Tag: Ryan Vermillion

Cam Newton was hurt when Ron Rivera and Commanders did not call

Cam Newton was upset that Ron Rivera never called him in Washington when he needed a QB.

Cam Newton is still surprised Ron Rivera did not seek him out to be his quarterback in Washington.

Rivera and Newton had been together in Carolina since the 2011 NFL draft. It was Rivera’s first head coaching job, and Newton was his first draft choice.

Fast forward nine seasons later into 2019. Washington started 0-5 and finished 3-13. Yet, their best performance of the season was when they went to Carolina and ran the ball all day on the Panthers, winning 29-21.

Ironically, it turned out to be Rivera’s last game as Panthers’ head coach, being fired subsequently. In addition, 2019 was also Cam Newton’s last with the Panthers.

Rivera was hired to coach the Redskins in 2020, and Newton was signed by the Patriots. However, after only one season, the Patriots turned elsewhere.

In 2021, Rivera lost his starter, Ryan Fitzpatrick, in the very first half of the season opener. Having to go with the undrafted, inexperienced Taylor Heinicke, Newton expected a call from Rivera.

Newton expressed his surprise and disappointment about Rivera on his “Funky Friday” podcast two days ago.

“I said at the bare minimum, Washington will come —- with me,” said Newton. “It wasn’t just Ron Rivera. It was d— Marty Hurney, it was Ryan Vermillion, it was everybody. It was Panthers reincarnated in Washington.”

“To not get no call? —-.”

Newton expressed that he and Rivera have yet to discuss it and that he does not know why he never got a call.

“I don’t know whether I was hurt or whatever. It f—– with me, though. I ain’t going to lie. I am not going to be one of these dudes, like Hell no.”

“We started the 2013 season 1-3 and finished 12-4. Coach of the Year. Of course, you’ve been through the, you know, struggle with him.”

“And then to not get a call? Yeah, it was one of them ______, I see what is happening here.”

The Panthers re-signed Newton in the middle of the 2021 season, and sure enough, Washington went to Carolina, and Newton was given his first start. Washington won that day 27-21; however, Newton had his best game of that season, completing 21 of 27 with two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, 10 carries for 46 yards, and a 120.5 passer rating.

Asked what he and Rivera said that day when on camera greeting each other on the field, “Man, that ain’t no embrace that you can talk to. It was a brief, ‘Hey Coach, What’s going on, man? Always nice to see you. Take a picture. Ok, go poo.'”

Newton said he and Rivera need to chat, and it would be a good conversation for his podcast. He said he would ask Rivera, “What is it?”

“I felt like I could play. They had Taylor Heinicke. Taylor Heinicke, I respect. Uh, Scarface, that’s what we would call him. But to ride with him?”

“Cool, I ain’t going to dwell on that, but I felt a certain type of way that I didn’t get no interest from Washington in an unstable quarterback situation.”

Newton became a free agent after the 2021 season but was never signed by another NFL team.

Commanders bring back former assistant trainer after 19-month leave

Doug Quon was initially placed on leave in Oct. 2021 after the DEA opened an investigation into Washington’s former head trainer, Ryan Vermillion.

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The Washington Commanders brought back a familiar face Friday, announcing the re-hiring of former assistant athletic trainer Doug Quon.

Quon, who was initially hired by Washington in April 2014, was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 9, 2021, when the DEA raided the team’s practice facility as part of an investigation into former head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion.

The team placed Quon on leave without clarification due to the investigation into Vermillion. However, Quon was not charged with any wrongdoing and was welcomed back, as both the NFL and NFLPA approved Quon’s re-hiring, according to John Keim of ESPN.

The Commanders released the following statement.

“Player health and safety is our top priority, and we are pleased to continue to build up our training staff with another seasoned professional with the reinstatement of Doug Quon in the role of assistant athletic trainer,” the statement said. “We are happy to welcome him back.”

Vermillion was eventually fired by Washington, and in April 2022, the Commanders hired Al Bellamy as the new head athletic trainer. Washington also added Lindsay Gately as an assistant athletic trainer/physical therapist to the staff last year.

