Tag: wide receivers coach

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

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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.

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Raiders retaining WR coach Edgar Bennett on Josh McDaniels staff

Edgar Bennett is being retained as Raiders WR coach, becoming the first coach named to Josh McDaniels new staff

Much commentary has been made about Josh McDaniels wanting to get to Hunter Renfrow at all costs. Well, McDaniels has taken that a step farther and opted to retain Renfrow’s wide receivers coach on his new staff according to NFL media’s Mike Garafolo.

Bennett becomes the first reported coach to join McDaniels’s new staff with the Raiders.

Bennett has spent the past four seasons with the Raiders after 13 years as a coach with the Green Bay Packers.

The former NFL running back started his NFL coaching career as a running backs coach, before switching to coaching wide receivers in 2011. Then in 2015 he was promoted to offensive coordinator by the Packers, a position he held for three years.

Report: Texas to hire Brennan Marion as wide receivers coach

Steve Sarkisian has found his new wide receivers coach.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has found his next wide receivers coach.
After moving on from Andre Coleman a couple of weeks ago, Texas will hire Brennan Marion as its wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.

Marion has built an impressive resume as one of the bright young minds in the sport. He will bring in concepts from his “go-go” offense to Texas, a two-back formation that focuses on using RPOs to pressure the defense.

In his one season at Pittsburgh, Marion helped the Panthers win the ACC title and played a big role in wide receiver Jordan Addison taking home the Bilitnkof Award.

Marion will join the Texas staff after Pittsburgh’s bowl game on Thursday night.

The new Texas wide receivers coach has been one of the faster risers in the industry over the past few years.

The hiring of Marion marks the second new position coach on Steve Sarkisian’s offensive staff. Tashard Choice was hired as the running backs after Stan Drayton’s departure to Temple.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Three potential candidates for Texas’ WR coach

A list of wide receiver coaches Texas should target.

News broke on Sunday that Texas wide receivers coach Andre Coleman would not be retained for the 2022 season.

Steve Sarkisian will undoubtedly target a coach with a proven track record in both development and recruiting. Texas had 15 wide receivers only the roster last season but failed to get much production outside of two or three guys.

Despite signing the No. 5 class in the country during the early signing period, Texas still has some holes at wide receiver.

Recruiting at the wide receiver position has been an issue for the Longhorns over the past couple of years. Texas only landed one receiver in the 2022 class while missing out on elite talents like Evan Stewart and CJ Williams.

Whoever Sarkisian hires will need to look to the transfer portal to add talent and depth to the room.

Take a look at a few candidates to replace Coleman as the wide receivers coach.

Players, fans react to Texas moving on from wide receivers coach Andre Coleman

Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington and others react to Texas not retaining wide receivers coach Andre Coleman.

Reports began to surface on Sunday evening that Texas would not be retaining wide receivers coach Andre Coleman.

Of the two coaches that were retained from Tom Herman’s previous staff, neither will be with the program for the 2022 season. Running backs coach Stan Drayton accepted the head coach job at Temple, and Steve Sarkisian is now choosing to part ways with Coleman.

It wasn’t surprising news to some, as it was clear that Texas needed a more established recruiter at that particular position group moving forward. The player development on the field wasn’t enough to balance out the recruiting struggles.

The Longhorns have only signed one wide receiver in the 2022 class, four-star Brenen Thompson. Texas missed out on five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart, which could very well have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of Coleman’s future in Austin.

Shortly after reports surfaced of Coleman no longer being a part of the staff, players and fans expressed their thoughts and well wishes via social media.

Former Cowboys star Miles Austin to be Jets wide receivers coach

The undrafted free agent was a star wideout for the Cowboys during the Tony Romo era; now he’ll join Robert Saleh’s staff in New York.

An undrafted free agent from a small FCS school who became one of Tony Romo’s top targets during his Cowboys career will now be teaching a room full of pass-catchers in the league’s biggest market.

Miles Austin is set to become the New York Jets’ next wide receivers coach, according to reports this week. The 36-year-old played eight seasons in Dallas, earning two Pro Bowl nods during his tenure.

Austin will be reunited with new Jets head coach Robert Saleh; the two men served on staff together last season in San Francisco. Austin acted as an offensive quality control coach during the 49ers’ 2019 Super Bowl season, while Saleh was the team’s defensive coordinator.

Austin was undrafted out of Monmouth in 2006, and signed with the Cowboys primarily as a special teams player. While he had an electrifying 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the playoffs versus Seattle as a rookie, Austin didn’t really burst onto the scene until the 2009 season. As a late replacement for the injured Roy Williams against Kansas City in Week 5, Austin exploded for 10 catches and 250 yards- breaking Bob Hayes’s franchise single-game receiving yards record- and a pair of touchdowns, including the 60-yard walk-off winner in overtime.

No. 19 assumed a starting role before the end of the season, and was rewarded with the first of back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. Over the eight seasons he wore the star, Austin tallied 301 receptions- 34 of them for scores- and 4,481 yards over 106 games.

After his release by Dallas, Austin played 2014 in Cleveland and 2015 in Philadelphia. In 2017, he was hired by the Cowboys as a scouting intern. He interviewed the following year to be the team’s wide receivers coach, but the job went to Sanjay Lal instead. Austin returned to Monmouth to complete his degree in political science, and took his position with San Francisco the next year.

“Miles is one of my favorite players that I’ve ever coached, just in terms of how on it he was,” 49ers head coach Shanahan said, per a 247 Sports piece from 2019. “Whether it was the run game or the pass game, he really enjoyed football. He was descending at that time in his career, so I wasn’t sure I was going to like him as much. But then when I got there and I saw the person, you can see why he was so successful. A guy like that, you’re always like, ‘Hey, if you’re ever interested in a coach, you’d be a hell of a one.'”

Now Austin will have his chance in New York, overseeing the position he once played.

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Courtland Sutton happy to have continuity with Broncos WRs coach Zach Azzanni

“To be able to have him for another year is awesome,” Sutton said.

Entering his third season in the NFL, Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has played for two different head coaches and three different offensive coordinators. One of his most important coaches — wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni — has remained in place.

Sutton is grateful for that, especially in a unique offseason.

“It’s one thing that’s really nice to have that one piece of stability,” Sutton said on May 14. “[He’s] a really big piece of stability in a situation where — this is my third offensive coordinator — to be able to have Coach Z be the guy who we’re still hearing the same language in terms of what he expects out of us in our room, we’re getting to hear that same language.

“He understands our room because pretty much he’s gotten it to where all of us that are in that room are guys that he’s drafted or has got to recommend to be undrafted guys in our room. To be able to have him for another year is awesome. It’s an underrated blessing for sure because when you’re learning a new offense, having some type of stability in that change is nice, especially someone that’s in your room who is the teacher of the new offense to us.”

In two seasons under Azzanni, Sutton has caught 114 passes for 1,816 yards and 10 touchdowns. After reaching the Pro Bowl as an alternate last year, Sutton will look to build on his totals in his third year with Azzanni.

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Broncos coaches embrace ‘new normal’ with home offices

Broncos coaches are meeting with NFL draft prospects through video calls from their home offices.

In an effort to slow down COVID-19, the NFL has closed team facilities and announced that the draft will be held in a fully virtual format.

Teams won’t be allowed to host prospects on pre-draft visits so the Broncos are meeting with players via video calls. With their facility closed, Denver’s coaches are working on pre-draft prep from home offices:

Zach Azzanni spent 18 years coaching in college before joining the Bears’ staff in 2017. One year later, he was hired by Denver.

Azzanni is now entering his third year as the Broncos’ wide receivers coach. Last season, Denver wide receiver Courtland Sutton earned a Pro Bowl berth after catching 72 passes for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns.

Azzanni is now helping the team search for more talented WRs.

The Broncos have already had calls or scheduled calls with cornerback Kristian Fulton, offensive lineman Matt Hennessy, offensive tackle Ezra Cleveland, defensive lineman Leki Fotu and linebacker Joe Bachie.

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WR coach with ties to OBJ, Jarvis Landry heading to Cowboys staff

Adam Henry has coaching stints with LSU, the Giants, and Cleveland on his resume, and looks to be nearing a deal to coach the Cowboys’ WRs.

Mike McCarthy may have found his target to be the new coach for Dak Prescott’s targets. According to multiple sources as of Friday evening, the Cowboys are closing in on a deal to make Adam Henry the new wide receivers coach in Dallas, replacing Sanjay Lal.

Henry spent the past two seasons in the same role in Cleveland, where he worked with Browns wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. The 47-year-old Henry had previously been Beckham’s position coach in New York in 2016, and the wide receivers coach for both Beckham and Landry during their final two years at LSU.

Coincidentally, Henry also has history with the man he is expected to replace. Henry and Lal were on staff together in Oakland from 2007 through 2011. Both served as offensive quality control coaches in 2007-2008. In 2009, Henry was named tight ends coach, while Lal was promoted to lead the wide receiver group. Both held those roles with the Raiders until the conclusion of the 2011 season.

Under Henry’s watch with the Browns, Landry enjoyed a career-high season in 2019 with 1,174 receiving yards. Beckham also topped 1,000 receiving yards in Cleveland in 2019; his best season in number of receptions came in 2016 as a Giant, also with Henry as his position coach.

Rumors of Beckham joining the Cowboys have circulated for some time, dating back to his tenure in New York. A newly-hired wide receiver coach who has been with him at three previous stops won’t do anything to help quiet those whispers now with Cowboys fans who still aren’t sold on free agent Amari Cooper as a long-term solution for the club.

5 options to be the next Patriots’ wide receiver coach

Five guys who could be the New England Patriots wide receivers coach in 2020.

Prior to the 2019 season, there had been a lot of consistency in the positional coaching ranks in New England. In one year, a lot of that changed. Defensive line coach Brendan Daly, who had been in New England since 2014, left for Kansas City. Brian Flores, who was in Foxboro since 2004, became the new head coach in Miami. There, he took assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski (2013-18), wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea (2009-18), and cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer (2006-18).

These moves left a lot of openings in New England. Daly was replaced by former Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema. Former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo slid in for Flores. Mick Lombardi, son of former Patriots assistant Michael Lombardi, would take over for Schuplinski. Mike Pellegrino, previously an assistant, was promoted to replace Boyer. And, special teams coordinator Joe Judge took on a new role, becoming the wide receivers coach.

For obvious reasons, Judge was one of the coaches in the biggest spotlight. Working with Tom Brady’s weapons is always a job that will attract attention. So, it wasn’t a total surprise when a guy who had been in a successful organization for eight years and was finally getting some media coverage due to the extra duties was getting calls to be a head coach. This off-season, the New York Giants took a swing on Judge, once again leaving the Patriots with a hole in the coaching staff. Who could fill those shoes as the next wide receivers coach?

Chad O’Shea

O’Shea spent 10 seasons as the Patriots wide receivers coach. Last offseason, he left for Miami to make the jump to offensive coordinator for the first time in his career. The move didn’t exactly pan out the way he expected. With less than ideal weapons, the Dolphins would finish 25th in points per game (19.1) and 27th in yards per game (310).

Surprisingly, after only one season, O’Shea was fired. This decision was reportedly made because Flores wanted to separate himself from what he did in New England. If O’Shea wants to continue working and perfecting a Patriots-like system, maybe going back to New England would be best.

The red zone struggles the Patriots had this year could certainly be helped by the man who was “incredibly responsible for any and all of our success in the red zone,” as Josh McDaniels put it in 2018. O’Shea could be used to help guys like N’Keal Harry and Mohamed Sanu find their roles in the scoring offense, and that’s something that would be extremely important to the future success of the team.

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