Tag: coaching staff

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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First look at the New Orleans Saints 2024 offensive coaching staff

The New Orleans Saints 2024 offensive coaching staff is complete. Here’s a look at all of the new faces and returning assistants working with Klint Kubiak:

The New Orleans Saints had a frustrating offense in 2023, which led to an almost complete overhaul of the staff for the 2024 season.

Starting with a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak, the Saints filled out a new staff that only has a couple of returning names. With the list of potential coordinators that the Saints interviewed, it is clear that the team wanted to take a younger and more innovative approach this season. Most of the traces of the Sean Payton era are now gone from the offense as they now embrace the new era of offensive football.

Here are all of the coaches that will run the Saints offense in 2024, as the team tries to find success with the same core players:

Former Auburn OC Philip Montgomery hired to same position in UFL

After being let go in January, former Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery has been hired by the Birmingham Stallions.

Auburn’s coaching staff has taken on many changes through the first two months of 2024, and a lot of those who have left the Plains have already secured new positions. The most of recent of those moves came on Wednesday.

Former Auburn offensive coordinator [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] has been hired to be the co-offensive coordinator, running backs coach and tight ends coach for the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL. The Stallions make the transition into the new UFL after being back-to-back champions of the former USFL.

Montgomery was not retained on Auburn’s staff after being with the Tigers for just one season in 2023. The offensive struggles that they had were one huge reason why the Tigers went 6-7 last year, marking the program’s third-straight losing season.

Auburn finished 10th in the SEC in total offense under Montgomery, averaging just 351.2 yards per game. The offense also did not gain very many yards per play last season, placing 11th in the conference at just 5.5. That offense led to a lack of points at 26.15 points per game, a stat that many Tiger fans were frustrated about over the course of the season.

The Stallions are set to open their season on Saturday, March 30, when they visit the Arlington Renegades.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

Saints assistant Jordan Traylor has a new assignment in 2024

New Orleans Saints assistant coach Jordan Traylor has a new assignment in 2024: working with the quarterbacks

The New Orleans Saints are hiring within their own staff as Jordan Traylor has been promoted to the assistant quarterbacks coach, replacing D.J. Williams, per 247 Sports’ Matt Zenitz.

Traylor played college football at Texas A&M as a quarterback, and has been with New Orleans for five years now. He spent two years as a scouting assistant before joining the coaching staff as a defensive assistant. He switched to offense last season and will now move up to his new role for 2024. It’s clear that he has made a name for himself in New Orleans as he will stick around among a lot of offensive turnover on the staff.

Traylor will work closely with recently hired quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko. It’s a positive that the Saints were able to find at least some continuity within the offensive staff as Janocko remains an up-and-coming coach at just 36 years old. Janocko could leave for a promotion of his own if Derek Carr makes rapid progress in the fall. Developing in-house replacements like Traylor is a key to sustaining success.

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Dennis Allen lays out how Saints revamped their coaching staff

Dennis Allen reviewed the Saints’ offensive coaching changes with what he calls a mix of forward-thinkers and veterans who have “been there, done that” in the NFL:

Dennis Allen’s appearance on NFL Network this week was informative. His description of the New Orleans Saints’ revamped offensive coaching staff is exactly what the team needed. Allen described the staff as a “mixture of some older, veteran coaches that have ‘been there, done that,’ with some younger, progressive mindset kind of guys” led by new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

The Saints have been in desperate need of youthful energy, so younger coaches like quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko and running backs coach Derrick Foster are welcome additions. But revamping their offensive line development with a couple of experienced Gary Kubiak assistants like John Benton and Rick Dennison is a smart move, too.

For the past two years the Saints have felt like a poor rendition of Sean Payton’s offense. The problem is you didn’t have Sean Payton running it, so the offense felt outdated. Hiring Kubiak was a great first step towards a more modern NFL offense. The “Shanahan System” will feature more pre-snap motion, more movement during the play, and innovative aspects you see in the prolific offense now.

