Tag: Head Coach

Chiefs HC Andy Reid discusses Patrick Mahomes’ performance vs. Texans: ‘He’s so tough’

Kansas City #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid discusses Patrick Mahomes’ performance vs. Houston #Texans: ‘He’s so tough’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed reporters after Saturday’s victory over the Houston Texans. He immediately praised his team’s performance for going undefeated at home during the regular season and the grit of his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

“Yeah, I didn’t think he’d (Mahomes) be able to run like that or would run like that, but yeah, he did a great job of following it as well,” said Reid. “But yeah, no, he had that mindset right from the get-go out that he was gonna be out there and doing so. He didn’t miss a beat. He practiced every rep.”

Mahomes didn’t seem bothered by the high ankle sprain he suffered last week against the Cleveland Browns, which initially caused concern for his availability for Saturday’s game. He rushed for a touchdown to start the game and threw for another score to contribute to the victory, earning even more respect from his head coach.

“He’s (Mahomes) so tough and mentally and physically,” said Reid. “You just get used to it, but most guys don’t come back from that like he did. But he set his mind to it, then jumped in that training room and stayed there. They worked on him, and they did a great job with that, our trainers. Most guys don’t do that. It sends a message to the whole team. Our guys, our leaders, are good in that way. They try to play through things like that.”

Reid will rest well knowing that Mahomes will have a few extra days of treatment before their Christmas Day showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Report: Former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo lands FBS head coaching job

Wisconsin’s former offensive coordinator has a new job. An FBS head coaching job:

Sam Houston State is hiring former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo as its next coach, according to Texas football’s Mike Craven.

Longo served as the Bearkats’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014-16. His success there helped him land the coordinator position at Ole Miss (2017-18), which led him to Luke Fickell’s staff at Wisconsin.

The Badgers fired the veteran offensive coordinator in mid-November after the team’s 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon. His unit ranked 91st in the nation in total offense (363.1 yards per game) and 98th in scoring offense (23.9 points) through the first 12 weeks of the season. Those marks followed disappointing 2023 production — No. 71 in total offense (381.2 yards) and No. 93 in scoring offense (23.5 points).

Longo’s air raid system was a poor fit with the program. While injuries to the team’s two starting quarterbacks (Tanner Mordecai and Tyler Van Dyke) hurt the unit’s chances, it never reached the expectations accompanying his hire. Its struggles were only magnified by his scheme’s departure from Wisconsin’s classic approach. Several convergent factors led to the in-season change.

Longo returns to a Sam Houston State program that moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision level in 2023, joining Conference USA. The Bearkats went 3-9 in 2023 before a breakout 9-3 campaign in 2024. Coach K.C. Keeler took the job at Temple after the 2024 regular season, creating the vacancy.

Longo reportedly will fill that void. It will be his first top coaching stint since he went 7-14 in two years at La Salle (2004-05).

Wisconsin hired Kansas’ Jeff Grimes to replace Longo at offensive coordinator. The veteran coordinator is returning the Badgers to an older pro-style approach, one that better fits the program’s traditional model of success.

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Bill Belichick coaching UNC could delay Mike Shanahan’s Hall of Fame bid

Now coaching college football, Bill Belichick will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year, competing with Mike Shanahan.

Bill Belichick has returned to football, but not at the professional level.

Belichick has joined the North Carolina Tar Heels as their new head football coach, which means he’ll be two years removed from coaching in the NFL when the Pro Football Hall of Fame names a coach finalist in 2025.

Earlier this year, the Hall of Fame changed its eligibility rules and former NFL coaches now have to be just one year removed from coaching at the pro level to be eligible for Canton. That means Belichick will be eligible for the Hall of Fame when the committee elects the 2026 class next year, as the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson confirmed earlier this week.

That’s bad news for former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who was overlooked by voters again this year in favor of Mike Holmgren (who Shanahan beat in Super Bowl XXXII). Now Shanahan will have to compete against Belichick next year, and with Andy Reid set to turn 67 years old next offseason, there might be more competition in the coach category soon.

Eventually, Shanahan will reach the Hall of Fame. It’s unfortunate that he’s been overlooked this long, and Belichick’s candidacy will likely delay Shanahan’s bid even longer, but he should reach Canton one day.

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How Bill Belichick leaving NFL for UNC impacts Saints’ 2025 coach search

Longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick moves on from the NFL to become the head coach at North Carolina. How does it impact the Saints?

The NFL landscape has changed many different times over the years, but Bill Belichick was a staple of that landscape, coaching in the league from 1975 with the Baltimore Colts to leaving as head coach of the New England Patriots in 2023. Now, he is pursuing a new career in college football, as he will be moving on to become the head coach at North Carolina.

