2018 January - Pro Football Rumors

Broncos To Retain HC Vance Joseph

January 1st, 2018 at 11:24am CST by Micah Powell

The Broncos will not make a change following a disappointing 5-11 campaign, as the team will bring back head coach Vance Joseph for 2018, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports (Twitter link).

Team executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway reportedly went back and forth on the decision and decided to keep the first-year coach after taking the night to think it over.

Shortly after the news broke, Elway tweeted: “Vance and I had a great talk this morning about our plan to attack this offseason and get better as a team. We believe in Vance as our head coach. Together, we’ll put in the work to improve in all areas and win in 2018.”

It was long expected that Joseph would be retained but rumors picked up on Sunday that he would likely be out instead. Elway apparently had a change of heart once again and opted keep the defensive-minded coach. Had he been let go, he would have been the first non-interim coach in team history to be fired after just one season.

The first order of business for Joseph in his second season will be to find consistency at the quarterback position. The team will enter 2018 with Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian on the roster, but it is likely the team will look to free agents like Kirk Cousins or the NFL Draft to fill the role. With the No. 5 pick in the upcoming draft, the team is in borderline contention for UCLA’s Josh Rosen and USC’s Sam Darnold, the two highest-rated signal-callers at the moment.

With a strong defense and plenty of weapons on offense, the Broncos are a top candidate to make a rapid turnaround in 2018.

Ravens DC Dean Pees Announces Retirement

January 1st, 2018 at 11:02am CST by Micah Powell

On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees was expect to retire. On Monday, Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley confirmed the news to reporters (Twitter link).

In 2010, Pees joined Baltimore as the team’s linebackers coach and was elevated to defensive coordinator in 2012. In his first year on the job, Pees helped the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory over the 49ers in linebacker Ray Lewis’ final season with the team. In 2017, Pees’ unit allowed the sixth-fewest points and generated a league-high 34 takeaways.

On Sunday, cornerback Brandon Carr commented on Pees’ possible retirement, saying, “His fingerprints are all across this defense. Just the years that he’s been here, you’ve seen the shutouts and big-game defenses that we’ve had from his play-calling. So without him, moving forward, if it happens that way, we’re going to miss him.”

The Ravens have typically hired from within, and Mosley voiced his support for Don Martindale, who has been with the Ravens since 2012 as inside linebackers and linebackers coach. Should they go outside the organization, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora mentions that Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin would be a name to watch, assuming he does not land a head-coaching gig (Twitter link).

Bruce Arians Expected To Retire

January 1st, 2018 at 10:40am CST by Micah Powell

Ending weeks of speculation, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians is expected to retire, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (Twitter link).

In five seasons with the team, Arians went 49-30-1 and cracked 10 wins with Arizona in each of his first three seasons. In July, Arians said he would like to finish out his contract with the team that ran through 2018 with a team option for 2019.

“I hope not,” said Arians when asked if 2017 could be his last season (via ESPN.com). “That’s going to mean I’m not healthy.”

Health concerns have been at the forefront of Arians’ tenure in Arizona. In 2016, he was hospitalized with symptoms of diverticulitis, and in February he had surgery to remove a cancerous piece of his kidney.

Arians gained fame for his work with quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. In 2012, he filled in for Colts head coach Chuck Pagano after he was diagnosed with leukemia and powered the team to an 9-3 mark down the stretch and helped Indy secure a playoff spot. The following year, Arians took the job in Arizona and turned the 5-11 team from 2012 into a 10-win team in his first season. He then advanced to the playoffs in each of the following two seasons.

Giants, Lions Request To Interview Matt Patricia

January 1st, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Micah Powell

Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was expected to be one of the most highly sought after names in coaching entering 2018. It didn’t take long for that to come to fruition, as the Giants (Twitter link) and Lions (Twitter link) have both submitted requests to interview the Patriots defensive coordinator for their head-coaching vacancies, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Patricia was also highly coveted entering the 2017 season, with the Rams and Chargers both requesting to interview the 43-year-old coach before going their separate ways.

After spending time as a graduate assistant at Syracuse, Patricia joined the Patriots in 2004 as an offensive assistant. The following year he served as an assistant offensive line coach before making the switch to the defensive side of the ball. He was elevated to defensive coordinator in 2012 and has won two Super Bowls with New England in the six years since.

Though the Giants’ opening is noted as Patricia’s potential landing spot by Schefter, the coach also has ties to Detroit. The Lions general manager Bob Quinn spent more than a decade in New England as scout and in the front office more moving to Detroit in 2016. He is said to be interested in several other Patriots names like Josh McDaniels and former linebacker Mike Vrabel.

Gruden Rumors: ESPN, Morton, Guenther

January 1st, 2018 at 9:38am CST by Micah Powell

Though he has not officially taken the job, Jon Gruden is expected to become the next head coach of the Oakland Raiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday night.

