Tag: interim coach

How does Darren Rizzi’s new position impact his future in New Orleans?

Becoming Saints interim head coach could lead to Darren Rizzi leaving New Orleans in 2025. Their next coach may want his own special teams coordinator:

History suggests Darren Rizzi will either be the New Orleans Saints head coach or not be on the staff at all in 2025.

There have been 23 interim head coaches in the last 10 years. Antonio Pierce, Doug Marrone and Mike Mularkey are the only three to be retained as full-time head coach. Other than those three, none of the other interim head coaches were on the staff the next year.

Losing Rizzi would be big loss for the team. He’s one of the league’s leaders in special teams. This is evident my his efforts, and success, to change the kickoff rules. Rizzi spearheaded that.

On top of his schematic contributions on the field, he’s has displayed great leadership. Rizzi is the type of coach you’d want to remain from the previous regime.

However, Rizzi may feel slighted if he didn’t get the job and not want to return to his previous position. The incoming coach also may not want last year’s interim still on the staff. Both are reasonable reasons why Rizzi could move on in this situation.

Darren Rizzi spoke with Dan Campbell after being named Saints interim coach

Darren Rizzi spoke with Dan Campbell after being named Saints interim coach. He had a front-row seat when Campbell was the Dolphins’ interim coach:

Did you know Darren Rizzi coached with Dan Campbell? Both men were on staff with the Miami Dolphins way back in 2015. Before he rose to  prominence as the Detroit Lions’ biggest personality, Campbell was raising eyebrows by running Oklahoma drills to set the tone in his first practice as the Dolphins’ interim coach.

After getting a laugh at that — of course the kneecap-biter ran physical one-on-one Oklahoma drills — Rizzi confirmed that he had spoken with Campbell after being named Saints interim coach. That’s an experience he felt he could draw from.

“I did speak with him, had a nice, long conversation with him,” Rizzi began, speaking Wednesday. “Dan’s a close friend. Dan’s quite frankly, if not the biggest reason I’m here, certainly one of them. One of the first things he said to me the other morning was, ‘Rizz, when we did this we did it together. Remember we did A, B, and C, we did X, Y, and Z.’ And I thought those were great things we did.”

Campbell wasn’t the only resource he pulled from. Rizzi also spoke with Todd Bowles (another former coworker with interim coach experience, now a head coach like Campbell), and Chris Tabor, another special teams coach who led the Carolina Panthers last year as their interim head coach. He said he also sought advice from legendary coach Bill Parcells, Sean Payton’s famous mentor.

“Dan, all those guys had some great advice, I certainly took it in,” Rizzi added.

We’ll see if it made a difference. Rizzi said in clear terms that the Saints are not throwing in the towel on this season. They have a tense rivalry game to win this weekend with an Atlanta Falcons team that’s already beaten them once this season, and then the back half of their schedule laid out through January. He’ll have every opportunity to put those lessons learned from Campbell, Bowles, Tabor and Parcellls to good use.

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Russell Wilson gushes with praise for interim coach Jerry Rosburg

“He did a tremendous job,” Broncos QB Russell Wilson said of interim coach Jerry Rosburg.

Jerry Rosburg’s tenure as interim coach of the Denver Broncos ended on Sunday with a 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rosburg was given a game ball by team owner/CEO Greg Penner, and his future with the team is now uncertain. The Broncos are expected to pursue other candidates for the full-time head coach position, but Rosburg will be fondly remembered by fans and players for the excellent job he did.

“I think he did a tremendous job of bringing us together in a tough time,” quarterback Russell Wilson said on Sunday. “I think his experience of coaching this game and being such a wise soul and guy who has won a championship before, going to championship events at the highest level — there’s a feeling, there’s a moment, there’s an experience there to winning and the experience of winning the Super Bowl and what that feels like.

“He’s one of the coaches who have done it and there are only so many people in the world that have experienced that and to be able to take that experience, take that knowledge, take that wisdom, and to be able to spread it out across our team in a really tough time, I thought he did a tremendous job of bringing us together and making sure we understood the identity that we needed to play with. That was together, that was physical, that was explosive, too at the same time, and also have fun while doing it. He did a tremendous job with that.”

Rosburg has not ruled out the possibility of remaining with the team in some capacity, but his time leading the team has now come to an end. Fans, pundits and players seem to be in an agreement that he was the right man for the (interim) job.