Before coming to Washington in 2014, Quon worked with UC-Irvine, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs in different roles. He was a part of the Washington training staff that won the Ed Block Training Staff of the Year.

Ron Rivera releases statement on Ryan Vermillion

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera released a statement on former trainer Ryan Vermillion.

The saga surrounding former Washington Commanders trainer Ryan Vermillion ended Friday when he reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid being charged for illegally distributing opioids.

Vermillion was hired by Washington head coach Ron Rivera shortly after his hiring ahead of the 2020 season. Vermillion was placed on leave by Washington back on Oct. 4, 2021, after the DEA conducted a raid at Washington’s facility and a nearby home.

While Vermillion was placed on leave and Washington used interns and others to fill his role for the remainder of the 2021 NFL season. The Commanders hired Al Bellamy in April as the new head athletic trainer.

Rivera released a statement on Vermillion Friday via Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post:

The NFL suspended Vermillion indefinitely, but he can apply for reinstatement after one year. NFL, in conjunction with the NFLPA, launched a joint investigation.

Before coming to Washington, Vermillion spent 18 years as the Carolina Panthers head athletic trainer.

 

 

Commanders hire Al Bellamy as new head trainer

Washington brings back a familiar face as the team’s new head athletic trainer.

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After going without an official head trainer since early October, the Washington Commanders finally hired Ryan Vermillion’s replacement Monday. Al Bellamy, the director of athletic training for Temple University for the past nine years, is Washington’s new head trainer.

This will be Bellamy’s second stint with the Commanders, as he previously spent 13 years with the organization. Hired in 1988 as an assistant trainer, Bellamy was a part of Washington’s medical staff in 1991, when the franchise won its last Super Bowl.

Overall, Bellamy has spent 25 years in the NFL. After a 13-year tenure in Washington, Bellamy spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, where he helped manage the team’s athletic training staff and worked with the team’s physicians.

A Washington, D.C. native, Bellamy received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State. From there, he earned his master’s degree in health education from Syracuse in 1984.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera welcomed Bellamy back to Washington in a statement released by the team:

“I am excited to welcome Al Bellamy back to Washington,” said Rivera. “His experience and professionalism are both traits that we were looking for when making this hire. I’m looking forward to working with Al here in Washington and I know his knowledge and expertise will be invaluable for our players and coaches.”

Bellamy also released a statement through the team:

My family and I are extremely excited for this opportunity to join the Washington Commanders as its head athletic trainer. I’m thankful and humbled by the responsibility that Coach Rivera and the organization have bestowed upon me. I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to work with a tremendous group of people in our medical staff, strength staff and all involved in the health care and performance of our players. I would also like to thank Mr. Arthur Johnson, Coach Stan Drayton and Temple University who have provided me with support and respect for my decision to accept this position. It is hard for me to comprehend that I’m following in the footsteps of Bubba Tyer, and those are big shoes to fill. I’m going to hit the ground running and can’t wait to help contribute to what Coach Rivera is building here in Washington.

Washington general manager and former cornerback for the team, Martin Mayhew, called Bellamy “one of the finest I’ve had the privilege of working with in the NFL.”

Washington did not disclose the status of Vermillion, who has not been charged after being placed on leave in October when the Drug Enforcement Administration served search warrants on Washington’s team headquarters and a Northern Virginia home last year.

Ron Rivera says Washington close to hiring new head athletic trainer

Washington is close to hiring a new head athletic trainer.

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Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera met with the media Tuesday at the NFL combine and discussed several topics. One important topic is the head athletic trainer. Rivera said the team has interviewed four candidates — all with NFL experience — and is close to deciding on a new trainer.

The Commanders are in this position because previous head trainer Ryan Vermillion remains under investigation after being placed on leave when the DEA raided team headquarters in October and Vermillion’s home. The investigation was unrelated to the team.

