Saxon has 20 years rb experience compared to 13 on oline for Kugler is why -
@THESMEL
James Saxon by default? Hmmm....why would you assume the RBs coach is the run game coordinator when the Cardinals have Sean Kugler on the staff AND they have said he is the run game guy?
Saxon has 20 years nfl rb coach experience . Compared to 13 years oline for Kugler - not trying to make folks defensive - just no offensive coordinator and a pass game coordinator is kind of anti smel - I mean if Saxon don’t nurture the run game who will? As far as antalytics don’t know that answer, Peyton, Brady, Never won without a decent run game - made it but never won it - just like our sorry excuse for SB loss with only 10 runs in the SB - after a Edge carried us from epic pass collapse to balanced legend Larry 2008 playoff run to 10 run Sb loss and 10 run 2009 Saints playoff kill kurt blow out loss. Stupid coaching I say and you can’t best that out of me - stupid coaching. Larry, media never mentioned edge or beanies decisive contributions- and it pisses me off -
Veteran running backs coach James Saxon is in his first season with the Cardinals after he was hired on 2/6/19.
Saxon has 19 seasons of experience as a running backs coach (2000-18) in the NFL after an eight-year playing career in the league with the Chiefs (1988-91), Dolphins (1992-94) and Eagles (1995). In 19 years as an assistant coach, his running backs have earned 15 Pro Bowl selections and rushed for 1,000 yards in a season 11 times. Saxon has been a part of four different franchises that have posted eight total postseason appearances during his career.
He comes to the Cardinals after coaching Pittsburgh’s running backs the past five seasons (2014-18). In 2018, Steelers second-year RB James Conner was selected to the Pro Bowl after gaining 1,470 scrimmage yards (sixth most by an NFL RB), including 973 rushing yards while only playing in 13 games. Conner also scored 12 rushing TDs, which tied for third in the league last season.
Under Saxon’s guidance, RB Le'Veon Bell earned three Pro Bowl selections (2014, ’16-17), was named first-team All-Pro twice (2014, ’17) and became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 5,000 rushing and 2,500 receiving yards in a career (59 games). He tied Eric Dickerson for the fewest games (59) in NFL history to reach 7,500 yards from scrimmage. Bell finished the 2017 season third among all NFL players in rushing yards (1,291) and second in yards from scrimmage (1,946) while scoring 11 TDs. Steelers FB Roosevelt Nix was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2017 after paving the way for Bell’s production in addition to having a rushing and receiving TD.
Bell led the NFL in scrimmage yards per game (157.0) in 2016 and set the team’s single-game rushing record in the regular season (236 at Buffalo) and in the postseason (170 at Kansas City) that year. He became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 3,000 rushing yards and 1,500 receiving yards (38 games). Bell got to 4,000 rushing yards in his 47th game, the second fewest games in team history to reach 4,000 rushing yards.
In 2014, Bell set Steelers single-season records in yards from scrimmage (2,215), first downs (114) and receiving yards by a running back (854). He became the first player in the NFL to total at least 200 yards from scrimmage in three straight games. Bell’s 1,361 rushing yards led the AFC and he became just the second player in NFL history to record at least 1,350 rushing yards and 850 receiving yards in a single season (Marshall Faulk-1999). He had 830 yards from scrimmage between Weeks 11-14, tying him for the fourth-most yards from scrimmage in NFL history in a four-game span.
Saxon also tutored RB DeAngelo Williams during his tenure with the Steelers. In 2015, Williams had 1,274 yards from scrimmage and tied for the NFL lead with 11 TDs. He was the only player in the AFC to have 1,000+ scrimmage yards and at 10 rushing TDs that season.
Prior to working in Pittsburgh, Saxon coached running backs in Minnesota for three seasons (2011-13), including Adrian Peterson’s NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year campaign in 2012 when he posted the second-highest single-season rushing total (2,097 yards) in league history. Peterson had the most rushing yards in the month of December in NFL history (861) that season to go along with a team record 10 games of 100+ rushing yards. FB Jerome Felton was a second-team All-Pro selection and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012.
Saxon coached running backs in Miami for three seasons (2008-10) and helped RB Ronnie Brown get selected to the Pro Bowl in 2008. In 2009, Miami had the NFL’s fourth-ranked rushing attack (139.4 ypg) and RB Ricky Williams led the team with 1,121 rushing yards.
Returning to the team that drafted him, Saxon spent seven seasons (2001-07) coaching running backs with the Chiefs and helped lead a trio of Chiefs RBs – Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson and Tony Richardson – to seven Pro Bowls and five 1,000-yard seasons. Holmes and Johnson totaled five 1,000-yard rushing seasons between them and rank first and second, respectively, in team history in career yardage. Johnson set a team record with 1,789 rushing yards in 2006 and Holmes set a Chiefs single-season record, which at the time was also an NFL record, with 27 rushing TDs in 2003. Holmes rushed for 100+ yards in a game 24 times while working with Saxon.
He entered the NFL coaching ranks serving as the running backs coach with the Bills in 2000 after starting his coaching career as the running backs coach at Rutgers (1997-98) and as a volunteer assistant at Menlo College (1999).
Saxon played eight seasons as a running back in the NFL with the Chiefs, Dolphins and Eagles after entering the league with Kansas City as a sixth-round selection (139th overall) in the 1988 NFL Draft out of San Jose State. In his career, Saxon played in 111 regular season games and totaled 214 touches for 1,048 yards. He also appeared in eight postseason contests.
He began his college playing career at American River Junior College (1984-85) before transferring to San Jose State (1986-87). Saxon totaled 609 rushing yards and nine TDs on 118 carries to go along with 78 receptions for 732 yards and four TDs with the Spartans.
Saxon is married to Elizabeth and has a son, Devin, and a step-daughter, Matti. Devin played quarterback at Harvard.
James Saxon Coaching Breakdown
Year Team Position
1997–98 Rutgers University Running Backs
1999 Menlo College Assistant Coach
2000 Buffalo Bills Running Backs
2001–07 Kansas City Chiefs Running Backs
2008–10 Miami Dolphins Running Backs
2011–13 Minnesota Vikings Running Backs
2014–18 Pittsburgh Steelers Running Backs
2019– ARIZONA CARDINALS Running Backs
NFL Playing Career
Year Team Position
1988–91 Kansas City Chiefs Fullback
1992–94 Miami Dolphins Fullback
1995 Philadelphia Eagles Fullback