Tag: staff

Teddy Bridgewater shares unexpected connections with 2024 Saints team

Teddy Bridgewater, who plans to make an NFL return in the near future, shares some surprising connections with the Saints’ new-look coaching staff:

Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has announced that he plans to make an NFL return in the upcoming weeks, and while the Saints may not be the most likely landing spot, he does share some intriguing connections with their current offensive staff. Beyond his two-season stint from 2018-2019 with the Saints, there are some former faces he may recognize from around the league currently on the Saints coaching staff as well.

First up is current Saints quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who worked with the Minnesota Vikings from 2015 to 2017, which overlaps with three of the four seasons Teddy Bridgewater played for the Vikings. While Janocko was not a quarterbacks coach at the time, he was an offensive quality control assistant for the first two of those seasons before moving to be an assistant offensive line coach, so they likely worked together in those first two seasons.

Another notable coaching overlap is current Saints senior offensive assistant Rick Dennison, who was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2018 for the New York Jets, where Bridgewater spent his offseason before being traded to the Saints prior to the season.

Interim head coach Darren Rizzi and general manager Mickey Loomis would ultimately make the calls on any potential signing if one were in the works, and both of them were obviously here during the time frame Bridgewater was, and got to see how successful he was in the absence of Drew Brees during his thumb injury. We will see where Bridgewater ultimately ends up, but there are definitely a few notable ties between him and the current Saints staff (as well as the roster) worth noting.

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Report: Wisconsin unable to lure away top Notre Dame recruiting staffer

Report: Wisconsin unable to lure away top Notre Dame recruiting staffer

Wisconsin football was unable to hire away top Notre Dame recruiting assistant Carter Auman, according to a report from FootballScoop’s John Brice.

This news comes as a follow-up to Thursday’s report that the Badgers were in talks to lure Auman away from Notre Dame and hire him as their new director of player personnel.

Related: Big Ten football offensive coordinator rankings for 2024 season

The top young recruiting assistant will reportedly get promoted to assistant to the general manager on Notre Dame’s recruiting staff.

Auman is rising fast in the recruiting business after helping the Fighting Irish finish with 2023’s No. 12-ranked recruiting class and 2024’s No. 9-ranked group. He and the recruiting staff currently have the Fighting Irish ranked No. 2 in the class of 2025 cycle behind only Ohio State.

Wisconsin and head coach Luke Fickell reportedly tried to bring Auman in as the new director of player personnel while promoting current director of player personnel Max Stienecker and giving him a new title. That now appears to be off the table with Auman reportedly staying at Notre Dame.

Wisconsin’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 12 in the nation with 20 players committed. The group is a strong follow-up to the Badgers’ No. 23-ranked class of 2024 — a group that finished with the program’s first-ever blue-chip ratio of 50%.

The Badgers’ recruiting department is in fantastic shape under Fickell, even with reportedly missing out on a potential top hire.

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Notre Dame Football: Irish reportedly losing key staffer to Big Ten

More moves for Fighting Irish football…

According to FootballScoop, Notre Dame is losing a key member of their football staff.

Butler Benton joined the Notre Dame staff as Assistant Athletic Director for Player Personnel in April of 2023 after spending the two previous seasons as the General Manager at the University of Arkansas.

Accoring to the FootballScoop report:

Sources tell FootballScoop that Benton has left his post as the assistant athletic director to become the new GM for DeShaun Foster at UCLA.

The report goes on to mention that the deal could be announced as early as Monday.  Benton heading to UCLA sets him up to return to the Big Ten where he served as the player personnel coordinator at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio.

Saints adding another former Gary Kubiak assistant to 2024 coaching staff

The Saints are adding another former Gary Kubiak assistant to their coaching staff, who has also worked with Klint Kubiak before:

The New Orleans Saints are putting an emphasis on getting their run game right in 2024, which means bringing in new coaches — and there’s going to be a lot of synergy between some of their most important new additions. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has already picked John Benton as his offensive line coach, and Nola.com’s Matthew Paras reports that Rick Dennison is being added to the coaching staff in a yet-to-be-determined role.

Dennison, 65, has worked with Kubiak before on the Minnesota Vikings as a senior advisor, offensive line coach, and run game coordinator. But before that, he worked under Gary Kubiak on the Houston Texans as their offensive coordinator. At that same time, Benton was the Texans offensive line coach.

They both played a key part in developing a strong Houston offensive line and dominant rushing attack led by Arian Foster, who averaged 98.5 yards per game and scored 47 touchdown runs in 54 games when they were both on staff from 2010 to 2013 (including the playoffs). The Saints are hoping to get similar production out of Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara by installing a similar one-cut rushing scheme.

So while Dennison’s exact role is yet unknown, we should expect him to be working with the offensive line and run game in some capacity given it’s his area of expertise. And the Saints could use the help. They haven’t gotten enough out of young draft picks in that phase like Miller and offensive linemen Trevor Penning, Cesar Ruiz, and Nick Saldiveri. Upgrading the rushing attack should help take pressure off of Derek Carr and buy more time for the defense to rest up until their numbers are called to go into the game. We can see from these moves that the Saints are taking a well thought-out approach by hiring coaches who have found success together before. Hopefully it pays off.

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Saints lose assistant coach D.J. Williams to the Falcons

The Saints are losing assistant coach D.J. Williams to the Falcons. He was a big supporter of Jake Haener, having coached the QB at last year’s Senior Bowl:

Good luck out there D.J. Williams — you’ll need it on the Atlanta Falcons. Rod Walker first reported for the Times-Picayune | Advocate that Williams, the longtime New Orleans Saints offensive assistant coach, will be leaving to join the Falcons under head coach Raheem Morris. He’ll take over as as their new assistant quarterbacks coach after initially being offered a different role on staff in New Orleans.

A standout college quarterback himself at Grambling State, Williams worked closely with the passers and was someone Derek Carr spoke of highly last season. He had been with the Saints since the 2017 season. He also represented the Saints at the 2023 Senior Bowl coaching quarterbacks on the National Team roster; a group which included Jake Haener, who the Saints traded up to draft in the fourth round last offseason. With Williams leaving town, Haener is losing a big supporter.

So why let him go? Incoming offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is expected to sign his contract and be formally introduced by the Saints after his San Francisco 49ers are finished competing in Super Bowl LVIII, and he must have someone else in mind for the job as an offensive assistant working with the quarterbacks. That’s the job his brother Klay has held with the 49ers but it’s unclear whether they would block a move to join the Saints as an assistant. We’ll get a better idea of who Kubiak wants on his staff after he’s officially hired next week.

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Ronald Curry will not be a part of the Saints coaching staff under Klint Kubiak

Ronald Curry will not be a part of the Saints coaching staff under Klint Kubiak. It’s a whole new look for the New Orleans offense:

This is tough news, but it was always a possibility with the New Orleans Saints overhauling their offensive coaching staff. The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Jeff Duncan reports that longtime New Orleans Saints assistant coach Ronald Curry will not be part of the team with Klint Kubiak coming in as offensive coordinator. He’ll be pursuing other opportunities.

Curry was popular with his players. A standout college quarterback himself, he steadily rose through the ranks in New Orleans as a wide receivers coach before working with the quarterbacks, and he was promoted further as the team’s passing game coordinator under former offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. But he isn’t part of the plans with Kubiak bringing in his own staff.

So what’s next for Curry? That’s yet to be determined, but odds are he’ll wind up in Denver. Sean Payton tried to coax him into joining the Broncos last year but Curry opted to stay in New Orleans instead. It shouldn’t shock anyone if Payton tries to recruit him again.

And with Curry leaving the team the Saints will need to hire a new quarterbacks coach, and maybe a passing game coordinator if that role exists in Kubiak’s offense. What’s clear more than anything else: Dennis Allen is giving Kubiak a lot of leeway to organize the offense as he sees fit. If that means parting ways with well-established, popular assistants like Curry, so be it.

