Payton hires college assistant
Northwestern’s Ayemi in NFL rank for first time as Broncos’ RB coach
Sean Payton continued filling out his coaching staff Monday with another coach from the college ranks.
The Broncos head coach is hiring Northwestern running backs coach Lou Ayeni to coach the position in Denver, sources confirmed to The Post on Monday.
Ayeni, a former Northwestern running back himself, had been at his alma mater since 2018 and also served as the school’s recruiting coordinator. Before that, he spent four years at Iowa State and four years at Toledo in various coaching capacities.
His coaching career started as a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2008 and this job with the Broncos will be his first foray into the NFL.
Ayeni is the 15th known coach and 19th known key addition to Payton’s staff. The Broncos announced 17 positions (13 coaches) over the weekend and are also set to hire Davis Webb as the franchise’s quarterbacks coach, though his position has not been formally announced.
Payton’s official offensive staff so far includes: Offensive coordinator Joe Lomardi, passing game coordinator John Morton, Ayeni, wide receivers coach Keary Colbert, tight ends coach Declan Doyle and offensive line coach Zach Strief.
Still on Payton’s to-do list coaching staff wise: Finalizing Webb’s hire and filling out some assistant position coach spots.
Commanders release QB Wentz after one season
The Washington Commanders released Carson Wentz, an expected move that puts an end to the one-season experiment with the veteran quarterback that did not work out.
After giving up draft picks to acquire him in a trade with Indianapolis last March, the Commanders were able to get out of the final two years of Wentz’s contract without any salary cap penalty.
Wentz threw for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in eight games, going 2-5 as the starter sandwiched around a broken finger that sidelined him for several weeks.
When Taylor Heinicke struggled late in the season, coach Ron Rivera turned back to Wentz, who had three interceptions in a loss to Cleveland that contributed to
knocking Washington out of playoff contention.
From that point forward, Rivera gave no thought to handing the job back to Wentz. Rookie Sam Howell started the regular-season finale and goes into offseason workouts as the starting QB.
Wentz, on the other hand, faces a very uncertain future at age 30. If signed, he would join his fourth NFL team in as many seasons after flaming out in Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Washington.
The Commanders also released veteran safety Bobby Mccain, whose presence was made redundant by the emergence of Darrick Forrest. Mccain’s release saves roughly $2.32 million in salary cap space.
Chargers promote Ansley to defensive coordinator
The Los Angeles Chargers have promoted Derrick Ansley to defensive coordinator.
Ansley was the secondary coach on Brandon Staley’s staff the past two seasons. He takes over for Renaldo Hill, who left to join Miami’s staff as pass-game coordinator.
Staley is expected to remain the defensive playcaller though.
The Chargers also announced the additions of quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, linebackers coach Jeff Howard and defensive quality control assistant Robert Muschamp.
Ansley does have experience as a defensive coordinator. He spent two seasons leading the University of Tennessee’s defense (2019-20) before joining the Chargers.
The Chargers were ranked eighth against the pass last season as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Falcons make several changes to coaching staff
The Atlanta Falcons announced a plethora of changes to head coach Arthur Smith’s staff, further restructuring his assistants after a fifth straight losing season.
Most notably, Steve Jackson will take over as secondary coach, while David Huxtable has been hired as a senior defensive assistant after spending 40 years at the collegiate level.
Jackson and Huxtable will work under new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who was hired away from the rival New Orleans Saints last month after the retirement of Dean Pees.
Three assistants were not retained by Smith after a 7-10 season: secondary coach Jon Hoke, defensive line coach Gary Emanuel and outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino.