Tag: Kurt Coleman

Kurt Coleman tells Panthers to ‘stop playing around’ and hire Steve Wilks

Well, we definitely know who Kurt Coleman thinks the Panthers should hire as their HC.

Kurt Coleman has seen enough.

On Monday night, the former Carolina Panthers safety implored his former employer to, well, employ Steve Wilks as their next full-time head coach. And he’s making no bones about it . . .

Each of Coleman’s three seasons in Carolina came under Wilks’ guidance—who served as the team’s assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2015 to 2017. Not so coincidentally, those three years were some of the best of Coleman’s career—as he notched career-highs in combined tackles (95), tackles for a loss (five), interceptions (seven), passes defensed (nine), sacks (1.0) and quarterback hits (two) as a Panther.

The retired defender is just the latest in a long, long line of current and former players to endorse Wilks for the organization’s vacancy. Coleman joins the likes of Shaq Thompson, Derrick Brown, Bradley Bozeman, Thomas Davis, Tre Boston and Torrey Smith—just to name a few.

By the end of Tuesday, the Panthers will have interviewed nine candidates for the opening—with only one having an established residence on “Thieves Ave.”

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Five of Ohio State’s most memorable games vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers v. Ohio State Buckeyes football series history #GoBucks

This Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be facing off against the Wisconsin Badgers in Columbus, Ohio, and this will be the 85th time that these two programs have played each other. It makes sense that these two schools see so much of each other considering that they are conference opponents.

Ohio State is currently 61-18-5 in this series and their largest margin of victory came in 1979 under Earle Bruce when the Buckeyes rolled Wisconsin, 59-0. They also achieved the same score in 2014 under Urban Meyer in the Big Ten championship game (yes, that one). Unfortunately, the largest loss Ohio State faced against the Badgers was in 1999 under John Cooper when the Buckeyes lost 42-17.

Ohio State’s longest win streak was 21 victories from 1960-1980, but its longest losing streak was three from 1913-1915. We aren’t going to dive into every game Ohio State has ever played Wisconsin, but here are five memorable ones.

Panthers S Jeremy Chinn fittingly kicks off 2022 jersey watch

Panthers S Jeremy Chinn began the second year of his Carolina jersey watch with a very fitting choice.

Last season, Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn did a little something special for the Carolinas. And it was so special, in fact, that he’s running it back.

Before each home game during the 2021 campaign, Chinn donned a jersey of a Carolina sports legend during his walk into Bank of America Stadium. Those legends came from all different arenas—from NBA superstar Steph Curry, to Negro League legend Buck Leonard, to NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. and, of course, franchise greats such as Julius Peppers and Steve Smith Sr..

After his reveals, Chinn then put the threads up for auction and donated the proceeds to that athlete’s cause or charity. It was, undoubtedly, a nice homage to the states’ sports history and—more importantly—a noble nod to the community.

Well, the third-year defender is at it again in 2022. He kicked off the year on Friday night with a fan favorite from one of the most memorable eras of Carolina Panthers football—former safety Kurt Coleman.

Coleman spent three of his 10 NFL seasons in Charlotte, amassing 261 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 11 interceptions. He played a key role in helping push the 2015 team to a remarkable 15-1 record and an eventual Super Bowl berth.

So, in a fitting start to the jersey watch, it’s a playmaking safety honoring a playmaking safety.

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Report: Kurt Coleman will work as color analyst for Panthers games this year

Former Carolina Panthers safety Kurt Coleman is rejoining the team for the 2020 season as an analyst.

Former Carolina Panthers safety Kurt Coleman is rejoining the team for the 2020 season as an analyst.

According to a report by Joe Person at the Athletic, Coleman will work as a color commentator along with Mick Mixon and Jim Szoke on the team’s broadcasts, which will be coming from Bank of America Stadium – even for road games.

Coleman played for Carolina when the team was peaking during the Ron Rivera era from 2015-2017. His greatest moment in a Panthers uniform came when he picked off Carson Palmer in the 2015 NFC title game.

In 42 regular season games he posted 11 interceptions, 19 pass breakups and two defensive touchdowns. After he left the Panthers, Coleman played with the Saints in 2018 then signed with the Bills last year, mostly seeing snaps on special teams. Coleman’s career appears to be over now. While he never made a Pro Bowl, he did well for a seventh-round draft pick.

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5 former Panthers players who could be worth bringing back for 2020

Here are five free agents who used to play for the Panthers they should consider.

If it happens, the 2020 NFL season is going to be a unique one. Teams have been unable to hold any kind of offseason program to date except in a virtual setting and the league is looking at cancelling half of the preseason schedule. This means that teams with continuity and familiarity will have an advantage over those that don’t.

That’s bad news for the Carolina Panthers, who have lost more snaps from 2019 than any team in the league by a huge margin. Bringing back some familiar faces could help. Here are five free agents who used to play for the Panthers they should consider.

