Tag: NFL Coaching Carousel

NFLN: Four Jaguars assistants named ‘young coaches to watch’

NFLN: Four Jaguars assistants named ‘young coaches to watch’

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson’s name has come up for all the wrong reasons as the NFL’s annual coaching carousel approaches.

However, some Jacksonville staffers have entered the conversation as potential candidates for a promotion.

NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero on Tuesday identified assistant coaches under 45 years old who could be worth monitoring for the 2025 hiring cycle and in the future.

Among the potential candidates for this offseason’s wave was Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

Jaguars OC Press Taylor, 36

A two-time national [junior college] champion as a QB and the brother of Bengals coach Zac Taylor, Press broke into the NFL as a quality control coach in Philadelphia in 2013 and made a notable contribution to the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win: Doug Pederson credited Taylor with the idea for the “Philly Special.”

Reunited in 2022 with Pederson in Jacksonville, Taylor built the offense and quietly called plays in the second halves of games as the Jaguars made a surprise playoff run. Evan Engram, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones have all enjoyed career years playing in Jacksonville’s offense. This has been an ugly season for the Jags, who are 2-9 — including a league-high six one-score losses — and are now playing without injured quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But Taylor remains a young assistant worth watching.

Taylor’s Jaguars offense has struggled this season, ranking No. 23 in the NFL in points per game (18.9) and No. 28 in yards per game (290.8) through 11 weeks, falling from No. 14 in points (22.2) and No. 13 in yards (339.5) per game in 2023.

Pelissero also named Jacksonville special teams coordinator Heath Farwell, wide receivers coach Chad Hall and assistant cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson as potential head coaching candidates for future cycles.

Farwell spent 10 seasons in the NFL, holding down roles as a core special teamer as a reserve linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. He served as an assistant special teams coach for the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers before coordinating those units for the Buffalo Bills (2019-21) and Jaguars (2022-present).

Hall has overseen Jacksonville’s wide receivers the last two seasons after beginning his coaching career with Buffalo, as an offensive assistant from 2017-18 before his promotion to wide receivers coach in 2019. He played wide receiver for the Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs between 2010-13.

Robinson joined Jacksonville’s coaching staff this offseason in an assistant role, tasked with instructing the Jaguars’ cornerbacks. He has coached professionally and collegiately since 2015, including stints with the Tennessee Volunteers, New Orleans Saints and Maryland Terrapins.

OC Dave Canales a ‘serious contender’ for Panthers HC job, per reports

Multiple reports say Canales is rapidly picking up steam as a top candidate for the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching vacancy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales had his ups and downs as a first-year offensive coordinator in the NFL, but he finished overall with an impressive debut — so impressive, in fact, that it seems to have already made him a top candidate in the coaching carousel for 2024.

Canales first interviewed for the Carolina Panthers digitally while the team prepared to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the NFC Playoffs. Now that the team is eliminated, he’s scheduled to take a second interview with the Panthers in person, but according to sources around the league, his chances of winning the job have rapidly been increasing as momentum builds for his potential hiring.

NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reported Tuesday that Canales was a “serious contender” for the job and that he impressed in his initial interview with the Panthers.

The Athletic’s Joe Person, who covers the Carolina Panthers, reiterated this report. He reported Tuesday that Canales’ candidacy is building momentum and that this is in part due to his connections with new Panthers general manager Dan Morgan, who worked with Canales as director of pro personnel in Seattle with the Seahawks.

Canales wasn’t perfect as an offensive coordinator for the Bucs, but his departure would be a blow to the team. If Canales were to leave, Tampa Bay would be faced with a third offensive coordinator in as many years in 2024. Additionally, the team would have to hunt for a replacement a little later in the cycle.

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The top NFL coaching candidates of 2023: 13 names to watch including DeMeco Ryans, Sean Payton and Kellen Moore

Jim Harbaugh is a viable NFL head coach again. Will he get a job over rising stars like DeMeco Ryans and Kellen Moore?

The 2022 NFL season has already seen three head coaches get fired. More could join them on Black Monday — the first day of the offseason for teams that missed the playoffs.

January 9 will begin an official coaching search for a handful of franchises. The Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos each got a head start by ditching their coaches in the middle of the year. Each will try to lock down the kind of football architect who can build a stable foundation and end lengthy postseason droughts for each team.

Which names will be bandied about in rumors and reports as interviews fly across the hiring process? The 2023 crop of head coach candidate is a heady brew of familiar names and rising stars from sidelines in the NCAA and NFL. Here are, in no particular order, 13 of the hottest names prepared to hop on this winter’s coaching carousel as needy teams shake up their core philosophies.

Former Eagles coach Doug Pederson completes interview with Bears for vacant position

The #Bears on Wednesday interviewed #Browns Glenn Cook for their general manager position and former #Eagles HC Doug #Pederson for their head-coaching job

Doug Pederson has been making the rounds on the interview circuit and on Wednesday, he was in Chicago for an official interview with the Bears along with Glenn Cook.

Cook has spent the past six seasons with the Browns as assistant director of pro scouting (2016-19) and vice president of player personnel (2020-present), and in his current role, he works closely with executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry, who worked alongside Pederson here in Philadelphia.

Pederson has interviewed with the Jaguars and Bears while holding interest from the Vikings and Broncos vacant openings as well.

Pederson spent five seasons as Eagles head coach from 2016-20, compiling a record of 42-37-1 in the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs and leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship in 2017.

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NFL.com says Eagles OC Mike Groh is emerging as a head coaching candidate to know

Mike Groh named a head coaching candidate to know by NFL.com

The NFL is a what have you done for me league and Black Monday — the day after the final regular-season game — usually includes a handful of firings.

NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport broke down the NFL head coach candidates to know before the carousel gets going and Eagles’ offensive coordinator Mike Groh landed on the honorable mentions list of “other guys on the radar.”

Th 48-year-old Groh started his NFL coaching career with the Bears where he was named the team’s wide receivers coach in 2013.

In 2016 the Los Angeles Rams hired Groh as their passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.

In 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles hired Groh to be their wide receivers coach.

After the 2017 season when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, Groh was promoted to offensive coordinator to replace Frank Reich after he took a head coaching job with the Colts.

Doug Pederson calls the plays, but Groh has caught most of the flak in the media for the Eagles offensive struggles this season. The Eagles offense has improved over the past month and it’ll be interesting to see how much Groh played in the improvement.