This is a completely different position from where he was in the NFL, as college has become a completely new landscape under the new regulations, NIL additions, and transfer portal capabilities in recent years, which makes this signing an intriguing one.

The New Orleans Saints are one of the teams who will be looking for a new head coach at the end of the season, and despite Darren Rizzi having a 3-1 start so far, who knows what the front office will do come off-season time? Bill Belichick was likely not one of those candidates, however, as Seth Wickersham of ESPN listed several teams that may have been potential options before:

“Belichick insisted to the Falcons and made clear to other teams with openings last year that he wasn’t seeking the total control of football operations he enjoyed for most of his head coaching career, both in Cleveland and in New England. He was willing to work with existing staff, whether it was Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot or Commanders general manager Adam Peters or Jerry Jones or Howie Roseman, if the Cowboys or Eagles, respectively, had decided to change coaches.”

Instead, one more experienced head coaching candidates comes off the board, which leaves the NFL with less options, and therefore the Saints with fewer targets as teams will begin their yearly scramble to hire the best ones as soon as possible.

We will find out who the Saints end up with eventually, whether than be Rizzi, a different internal candidate, or an external candidate, but whoever they choose, it will not be Bill Belichick.

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Sean Payton comments on Bill Belichick joining UNC Tar Heels

“I’m a big fan of his and I think the world of him,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of new UNC Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick.

The North Carolina Tar Heels made a huge splash on Wednesday by hiring eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as their new head coach.

Belichick, 72, coached in the NFL from 1975-2023, including a stint as an assistant special teams coordinator and defensive assistant with the Denver Broncos in 1978. He is known for serving as the head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000-2023, winning six Super Bowls.

During his time in New England, Belichick faced Sean Payton’s New Orleans Saints and, more recently, Payton’s Broncos. Following reports of Belichick joining UNC, Payton was asked about Belichick landing a college football job after Wednesday’s practice.

“I haven’t [spoken to him yet],” Payton said. “I’ve only heard the news like you all have. I’m sure he’s got a plan and he’s going to do what’s best. Obviously, I’m a big fan of his and I think the world of him, but I’ve only heard what you guys have heard. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him lately.”

Belichick will make his NCAA debut when the Tar Heels host the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, Aug. 30 in their 2025 season opener.

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Do the Broncos have any future head coaches on Sean Payton’s staff?

Vance Joseph is the most likely candidate among Broncos coaches to draw head coach interest this offseason.

The best NFL teams often lose members of their coaching staff during the offseason. It’s a good problem to have.

For the Denver Broncos, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is the most obvious and most likely candidate to draw head coach interest this offseason. Someday in the future, quarterbacks coach Davis Webb might also get looks as a potential head coach candidate.

Sean Payton’s coaching tree includes Dan Campbell, Doug Marrone and Dennis Allen. Are there any coaches on his current staff who could become head coaches in the future?

“It’s an interesting league,” Payton said in June. “We went through — you hear the term that it is a copycat league. There is success with let’s say a young Sean McVay, then there is a couple of years where I am getting calls from GMs asking about not only candidates on my staff, but other candidates. It was always, ‘We are interested in an offensive play-caller.’ So I would say, ‘So you are not interested in the next Bill Belichick?’ I think this past year, we saw a number of defensive coaches. We’ve seen special teams coaches with John Harbaugh, who I worked with in Philly. We’ve seen offensive line coaches. There is a little cycle to that.

“Ultimately, you are looking for and projecting who can lead. Sometimes, I think it is a little like the quarterback position. You may have a talented prospect that maybe ends up in the wrong place. In three years, he is back in the coordinator’s role and who knows if he ended up in another place. I’ve shared that story with you and the late [former Saints owner] Mr. [Tom] Benson coming to me those early years and saying, ‘Hey, we have all of these coaches getting interviews for head jobs. I said, ‘Mr. B, we need to worry if no one is interviewing them.’ I love seeing what Dan Campbell is doing, I love seeing Dennis Allen now, Doug Marrone and a number of these guys that I have worked with. I want that for them. It’s hard to predict though.” 

Payton wasn’t willing to give any predictions earlier this year, but Joseph seems likely to get interviews this offseason. Joseph, of course, previously served as Denver’s head coach from 2017-2018. We’ll see if other teams come calling in the offseason.

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Broncos have a promising up-and-coming coach in Davis Webb

Broncos coaches have been full of praise for young quarterbacks coach Davis Webb.

The Denver Broncos seem to have a gem in Davis Webb.

The 29-year-old coach was a backup quarterback in the NFL from 2017-2022 before jumping straight into coaching with the Broncos in 2023. Sean Payton hired Webb as the team’s quarterbacks coach last fall and the young coach quickly drew praise from his new boss.

“He’s been a great asset,” Payton said in 2023. Added offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi: “I certainly see a bright future for him in the coaching profession.”

After hiring Payton and Webb, Denver saw quarterback Russell Wilson improve his completion, touchdown and interception totals from 2022-2023. The Broncos moved on from Wilson this spring and Webb is now helping mentor the team’s rookie quarterback, Bo Nix.

“He has a lot of experience obviously playing the position, and that’s always helpful,” Lombardi said in June earlier this year. “A lot of energy, smart, works really hard. His meetings are always prepared. He gives them a lot of good information but makes them entertaining. He’s just really good with the technology and using the audio-visual to maximize the learning experience. [He’s] just real sharp and a hard worker, and that’s what you want from coaches. [He’s] easy to get along with.”

Payton has also praised Webb for those traits, and Nix is putting together a case to win Offensive Rookie of the Year this fall. Payton is the mastermind, of course, but a great head coach is aided by a great staff, and Webb’s experience at quarterback has been huge for Denver.

“I obviously went through it, and I had Eli Manning in the room, which was pretty great,” Webb said in June when asked about his experience playing QB in the NFL. “[Nix] has a different experience with ‘Stiddy’ (Jarrett Stidham) being his second year in the offense, Zach [Wilson] being in multiple systems throughout his career. So it’s a good room to have that for a young guy.

“Over the offseason, I called plenty of coaches, plenty of former teammates just kind of talking, ‘Hey, back then this is what we did. What would you change? What would you like now? What was really important? What wasn’t?’ So that’s been a process honestly since February in regards to just gathering information and kind of getting everybody ready.”

If Webb is going to move up the coaching ranks as some in Denver believe he will, the next logical progression would be an eventual promotion to offensive coordinator — either with the Broncos or elsewhere. After that, Davis could perhaps one day become a head coach candidate. That’s a conversation for down the road. For now, Denver’s happy to have Webb coaching up the team’s QBs.

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Opinion: Mickey Loomis shouldn’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach

Mickey Loomis got lucky back in 2006, and he’s ridden that win for too long. He can’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach after Dennis Allen went bust:

Mickey Loomis got lucky back in 2006 when the Green Bay Packers didn’t hire Sean Payton as their head coach, and he’s ridden that win for too long.  Really, he got lucky twice — that same offseason the Miami Dolphins failed a physical for Drew Brees, who signed with the New Orleans Saints instead. That combination established the greatest era in franchise history, winning a Super Bowl together and changing the perception of pro football in New Orleans for a generation.

And Loomis has gotten too much credit for it. When Payton agreed to take the job as his second choice, Loomis was coming off a terrible decision to trade up for Johnathan Sullivan in the 2003 NFL draft, a historic bust at defensive tackle who was off the team and then out of the league in just three years. It’s a mistake he didn’t learn from and repeated with later draft-day gambles on Sedrick Ellis (2008) and Marcus Davenport (2018), among others. It isn’t exaggeration to say Payton and Brees saved his job.

Just look at his record. The Saints have gone 48-61 during his tenure as general manager when Payton wasn’t coaching them (not counting the 2012 season when Loomis and Payton were both suspended). Now look at his peers. The next three longest-tenured GM’s have all seen their teams advance to multiple Super Bowls — Les Snead (107-99-1), Howie Roseman (135-103-1), and John Schneider (144-94-1). Just because Loomis has held his post a long time doesn’t mean he’s the best at his job. His official record is 207-160, including the 2012 season, but as we said many of those wins can be attributed to Payton.

And Payton was one of two head coaches Loomis has hired. The other was Dennis Allen, who failed to sustain the success Payton found and turned into a dead end. That decision wasted everyone’s time during the 2022, 2023, and very likely 2024 seasons, too. Despite his protests that injuries were to blame, team owner Gayle Benson overruled Loomis and finally fired Allen after his 24-46 career record fell to 26-53 this year.

All of this was said to say that Loomis shouldn’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach after this season. If Darren Rizzi earns the job by winning out and getting to the playoffs, awesome — that would be remarkable. If a candidate familiar with the organization like Aaron Glenn or Joe Brady ends up being the best fit, great. But that shouldn’t be a call Loomis should make. He’s shown before that he’ll take the easy way out and hire someone he knows, like Allen, rather than seriously consider an outside candidate.