TE Ed Dickson

Ed Dickson
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The loss of Greg Olsen hit the Panthers hard and they haven’t made any significant additions at tight end since. Especially after Seth DeValve was released due to a non football injury, the team could use more depth at this position. Dickson was never a star, but at the very least he would bring experience to a young and unproven tight end room that needs it. In 2018 with the Seahawks, Dickson scored three touchdowns and caught 12 of 13 targets from Russell Wilson. For the league minimum, he’s worth a look.

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Bills 2020 free agent profile: S Kurt Coleman

Buffalo Bills free agency profile: safety Kurt Coleman

The Buffalo Bills have 12 unrestricted free agents inching their way toward free agency which opens on March 18. On March 16, the Bills can start negotiating with other team’s players and then two days later, the club can officially ink players to deals (although, reports of signings will start on the 16).

On the flip, the Bills’ pending free agents can do the same and sign with another franchise. With the clock ticking, the Bills still have a chance to sign their own free agents to contracts, and might even do so after the market opens. Bills Wire will run a 12-part rundown of each of Buffalo’s pending free agents leading up to that “tampering period.”

Here’s Bills Wire’s free agent profile for Bills free agent safety Kurt Coleman:

Stats

2019: 14 games played, 3 tackles
Bills: 14 games played, 3 tackles
Career: 146 games played, 554 tackles tackles, 36 passes defended, 2 sacks, 21 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles

How acquired

Signed via free agency, July 2019

Previous contract

One-year, $940K (current age: 32)

Breakdown

Coleman was a staple on the Bills roster as a special teamer in 2019. He signed a one-year deal with the team a year ago having experience playing in Sean McDermott’s defense while in Carolina from 2014-2017. That’s an overlying reason the Bills sign plenty of players, but certainly it applied for Coleman because he signed in July, not March. He could come in during training camp and pick things up quicker, and he did so, keeping his roster spot heading into the regular season.

What are the Bills’ options?

Buffalo is likely going to let Coleman hit free agency. As a 32-year-old, Coleman’s got a lot of tread on his tires. But where he might lack in youth, he certainly was a character player and veteran leader for the Bills.

What should they do?

The Bills should just let Coleman walk. McDermott has already said this offseason that it’s time players that have been around to start stepping up as leaders, such as Josh Allen, Micah Hyde or Tremaine Edmunds. In terms of playing time, the Bills have nine draft picks and can start grooming a depth safety that way. Also to consider are Jaquon Johnson and Siran Neal. Pending some injuries that could happen later in the offseason or during the 2020 season, that’s probably the only way you’ll see Coleman back with the Bills, a similar scenario to bringing him in last offseason because he could pick things up fast.

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Here is the full list of the Bills’ upcoming free agents

List of the Buffalo Bills’ free agents heading into the 2020 NFL offseason and free agency.

Simple, sweet, straight forward.

Who are the Bills at risk of losing after their successful 2019 campaign which included a second trip to the playoffs in three years? Free agency can ruin a team if their front office, in the Bills’ case led by Brandon Beane, doesn’t make the right decisions.

First, free agents come in three different forms.

The most common is an unrestricted free agent that can either re-sign or test the open market.

Restricted free agents are players who can be tendered contracts by other teams, but their current team can match the offer and keep them. Or they can just re-sign or be allowed to walk by their current organization.

An exclusive-rights free agent can only become a free agent if their team decides to let them do so. The Bills could tender these players a contract for the league minimum and the player has to accept it, or sit out a season.

Here’s the full list for the Bills:

Unrestricted free agents

Buffalo Bills running back Frank Gore. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

 

RB Frank Gore

  • Age: 36, 15th season
  • 2019 stats: 16 GP, 599 rushing yards, 2 TDs
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Bills snap counts: Depth chart breakdown vs. Steelers

Buffalo Bills Week 15 snap counts against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In front of a lot of eyes, the Buffalo Bills clinched a playoff berth with a 17-10 win on Sunday Night Football.

It was a defensive showcase for most of it, but when needed in crunch time, the Bills offense ended up with more numbers on the scoreboard than the Steelers when it was all said and done.

Who took charge in both the good and bad of the game? Here’s a full depth chart breakdown via snap counts for the Bills against the Steelers in Week 15:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

Offense

Notes:

  • Only Jon Feliciano, who briefly went down with injury, did not play in 100 percent of snaps along the Bills’ offensive line.
  • For the fourth-straight game, rookie Cody Ford played in every snap. Ty Nsekhe (ankle) was still injured and missed the game.
  • WR Robert Foster did not play a snap on offense. In Week 14 against the Ravens, he saw 25 percent of snaps on offense. The Bills used less 11 personnel, likely to help with blockers, as Isaiah McKenzie only played 46 percent of snaps after seeing 72 percent last week.
  • Over the past three games, respectively, WR Cole Beasley played in 99%, 89% and 81% of snaps. Against the Steelers, he only saw 69 percent of snaps.
  • OL Spencer Long filled in for Feliciano and played seven snaps in the game.
  • TEs Dawson Knox and Lee Smith both played in 48 percent of snaps, likely to help with blocking. Knox was playing in more than 72 percent of snaps over the past four-straight games prior to facing the Steelers.
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