2019 January - Pro Football Rumors

Cardinals Won’t Trade Rosen, Draft Murray

January 10th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Oakland A’s expect Kyler Murray to give up on baseball in order to pursue his NFL dreams. The buzz in the football world is palpable, and speculation has built around a possible union between the Cardinals and the Oklahoma quarterback, with the Cards trading 2018 first-rounder Josh Rosen. Such a scenario is “ludicrous” and “not happening,” a Cardinals source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

New Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has referred to Murray as a “freak” in the past and lauded his immense potential. Still, giving up on Rosen so soon in favor of a talented, but undersized, QB prospect, would be incredibly gutsy. You can never say never on anything – particularly when the Cardinals already went way outside of the box to hire Kingsbury – but the odds of this happening do feel unlikely.

The Cardinals have a number of needs to address on both sides of the ball and trading Rosen for pennies on the dollar to replace him with another rookie QB would not make a whole lot of sense. Instead, the Cardinals would probably be best served by going with another position with the No. 1 overall pick, or trading down in order to take care of multiple areas of need.

Rosen, 22 in February, finished out with a 3-10 record in 2018.

Latest On Steelers, Antonio Brown

January 10th, 2019 at 3:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown is unhappy with Steelers brass and coach Mike Tomlin, but the assumption so far has been that the Steelers would not trade the wide receiver. Apparently, things have changed. In an interview with Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette, Steelers president Art Rooney II said it would be “hard to envision” Brown being with the Steelers in training camp this summer.

“There’s not much we can do right now; we have time to make a decision,” Rooney said. “We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table.”

With that, it appears that one of the game’s most dangerous offensive weapons could be on the market. It’s likely that every team will have interest in adding Brown, but the cost figures to be sky high. Not only is Brown a superstar player, but trading him would also leave the Steelers saddled with an astronomical cap hit. Even though dissatisfied players are often traded for pennies on the dollar, a Brown trade could call for the forfeiture of two first-round picks, and possibly more.

Even though Rooney is leaving the door open to a possible trade, he’s not slamming the door on a potential reconciliation either.

“I’m not going to use those words. All options are on the table. We have two months to go before we can do anything. There’s no sense making the decision now,” Rooney said. “We’ll see how things play out. Maybe he decides to come talk to us some day and we learn more about where he is. We’ll see.”

Coaching Rumors: Jets, Gase, Cardinals, Lions

January 10th, 2019 at 1:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets likely preferred Baylor’s Matt Rhule to Adam Gase, but as previously reported, things fell apart when Rhule refused to allow the Jets to pick his staff for him. The Jets especially wanted to choose his offensive coordinator and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears the Jets floated Todd Monken to him as an option.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Cardinals asked, but were denied, permission to interview 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator position, Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets. McDaniel is tight with head coach Kyle Shanahan and the team was not prepared to lose him, especially to a divisional rival.
“It appears” that Steve Sarkisian and Nathaniel Hackett are in the mix for the Lions‘ offensive coordinator vacancy, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM tweets. The Lions have been looking for a new OC ever since Jan. 1 when they announced that Jim Bob Cooter‘s contract would not be renewed.
Sarkisian has also spoken with the Cardinals about their OC job, Marvez tweets. Sarkisian has been on the market since Dec. 31 when he was fired by Atlanta.
Both the Cardinals and Browns have sought permission to interview Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The position(s) he’ll be discussing with those teams are unclear, however.

Broncos Hire Vic Fangio As HC

January 10th, 2019 at 11:52am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos have a new head coach. On Wednesday, Denver reached agreement with Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, sources tell Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano of ESPN (on Twitter). As is the usual standard, the deal will be a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth year.

On Thursday, the Broncos made it official.

“Vic really impressed us with his attention to detail — His focus is on teaching the fundamentals, technique and playing disciplined football,” GM John Elway said. “Going through this process and talking to many qualified candidates, it became clear that Vic was the best choice to lead our team. There are few things that Vic has not seen in 40 years of coaching. He’s been great on the defensive side of the ball for a number of years with a simple, detailed approach that gets results. With his intelligence and experience, Vic is as good of a football coach as you can find. He’s the perfect fit and exactly what we need as head coach of the Denver Broncos.”

The Broncos are hoping that Fangio will help restore the defense to its former glory. Meanwhile, they’ll have to pay special attention to how they fill out the rest of their staff.

Fangio is experienced, but the 60-year-old has never served as a head coach at any level. And, despite all of his defensive acumen, they’ll need a sharp and seasoned offensive team to handle the other side of the ball. Shortly after agreeing to terms with Fangio, the Broncos took a big step in that direction by appointing Gary Kubiak as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Fangio was largely overlooked in last year’s cycle, but the Bears’ success in 2018 vaulted him to the top of Denver’s list. Despite their early playoff exit against the Eagles, the Bears’ D thrived – they ranked No. 1 in scoring defense and allowed just 17.7 points per game.

Fangio has spent the last four year as the Bears’ DC. Before that, he had four years as the 49ers’ DC and also had DC stints with the Panthers, Colts, and Texans.

The hiring leaves the Bears with a DC vacancy of their own. This also means that runner-up Mike Munchak will have to evaluate other options. Munchak interviewed for the Broncos, Packers, and Browns’ head coaching jobs, but they have all been filled. The Dolphins reached out to Munchak, but he turned down their interview request earlier this month.

The hiring of Fangio coupled with the Browns’ hiring of Freddie Kitchens on Wednesday leaves the Dolphins, Bengals and Jets as the only teams with head coaching vacancies.

