Tag: Frank Reich

Former Panthers assistant HC/RB coach Duce Staley joining Browns

Per CBS Sports, former Panthers assistant HC/RB coach Duce Staley is off to Cleveland.

The Duce is no longer on the loose.

As first reported by CBS Sports senior NFL insider Josina Anderson, former Carolina Panthers assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley is set to join the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland.com Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot then seconded the report just minutes later.

The West Columbia, S.C. native was hired by the Panthers during the reconstruction of their coaching staff last offseason. But Staley wouldn’t last long—as he, head coach Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown were dismissed following the team’s Week 12 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Before coming back home, Staley built up one heck of a reputation on the NFL sidelines. He served as the special teams quality control coach, running backs coach and assistant head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles between 2011 and 2020 and as the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Detroit Lions between 2021 and 2022.

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Saints request interview with Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson

The Saints requested an interview with Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, who may be the up-and-comer fans have been asking for at offensive coordinator:

Here’s a new name for the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator search: CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports that the Saints have requested an interview with Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson. He’s played a major part in helping Texans rookie C.J. Stroud acclimate to the NFL as one of the season’s most exciting young quarterbacks.

Johnson, 35, was a standout quarterback himself at Texas A&M (Saints head coach Dennis Allen’s alma mater) from 2008 to 2010, turning pro with the second-most career passing yards in school history to his credit. He joined the Philadelphia Eagles for training camp in 2011 and bounced around the league after that, spending time with the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and Dallas Cowboys during the years that followed.

Since turning to coaching in 2017 with the Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowship (first on the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan, then the Indianapolis Colts with Frank Reich) he was risen quickly through the ranks. Johnson worked as the Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022 and joined the Texans last year, working closely with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Now he’s drawing attention for an OC job of his own. Johnson has worked with many successful coaches in this league and could be the up-and-comer Saints fans have been asking for. We’ll see how his meeting with New Orleans plays out.

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Report: Bears to interview Panthers’ Thomas Brown for vacant OC position

The Bears are interviewing Panthers OC Thomas Brown for the same position on Matt Eberflus’ staff.

Another name is in the mix for the Chicago Bears vacant offensive coordinator position. According to Joe Person of The Athletic, the Bears are meeting with Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown on Wednesday for the same position on Matt Eberflus’ staff.

Brown spent one season with the Panthers, joining Frank Reich’s staff last year. He was tasked with working alongside Reich to develop an offense around No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, but things went south in a hurry. The Panthers struggled out of the gate and turmoil began to engulf the coaching staff.

Initially, Reich called plays for the Panthers but gave up those duties to Brown before taking them back again. When Reich was fired, Brown took over as play caller permanently but had minimal success during their 2-15 season. Carolina ranked last in yards per game (265.3), passing yards per game (161.2), second-to-last in points per game (13.9), but did finish 20th in rushing yards per game (104.1).

That makes sense considering Brown worked as the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams prior to his stint in Carolina. Brown was the assistant head coach and running backs coach from 2020–2021, helping them win Super Bowl LVI. He also coached the tight ends in 2022.

The 37-year-old coach has been considered an up-and-comer in the league, and last year’s debacle with the Panthers hasn’t deterred teams from inquiring about his services. Brown also has an interview scheduled with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching vacancy.

Brown is now the sixth candidate for the Bears’ open offensive coordinator position, joining Shane Waldron, Liam Coen, Klint Kubiak, Greg Olson, and Greg Roman. Brown’s interview will also satisfy the league’s Rooney Rule, which was put in place for teams to interview minority candidates for coaching, coordinator, and front office positions.

Titans request to interview Eagles’ OC Brian Johnson for head coaching position

The Tennessee Titans have requested to interview Philadelphia Eagles OC Brian Johnson for their vacant head coaching position

The Eagles have struggled offensively this season after being among the NFL’s best last season, but that hasn’t stopped Brian Johnson‘s rise in the league’s coaching ranks.

Jordan Schultz reports that Philadelphia’s embattled offensive coordinator has been requested to interview for the Tennessee Titans’ vacant head coaching job.

Johnson is in his third season with the Eagles and was promoted to offensive coordinator following the 2022 campaign when Philadelphia finished 14-3 en route to a Super Bowl LVII appearance.

Before being named offensive coordinator, Johnson was the Eagles quarterbacks coach from 2021-22, playing a crucial role in the development of Jalen Hurts, who posted the second-highest winning percentage (.733, 22-8) among NFL quarterbacks in that span, trailing only Patrick Mahomes (.765, 26-8).

Eagles’ OC Brian Johnson expected to interview for Panthers head coaching vacancy

The Carolina Panthers are expected to interview Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson for their vacant head coaching position

The Eagles have struggled offensively this season after being among the NFL’s best last season, but that hasn’t stopped Brian Johnson‘s rise in the league’s coaching ranks.

Adam Schefter reports that Philadelphia’s embattled offensive coordinator is expected to interview for the Carolina Panthers’ vacant head coaching job.

Johnson is in his third season with the Eagles and was promoted to offensive coordinator following the 2022 campaign when Philadelphia finished 14-3 en route to a Super Bowl LVII appearance.

Before being named offensive coordinator, Johnson was the Eagles quarterbacks coach from 2021-22, playing a crucial role in the development of Jalen Hurts, who posted the second-highest winning percentage (.733, 22-8) among NFL quarterbacks in that span, trailing only Patrick Mahomes (.765, 26-8).

Panthers have requested to interview Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby

Carolina Panthers have requested to interview Philadelphia Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby for General Manager job

The Eagles have one of the NFL’s most innovative and analytical front offices, and teams follow that blueprint.

After losing Ian Cunningham to the Bears, Brandon Brown to the Giants, Catherine Raiche to the Browns, and Andy Weidl to the Steelers, Philadelphia could lose Alec Halaby.

After cleaning the house, Carolina has requested an interview with Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby for their vacant GM position, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported.

Halaby was promoted to Eagles assistant general manager in 2022 after spending six seasons as the team’s vice president of football operations.

Roseman restructured the front office after losing so many understudies.

In the Eagles’ current setup, Halaby shares the assistant GM title with former VP of football operations and compliance Jon Ferrari.

An analytical genius, Halaby is versatile and has quickly climbed the ranks in Philadelphia.

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Report: David Tepper working with consulting firm on HC search

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Panthers owner David Tepper has retained the services of a consulting firm to help with his head-coaching search.

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper isn’t afraid to ask for help.

As first noted by ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, Tepper has looked outside of his own organization to usher in a new era of Panthers football. Schefter, in his report from Saturday morning, wrote the following:

To help him guide his franchise for the future, Tepper has been working with the consulting firm Sportsology, led by former Chelsea FC executive Mike Forde.

Tepper retained Forde’s services to help his head-coaching search for Charlotte FC, the Major League Soccer club he also owns. That process landed on former Premier League manager Dean Smith, who was officially hired in December.

Forde’s firm recently worked with a handful of other NFL franchises as well—including the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

This approach is a fresh one for Tepper’s Panthers, who did not use a consultancy for their previous hires of Matt Rhule and Frank Reich.

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Thomas Brown asked what went wrong with Panthers offense: ‘That’s a loaded question’

Panthers OC Thomas Brown was asked why he thinks his unit fell short of expectations this season.

Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown probably needed more than just 30 seconds to answer the last question of this morning’s chat with team reporters.

Before closing out what may have been his final pre-game presser with the organization, Brown was asked what he thinks went wrong with the offense this season.

“Um, that’s a loaded question. Um . . . maybe a good one for a last question,” he replied with a smile. “But I think just as far as the overall consistency, the communication—and that’s always continuing to find a best way to put our guys in the best spot to be successful. I think any time you have changes—change can obviously be good, but also takes some time to adjust and adapt to. But that’s a pretty in-depth convo we can probably have at a different time.”

Brown was in the middle of quite a few changes during his first year at the position—a tenure that began with former head coach Frank Reich in charge of the offense. But Reich, after an 0-6 start, relinquished play-calling duties to the 37-year-old—a move that helped spark the team’s first win of the campaign.

Then, not even a full month later, Reich reclaimed the responsibilities from Brown. Brown would, of course, eventually get the call sheet back—after Reich was fired just 12 weeks in.

What hadn’t changed over that time, however, was the underwhelming production of the unit. Heading into the final week of play, the Panthers are averaging a league-worst 269.4 total yards per game.

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PFF grades Panther’s Bryce Young as a top-five NFL QB over last two weeks

Bryce Young beginning to fins his groove in Carolina

It has been a very tough year for Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag]. The Panthers’ offensive line has been among the worst in the league, the skill-position players are at the bottom of the NFL, and head coach Frank Reich was fired after a 1-10 start.

Carolina’s owner, David Tepper, is one of the most impatient owners in the league and is willing to win at all costs. In fact, this marks the second year in a row the Panthers have relieved a head coach in the middle of the season. There probably won’t be a ton of candidates looking to take over due to the instability of the owner and franchise. The Panthers also had to sacrifice some future assets to be able to acquire Young, players like DJ Moore that Young could greatly use right now.

It’s becoming clear that it is a very tough environment for any rookie to flourish in, but the former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner is starting to put the pieces together. Over the last two weeks, PFF has given Young a quarterback grade of 84.3, which would make him the fifth highest in the NFL during that span. On the year, Young is completing 59.7% of his passes, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Panthers do not have a first round pick next year either due to the trade for Young. So, it will be imperative that Carolina can find some success in the free agent market.

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Report: Scott Fitterer has received no assurances about his future with Panthers

According to The Athletic, GM Scott Fitterer has not received any assurances about his future with the Panthers.

Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer lasted through this year’s in-season trip to the chopping block. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll last much longer.

On Wednesday, Joe Person of The Athletic dove in on Fitterer’s body of work in his three-year tenure atop Carolina’s front office. And according to Person, there are no guarantees for a fourth year.

He writes:

When the Carolina Panthers owner fired coach Frank Reich on Nov. 27, he didn’t address the future of GM Scott Fitterer, hired in January 2021 to succeed Marty Hurney. Fitterer has received no reassurances about his future with the team, according to a source briefed on the situation.

Reich was fired after leading the Panthers to a 1-10 record. His dismissal, which came after just 11 games, marked the NFL’s shortest run as a head coach in nearly 50 years.

Person notes that while Fitterer has done some good as Carolina’s general manager, he has been behind the losses of MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey, All-Pro pass rusher Haason Reddick and former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. The team has also ventured into choppy waters with two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns, who still remains without a contract extension.

The Panthers are 14-34 since hiring Fitterer.

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