Tag: Doug Marrone

Former Tennessee assistant named offensive line coach at Alabama

Nick Saban has hired a former Tennessee assistant as his offensive line coach at Alabama.

Nick Saban has hired a former Tennessee assistant as his offensive line coach at Alabama.

Doug Marrone will serve as the Crimson Tide’s offensive line coach in 2021.

Marrone was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee in 2001. He served as tight ends coach and oversaw offensive tackles for the Vols under head coach Phillip Fulmer.

“We are extremely fortunate to be able to add Doug Marrone to our staff,” Saban said. “He knows our new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien well and will do a fantastic job with our offensive line.

“He has extensive experience as not only an offensive line coach, but also as a head coach at Syracuse and in the NFL with Buffalo and Jacksonville. Doug has an excellent track record for recruiting and developing players. I’m excited about his ability to help our players reach their full potential.”

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Alabama’s 2021 football coaching staff set to make history

Alabama’s Nick Saban has won six national titles since coming to Tuscaloosa in 2007. That success has attracted several former head coaches

Alabama head coach Nick Saban has won six national championships since coming to Tuscaloosa in 2007. That type of success has led several of the best football coaches to come to Alabama and work under Saban.

We’ve seen it countless times in recent years. Steve Sarkisian and Butch Jones are the latest examples of former head coaches who came to Alabama for a short time and then became head coaches again.

In 2021, Saban’s coaching staff faces unprecedented turnover coming off another national championship.

In addition to Sarkisian’s and Jones’s departures, running backs coach Charles Huff left for his first opportunity as a head coach at Marshall. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood and special teams/tight ends coach Jeff Banks followed Sarkisian to Texas.

Replacing Sarkisian is former Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien. O’Brien spent six-plus seasons in charge of Houston’s NFL team before being fired in October.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone will replace Flood as the offensive line coach.

Both have experience in the college game, too. O’Brien is a former head coach at Penn State while Marrone was a former head coach at Syracuse.

The hirings of O’Brien and Marrone are historic. They mean Alabama is the only college program to have three former NFL head coaches on a single staff since the AFL-NFL merger in 1966, per Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports,

If Alabama continues to be, well, Alabama, O’Brien and Marrone could get another shot as a head coach sooner rather than later.

List of Alabama football coaching hires in 2021 offseason

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the national championship, but lost a decent chunk of its coaching staff. Here’s an updating list of new hires.

The Alabama Crimson Tide may have won the 2020 national championship, but the program took plenty of losses in the offseason. Numerous coaches have decided to leave the program to pursue opportunities at other programs.

Former offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian left to be the head coach at the University of Texas; former offensive line coach Kyle Flood joins Sarkisian at Texas as their offensive coordinator and Charles Huff, who most recently served as the Crimson Tide’s running back coach, is now the head coach at Marshall.

Hires have already been made, and more additions to the staff are inevitable.

Here’s who Nick Saban and the Alabama program decided to bring in, so far:

NEXT … A new OC.

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Reports: Jags former HC Doug Marrone to become Alabama’s OL coach

Doug Marrone has found a new home and that will be with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone was let go on Jan. 4, but as expected, it didn’t take long for him to find work. Per multiple reports, Marrone will be joining Nick Saban’s staff in Alabama to be the Crimson Tide’s offensive line coach. 

Per Matt Zenitz of AL.com, Marrone is currently in Tuscaloosa going through the process of being added to Alabama’s staff. However, ESPN’s Cole Cubelic was the first reporter to get the word out about Marrone’s connection with the Crimson Tide football program.

Marrone, 56, was with the Jags organization since 2015. He initially joined the staff in 2015 as an assistant under Gus Bradley. He was named the interim head coach when Bradley was fired in December of 2016 and became the head coach the following season. 

During his four seasons as the Jags’ head coach, Marrone accumulated a 23-43 record and a 2-1 postseason record. His only postseason appearances came in 2017 when the Jags were able to get to the AFC Championship. Marrone also spent time as the Buffalo Bills’ coach from 2013-14 and accumulated a 15-17 record, putting him at a 38-60 overall record as an NFL head coach.

Marrone will join an Alabama program that won its sixth national title in the last 12 years under Saban this month. Of course, that will come with ample opportunities to work with the best collegiate offensive lineman in the country.

Is Nick Saban targeting another former NFL HC for his staff?

With numerous departures from the Alabama crimson tide program taking place this offseason, reports and rumors regarding potential hires …

Nick Saban has lost a decent chunk of his coaching staff following their win in the 2020 national championship, which is not atypical for the Crimson Tide head coach. However, more coaches than usual have departed from the program.

Former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is now working toward getting started in his first season as the Texas Longhorns head coach. He also managed to bring with him Kyle Flood, Alabama’s former offensive line coach.

While Sarkisian’s position has already been filled with former Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, rumors now state that another former NFL head coach may be the next hire for Saban’s 2021 staff.

Cole Cubelic of ESPN took to Twitter to claim Doug Marrone, who was most recently the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has emerged as a likely candidate for the offensive line coach.

Marrone has served as the head coach for two NFL teams, but has been coaching offensive lines in professional football for decades. He has also had his fair share of collegiate coaching experience, with stops at Syracuse, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

No official reports have surfaced regarding any contact between the two parties.

Roll Tide Wire will publish any information that becomes available about the offensive line coach position.

Report: Jags ‘waiting’ on an answer from Urban Meyer regarding HC vacancy

The Jags have been linked heavily to Urban Meyer, but it appears he’s still deciding on whether he wants to coach on the NFL level.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars hitting the one-week mark of not having a coach, many fans have begun to get anxious about the vacancy left by Doug Marrone. In particular, many have been watching Urban Meyer’s name closely, as he’s been heavily linked with the team for quite some time.

With Tuesday starting rather silently on the Jags’ end, NFL insider Mike Garafolo finally provided the football community with an update Meyer — and it may not have necessarily been the news Meyer fans wanted to hear. After watching the situation closely the last few days, Garafolo stated that he gets the sense that Meyer hasn’t been “full steam ahead” in regards to taking the job.

He also added that the Jags appear willing to give Meyer the job, but haven’t been able to get a concrete answer from the former Gators coach.

As Garafolo said, the situation should come to a head sooner rather than later. From all the reports that have been documented, the Jags have made it pretty clear they want Meyer, but it would be understandable if they were to move on in the coming days to avoid coming up short.

If Meyer remains undecided on taking the job, the Jags are in position where several others would eagerly jump on the opportunity. With them having a clear path to Trevor Lawrence (and 10 other 2021 picks), the highest projected cap space total, and ownership that’s willing to provide resources, most have called their vacancy the best available.

Owner Shad Khan expressed that the team would consider many options, so he undoubtedly has a Plan B. According to our tracker, they’ve interviewed at least four others. That list includes Robert Saleh (49ers), Raheem Morris (Falcons), Arthur Smith (Titans), and Eric Bienemy (Chiefs), who all interviewed last week.

Jags interviewed Titans OC Arthur Smith after wild-card game

The Jags checked off another coaching candidate on their list Sunday by interviewing Arthur Smith of the Titans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their search for a new head coach Sunday by interviewing Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, his meeting with the team took place last night after the Titans lost their wild-card game against the Baltimore Ravens.

While Eric Bieniemy was believed to be the coach all teams would be intrigued by, it’s actually Smith who has received some form of interest from all of the teams with vacancies. However, it’s worth noting that he’s scheduled to interview for every vacancy aside from the Houston Texans’ at the moment.

