Tag: head coaching search

Selected quotes from Auburn AD John Cohen’s introductory press conference

Cohen discussed topics such as Auburn’s impending head coaching hire and the NIL landscape.

Auburn’s new athletic director has officially made his debut.

The Tigers were treated to their new AD’s first press conference on Tuesday, and Cohen talked about a variety of challenges and experiences he’s set to inherit as the school’s new athletic director. He discussed his process in replacing fired head coach Bryan Harsin, how the NIL landscape has changed college football and what the transitional period has been like for him the recent days he has stepped up to take the job.

Here are a select few quotes from Cohen from his first appearance before the media as Auburn’s athletic director:

COLUMN: Auburn is already behind the curve by keeping Bryan Harsin around

Every week Auburn refuses to fire Bryan Harsin makes its eventual coaching search a little bit harder.

In a college football season where numerous coaches have already been felled by their lack of prowess, the Auburn Tigers stand firm.

Head Coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag]’s seat has been burning since the beginning of the year but despite blowout losses to Penn State and Georgia, a heart-stopping moment against Missouri and a blown lead against LSU, he remains on the throne in Auburn, Alabama — for now. But in the game of college football hirings, you win or you settle, and the longer Auburn keeps Harsin around, the less opportunity there will be for the right hire if they wait for the end of the season.

So far, there have been quite a few teams who have cut ties with their head coach: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Georgia Tech and Colorado will all have a new leading man next year, but the important thing is that those teams already have the jump in finding the right candidate for the job. So if Bryan Harsin will certainly be fired as many suspect, why hasn’t it happened already?

First, it was a blowout to Penn State that was supposed to do him in, and then a comeback by LSU, followed by another blowout loss to Georgia. What exactly is Auburn waiting for?

Some may say that Georgia was too high-ranked of an opponent to fire Harsin after losing, but is No. 9 Ole Miss too high as well? What about No. 17 Mississippi State? A Texas A&M team that went toe-to-toe with No. 1 Alabama, who the Tigers will play at the end of the year? The simple truth is this — almost every team Auburn will face from here on out (aside from Western Kentucky) will be among college football’s top competition, and it’s still the Tigers’ expectation to beat those teams every year.

While Wisconsin and Nebraska and Arizona State are busy searching for the top head coaching candidates for 2023 — such as the newly fired Matt Rhule or the ever-present Deion Sanders —the Tigers remain steadfast in keeping a coach that everyone knows they plan on firing anyway. Whatever the point or reason, all retaining Bryan Harsin does is put the team in a worse spot for the future.

I’m unsure why Auburn remains so committed to Harsin’s doomed campaign, but the longer the administration allows him to stand on the sidelines, the more likely it is that the Auburn Tigers will be fighting for scraps when it’s time to appoint a new head coach for the football program.

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Former Jags OL Uche Nwaneri slams coaching search

Uche Nwaneri didn’t pull punches when discussing the disastrous Jaguars head coaching search.

Even if Jacksonville comes away from this coaching carousel with the right guy, it will be hard to avoid criticizing the way the team has gone about the process. Uncertainty with the situation surrounding Trent Baalke (who has retained his spot as general manager, at least for now) seems to have hamstrung the search and has limited what was once a wide candidate pool.

The Jags still don’t have a hire and don’t seem to be particularly close to making one. Rumors broke on Sunday that the team wanted to interview Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, but with Los Angeles bound for the Super Bowl, the team would have to wait two weeks to talk to him after neglecting to interview him before the divisional round.

The franchise — and owner Shad Khan, specifically — has been a frequent target of criticism for the way it has undertaken the search, including from former players. Uche Nwaneri, who spent the bulk of his playing career with the Jaguars from 2007-13, had harsh words for Khan and the front office.

He certainly raises a valid point. It’s nothing against O’Connell, in particular, as the 36-year-old seems to have a very positive reputation around the league. But if he is such a good candidate, he should have been part of the search from the get-go. It’s too late in the process for surprise candidates to arise, and by not interviewing him before the deadline, the team now finds itself in limbo.

At one point, it seemed like an announcement regarding Byron Leftwich was imminent, but there haven’t been any updates in that regard. There are rumors that Leftwich doesn’t want to work with Baalke, and Nwaneri has his own theory about the situation.

