Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are several potential candidates for the Chargers’ offensive coordinator position under Jim Harbaugh.
On Wednesday, the Chargers made the splash hire everyone thought they would, bringing in Jim Harbaugh as the franchise’s next head coach.
All eyes now turn to the rest of the staff. Here are a few names to keep tabs on for the offensive coordinator opening.
Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills started 15 games in 2022, which referred to as a “big learning experience.”
The past is prologue.
The Houston Texans went 3-13-1 in 2022 with Davis Mills as the starting quarterback for 15 of those games. Seeing quarterback as a position of need, the Texans addressed it with C.J. Stroud, their No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Houston would not have had a shot at Stroud without the Texans’ atrocious record in 2022.
For Mills, who has his sights set on being Houston’s Opening Day starter at the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 10, the last-place finish for the Texans was a “big learning experience.”
The former 2021 third-rounder met with reporters after organized team activities on May 23 to talk about using the moribund campaign to improve the team with new coach DeMeco Ryans.
“Obviously the record was what it was,” Mills said. “We wanted to win more games, and I think it led to some of the decisions that we ended up having to make as an organization this offseason.”
Even though Mills is fighting for his job and working with a third different offensive coordinator in as many seasons — Tim Kelly to Pep Hamilton to Bobby Slowik — the former Stanford product views each practice and meeting inside NRG Stadium as an opportunity to improve.
Said Mills: “I mean, it’s another day, another day to get better for me personally. I’m looking at it as another learning experience that’s going to add to my ability to go out there and play quarterback at a high level.”
No quarterback has started more games for Houston since 2021 than Mills with 26.
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The #Chiefs have explored the possibility of adding Pep Hamilton to the offensive coaching staff, per report.
The Kansas City Chiefs could seek to add a veteran offensive assistant coach to their staff according to a new report.
CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweeted early Thursday morning that the Chiefs have explored the possibility of adding Pep Hamilton to their staff in some capacity. Hamilton got his start in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach with the Jets in 2003 under Herm Edwards. He was quickly promoted to quarterbacks coach, then wide receivers coach. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears before returning to the college level at Stanford. He’d work alongside Andrew Luck both at college and in the NFL with the Colts, earning a reputation as a QB whisperer of sorts.
Hamilton is most recently known for the work he did with Chargers QB Justin Herbert during his rookie season in Los Angeles. He spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans, first working as a passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach before working as offensive coordinator under Lovie Smith in 2022.
I'm told the #Chiefs have explored the possibility of adding Pep Hamilton to their staff, per league sources. Hamilton served as the #Texans offensive coordinator in 2022. The carousel is fluid, with a lot of moving parts still up in the air. We'll see how it goes.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 23, 2023
It’s unclear if the Chiefs have interviewed Hamilton yet, but they’re shuffling their offensive coaching staff after Eric Bieniemy’s departure. Hamilton has experience working as a position coach, which could be a possibility in Kansas City and one reason for a hold-up on a hire with the coaching carousel still quite fluid as Anderson mentions in her report. Hamilton also has experience as a coordinator running a West Coast system with influences from the Air Coryell and Digit offenses. The expectation has been that Matt Nagy will be promoted to offensive coordinator in Kansas City, but adding a new voice with new ideas could help take the Chiefs’ offense to new heights.
It’s worth noting in this instance that the Chiefs must satisfy the Rooney Rule and interview at least one external minority coaching candidate before filling the vacancy at offensive coordinator. The same goes for the quarterback coaching position should Nagy be promoted.
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Here are seven candidates Colts HC Shane Steichen could hire as offensive coordinator.
Indianapolis Colts fans can breathe. The is finally wait is over, and Shane Steichen is the new head coach for the franchise.
Now the question is, who will be his offensive coordinator? The 37-year-old coach will have to make the decision if he will want to call plays on gamedays or hand those duties off to whoever his offensive coordinator will be.
That decision could potentially impact the desire of a coach to take that job if they wish to be calling plays in that role. We should get that answer in Steichen’s opening press conference Tuesday, which could give better insight into who he may target.
