consultant with Illinois. He was able to do that where it was going to be harder for him to commit.

“When this year came around and the opportunity presented itself — we are getting someone with [playing] experience and we’re getting someone with coaching experience as well. He’s been coaching at the college level now for quite a while and was a candidate to be the head coach at Wisconsin. I’ve kind of known him for a while and he’s one of those guys — not only myself, but I would say a number of people in the league have tracked and said, ‘This guy has got a real good future as a coach in this league.’”

Leonhard spent one season with the Broncos in 2012. Following his final season in 2014, Leonhard transitioned to coaching. He returned to Wisconsin, his alma mater, in 2016 and quickly worked his way up from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator. Leonhard served as an interim head coach in 2022 before stepping down and taking a senior football analyst role at Illinois while rehabbing in 2023.

Now set to make his NFL coaching debut in 2024, Leonhard brings 10 years of experience as a player and seven years of coaching experience to Denver.

“He did a lot, and he will lean on him in all of those areas,” Payton said. “He really had a good career and was part of a lot of winning teams, too. The Jets — I remember competing against the Jets and [he] had two real good seasons there. He was part of those teams with Rex [Ryan]. He was in Baltimore and here. He was at a few stops, but when you play that long, he is doing something right.”

Broncos fans will get their first look at Leonhard coaching up the team’s defensive backs when training camp practices begin on Friday.

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Report: Wisconsin elevating top analyst to assistant coordinator role

Report: Wisconsin elevating top analyst to assistant coordinator role

The Wisconsin Badgers are promoting top special teams analyst Eric Raisbeck to assistant special teams coordinator, according to a report from FootballScoop’s Doug Samuels.

Wisconsin hired Raisbeck back in March for an analyst position. He had previously signed on as UC-Davis’ new special teams coordinator before accepting the position on Luke Fickell’s coaching staff.

Related: Reasons why Wisconsin football will or won’t make College Football Playoff in 2024

The fast-rising assistant coach’s path to Wisconsin includes stops at UW-Platteville (2017-2019), Utah State (2019-2020) and Penn State (2020-2023) — mostly in a special teams analyst capacity. He is now reportedly being promoted to work directly with Wisconsin special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell.

Special teams were a strength for the Badgers in year one under Fickell. Transfer kicker Nathanial Vakos was terrific, while punter Atticus Bertrams had a lukewarm debut season. Overall, the units did little to hurt the team — an improvement from some of their previous performances.

Vakos and Bertrams are back as Wisconsin’s respective kicker and punter in 2024. Raisbeck will work on a staff that will look to elevate the rest of the Badgers’ special teams units, trying to reach the top-end standard set by Iowa ace special teams coach LeVar Woods.

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

Report: Wisconsin football moving program legend to on-field coaching role

Report: Wisconsin football moving program legend to on-field coaching role

Wisconsin football is moving program legend Casey Rabach to an on-field coaching role, according to a report from BadgerExtra’s Colten Bartholomew.

Rabach had been part of the program’s recruiting department after being hired in 2022. UWBadgers.com identifies his current role as the director of scouting, a position he has held since the spring of 2023 after beginning as a personnel assistant.

Related: Reasons why Wisconsin football will or won’t make College Football Playoff in 2024

Bartholomew reports Rabach is being promoted to assistant offensive line coach and will work directly with Badgers’ new OL coach A.J. Blazek.

Rabach played for Wisconsin from 1996-2000. His decorated college career included one second-team All-Big Ten selection (1998), two first-team All-Big Ten nods (1999, 2000) and one third-team All-American honor (2000).

Rabach played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins after being selected in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft.

The longtime professional offensive lineman briefly worked in the Green Bay Packers’ personnel department before eventually finding his way into Wisconsin’s recruiting department. He does not have any listed coaching experience.

Luke Fickell remade his offensive line coaching staff after the position struggled to find consistency during the 2023 season. Blazek has brought a tangible energy to the room, something Badgers fans hope will translate into on-field results.

One area that has seen results has been recruiting the position. Wisconsin has commitments from top linemen Hardy Watts, Logan Powell, Nolan Davenport and Michael Roeske in the class of 2025. Blazek and his new assistant, Rabach, should be credited with the majority of those recruiting wins.

Wisconsin’s offensive line will look to improve upon its play from the last 4-5 years when the team kicks its 2024 season off at home against Western Michigan. The addition of Rabach to the coaching staff will be an interesting storyline to follow as the season moves along.

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

Todd Davis will be an intern coach at Broncos training camp

Todd Davis will join Sean Payton’s coaching staff as an intern at training camp, the Super Bowl 50 champion announced on ‘DNVR Broncos.’

When the Denver Broncos begin training camp next week, a familiar face with join the team’s coaching staff as an intern.

Todd Davis, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos following the 2015 season, announced on DNVR Broncos earlier this week that he will have an internship with the club this summer.

“This training camp, I’ll be doing an internship with the Broncos,” Davis said, explaining his upcoming absence from DNVR Broncos. “So I’ll be on the Broncos’ coaching staff for an internship this [summer].”

In five and a half seasons with the team, Davis totaled 448 tackles, 13 pass breakups, 11 quarterback hits, two sacks, two defensive touchdowns, two forced fumbles, one interception and one forced fumble in 82 games.

Following his retirement in 2021, Davis transitioned to media. He was a guest on in-house Broncos programming and also made appearances on networks including KCNC-TV. Davis joined DNVR Broncos full-time last summer and will now take a break for an internship with the team.

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Former MSU football DPP to be hired by UAB

UAB is hiring a former MSU assistant

Michigan State football had Lino Lupinetti as the school’s Director of Player Personnel in 2023. After Mel Tucker’s departure from the program, Lupinetti was not retained by Jonathan Smith when he came over to East Lansing.

Now, Lupinetti has found his new home, being hired by UAB as the school’s director of player personnel for Trent Dilfer with the Blazers.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner