Here are today’s minor moves:
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: RB Troymaine Pope
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL:
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: K Sam Ficken
When the Rams’ postseason run comes to a close, the Bengals are expected to offer quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor their head coaching position. With the expected move, Cincinnati cleaned house on Friday, dismissing the previous staff of Marvin Lewis, including offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell writes. Among the other assistants let go include running backs coach Kyle Caskey and tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes.
This move, of course, is not unexpected. Most head coaches will bring in their own guys and Taylor — or whoever ends up with the job — is no exception.
A longtime NFL assistant, Lazor began his tenure with the Falcons as an offensive quality control coach in 2003 before moving to the Redskins as an offensive assistant in 2004. After a handful of other jobs, including a stint in the college ranks with Virginia, Lazor landed the offensive coordinator role with the Dolphins in 2014. After serving there two seasons, he joined the Bengals as quarterbacks coach in 2016 and was promoted to offensive coordinator the following season. In two seasons running the show in Cincinnati, Lazor ranked in the bottom 10 in yards and bottom half in points both seasons.
Here’s more from the AFC’s coaching carousel:
- Sticking in the AFC North, Browns new head coach Freddie Kitchens cleaned house after getting the job. Once person he didn’t let go, however, was Ryan Lindley, who will serve as his quarterbacks coach next season, AZCardinals.com’s Mike Jurecki tweets. Lindley, who played in the NFL from 2012-15 as a quarterback, served as the Browns running backs coach in 2018.
- Also with the Browns, the team added former Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer as its special teams coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero [Twitter link]. Priefer filled the same role in Minnesota from 2011-18, but declined to re-sign with the team after his contract expired after this past season. Priefer was born in Cleveland and coached two seasons at nearby Youngstown State in the 1990s.
- New Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is bringing back special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, News9 in Denver’s Mike Klis tweets. McMahon concluded his 12th season in the NFL this past season, his first as special teams coordinator with the Broncos. He previously held the same position with the Colts, Chiefs and Rams.
New Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens appears prepared to make the first major hire to his coaching staff. The team is working on a deal to hire former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks as the team’s defensive coordinator, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets. 
Just earlier today, it was reported Wilks, who served one season as Arizona’s head coach, was expected to interview for the position. He apparently won over the new Browns head coach, and the two sides are working to finalize an agreement.
Wilks, 49, went 3-13 in his one season with the Cardinals before he was fired late last week. Despite the poor record, the coach had the support of the players, including Larry Fitzgerald, who advocated for his return. Before going to Arizona, Wilks served as Carolina’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach in 2017, helping the team rank No. 7 in yards allowed (317.1) and tied for 10th in points surrendered (20.4).
The Browns will not have to adjust to a new defensive scheme, as Wilks employs the same 4-3 unit that Cleveland has used for the last two seasons.
On Thursday, it was reported the Bears had interest in speaking with former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano about their open defensive coordinator role. Those reports were confirmed, as the team was expected to sit down with Pagano on Friday, Brad Biggs and Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune write. 
The Bears are emphasizing finding a replacement for Vic Fangio — who accepted the head coaching gig in Denver — who has experience in operating a 3-4 scheme and Pagano checks that box from his time in Indianapolis and with the Ravens as defensive coordinator.
Chicago is not the only team interested in Pagano. The Browns, Cardinals and Jets have all shown interest in the 58-year-old coach for their defensive coordinator. Before the spots were filled, he also interviewed for head coach with the Packers and Broncos.
Before spending 2012-17 with the Colts as head coach, Pagano found success as defensive coordinator with the 2011 Ravens, which he helped lead to the AFC Championship game. During that season, Baltimore boasted the league’s No. 3-ranked defense both in points and yards allowed.
The Bears are arguably the top landing spot for any defensive coordinator in 2019. In addition to having the top scoring defense with the most takeaways in 2018, the team also possesses a game-breaking talent in Khalil Mack to build around for the next several seasons.
It was reported the Broncos were set to interview 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello for their offensive coordinator job on Monday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, the team had its request for an interview denied by San Francisco, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
Scangarello has been a key assistant under Kyle Shanahan since their days together in Atlanta, and the 49ers head coach appears to value him immensely by denying the request.
As Pelissero notes, Scangarello had a big role getting Nick Mullens ready for action in 2018. Mullens was promoted to the active roster right after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with his season-ending injury in September and wound up starting on November 1. His debut was stellar – he completed 16 of 22 pass attempts for 262 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, as the 49ers blew out the Raiders 34–3 on Thursday Night Football. There were still roadblocks for Mullens and the Niners (particularly due to their injuries), but the team went 3-5 during his second half stretch.
The Broncos thought they had their OC in Gary Kubiak, but that deal went south on Friday. With Scangarello now also out of the picture, the team will continue its search. Mike Munchak may be a candidate for the post.
The Dolphins have narrowed the focus of their head coaching search to Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. There’s no deal yet and nothing official, but Flores is “their target,” according to Rapoport. 
Because the Patriots are still in the playoffs, they cannot formally hire Flores until the Pats are finished. In theory, that could be dicey for the Dolphins, especially after the Colts got gypped by another Patriots assistant in last year’s cycle. However, given McDaniels’ inability to gain real traction for head coaching jobs this year, it seems unlikely that Flores would risk his reputation with a flip-flop.
Flores has become a far more attractive candidate than he was a year ago, when the Cardinals met with him about their HC opening. The 37-year-old de facto defensive coordinator has been considered a leading candidate in Miami ever since the New Year began, and he’s now primed to take over Adam Gase‘s old post.
The Patriots turned to Flores as their top defensive assistant following Matt Patricia‘s defection to Detroit, but he was not awarded the DC title right away. Presumably, he’d get that title by staying put for 2019, but the allure of a head coaching job will probably pull him away from the nest.
In 2018, the Patriots ranked 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring. The Pats have only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons and Flores has been a part of their past eight defensive coaching staffs.
The Broncos’ agreement with Gary Kubiak went bust, but they’re still intent on adding experience to Vic Fangio‘s staff. The Broncos notified the Steelers of their intention to speak with Mike Munchak, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Munchak’s contract with the Steelers has (or will soon) expire, so the Steelers wouldn’t truly have the means to block him from taking a clear promotion elsewhere. Munchak’s possible role in Denver is unknown, but he would fit as a logical OC candidate to fill the role that was set aside for Kubiak.
Just days ago, Munchak was interviewing with the Broncos in their head coaching search. He did not get the nod, but he did impress and he wound up as a finalist alongside Fangio.
Munchak is widely regarded as one of the league’s best offensive line coaches in the NFL. Under his command, the Steelers’ front five helped transform Le’Veon Bell into a star and also made backup James Conner
Munchak served as the Titans’ coach from 2011-13 and has overseen one of the NFL’s best offensive lines in recent years. Pittsburgh’s front helped turn Le’Veon Bell into a star and James Conner into a quickly capable replacement while also aiding Ben Roethlisberger to four straight Pro Bowls and a 2018 5,000-yard season.
Steelers OL coach Mike Munchak is among the best at what he does, and Denver had him in the final 2 for their HC interviews. Possibly adding both Munchak and Vic Fangio would be quite a coup for the #Broncos… and clearly a rough loss for Pittsburgh.
Gary Kubiak is not returning to Denver’s sidelines after all. The veteran coach was not able to reach agreement on a deal with the Broncos to become their new offensive coordinator, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
Kubiak and the Broncos “had different ideas on staffing and offensive philosophies,” Schefter writes, and both sides are now going in a different direction. Kubiak will have no shortage of suitors and could very well land another OC gig elsewhere.
Initially, the idea was to bring Kubiak on board to counterbalance Vic Fangio‘s lack of head coaching experience and overall offensive acumen. Fangio has been a DC with five different teams, but never a head coach in his 40-ish years of coaching.
Earlier this month, the Broncos blocked other teams from interviewing Kubiak for OC jobs and Kubiak’s preference was reportedly to stay in Denver under any circumstances. Somewhere along the way, things changes. The Bengals and Falcons both requested interviews with Kubiak, so those could be two potential landing spots for the 57-year-old.
Following his brief but successful stint in Baltimore, Kubiak returned to Denver to accept his “dream job” as the Broncos’ head coach. But, after two years as sideline general, health issues forced Kubiak into an executive role. He was also rumored to be a viable OC candidate last offseason, but GM John Elway expanded Kubiak’s front office responsibilities in order to keep him in the fold.
The Steelers hired former Bengals’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to serve as a senior defensive assistant, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In Pittsburgh, Austin’s focus will be on the secondary. 
After the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Austin was in the mix for head coaching jobs around the league. In 2018, he pushed for the Lions to promote him from defensive coordinator to head coach after Jim Caldwell was fired, but the team was dead set on hiring Matt Patricia. When that became apparent to Austin, he hooked on with the Bengals to serve under Lewis.
Unfortunately, things did not work out with the Bengals. He was canned in November after the Bengals suffered a brutal one-sided loss to the Saints.
In other Steelers news, the club seems open to trading star wide receiver Antonio Brown. It’s a big departure from their stance just a couple of weeks ago when Brown blew up at teammates and coaches in practice.
The Packers will opt for continuity on the defensive side of the ball after hiring new head coach Matt LaFleur. LaFleur will retain incumbent defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, as he told Adam Schein of Mad Dog Radio (Twitter link). 
Early reports suggested LaFleur was open to keeping Pettine around, and that may have played into Green Bay’s decision to hire him as head coach. As a young offensive-minded head coach with little experience, LaFleur will surely lean heavily on Pettine, who is not only a longtime DC but a former NFL head coach. The Packers could use an arrangement similar to that of the Rams, where head coach Sean McVay handles the offense while defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has near total control on defense.
2018 wasn’t a banner year for Pettine and the Packers defense, as the club ranked 18th in yardage, 22nd in scoring, and 29th in DVOA. But Green Bay was working with young options in the secondary and lacked talent elsewhere. Pettine experienced prior success as the DC of the Jets (200-12) and Bills (2013), and even posted a 7-9 record as the Browns’ head coach in 2014.