Monthly Archives: January 2014

Kirby Wilson To Interview For Ravens Offensive Coordinator Opening

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According to the Ravens team website, John Harbaugh says that Steelers Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson will be interviewing for the Ravens offensive coordinator opening later this week. The Ravens have interviewed several candidates for the opening, including former Redskins Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and former Lions Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan.

Wilson was rumored to be one of the top candidates for the Titans offensive coordinator opening, but the Titans never requested an interview with him. Kirby Wilson was involved in offensive game planning last season, and Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome has recently stated that the Ravens have been disappointed with their run game as of late, so that could perhaps explain their interest in Wilson. Of course, it may also just be a little due diligence of sorts.

Wilson is under contract, so the Steelers would have had to grant the Ravens permission to interview him.

*Update  Bob Labriola confirms that the Steelers granted the Ravens permission to interview Wilson.

**2nd Update Ed Bouchette reports that Wilson’s interview is tomorrow.

Steelers Host Two For Workouts

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The Steelers had two former Pitt players in for workouts yesterday according to Adam Caplan on Twitter.

ILB Scott McKillop was drafted in the 5th round of the 2009 draft by the San Francisco 49ers.  He tore his ACL and patellar tendon during training camp in 2010. He would later be waived by the team in 2011.

CB Kennard Cox went undrafted during the 2008 draft and was later signed as an UDFA by the Buffalo Bills. He bounced around on various practice squads for the next couple years, but saw some playing time with the Seahawks in 2010 as a special teamer. Notably, he blocked a punt against the Chiefs that season.

Neither player has been signed.

Ray Horton Hired As Titans DC, Butler Never Interviewed

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Ray Horton has been hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Despite all of the fluff that was spun about this story by various outlets, the Titans never even requested permission to interview Keith Butler. As I wrote on Monday, the hype around Butler didn’t really make too much sense, but the story grew legs quickly. One prominent Steelers blogger actually “guaranteed” he would interview wherever Whiz landed. Anyway…

The Whisenhunt/Horton relationship makes perfect sense, and the two joining up in Tennessee seemed very likely. It wouldn’t surprise me if Whiz had his mind set on him as DC while he was interviewing for head coaching jobs. Horton is highly regarded as a defensive coordinator in the league, and was Whisenhunt’s coordinator in Arizona 2011 and 2012.

Horton joined the Steelers in 2004 as an assistant defensive backs coach, before being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2007. Horton runs a 3-4 defensive base, so it will be interesting to see how, and to what extent it’s implemented in Tennessee.

Cortez Allen Earned The Proven Performance Escalator In His Contract

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Cortez Allen has earned the Proven Performance Escalator in his contract. The PPE is an escalator that’s built into all contracts of players signed after the second round of the draft. To earn the escalator, the player has to have played for 35% of their team’s cumulative snaps in his first three seasons, or must have played for 35% of the team’s snaps for 2 out of 3 seasons.

Since Allen did play for over 35% of the team’s cumulative snaps for the past two seasons, he earns the escalator. Basically, his 2014 salary jumps from $645,000 to $1,389,000. That number is the lowest restricted free agent tender determined by the CBA. After adding his guaranteed signing bonus, his 2014 salary cap number is $1,486,875.

34 other players who were selected in rounds 3 though 7 of the 2011 NFL draft earned their Proven Performance Escalators as well.

Titans Hire Offensive Coordinator, Kirby Wilson Didn’t Interview

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The Tennessee Titans have announced the hiring of Jason Michael as their new offensive coordinator.

Michael was the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers where Ken Whisenhunt was offensive coordinator last year. There were rumors that Steelers Running Backs Coach Kirby Wilson was at the top of the list of potential candidates for the opening for whatever reason, but the Titans never requested an interview. So much for that one I guess.

Mike Munchak Interviewing With Steelers Today

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I have an update to an earlier report regarding Mike Munchak’s interview for the offensive line coaching vacancy. Mike Prisuta reports that Munchak is in fact interviewing with the Steelers today.

It was reported earlier that the team was going to meet with him about the opening at the Senior Bowl next week. This is good news. Mike Munchak would be a great addition to the Steelers.

Kevin Greene Is Stepping Away From Coaching

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Former Steelers Linebacker Kevin Greene has announced that he is stepping away from coaching. Greene has been the outside linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers since 2009. During that time, the Packers linebackers were 4th in the league for total sacks.

Regarding his decision to step down, Greene said, “I am stepping away from the NFL at this time in order to spend more time with my wife, Tara, and our children, Gavin and Gabrielle. I will miss coaching and will try to return after our kids move on to college if a team will have me.”

Greene was a linebacker for the Steelers from 1993-1995. During that time, he amassed 35.5 sacks. The former outside linebacker is currently a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The third straight year he’s been voted a finalist.

