Tag: interim head coach

Ejiro Evero turned down interim head coach role with Broncos

Ejiro Evero is expected to be a head coach candidate in 2023.

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.

Before turning to Rosburg, a 40-year coaching vet, the Broncos first offered the interim role to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Evero turned down the role and “decided with two weeks left it was best for the team if he keeps working with the defense,” Pelissero reported Monday.

The Broncos’ defense has allowed 20.3 points per game this year, which is tied for seventh-best in the NFL.

Evero, 41, is expected to be a head coach candidate this offseason, and he will likely get an interview for the opening in Denver. Rosburg will hold the interim title for the next two weeks, and then the Broncos will likely make sweeping changes to the coaching staff in 2023.

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Bob Stoops ‘twice refused’ pay for Interim Head Coach position

At a time when college coaches are bailing on programs for other opportunities, Bob Stoops continues to show how loyalty is legendary.

There’s nothing Bob Stoops needs to do to be considered one of the legendary figures of Oklahoma football. His run as head coach cemented his legacy. A national championship and effectively owning the Big 12 for a decade and a half are impressive accomplishments.

And yet, his legacy continues to grow.

After Lincoln Riley bailed for USC, the Oklahoma Sooners were left without a head coach approaching one of the most important times of the year: the early signing period for the 2022 recruiting class.

Wanting to reset the trajectory after Riley’s departure, Joseph Harroz and Joe Castiglione turned to the man who passed the program onto Riley and Bob Stoops has stepped up in a tremendous way. After being introduced earlier this week as the interim head coach, Stoops took off on the recruiting trail to reaffirm Oklahoma’s commitment to excellence and provide stability in an unstable time. And it’s making an impact.

As loyal as they come, Stoops was willing to step up and lead the program while Harroz and Castiglione conduct the search for Oklahoma’s next coach. And he was willing to do so for free.

Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz indicated that Stoops “twice declined” the $325,000 payment for taking on the coaching role for the university.

In an age where coaches are seemingly all about the money, it’s refreshing to hear a coach simply want to help.

Bob Stoops is already legend in Oklahoma sports. It was cemented when he retired. His presence is making a difference. It’s providing stability, when just five days ago  Lincoln Riley abruptly quit on the program and the team.

Getting a second run if Bob Stoops is a treat, even if it is just for the bowl game. It may only be a few weeks, but he’s the hero the Sooners needed at a time such as this.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Former players, social media react to Bob Stoops introduction as OU’s Interim Head Coach

How did former players and social media react to the introduction of Bob Stoops as interim head coach at the University of Oklahoma?

As quickly as Lincoln Riley exited as Oklahoma’s head coach, in steps Bob Stoops to stem the tide of frustration and disarray surrounding Riley’s departure for USC. Stoops, not a stranger to big moments, seized the day to remind everyone that “this is still Oklahoma.”

While the University of Oklahoma conducts what it hopes will be a quick coaching search, Bob Stoops will take the reins as interim head coach. His purpose, to steady the program as uncertainty drives some players into the transfer portal and recruits to decommit.

In a state of the program address that featured Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz, athletic director Joe Castiglione and Stoops, the trio successfully calmed the storm that raged around the program before getting to work on righting the ship.

Living up to his word, Stoops traveled to Broken Arrow to meet with Robert Spears-Jennings. Stoops will be active in persuading current players to stay and prospects to come to Norman, selling the program’s long run of success that even predates Bob Stoops himself.

Like we did in the aftermath of Lincoln Riley’s departure for USC, let’s take a look at how some former players and others reacted on social media to the return of Bob Stoops.

Raiders well-respected interim head coach Rich Bisaccia has earned long-awaited shot

Raiders well-respected interim head coach Rich Bisaccia has earned long-awaited shot

It’s been a long time coming for Rich Bisaccia. Twenty years at the NFL level and 39 years coaching football to be specific. And since 2008 the Special Teams Coordinator has been the Assistant Head Coach on every team he’s been a part of. 

After all that, the hope would be that Bisaccia would get a head coaching job in the more conventional way — interviewing for the job in the offseason and being hired and asked to put together a staff. But when you’ve waited this long, you take the opportunity as it comes. 

“Yeah, this is certainly an exciting moment,” said Bisaccia. “No one wants to be a head coach in this particular situation. No one wants to be put in front of this under these particular circumstances. But it’s an incredible opportunity certainly, not only for me, but all the other coaches that are here to see what we can do with this adversity. See what we can do with this challenge. See what we can do with the next day, and the same thing for our players. So, am I excited? I’m certainly excited. Am I beyond excited? I just know that to some degree we are all football coaches. 

“Somebody once told me, I asked a coach I worked for a long time ago, I said, ‘Coach, when do you know you’re ready to be the head coach?’ He said, ‘when they give you the hat and whistle and tell you you’re the head coach.’ So, I’ve been doing a lot of different things in this football world for a long time, so with the help of all those other assistants that are up there we are going to do the best job that we can and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to play ball again.”

The ‘particular situation’ Bisaccia and the Raiders find themselves in is, of course, Jon Gruden being forced to resign after several leaked emails surfaced with him using racist, misogynist, and homophobic remarks. That makes this not even your typical interim head coaching position because typically those jobs come open when a season is already lost. In this case, the Raiders are 3-2 with most of the season still ahead of them.

“He’s a very strong leader and a great thing about him is his immediate direction,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said of Bisaccia. “And in a time like this you know exactly where he stands and what is expected and we go. And the relationship he has with the players and staff is complete trust. And I think that’s just such a big part of it.”

Bisaccia, Bradley, and Gruden all go way back. They were all on the same staff in Tampa for several years. It was Gruden who Bisaccia credits for giving him his first NFL job back in 2002 with the Buccaneers. Bisaccia was retained by the Buccaneers for two seasons after Gruden was fired in 2008. From there Bisaccia went on to coach with the Chargers (2011-12), Cowboys (2013-17), and the reunited with Gruden with the Raiders in 2018.

It’s clear from his resume that Bisaccia is highly respected, both by the organizations with which he coached and the players who played for him. And beyond.

“The irony is I’ve endorsed him for a lot of head coaching jobs over the years, both in college and the NFL, back when I had a different job,” Raiders GM Mike Mayock said, speaking of his time as an NFL Network analyst. “He’s got as much respect in the locker room, in our locker room, as any coach I’ve ever seen in my life and the reason he does; is he a great coach? Hell yeah. But he’s an even better man and what I’ve always told people when I endorse him is that he’s the most natural leader of men that I have ever been around.”

When you hear Bisaccia speak, it doesn’t take long to see what Mayock is talking about in terms of Bisaccia’s natural leadership abilities. He’s an inspiring guy. He gets his players pumped up. And as the Special Teams Coordinator, he tends to coach more players than any other coach on the team, including those who play in every phase of the game. And also has a substantial say in who makes the roster. Much like a head coach.

“We’re certainly involved in the personnel part all the time, how the roster works on game day, how the 53-man roster works,” Bisaccia said of his Special Teams Coordinator duties. “Mike [Mayock] and I, we’re in conjunction about the practice squad which has been a big deal now with 16 players on it, and then time. Special teams’ coaches are very aware of time because you get a little time in practice or a lot of time, or when you get a special teams practice. How it all fits and how it all works. And so, I feel like maybe it’s a leg up.”

But if you were looking for any more reason to root for Bisaccia, you need only watch him talk about what he thinks about now that he’s reached the height of his profession as a coach.

“Yeah, you know, your parents come to mind,” Bisaccia said, fighting back tears. “I mean my dad was the head football coach at New York Giants, he just never told anybody. I got five sisters, I got four kids, five grandkids. So, to have an opportunity to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, wow! I guess really that’s the only thing I’m going to get choked up about.”

Tough spot. But a great opportunity for a great man. It is hard not to root for him to succeed.

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Rich Bisaccia officially named Raiders interim head coach following Jon Gruden resignation

Rich Bisaccia officially named Raiders interim head coach following Jon Gruden resignation

With the season in full swing, and the Raiders set to prepare for their week six trip to Denver, there was no time to waste in terms of finding an interim head coach to replace Jon Gruden, who resigned Monday following the leaking of several offensive emails he had sent during his time as a Monday Night Football analyst.

