Tag: Todd Haley

Todd Haley ticked at Skip Holtz after Showboats are crushed by Stallions in USFL

Todd Haley was not happy with Skip Holtz after his Showboats were crushed in USFL play

The Birmingham Stallions clobbered the Memphis Showboats, 42-2, Saturday in Week 2 of USFL play.

The Stallions’ final touchdown came in the last two minutes with the team leading by 33.

Michigan coach Todd Haley took exception and made sure to deliver a message to Birmingham coach Skip Holtz after the drubbing.

Holtz took the high road.

For those of you awaiting the rematch, it takes place in Week 10 of the USFL season on June 17 in Memphis.

WR Lance Lenoir, RB Mike Weber among former Cowboys with second chance in USFL

USFL exec VP “Moose” Johnston says the league is a second chance for players; several of those players got their first chance as Cowboys. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Daryl “Moose” Johnston paved the way hundreds of times for the NFL’s all-time leading rusher over the course of his storied career as a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s. Now he’s helping pave the way for hundreds of young players to continue their dream of playing football at the professional level.

Johnston is the executive vice president of football operations for the new iteration of the USFL, the resurrected developmental league set to kick off in mid-April. Eight teams will play a ten-game schedule, with all contests being staged in one of two stadiums in Birmingham, Alabama. The championship will be played in Canton, Ohio’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The entire season will wrap up by mid-June, attempting not to compete with the NFL, but to fill the gap left by its offseason. And in that way, the USFL allows its players a narrow but legitimate pathway to wearing the shield.

“There are a ton of guys who things just didn’t quite work out for,” Johnston told Fox Sports. “Football is an unpredictable game and there are a lot of things beyond your control. Just as it goes smoothly for some guys, for others it doesn’t.”

The USFL aims to offer them a second chance.

“They have chased this dream for a long time, but now the dream is almost dead,” Johnston continued. “This is a chance to keep it alive, either by elevating their status in the USFL and rejoining an NFL team, or just the chance to keep playing football and getting paid for it.”

The eight teams of the USFL held their inaugural draft this week, with several familiar names (at least to Cowboys fans) getting the call.

Todd Haley may be the most recognizable to the Cowboys faithful. After coaching the Dallas wide receivers from 2004 to 2006, Haley went on offensive coordinator and head coaching stops at four other NFL clubs. He’ll be the Tampa Bay Bandits’ head coach.

Several wide receivers who spent time in Dallas also found their way to USFL rosters. Lance Lenoir has the most experience; he spent three seasons with the Cowboys and saw action in eight games. He was drafted by the Michigan Panthers. Osirus Mitchell was a practice squadder for most of 2021; he’ll suit up for the Birmingham Stallions. Johnnie Dixon was in training camp in 2021; he’ll play for the New Orleans Breakers. Brennan Eagles was an early cut in 2021’s camp, but he’ll get another shot with the Philadelphia Stars.

Quarterback Clayton Thorson served on the Cowboys practice squad for the 2019 campaign and was in 2020’s camp. He was the fifth overall draft pick by the Houston Gamblers on Tuesday night.

Running back Mike Weber is a former seventh-round draft pick by the Cowboys. After taking over Ohio State’s backfield when Ezekiel Elliott went pro, the two were reunited in Dallas in 2019. Weber failed to make the team in Dallas, but stayed on with the practice squad that season. After stints with the Chiefs, Packers, and Giants, he’ll now tote the rock for the New Jersey Generals.

Several other players who had a moment with the Cowboys will get a new opportunity in the USFL, too, including defensive tackle Shahir Soto (Breakers), safety Tyree Robinson (Stallions), and tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty (Bandits).

It’s a long shot for them all. But in speaking of the planned trajectory of the USFL as a whole, Johnston said the goal of season one is simply to hit the field, season two is to get better, and to be great by season three.

A handful of former Cowboys are now a step closer to meeting that first goal for themselves.

