Tag: Dre Bly

Rod Smith among 19 former Broncos nominated for Hall of Fame

Rod Smith is one of eight Broncos Super Bowl champions who have been nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 167 modern-era finalists for the 2025 class. The list includes 19 former Denver Broncos players, including eight Super Bowl champions.

Former Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith headlines the list of players who won Super Bowls with Denver in the late 1990s. He is joined by center Tom Nalen, kicker Jason Elam, guard Mark Schlereth, linebacker Bill Romanowski and defensive lineman Neil Smith.

The Broncos also had two members of their Super Bowl 50 squad — late wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and cornerback Aqib Talib — nominated for the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Other players nominated include running backs Clinton Portis and Glyn Milburn, receivers Wes Welker and Brandon Marshall and cornerback Dré Bly. View the full list below.

Broncos Hall of Fame nominees

  1. WR Rod Smith
  2. C Tom Nalen
  3. K Jason Elam
  4. G Mark Schlereth
  5. LB Bill Romanowski
  6. DL Neil Smith
  7. WR Demaryius Thomas
  8. CB Aqib Talib
  9. WR Wes Welker
  10. RB Clinton Portis
  11. WR Brandon Marshall
  12. RB Glyn Milburn
  13. CB Dré Bly
  14. TE Vernon Davis
  15. DL Jamal Williams
  16. LB Keith Brooking
  17. RB Jamaal Charles
  18. DL Ted Washington
  19. DL Simeon Rice

The Broncos also have 11 senior candidates for the 2025 class, and former coach Mike Shanahan is expected to be a top candidate in the coach category. Voters will trim the list down to 20 finalists with 15 modern-era candidates, three senior candidates, one coach and one contributor. The selection committee will meet before Super Bowl LVIX to elect the 2025 class.

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Dre Bly reunites with former UNC football players

Former UNC football coach Dre Bly reunited with Sam Howell and Drake Maye.

During his time as a coach with the North Carolina Tar Heels football program, Dre Bly was one of the top recruiters for the team. Aside from being defensive backs coach, Bly helped lead the recruitment for several Tar Heels’ commits.

Now, as Bly gets set for his first season as an assistant with the Charlotte 49ers, he’s reuniting with some of his former players.

Bly took to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday to post a photo of himself with former players Sam Howell, Drake Maye, Dyami Brown, and Justin Olson from a workout over the weekend:

As you can see in the package above, Bly was a top recruiter for both Sam Howell and Drake Maye, two quarterbacks that are among the best in the program history.

Bly was also a lead recruiter in getting several prospects from the state of Virginia to commit to the Tar Heels during his time as well.

After his time with UNC, Bly spent one season as defensive backs coach with the Detroit Lions. He took a job as defensive analyst position with Charlotte this offseason, preparing for his first season with the 49ers.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Detroit Lions Podcast: NFL combine preview show

Detroit Lions Podcast: NFL combine preview show with Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon live from Indy

It’s almost time for the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and that means the latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast helps set the stage for the coming ween.

This episode breaks down what specifically to watch for with the Lions during the workouts and interviews. What’s the team looking for, and also what are they not looking for. We give a couple of examples from last year’s combine that help identify what Lions GM Brad Holmes wants to see and hear.

We also touched upon some of the coaching departures from Detroit, namely Dre Bly and John Fox.

https://www.youtube.com/live/-a8gUjm2TNk?si=A6F3Iq0jtzPlPwho

The audio-only version of the show will be available from your favorite podcast provider. This episode is good for all ages.

Dre Bly, John Fox among the coaches moving on from the Lions

Dre Bly, John Fox among the coaches moving on from the Lions after the 2023 season

In light of the official hiring of three new defensive coaches, the Detroit Lions also had to subtract a few coaches from the team.

A couple of the departures were already known. Defensive line coach John Scott was replaced during Senior Bowl week by new DL coach and run game coordinator Terrell Williams. DBs coach Brian Duker left for the Miami Dolphins last week.

One more positional coach has also been let go. Cornerbacks coach Dre Bly no longer appears on the team’s coaching roster. Like Scott, Bly was brought in from the college ranks for the 2023 season. His group didn’t show a lot of progress, and his departure is not exactly a surprise.

Defensive quality control coach Wayne Blair is also no longer with the team. His contract expired and was not renewed.

Two senior assistant coaches have also moved on. Former NFL head coach John Fox won’t be back in 2024 after one season as a defensive assistant. Longtime NFL coach Jim Hostler is also out after one year as a senior offensive assistant in Detroit.

Mailbag: Detroit Lions Podcast offseason plans edition

Video mailbag covering Lions free agents, potential targets, recent coaching moves and much more

The first weekend without football is a great time for a mailbag.