“The more you talked to people, the more they were convinced Jon would reenter coaching this year,” Schefter said. The return to coaching would be Gruden’s first job on the sideline since he left Tampa Bay in 2008. The Super Bowl XXXVII-winning coach broke into the league with the Raiders in 1998 at the age of 35 and amassed a 38-26 record in four seasons with the team.

Despite the rumors, ESPN has said that Gruden will call Saturday night’s playoff game with the Monday Night Football crew. That, of course, is likely to change should the announcement be finalized.

Here is the latest on the Gruden front:

News broke Sunday night that Jets offensive coordinator John Morton was expected to be a target for Gruden’s coaching staff. On Monday, the Jets are expected to let Morton out of his contract to join Gruden in Oakland, the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta hears (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported (Twitter link) that Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is expected to be pursued by Gruden for the same role in Oakland. Guenther’s contract expired following the Bengals’ 31-27 win over the Ravens on Sunday. If Marvin Lewis is not retained in Cincinnati, however, Guenther could be a candidate for the head-coaching gig.
On Monday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported (Twitter link) that Gruden is expected to eventually say yes to the job after the team complies with the Rooney Rule. He also notes that Gruden is planning to call plays.

Bengals, Lewis To Wait On Future

January 1st, 2018 at 9:12am CST by Micah Powell

The Bengals and head coach Marvin Lewis are expected to take time on deciding the long-tenured coach’s future with the team, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jim Owczarski writes.

Owczarski heard from multiple sources that Lewis met with team owner Mike Brown on Monday and the two did not come to a resolution. The pair may wait until Tuesday to come to a decision.

The Bengals surely want a speedy decision with the NFL’s coaching carousel already turning just hours after the season has ended. The Lions, Raiders, Colts, Giants and Bears have already fired their coaches and have begun lining up candidates to fill those roles.

Lewis, however, has coached the Bengals since 2003 and the team is sure to respect the coach’s wishes. Following the team’s 31-27 win over Baltimore, Lewis said his future with the team is “complicated” and he doesn’t know if he will return to the team. Earlier in December, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the team and Lewis were expected to part ways at season’s end when Lewis’ contract expired.

Rumors have already begun to swirl about members of the Bengals’ coaching staff, with the team’s defensive coordinator Paul Guenther being linked to Oakland.

Bears Fire Head Coach John Fox

January 1st, 2018 at 8:12am CST by Micah Powell

After three losing seasons, the Bears have fired head coach John Fox, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (Twitter link).

Rapoport also noted (Twitter link) that the team will look at offensive-minded coaches to work with first-round pick Mitch Trubisky, while defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will also be a candidate.

The Bears finished in last place in the NFC North in each of Fox’s three seasons with the team. In 2016, Chicago finished with a 3-13 record, its worst finish since 1969 (1-13). His .292 winning percentage is the second worst in franchise history behind Abe Gibron‘s .274 mark in the early 1970s.

Fox joined the Bears in 2015 following a productive four-year run in Denver, in which he led the Broncos to a 46-18 mark and advanced to the Super Bowl in his third season. Before joining Denver, Fox spent nine seasons as head coach in Carolina, where he led the team to its first Super Bowl appearance in just his second season on the job.

The Bears are expected to begin interviewing candidates this week and the coaching search is said to include names from the college ranks. Since the departure of Lovie Smith in 2012, the Bears have not had a winning campaign and will now be on their third coach in six seasons.

Lions Fire Head Coach Jim Caldwell

January 1st, 2018 at 8:06am CST by Micah Powell

A day after defeating the Packers, 35-11, to cap their third winning campaign in four seasons, the Lions fired head coach Jim Caldwell, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link).

Caldwell twice led the team to the postseason, the most playoff trips by a Detroit coach since Bobby Ross in the late-1990s. Despite the regular-season success, Caldwell could not deliver a postseason victory, something that has eluded the Lions for 25 years.

Rapoport also reports (Twitter link) the team is expected to interview highly sought after Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia for the vacant head-coaching position. He also notes Lions general manager Bob Quinn’s New England ties will help in the team’s pursuit of Patricia. Before ascending to GM in Detroit, Quinn spent 15 years in New England as a scout and director of player personnel.

The 62-year-old Caldwell has delivered winning campaigns in five of his eight seasons as a head coach and advanced to the Super Bowl with the Colts. His winning percentage of .562 as Lions head coach is the highest of any full-time coach of the franchise for more than one season since Buddy Parker recorded a 47-23-2 mark and a .671 winning percentage in the 1950s.

The dismissal ends longtime speculation over the future of Caldwell in Detroit. After losing his last three regular-season games and the team’s wildcard matchup with Seattle in 2017, Caldwell was retained and given a contract extension. The terms of the deal, however, were not made available immediately and it was later discovered the extension only covered him through the 2018 campaign.

Instead of firing Caldwell, the team hired Quinn to replace former GM Martin Mayhew. With Caldwell now gone, Quinn is set to hire his first head coach on the job.