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Titans Finalize Robert Saleh’s 2026 Coaching Staff

By | at February 14, 2026 5:58 pm

On Thursday of this week, the Titans announced their finalized coaching staff under new head coach Robert Saleh. We had already covered many of the staff changes in previous posts as they were announced, but the release this week provided some previously uncovered updates.

On the offensive side of the ball, the only new info for position coaches saw a slight change in title for Randy Jordan. Originally retained to reprise his role as running backs coach, Jordan will reportedly take on the additional title of Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship coordinator. The release announced the hires of Isaac Williams as assistant offensive line coach and John Rudnicki as offensive assistant. Lastly, offensive assistant Trevor Browder has been retained in the same role. It will be his third season in a full-time position for the team after first joining as a Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow in 2023.

Williams arrived in the NFL in 2022 after six years of experience at a few small colleges. He’s served as the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers for the past four years and will now assist new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo in attempting to turn around a line that desperately needs improvement to protect quarterback Cam Ward. Rudnicki will be making his NFL coaching debut as he makes his way up from the collegiate ranks. He started as an undergraduate student assistant coach working with the offensive line at Alabama before doing the same as a graduate assistant at South Alabama. He’s spent the past three years at South Carolina with two years as a graduate assistant before serving last year as an offensive assistant working with running backs.

On the defensive side of the ball, the release announced a couple of new hires in linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and defensive backs/nickels coach Dalton Hilliard. We also got information that Ben Bloom and Travis Smith have been retained under new titles. Previously the team’s outside linebackers coach, Bloom has been retained as a senior defensive assistant, and previously the Titans’ defensive run game coordinator, Smith has been retained as senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist. Lastly, previously reported with the title of defensive quality control coach, Ahmed Saleh, the head coach’s cousin, will instead hold the title of defensive assistant.

Borgonzi finds a home after not being retained in Dallas. He boasts 15 years of NFL coaching experience including eight years as a linebackers coach — four with the Colts, three with the Bears, and one with the Cowboys. According to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi removed himself from the hiring process in regard to his brother. Hilliard will be making his NFL coaching debut after 11 years in the collegiate ranks. He held roles at his alma mater, UCLA, Tennessee-Martin, and Arkansas State before being named secondary coach at UConn in 2022 and adding passing game coordinator to his title in 2024. He joined Colorado State in December as pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach but will spurn the Rams for the NFL.

Lastly, it was announced that Rob Dadona would be hired as chief of staff. Dadona most recently held the role of manager of coaching operations with the Falcons. He’ll be reuniting with Saleh after working with him during his tenure in New York. Dadona started his NFL career as a football operations assistant in 2019 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach when Saleh took over in 2021.

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QB Derek Carr Confirms He Would Consider Return To NFL

By | at February 14, 2026 4:53 pm

It’s the era of unretiring quarterbacks in the NFL, apparently. Though we’ve seen it from other positions, as well (most notably tight ends — Jason Witten, Rob Gronkowski, Darren Waller), quarterbacks seem to be the most notorious culprits of playing with the emotions of their fans.

Brett Favre retired with the Packers before coming back to play and retire with the Jets before coming back to play and retire with the Vikings. Favre’s first retirement lasted about four months before he asked the Packers for his release; his second lasted just over two months before the Jets let him go. Tom Brady retired after two seasons with the Buccaneers before announcing, 40 days later, that he would return for another year. The most notorious — and egregious — example came to us this past season when Philip Rivers made a comeback for the Colts nearly five years after initially hanging up his cleats.

That’s what made it unsurprising, at this point, when reports sprouted up last week that former Raiders and Saints quarterback Derek Carr could consider returning to play in 2026 after retiring last year. As Carr dealt with a shoulder injury and the potential need for surgery, it was announced that he would be hanging it up. Initial reports indicated that Carr was “extremely unlikely” to unretire, but he had called around the league to gauge interest before making the decision and, eventually, began to change his tune. When both the Bengals and Colts came calling, though, Carr remained retired, not yet getting coaxed out of unemployment.

Then, last week’s reports came out, and in an installment of Carr’s Home Grown podcast that he hosts with his brother, David Carr, on Thursday, Derek confirmed the reports that unretirement was a possible consideration. “Would I do it? Yes,” Carr communicated to his brother and listeners. “Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not. I’d have to be healthy, and I’d want a chance to win a Super Bowl, and obviously, that’s a tough thing to find. That’s hard to do. That’s not easy.”