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Report: Saints retaining tight ends coach Clancy Barone for 2024

Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay in New Orleans on Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024:

This is a good move: Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay on board with the New Orleans Saints, joining incoming offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024.

Barone, 60, previously worked with him on the Denver Broncos when his father Gary Kubiak was head coach; Barone coached the offensive line while the younger Kubiak was an offensive assistant. Their paths diverged from there, with Barone most recently coaching tight ends for the Chicago Bears before coming to New Orleans.

So it makes sense to keep someone with familiarity to the system Kubiak is installing. Hopefully Barone can sustain the success the Saints’ tight ends found late in the season. Juwan Johnson finished strong by catching three touchdown passes and averaging 54 yards per game in the final four weeks. Taysom Hill was impactful throughout the season but they should be getting more out of Foster Moreau. Still, if the opportunity is there to add a game-changing talent like Georgia tight end Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL draft, the Saints should consider it as an upgrade.

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Wisconsin officially introduces Alex Grinch as its new safeties coach…and co-defensive coordinator

Wisconsin’s new safeties coach Alex Grinch will also be the co-defensive coordinator

Consider this an update to our previous story on Wisconsin hiring former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch as its new safeties coach.

The Wisconsin football program officially announced the hiring today. The update: Grinch will also carry the co-defensive coordinator tag.

The Badgers’ defense is currently led by Mike Tressel, an experienced defensive coordinator and an assistant under Luke Fickell since 2021 at Cincinnati. The unit ranked No. 21 in scoring defense, No. 39 in total defense, No. 41 in rush defense and No. 39 in pass defense last season.

Grinch’s hire comes after former Wisconsin safeties coach and ace recruiter Colin Hitschler left for a similar position under Kalen DeBoer at Alabama. It also comes after Grinch was fired from USC midway through the 2023 season as the Trojans were on pace to have one of the worst defenses in the country.

What does Grinch also carrying the co-DC tag mean? Who can truly know.

What is known: He has big shoes to fill after Hitschler’s departure, and Wisconsin would probably be best keeping him away from coordinating the defense — just based on his track record in the position.

Broncos assistant Christian Parker continues drawing interest from other teams

Christian Parker is not expected to get the Patriots’ DC job, but he might be a strong candidate for the Packers’ DC job.

One year after losing Ejiro Evero, the Denver Broncos are now in danger of losing Christian Parker.

Parker, 32, has served as Denver’s defensive backs coach since 2021. He recently interviewed for open defensive coordinator positions with the New England Patriots and with the Green Bay Packers.

The Patriots are expected to hire in-house candidate DeMarcus Covington as their new defensive coordinator. Even after making Covington their DC, the Patriots might still offer a position to Parker on Covington’s staff, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

The Broncos could block a lateral move to New England, so Green Bay seems to be more of a threat at the moment.

Parker started his NFL career as a defensive quality control coach with the Packers in 2019. He spent two years in Green Bay before getting a promotion with Denver in 2021. Now the young coach might have an opportunity for another promotion, this time with the Packers.

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Todd Golden adds former Washington State assistant to coaching staff

Todd Golden is bringing in another West Coast analytics guy onto his staff now that basketball teams can have up to five assistants.

Todd Golden is bringing [autotag]John Andrzejek[/autotag] onto his coaching staff, according to a report from Jeff Goodman.

Andrzejek is coming off a three-year stint as an assistant at Washington State, where he specialized in analytics. It’s no secret that Golden likes to dig into the numbers, and the new NCAA rules allow him to increase his staff from three to five assistants.

Before WSU, Andrzejek was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Dartmouth for a year. His first coaching position came as an assistant at Johns Hopkins in 2017-18. He also served as a recruiting coordinator for the Blue Jays.

Andrzejek got his start in basketball as a team manager for Columbia as he completed his undergraduate degree. He was hired as the director of basketball operations after graduating and then assumed the same position with the University of San Francisco two years later.

Golden and Andrzejek crossed paths at Columbia, but both were at the beginning of their coaching careers. Now the two will reunite in Gainesville as they look to turn the Florida program around.

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