Jordan Howard this offseason and third-round pick David Montgomery joins free agent acquisition Mike Davis as the likeliest candidates to fill it.Early signs about the rookie’s chances of doing that have been positive. Montgomery’s skills in the passing game got a thumbs up from head coach Matt Nagy and running backs coach Charles London said his ability as a runner was also evident right off the bat.London said Montgomery has “pretty rare contact balance http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-gardner-minshew-ii-jersey ,” which gives him the chance to gain yards even when there’s a lot of traffic ahead of him on the field.“He definitely possesses that,” London said, via Adam Jahns of TheAthletic.com. “It’s important from the running back position because every play is not going to be clean and every hole is not going to be clean. Sometimes you just got to create that on your own. He did quite a bit of that at Iowa State. That was something that we noticed. And that is something you really can’t coach. You either kind of got it or you don’t and he does. It’s something we quickly noticed about him.”London said Montgomery was focused on learning the offense and his role this spring, but that he can see the running back taking on a leadership role as time goes on. If the offseason praise turns into regular season results, that may happen sooner rather than later. CLEVELAND (AP) — Freddie Kitchens hasn’t signed his contract as Browns coach. He’s working anyway.Kitchens has begun assembling his staff and will interview former Broncos coach Vance Joseph to be his defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press on Thursday.Joseph Christian Wilkins Jersey , who was recently fired after going 11-21 in two seasons with Denver, will visit Cleveland on Saturday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Browns have not confirmed their hiring of Kitchens as their 17th full-time coach.Kitchens agreed to a deal Wednesday and his agent has been meeting with the team to work out final details.The Browns still haven’t announced Kitchens as their coach and the team has not confirmed any other coaching changes. Kitchens is not keeping defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who went 5-3 as Cleveland’s interim coach, a person familiar with the decision told AP.Kitchens, who has never been a head coach at any level http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-deiter-jersey , was hired in part because of his success as Cleveland’s coordinator in the season’s second half along with his strong relationship with quarterback Baker Mayfield.But because he’s an offensive coach, defensive coordinator is a vital hire and the 46-year-old Joseph could be a perfect fit for the Browns.Joseph spent 11 years coaching defensive backs with San Francisco, Houston and Cincinnati before serving as Miami’s defensive coordinator in 2016. He interviewed for Arizona’s coordinator job Thursday with new coach Kliff Kingsbury. Joseph has also interviewed for Cincinnati’s coaching vacancy.Former Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano is also reportedly on Kitchens’ radar as a potential defensive coordinator.Kitchens is expected to retain offensive play-calling duties after his strong eight-game stint as Cleveland’s coordinator. There have been several names linked to Cleveland’s opening, including former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Todd Monken and former Detroit coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.Monken interviewed for the New York Jets’ job, which went to Andrew Gase. Under Monken, Tampa Bay had the NFL’s top-ranked passing attack Garrett Bradbury Jersey , averaging 320.3 yards per game, but was No. 29 in rushing.The 34-year-old Cooter spent three seasons with the Lions, but didn’t have his contract renewed after this season. Detroit went 6-10 while quarterback Matthew Stafford struggled.Cooter was a holdover from former coach Jim Caldwell’s staff, but his first season with Matt Patricia did not go well. The Lions dropped in scoring while Stafford had less than 4,000 yards passing for the first time since his injury-filled 2010 season.