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Former Chiefs HC Todd Haley named HC of USFL Bandits

The USFL has enlisted former #Chiefs head coach Todd Haley as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits for their inaugural season.

Another upstart football league, a relaunch of the USFL (United States Football League), is slated to play their first game in fewer than 100 days. With the inaugural season so close, they’re now announcing head coaches for four of their eight teams across the league.

Kansas City Chiefs fans will recognize a familiar face as a head coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits. The USFL has enlisted none other than former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley to coach the Bandits in their inaugural season. Haley, of course, was the head coach in Kansas City during some of their darkest days as a franchise.

The Bandits tweeted out the news on Thursday, asking fans to welcome their first head coach. Check out the message down below:

Haley coached in the NFL from 1995 through 2018, beginning his career as a scouting assistant with the New York Jets before working his way up to become a wide receivers coach. From 2007-2008 he served as the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator. After coaching the Cardinals offense in their trip to Super Bowl XLIII, he became a top candidate to become an NFL head coach. In 2009, he became the 11th head coach of the Chiefs. He’d spend three seasons in Kansas City, accumulating a 19-26 record during that span, struggling to find offensive consistency with Matt Cassel at quarterback.

After he was relieved of his duties in Kansas City in December of 2011, Haley caught on as offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a few seasons. In 2018, he coached his last NFL season as offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns and for the past two seasons, he’s been coaching the offense at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida.

Now, Haley will get a chance to build up his coaching career again with the USFL. Whether the fledgling league or the former NFL coach will be successful remains to be seen.

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USFL announces first 4 head coach hires

The new USFL has named its first four head coaches for the upcoming season

The USFL is on its way back to the football field. The league is scheduled to return in April.

When you have a deal with FOX Sports, you get the jump on the announcement as Colin Cowherd and Joy Taylor did on Thursday.

Andrus has a long and varied football resume that can be checked out by clicking here.

Mike Riley has been head coach of the San Diego Chargers and has also been head coach at Oregon State and Nebraska.

Todd Haley was wide receivers coach of the New York Jets, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys. He served as the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals from 2007-08, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11, the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2012-17, and the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2018, but he was fired in Week 8 of his first season with the team.

Finally, Kevin Sumlin was as the head football coach at the University of Houston from 2008-11, Texas A&M University from 2012-17, and at the University of Arizona from 2018-20.

One other familiar name weighed in that he has spoken with the league and there is interest on both sides.

 

Flashback Friday: 3-year anniversary of the end of Hue Jackson’s coaching run

It’s a happy anniversary for nearly everyone involved with football in Cleveland

Three years ago today, the Cleveland Browns made one of the most significant moves in the rebirth of good football in Northeast Ohio. On October 29th, 2018, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam pulled the plug on the failed Hue Jackson experiment as the team’s head coach.

On the heels of a bad 33-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers — coincidentally this week’s Browns foe — the team acquiesced to common sense and canned Jackson. He went 3-36-1 in two-plus seasons coaching the Browns, including the 0-16 debacle that was 2017. It’s the worst winning percentage for any head coach who lasted at least 40 games with a team in NFL history.

For nearly everyone associated with the Cleveland Browns, it’s a happy anniversary. In clearing out not just Jackson but also truculent offensive coordinator Todd Haley, the Browns cleared the deck for upward mobility and progress. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who famously clashed with Haley during that summer’s Hard Knocks, took over as the interim coach and immediately proved that even somewhat competent coaching proved a major difference. With Baker Mayfield learning the ropes as a rookie QB, Williams guided the Browns to a 5-3 record after inheriting the 2-5-1 mess Jackson left behind.

Steelers ex-OC Todd Haley sounds off on failing Pittsburgh offense

Todd Haley shares his take on the Steelers OL since Mike Munchak left for the Denver Broncos.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with an identity crisis on the offensive side of the ball. They are so unbelievably lost that they might not find themselves before the end of the 2020 season.

When Pro Football Focus released their preseason rankings of offensive line units, the Steelers were at the bottom of the heap — with only the New York Giants ranked below.

