Tag: Michael Wilhoite

Broncos’ new OLBs coach Michael Wilhoite played 7 years in the NFL

Michael Wilhoite played seven years in the NFL before Sean Payton hired him as an assistant. He will now serve as the Broncos’ OLBs coach.

The Denver Broncos will have a new outside linebackers coach in 2023.

Michael Wilhoite, 36, was hired earlier this month after spending the last four years as an assistant coach in the NFL. Before transitioning to coaching in 2019, Wilhoite played in the NFL from 2011-2017.

Wilhiote’s professional playing career started in the UFL with the Omaha Nighthawks in 2011. After spending one year in Omaha, Wilhoite signed with the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.

Wilhoite then spent most of the 2012 season on San Francisco’s practice squad before being promoted to the active roster. He played in Super Bowl XLVII and then remained on the active roster from 2013-2016, starting 36 games.

Wilhoite spent his final year as a player with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017 before hanging up his cleats with 298 tackles and four interceptions on his resume. Two years after he retired, Wilhoite was hired by Sean Payton as a special teams assistant in 2019.

After spending two years in New Orleans, Wilhoite spent two years as a linebackers coach with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022. He will now reunite with Payton as an outside linebackers coach in Denver.

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Broncos coaching staff update: Final pieces falling into place

The Broncos are expected to add Joe Lombardi, Keary Colbert, Michael Wilhoite and Greg Manusky to their coaching staff.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is getting closer to adding the final pieces to his staff.

In addition to hiring Vance Joseph as the team’s new defensive coordinator on Thursday, Payton also hired Joe Lombardi for the offensive staff, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. It’s not yet clear if Lombardi will serve as the offensive coordinator or in another role.

Lombardi worked under Payton in three different roles with the New Orleans Saints, including as a quarterbacks coach from 2016-2020. He served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022 before reuniting with Payton in Denver.

Payton also hired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert on Thursday, according to a report from On3.com’s Matt Zenitz. Colbert, a former Broncos receiver, coached at the University of Florida last fall. Before that, Colbert coached at USC from 2016-2021, helping develop a group of receivers including Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London.

Denver is also bringing in Davis Webb as quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Webb spent time as a backup QB with three teams — most recently with the New York Giants last year — before joining the Broncos as a coach.

On special teams, Denver will hire Chris Banjo as an assistant special teams coach, according to Klis. Banjo, 32, is a former safety who was just officially cut by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday. Banjo played under Payton in New Orleans and under new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Denver is hiring Michael Wilhoite as its new linebackers coach, according to Klis. He coached under Payton with the Saints from 2019-2020.

Wilhoite will presumably oversee the outside linebackers because Greg Manusky is joining the team as their inside linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He has DC experience with four NFL teams and most recently coached ILBs with the Minnesota Vikings last season.

Joseph’s defensive staff will also include holdover defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and defensive backs coach Christian Parker, NFL Network’s James Palmer confirmed Thursday. Klis had previously reported that the Broncos hoped to keep Dixon and Parker on staff regardless of who was hired as DC.

Ben Steele, who served as Denver’s assistant offensive line coach last season, will not be staying. Steele has joined the Arizona Cardinals as their new tight ends coach. We are tracking all of the changes to the Broncos’ coaching staff on this page.

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Two former Chargers coaches joining Sean Payton’s Broncos

Two former Chargers coaches are joining Sean Payton’s led Broncos.

The Chargers relieved former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi last month. And now he’s on another staff, heading to Los Angeles’ AFC West rivals.

The Broncos are hiring Lombardi to join Sean Payton’s staff, according to 9News’ Mike Klis. His role is yet to be determined, but being Denver’s offensive coordinator is a possibility.

This will be Lombardi’s third assistant coaching stint with Payton. He had two previously with the Saints and now will follow him once more to be on his coaching staff.

The Chargers let go of Lombardi because, in his first season as OC, they were top 5 in offensive DVOA, but they declined to 19th in offensive DVOA this past season. Additionally, his offense wasn’t catering to the strengths of quarterback Justin Herbert.

Along with Lombardi, former linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite is also headed to the Broncos, where he will serve as the outside linebackers coach. Wilhoite spent two seasons with Payton in New Orleans, one as a special teams assistant and the other as a defensive assistant.

Two more former Saints coaches are joining Sean Payton on the Broncos

Two more former Saints coaches are joining Sean Payton on the Broncos, both of whom were with the Chargers the last two years:

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but more former New Orleans Saints coaches have been hired by Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos. Denver 9 Sports’ Mike Klis reports that Joe Lombardi and Michael Wilhoite are joining Payton on the Broncos — they both spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers before being dismissed earlier this year.

Lombardi’s role has yet to be defined, though he’s in consideration for the offensive coordinator job that Ronald Curry chose to pass on in staying with the Saints. He’s worked with Payton in New Orleans as his quarterbacks coach in the past. Wilhoite is holding the same title he had in L.A. as linebackers coach; when he was with the Saints, he helped out on special teams and worked as a defensive assistant.

They’re joining a group of former Saints coaches on the move to Denver. Payton hired away offensive assistants Zach Strief and Declan Doyle for promotions on his Broncos staff while convincing Mike Westhoff to end his retirement and come oversee the special teams units. He also brought in former Saints strength and conditioning coach Dan Darlymple who Dennis Allen dismissed last year. None of these coaches are irreplaceable for New Orleans, and many of them weren’t with the team anyway. But it sure is going to be startling to see so many familiar faces roaming another sideline.

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Chargers fire linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite

A third Chargers assistant coach was fired on Tuesday.

A third Chargers assistant coach has been fired on an eventful Tuesday for the team.

After offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Day were let go this morning, linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite had also been fired by the team.

The 36-year-old Wilhoite joined Brandon Staley’s initial staff in Los Angeles to open the 2021 season after two years as an assistant in New Orleans – with the special teams in 2019 and with the defense in 2020. Prior to coaching, Wilhoite spent six seasons as an NFL linebacker with the 49ers and Seahawks from 2012-17.

Under Wilhoite’s tutelage, former Charger Kyzir White engineered a breakout season in 2021, with 144 total tackles. Drue Tranquill followed that breakout in 2022 with 146 total tackles in a stellar season that likely has earned him a contract extension. But two correlated factors likely led to Wilhoite’s departure.

When he was drafted 23rd overall in 2020, Kenneth Murray Jr. was billed as a hyper-athletic linebacker with sideline-to-sideline range that just needed to reign in his instincts. As a former NFL linebacker, who better to coax Murray into his full potential than Wilhoite? But Murray hasn’t taken that next step forward yet. It’s contributed to one of the worst run defenses in the league over the last two seasons, as Murray and other second-level defenders have consistently fit the run poorly.

The fact that the run defense failed to improve in 2022 after the investments the Chargers made on the defensive line is perhaps the most emblematic of this issue. Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Khalil Mack, Morgan Fox, and a larger role for Breiden Fehoko all contributed to an improved defensive line that found a way to stuff runs at the line of scrimmage at a much higher rate than the 2021 squad did. But when the line faltered, the linebackers frequently did not have their back, leading to the long runs that became a painfully integral part of watching the Chargers’ defense this season.

There are plenty of questions about the linebacker room heading into 2023. Tranquill, as mentioned, will need a contract extension. Murray has a fifth-year option to decide on. Kyle Van Noy could play more off-ball linebacker with Joey Bosa fully healthy on the edge. But those are questions for the next man up to answer.

Tracking Saints interviews for offensive and defensive coordinator

Two of the most important jobs are still open on Dennis Allen’s coaching staff: offensive and defensive coordinator. Keep up with our interview tracker:

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Two of the most important jobs are still available on Dennis Allen’s New Orleans Saints coaching staff: offensive and defensive coordinator. While there are options already in the building, the Saints have started their search by evaluating outsiders.

You can keep up with our Saints interview tracker. Here is every candidate to interview with New Orleans about the jobs, organized chronologically:

Saints interview Chargers LB coach Michael Wilhoite for DC job

The Saints interviewed Chargers linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite, a former assistant with New Orleans, for their defensive coordinator job:

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Well that’s interesting. The New Orleans Saints are continuing to meet with outside candidates for their two open coordinator jobs, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reporting that the team brought in Los Angeles Chargers linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite to interview for their defensive coordinator job. Detroit Lions secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant previously met with the team to discuss the job.

But Wilhoite isn’t too unfamiliar with Dennis Allen’s established system. He coached on the staff as an assistant in 2019 and 2020, before leaving for a promotion with first-year Chargers head coach Brandon Staley’s crew in 2021. Now he’s back in New Orleans seeking another step up the ladder.

He would be a fascinating hire. Wilhoite is a former player, having spent most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers (beginning in 2011) and finishing up with the Seattle Seahawks (after the 2017 season), with much of his contributions coming in the kicking game. He started out in that phase with the Saints as a special teams assistant in 2019, then moved to defensive assistant om 2020.

And he’d likely be seen as a developmental option for the Saints. It’s unclear yet whether Allen will relinquish defensive play-calling duties to a new coordinator, and if he chooses to hold onto his headset Wilhoite would get to see how it’s done firsthand in preparation for his own gig someday. Bringing in an outsider would also help keep other in-house assistants where they’ve done their best work as position coaches.

But we’ll have to wait and see how this unfolds. If the Saints are treating this coordinator search as they did the head coach process, they’ll interview all external candidates before turning attention to in-house options like defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen and secondary coach Kris Richard. It gives relative outsiders a shot at making a strong first impression.

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Chargers announce Saints assistant Michael Wilhoite as linebackers coach

The Chargers announced the hiring of former New Orleans Saints assistant Michael Wilhoite, a former linebacker with the 49ers and Seahawks.

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The hits keep coming to the New Orleans Saints coaching staff, which lost Michael Wilhoite to the rebuilding Los Angeles Chargers. L.A. hired Wilhoite away to coach linebackers for first-year head coach Brandon Staley; he previously served as the Saints defensive assistant in 2020 and special teams assistant in 2019, so this is a big jump for him.

It’s also a return to the West Coast for Wilhoite, where his NFL career started with the San Francisco 49ers as a player back in 2011. He carved out a seven-year playing career with the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks before retiring after the 2017 season and transitioning to coaching, where he was hired in New Orleans to help Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.

Wilhoite is the fourth member of the Saints coaching staff to leave for new opportunities this offseason — with more departures possible as organizations retool around the league. Previous losses include Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell and defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn, both hired by the Detroit Lions, as well as quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi, who will be joining Wilhoite with the Chargers.

So far, the only vacancy the Saints have filled is in the secondary, by adding widely-respected coach Kris Richard. It’ll be fascinating to see how New Orleans continues to reload its own coaching staff in the weeks ahead.

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