A surprising name has emerged at the forefront of the Colin Kaepernick workout.
As Kaepernick prepares for his workout in front of numerous NFL executives on Saturday, a former head coach will reportedly oversee the workout — none other than former Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson not only broke the news that Philbin is the favorite to lead the workout, he also reports that as of Wednesday, the whole thing was so unorganized that not a player had been locked down to catch balls from Kaepernick and no throwing programs had been scheduled.
#NFL will likely ask longtime veteran coach Joe Philbin to handle the drills in the Colin Kaepernick workout on Saturday. Today is an important day to make this happen. Late Wednesday night, no throwing program had been scripted and no players had been locked down to catch balls.
Philbin is best known for his stints with the Packers, working as an assistant in a variety of positions from 2003 until 2011 and working for the Packers again in 2018, even serving as the interim head coach.
The 58-year-old coach also served as the head coach for the Dolphins from 2012 until 2015.
Why Has The NFL Scheduled Colin Kaepernick’s Workout?
The Kaepernick workout that’s scheduled for Saturday in Atlanta is a puzzling one, especially considering the league’s past relationship with the veteran quarterback. The 32-year-old hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016 and was involved in a lawsuit — which he eventually won — for basically being blacklisted from the league due to his national anthem protests.
In fact, the scheduled workout is taking so many twists and turns before it even begins that the NFL is not even going to show Kaepernick the list of attendees before the workout even begins, according to Adam Schefter.
“NFL source: League never promised to provide list of attendees to Colin Kaepernick workout and said multiple clubs are attending.
So Kaepernick camp says it was promised list of attendees and can prove it, and an NFL source said league did not make that promise. Another source in Kaepernick’s camp said he was on the phone call when the NFL said how it would provide the names of attendees. On it goes.”
The List of Confirmed NFL Teams Who Will Attend
While the NFL apparently never promised to reveal the list of attendees to Kaepernick’s camp, the reported list of confirmed teams who will attend are as follows: the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dolphins.
As ESPN’s Schefter reported, the whole point of the workout may be a damage control of sorts for the NFL. The league may want to dispel the notion that the veteran quarterback is being blackballed from the league.
Several clubs had inquired about Kaepernick’s current football readiness. Sources told ESPN’s Dan Graziano that the workout was also set up in response to an Oct. 10 statement by Kaepernick’s representatives, who said they had received “little to no response” from the 32 NFL teams. Kaepernick has been out of the NFL since 2016, the year he began protesting police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the pregame national anthem.
In the memo, the league said: “Earlier this year, we discussed some possible steps with his representatives and they recently emphasized his level of preparation and that he is ready to work out for clubs and be interviewed by them. We have therefore arranged this opportunity for him to work out, and for all clubs to have the opportunity to evaluate his current readiness and level of interest in resuming his NFL career.”
During his six-year NFL career, Kaepernick served as the San Francisco 49ers‘ starting quarterback from 2012 until 2016, leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012 before leading them to an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2013.
Kaepernick threw for 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions while compiling a 28-30 record as the team’s starting quarterback.
We’ll see if he can complete his objective in making a return to the NFL.
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Former Packers Head Coach Will Watch Colin Kaepernick’s Workout: Report