The line has never quite been the same since Mike Munchak departed Pittsburgh for the Denver Broncos after the 2018 season. During his four-year stint with the Steelers, his units were hailed as the best in the league. In Munchak’s final season, the cohesion of his players went unmatched around the NFL.

After Munchak moved on, the Steelers promoted his assistant Shawn Sarrett, and the line tanked. When Sarrett was canned, the Steelers promoted Sarrett’s assistant, Adrian Klemm, in February. From schemes to protections, Klemm has done nothing to improve the unit. They are, in his defense, a young group with little NFL experience.

Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley said that coaches like Mike Munchak are very hard to come by and has concern for a unit that’s on its second coach in three seasons. “You don’t just learn how to coach a group of guys like an offensive line overnight. You better have experience,” Haley said on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s “The Opening Drive.”

“Right now, I just think you’re seeing all those things come together in a perfect storm of a new line, a new center, new coordinator, new line coach. It doesn’t usually spell success… No disrespect to [Adrian Klemm].

Haley said he means no disrespect to Klemm, but ‘Mike Munchaks just don’t fall off a tree.’ “He’s really, really good,” Haley said. “I think you’re seeing the benefits of him in Denver now.”

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Matt Cassel detailed a wildly dysfunctional fight with ex-Chiefs coach Todd Haley

What a ridiculous moment for Cassel and Haley.

It sounds like former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley didn’t create the most stable working environment. Retired quarterback Matt Cassel shared an absolutely wild story from his playing days under Haley.

Cassel remembered back to a game against the Tennessee Titans in 2010 in which the Chiefs needed a win to seal up the AFC West. Cassel ultimately threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns in a Chiefs’ 34-14 win. But the road to victory was a little bumpier than it seemed. Cassel disappeared from the game for a few offensive snaps. And though the coach and quarterback brushed aside the odd series during postgame interviews, there was an extremely high level of dysfunction taking place on the sideline.

Cassel was facing constant all-out blitzes, which — he thought — gave him a great opportunity to throw the ball. Haley, however, had drawn up a different game plan, and really wanted Cassel to follow it. That led to insubordination from Cassel, his removal from the game and more.

Here’s what Cassel said on NBC Sports Boston.

The folks at The Kansas City Star transcribed the story:

“That’s when Todd Haley was at his craziest,” Cassel said. “The man was nuts on game day and I don’t know why. Here’s a great example of that: we’re playing the Tennessee Titans late in the year, this is for the divisional lead and to actually win the division, and throughout the course of the first part of the game, they kept bringing Blitz Zero.

“Blitz Zero is max pressure; I was checking out. (Offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis gave me that ability to do so, and we were throwing the pass. So, every time I came to the sidelines throughout the first half, Todd Haley is screaming at me. He’s yelling at me, ‘Just run the ball.’ I’m like, ‘We talked about this. We can’t run the ball into everybody pressuring right into the run so we’re gonna throw it.’

“Well he got heated as the game went on. Finally, it was a third quarter, I’m coming off the field he’s screaming at me for pulling up on the boot. And I said, ‘Oh, Todd, like you ever played the position.’

“My bad. It was my fault, my frustration took over. So, I go on the sideline he still coming over yelling at me. We had a little bit of a dispute over there and he benches me. He benches me … at the end of the third quarter, and he says ‘Brodie you’re in,’ and he’s being dead serious.

“Well, I took the liberty to run back out on the field. Well (Haley) wouldn’t give me a play in my helmet. He would not give me a play in the helmet. Then he sends Brodie back out on the field, Brodie two plays later throws an interception. Now everybody’s mad at Todd Haley, and then he literally said, ‘You’re not going back.’ He told the coaches to tell Cassel he’s not going back in the game.

“So again, as a team captain I thought it was my obligation to run back out on the field, Again, he wouldn’t give me a play in my helmet. So I had to call my own plays in the helmet for the first three plays. Eventually, we ended up getting a score on that drive, we won the game but I’ll tell you what, it was disruptive to say the least.

