Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano will be hired to fill the role of defensive coordinator for the Patriots, according to multiple reports, but his official title remains unclear.

The Pats went without a defensive coordinator this season, but linebackers coach Brian Flores – announced as Miami’s new coach this week – handled an expanded role as the playcaller of the unit.

With Schiano coming on board, the Patriots will have their third defensive playcaller in as many years, and he has long been connected to Bill Belichick.

He coached Belichick’s son and Patriots safeties coach, Steve, at Rutgers.

Schiano revived the Rutgers program from the bottom of the Big East and helped the school gain Big Ten membership. He became head coach of the Buccaneers in 2012, but was fired after compiling an 11-21 record over two years.

For the past three seasons, Schiano worked as the defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

TITANS: The Titans shored up their depth on the offensive line by signing center/guard Hroniss Grasu.

He started eight games at center in 2015 as a rookie with the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round. Grasu missed the 2016 season with an injured anterior cruciate ligament but returned in 2017 and started four games.

BENGALS: In his first moves as the coach, Zac Taylor hired longtime friend Brian Callahan as offensive coordinator and Jim Turner – fired by the Dolphins in 2014 for his part in a bullying scandal – as offensive line coach.

PANTHERS: QB Cam Newton says he couldn’t throw the ball more than 30 yards last season because of an injured shoulder, which left him exposed to opposing defenses.

Newton says in a 10-minute video it was “the most disheartening thing out of the whole year.”

The Panthers quarterback launched a new You Tube channel detailing events before and after his surgery on Jan. 24 to repair a nagging right shoulder problem.

Copy the Story Link