Tag: wide receivers coach

Former Alabama WR Derek Kief hired as Missouri State WRs coach

Former Alabama wide receiver Derek Kief was hired as Missouri State’s receivers coach on Saturday

One former Alabama player is making his rounds in the coaching landscape. According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, former Alabama wide receiver Derek Kief was hired as Missouri State’s wide receivers coach on Saturday.

Kief played wide receiver at Alabama from 2014-2018. In five seasons, Kief recorded 11 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Soon after his college career concluded, Kief decided to pursue a coaching career.

Kief spent last season as an analyst and interim wide receivers coach at Arkansas. Prior to joining the Razorbacks coaching staff, Kief served as an analyst at Maryland and eventually became the wide receivers coach at Towson.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama football program.

Alabama wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins hired to same role at Texas A&M

Alabama wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins has been hired away as Texas A&M’s wide receivers coach. The news comes as a surprise considering that Wiggins is leaving to take the same role in the same conference.

According to TexAgs, Alabama wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins has accepted a job as Texas A&M’s wide receivers coach. This comes as somewhat of a surprise considering Wiggins is leaving Tuscaloosa to take over in the same capacity in College Station.

Wiggins will join Mike Elko’s staff at Texas A&M. The two have never coached on the same coaching staff leading up to now.

Wiggins spent the past five seasons in Tuscaloosa as Alabama’s wide receivers coach. The California native helped recruit several key prospects over the years like Jalen Hale, Ryan Williams, and Julian Sayin.

It goes without saying that his vacancy will be one that needs to be filled in a timely manner. The Crimson Tide cannot afford to lose 2024 five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams to another school. Wiggins was Williams’ primary recruiter.

This news comes at an interesting time given all things considered. Alabama just returned to Tuscaloosa today and the news has already broke that Wiggins is departing for College Station. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see which direction Nick Saban chooses to go with an assistant coach leaving to join another SEC coaching staff.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest news regarding the Alabama football program.

Report: Wisconsin hiring a new wide receivers coach from an SEC school

Report: Wisconsin hiring a new wide receivers coach from an SEC school

Wisconsin has filled its vacant wide receivers coach position with now-former Arkansas WRs coach Kenny Guiton, according to reports from FootballScoop and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

Guiton played quarterback under Luke Fickell at Ohio State from 2009 to 2013 before spending his coaching career at Houston (2017-2018), Louisiana Tech (2019), Colorado State (2020) and Arkansas (2021-2023). He was most recently promoted to interim offensive coordinator at Arkansas after the midseason firing of Dan Enos.

The Badgers needed to fill the position after Mike Brown left to take the same job at Notre Dame. Guiton now joins an offensive coaching staff in Madison which is looking to help right the ship after a 7-5 2023 regular season.

The new wideouts coach will be coaching a position group of C.J. Williams, Will Pauling, Vinny Anthony and others after experienced receivers Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell both entered the transfer portal after the regular season.

Report: Notre Dame has found their next wide receivers coach

Thoughts?

It appears Notre Dame has found their new wide receivers coach.

Less than a week after parting ways with Chansi Stuckey, the Irish are headed back to Wisconsin for another assistant.

Back to Wisconsin via Cincinnati, anyway.

According to reports from 247Sports and Bucky’s 5th Quarter, Notre Dame will be hiring Mike Brown to be their next wide receivers coach.  Brown coached the receivers at Wisconsin this season after having spent the previous four seasons at Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati connection is worth noting not just because of Marcus Freeman but also because of quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli whose time overlapped with Brown.  Both followed Luke Fickell to Wisconsin although Guidugli left for Notre Dame before coaching any games.

Brown played at Liberty University before spending three seasons in the NFL.

We will have more on this story as it develops.

Keary Colbert returns to Broncos as a coach 15 years after playing for team

Fifteen years after playing wide receiver for the Broncos, Keary Colbert has returned to the team as a WRs coach.

The Denver Broncos made sweeping changes to the coaching staff this offseason, including bringing in a new wide receivers coach.

Keary Colbert, 40, joined the team earlier this month after spending 13 years coaching at the college level. Before becoming a coach, Colbert played wide receiver from 2004-2011, spending time with five NFL teams, one CFL team and a former UFL team.

Colbert went to training camp with the Broncos in 2008 and appeared in two games that season before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks. He spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers before retiring in 2012 with 130 receptions for 1,629 yards and eight touchdowns on his resume.

Colbert started his coaching career as a graduate student at his alma mater, USC, before later spending time at Pace Academy, Georgia State and Alabama. He returned to the Trojans in 2016 and remained at the school until 2022 when he joined Florida’s staff.

Colbert won two SEC titles and a national championship as an offensive analyst at Alabama and later coached receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London at the college level. He’s now set to return to the NFL for the first time since his retirement, this time as a coach.

[lawrence-related id=693710,693364,693708,693687,693685]

Broncos coaching staff update: Final pieces falling into place

The Broncos are expected to add Joe Lombardi, Keary Colbert, Michael Wilhoite and Greg Manusky to their coaching staff.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is getting closer to adding the final pieces to his staff.

In addition to hiring Vance Joseph as the team’s new defensive coordinator on Thursday, Payton also hired Joe Lombardi for the offensive staff, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. It’s not yet clear if Lombardi will serve as the offensive coordinator or in another role.

Lombardi worked under Payton in three different roles with the New Orleans Saints, including as a quarterbacks coach from 2016-2020. He served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022 before reuniting with Payton in Denver.

Payton also hired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert on Thursday, according to a report from On3.com’s Matt Zenitz. Colbert, a former Broncos receiver, coached at the University of Florida last fall. Before that, Colbert coached at USC from 2016-2021, helping develop a group of receivers including Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London.

Denver is also bringing in Davis Webb as quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Webb spent time as a backup QB with three teams — most recently with the New York Giants last year — before joining the Broncos as a coach.

On special teams, Denver will hire Chris Banjo as an assistant special teams coach, according to Klis. Banjo, 32, is a former safety who was just officially cut by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday. Banjo played under Payton in New Orleans and under new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Denver is hiring Michael Wilhoite as its new linebackers coach, according to Klis. He coached under Payton with the Saints from 2019-2020.

Wilhoite will presumably oversee the outside linebackers because Greg Manusky is joining the team as their inside linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He has DC experience with four NFL teams and most recently coached ILBs with the Minnesota Vikings last season.

Joseph’s defensive staff will also include holdover defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and defensive backs coach Christian Parker, NFL Network’s James Palmer confirmed Thursday. Klis had previously reported that the Broncos hoped to keep Dixon and Parker on staff regardless of who was hired as DC.

Ben Steele, who served as Denver’s assistant offensive line coach last season, will not be staying. Steele has joined the Arizona Cardinals as their new tight ends coach. We are tracking all of the changes to the Broncos’ coaching staff on this page.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-related id=692972,686836,692604,692729,692264]

Zach Azzanni posts farewell message to Denver after leaving Broncos

“I wish [the Broncos] nothing but success,” Zach Azzanni said after leaving the team to join the Jets in a lateral move.

Former Denver Broncos wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni has left the club to join the New York Jets in a lateral move to reunite with Nathaniel Hackett, who now serves as New York’s offensive coordinator.

After leaving the club, Azzanni shared this message on his Twitter page:

Denver!, My family and I have been truly blessed to be a part of this great city and 1st class organization for 5 years. As a coach I have had the pleasure and honor of coaching some great players and even better people and working with some great coaches. 

We have met friends for life here. I wish all the players, new coaching staff, George Paton and his staff and the entire ownership group nothing but success. Thank you Denver for everything! But it’s time for the Azzani family to start a new adventure and we couldn’t be more excited. New York here we come!

Azzanni joined the Broncos in 2018 and lasted through three different coaching staffs under Vance Joseph (2018), Vic Fangio (2019-2021) and Hackett (2022). The list of receivers he coached in Denver includes the late Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy.

