2015 January - Pro Football Rumors

Benardrick McKinney To Enter Draft

January 8th, 2015 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney has decided to enter the 2015 draft, forgoing his final year of NCAA eligibility, reports Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

McKinney, a redshirt junior, nearly entered the draft a year ago, tweets Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. The 22-year-old linebacker accumulated 66 tackles in 11 games during his final year at Mississippi State, including 10 in the team’s Orange Bowl loss to Georgia Tech.

Per CBSSports.com, McKinney ranks as the best inside linebacker in the 2015 class by a fairly wide margin, and comes in as the 24th-best prospect overall, making him a probable first-round pick. Todd McShay of ESPN.com has McKinney coming off the board 28th to the Packers in his first mock draft, and offers the following assessment of the young defender:

“He has very good speed and closing burst for his size, and while he isn’t a huge hitter in general, he has the strength to occasionally deliver a big blow. He also flashes upside as a pass-rusher.”

Landon Collins To Enter Draft

January 8th, 2015 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Alabama safety Landon Collins has decided to forgo his final season of college eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL draft, league sources tell Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Getlin had reported last month that Collins was viewed as a “lock” to declare for this year’s draft.

Collins, who turns 22 this Saturday, racked up 90 tackles during his junior year at Alabama, as well as snagging three interceptions. He projects as a potential top-10 pick, ranking seventh on CBSSports.com’s big board of 2015 prospects, and first among safeties. In his first mock draft, ESPN.com’s Todd McShay has Collins being selected by the Bears with the No. 9 overall pick.

With a week still remaining for NCAA underclassmen to declare their intent to enter the 2015 draft, Collins is the latest addition to our list of early entrants.

Extra Points: Shanahan, Packers, Draft

January 7th, 2015 at 10:54pm CST by Zachary Links

A source indicated to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) that if Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn gets a head coaching job, he’ll try to hire Kyle Shanahan away from the Browns to be his offensive coordinator. Cole adds there’s a good chance Quinn’s landing spot will be with the Jets. More from around the NFL..

It’s extremely unlikely that the Packers will grant another team permission to interview Eliot Wolf, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
The Texans have granted the Eagles permission to interview director of pro personnel Brian Gaine for their GM spot, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Rams owner Stan Kroenke says that he plans to build a stadium in Los Angeles on spec, but NFL owners doubt that he’d actually go ahead and do that, according to Brett Schrotenboer of USA Today Sports. It’s far to risky of a move for a billionaire like Kroenke and it seems like many feel that he is looking for leverage in St. Louis above all else.
University of Louisville junior safety James Sample told Lars Hanson of 247 Sports (on Twitter) that he will forego his senior year and enter the 2015 Draft.
Junior running back Dee Hart is leaving Colorado State to declare for NFL Draft, as Mike Brohard of the Reporter-Herald writes. Hart sent his paperwork into the NFL but has yet to receive a draft grade. The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder doesn’t have ideal size, but he profiles as a tough downhill runner. The Alabama transfer played only one season for Colorado State, leading the team with 1,275 yards rushing while scoring 16 touchdowns.
Mike Shanahan would create a buzz, but Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group says he’d be a poor choice for the Raiders. Thompson notes that the 62-year-old coach hasn’t won anything significant since John Elway was his quarterback and he’s coming off of an ugly situation with Washington.
Former Bears Director of College Scouting Greg Gabriel had great things to say about Chris Ballard, a finalist for the Bears‘ vacant GM position. “He’s very astute, very smart, excellent evaluator and he’s had the experience in the NFL of working on the college side and the pro side,” Gabriel told CSNChicago.com. “He knows the workings on both sides as far as the different scouting areas within the NFL.”

Minor Moves: Wednesday

January 7th, 2015 at 9:53pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll recap today’s minor transactions from across the NFL in the space below, with any new moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

The Chiefs also signed wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
It appears that quarterback Terrelle Pryor has signed with the Chiefs, based on his Sqor post from this evening. The Ohio State product auditioned for KC earlier today exclusively as a quarterback. A source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) that’s a one-year deal.
The Lions have added another reserve/futures contract signing to the list of players they announced yesterday, with Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweeting that defensive back Crezdon Butler has inked a deal with the club. Butler spent most of the season with the Buccaneers before being waived by the team in December.

Earlier updates:

Former Southern Connecticut State defensive end Ike Igbinosun, who finished the season on the Bills’ practice squad, has signed a reserve/futures deal with the Jaguars, according to John Oehser of Jaguars.com (Twitter link).
Washington has signed outside linebacker Austin Spitler to a reserve/futures contract, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times. Spitler most recently spent time with the Ravens, but was cut near the end of the 2014 preseason.
The Giants are signing kicker Chris Boswell, who worked out for the team early in the season, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Boswell signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Rice this spring, and spent a little time on Houston’s practice squad in September.

East Notes: Jets, Casserly, Ryan, Washington

January 7th, 2015 at 8:04pm CST by Zachary Links

Jets consultant Charley Casserly is open to hiring a new coach before a GM, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. “In a perfect world,” Casserly said on 620 AM WDAE, “You hire the GM first and then hire the head coach…However, sometimes opportunities present themselves on a coach that you can get in competition with and you feel like you need to pull the trigger on the coach first. And then come back and hire a general manager..Now people will say, ‘Well, that can’t work.’ Well, Seattle won the Super Bowl and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Bills will soon talk to Rex Ryan about their head coaching vacancy but they are concerned that he is leery of their quarterback situation, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. In Buffalo, EJ Manuel stands as the starter and without a first-round pick, there aren’t many clear options for fixing the position.
The Chiefs denied permission to Washington to interview Gary Gibbs for their defensive coordinator opening, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Gibbs, for his part, says that he turned the interview down, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter).
Eagles assistant DBs coach Todd Lyght is leaving to become the cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Coach/GM Notes: Falcons, Bears, Jets, Eagles

January 7th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

According to our head coaching search tracker, there are eight candidates involved in the Falcons‘ hunt for Mike Smith‘s replacement, and if no new names are added to that list, the team’s first round of interviews should conclude tomorrow after a meeting with Todd Bowles. So it makes sense that Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests today (via Twitter) that Atlanta intends to bring in its finalists for a second round of interviews. According to Rapoport, Rex Ryan will be among those finalists, though it’s not clear yet who will join him.

Here are a few more items from around the league related to coaches and front offices:

Coaching:

Todd Bowles and Frank Reich completed their interviews with the Jets today, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Bowles’ next visit will be with the Bears.
A Tuesday report indicated that the Bears would likely meet with Mike Shanahan about their head coaching position after hiring a new general manager, but despite Shanahan’s past success with Jay Cutler (and Brandon Marshall), he’s not currently on Chicago’s list of candidates, says Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter). We’ll have to see if anything changes on that front after the team makes its GM hire.
After sitting in on the Raiders‘ interview with Shanahan, John Madden is expected to be in attendance for Tony Sparano‘s meeting with the club as well, tweets Fallon Smith of CSNBayArea.com.
In the wake of Perry Fewell‘s dismissal, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com offers a few suggestions for the Giants to consider for their defensive coordinator job, including Bills defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, who Graziano thinks could be among New York’s top candidates.

Front office:

The Bears confirmed that they interviewed Chris Ballard and Ryan Pace for their GM vacancy, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
Jon Robinson‘s interview with the Jets will take place tomorrow, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
The Jets announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve lined up an interview with Buccaneers personnel executive Jon Robinson for their general manager position. The club also confirmed the candidates they’ve spoken to so far: Chris Grier (Dolphins), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Bill Kuharich (Browns), Mike Maccagnan (Texans), Rick Mueller (Eagles), and their own Rod Graves.
The Jaguars have granted pro director Chris Polian permission to interview with the Eagles for their GM job, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network (via Twitter).
The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which works with the NFL on minority hiring issues, has filed a complaint with the league over Washington‘s general manager search, writes Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Washington spoke to Jets executive Rod Graves about the GM job, but didn’t run the request for permission by the league, and seemed to do it only as a formality while working out an agreement with Scot McCloughan, so as to abide by the Rooney Rule.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins appear to have evaded a Rooney Rule violation by changing the role of recently-hired Mike Tannenbaum, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains. The club has altered Tannenbaum’s and Dennis Hickey‘s duties since first announcing the hiring, so that Tannenbaum doesn’t qualify as a GM-type hire, meaning the club wouldn’t have needed to meet the Rooney Rule.

Falcons Restructure Front Office

January 7th, 2015 at 5:58pm CST by Zachary Links

5:58pm: Dimitroff’s “final say” is over Falcons’ draft and free agency while final say over the 53-man roster is still not determined and could go to the coach, according to NFL.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter).

4:59pm: The Falcons announced a restructuring of the player personnel department this afternoon with changes affecting general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant GM Scott Pioli. Pioli will take on pro and college scouting and NFL draft responsibilities, reporting to Dimitroff. Dimitroff will also “retain management responsibility for salary cap, player affairs, equipment, sports medicine and performance, and video activities,” according to the release.

The new head coach of the Falcons and Dimitroff will report separately to owner Arthur Blank. That search, according to the release, “is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks.”

“After reviewing all of our options – internally and externally – I have no reservations that this is the best approach to setting up our player personnel groups for future success,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank. “It maximizes the talents of Scott, allows for more time and focus on all areas of our football operations groups managed by Thomas, and is in line with other player personnel groups in the league. While this decision was not tied to the head coach search currently underway, we also believe that independent thinking and collaboration will contribute to taking us to the next level in our league.”