But for now, let’s take a look at some potential names for the new offensive coordinator for Indianapolis:
The Houston Texans are forming a new coaching staff under DeMeco Ryans. Who is sticking around from the previous regime?
The Houston Texans are forming a new coaching staff for DeMeco Ryans’ first ever season in the NFL.
Ryans stated that he wants a blend of coaches on his staff because players learn differently. One of the ways the Texans could have that rich blend is to determine which coaches from the 2022 staff would mesh well with the new philosophy.
The Texans have made some moves to replace vacancies on the staff. For example, Houston hired Matt Burke as its defensive coordinator. All of the targets for similar assistant jobs can be found here.
The following is a list of what has happened to the coaches from the 2022 staff.
The Houston Texans have hired a new offensive coordinator, and Pep Hamilton has been informed of his status. What is next for the former OC?
The Houston Texans have gone in another direction. Former San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik is now the Texans’ offensive coordinator.
According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans have also informed former offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton of his status.
The 48-year-old is still under contract with the Texans and is not under any pressure to take up another coaching job. It may be that Hamilton sits out a year, or at least until the contract expires, and stays in the Houston area.
One reason would be Jackson Hamilton, who plays quarterback at Pearland High School, who will be entering his junior year next football season. The Oilers were 6-5 overall with a 5-2 record in 2022 and lost in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
Some of Hamilton’s best recent work was as a position coach with the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2020, as the quarterbacks coach, Hamilton was able to develop rookie Justin Herbert, who won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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One potential candidate to replace Byron Leftwich has removed his name from consideration
Hamilton has a son who is a standout high school quarterback in Houston and had two years left on his deal with the Texans.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 24, 2023
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are finally putting together some initial interviews for their vacant offensive coordinator position, but one of their potential targets has already removed himself from consideration.
The Bucs requested permission to interview Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton for the same spot on their staff, but he declined, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
As Stroud points out, Hamilton has a son who is a star quarterback at a local high school in the Houston area. He also has two years remaining on his current contract with the Texans, a team that’s still looking for their next head coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars pass-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and Denver Broncos pass-game coordinator Klint Kubiak are expected to interview for the spot vacated by Byron Leftwich.
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General manager Nick Caserio says that he is still in constant contact with the remaining coaches on the Houston Texans’ staff regarding the future.
The Houston Texans are in their most consistent state since Oct. 5, 2020: a state of flux.
The Texans are on their third coaching search in as many offseasons with Nick Caserio in the general manager’s chair. With the firing of coach Lovie Smith following the club’s 32-31 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Texans still have a large majority of his assistant coaches still on the staff.
Caserio met with the remaining staff on Jan. 9, the day after Smith was let go, to let them know of where things stand with the organization.
“I would say it’s a pretty fluid process,” Caserio said. “We’ll look at each of their situations individually. Whomever we end up hiring as a head coach, they’re obviously going to have a say and input relative to the coaches on our staff.”
Sometimes there is carryover from one staff to the next. A good example is Tim Kelly, who was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019 under then-coach Bill O’Brien. After O’Brien was fired and rookie coach David Culley hired in 2021, Kelly remained on staff as offensive coordinator.
Similarly the current offensive coordinator in Pep Hamilton was quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator on Culley’s staff. When Smith was promoted from defensive coordinator to coach in 2022, Hamilton got a promotion.
Caserio emphasized that constant communication with the remaining assistants is key.
“I think I have an obligation and responsibility to our coaches, to their situations that come up where there may be interest externally or once we have more clarity on our end is to communicate with them,” said Caserio. “They may have other opportunities to go elsewhere. There may be an opportunity to be a part of the current staff that we put together, so we met.”
Houston finished 3-13-1 and has the No. 2 and No. 12 overall picks in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
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Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is reportedly a part of the New York Jets’ search for a new offensive coordinator.
Pep Hamilton may continue as an offensive coordinator in 2023 after all.
According to Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated, the New York Jets are considering Hamilton as part of a “wide net” for their offensive coordinator position, which came open with incumbent Mike LaFleur parting with the organization.