We got some great questions from the Detroit Lions Podcast Patreon group covering a wide variety of topics. From potential draft and free agent plans for the team to some recent coaching and personnel moves, the mailbag was full of thoughtful questions.

The mailbag was recorded on Friday, February 16th for reference. An audio-only version is available via the Detroit Lions Podcast or your favorite podcast provider.

 

Several Lions alumni among the 2024 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Several Lions alumni among the 2024 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including two 1st-time nominees

The initial nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024 were released on Tuesday morning. Several players with Lions ties are amongst the 173 names, including some who are eligible for the first time.

Haloti Ngata and T.J. Lang are part of the group of first-year nominees who spent some time in Detroit. Ngata played defensive tackle in Detroit from 2015-2017, while Lang — a Detroit-area native — finished his offensive guard career in 2017-2018 with the Lions.

Returning nominees who have playing roots in Detroit include:

  • OT Lomas Brown
  • WR Herman Moore
  • CB Dre Bly, the Lions current DBs coach as well
  • WR Anquan Boldin
  • K Jason Hanson
  • QB Jeff Garcia
  • DE Dwight Freeney

Coach Buddy Parker is one of the Senior Finalists as well, which was previously announced.

The selection committee whittles the list down to 25 semifinalists in November.

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Lions send CB coach Dre Bly to Devon Witherspoon’s pro day

The Lions sent new CB coach Dre Bly to check out Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon’s private workout

One of the most popular 2023 NFL draft projections for the Detroit Lions, Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon held his private workout on Wednesday. The Lions showed their interest in the hard-hitting CB by dispatching new cornerbacks coach Dre Bly to attend in person.

Witherspoon did not work out at the NFL Scouting Combine or Illinois’ regularly scheduled pro day last month due to a hamstring injury. He scheduled the makeup event a month ago while at the Combine.

The 5-11, 181-pound Witherspoon did not disappoint in his private workout. Scouts on hand timed him in the low 4.4 range in the 40-yard dash.

Witherspoon is frequently projected to the Lions in the first round at either No. 6 or No. 18.

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Dre Bly ready to roll with Dan Campbell on the Lions coaching staff

New Detroit CBs coach Dre Bly ready to roll with Dan Campbell on the Lions coaching staff

Detroit Lions fans need no introduction to new cornerbacks coach Dre Bly. The new coach is a former Lions standout at CB and was a popular fan favorite in his four seasons (2003-2006) in Detroit.

Hired by the Lions this week and officially announced by the team on Thursday, Bly quickly reintegrated himself into Detroit. After coaching the CBs at his alma mater, North Carolina, for the last three years, Bly is ready to roll with one-time Lione teammate Dan Campbell and the Detroit coaching staff.

Working with Campbell held considerable appeal to Bly. The team’s attitude, success and dedication to player development drew the two-time Pro Bowler back to the Lions coaching staff.

Bly told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in an interview on Thursday,

“At the end of the day, what being a great coach is all about is a guy that can lead and Dan is a tremendous leader. He’s a guy that can lead coaches, he’s a guy that can lead his players, and you see that. So that’s why at the end of the day, why these guys played as hard as they played.”

Bly continued, via Birkett,

“As a coach, you want to be a part of something like that. That’s something that excites you to want to come here and join what they got going on. So I’m here, man. I’m fired up. I’m going to be in the office working and trying to figure out how I can put my stamp on the players.”

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Dre Bly comes back to the Lions as the new CB coach

Former Lions CB Dre Bly comes back to Detroit as the new CB coach

Longtime Detroit Lions cornerback Dre Bly is back with the team. Bly is the new cornerbacks coach for the team.

Bly was a second-round pick by the Rams back in 1999 and came to the Lions in 2003 as a highly coveted free agent. He was a Pro Bowler in his first two seasons in Detroit. Bly was known for his ball-hawking skills, picking off 19 passes in four years with the Lions.

He has been the cornerbacks coach of North Carolina, his alma mater, since 2019. Bly fills in the hole left after Aubrey Pleasant was let go during the season.

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Four-star 2024 WR set to visit UNC Football this weekend

A four-star wide receiver in the 2024 class is visiting the UNC football program this weekend.

This weekend will be a big one in terms of recruiting for the UNC football program in Chapel Hill.

We already wrote on one of the top 2024 players set to return for a visit and now he will be joined by a four-star receiver in the class. Keylen Adams revealed that he will also be in attendance this weekend, setting up a big visit for the Tar Heels.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver is a Virginia Beach native that is ranked No. 65 overall, No. 12 wide receiver and the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. Adams has a total of 17 offers, drawing interest from programs like Florida State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech among others.

The Tar Heels have found success in the state of Virginia under [autotag]Mack Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Dre Bly[/autotag]. They’ve landed top talent like [autotag]Zach Rice[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Grimes[/autotag], and [autotag]Dazz Newsome[/autotag] among others over the years.

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