Regardless of it was Kubiak or someone else the Saints needed to be progressive. Grabbing multiple coaches with that forward-thinking mindset was necessary. This will be a drastically different offense aesthetically in 2024. Allen identified how the Saints needed to change their offense and has made the proper steps towards that change.

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Raiders hire ex-Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello

The Raiders hired former Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello as their new QBs coach. He worked with Caleb Williams this spring.

The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Rich Scangarello as their new quarterbacks coach, according to NFL Network (via Raiders Wire).

Scangarello, 51, served as the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator in 2019. The Broncos averaged 17.6 points per game that season (fifth-worst in the NFL), but that number was slightly higher (19.4) in the five games that then-rookie quarterback Drew Lock started to close out the season.

Denver fired Scangarello following the 2019 campaign and some Broncos fans still believe that damaged Lock’s career. Scangarello went on to have one-year stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and the University of Kentucky from 2020-2022.

After taking a break from coaching in 2023, Scangarello worked with Caleb Williams this spring as the USC quarterback began preparing for the NFL draft. The Raiders hold pick No. 13 in the draft, so if they want to land Williams, they will have to trade up.

The Broncos are set to pick one spot above Las Vegas. Denver holds six picks (including No. 12) and the team would like to acquire more through trades. The 2024 NFL draft will be held in Detroit from April 25-27.

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Rams announce 7 new coaching hires, 2 promotions for 2024

The Rams announced their coaching staff for the 2024 season, which includes seven new assistants and two coaches who will have new titles.

Sean McVay announced after the Rams’ season ended that he planned to bring back all of his coaches for 2024 unless they were hired by other teams. Well, several of them left for opportunities elsewhere, leaving McVay with a staff that needed filling out.

He seems to have filled all of the voids on his coaching staff, with the Rams announcing seven new hires and two promotions on Tuesday. Most of them had been previously reported, including Giff Smith and John Streicher, but the Rams also revealed that Greg Williams and Rob Calabrese have joined the staff, and Nick Caley has added the title of pass game coordinator.

Here’s a look at the Rams’ full staff for 2024 under McVay.

The newcomers are Giff Smith (D-line coach/run game coordinator), Greg Williams (ILBs coach), John Streicher (game management coordinator), Rob Calabrese (offensive assistant), Dave Ragone (QBs coach), Chili Davis (assistant special teams coach) and Nate Scheelhaase (offensive assistant/pass game specialist).

Shula has been promoted to defensive coordinator, and while Caley will continue coaching the tight ends, he’ll also take Zac Robinson’s responsibility as the pass game coordinator.

Everyone else will have the same title as they had last season.

2 former Broncos coaches are returning to the NFL

Rick Dennison and Ronnie Bradford both played and coached for the Broncos. Now they’re set to return to the NFL in 2024.

The NFL’s coaching carousel keeps turning as assistant jobs start to fill up across the league, and two more former Denver Broncos coaches have landed positions with new clubs.

Rick Dennison — who spent his entire playing career with the Broncos from 1982-1990 and then coached in Denver from 1995-2009 and again from 2015-2016 — has joined the New Orleans Saints as their new run game coordinator.

Dennison won three Super Bowls as an assistant with the Broncos (1997, 1998, 2015) and most recently worked as a senior offensive advisor with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. He now returns to the NFL to join the Saints.

Elsewhere on the coaching front, another former Denver player-turned-coach has landed a new gig. Ronnie Bradford played for the Broncos from 1993-1995 and started his coaching career in Denver in 2003. He spent six years coaching with the Broncos then coached two years with the Kansas City Chiefs before working at the college level.

Bradford is now joining the Miami Dolphins as a senior special teams assistant. He most recently served as a defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the University of Montana in 2023. In Miami, Bradford will reunite with coach Mike McDaniel, who was a coach intern in Denver in 2005 when Bradford was serving as the team’s special teams coordinator.

As for the Broncos’ 2024 staff, Sean Payton has lost two coaches and made two additions to the staff so far this offseason.

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