The additional responsibilities for Pioli are likely an effort to keep him in Atlanta this offseason. The former Chiefs GM has been a popular name in recent weeks as he has been linked to a number of vacancies, including the Jets and Texans. The release does not mention a salary increase for Pioli, but one has to imagine that he will be receiving a pay bump in exchange for passing on opportunities elsewhere.

Pioli will be supported by Falcons director of player personnel Lionel Vital, who will assume additional pro scouting responsibilities and play a role in college scouting, and director of college scouting Steve Sabo, along with their staffs.

Cowboys Notes: Bryant, Murray, Garrett, Manziel

January 7th, 2015 at 5:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared on ESPN’s NFL Insiders to discuss a wide range of topics. Here’s a look at some of the PFR-relevant highlights..

Jones once again mentioned the franchise tag for wide receiver Dez Bryant, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter). The Cowboys owner didn’t say much about DeMarco Murray, however and the return of the star running back seems iffy.
Even though he hasn’t been able to work out an extension with coach Jason Garrett, Jones assumes he’ll stay, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Garrett is currently coaching as a lame duck and, apparently, he’ll stay that way until the end of the season. If he continues to wait, however, it’s possible another team will pounce.
There was a lot of talk about the Cowboys taking Johnny Manziel at No. 16 in last year’s draft, but owner Jerry Jones is glad he passed. “Really we had Manziel and we had Zack Martin,” Jones told ESPN, according to Michael Florek of The Dallas Morning News. “We really couldn’t have known the quality of the player that Zack Martin is. It’s just been so much more than we could’ve expected and he had a very significant career at Notre Dame. “We certainly needed — I should be looking at the future after Romo. But I decided right there the future after Romo is too far down the road when he won’t be our quarterback to be developing a quarterback like Manziel during these next few years. It just didn’t work time wise, so we had to settle on that pick, Martin, which may be one of the best if not best pick we’ve made around here in the last 15 years.”

North Notes: AP, Jennings, Steelers, Shanahan

January 7th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

If Adrian Peterson feels as if he needs a fresh start away from the Vikings next season, head coach Mike Zimmer would respect that decision, he said today in an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live.

“I would respect Adrian’s decision,” Zimmer said. “I’ll always be honest with him and up front but I’m gonna try to explain to him the reasons why I would like to him to be here. But it has to be a two way street and he has to get his life taken care of — but we’ll sit down and talk, but I’m a pretty good recruiter, too.”

Of course, Peterson remains under contract in Minnesota, so it’s not as if he’ll simply have the opportunity to sign elsewhere right away when he’s reinstated from his suspension. But it’s unlikely that the Vikings will want to keep the star running back at his current 2015 cap number ($15.4MM), so Peterson will have leverage to reach the open market if he declines to take a pay cut.

Here are some more Wednesday links from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:

Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was arrested today in Georgia on charges of speeding, DUI, and reckless driving, according to a report by Jeff Dickerson and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Jennings could face disciplinary measures from the league or from the Bears, who released a statement indicating they’re in information-gathering mode.
Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review examines what a new contract for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might look like, concluding that something in the range of five years and $100MM would make sense.
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor is open to playing one more year in Pittsburgh if the team wants to bring him back, and hopes to remain with the organization after ending his playing career, as Kaboly details. “I can be in the office. I can be at the bottom and work my way up. I can be an assistant,” Taylor said. “I don’t mind working my way from the bottom up.”
If Kyle Shanahan decides to leave his offensive coordinator position with the Browns this offseason, he prefers to try to establish his own identity as a coach rather than necessarily teaming up again with his father, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.
The Lions announced 12 reserve/futures signings yesterday, but rugby star Jarryd Hayne wasn’t among them. The team still intends to finalize a contract with Hayne once a work visa issue is cleared up, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Brian Schottenheimer Leaves Rams For UGA

January 7th, 2015 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Brian Schottenheimer is no longer the offensive coordinator for the Rams, according to an announcement from the University of Georgia, which reveals that Schottenheimer will join the school as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (Twitter link via Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph).

With Sam Bradford sidelined for the season in St. Louis, an offense led by the likes of Austin Davis and Shaun Hill struggled to get much going this year under Schottenheimer, finishing 27th in DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. It was the worst season for Schottenheimer’s unit is his three years with the Rams, with his offense never finishing inside the league’s top 20 in terms of DVOA.

With Schottenheimer headed back to college for the first time since he was USC’s tight ends coach in 2000, the Rams are the latest team to have an opening at the offensive coordinator position. I’d expect the team to begin its search for Schottenheimer’s replacement immediately.