Richard Smith has been relieved of his DC duties. Photo Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Falcons confirmed Wednesday they will replace Richard Smith as defensive coordinator, just days following the historic collapse in the overtime loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
The team also said defensive line coach Bryan Cox was fired. Smith could return to the Falcons in an advisory role but he plans to explore other options.
The Falcons are considering three internal candidates in secondary coordinator Jerome Henderson, defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel and linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn took on more of the play-calling after the bye week this season. Quinn was the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks before becoming Atlanta’s head coach in 2015.
–New San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is expected to run his own offense and will not hire an offensive coordinator in 2017.
The 37-year-old Shanahan plans to coordinate the 49ers’ offense and intends to hire Atlanta Falcons offensive assistant Mike McDaniel as the team’s “run-game guru” and Rich Scangarello as the quarterbacks coach, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday.
McDaniel, 33, has worked with Shanahan in Houston, Washington and Cleveland. Scangarello, the offensive coordinator at Wagner College, was a quality control coach with Shanahan and the Falcons in 2015.
–The Green Bay Packers released cornerback Sam Shields after the seven-year veteran spent nearly the entire 2016 season in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Shields, 29, suffered a concussion in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and missed the final 15 regular-season games and the team’s three playoff contests. It was Shields’ fifth documented concussion in his NFL career and Packers coach Mike McCarthy said at the postseason news conference last month that Shields still had not cleared concussion protocol.
“I think we can all focus on Sam getting healthy,” McCarthy said on Jan. 26. “Having a chance to visit with Sam in Atlanta briefly, he needs to get healthy for himself and his family. That’s the primary focus.”
–The Philadelphia Eagles released veteran cornerback Leodis McKelvin after just one season as the team began the process to free up salary-cap space.
McKelvin signed a two-year, $6 million contract ($3 million guaranteed) with the Eagles last offseason, coming to the team after playing eight seasons for the Buffalo Bills. He was set to make a base salary of $2 million with a roster bonus of $1.2 million in 2017, and cutting him saves the Eagles $3.2 million in cap space.
McKelvin played in 13 games (12 starts) last season, making 43 tackles and two interceptions with 16 passes defensed. He has 15 career interceptions in 111 games.
–The Carolina Panthers re-signed linebacker Ben Jacobs, who was set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, to a two-year deal.
Jacobs, 28, returned to the team for the final four games last season after being released with an injury settlement (ankle) in September before the 2016 regular season started.
“I spent 13 weeks at home watching games on the couch and not knowing if I’d ever get the chance to play again. So when I got that call, I wanted to take full advantage,” Jacobs told the team’s website.
–The Washington Redskins hired Torrian Gray as defensive backs coach.
Gray, 42, joins the Redskins with 18 years of coaching experience overseeing defensive backs, mostly at the collegiate level.
Last season, Gray served as the defensive backs coach at the University of Florida. Gray began his coaching career at Maine, serving as defensive backs coach for two seasons from 2000-01. He then spent the 2002-03 seasons in the same capacity at Connecticut.