“… Every single person on the sideline from offensive linemen to the wide receivers were also kind of yelling at Todd at that point saying, ‘What are we doing right now?’” Cassel said. “I mean, it was the end of the third quarter, yes we had an established lead at that point probably 14 points but that can go away quickly In any ballgame.”

Haley responded on Twitter after seeing the tweet with Cassel’s remarks, and the former coach poked fun at the quarterback for looking like Woody from “Toy Story.” (Totally normal. Nothing to see here.)

“Coaching is coaching. MC had his best year of his illustrious career with me! Not always fun but key is to get the best out of ‘the’ player. #woody #toystory,” Haley wrote Monday.

OK then.

It’s no surprise Haley made it just one more year in Kansas City.

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Ex-Browns OC Todd Haley now coaching high school football in Florida

Haley is the new OC for Riverview HS in Sarasota

Former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley has found a new coaching position. No, he’s not with another NFL team. Haley has gone back to school.

Haley will be the offensive coordinator for the Riverview High School Rams in Sarasota, Florida. The school proudly announced the move on a Facebook post.

It’s a drastic change for Haley, who was fired by the Browns along with head coach Hue Jackson midway through the 2018 season. His Browns tenure didn’t even last a full season. The 52-year-old Haley has worked for several NFL teams, including as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-2011.

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h/t to Bradd Kaplan for the news find!

Former Steelers, Browns OC Todd Haley rips into Browns following brawl

Todd Haley gets frank about the Browns and their issues.

If you want to talk about the debacle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns on Thursday night, why not bring in a guy who has been on the coaching staff of both. Former Steelers and Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley went on SiriusXM satellite radio to talk about the brawl from last night’s game, which he characterized as “inexcusable” and “embarrassing.”

Haley took it even further, extrapolating what we saw with Myles Garrett on Thursday as a microcosm of what is and has been wrong with the Browns organization for a long time. And Haley didn’t hold back.

“This comes back to coaching. This falls squarely right on the head coach,” Haley said. “You’re either coaching it or you’re allowing it to happen.

“Part of the frustration is as you see these things happening and going on that should be allowed to be going on because you are practicing bad habits. You’re practicing lack of discipline. It’s not just a fluke.”

Haley’s time with the Browns was short-lived. He was hired in January 2018 to be the offensive coordinator but was fired along with the head coach in October of that same year. Haley was the offensive coordinator of the Steelers from 2012-2017.

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Todd Haley slams Freddie Kitchens for the Browns’ lack of discipline

Todd Haley puts the blame squarely on Freddie Kitchens, the man who took his place in Cleveland last year

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Former Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley had some choice words and a harsh assessment of Freddie Kitchens and how the rookie head coach has handled the team in the wake of the Thursday night brawl. Haley joined Sirius XM NFL Radio and opened up on the chaos surrounding his former team.

Haley isn’t exactly an impartial observer here, and that context needs to be heavily noted. He was fired last year and immediately replaced by Kitchens. Keep that in mind when evaluating his comments, though what Haley says here is difficult to argue.

“The Browns won the game, but it’s kind of what’s been biting them in the backside this year and the last few years,” Haley said. “Lack of self-control and discipline.”

That’s when Haley, who also coached for several years in Pittsburgh, set his sights on Kitchens.

“This to me comes back to coaching. This falls squarely right on the head coach, because the head coach talks to every assistant coach…there’s an old saying in coaching, ‘you’re either coaching it or allowing it to happen’.”

He continued,

“Part of the frustration is, you see things happening and going on that you shouldn’t allow, shouldn’t be allowed to be going on because you’re practicing bad habits. You’re practicing lack of discipline, you’re practicing lack of self-control…when I watch the Cleveland Browns I see a lot of stuff being allowed to happen. Whether it’s (Odell Beckham Jr.’s) clown shoes, visors, whatever it may be.”

A longer excerpt of Haley’s interview was tweeted out by Sirius: