I thought it would be interesting to have a look at the Offensive Coordinator position around the league. As I suspected, there has been a fair amount of liquidity, you might say.
There are several teams that do not have an OC as such. In Cleveland, Dallas, and Arizona the head coach also serves as the offensive play caller, and Chan Gailey mainly calls the plays in Buffalo, although they have a figurehead OC who apparently is mainly the RB coach.
Since the beginning of the 2007 season there have been 76 changes in Offensive Coordinator in the NFL. That isn’t the extent of it, since I am also counting new hires for next season, and there are five teams, including the Steelers, who are currently without an offensive coordinator, so presumably that number will go up to 81. It could even be more, as the OC in IND, for example, might be encouraged to move on when they hire a new head coach.
If one were to try to make a flow chart of the movements of coaches between teams, you would quickly get a headache. Or at least I would. During the time when 76 changes were made on teams, 58 men were involved in those changes, which included lateral moves, demotions, promotions, and those who no longer coach in the NFL.
You can find a complete list by team of the offensive coordinators at the end of the post, including where they came from and where they went. Here I’ve divided them up into what they are currently doing below. As you can see, 10 of them, about 18%, are probably finished coaching. Five of them, or about 8%, are now head coaches in the NFL, and 24 of them, about 41%, are currently OCs in the NFL. Of the remaining 19 men, (about 33% of the total,) five are currently seeking jobs, nine are position coaches in the NFL, and the other five are coaching in colleges or the UFL.
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HC, NFL |
OC, NFL |
Position Coach, NFL |
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Chan Gailey, BUF |
Darrell Bevell, SEA |
Jeff Davidson, MIN |
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Jason Garrett, DAL |
Bob Bratkowski, JAX |
Gil Haskell, CLE |
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Mike Mularkey, JAX |
Cam Cameron, BAL |
Jim Hostler, BAL |
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Joe Philbin, MIA |
Pete Carmichael, Jr., NO |
Greg Knapp, HOU |
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Pat Shurmer, CLE |
Rob Chudzinski, CAR |
Greg Olson, JAX |
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Brian Daboll, MIA |
Sherman Smith, SEA |
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Rick Dennison, HOU |
Mike Solari, 49ers |
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Kevin Gilbride, NYG |
Ron Turner, IND |
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Jay Gruden: CIN |
Alex Van Pelt, TB |
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Dirk Koetter, ATL |
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Scott Linehan, DET |
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Mike McCoy, DEN |
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Josh McDaniels, NE |
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[Curtis Modkins: OC/RB coach, BUF] |
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Tom Moore, Sr. OC, IND |
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Marty Mornhinweg, PHI |
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Bill Muir, KC |
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Bill Musgrave, MIN |
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Chris Palmer, TEN |
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Greg Roman, 49ers |
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Al Saunders, OAK |
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Brian Schottenheimer, STL |
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Kyle Shanahan, WAS |
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Tony Sparano, NYJ |
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HC, University |
UFL |
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Norm Chow, Univ. of Hawaii |
Turk Schonert: Off. Asst. |
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Doug Marrone, Syracuse |
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Bill O’Brien, Penn State |
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Charlie Weis, U. of Kansas |
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The following coaches retired, willingly or no:
Bruce Arians: retired
Jeremy Bates: fired in 2011, presumed retired
Jim Colletto: retired in 09
Steve Fairchild: fired from HC position, CO State, Dec. 2011
Mike Heimerdinger: fired 2/11, died 9/11
Dan Henning: Presumed retired
Jeff Jagodzinski: HC in UFL, fired in 2011, presumed retired
Mike Martz: Retired Jan. 2012
Jimmy Raye: Presumed retired
Clarence Shelmon: Retired
This leaves the following five men who are looking for a job at the moment:
Todd Haley: fired as HC, KC, Nov. 2011
Hue Jackson: fired as HC, OAK Jan. 2012
Rick Neuheisel: fired as HC, UCLA in Nov. 2011
Mike Sherman: fired as HC, Texas A&M, Dec. 2011
Ted Tollner: fired as OC, OAK, 2011
As you might suspect, a lot of the moving around was concentrated in a few teams. I’ve divided it up, and removed cases where the OC was hired away for a head coaching position. Since it’s pretty hard to tell exactly how badly somebody wanted to “retire,” I’ve treated retirements as moves. For clarity, I’ve treated currently open positions as another coordinator, and also treated situations where no new coordinator was hired as a move, since it was a change in the person calling the offense.
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5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
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KC |
BUF |
CHI |
ARI |
DAL |
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STL |
OAK |
CLE |
ATL |
GB |
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SF |
SEA |
DET |
BAL |
IND |
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TB |
HOU |
CAR |
NYG |
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MIA |
CIN |
PHI |
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TEN |
DEN |
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WAS |
JAX |
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MIN |
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NE |
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NO |
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NYJ |
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PIT |
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SD |
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Nearly half of the changes were accounted for by seven teams. Consistency isn’t everything, but it has a lot to be said for it.
In the current list of 24 Offensive Coordinators, one-third are lateral moves, coming in as an OC from another team: Bob Bratkowski, Dirk Koettner, Rick Dennison, Brian Daboll, Kevin Gilbride, Brian Schottenheimer, Kyle Shanahan, and Darrell Bevell. Very often position coaches are promoted, either from within the team, as is the case with Bill Muir, Marty Mornhinweg, and Peter Carmichael, Jr., or from another team, as with Curtis Modkins, Rob Chudzinski, Mike McCoy, Bill Musgrave, and Al Saunders – position coaches account for a further one third of the current OCs.
Four of the current OCs were Head Coaches previously: Cam Cameron, Scott Linehan, Josh McDaniels, Tony Sparano; Todd Haley and Hue Jackson may well be added to this list within a few weeks. [UPDATE: steelers-chicago sent the info that Mike Tice, former HC of the Vikings, has been names OC in CHI.] Other sources are the UFL (Jay Gruden and Chris Palmer) or college coaches (Greg Roman.) Tom Moore has been the OC for IND since 1998, so it’s sort of moot.
As mentioned above, three teams have no OC. The remainder of the teams have open positions at the moment (CHI, GB, SD, TB, and of course PIT.) It will be very interesting to see how the Steelers fill the open OC position. Although PIT typically promotes from within, as we saw with the hiring of Mike Tomlin, they don’t necessarily do the expected thing, and if it is true that Kirby Wilson was the heir apparent, they may look farther afield than would have been expected.
Finally, for those who are interested in such things, here is the information I compiled on the OCs for all 32 teams, beginning in 2007. Enjoy!
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Todd Haley: 2 years
No OC after Haley left – Russ Grimm is Asst. HC, with various offensive duties
OC(s) Background:
Haley: WR coach, DAL, 04 – 06
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Haley: HC, KC, 09-11
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Hue Jackson; 1 year (was under an interim HC)
Mike Mularkey; 4 years
Dirk Koetter, hired 1/12
OC(s) Background:
Jackson: WR coach, Bengals, 04-06
Mularkey: TE coach, MIA, 07; released
Koetter: OC, JAX, 07-11
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Jackson: WR coach, BAL, 08-09; OC, OAK, 2010; HC, OAK, 2011; fired
Mularkey: HC, JAX, 2012
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Rick Neuheisel: listed as OC, but actually HC Brian Billick was in effect the OC
Cam Cameron: to present
OC(s) Background:
Neuheisel: QB coach, BAL (2005-06); promoted to OC
Cameron: fired as HC of MIA
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Neuheisel: HC UCLA, fired 11/11
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Steve Fairchild: most of season
Turk Schonert: 1 year
Alex Van Pelt: 1 year
Curtis Modkins: 2010 – present (but Chan Gailey mainly calls off. plays, and Modkins coaches the RBs)
OC(s) Background:
Fairchild: Asst. OC, Rams, 03-05; OC, Bills, 2006
Schonert: QB coach, NYG, 06-07
Van Pelt: QB coach, BUF, 08
Modkins: RB coach, ARI
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Fairchild: left to take HC job at Colorado State
Schonert: fired at beginning of 09 season, now coaching in UFL
Van Pelt: fired at end of 09 season, hired by TB as QB coach
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Jeff Davidson: 4 years
Rob Chudzinski: 2011-present
OC(s) Background:
Davidson: CLE OL coach, promoted to OC in 2006
Chudzinski: SD TE and Asst. HC, 2009-11
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Davidson: OL coach, Vikings, hired 1/11
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Ron Turner: 3 years
Mike Martz: 2 years
Open
OC(s) Background:
Turner: HC, Illinois Fighting Illini, 1997 – 2004; OC, CHI,2005 – 2009
Martz: OC, DET, 06 – 07; OC, SF, 08;
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Turner: fired at end of 2009 season; WR coach, IND, 2010, QB coach, 2011 – present
Martz: retired at the end of 2011 season
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Bob Bratkowski: 4 years
Jay Gruden: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Bratkowski: OC for CIN since 2001
Gruden: HC, Tuskers (UFL), 2010
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Bratkowski: fired at the end of 2010 season, currently OC for JAX
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Rob Chudzinski: 2 years
Brian Daboll: 2 years
(No OC for 2011, as Shurmer is calling the offensive plays)
OC(s) Background:
Chudzinski: SD TE coach, 05-06
Daboll: QB coach, NE, 06-08
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Chudzinski: SD TE and Asst. HC, 2009-11, OC, CAR, present
Daboll: 2010, ?, OC, MIA, 2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Jason Garrett: 2007 – present (he is both HC and OC as of 2011)
OC(s) Background:
Garrett: QB coach, MIA, 05-06
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Rick Dennison: 2 years
Mike McCoy: 2009 – present
OC(s) Background:
Dennison: OC, DEN, 06; OL coach, DEN, 01-05;
McCoy: Various offensive positions for CAR, 2000-08
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Dennison: OC, HOU, hired in 2010
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Mike Martz: 1 year
Jim Colletto: 1 year
Scott Linehan: 2009 – present
OC(s) Background:
Martz: HC, ST, 2000-05; OC, DET, 06
Colletto: OL coach, BAL, 1999-05; OL coach, DET, 06;
Linehan: HC, Rams, 2006 – 4 games of 08
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Martz: OC, SD, 2008; OC, CHI, 2010; retired
Colletto: retired
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Joe Philbin: 5 years
Open
OC(s) Background:
Philbin: Asst. OL coach, 04-05; OL coach, 06
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Philbin: HC, MIA, hired 1/12
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Mike Sherman: 1 year
Kyle Shanahan: 2 years
Rick Dennison: 2010 – present
OC(s) Background:
Sherman: HC/GM, Packers, 2001 – 04; HC Packers 05; Offense coach, HOU, 06
Shanahan; WR coach, HOU, 06 – 07
Dennison: OC, DEN, 06-08; ?
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Sherman: HC, Texas A & M, 11/07
Shanahan: OC, WAS, 2010 – present
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Tom Moore: 5 years
OC(s) Background:
Moore: OC, IND, 1998 – 2008
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Moore: Named Senior OC, IND, 09; Offensive Consultant, NYJ, 2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Dirk Koetter: 5 years
Bob Bratkowski: Hired 1/12
OC(s) Background:
Koettner: HC, Arizona State, 2001-06
Bratkowski: OC CIN 2001-10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Hired by ATL 1/12 as new OC
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Mike Solari: 1 year
Chan Gailey: 1 year + (fired at beginning of 2009 season – Todd Haley called the offense in 09
Charlie Weis: 1 year
Bill Muir: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Solari: OL coach, KC; OC, 2006 season
Gailey: left the NFL and returned to Georgia Tech as HC for 1 year; fired
Weis: HC at Notre Dame, 05-09
Muir: OC, TB, fired at the end of 08 season; OL coach, KC, 2009-10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Solari: 2008-09, OL coach, SEA; 2010, OL coach, 49ers
Gailey; 2009 – out of football; 2010, HC BUF
Weis: left to be OC at Univ. of Fla; became HC at Univ. of Kansas in 2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Cam Cameron: HC, but called offensive plays
Dan Henning: 3 years
Brian Daboll: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Cameron: OC, SD, 02-06
Henning: OC, CAR 02-07
Daboll: QB coach, NYJ, 07-08; OC, CLE, 09-10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Cameron: fired 2008, OC, BAL
Henning: fired 1/2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Darrell Bevell: 4 years
Bill Musgrave: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Bevell: QB coach, GB, 03 – 05; OC, MIN, 2006 – 2010
Musgrave: QB coach, ATL, 06 – 09; also Asst. HC 10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Bevell: OC, SEA, 2011 – present
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Josh McDaniels: OC/QB coach – 2 years
No OC named during 09-10; Belichick called the plays
Bill O’Brien: 1 year
Josh McDaniels: OC, hired 1/12
OC(s) Background:
McDaniels: QB coach, NE, 04-05; OC, NE, 06-07
O’Brien: Offensive Asst., NE, 07: QB coach, 08
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
McDaniels: HC, DEN, 09-10; OC, STL, 2011;
O’Brien: HC, Penn State, hired 12/11
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Doug Marrone: 2 years
Pete Carmichael, Jr.: 2009 – present
OC(s) Background:
Marrone: OC, NO, 2006;
Carmichael: QB coach, NO, 2006 – 08
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Marrone: HC, Syracuse University, 09- present
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Kevin Gilbride: 07 – present
OC(s) Background:
Gilbride: OC, PIT, 99-2000; OC BUF 02-03;
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Brian Schottenheimer: 5 years
Tony Sparano: hired 1/12
OC(s) Background:
Schottenheimer: OC NYJ 06;
Sparano: HC MIA 2008-11
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Schottenheimer :
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Greg Knapp: 2 years
Ted Tollner: 1 year (“Passing game coordinator”)
Hue Jackson: 1 year
Al Saunders: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Knapp: OC, ATL, 04-06
Tollner: QB coach/asst. OC, 49ers, fired 12/08
Jackson: OC, ATL, 07; QB coach, BAL, 08-09;
Saunders: OC, STL, 08, Offensive Consultant, BAL, 09-10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Knapp: OC, SEA, 09; QB coach, HOU
Tollner: demoted for Hue Jackson; fired by Hue Jackson in 2011
Jackson: promoted to HC 2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Marty Mornhinweg: 2007 – present
OC(s) Background:
Asst. HC, PHI
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Bruce Arians: 07 – 11
Open
OC(s) Background:
Arians: OC, CLE, 01-03; WR coach, Steelers, 04-06
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Retired
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Greg Olson: 1 year
Al Saunders: 1 year
Pat Shurmer: 2 years
Josh McDaniels: 1 year
Brian Schottenheimer: hired 1/12
OC(s) Background:
Olson: OC, DET, 2005; OC, STL, 06
Saunders: Asst. HC, WAS, 06-07
Shurmer: QB coach, PHI, 1999-2008
McDaniels: OC, NE, 06-08; HC, DEN, 09-10;
Schottenheimer: OC, NYJ
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Olson: OC, TB, 2009 – 11, QB coach, JAX
Saunders: Offensive Consultant, BAL, 09-10; OC, OAK, 11 – present
Shurmer: HC, CLE, 2011 – present
McDaniels: OC, NE, 2012
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Clarence Shelmon: 5 years
Open
OC(s) Background:
RB coach for several teams, inc. DAL and SEA
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Retired after 2011 season
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Jim Hostler: 1 year
Mike Martz: 1 year OC, SF, 08;
Jimmy Raye: 1 year +
Mike Johnson: 1 year
Greg Roman: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Hostler: QB coach, 49ers, 05-06
Martz: HC, STL, 2000 – 05; OC, DET, 06 – 07
Raye: RB coach, NYJ, 06-08
Johnson: WR coach, BAL, 06-07; QB coach, 49ers, 09;
Roman: Asst. HC, Stanford, 09-10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Hostler: fired at end of 07; WR coach, BAL
Martz: fired, didn’t coach in 09; OC, CHI, 10-11
Raye: fired at beginning of 2010 season; no further jobs
Johnson: not retained at end of 2010: OC, UCLA, 2011
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Gil Haskell: 2 years
Greg Knapp: 1 year
Jeremy Bates: 1 year
Darrell Bevell: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Haskell: OC, SEA, 2000-08
Knapp: OC, OAK, 07-08
Bates: WR/RB coach, DEN, 07-08; OC DEN 09
Bevell: OC MIN 06 – 10
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Haskell: Hired as “Senior Advisor to President” by CLE in 2010
Knapp: QB coach, HOU
Bates: fired by Pete Carroll
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Bill Muir: 2 years
Jeff Jagodzinski: 1 year
Greg Olson: 2 years
Open
OC(s) Background:
Muir: OC, OL coach, TB, 2002 – 2008
Jagodzinski: OC, GB, 2006: HC, Boston College, 07 – 08
Olson: OC, STL, 06-07
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Muir: OL coach, KC, 2009 – 10; OC, OL coach,KC, 2011 – present
Jagodzinski: HC, Omaha Nighthawks, UFL, 2010
Olson: fired 1/12
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Norm Chow: 1 year
Mike Heimerdinger: 3 years
Chris Palmer: 2011 – present
OC(s) Background:
Chow: OC, USC, 2001-04; OC, TEN, 05 – 07;
Heimerdinger: Asst. HC, DEN, 06-07; OC, NYJ, 05
Palmer: QB coach, NYG, 07-09; HC, Hartford Colonials (UFL), 2010
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Chow: fired by TEN; OC, UCLA, 08 – 10; OC, Utah, 2011
Heimerdinger: fired 2/11; died 9/11
Offensive Coordinator(s) 2007 – present; tenure
Sherman Smith: 2 years
No OC named
Kyle Shanahan: 2010 – present
OC(s) Background:
Smith: Asst. Head Coach, TEN, 06 – 07
Shanahan: OC, HOU, 08-09
Changes (if any) and where the OC went:
Smith: RB coach, SEA, 2009 – present
Source: Behind the Steel Curtain