Report: Mike Munchak Expected To Meet With Steelers

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It’s being reported that Mike Munchak is expected to interview with the Steelers for the vacant offensive line coach position. Jason La Canfora reports that the team is expected to meet with Munchak about the opening as soon as the Senior bowl.

The senior bowl is Saturday, January 25th, but teams often have staff members in Mobile days in advance. Munchak would be arguably the best coach the Steelers could hope to hire as offensive line coach.

Munchak, who was recently let go by the Tennessee Titans has been interviewing for various coaching positions. He recently interviewed with Penn State before they hired Franklin and with the Houston Texans for their offensive line coach opening as well. Munchak is also reportedly a candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coach opening.

Mike Munchak was with the Houston Oilers for 12 years, so a position with the Texans would seem like the most logical landing spot for him short of a head coaching opening. If he were to land with the Steelers, the team would have 3 assistant coaches who have head coaching experience in the NFL.

The team has not interviewed Ray Brown for the position yet according to reports. The only interview that’s been reported as of this writing was with offensive assistant Shaun Sarrett.

 

Looking At The 2014 Steelers NFL Compensatory Picks

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There has been a lot of conversation about the NFL compensatory pick process lately, and how many comp picks the Steelers might get in 2014. Hopefully, I can shed a little light on it as I take a closer look at how the NFL determines compensatory picks.

What Are Compensatory Picks?

I have a bad habit of assuming what’s common knowledge and what’s not, so I’ll start from scratch. The NFL awards compensatory draft picks (“comp” picks) to teams to compensate them for the loss of free agents during the previous off season. So, the picks the Steelers are awarded for the 2014 NFL draft are for the losses of free agents before the 2013 season. Teams gain additional picks at the end of the appropriate regular draft rounds.

How Are NFL Compensatory Picks Determined?

The exact formula the NFL uses to determine compensation isn’t publicly available. No one outside the league headquarters can definitively say what picks will be awarded. Some of their deciding factors are public knowledge however, and other details can be pieced together based on history leaving you able to make a fairly accurate educated guess. In the end, it’s about net free agent loss. Here are some of the main determining factors:

  • Players signed to non-qualifying,  minimum or low salaries do not factor.
  • Players that are cut do not count. Also, non-tendered restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents aren’t considered.
  • Each player signed cancels out a player lost.
  • The round of the pick awarded is primarily decided by the average annual value of the contract signed. Free agent players signed cancel out lost players with equal contracts, then lower contracts, before eventually canceling out higher contracts.

When Does The NFL Announce Compensatory Picks?

The NFL typically announces comp picks via a press release in March prior to the draft.

How Many Compensatory Picks Can A Team Receive?

Four picks is the maximum compensation that a team can receive.

Can The Team Trade The Awarded Picks To Move Up In The Draft?

No, that would be great, but compensatory picks cannot be traded.

How Many Comp Picks Will The Steelers Receive For The 2014 Draft?

I believe they’ll receive 2. I’m inclined to believe that they’ll receive a 3rd round comp pick for Mike Wallace, and 5th round pick for the loss of Keenan Lewis.

Let’s look at the contracts of what I believe are the qualifying free agent gains and losses.

2013 Steelers Qualifying Free Agent Losses

Mike Wallace- Signed by the Dolphins to a 5 year, $60 Mil contract, including $30 Mil guaranteed.

Keenan Lewis- Signed by the Saints to a 5 year, $25 Mil deal, including $10.5 Mil guaranteed with several escalators.

Rashard Mendenhall- Signed by the Cardinals to a one year, $2.5 Mil contract, with $500,000 guaranteed.

2013 Steelers Qualifying Free Agent Gains

Bruce Gradkowski- Signed by the Steelers to a 3 year, $4.1 Mil contract, including $850,000 guaranteed.

Noteworthy transaction- Will Allen was signed to a one year deal by the Cowboys, but was cut in November, and re-signed by the Steelers.

While factors such as playing time and post-season honors are said to be considered in the NFL’s formula, I don’t believe they carry significant consideration, or are even considered all of the time. Also, players who are placed on IR seem to be a factor sometimes, while not carrying any consideration other times.

To use our hated division foes as an example, the Ravens lost Ben Grubbs, Jarret Johnson, Brandon McKinney, Haruki Nakamura, Cory Redding, and Tom Zbikowski in 2012, while gaining Sean Considine, and Corey Graham. They received the maximum 4 compensatory picks in the 2013 draft. As compensation, they were awarded a 4th, a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th. While this is only one example, and without getting too detailed in terms of their contracts, the losses and gains in terms of cap dollars and contract lengths aren’t equal. They simply lost 6, gained 2 and got 4.

It is a possibility that the Steelers will be awarded more for Lewis, possibly a 4th, but I’m inclined to believe he’ll return a 5th round comp pick. Feel free to ask if there’s anything I left out or if there’s something that needs clarifying.