Bill Callahan, who served the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with the Dallas Cowboys, has been hired by the Washington Redskins to be their offensive line coach, the team announced Thursday.
Callahan, 58, is perhaps best known for his stint as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 and 2003, followed by four seasons as the head coach at Nebraska.
He was the assistant head coach and offensive line coach of the New York Jets from 2008 through 2011 before joining the Cowboys, who finished second in the league with 147.1 rushing yards a game last season. Running back DeMarco Murray led the league in rushing, setting a Dallas franchise record with 1,845 yards.
Chris Foerster, who had been the Redskins’ offensive line coach the previous five seasons, was named the offensive line coach of the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday. He was unlikely to return to the team after he was permitted to interview for a role with the Buffalo Bills earlier in the week.
According to ESPN, which first reported the news Thursday afternoon, Callahan signed a three-year contract with the Redskins.
By bringing in Callahan, Washington will be able to turn to more of a power running game, which coach Jay Gruden had hoped to install when he joined the team prior to last season.
Recognizing the difficulty of making such a transition in one season because of the Redskins’ other personnel needs, Gruden instead chose to keep much about the offensive line and the running game intact.
It was an easy decision; running back Alfred Morris was second only to the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson in rushing yards during his first two seasons, thriving in the zone-blocking scheme installed by then-coach Mike Shanahan and supervised by Foerster.
But Morris wasn’t as productive this past season, rushing for 1,074 yards and 4.1 yards per carry — both the lowest marks in his three years.
The Redskins have a Pro Bowl left tackle in Trent Williams and a solid center in Kory Lichtensteiger, but otherwise struggled in the run game and in protecting the quarterback this past season.
Washington is still seeking to hire a defensive coordinator, which it has been without since it announced on Dec. 31 that Jim Haslett would not return after five seasons.
Longtime defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, San Diego Chargers linebackers coach Joe Barry, 49ers tight ends coach Eric Mangini and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell and Redskins defensive backs coach Raheem Morris all interviewed for the job, but Gruden, who is overseeing the search, is still hoping to interview former 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.