2018 January - Pro Football Rumors

Pat Shurmur Could Bring Case Keenum If Hired As HC

January 7th, 2018 at 11:36am CST by Rory Parks

Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is one of the more sought-after head coaching candidates this year, and as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, one of the reasons for that is that he could bring current Vikings QB Case Keenum with him.

Shurmur has interviewed with four different clubs already, and two of those teams — the Cardinals and Giants — could be classified as “quarterback-needy.” Keenum, of course, is one of this season’s feel-good stories, stepping in for the injured Sam Bradford to lead Minnesota to a first-round bye. He is 11-3 as a starter this season, completing 67.6% of his passes, throwing for 22 touchdowns against just seven interceptions, and posting a 98.3 quarterback rating in the process.

Luckily for Keenum, and for teams in search for a quarterback, the Houston product will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. As Schefter writes, Keenum and Shurmur have developed a close working relationship and think very highly of each other, leading league sources to believe that the two men could depart Minnesota as a package deal.

The Vikings will take on the winner of today’s Saints-Panthers matchup next week.

Texans Request Interview With Will McClay

January 7th, 2018 at 11:10am CST by Rory Parks

The Texans are continuing to search for a new GM, and they have requested an interview with Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Just two days ago, we learned that Houston was eyeing McClay and Eagles VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, though the Eagles have denied the Texans’ request to interview Douglas.

It could be equally difficult to pry McClay from Dallas, as Breer notes. McClay is highly respected around the league, and he is among the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s recommended minority candidates for GM jobs this offseason.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Patriots denied the Texans’ request to interview Patriots executive Nick Caserio and Monti Ossenfort. However, it was also reported that, despite that denial, Houston could still interview Caserio and Ossenfort once the Patriots’ season ends, and since Dallas’ season is already over, the Cowboys may not be able to block the Texans’ request to meet with McClay. They could, though, give McClay a raise in order to keep him around.

Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News recently wrote that he does not expect McClay to depart for a GM position just yet, as he has a great deal of say with the Cowboys, enjoys working with other members of the team’s front office, and is determined to bring another Super Bowl to Dallas.

Chiefs Expected To Trade Alex Smith

January 7th, 2018 at 10:41am CST by Rory Parks

Just yesterday, we learned that the Chiefs would be open to trading QB Alex Smith this offseason, but that they would not actively seek out trade partners.

But a lot can change in a day. Ian Rapoport, who reported yesterday that Kansas City would be willing to listen to offers on Smith, says today that the Chiefs, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Titans less than 24 hours ago, are likely to deal the Utah product in the coming months (video link).

As Rapoport observes, Smith’s value is as high as it can be after a strong 2017 campaign. He set several career-highs in 2017, including passing yards (4,042) and touchdowns (26). He also completed 67.5% of his passes and threw only five interceptions, leading to some early-season MVP rumblings. He also led the league in quarterback rating (104.7).

Plus, Smith has a very tradeable contract, as he is owed a relatively low (for a good QB) $17MM in 2018, the last year of his current deal. Rapoport notes that any new team would need to give Smith a new contract, but money should not be an obstacle to actually acquiring him.

Rapoport named a number of teams that could be interested in Smith in yesterday’s report, but today he specifically mentioned the Browns as a potential landing spot — new GM John Dorsey has already traded for Smith once in his career — and he named the Cardinals as another logical destination. Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM confirms that Arizona will indeed have interest in Smith, though they would still likely draft a QB even if they land him (Twitter links).

Smith himself is not ready to talk about his future, as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk (citing the Kansas City Star) writes.

Packers, Bengals Interested In Vic Fangio

January 7th, 2018 at 10:17am CST by Rory Parks

Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is receiving head coaching consideration from Chicago — he interviewed for that position on January 3 — and he is also drawing plenty of interest as a defensive coordinator elsewhere. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, at least the Bengals and the Packers wants to talk to Fangio about their DC vacancies.

Biggs reports that Chicago recently denied the Bengals’ request to interview Fangio, but as of Tuesday, Fangio will be able to meet with whomever he wants, as both his three-year contract with the Bears and the end-of-season grace period that prevents coaches from bolting immediately without permission will have expired.

We learned yesterday that John DeFilippo would be open to retaining Fangio if DeFilippo is hired to become the next Bears head coach, and Biggs suggests that the Bears would like to keep Fangio as DC regardless of whom they hire as a head coach. Nonetheless, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets that there are “significant doubts” as to whether Fangio would want to stay in Chicago under such a scenario.