Cardinals To Interview Ben McAdoo

January 10th, 2019 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

Former Giants coach Ben McAdoo will interview for a spot on Kliff Kingsbury’s Cardinals staff, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). McAdoo could be considered as an offensive coordinator candidate, but he could also be brought on in a “senior position on the offensive staff,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter).

Regardless of who is brought on to fill out Kingsbury’s staff, Rapoport expects him to be surrounded by a lot of experience. That jibes with everything else we’ve heard so far, though Kingsbury has some level of interest in bringing Texas State coach Jake Spavital on board as an offensive coordinator. With no NFL experience, the 30-something Spavital would not fit the bill as a grizzled veteran of the pro ranks.

McAdoo’s run as a head coach in New York proved to be disastrous. By the end, many of his players rebelled and quit on him. However, before that, he was a highly-valued offensive mind who enabled the Giants to finish out with the No. 10 and No. 8 ranked offenses in 2014 and 2015. McAdoo is a long way from being a head coaching candidate, but he fits the profile as a solid OC consideration.

Raiders Have Yet To Talk With San Diego

January 10th, 2019 at 11:39am CST by Zachary Links

At this moment, no one knows where the Raiders will be playing in 2019. San Diego has been widely suggested as a temporary landing spot until everything is set in Las Vegas, but as of Tuesday, the Raiders have yet to engage in talks with city authorities.

“Our office has not been in communication with the Raiders,” Craig Gustafson, spokesman for the San Diego mayor told Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal (on Twitter).

Last month, we heard that there is still a possibility of the Raiders playing in Oakland this year. Of course, with lawsuits and ugliness involved, nothing can be said for certain.

Mark Davis previously expressed little interest in sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, but the league could push that pairing if it winds up being the most logical solution. Given Santa Clara, California’s relative proximity to the Raiders’ fan base and the quality of the stadium, it’s not hard to imagine Roger Goodell advocating for that scenario.

Packers Notes: LaFleur, Rodgers, Murphy

January 10th, 2019 at 11:32am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest on the Packers and new head coach Matt LaFleur:

LaFleur will report directly to team president/CEO Mark Murphy, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Such arrangements can lead to problems sometimes in the NFL, but GM Brian Gutekunst is presumably on board with the plan.
LaFleur told reporters that he that he had the opportunity to speak with Aaron Rodgers prior to accepting the job. “I cannot wait to get to work with him. I think he’s equally excited,” LaFleur said of Rodgers (Twitter link via Olivia Reiner of the team website).
The Packers interviewed a number of candidates for the job, but Murphy was unimpressed by everyone outside of LaFleur “Quite honestly, no one stood out,” Murphy said (Twitter link via Pelissero). After talking with other coaches, they interviewed LaFleur in Nashville on Sunday afternoon and found him to be “the most prepared candidate.”

Latest On Browns, Freddie Kitchens

January 10th, 2019 at 11:26am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns’ chain of command has been muddled in the past, but the team’s new structure appears to be pretty straight forward. New head coach Freddie Kitchens will report directly to GM John Dorsey and not to owner Jimmy Haslam, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Meanwhile, Kitchens will “retool [the] staff,” Robinson says, so he’ll likely have the freedom to choose the coaches that he wants. That includes the offensive side of the staff, which is Kitchens’ specialty.

Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski had support to be the head coaching hire, Robinson hears, but the consensus was ultimately Kitchens. Multiple executives were in the room hashing things out, but the hire ultimately was made by Haslam and Dorsey.

The Browns did not ask Baker Mayfield for his suggestion, but they did listen to his thoughts on Kitchens, Robinson writes. Naturally, Mayfield was a big proponent of Kitchens, who helped get the offense back on track in the second half of the season.

Demaryius Thomas Wants To Continue Playing

January 10th, 2019 at 11:12am CST by Zachary Links

Demaryius Thomas has undoubtedly declined in recent years, but the veteran wide receiver says he is not interested in retirement at this time. Instead, Thomas says he would like to return to the Texans, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes.

“My main priority right now is getting back healthy. I can still play, man. I’m not thinking about retirement. I just don’t know where it will be,” Thomas said. “I told them I would love to finish my career here, but we’ll see…This is what we have to deal with as players and guys in the locker room. I hope my appearance and being around the guys and talking to a couple of guys helped. I don’t want to say I helped that much play-wise, but leadership-wise, I think I helped.”

Thomas’ assessment of his on-field performance is pretty accurate. In seven games with Houston, he caught 23 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also dealing with a surgically repaired torn Achilles that could complicate matters.

Texans head coach Bill O’Brien was also asked about Thomas’ future this week, but was largely non-committal.

“I had a long talk with Demaryius the other day,” O’Brien said. “He’s a great guy. We’ll see how the rehab goes. That’s a tough injury. He knows that. He’s 30 years old. That’s not easy to come back from, but he’s going to work hard. He wants to play again. He made that statement to me, and we’ll see how it goes moving forward.”

Browns, Jaguars Talk With Todd Monken

January 10th, 2019 at 10:57am CST by Zachary Links

Former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken will interview with the Browns for their vacant OC job this weekend, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Monken also spoke with the Jaguars about their OC vacancy, so it appears that he is only focused on those jobs at the moment.

Monken was in the running for the Packers’ and Jets’ openings, but those positions have since been filled by Matt LaFleur and Adam Gase, respectively. He also interviewed for the Bengals’ job, which is still vacant, but his move to talk OC jobs with the Jags and Browns is probably an indication that he won’t be getting the gig in Cincy.

For what it’s worth, Rapoport hears that Monken impressed in his head coaching interviews with the Jets, so he should be positioned as a strong candidate for these OC openings. The Browns job may be especially appealing to Monken and other offensive specialists, though they’ll have to weigh the fact that new head coach Freddie Kitchens will probably hold the keys on play calling.