With the combine this week, the Commanders would ideally have had a new trainer in place for all of the medical checks on draft prospects in Indianapolis. Mark McCracken filled the role on an interim basis after Vermillion was placed on leave.

McCracken’s staff was filled with interns who helped each week. The Commanders also brought in legendary former Washington trainer Bubba Tyer and former Washington Capitals trainer Greg Smith to help out during a trying season.

Of the four candidates, two are currently in the NCAA but have NFL experience.

“We have four candidates,” Rivera said. “We’ve brought them in and talked with them. We’ve interviewed everybody.”

This is an important hire for Rivera after the Vermillion fiasco. Vermillion followed Rivera to Washington from Carolina.

Ron Rivera acknowledges Washington may hire new head athletic trainer

Ron Rivera discussed Washington possibly hiring a new head athletic trainer.

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One of the more underrated storylines of Washington’s 2021 season was the absence of head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion. Vermillion was placed on administrative leave back on Oct. 4, where he remains today.

Vermillion’s office and home were raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration in an investigation that was unrelated to the team. Washington coach Ron Rivera spoke about Vermillion shortly after the news, per NBC Washington.

“The only thing I can say about Ryan is, I know who Ryan is,” Rivera said. “Last year, I trusted Ryan with my health, and I would do it again.”

Rivera obviously couldn’t get into specifics regarding the investigation, only speaking on his experience with Vermillion. Vermillion was Carolina’s head athletic trainer for Rivera’s entire tenure with the Panthers and followed him to Washington in 2020.

Vermillion was placed on leave ahead of Washington’s Week 4 game at Atlanta. Washington would suffer several injuries in the game, creating a hectic situation for the WFT.

The team would bring back legendary former trainer Bubba Tyer and hired former Washington Capitals trainer Greg Smith, both temporarily to assist the team. Washington would also use interns to help in the absence of Vermillion.

In his season-ending presser Tuesday, local reporters questioned Rivera about hiring a new head athletic trainer:

No, that’s a fair question because we most certainly are looking at those options right there, those are things that we have to consider going forward. It’s been a very difficult situation. We hired Greg Smith, who obviously worked at one point for the [NHL Washington] Capitals and did a great job coming in to help us, but you know, that was a temporary thing. We brought in a couple of interns that had worked with us to help add some more bodies to it and it worked effectively. Was it ideal? No. But going forward, we will certainly have to look at that and we will, and we’ll address it because again, we’ll have the combine coming up very shortly and we’re going to have to have evaluations go through all of that process.

There’s never a good time for an NFL team to lose its head athletic trainer, but for Washington in 2021, it was the absolute worst time. There was the never-ending off-field stuff, a litany of injuries and a team-wide outbreak of COVID-19.

It’s wise of Washington to get ahead of hiring a new athletic trainer ahead of the offseason with free agency and draft season rapidly approaching.

 

 

Washington trainer Ryan Vermillion placed on leave after federal raid of team’s facility

Washington placed head trainer Ryan Vermillion on leave after federal authorities raided the team’s facility last week.

Washington Football Team head trainer Ryan Vermillion was placed on leave after federal authorities raided the team’s practice facility last week, per Grant Paulsen and J.P. Finlay of 106.7 The Fan, and Julie Carey of NBC 4.

The investigation is “unrelated to the team,” according to the club.

According to Paulsen, Vermillion did not accompany the team to Atlanta for Washington’s Week 4 win over the Falcons. His assistants handled Washington’s injuries from the game on Sunday.

DEA agents also raided Vermillion’s home on Friday afternoon.

The team released a statement on Monday:

“Ryan Vermillion has been placed on administrative leave due to an ongoing criminal investigation that is unrelated to the team,” the team said, per Finlay’s report.

At his Monday press conference, head coach Ron Rivera said he would refer to the team’s statement when asked about Vermillion.

Rivera hired Vermillion shortly after being named head coach in January 2020. Vermillion spent 18 years as the head athletic trainer for the Carolina Panthers before coming to Washington.