Loomis got lucky once and it bought him a lifetime of job security. The last time he was given free reign to hire a coach he set the franchise back for years. Now, with the hope of a clean salary cap ledger on the horizon and the possibility of a reset coming with it, the Saints can’t trust that Loomis will learn from his mistakes and make the right decision. If firing him isn’t an option, and there’s nothing to suggest it is, promote him to a hands-off role in senior leadership and let someone with a fresh perspective (like assistant general manager Khai Harley) take the reins. We’ll just have to wait and see if Gayle Benson agrees.

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Saints coach search: Do they meet Ben Johnson’s requirements?

It’s been reported that Lions OC Ben Johnson has two requirements for any head coaching vacancy he’ll consider. Do the Saints qualify?

Ben Johnson is projected to be the leading candidate in the head coaching cycle this year. He’s been a name thrown around for a couple of years, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has reported Johnson’s approach to head coaching vacancies this year.

If Johnson is interviewing, he fully plans on taking the job. This means any team sits down with Johnson has a good chance to land him. In the past, coaches have interviewed just to gather information on the job.

Johnson also a pair of criteria for any vacancy. Do the New Orleans Saints meet those requirements?

Breer reports Johnson is looking for “Organizational alignment — in particular between the GM and the head coach. And then he’ll be looking for recognition from the organization of the things that have gone wrong, and a willingness to fix them.”

Organizational alignment won’t be determined until he gets in the room, and it’s difficult from the outside looking in. As for the second criteria, will New Orleans recognize what went wrong.

There are a couple of ways to look at this. Mickey Loomis has made comments to make you wonder if he actually sees the downfall of the Dennis Allen era or if firing Allen was just something that had to happen.

On the other hand, the Saints fired their head coach in the middle of the year and let go of Pete Carmichael. The last year has been filled with making the necessary moves. This could be a sign to Johnson of the Saints’ ability to recognize and course correct.

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All 32 NFL head coaches, ranked oldest to youngest

Sean Payton (60) is the sixth-oldest head coach in the NFL. View the ages for all 32 NFL coaches going into the Broncos’ bye week.

At 60 years old, Denver Broncos skipper Sean Payton is the sixth-oldest head coach in the NFL going into his team’s bye this week.

Payton became a head coach at age 42 and he won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints at 46 years old. Gary Kubiak was 54 when he won a title with the Broncos and Mike Shanahan was 45 and 46 when Denver won back-to-back titles in the late 1990s.

Mike Tomlin (36 at the time) held the record as the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl until Sean McVay (20 days younger) later claimed that crown. McVay, now 38, is still the fourth-youngest coach in the league despite having seven years of experience on his resume.

Bruce Arians was the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl (68), but George Halas (204 days older) was the oldest coach to ever win an NFL title (Halas coached in the pre-Super Bowl era).

The most recent Super Bowl champion is Andy Reid (66), who also happens to be the oldest coach in the league. Reid would need to coach at least three more seasons to have a chance of becoming the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl.

View the full list of all 32 NFL head coaches below, ranked by age.

  1. Andy Reid (66) Chiefs
  2. John Harbaugh (62) Ravens
  3. Mike McCarthy (61) Cowboys
  4. Todd Bowles (61) Buccaneers
  5. Jim Harbaugh (60) Chargers
  6. Sean Payton (60) Broncos
  7. Doug Pederson (56) Jaguars
  8. Darren Rizzi (54) Saints [interim]
  9. Dan Quinn (54) Commanders
  10. Mike Tomlin (52) Steelers
  11. Sean McDermott (50) Bills
  12. Brian Daboll (49) Giants
  13. Dan Campbell (48) Lions
  14. Raheem Morris (48) Falcons
  15. Jeff Ulbrich (47) Jets [interim]
  16. Antonio Pierce (46) Raiders
  17. Matt LaFleur (45) Packers
  18. Kyle Shanahan (44) 49ers
  19. Dave Canales (43) Panthers
  20. Nick Sirianni (43) Eagles
  21. Kevin Stefanski (42) Browns
  22. Jonathan Gannon (41) Cardinals
  23. Mike McDaniel (41) Dolphins
  24. Zac Taylor (41) Bengals
  25. Brian Callahan (40) Titans
  26. DeMeco Ryans (40) Texans
  27. Shane Steichen (39) Colts
  28. Kevin O’Connell (39) Vikings
  29. Sean McVay (38) Rams
  30. Jerod Mayo (38) Patriots
  31. Thomas Brown (38) Bears [interim]
  32. Mike Macdonald (37) Seahawks

Payton (.615) has the ninth-best career winning percentage among active coaches.

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