The 34-year-old passer seemed to indicate that health is not an issue at this point in time and, perhaps, alluded to the contender-status requirement being the reason he didn’t unretire for the Bengals and Colts last year, saying he “had to say ‘no’ a couple times, so far.” The Bengals had shown in 2024 that even with Joe Burrow playing at an MVP level, their defense kept them from even making the playoffs, and while the Colts looked like the team to beat in the AFC after a 7-1 start to the season, cracks had already started to appear even before Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending injury. Indianapolis lost three of its last four games with Jones at quarterback with the only win coming in overtime over the Falcons.

It’s unclear, then, exactly what the scenario would need to look like for him to seriously consider returning to the field. One would assume that perennial quarterback-hungry teams like the Jets, Raiders, or Browns would not entice him to unretire. Other teams with potential quarterback openings could be the Dolphins, Steelers, Colts, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals. It’s hard to argue any of those teams are necessarily a Derek Carr away from winning it all, but the situation Carr may be looking for could be one in which an expected title contender loses their passer and is looking for a veteran to carry them to the finish line, à la Nick Foles in 2017.

Regardless, the option appears to be on the table and, given the return of the 44-year-old Rivers last year, it could remain on the table for years to come. It only remains to be seen whether or not the stars will align for Carr to dust off his cleats and see if they still fit.

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Raiders Promoting Rob Leonard To DC

By | at February 14, 2026 3:17 pm

After interviewing a few candidates for the defensive coordinator position under new head coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders have opted to go with an internal candidate. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard is set to be promoted to coordinator in Las Vegas.

A former college linebacker who led NC State in tackles in 2008, Leonard immediately turned to coaching out of college, starting as a defensive assistant at nearby Cardinal Gibbons HS (NC). With a year of experience under his belt, he rejoined his alma mater, spending three years as a graduate assistant with the Wolfpack before making the jump to the NFL in 2013. Leonard made his NFL coaching debut with the Giants, spending four years as a defensive assistant before getting promoted to assistant defensive line coach in 2017 under then-defensive line coach Patrick Graham.

He moved into the assistant linebackers coaching role the next year, taking over oversight of New York’s outside linebackers, including standout Olivier Vernon. In 2019, he reunited with Graham in Miami as the Dolphins linebackers coach, his first full position coaching role. He moved back to assistant defensive line coach in 2020 before being named outside linebackers coach the following year. In that final season with the Dolphins, Leonard coached a rookie Jaelan Phillips to an 8.5-sack campaign. In 2022, Leonard found his way to Baltimore, joining Mike Macdonald‘s first staff as defensive coordinator for the Ravens, where he helped a veteran Justin Houston to a resurgent 9.5-sack season at 33 years old.

It was at that point that Leonard made his way to Las Vegas, once again reuniting with Graham, the team’s defensive coordinator at the time. As the Raiders’ new defensive line coach in 2023, Leonard took over the tutelage of star defensive end Maxx Crosby, helping him to earn his second straight first-team All-Pro honors while recording career highs in sacks (14.5) and tackles for loss (23). It was also the first year Crosby seemed to have any help across the line as defensive end Malcolm Koonce (8.0) and defensive tackle Adam Butler (5.0) contributed to a team total of 46 sacks, the team’s highest sack total since 2010.

Despite some contract turbulence and injury issues for Crosby, Leonard has been an agent of continuity for the star pass rusher in Las Vegas. There’s a chance that owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek may be leaning on the scale a bit to influence Leonard’s promotion in hopes of increasing their odds of retaining Crosby moving forward. Leonard’s résumé speaks for itself, though, with multiple stops showing results with players young and old alike.

In fact, when Pete Carroll was named head coach in Vegas last year, he interviewed Leonard for the DC job before ultimately opting to retain Graham. With Graham now in Pittsburgh, it’s Leonard’s turn to lead the Raiders defense. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, several NFL and college teams made requests to interview Leonard over the past two years, but the Raiders did everything in their power to keep him in the building as “they believed they had a future star” in Leonard.

Though several names had been mentioned as defensive coordinator candidates to succeed Graham, only three interviews had been scheduled. In the end, continuity will remain key for a defense that finished 14th in 2025 giving up the 14th-fewest passing yards and the 17th-fewest rushing yards as it looks like Leonard will be promoted to defensive coordinator, pending a finalized deal. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that continuity will continue with defensive pass-game coordinator Joe Woods being retained in his current role. Woods had been a rumored candidate for the DC position, as well.