The substance of these rumors is yet to be confirmed or refuted, but it would certainly make sense given Baalke’s reputation around the league if his presence was a sticking point in taking the job. Regardless, this has been a mess for the Jags, and it only gets worse as each day passes without a new head coach being introduced.

4 things to know about Dolphins head coach finalist Kellen Moore

Let’s get familiar with one of the two finalists to be the head coach in Miami.

The Miami Dolphins are coming to the end of their coaching search with second interviews expected to take place in the following week. Miami has two finalists for the position after the third, Brian Daboll, was hired to become the head coach of the New York Giants.

Miami’s finalists are San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

With a hiring likely taking place in the next week or so, now would be as good of a time as any to get to know these guys just a little bit more. Here are four things to know about Moore.

Dolphins have three finalists for their head coach opening

All three coaches are offensive coordinators.

Most everyone was surprised when the Miami Dolphins decided to move on from Brian Flores after securing his second winning season in three attempts. Now, the team is reportedly trimming their search for his replacement down from six original candidates to just three finalists, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday to discuss the openings around the NFL. On the show, he stated that the Dolphins are down to Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, and 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as finalists for the position.

On Friday, Rapoport reported that the Dolphins officially put in a second interview request for Daboll that will likely take place early next week. He’s also a finalist for the open job in New York, so there’s a chance that the Giants offer him the job before the interview in Miami even happens.

If the Dolphins are interested in developing Tua Tagovailoa and their offensive side of the ball to live up to the standards the other side has set for them, it makes sense that they’re targeting an offensive-minded head coach. Each coach has their own strengths that would make them a great fit for this organization.

As long as they have a competent defensive coordinator and keep their best players in a Dolphins jersey, fans shouldn’t have much to worry about with that side of the ball.

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Dolphins will begin second HC interviews next week

The Dolphins aren’t rushing for a coach.

The Miami Dolphins, like a quarter of the league, are searching for their next head coach.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Dolphins are planning to hold their second interviews with their candidates next week.

On Thursday, three coaching candidates in the league were removed from the pool as Matt Eberflus agreed to a contract with the Bears, Nathaniel Hackett agreed to a contract with the Broncos, and Dan Quinn announced he was staying with the Cowboys.

Quinn was the only name that was on Miami’s list of candidates that has now shrunk to six, including Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Los Angeles Rams running backs coach/assistant head coach Thomas Brown, and San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

With moves beginning to happen quickly, the Dolphins could find themselves behind if they wait too long.

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Pair of Jaguars HC finalists now off the board

Nathaniel Hackett took the Broncos job and Matt Eberflus took the Bears job per reports, leaving Byron Leftwich as the clear top option as Jacksonville’s search nears an end.

Entering Thursday, Jacksonville’s coaching search was essentially narrowed down to three: Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich — the fan-favorite choice and seemingly the leader in the clubhouse — as well as Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Leftwich and Eberflus had already interviewed twice for the position, and Hackett was set for a second interview on Thursday. However, that interview doesn’t seem likely to happen.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Hackett has come to terms with the Denver Broncos to be the team’s next head coach. And to narrow things down even further, it seems Eberflus is now also off the board. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he is expected to accept the open Chicago Bears job.

That leaves Leftwich as the obvious favorite to land the job, but things may not be so simple. Though some reported that a deal with the former Jags quarterback was finalized, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And according to First Coast News sports director Chris Porter, the two sides could be at a significant impasse.

The Jags decided to retain Baalke following the season despite fan protest, and it was assumed that he would stay on board through the draft, at the very least. However, if Leftwich won’t take the job with Baalke there, things could get interesting.

Jacksonville’s head coaching search continues to have a lot of major question marks, but we should get a lot more clarity over the next day or two. And with two of the team’s top candidates off the table, the Jags need to find a way to get Leftwich on board.

Dolphins fans were clamoring for Brian Daboll to be the next HC throughout the Bills’ loss Sunday

Did he make himself the top target on Sunday?

The Miami Dolphins are deep into their head coaching search after firing Brian Flores on Black Monday.

They’ve reportedly interviewed seven candidates for the position including Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll whose team played in the divisional round on Sunday. Daboll’s offense went punch-for-punch with the Kansas City Chiefs, totaling over 420 yards and five touchdowns.

While the Bills may have lost in overtime, they never had the chance to possess the ball in the final period. Dolphins fans took to social media throughout the game to express their interest in Daboll becoming the next head coach down in Miami.

Pair of Jaguars legends discuss Byron Leftwich as a head coaching candidate

Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor each had positive things to say about their former teammate’s candidacy for the Jags’ job.

Jacksonville faces one of its biggest decisions in franchise history this offseason. The team essentially wasted a year of development for Trevor Lawrence on a disastrous 13-game tenure from Urban Meyer, and now it heads back to the drawing board to try to finally get things right.

When in this situation, it can be helpful to listen to the advice of the players who were there for some of the best moments in Jaguars’ history, and former star running back Maurice Jones-Drew certainly has some thoughts as far as the direction the Jags need to go with this hire.

“I think it’s important that you kind of go the Rams’ route, and a lot of guys have done it,” Jones-Drew said on the Rich Eisen Show. “When you draft a quarterback first overall and all those things, you have to put as much quarterback knowledge around him. You want your head coach to have knowledge, you want, obviously, your offensive coordinator to have it, you want to have a quarterback that’s knowledgable and an older guy in the room.

“You want a guy that has won coaching quarterbacks or has played coaching quarterbacks, so whoever that guy may be, I’ve been a big advocate for Jim Caldwell, Doug Pederson, Byron Leftwich, those are guys I think Jacksonville should look at because they’ve been there.”

Jones-Drew went on to elaborate on Leftwich as a candidate. The current Buccaneers offensive coordinator was also a first-round pick quarterback for the Jags, who he played for from 2003-06, including Jones-Drew’s rookie year.

“To be honest, Byron Leftwich is a guy that when I was there was a quarterback drafted in the first round, he understands it,” he said. “He understands the pressures that many of us may not know, what it takes to play at a high level in that city, and then also a guy that can relate in that locker room and make everyone feel as if their voice is heard and that they’re needed.

“I think the Jags are doing a great job of doing that net, interviewing everyone and slowly figuring out what they want to do. There’s no rush in this, you want to make sure that you get it right this time.”

Another Jaguars legend who knows Leftwich even better is Fred Taylor. The two played together during the latter’s prime, and the Hall of Fame nominee was there for the entirety of Leftwich’s Jacksonville tenure.

Taylor had only positive things to say about Leftwich, who he thinks is prepared to handle a challenge like this.

Leftwich seems to be gaining a lot of momentum as a candidate, and he could be considered the current leader in the clubhouse to land the job. The Jags are certainly doing their due diligence by interviewing a large number of candidates, but Leftwich’s name can be expected to rise to the top. It could very well be his job to turn down.

CBS Sports has a prediction for Jacksonville’s next head coach

CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr predicts that Jacksonville will hire Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

After owner Shad Khan zeroed in on bringing Urban Meyer out of coaching retirement early in Jacksonville’s search last offseason, the team seems to be taking a very different strategy this time around. The team has cast a wide net and is interviewing a large list of potential candidates for the opening. Some, like former Houston Texans coach and current offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, have reportedly already been ruled out, but there are still a lot of names apparently interested in the job.

However, there’s one coach in particular that a large segment of the Jaguars fan base has had its eye on for a while now, and it’s the candidate that seems to have the most momentum for the job at the moment. CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr agrees, predicting that the Jags will hire Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, a former first-round pick quarterback for the team.

The Jaguars need a coach who can work well with a young quarterback, and Leftwich feels like a good fit for a team that is in the midst of a rebuild. Leftwich has gotten the most out of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense with Jameis Winston and Tom Brady, as the Buccaneers are first in the NFL in points per game (29.8) and third in yards per game (396.1) since he became the offensive coordinator in 2019.

Leftwich going to Jacksonville would be a reunion, as he was the No. 3 overall pick by the Jaguars in 2003 and is fourth in franchise history in passing yards and passing touchdowns. The 42-year-old is ready for his first head coaching job and working with Trevor Lawrence is a good start for turning the franchise around. A former NFL quarterback with an innovative passing attack would bring some excitement to Jacksonville.

It’s certainly fair to question how successful Leftwich would be if he didn’t have the greatest quarterback of all time at his disposal, but he managed to get a productive (if mistake-heavy) season out of Winston in 2019. He seems to be the candidate with the most smoke surrounding them, and if he’s interested in a return to Jacksonville, where his professional career didn’t exactly go as planned, it would be an exciting hire and one that bodes well for the future development of Trevor Lawrence.