Tag: Pete Hoener

Commanders TE Coach Juan Castillo meets the media

New Washington tight ends coach Juan Castillo met with the media this week, and we learned a lot about the veteran coach.

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Replacing a successful predecessor is not an easy task. Juan Castillo’s calling now is to replace former Washington TE coach Pete Hoener who retired last week at the age of 70.

Castillo met with the media via Zoom and as always, there were some interesting tidbits that were revealed.

Castillo began in the NFL with the Eagles in 1995 as a quality control coach. He studied under offensive coordinator Jon Gruden.

Next Castillo was promoted to TE Coach w/Eagles in 1997

Castillo moved back to offensive line w/Eagles from 1998-2010.

Castillo was with current Washington tight end Logan Thomas in Buffalo (2017-18) coaching the offensive line and as running game coordinator. He noticed Thomas’ hard work and talent when Thomas was transitioning to TE from QB.

Castillo has coached 27 years in the NFL —only one coaching tight ends.

Brian Mitchell and Castillo were together with the Eagles (2000-02).

Darrell Green and Castillo were college teammates at Texas A&I, now Texas A&M Kingsville.

Ron Rivera and Castillo met in 1999 coaching the Eagles.

Castillo is aware that he’s the only new coach this season and believes he is to earn the respect of his fellow coaches and players by working hard, not by vocally demanding their respect.

Spanish being his first language, he and Sammis Reyes met and conversed via Spanish.

Castillo has watched some tape and noticed TE John Bates really worked at his blocking.

Castillo has a son in Arlington, employed by the Department of Commerce, and another son who earned a full scholarship to law school at the University of Maryland.

Andy Reid, Ray Rhodes, John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Matt Nagy and now Ron Rivera are NFL head coaches who hired Castillo to their coaching staffs.

Castillo has not coached TE specifically since 1997 with the Eagles.

 

Washington tight ends coach Pete Hoener retires

This is disappointing news for the Commanders as Pete Hoener is one of the best in the NFL.

The Washington Commanders lost one of their top assistant coaches when veteran tight ends coach Pete Hoener officially retired Friday.

Hoener, who came to Washington in 2020 with head coach Ron Rivera, ends a 46-year coaching career that featured stops with the 49ers, Bears, Cardinals and Panthers in the NFL before his time in Washington. The 70-year-old Hoener also spent several years coaching college football with stops at Texas A&M, Iowa State, TCU, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana State, Illinois State and Missouri. His NFL coaching career began in 1985.

Hoener was instrumental in the development of Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen and the breakout of Logan Thomas. Under Hoener, Olsen became one of the NFL’s best tight ends during his nine-year run with the Panthers.

Olsen spoke of Hoener’s influence in 2019 to the Charlotte Observer, via Zach Selby of commanders.com:

“He’s been unbelievable for my development,” Olsen said. “He believed in me, gave me a chance. I was kind of on the fence about whether I was gonna be that next breakout guy or if I was gonna be another first-round ‘bust,’ so to speak. Obviously, my career took off to another level since I’ve gotten here, and Pete was a big part of that.”

Thomas has also been complimentary of Hoener and his role in the former quarterback’s development at tight end. Thomas had a career year for Washington in 2020 and signed a three-year contract extension last summer.

The 2022 season will be the first for Rivera as a head coach without Hoener on the sideline.

The Commanders acted quickly in hiring Hoener’s replacement, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported the team was hiring veteran coach Juan Castillo as their next tight ends coach.

We’ll have more on Castillo tomorrow.

 

ESPN doesn’t consider Logan Thomas one of the NFL’s top 15 tight ends

Evan Engram ranked No. 8. Logan Thomas is not even in the top 15. That’s, uh, interesting.

ESPN completed its list of the top 10 players at every position on Thursday with a look at the top 10 tight ends in the NFL.

The top of the list was predictable, with George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Darren Waller holding down the top three spots. No controversy there.

So, where was Washington tight end, Logan Thomas?

Well, Thomas did not make the top 10. That’s not really a surprise considering he has one year of strong production. However, five other players were mentioned as receiving votes, and Thomas was not among them.

That feels like a stretch.

Somehow, Evan Engram of the New York Giants was listed in the top 10. Thomas was much better than Engram in 2020, yet Engram made the Pro Bowl. Engram making the Pro Bowl last season tells you everything you need to know about Pro Bowl voting.

Back to this list.

Zach Ertz was ranked No. 10. While Ertz was bad last season, he is still a good player with a proven body of work.

Some of the other tight ends listed outside of the top 10 were Austin Hooper and Robert Tonyan. Give me Thomas every day over those players. Washington was outbid for Hooper last offseason and ended up with Thomas. Washington certainly came out the winner in that scenario.

ESPN certainly didn’t ask Washington tight ends coach Pete Hoener for his input.

Washington tight end Logan Thomas eager to prove he is one of the best

When Washington signed tight end Logan Thomas to a modest two-year contract last March, many still believed the Football Team needed to add

When Washington signed tight end Logan Thomas to a modest two-year contract last March, many still believed the Football Team needed to add a starting tight end.

However, after playing in all 16 games and recording 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns, the talk around Thomas now is when Washington will get him signed to an extension.

Thomas recently joined “The John Keim Report” podcast and discussed several topics as he enters his second season in Washington.

One positive for Thomas is playing in the same offense for the second consecutive year. The former quarterback, who moved to tight end in 2016, bounced around a bit until signing with Washington last March. Thomas believes that will only help him.

“For me, that’s huge,” Thomas said. “You’re just building off last year.”

Washington made several upgrades at wide receiver in the offseason. Terry McLaurin is back, and joining him are Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries and Dyami Brown. Each offers a different skill set for Washington.

Thomas hopes their presence opens up more big plays for him down the field.

“With the guys we have on the outside, maybe there’s more space on the inside to make plays down the field,” Thomas said. “If I can keep my speed up and make plays down the field, that would be great.”

Finally, Keim asked Thomas about Washington tight ends coach Pete Hoener, who said last week that Thomas was one of “top 5, 6 or 7” complete tight ends in the NFL.

Thomas was beyond appreciative of his coach.

“It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come, and where I started,” he said. “I appreciate those words from him it means a lot, especially the guys he’s coached over the years. Some of it is a testament to him and how he got me ready to play last year. The things he does, you know I really appreciate. I am blessed beyond belief. A couple of years ago I’d never believe I’d be in the position I am now. I’m excited to prove what [Hoener] said is true.”

While it is easy to focus on McLaurin, Antonio Gibson and Washington’s new playmakers, you better not forget about Thomas. New quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick likes tight ends. Don’t be surprised if Thomas matches — or surpasses — his production from last season.