The Bears have already interviewed a number of head coaching candidates and are interviewing Chiefs OC Matt Nagy today (see our up-to-date head coaching tracker here). But even if Fangio is open to remaining with the Bears as a DC, it could be difficult for Chicago to keep him if their head coaching search stretches on too long, as he is likely to have opportunities to accept or decline in the near future. Nagy, though, is the last-known candidate for the Bears to interview, as it does not appear as if they will get a shot at the highly-coveted Steve Wilks.

Haloti Ngata Wants To Continue Playing

January 7th, 2018 at 9:51am CST by Rory Parks

Haloti Ngata wants to continue his playing career, and he wants to continue it in Detroit, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. The soon-to-be 34-year-old defensive tackle has flirted with retirement in the past, and just a few months ago, Birkett himself said that he expected Ngata to call it a career this offseason.

And that may well have been the case if Ngata had not suffered a torn biceps that ended his 2017 campaign prematurely. In an interview with WXYT-FM, Ngata said, “I think if I finished the year healthy I would have been a little closer to probably retiring, but I want to finish the season so I think I want to keep on playing. And definitely I loved being able to be here and help Detroit have more dominance in this league. We’ve had winning seasons, I just want to continue to build this franchise and get it to where it can be a dominant franchise and a great team. So I definitely want to be here, I definitely want to keep on playing, but we’ll have to see once free agency hits.”

As Birkett observes, the Lions allowed just 74.6 yards rushing per game when Ngata was healthy, but after Ngata’s injury, the Lions allowed 129.7 yards rushing per game. Ngata noticed the drop-off and said that, had he been healthy, he may have been able to help push the Lions to the postseason.

Ngata will become an unrestricted free agent in March, and despite his advanced age, and the fact that he has not played a full season since 2011 due to suspension or injury, his pedigree and his 2017 performance will surely land him a job somewhere. He has not been the same player for Detroit that he was for Baltimore for nine seasons — which is to be expected — but he clearly has something left in the tank, and he does not want his career to end to an injury.

Latest On Steve Wilks

January 7th, 2018 at 9:28am CST by Rory Parks

Add the Cardinals to the list of teams looking to get a crack at Panthers DC Steve Wilks, who is arguably this offseason’s hottest head coaching candidate. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Wilks — who is coaching Carolina’s defense in its playoff tilt against the Saints this afternoon — will spend the coming week trying to fit in interviews with Arizona, the Giants, the Lions, and the Colts (Twitter link).

The Cardinals have already interviewed a few candidates for their head coaching gig, including their own DC, James Bettcher, and Patriots’ DC Matt Patricia. But they plan to at least sit down with Wilks to see what the hype is all about.

As Rapoport notes in a brief segment with colleague Mike Garafolo (video link), all four of the above-referenced teams are waiting to hire a new head coach until they have had the chance to meet with Wilks (which is interesting, because we heard just yesterday that the Lions are expected to hire Patricia). Rapoport adds that, despite the fact that the Panthers have fielded an impressive defensive unit this season, it is Wilks’ leadership ability, even more so than his prowess as a defensive coordinator, that has him in such high demand.

Garafalo notes that new Giants GM Dave Gettleman is anxious to get Wilks in front of team ownership, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Wilks will interview with Big Blue on Monday. How many interviews he takes beyond that will depend on the outcome of today’s playoff matchup.

The Bears also requested to interview Wilks, but as of yet, there has been no word as to whether Wilks will meet with Chicago.

Patriots Deny Texans’ Request To Interview Nick Caserio, Monti Ossenfort

January 7th, 2018 at 8:42am CST by Rory Parks

In their efforts to fill their GM vacancy, the Texans asked to interview top Patriots executives Nick Caserio (director of player personnel) and Monti Ossenfort (director of college scouting). However, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, New England denied that request.

But, Schefter goes on to say that the Patriots’ refusal does not necessarily bring the matter to a close. The ESPN scribe writes that Caserio and Ossenfort still might be able to interview for the Texans job after the Patriots’ season ends, thanks to the league’s newly-relaxed rules that govern hiring executives from other clubs. In past years, teams could block their executives from interviewing elsewhere by saying that the individual had final say on the 53-man roster. Now, the league’s anti-tampering policy provides that final authority regarding the composition of the 53-man roster will not prevent someone from accepting a position with another team.

Interestingly, the Patriots did permit Caserio to interview with the 49ers for their GM job last offseason, and as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe observes (Twitter link), they allowed him to interview with the division-rival Dolphins two seasons ago, so their refusal represents a notable change in procedure. But given that New England is about to lose defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to head coaching positions with other teams, perhaps the Pats are simply trying to maintain some degree of continuity.