Azzanni now lands with the Jets, where he will help coach up Elijah Moore, Garett Wilson, Corey Davis and Denzel Mims.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-related id=692972,686836,692604,692729,692264]

Jets requested permission to interview Lions assistant WR coach Seth Ryan, son of Rex Ryan

Jets on the search for a new wide receivers coach.

The Jets once had Rex Ryan as their head coach. Soon, they may have his son on their coaching staff.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Jets requested permission to interview Lions assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan for their vacant wide receivers coaching position. The team is looking for a replacement for Miles Austin.

Ryan has been in the NFL as an assistant coach for four seasons. He started in 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers and spent two years as an offensive quality control coach. He has spent the past two seasons as the assistant wide receivers coach in Detroit. He has helped oversee the fast development of Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has burst onto the scene in just two seasons since the Lions took him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ryan played four years at Clemson and was a part of the 2016 National Championship team.

Jaguars reportedly hiring Chad Hall as receiver coach

The Jaguars filled a coaching vacancy with a (barely) familiar face.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hiring Chad Hall as their new wide receiver coach, according to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Hall, 36, previously spent six years on the Buffalo Bills coaching staff, including the last four seasons as the team’s receivers coach. Hall was extremely well-liked by players in Buffalo, and the receivers for the team even went so far as to buy him a new truck in 2020.

Prior to his coaching career, Hall had a short career as a receiver in the NFL. After beginning his career with a couple seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Hall briefly played for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. He finished his playing career with a 10-day training camp stint with the Jaguars in 2014.

After finishing dead last in passing touchdowns during the 2018 season, the Bills offense made a meteoric rise during Hall’s four seasons coaching up the receivers.

Most of the credit for that ascension is due to the maturation and development of Josh Allen, as well as the arrival of star receiver Stefon Diggs. However, Buffalo has also got stellar production out of 2020 fourth-round pick Gabriel Davis.

Hall’s contract with the Bills expired after the 2022 season. The Jaguars had a vacancy on their staff after receivers coach Chris Jackson left to become the passing game coordinator and receivers coach for the Texas Longhorns.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[stnvideo key=”E22sVNyK9r-2530439-7617″ type=”float”]

New Cowboys WR coach to interview for Saints OC job 2 days after hire

Robert Prince barely had time to unpack his boxes in Dallas, yet he’s interviewing for the offensive coordinator position in New Orleans. | From @ToddBrock24f7

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for Robert Prince.

It was announced on Monday that the Cowboys were finalizing a deal to bring the 56-year-old wide receivers coach from Houston to Dallas to serve in that same role for the Cowboys in 2022. On Wednesday, the club made it official, formally hiring the longtime assistant who has also spent time on the sidelines in Detroit, Seattle, Jacksonville, and Atlanta.

And on Thursday, the very next day, it was revealed the Prince would be interviewing on Friday with the New Orleans Saints for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

It’s a surreal turn of events for someone who ostensibly hasn’t even figured out yet how their key card works at The Star in Frisco.

 

Prince’s only OC experience came in the college ranks, at Boise State, coincidentally enough. Prince was the school’s wide receivers coach for Kellen Moore’s senior season, then graduated to offensive coordinator for two more seasons with the Broncos after Moore went pro. The two reunited in Detroit in 2014; Prince was the Lions’ new WR coach during Moore’s final year with the club.

With the Lions, Prince led a position group that included Calvin Johnson, Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, and Kenny Golladay. He’d have quite an assortment of weapons in Dallas, too, with a corps that finished 2021 at just under 5,000 receiving yards.

But several Cowboys receivers currently have questionable futures in Dallas. Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Noah Brown, and Malik Turner are all set to become free agents, and Amari Cooper is among the most speculated-about names in the league these days.

If they all- or even most of them- return to the Cowboys, Prince would have plenty to work with.

But right now, it’s not even a lock that Prince will keep the job he just accepted on Wednesday.

[listicle id=693714]

[listicle id=693685]

[listicle id=692221]

[lawrence-newsletter]