Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson schedules second interview with Saints

Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson scheduled a second interview with the Saints, meeting team brass in person on Saturday:

This could be big: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints are meeting Jerrod Johnson for a second interview on Saturday, this time speaking with him in person following a virtual interview earlier this week. He’s a candidate for their open offensive coordinator position.

Johnson, 35, has been a hot candidate as teams work to look for their new play caller. He’s also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles.

A highly productive quarterback at Texas A&M, Johnson has risen quickly through the coaching ranks as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers (under Kyle Shanahan) and Indianapolis Colts (under Frank Reich). Before joining DeMeco Ryans’ staff on the Texans, he was an assistant quarterbacks coach for the Minnesota Vikings under Kevin O’Connell. He’s worked closely with some of the most successful head coaches in the league and could be a good fit with the Saints.

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Bill Belichick a ‘long shot’ for Seahawks, Commanders head coach jobs

According to Patriots beat reporter Jeff Howe, Belichick is a long shot to land one of the two remaining head coach openings around the NFL: the Seahawks and the Commanders.

If we told you five years ago that Bill Belichick couldn’t get a job as an NFL head coach you rightfully might have called us crazy. However, that’s practically an eternity in a league that changes so much from season to season, and right now Belichick’s stock hasn’t been lower since the turn of the millenium.

According to Patriots beat reporter Jeff Howe, Belichick is a long shot to land one of the two remaining head coach openings around the NFL: the Seahawks and the Commanders.

Belichick remains one of the greatest defensive minds in the business and his New Engand teams remained elite on that side of the ball even as their offense fell apart without Tom Brady there to hold it together. However, his work as a GM never really measured up compared to what he did on the field, at least on one side of the ball. Under his reign, the Patriots literally never found a quality wide receiver in the draft and they were lacking at too many other positions to stay competitive in a now-brutal AFC East.

We expect that Belichick will be back in the league some day, but it appears it won’t be in 2024. He has not been among Seattle’s reported head coach candidates, nor Washington’s.

Speaking of the Seahawks, they have gone through two rounds of interviews with several coordinators around the NFL. While there’s been no reporting on who they might actually hire, they do seem to be leaning towards a defensive head coach.

It would be a nice surprise to get one of the young offensive Xs and Os mastermind coordinators around the league like Ben Johnson or Bobby Slowik, but our best guess is they will pick a more experienced, defense/motivational type coach like Dan Quinn or Mike Vrabel.

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Rams QB coach Zac Robinson interviewed for Saints offensive coordinator job

Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson has a busy schedule, but he made time to interview for the Saints OC opening:

Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson has a busy schedule, but he made time to interview for the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator opening, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. So far, the Saints have interviewed all four candidates they’ve requested time with in this year’s hiring cycle.

Robinson has had a lot of offers hit his inbox. The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports that he previously interviewed with the Chicago Bears (before they hired Shane Waldron, another Saints target, for the same job) and he has a meeting scheduled Tuesday with the New England Patriots — with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders both requesting interviews of their own.

Why so much interest? Robinson has worked closely with Rams head coach Sean McVay during the last five years, starting out as the team’s assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019 and climbing the ladder to his current position. He’s coached both quarterbacks and wide receivers for L.A. and while he hasn’t called plays, he has learned from one of the best. He’s in high demand. Let’s see if the Saints can land him.

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Saints’ Michael Hodges is a key figure in Patriots DC search

The Patriots interviewed Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges for their DC opening. Even if he doesn’t get the job, they might have a role for him:

The New Orleans Saints could lose yet another assistant to a promotion elsewhere around the league. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that linebackers coach Michael Hodges has interviewed for the New England Patriots defensive coordinator opening, along with several other candidates. Head coach Jerod Mayo will likely still call plays defensively, just like Dennis Allen has done, but there’s plenty of room for additions to his staff.

And Hodges is a key figure in the search. An internal option for the job, Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, is expected to interview soon — but he’s worked with Hodges before. Here’s what Reiss had to say about the connection:

Some close to the situation say Covington, who attended Mayo’s introduction as coach Wednesday, is well-positioned to elevate to a defensive coordinator role. The interview with Hodges, who was co-defensive coordinator with Covington at Eastern Illinois in 2016, could be a tipoff that it might be headed in that direction.

That suggests there could be room for Hodges in New England even if he doesn’t get the job, possibly working with Covington again as co-defensive coordinators. That strategy didn’t work for the Saints in 2022 with Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard sharing the title, but it’s worked for other teams, and maybe that’s a situation Mayo could navigate more effectively than Allen did. Hodges and Covington doing well together in the past lends credence to the idea.

If Hodges believes this gives him a better path to advancement and calling his own plays than his current role in New Orleans, he owes it to himself to explore it. Former coworkers like Nielsen and Aaron Glenn have found success after leaving the Saints and getting out of Allen’s shadow. We’ll see if anything comes of this interest.

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Patriots to interview Saints LB coach Michael Hodges for DC opening

Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges will interview for the Patriots’ open defensive coordinator spot under head coach Jered Mayo, per NFL Network:

This could be a big loss: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New England Patriots have scheduled an interview with Michael Hodges, the New Orleans Saints linebackers coach, while seeking to hire a defensive coordinator on head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff.