If Houston is willing to wait, they could still get a crack at Caserio and Ossenfort. In the meantime, the Texans are looking at Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst and Bills vice president of player personnel Brian Gaine.

Raiders Hire Jon Gruden As Head Coach

January 6th, 2018 at 9:38pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s officially official. The Raiders have announced that Jon Gruden is their new head coach. They’ll (re) introduce Gruden to Oakland media in a Tuesday press conference.

Recently, Gruden admitted there is a “good chance” that he’ll become the next coach of the Raiders. However, he denied reports indicating that he will wind up with a piece of team ownership as part of the deal. Even without minority ownership, this is a colossal deal for Gruden. It’s a ten-year contract likely to be worth about $100MM, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

The sum of Gruden’s contract is jaw-dropping, but he provides a great deal of value to the Raiders outside of football. His presence will keep the fanbase in Oakland engaged for the next two years before the move to Las Vegas. Once they arrive in Nevada, Gruden’s popularity could boost ticket sales and the value of local media rights packages.

From a football perspective, Gruden offers familiarity with team ownership and a winning pedigree. It’s also an opportunity for the Raiders to rewrite history. Under Gruden, the Raiders reached the playoffs twice, ascending to the AFC Championship game in the 2000 season before their heartbreaking loss to the Patriots in the following year. In 2002, the Raiders traded Gruden to the Buccaneers for a whopping package that included two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and $8MM in cash. That season, of course, gave us the Gruden Bowl. Gruden’s Bucs blew the doors off of the Raiders and won by a score of 48-21.

One can’t help but wonder how the late Al Davis would feel about all of this. The Raiders owner always had a pension for defying popular thought, but his reluctance to dole out exorbitant salaries to coaches is what led to Gruden’s departure in the first place. Fifteen years later, Gruden is back in Oakland with a record-breaking contract.

Unlike the Cardinals, Bears, Lions, Colts, and Giants, the Raiders did not cast a wide net in their coaching search. This week, the team interviewed incumbent tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and met with one other unknown candidate to fulfill the Rooney Rule. With that obligation out of the way, the Raiders are set to announce the signing of the only coach they were ever interested in hiring.

Already, Gruden’s staff is taking shape. The Raiders will hire Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson as their offensive coordinator and former Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther as their new DC, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). And, as previously reported, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia will be moving from Dallas to Oakland.

The deals for each coordinator will be four years in length, giving them two years in Oakland and two years in Las Vegas, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deals will also be backloaded in order to capitalize on the absence of state income taxes in Nevada, Michael Gehlken of the Journal-Review tweets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eagles Deny Texans Permission To Interview Joe Douglas

January 6th, 2018 at 7:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles denied the Texans permission to interview their VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). As shown in PFR’s GM Search Tracker, Douglas was one of seven execs tied to the job.

Unless Howie Roseman surprises everyone by retiring, there’s no plausible way that Douglas can ascend to the Eagles’ top job. However, the Eagles could keep Douglas happy with some combination of a pay bump, a shiny new title, and maybe a tacit promise to be the heir apparent to Roseman, whenever that day comes.

Douglas joined the Eagles in 2016 and he’s already impressed ownership with his acumen. This past year, Roseman granted Douglas additional control over the team’s draft board.

Bills exec Brian Gaine is said to be the favorite for the job in Houston. Packers exec Brian Gutekunst, an exceptionally qualified candidate, will interview with the team on Sunday.

Lions Likely To Hire Matt Patricia

January 6th, 2018 at 7:50pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like Matt Patricia is ready to leave the nest. The Patriots are bracing for their defensive coordinator to leave, most likely to become the next head coach of the Lions, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT.

As shown in PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Patricia is up for three jobs with the Lions, Cardinals, and Giants all showing interest. If the Lions are indeed hiring him, they’ll have to wait until the Patriots’ season is officially over to put pen to paper. However, they could reach a handshake agreement with him before that point.

Patricia has been praised for his defensive acumen and his pre-existing relationship with GM Bob Quinn gives him an advantage over others who are up for the job. If Patricia is the hire in Detroit, it will have a ripple effect across the league and possibly displace incumbent coordinators Jim Bob Cooter (offense) and Teryl Austin (defense). Both Austin and Cooter met with the team about a potential promotion to HC.

The Patriots’ postseason gets underway next Saturday in the divisional round.