Smith is a candidate who has been intriguing to the league due to the work he’s done with the Titans offense, which features stars like tailback Derrick Henry, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and receiver A.J. Brown. With the skill players the Jags have in receivers D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault Jr., tailback James Robinson, and the likely addition of Trevor Lawrence, it’s possible he could have similar success in Jacksonville.

As of now, the Jags are a week into their search for a head coach after firing Doug Marrone last Monday. Many insiders believe that former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is the front-runner for the Jags’ job as he’s started putting a staff together. Still, Jags owner Shad Khan looks to be doing his due diligence on all candidates, which is something fans should appreciate as an important decision looms.

Podcast: Discussions on Meyer, Jags vacancy being the most attractive, and Marrone firing

The Jags Wire crew was joined by Aaron Smiley and Eric Serna to talk about the Jags’ offseason, which has been highlighted by Urban Meyer.

The first week of the NFL postseason has arrived, and while the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t apart of the process, we’ve continued our work in the booth with “The Bleav in the Jags Podcast.” This week, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I were joined by Eric Serna from “The Wait For it Podcast” and Aaron Smiley of “The Sports is to Life Podcast” to have a good old round table conversation about the Cardiac Cats.

Episode 53 started off with a chat about the firing of Doug Marrone, which occurred on Black Monday. Specifically, all members of the discussion talked about how Marrone will be remembered by the city of Jacksonville as he was one of the more respected coaches in the team’s history.

Afterward, we discussed why the Jags’ vacancy is the most attractive in the NFL right now as the team is searching for a general manager and head coach, at the moment. We then followed it up with a conversation about the Jags’ interest in former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who looks to be the favorite to replace Marrone.

To hear our full conversation, feel free to listen to the media player below as the Jags’ offseason is going to heat up pretty soon.

Feel free to listen to the archived episodes of “Bleav in the Jags,” too, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris interviews with Jaguars

The Atlanta Falcons continue to ramp up their coaching search, interviewing several top candidates this week, including Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Thursday.

The Atlanta Falcons continue to ramp up their coaching search, interviewing several top candidates this week, including Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Thursday.

Despite looking at several names outside of the organization, Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris hasn’t yet been ruled out for the team’s full-time position in 2021. It seems more likely that Atlanta will go in a different direction, but Morris is certainly worthy of consideration after getting this previously 0-5 Falcons team to show some fight down the stretch.

As reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport’s, Morris had a scheduled interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday for their head-coaching vacancy.

The Jaguars fired head coach Doug Marrone after four seasons following the team’s 1-15 finish in 2020. Morris could be the young, energetic leader a rebuilding team like Jacksonville needs.

Atlanta’s interim coach had a decent run this year after taking over for Dan Quinn, and has previous head-coaching experience from his three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Report: Jaguars interested in Titans OC Arthur Smith for HC vacancy

The Jags will be looking within their division at a coaching candidate in Arthur Smith, who is the Titans offensive coordinator.

With their head coaching job now open, Urban Meyer is no longer the only coaching candidate the Jacksonville Jaguars are known to have interest in. Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is now on their radar.

While it’s unclear whether or not the Jags have asked him for an interview already, their interest in Smith isn’t shocking when considering he’s been highly successful in the AFC South. As their coordinator, he played a huge part in them finishing the regular season second in rushing (168.1 YPG average) and second in total offense (396.4 YPG average).

In terms of his coaching career, Smith started his coaching as a graduate assistant with his alma mater North Carolina (2006). He then joined the Washington Football Team as a defensive quality control assistant (2007-08), then Ole Miss as an intern and administrative assistant (2010). He then found his way to the Titans’ staff in 2011 as a defensive assistant and quality control coach — and worked his way up to the offensive coordinator role in 2019.

With the young skill players the Jags have in DJ Chark, Laviska Shenault Jr., and James Robinson, Smith would have something to work with in Duval when considering what he’s done with Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, and company. If that isn’t enough, having the No. 1 overall pick, ample cap space, and patient ownership should make the job even more appealing in comparison to others.