Here’s a final look at how the Raiders’ search for their next defensive coordinator played out:

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Raiders Schedule DC Interview For Packers’ DeMarcus Covington

By | at February 14, 2026 1:54 pm

The Raiders continue to expand their board of defensive coordinator candidates for new head coach Klint Kubiak. Interviews were announced on Thursday and Friday, and the trend continues as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported this morning that Packers defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington will interview for the position.

Despite his short tenure as a one-year defensive coordinator for the Patriots in 2024, Covington remains a popular candidate for open jobs. He first started getting coordinator interest in 2023, when after seven years with the Patriots, the Chargers brought him in for an interview and the Cardinals requested one. Seeing interest in his defensive line coach increasing, an incoming new coach, Jerod Mayo, promoted Covington to defensive coordinator, making him the successor to Matt Patricia after the team went six years without a coach manning the traditional DC role.

He’s already interviewed this offseason with the Cowboys and Jets, and even after his dismissal from New England last year, the Bengals brought him in for an interview before landing on Al Golden. In his first NFL season outside of New England, Covington landed with the Packers in his current role. In his first year in Green Bay, Covington assisted with a defense that finished the season just above average in most categories. His defensive line showed both sides of the spectrum, as the best aspect of the Packers defense was their ability to pressure the quarterback — sixth in the NFL with 162 total pressures — and the worst aspect was their ability to stop the run — 18th in rush yards allowed.

Kubiak has hit the ground running in Las Vegas after brushing the Seattle confetti off his shoulders. Several candidates for defensive coordinator have been rumored as he starts to build competition for the position, but Covington will be just the third to interview. Rams defensive pass-game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant was scheduled to interview yesterday, while Seahawks safeties coach Jeff Howard is said to be interviewing today with his former coworker.

Here’s how the rest of the DC candidate list for the Raiders is shaping up:

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Brian Flores Lawsuit Will Bypass Arbitration, Proceed In Open Court

By | at February 14, 2026 1:03 pm

Score another legal victory for Brian Flores.

A federal judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL will proceed through the U.S. public legal system, not the league’s private arbitration process, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Flores, later joined by Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, filed the lawsuit in 2022 alleging racial hiring practices within the NFL with claims against the league itself and multiple specific teams.

The NFL has long been trying to keep Flores’ suit out of open court and instead under the control of Peter Harvey, the arbitrator appointed by commissioner Roger Goodell. Several court rulings have gone against those efforts, with multiple judges pointing out the inherent issues with Harvey arbitrating the case while being employed by one of the parties.

Flores’ attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and David Gottlieb issued a statement on the decision (via ESPN): “The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law. It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”

The next step in the legal process is a pretrial hearing, set for April 3. The NFL is also waiting to see if the Supreme Court will accept their petition to review lower court decisions regarding this issue of arbitration.

Flores’ lawsuit was already a landmark one for its attempt to confront suspect hiring practices that have persisted even after the institution and expansion of the Rooney Rule. But now, perhaps unintentionally so, it may have become much bigger. The NFL has long used its own private arbitration process that unsurprisingly tends to favor the league in final decisions. Flores’ case threatens the validity and enforceability of that process. The court decisions that have already been made support the contention that the league should not be able to influence the arbitration of cases in which it has a vested interest. A Supreme Court ruling could establish firmer, long-term legal precedent, though they would have to accept the case for review, which is not a certainty.

Arbitration could also become a major issue in the next CBA negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA. The union may be empowered by these rulings and attempt to restrict or eliminate the arbitration process, at least as they relate to players. NFL coaches do not currently have a union and would have to individually negotiate mandatory arbitration out of their contracts unless such language becomes legally prohibited.

Flores was not able to land a head coaching gig this offseason despite three excellent seasons in Minnesota. And despite receiving a mammoth $6MM salary on his new deal with the Vikings, he still wants to get another chance to be a head coach, per Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline. Team owners may be cautious about hiring a coach with an open lawsuit against the league and multiple specific teams. Flores may have to wait until the legal process plays out, which could take years. But continued success with the Vikings defense could become too hard to ignore.

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Jaguars’ Travis Hunter Will Play More CB Than WR In 2026

By | at February 14, 2026 11:45 am

The Jaguars traded up to the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft to select Travis Hunter, a potentially generational prospect who played on both sides of the ball in college.

In the lead-up to the draft, Hunter repeatedly made it clear that he intended to play offense and defense in the NFL. He was viewed as a first-round wide receiver but an even better cornerback, so a full-time role on defense while coming in for specific packages on offense felt like an ideal split of his time. Not only does he have a higher ceiling at cornerback, but it seems easier for a wide receiver to play a part-time role.

However, the Jaguars went in the opposite direction in Hunter’s rookie year. He played 324 snaps on offense and 162 on defense with better results from the latter, aligning with his pre-draft profile. In 12 games, he averaged just 6.6 yards per target as a receiver but allowed only 5.9 yards per target in coverage.

Hunter’s rookie season ended early due to knee surgery, and the early injury raised questions about the practicality and longevity of his two-way workload. Multiple reports have indicated that the Jaguars do not share those concerns, but they are planning to adjust his snap distribution when he returns to the field later this year.

“Travis Hunter is expected to be 100% full-go by Week 1,” NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe said. “He had surgery on the LCL in his knee. He will play both sides again in 2026. The big change may come in the usage. From what I understand, they plan to play him as a full-time cornerback [and] a part-time receiver.”

A late-season breakout from wideout Parker Washington and Jacksonville’s lack of cornerback depth are two primary reasons for this move, along with the basic logic about the two positions mentioned earlier.

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Seahawks Interviewing 49ers TEs Coach Brian Fleury For OC Job

By | at February 14, 2026 9:53 am

The Seahawks are expected to make an internal promotion to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy, but they are still taking a look at some other coaches around the league.

Among them is 49ers tight ends coach/run game coordinator Brian Fleury, who is interviewing for the job on Saturday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Fleury has spent the last seven years in San Francisco, beginning as a defensive quality control coach in 2019. He moved to the offensive side of the ball in 2020 in another QC role before a promotion to tight ends coach two years later.

49ers tight end George Kittle has made the Pro Bowl for five straight years working with Fleury with All-Pro recognition in three of those seasons. The team’s other tight ends have not had as big of an impact, though Jake Tonges stepped up for 22 catches for 209 yards during Kittle’s five game absence this past season.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Fleury served in a variety of roles with the Dolphins, Browns, and Bills, along with stints with multiple college programs. He came up on the defensive side of the ball, which he briefly continued in San Francisco before starting his work with tight ends.

Here are the rest of the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator candidates:

  • John Benton, offensive line coach (Seahawks): Rumored candidate
  • Mack Brown, tight ends coach (Seahawks): To interview
  • Hank Fraley, offensive line coach (Lions): Rumored candidate
  • Brian Fleury, tight ends coach (49ers): Interviewing on 2/14
  • Andrew Janocko, quarterbacks coach (Seahawks): To interview
  • Mike Kafka, former interim head coach (Giants): Rumored candidate
  • Justin Outten, run-game specialist (Seahawks): To interview
  • Jake Peetz, pass-game coordinator (Seahawks): To interview
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Offseason Outlook: Washington Commanders

By | at February 14, 2026 8:30 am

While Jayden Daniels' injuries protected him from labels of a sophomore slump, the Commanders acted swiftly with interesting changes following their wildly disappointing season. The 2024 NFC runner-ups crashed back to earth with a 5-12 finish. Washington cleaned house on the coordinator level, booting Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt after two seasons. Their replacements are less experienced, and Dan Quinn has moved closer to the hot seat.

The Commanders also came into last season with the NFL's oldest roster. They have plenty of work to do to surround Daniels and other core players with younger supplementary pieces as they attempt to dig out of this current hole.

Coaching/front office:

Quinn yanked play-calling duties from Whitt midseason, making the Washington DC position likely to become vacant. But the Kingsbury ouster was unexpected. Resurfacing as a coveted HC interviewee in 2025, the veteran play-caller was out of a job a year later. Teams still called up Kingsbury for HC interviews this offseason, but his Commanders exit brings significant questions.

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‘No Trade Market’ For Tua Tagovailoa

By | at February 13, 2026 11:17 pm

As the new league year is fast approaching, the Dolphins have been working desperately to figure out a way out of the corner they’ve painted themselves into. As it’s been reported recently that Miami is nearing a decision on the future of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it appears one option may be getting taken away from the team.