There were a few potential candidates on staff, some of whom have previous head coaching experience. But the Raiders went with the natural choice, officially naming Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia as the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Bisaccia has coached special teams in the NFL for 20 years. He gets his first shot at head coaching duties after spending the past four years with the Raiders. Previous stops include the Dallas Cowboys (2013-17), San Diego Chargers (2011-12), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002-10).

Bisaccia will address the media for the first time as head coach of the Raiders following practice on Wednesday.

Jon Gruden resigns: Best candidate to replace Raiders former coach in Week 6

Jon Gruden resigns: Best candidate to replace Raiders former coach in Week 6

Jon Gruden has resigned as Raiders head coach. His resignation came shortly after a report came out in the New York Times that detailed several instances in which Gruden made homophobic slurs and misogynistic remarks in leaked emails during his time as a Monday Night Football analyst.

This report coming on the heels of a report in the Wall Street Journal of Gruden making racist remarks. Emails that were unearthed in an investigation into the Washington Football Team.

Gruden may be out, but the Raiders 2021 season goes on without him. And that means they need an interim head coach to pick up the playbook and guide this Raiders team the rest of the way.

We’re just five games in, so the interim head coach will be important. He will coach a 3-2 club for at least the next 12 regular-season games.

Here are the top candidates to take over as interim head coach.

STC Rich Bisaccia

Currently the team’s Assistant Head Coach, so stepping up to head coach would make some sense. The longtime Special Teams Coordinator has no head coaching experience, but he is well-respected by his players and has a commanding presence that suggests he could do well as a head coach. His no-nonsense approach could do well to keep this team from unraveling.

DC Gus Bradley

Bradley has head coaching experience. He was the head coach of the Jaguars for four seasons from 2013-16. Though he went 14-48 during those four seasons, he is a well-respected coach with 13 years of experience as a defensive coordinator or better.

OL coach Tom Cable

Cable also has head coaching experience. In fact, he has head coaching experience with the Raiders. He was the Raiders interim head coach in 2008, taking over for Lane Kiffin who was fired after just 20 games. And after that season Cable had the interim tag stripped off and stuck around for two more seasons, going 17-27 as a head coach. From there he served as the Assistant Head Coach/OL coach in Seattle from 2011 to 2017.

DL coach Rod Marinelli

Marinelli has been coaching in the NFL ranks since 1996. Mostly as a defensive line coach, but he has ten years experience as a Defensive Coordinator and three years experience as a head coach.

He was the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2006-08 during which he had a record of 10-38. Marinelli was named the Raiders interim Defensive Coordinator late last season after the firing of Paul Guenther.

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Report: Robert Prince to replace Darrell Bevell as interim coach in Week 16

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that wide receivers coach Robert Prince will replace Darrell Bevell as interim coach in Week 16.

Due to a COVID-19 exposure, the Detroit Lions will need an interim coach to replace their interim coach.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that wide receivers coach Robert Prince will replace Darrell Bevell as interim coach in Week 16.

Bevell is “deemed a high-risk close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19”, Rapoport said, and “won’t coach this Saturday vs the Bucs, sources say. The first head coach to miss a game due to COVID protocols this season.”

Prince, a senior member of the Lions staff that has been with the team since 2014, is highly respected by the players due to his intelligence, energy level, and personality. Prince is familiar with the Lions offensive scheme, but with 30-years of coaching experience, he has experiences that extend beyond just offense.

Prince’s leadership style is highly energetic and infectious, and he is someone the players can rally behind.

Rapoport also reported that quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, who is considered an offensive coordinator in waiting, will take over offensive play calling in Bevell’s stay. Ryan and Matthew Stafford have built a trusting relationship over the last two seasons and there should be little lag in their ability to produce on offense this week.

Darrell Bevell pulls off an anti-Matt Patricia victory in first game as interim coach

Welcome to the Darrell Bevell era in Detroit. The Lions still have their flaws, but the team is noticeably different than they were under the previous regime.

Welcome to the Darrell Bevell era in Detroit.

The Lions still have their flaws, especially on defense, but this team is noticeably different than they were under the previous regime. From the team’s approach leading up to the game to how they closed out the victory, this was the antithesis of most things former-Lions coach Matt Patricia has preached for three years.

When Bevell took over last weekend, he said he was going to change some things. While not all those changes were made public, there were notable changes in practice: ranging from music aimed at a younger generation to an adjustment of the player’s schedule — players reportedly complained to Bevell they were feeling run down under the Patricia schedule — and the energy level went up a notch.

Consistently, players were reported to be looser and more relaxed in the locker room and it matched Bevell’s approach of allowing them to have more fun during the week.

Once the game started, Bevell — who is still calling the plays — was aggressive on offense, opening the playbook up a bit more, especially the deep pass, as noted in Matthew Stafford’s pass distribution chart, courtesy of NFL Next Gen Stats:

The Lions managed sixty yards and two touchdowns on the ground, but they were by no means married to it as something they had to “establish”.

Additionally, the defense failed to stop the run today — another phrase we have heard every week for the last 1,000 days — and while that led to a double-digit deficit, the late-game playcalling didn’t force the team into a meltdown.

Make no mistake, the defense is still bad, there’s only so much you can change in a week, but the demeanor and attitude that surrounds this team has been altered.

In today’s post-game press conference, worn-out all-too-common phrases — like “We didn’t execute well enough. We’ve gotta coach better, I’ve gotta coach better. And we’ve gotta play better.” — were nowhere to be found. Instead, Bevell introduced thoughtful and raw insight.

Here’s a sampling of the best responses from Bevell’s post-game presser:

“We had a windshield and no rearview mirror.”

“They continued to play, you know, for 60 minutes.”

On his halftime speech: “Play just until there’s no time left on the clock, and continue to play with the joy and the enthusiasm that we wanted to play with and we’ll see what happens at the end.”

“That’s what I asked them to do, just keep playing and keep playing and good things would happen at the end, and it did.”

“My mentality was that, like if I’m going to lead these guys, I gotta have that same belief.”

“We kind of let him (Stafford) play today, and he just responded in a big way.”

“I think we just probably had a little bit more focus on them (big plays) this week, and Matthew (Stafford) responded in a good way.”

“Matthew Stafford presented (me with) the game ball in there (locker room). It was just — I mean I can’t even describe it, just amazing.”

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Lions Week 13 Studs and Duds: Darrell Bevell’s offense leads the way

Reviewing the Studs and Duds from the Detroit Lions Week 13 victory over the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions, under the guidance of interim head coach Darrell Bevell, came back after trailing the Chicago Bears by 13 points in the fourth quarter to pull off a Week 13 win in the Windy City.

There were plenty of struggles on defense, but overall there were a lot of things for Lions fans to be optimistic about.

Stud: Darrell Bevell’s offense

There was a different kind of energy on the field — one that Lions fans haven’t seen in a long time.

Stafford walked out of the tunnel with a smile on his face, presumably knowing he’d have his best game of the season under interim head coach Darrell Bevell.

The offense looked much more comfortable under Bevell. Stafford was able to let loose and make some deep plays. The Lions used just about every weapon at their disposal to move the ball, and move it quickly.

The up-tempo feel to the offense was a breath of fresh air watching this team come back from a double-digit deficit.

Bevell may not be the head coach after this season, but at least he got the bad taste of Matt Patricia out of everyone’s mouths.

Dud: The defense

It’s clear that the Lions will have a lot of rebuilding to do on defense. The unit was so bad against Chicago that it was difficult to pinpoint individual players for the “duds” list.

Penalties were everywhere, with Romeo Okwara and Darryl Roberts assisting Chicago’s offense due to their errors in the first half. Everson Griffen had a neutral zone infraction turned a third-and-six to a convertible 3rd-and-one.

In coverage, everyone struggled. There were holes everywhere, allowing Mitchell Trubisky to look like a Pro Bowler while carving up the defense with passes to Allen Robinson.

And then there’s the run defense that allowed three touchdowns in the first half. The Lions’ front-seven simply could not do anything to contain David Montgomery or Cordarrele Patterson in the run game, allowing over 100 yards in the first half by the duo on their 18 carries.

Tackling proved to be an issue throughout the matchup as well. On one of David Montgomery’s touchdowns, two Lions defenders missed tackles on the young running back before Duron Harmon was able to get his hands on him. Unfortunately, Harmon wasn’t able to bring Montgomery down before he crossed into the end zone.