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Broncos owner Greg Penner gave Jerry Rosburg a game ball after Sunday’s win

Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner gave interim coach Jerry Rosburg a game ball after Sunday’s win.

Denver Broncos interim coach Jerry Rosburg directed the spotlight to other coaches and players after he led the team to a 31-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

After the win, Rosburg gave out game balls to running back Latavius Murray, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, offensive coordinator Justin Outten, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and assistant Bill Kollar, who is expected to retire this offseason after 43 years in the NFL.

Rosburg deserves credit as well, and Broncos co-owner/CEO Greg Penner presented the interim coach with a game ball of his own.

“It means everything,” Rosburg said. “Coaching is really a noble profession, I think, because you’re working with young men and you’re trying to guide them. You’re working on a game that’s difficult to play. It’s all competitive and physically and tasking.

“You have to go through rough spots to get there and we did. So yes, I’m just so grateful. I’ve said this many times, but it’s really not about me. I was happy to be a part of this group, and I really respect those men in that room.”

With the season now over, Denver’s front office has started a search for a full-time head coach. Rosburg probably isn’t a top candidate for the head coach opening, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of remaining with the team in some capacity.

“We’ll see,” Rosburg said when asked if he’ll return in 2023. “I’m showing up for work tomorrow and we will see what happens.”

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Broncos interim coach Jerry Rosburg hints that he won’t continue coaching after season

“When I am away from football again on Monday, I am going to pick that up and go back to work,” Jerry Rosburg said of hyperbaric medicine.

When Denver Broncos general manager George Paton called Jerry Rosburg earlier this season and asked him to join the team as an advisor to Nathaniel Hackett, Rosburg was working with the Next Gen Hyperbaric Company trying to “advance hyperbaric oxygen therapy for healing.”

A few months later, Rosburg was promoted to interim head coach after Hackett was fired. During his press conference on Wednesday, Rosburg indicated that he does not plan to continue coaching after this season.

“My father was a World War II veteran,” Rosburg said. “He was a ‘POW’ [prisoner of war] in European theater. He was much like some of our players when they leave the game. They need assistance. He needed assistance and there was none. Our VA [Veteran Affairs] has gotten better, but there is still a long way to go. There are many programs that are going on, just like we were doing with the NFL to try to help those that are involved in those kinds of situations. You all know what those are.

“Those things are deeply rooted in me. I want to help those people in some way I can. That’s what I was trying to do when I was away from football. When I am away from football again on Monday, I am going to pick that up and go back to work.”

Rosburg was asked during his follow-up press conference on Thursday if he’d be interested in remaining with the team in some capacity after the season, and the coach said he’s merely focused on Denver’s season finale on Sunday.

The Broncos are expected to begin interviews for their next head coach on Monday, and it seems that Rosburg is not contending for the job.

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Broncos should give Jerry Rosburg an interview for full-time head coach job

Jerry Rosburg should have some kind of role with the Broncos even after the season ends.

When the Denver Broncos begin head coach interviews next week, they should consider a pair of in-house candidates: defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and interim head coach Jerry Rosburg.

Evero’s candidacy is no secret, but Rosburg deserves consideration as well. He has said all the right things since taking over, and while the Broncos didn’t win on Sunday, they played one of their best games of the season.

Rosburg quickly made two changes to the team’s coaching staff and then made additional changes on special teams and on offense. The results were immediately apparent — Rosburg has shown what Denver can accomplish with a merely competent coach.

When he was announced as the team’s interim coach last week, Rosburg was asked if he deserves to become the team’s full-time coach.

“I’m desiring that we win two football games these next two weeks,” the coach said. “I’m desiring to have a great practice here in about an hour and a half or less. I’m desiring to have great meetings after that practice. I’m desiring to have players play the way that will allow them to excel in their career. I’m not looking at it like what’s happening after this season ends. I’m not trying to build a resume. I haven’t had a resume for 15 to 17 years. I haven’t needed one. I’m not trying to enhance any reputation that I may or may not have.”

Before joining the Broncos as a senior assistant earlier this season, Rosburg previously served as a special teams coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens from 2008-2018. After that, Rosburg was — in his words — involved with a “health care venture in trying to advance hyperbaric oxygen therapy for healing.” Denver talked him into returning to coaching when Nathaniel Hackett was struggling with in-game management earlier this season.

The Broncos should give Rosburg an interview for the full-time job after the season, and if he’s not a serious contender for the position, Denver would be wise to find some kind of role for him for 2023 and beyond.

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Jerry Rosburg will serve as Broncos’ interim coach for final 2 games

Jerry Rosburg will serve as the Broncos’ interim coach for the final two games of the season.

After firing head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, the Denver Broncos named senior assistant Jerry Rosburg their interim coach for the final two games of the 2022 season.

Rosburg was hired by the Broncos two games into the season to help Hackett with game management. Hackett struggled in that area and he also struggled as a play caller, a role he handed over to quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak later in the season.

Rosburg, 67, has 40 years of coaching experience on his resume, including an 11-year run as a special teams coordinator and assistant head coach with the Baltimore Ravens. He won Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens following the 2012 season.

Before naming Rosburg the interim coach, Denver first offered the position to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who turned it down because he wanted to continue coaching the defense to close out the season.

Rosburg will make his interim coach debut when the Broncos face the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in Week 17. After that, Denver will wrap up the season at home against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18.

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5 interim coach candidates for Broncos if they fire Nathaniel Hackett

If the Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett during the season, which in-house candidates could replace him?

The Denver Broncos’ new ownership group having this much patience with coach Nathaniel Hackett seems to suggest that the coach won’t be fired until the end of the season (if he is fired after Year 1).

If the Broncos do fire Hackett during the season, though, here are five interim candidates who could take his place to finish out the 2022 campaign.

Opinion: Saints shouldn’t delay inevitable severance with Dennis Allen

We’ve seen enough. The Saints shouldn’t delay an inevitable severance with Dennis Allen. They have the means and enough reason to move on right now:

I’ve seen enough: it’s time for the New Orleans Saints to move on from Dennis Allen. His team hasn’t improved over 10 games to start their season — if anything, they’re losing each week in the exact same manner they started what’s looking like a doomed campaign. When he was coaching the Raiders, Allen went 4-12 twice, then lost his first four games before being fired. He’s on the same path this year with a team largely agreed to be more talented than those he once inherited.

Allen is returning the same results now that he did a decade ago with the Raiders with a penalty-rife team that can’t consistently play well on offense, defense, or special teams. This team was built on the strength of Allen’s defense, which has collapsed without him being able to fine-tune it after his promotion to head coach. The offense has disappointed, and a typically-stout special teams unit has been one of the NFL’s worst despite little change over previous years.

If they couldn’t take care of business against a two-win Pittsburgh Steelers squad starting a rookie quarterback with a bum ankle, which teams can they defeat?

There’s no use waiting around to find out. They aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, and that’s not going to happen for a while considering how bad the other NFC South teams are, but the Saints would be 0-3 against those same teams if not for a last-second blocked field goal in Week 1. Allen isn’t going to be the Saints head coach for 15 years like Sean Payton was. Whether he’s dismissed this week, in a few months, or in a year or two, this story ends with the Saints showing him the door. He hasn’t earned any benefit of the doubt in these results, or faith that we’ll see a major turnaround.

And if they’re smart, the Saints won’t delay the inevitable. Here’s how it could happen:

Get to know LSU interim men’s basketball coach Kevin Nickelberry

Nickelberry will take the helm heading into the NCAA Tournament after Will Wade was fired on Saturday.

LSU is heading to a likely berth as a top-half seed in the NCAA Tournament, but Saturday’s events rained on that parade a bit. The school fired fifth-year basketball coach Will Wade, who finished his tenure in Baton Rouge at 105-51 with a Sweet 16 appearance in Year 2 as his deepest postseason run.

The news came just days after LSU received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA citing Wade for several Level I violations. Per his contract, that could permit the administration to fire him for cause.

Wade will not coach the Tigers in March Madness, and neither will associate head coach Bill Armstrong, who was also fired. Instead, assistant Kevin Nickelberry takes over as the interim coach.

Nickelberry is a veteran of the sport with a career spanning more than three decades. LSU athletics director Scott Woodward will likely look for a more established coach to take the full-time role, but a deep tournament run could certainly make an impression on the powers that be.

With that in mind, here’s a rundown of Nickelberry’s background.