Hodges has been an important part of Dennis Allen’s staff in recent years. He’s been responsible for scouting and developing draft picks like D’Marco Jackson (2022), Pete Werner (2021), Zack Baun (2020), and Kaden Elliss (2019) as well as undrafted linebackers like Nephi Sewell and Andrew Dowell. He’s also played a big part in helping Demario Davis perform at a high level late in his career.

So it’s easy to see why other teams are coveting him. We’ll see if Hodges ultimately leaves New Orleans, but the Saints have a history of cultivating talented coaches on the defensive side of the ball — former Dennis Allen assistants Aaron Glenn and Ryan Nielsen have both moved on to run their own defenses as coordinators, and Glenn has drawn a number of head coach interviews around the league. Hodges might be the next man up.

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Falcons preparing for a second interview with Bill Belichick

Could Bill Belichick be headed for the NFC South? The Falcons are preparing for a second interview with the longtime Patriots coach:

Could Bill Belichick be headed for the NFC South? The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for a second interview with the longtime New England Patriots head coach, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who adds that Belichick met with Falcons owner Arthur Blank one-on-one and that “things are ramping up” in discussions between the two parties.

The New Orleans Saints beat the snot out of Tom Brady for several years to close out his career. Maybe they’ll get a chance at taking on another Patriots legend in Belichick twice a season, too, after beating his team 34-0 early in the 2023 campaign.

How the organization would shake out with Belichick at the top is curious. It might not mean anything good for Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot, the former Saints pro scouting director, if Belichick wants the same control over personnel. Fontenot has built a strong roster on both sides of the ball but he hasn’t found a quarterback who can lead them. If Belichick gets that right, Atlanta could continue to challenge New Orleans for years to come.

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Predicting Patriots coach Jerod Mayo’s staff in post-Bill Belichick era

Predicting Patriots coach Jerod Mayo’s staff in 2024

The Jerod Mayo era has officially begun in New England.

He has some work to do to build up his staff in support of his new system. There will be ties to Bill Belichick on defense, as that defense will likely evolve into a system that is a foundation for coaches, much like the Kyle Shanahan-style offense is to the modern NFL offenses.

But Mayo will need to ensure that the staff is set up properly to develop, attract and retain talent to ultimately create an environment for winning. The modern NFL has thrived with former players taking the helm, and Mayo is next in line.

Building a staff and system will likely have Mayo’s personal touch, but it needs to be done properly, especially if they want to draft and develop one of the quarterbacks in the 2024 rookie class.

Let’s take a look at what Mayo could do to fill the staff around him and set up the team for the post-Belichick era:

Projecting Patriots’ front office hirings and promotions in 2024

Taking a look at possible front office fits to support the post-dynasty era Patriots

The New England Patriots have officially moved on from Bill Belichick after 24 years and have already named Jerod Mayo as the team’s 15th head coach.

Belichick is the greatest coach of all time, but he is seemingly losing touch towards the end of his career, like every other all-time great has across other sports.

It rarely ever ends in a fairytale way, and the Patriots are headed for a true, long-term rebuild this offseason, after a 4-13 finish to the 2023 season. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 season, and they got knocked out in the first round by the Tennessee Titans in the 2019 season.

The NFL has changed since Belichick and Tom Brady dominated it, and owners are opting for former players to run their football teams more so than ever. Players across the league seem to play hard for former players, and those former players know how to connect with their team.

However, moving on from Belichick means the Patriots might not be as good to start. I still think Belichick is a good overall coach, but in the long-term, New England will be in a much better position to compete.

Over the last few days, there have been reports as to what the Patriots might do to replace Belichick, who had his hand across all of the team’s football operations. It is much harder to entrust Mayo, a first time head coach to immediately take all of that on.

Let’s take a look at what a potential New England front office could look like to support the post-dynasty era Patriots. It is likely that Mayo and top coaches will have a hand in evaluation and team building, but it will take a few different pieces to replace what Belichick did for this team over the years.

Mina Kimes wouldn’t mind Bill Belichick as next Seahawks head coach

Mina Kimes names Bill Belichick as top choice to replace Pete Carroll as Seahawks head coach.

The Seahawks did the unthinkable this week, ending the Pete Carroll era after a super-successful 14-yeat run as head coach. As to who might replace him, the only news we’ve heard so far is that Dan Quinn will be one of the candidates, so the team is keeping their search pretty tight.

The most surprising potential hire would be Bill Belichick, who just parted ways with the Patriots after 24 years and six rings.

Watch Mina Kimes on Jacson Bevens’ podcast discussing the Belichick as her top choice to replace Pete Carroll.

It sounds like an unlikely scenario, but Seattle won’t find a better candidate to fix their defense than Belichick, who’s continued to produce high-performing defensive units even long after his offense fell off after Tom Brady left.

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Here’s how we rank all seven head coach openings around the league.

This week we may eventually get a football coach-centric national holiday. In case you hadn’t heard, the Seahawks dismissed Pete Carroll as head coach, Nick Saban retired and Bill Belichick parted ways with the Patriots, all in a span of less than 24 hours. Not only is this a memorable fork in the road in the history of the sport, it’s accelerated what was already a highly-competitive 2024 coaching cycle around the NFL.

After this morning’s breaking news that Jerod Mayo is succeeding Belichick in New England, there are now seven teams looking for a new head coach and a couple-dozen strong candidates to fill them, including a few future Hall of Famers. Where will they land? That’s anybody’s guess, but we can tell which teams offer a better chance to win. Here’s how we rank all seven head coach openings around the league.