Hamilton’s job status is up in the air as the Texans work through their search for the sixth full-time coach in team history. The Texans had Tim Kelly as offensive coordinator from 2019-21, a holdover from the Bill O’Brien regime who transitioned to David Culley’s staff. However, the Texans promoted Hamilton from quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator following the promotion of Lovie Smith from defensive coordinator to coach in February 2022.
General manager Nick Caserio met with the remaining coaching staff following the firing of Smith on Jan. 8 and kept them as much up to date about the current situation as possible.
“There are some coaches that we may want to keep here,” said Caserio. “There are some coaches that might want to move on because of their own volition. There may be some coaches that we have to move on from because of whomever the new coach is. We try to be honest with them and try to be pretty open, but this is a pretty fluid situation.”
Caserio noted that the next few weeks, with the NFL providing parameters on when teams can interview potential candidates, as being a reason for why there aren’t firm answers at the moment.
Said Caserio: “Frankly, it’s probably going to be hard to get any clarity for the next two to three weeks because of the way the hiring practices are set up because of the teams that are playing, depending on who you are going to have a coaching discussion with. But we’ll try to be as open and communicative with them as possible and try to keep them abreast of the situation as best we can.”
If the Jets are interested in Hamilton, and he wants to take the job, the Texans may allow him to go, pending input from the new coach.
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Many are rightly speculating that Titans passing game coordinator Tim Kelly has a good shot to land the team’s offensive coordinator job.
Now that the Todd Downing era is over in Nashville, the Tennessee Titans have to start looking for their next offensive coordinator — and it’s possible he’s already on the staff in passing game coordinator, Tim Kelly.
After spending eight seasons with the Houston Texans, including three as the offensive coordinator, Kelly was brought in by the Titans in 2022 to help improve an offense that took a major step back the season prior.
Kelly’s addition didn’t do much, as the Titans regressed even more than the year before, finishing with one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Of course, blaming that on Kelly in any way, shape or form is silly. This offense was going nowhere as long as Downing was at the helm.
We know how much head coach Mike Vrabel likes familiarity and his own guys (he and Kelly coached together in Houston, also), so that has led many to speculate that he’ll be one of the favorites for the job.
My wish for Mike Vrabel, who I expect will promote Tim Kelly: That he look outside for all openings, hire coaches he don’t know who will bring fresh, new thinking to a team that too often stays with the familiar. #Titans
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) January 9, 2023
The Titans fired OC Todd Downing, a move that's been expected for a while. I'd expect pass-game coordinator Tim Kelly to be a top candidate for the job. Also, Alabama OC Bill O'Brien is very close with Mike Vrabel.
OL coach Keith Carter, DBs coach Anthony Midget were also fired.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 9, 2023
We know Tim Kelly is on the radar for the #Titans OC job now. But, a few other names to look at include:
Former Texans Pep Hamilton (they interviewed him to replace Arthur Smith)
Bills QB coach Joe Brady
Alabama OC Bill O'Brien— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 9, 2023
It’s hard not to agree with this sentiment. Vrabel is a very stubborn guy and tends to stick with who and what he knows. Kelly quailfies as such.
While I don’t dislike Kelly, I agree with PK here 100 percent. Vrabel should at least be looking outside the organization for something new and different rather than simply sticking with someone already on the staff.
Another name that has been thrown around by multiple people is Alabama offensive coordinator and former Texans head coach, Bill O’Brien, who Vrabel served under as a coach in Houston.
O’Brien’s tenure with the Texans was an absolute disaster, both for himself and the franchise. He’s a better offensive coordinator than head coach, but we’ll pass, thanks.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport suggests Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, who had previously interviewed for the job when Arthur Smith departed, and Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach, Joe Brady.
Of the four mentioned above (Kelly, Hamilton, Brady and O’Brien), I say “no” to O’Brien and “meh” to Kelly, while Hamilton and Brady should definitely be given interviews if available.
Of course, this is all speculation and there are sure to be many more names looked at during the process. It’s also possible some of the names on this very early list won’t be among them. Kelly is a lock to get an interview, though.
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