Tag: Curtis Johnson

Former Saints assistant Curtis Johnson hired as USFL team head coach

Former Saints WR coach Curtis Johnson has been hired as the USFL’s Houston Gamblers head coach. His first game is against his old coworker Mike Nolan’s Michigan Panthers:

This is cool: the USFL has hired former New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson as the head coach of its Houston Gamblers franchise. Johnson’s coaching career took off with the Saints from 2006 to 2011, when he was hired as head coach of the Tulane Green Wave; he later returned to New Orleans as a senior offensive assistant from 2017 to 2021, though Dennis Allen didn’t retain him after taking over as head coach.

Now Johnson is running his own team again. The Gamblers compete in the USFL’s South division and are looking to make some noise after a 3-7 debut under head coach Kevin Sumlin last year.

The spring league’s 2023 season kicks off in April, with Johnson’s Gamblers meeting a team coached by one of his old coworkers — former Saints linebackers coach Mike Nolan, now head coach of the Michigan Panthers. The Gamblers and Panthers will play in Memphis, Tenn. at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on April 16. The USFL is rolling out a regional hub model after playing all of its games in Birmingham, Ala. during the 2022 campaign, with plans to install each franchise in its own home city in the near future.

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Dolphins make a slew of moves as their new coaching staff takes form

Mike McDaniel is staying busy.

On the same day that the Miami Dolphins introduced new head coach Mike McDaniel to the fanbase and media, the team has stayed busy to surround him with the right coaching staff.

According to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins have fired defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander. Alexander has been with Miami for the last two seasons, as he received credit for the emergence of Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones. The 37-year-old recently interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their open defensive coordinator position, but it has since been filled.

Alexander isn’t the only coach moving on from Miami Gardens, however, as co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach George Godsey was hired by the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. This move was expected with McDaniel coming in to run his own system and former San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Jon Embree joining in the same capacity.

There has also been a coach added to the staff that Dolphins fans will be familiar with. According to Armando Salguero of Outkick, Miami is bringing in Wes Welker to be the team’s wide receivers coach. Welker played for the Dolphins from 2004 to 2006 before breaking out in New England. He’s spent the last two seasons as San Francisco’s wide receivers coach.

In addition, the Dolphins are interviewing New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach/offensive assistant Curtis Johnson to be their offensive coordinator, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Johnson has been with the Saints for five years, serving mainly as a senior offensive assistant, but he was once the head coach of Tulane.

The 60-year-old is the second coach to reportedly receive an interview for Miami’s offensive coordinator position, as Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach Charles London will also be considered.

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Report: Saints expect to name Doug Marrone OL coach, dismiss WR coach Curtis Johnson

Report: Saints expect to name Doug Marrone OL coach, dismiss WR coach Curtis Johnson

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We’ve got movement: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported Wednesday evening that first-year head coach Dennis Allen is moving on from multiple assistants, including wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson. He also reports that Allen expects to name the newly-hired Doug Marrone to offensive line coach, replacing the outgoing Brendan Nugent.

Johnson, the former Tulane Green Wave head coach, was on staff with New Orleans in two different stints from 2006 to 2011 and again from 2017 to 2021. But with the Saints struggling to draft and develop receivers as of late, it made sense to look for a fresher approach. No replacement for Johnson has been immediately identified.

But let’s circle back to Marrone. He was Alabama’s offensive line coach in 2021 and has worked in that role before, including in New Orleans from 2006 to 2008 (when he was also named offensive coordinator). It might be a good fit for him as someone with plenty of experience in that role, though the Saints still need an offensive coordinator with Pete Carmichael Jr. moving into a different post.

Additionally, Underhill reports that the Saints won’t be retaining offensive analyst Jim Chaney (brought on last year) or longtime strength coach Dan Dalrymple, who has been with the team since 2006. Both of these departures were later confirmed by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan. So that’s two position coaches on the outs in Johnson and Nugent, with another opening on top of the strength and conditioning staff.

But as both Underhill and Duncan observed, this is an extremely fluid situation. Allen is actively evaluating his staff and meeting with coaches every single day as he gets everyone in place. Things could continue to change as he speaks with different candidates and gets a better idea of who should be coaching which positions and holding certain responsibilities. As other options emerge, some coaches may end up in a different spot than initially planned. So keep a close eye out for updates.

Frankly, it’s good to see Allen shake things up with some underperforming units. Staying complacent isn’t the way forward. If he feels Marrone is an upgrade over Nugent as the offensive line coach, it’s worth pursuing. The same holds true for whichever candidates are in line to coach the receiving corps, which was the weak link of the offense last season. The initial move to bring in Marrone didn’t sit well with me given how it looked like a stagnant move to “just run the hits” and bring back a retread. But now that Allen’s vision is being executed, it’s exciting to see what more is in store.

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Ty Montgomery impressing RB, WR coaches at Saints training camp

Ty Montgomery has been an early standout at New Orleans Saints training camp, impressing coaches at both running back and wide receiver.

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While he may skirt the NFL’s too-strict rules on jersey numbers and get away with wearing No. 88, Ty Montgomery doesn’t play wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints. He’s every inch a running back, even if the Saints coaching staff is open to trying him out at a variety of alignments. Based off what some of Montgomery’s coaches had to say, that’s the only logical move.

“Extremely good player,” said Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson. “He’s been spending most of time in the running backs room. I love what I see. He has great hands, he can run real, real well. He’s a catch-and-run guy. Extremely good balance, great vision. He runs routes that let you know he’s a receiver, also.”

Johnson added that he’s devoting as much time as he can to coaching up Montgomery, but he’s only allowed so much — at the end of the day, most of Montgomery’s time is spent working alongside the other running backs.

And Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas is eager to work with him, saying: “As a runner I see him as this piece of putty that hasn’t had a lot of experience even though he’s listed as a running back. He’s been moved around from room to room as a running back, wide receiver, maybe a scatback.”

In his NFL career, Montgomery has appeared in 62 games (including the playoffs), but only amassed 2,185 total yards from scrimmage — an average of just 35.2 yards per game. Depending on your perspective, that could mean that Montgomery has plenty of untapped potential, or that he hasn’t played well enough in either role to earn a heavier workload with his previous three teams.

But Thomas can be counted among the optimists on this tone. He pushed back against the notion that Montgomery may be just a “gadget player” limited to screens, sweeps, and other one-dimensional plays; he’s seen the veteran make the right decisions as a runner on inside-zone calls, secure clean catches downfield, and even hold up in pass protection.

He continued, “You can see the versatility that he has that might create a mismatch problem when he gets out on the field. He wears 88, he might be recognized as a receiver at the time. We’ll see how it unfolds.”

So while Montgomery’s path towards making the team will be focused on how well he plays as a conventional running back, position coaches at both spots feel like he has the juice to add an element to the Saints offense. While he still has weeks of work ahead to claim a spot on the 53-man roster, it’s hard to not be excited by these early reviews.

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Saints coach Curtis Johnson with the quote of the week about Michael Thomas

New Orleans Saints WR coach Curtis Johnson doesn’t have much left to teach Michael Thomas about the playbook, but they’re still working hard

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The connection between an NFL player and their position coach might be one of the most underrated bonds you’ll see in the league. Sure, the quarterback-head coach mind meld is valued highly; but for most players, their interactions with individual position coaches defines most of their training.

That’s been the case for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas and his coach, Curtis Johnson. Johnson was a fixture of Sean Payton’s early Saints coaching staff, and returned after a few years at Tulane and a brief stop with the Chicago Bears.

While there isn’t much about the Saints playbook Johnson has left to teach Thomas, the pair still talk often about technique and areas of the superstar’s game that could improve. Johnson spoke about their bond during his Thursday media availability session.

“You don’t have to do much you just draw the plays up. He’ll get it figured out. But in our meetings he’s, we’re very, I would say ‘closer than close’ right now. He comes over to my house. Matter of fact, he’s closer to my wife than he is with me, so I hope nothing’s going on there,” Johnson laughed.

While there isn’t much more Thomas can add to his encyclopedic knowledge of the Saints offense, it’s great to see that he’s still putting in the work to find ways to get better. And it’s something Johnson values in him, noting that he rarely has to nudge Thomas into staying focused in practice or keeping his energy level up. He’s a pro’s pro.

That relentless drive has helped Thomas to break NFL records and win the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award. It’s put him on top of the AP All-Pro list. With Johnson on hand to fine-tune his game, it’s possible Thomas still hasn’t hit his ceiling.

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