Derrius Guice looks to avoid ‘injury-prone’ narrative under new Redskins training staff

Guice knows that he’s one trip to the IR away from being labeled as ‘injury-prone’ and he’s working with new training staff to avoid that.

Some players in professional sports are labeled ‘injury-prone,’ and some are just flat out unlucky. For Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice, the jury is still out on which he really is, but it’s hard to deny his poor string of luck since coming into the NFL in 2018.

In his two years with the Redskins, Guice has as many touchdowns (3) as trips to the injured reserve. He’s had two tears in his knee that required surgery, and he knows that he’s one injury away from being dubbed ‘injury-prone,’ a designation that comes as a major red flag to any NFL team.

As he recovers from a sprained MCL this time around, though, things are a bit different for Guice. He knows that he has to prove his worth in Washington, with two years left on his rookie deal, and he now has a new training staff to do it with. According to the Washington Post, one of the biggest challenges for Guice going forward will be adapting to a new recovery plan with Ryan Vermillion, the Redskins newest head trainer.

The most significant change so far has been the firing of longtime trainer Larry Hess, who was replaced by former Carolina Panthers trainer Ryan Vermillion. Hess had a plan for Guice’s rehab that they were working through, and there was familiarity between the two about what Guice can do and what causes him to struggle. Vermillion has put his own spin on the rehab as the two build a relationship.

Vermillion is a highly-respected trainer in the NFL, and he will surely keep a watchful eye on Guice’s treatment, as the dynamic running back stands as one of the most valuable commodities in Washington. Guice is determined to get back to the field and stay on the field, and Vermillions remade training staff with the Redskins will hopefully help him do so.

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Breaking down the Redskins power dynamic heading into 2020

With Bruce Allen out of the picture, the pyramid of power has shifted greatly in Washington, with Ron Rivera calling the shots.

Incremental change is what the Washington Redskins needed after a fourth-consecutive season without a playoff berth, and incremental change is what they got.

Bruce Allen is gone. Ron Rivera is in. Larry Hess is gone. Ryan Vermillion and Larry Wilk are in. Eric Schaffer is gone. Doug Williams is in a new role. Any which way you look at it, the power dynamic in Washington has changed, and according to NBC Sports Washington, this is now how it looks.

Dan Snyder — Team Owner
Aug 29, 2019; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, as the owner of the team, Snyder remains at the top of the power pyramid. Though he may endlessly say that head coach Ron Rivera is the only voice that matters in the organization, it is still his final stamp of approval that is needed on every major decision that happens. As long as Snyder is the owner of the team, it will be his word that goes.

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Redskins hire several Panthers coaches for Ron Rivera’s staff

Redskins hire several Panthers coaches for Ron Rivera’s staff

The staff that Ron Rivera is assembling for the Redskins is going to look an awful lot like the one he had in Carolina for the last nine years or so.

Over the weekend, Washington hired several Panthers assistants.

According to Joe Person at the Athletic, offensive line coach John Matsko and former wide receivers coach Jim Hostler have both been hired by the Redskins.

Matsko’s departure is a significant one, as he was with the team since 2011 to the present.

Carolina’s long-time athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion is also joining Rivera’s staff, per Tom Pelissero at NFL Network.

Vermillion has been around a long time, beginning with the 2002 season.

Former Panthers backup linebacker and assistant special teams coach Ben Jacobs will take the same job with the Redskins, per Alex Marvez.

Linebackers coach Steve Russ is also going to Washington, according to Adam Schefter at ESPN.

Offensive coordinator Scott Turner is in the mix to become Rivera’s new OC. This is all pretty normal stuff. Whoever the next head coach is will want to bring in his own staff to fill these positions, so the likelihood of them staying on was always pretty low.

On that note, today the Panthers are interviewing Baylor head coach Matt Rhule for the job. Kevin Stefanski, Perry Fewell and Josh McDaniels also have interviews set up for later in the week. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy came in on Thursday for a meeting that reportedly went well. Mike McCarthy is out of the running now that he’s been hired by the Cowboys.

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