According to SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora, there is “no trade market” for Tagovailoa. All conversation from both the Dolphins and Tagovailoa concerning the future has revolved around the idea of a trade. At season’s end, Tagovailoa made it known that he would welcome a fresh start elsewhere, while the team made it known their hope was to trade him.

Our most recent update before this indicated that the Dolphins were still focused on the trade route for Tagovailoa’s exit, and they expressed a willingness to eat some of money owed to the quarterback in order to make it happen.

Just before the 2024 NFL season, Miami made the move to sign Tagovailoa to an extension following a season in which he led the NFL in passing yards while starting every game of the season for the first (and only) time in his career. In the wake of several other record-breaking contracts at the position, the Dolphins agreed to a four-year, $212.4MM deal with over $167.17MM in guaranteed money. Since then, Tagovailoa has missed a combined nine games in two seasons and, after averaging over 260 yards per game in three straight seasons, saw his average yards per game plummet to 190 this year.

We knew that Tagovailoa’s benching this year, combined with his huge contract and injury history, made a trade difficult, forcing the Dolphins to offer up the possibility of throwing in some offsetting cash. Per La Canfora, though, Tagovailoa isn’t a difficult trade piece; he’s a non-starter. Backed by input from several top NFL executives, La Canfora seems to indicate that teams in the league are already so turned off by Tagovailoa’s poor play and frequent concussions that they’re not even willing to take him on at a reduced rate.

La Canfora included a series of quotes from said executives, with several not limiting themselves to the language of polite society. One general manager simply told La Canfora, “They’re (screwed).” He went on to call the contract untradeable, saying that, even with Miami “willing to eat a (boat)load of” Tagovailoa’s contract, they “just don’t see a market for him.”

Another top exec relayed to La Canfora a “four-pronged” list of reasons Tagovailoa and the Dolphins were stuck with each other. It started with Tagovailoa’s inability to effectively push the ball down the field and make plays consistently anymore. It then moved to perceived leadership issues with concerns that he couldn’t move a locker room and comes off as ingenuine. The third prong called his concussion history alone “a no-go for a lot of teams,” and the fourth ended by calling his deal a “terrible…contract that nobody wants to touch.”

If Miami is unable to trade Tagovailoa, they will then be forced with the new decision of whether to cut him or keep him. In keeping him, the Dolphins would be retaining perhaps the most expensive backup quarterback in the NFL. As they attempt to obtain a new, young option at the position this offseason with which to move forward, Tagovailoa’s continued presence could also create uncertainty and doubt in the locker room. Cutting the 27-year-old, though, would shoulder the Dolphins with $99.2MM in dead money without providing any cap savings. Cutting him now would lock that money in for the 2026 season alone, whereas the best-case scenario would see the team designate him as a post-June 1 cut, allowing them to split that $99.2MM over two seasons — still a dire result.

Essentially, though the Dolphins seem to believe they’re making a decision between three options, the rest of the league appears to have limited them to two. Miami will need to figure out how best to work around the massive contract obligations that remain tied to Tagovailoa as they attempt to move on to a new era of quarterback.

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Jags Not Expected To Tag Travis Etienne

By | at February 13, 2026 11:13 pm

The Jaguars are not expected to place the franchise tag on running back Travis Etienne, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, positioning the former first-round pick to hit free agency in March.

Etienne, 27, has been Jacksonville’s starting running back for the past four years and just finished a resurgent season following a disappointing 2024 campaign. He ranked 11th in the NFL with 1,107 rushing yards, 17th with 1,399 yards from scrimmage, and 10th with 13 rushing and receiving touchdowns. Etienne also registered the 14th-most missed tackles forced (46) and 10th-most yards after contact (831), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), who also gave him strong grades as a pass blocker.

Those are strong numbers, but they do not justify a franchise tag projected to be $14.5MM (via OverTheCap), which would be the third-highest APY among NFL running backs. A transition tag at $11.7MM is more reasonable, but it will be difficult for the cap-strapped Jaguars to carry that number into free agency. It would also set a high floor on a potential extension.

The Jaguars also have 2025 draftees Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen on the roster, though neither had a major role as rookies. Instead of pursuing a more expensive Etienne extension, the team could opt for a cheaper veteran to add to their young backfield. This year’s draft class is less strong at the position.

Etienne said immediately after Jacksonville’s season ended that he was not focused on his contract situation. He later told reporters (via NFLonFOX) that he did not intend to sign with a cold-weather team. That would seem to rule out several teams, though Etienne could always change his mind once the contract offers hit the table.

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