At the end of the game, the defense bent, and nearly broke, as they tried to prevent Trubisky from coming back in the final seconds. Allowing first down after first down and a horse collar penalty from Jayron Kearse, the defense was able to make a fourth-down stop to ice the game for Detroit.

The defense just didn’t play well, and MLive’s Kyle Meinke summed up their struggles best:

Stud: Matthew Stafford

Bevell’s playcalling has allowed Stafford to do what he does best — throw it deep. The quarterback was making tight-window throws and heaving some accurate deep passes, including one really impressive one to rookie Quintez Cephus — his first career touchdown.

His communication was on point with the young receiver, signaling for him to continue running his deep post and make the touchdown grab.

Stafford hasn’t looked this comfortable in the pocket in a long time, and it showed with the throws he made. He did have one brutal interception on a screen pass in the second half, but overall he balled out.

The quarterback played strong throughout the game and delivered a victory with a 402-yard and three-touchdown game.

Dud: Jonah Jackson

The rookie offensive lineman was bailed out three times in the first half, but that doesn’t excuse his blunders.

Jackson allowed a sack on Stafford by Khalil Mack that would have forced a punt if not for a penalty by Bears slot cornerback Buster Skrine that gave Detroit a first down. Later in the first half, Jackson had a holding penalty that was offset by a Chicago defensive penalty.

To finish off the first half, Jackson also committed a false start penalty. Luckily, Stafford was able to get a first down on the following play.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

The future Hall-of-Famer looked better than he has for most of the season and his late-game performance helped propel the Lions to victory.

His final stat line was 16 carries for 57 yards. He scored Detroit’s first and last touchdowns of the game. His goal line score at the end of the fourth quarter is what sealed the game for Detroit.

Dud: Marvin Jones

This may be an unpopular decision given that Jones finished with eight receptions for 118 yards and a score, but he had some glaring issues in this game. Despite making some solid first down receptions, Jones looked slow on several deep balls from Stafford and then later failed to hang on to a Hail Mary that could have gotten the Lions a walkoff touchdown for the first half. in the second half, he got his hand on another ball that he was unable to bring in.

Jones did help the Lions catch up late in the fourth quarter, but his struggles outweigh his successes in this one. If he was able to hang on to those balls and get separation from the defenders on those plays, the Lions would have been up by a few scores against Chicago.

Stud: Matt Nelson

Tyrell Crosby’s backup has not gotten enough credit throughout this season. When asked to fill in, the former collegiate defensive lineman held his own as Detroit’s right tackle while Crosby was sidelined with an ankle injury.

He didn’t have the best game, but he really put in his best effort against a scary Chicago front-seven.

Stud: Jamie Collins

Collins was a lone bright spot on the Lions defense. The veteran linebacker had two tackles-for-loss on run defense despite the unit struggling as a whole.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Despite gaining any yards after the catch on his seven receptions, the former first-round pick came through as one of Stafford’s top targets. The young tight end made some crucial and athletic catches on deep throws and finished the game with 84 yards.

Stud: Romeo Okwara

Okwara came out of the gates early, blocking the PAT after Chicago’s first touchdown. Though he was quiet for almost the whole game, he made his presence known late in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble on Trubisky and giving the Lions the ball at the seven-yard line with less than two minutes to go in the game.

Darrell Bevell wants to change up the Lions offensive tempo

Mixing in a drive of hurry-up or unexpectedly going with a fast snap count are ways Bevell can use tempo as a weapon

If you’re looking for an area where greater authority could enable Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell to have an impact, watch the offense and the game tempo.

In his press conference on Thursday, Bevell talked about a desire to mix things up with the pacing and tempo on offense. It’s an effort to keep the defense guessing and not be as predictable on offense.

There’s definitely a pace we want to have,” Bevell said. “There’s a pace you want to have when you’re changing personnels, so you’re going to be on-and-off the field, in-and-out of the huddle, we talk about that. But then also, there is change of paces whether it’s a huddle that you break quickly, whether it’s no-huddle, so just different style of tempos. But we are always preaching pace, and always preaching tempo.”

The Lions have been fairly quick overall in terms of neutral-situation game tempo in 2020, according to Football Outsiders. Bevell is talking more about mixing in a drive of hurry-up or going with a quick snap count unexpectedly during a drive more than an overarching philosophy, and that could indeed turn the tempo more into a weapon for his offense.