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Month: September 2024

Coaching Rumors: Texans, Kubiaks, Cowboys

January 12th, 2020 at 9:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Texans got embarrassed Sunday as they blew a 24-point lead in the playoffs to the Chiefs, but don’t expect any major coaching changes. It doesn’t look like Bill O’Brien is going anywhere, and his top assistant coach seems to be safe for now as well. O’Brien said after the game that he anticipates defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel being back next year, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Seemingly every year there is speculation that the 72-year-old legendary coach will retire or get pushed out, but he’s been able to stick.

Here’s the latest from the coaching world:

  • With Kevin Stefanski leaving to become the next head coach of the Browns, the Vikings will need to find a new offensive coordinator. Both Gary and Klint Kubiak are on staff, and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune both floated them as potential favorites for the gig (Twitter links). Goessling noted in a separate tweet that both Kubiaks have a strong relationship with Stefanski, and that “they’d talked about working together last year if Stefanski got the job in Cleveland.” Stefanski was a finalist for the gig that ended up going to Freddie Kitchens. The elder Kubiak is a seasoned vet with a lot of head-coaching and coordinating experience, while his son Klint served as Minnesota’s quarterbacks coach this past year. It sounds like the Vikings could opt for continuity for Kirk Cousins.
  • The Cowboys have a new secondary coach after letting go of Kris Richard. Dallas is hiring Maurice Linguist away from Texas A&M to fill that role, according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Linguist had been the cornerbacks coach at A&M. He had previously coached under P.J. Fleck at the University of Minnesota. Mike McCarthy continues to flesh out his inaugural Cowboys staff.
  • The Dolphins will have two new coordinators in 2020, and they’ll also have a new quarterbacks coach. Miami is hiring Robby Brown to fill that role, a source told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Brown first served as an assistant coach in the college ranks for a handful of years, and then was an offensive quality control coach with the Jets for a few seasons. While in New York he worked under new Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, so this hiring makes some sense.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/12/20

January 12th, 2020 at 8:16pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Vikings added a group of players on reserve/futures contracts today, and we also missed some of the Rams’ from earlier in the week. For a primer/refresher on what exactly these deals entail, click here.

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

Polite is the most well-known of the bunch. A highly regarded talent, he fell to the Jets with the 68th pick this past draft because of off-field concerns. He was shockingly cut by New York despite being an early third-round pick, and eventually ended up on the Rams’ practice squad.

Latest On Browns’ Coaching & GM Search

January 12th, 2020 at 7:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Browns have their new head coach in Kevin Stefanski, but they still need a new GM after firing John Dorsey. They recently requested an interview with Eagles exec Andrew Berry, and Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets that he’s “at the front of the GM candidates.”

Robinson notes that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam once said he considered Berry a future GM, and that he has a relationship with chief strategist Paul DePodesta. In a separate tweet, Robinson explains that it may come down to whether or not Berry wants to take the job. He notes that Berry, who used to work in Cleveland under former GM Sashi Brown, is only 32 and in a good situation in Philly. He also writes that Berry will likely get other calls if he passes on the job.

As for the search that ultimately ended in Stefanski, Robinson has some interesting new nuggets. He tweets that Josh McDaniels “wanted a specific structure with the Browns” and that he “wasn’t going to an org where DePodesta or anyone else was a ‘side jury’ reporting to Haslam.” If that’s the case, then it sounds like McDaniels never got too close to landing in Cleveland despite his lengthy visit. The Browns and Haslam have caught plenty of flak for their odd reporting structures, and it sounds like that was an issue once again this time around. 

Robinson also tweets that both Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh “had very good interviews” and that he thinks they were the finalists along with Stefanski. Both should be hot names during next cycle. As for Stefanski’s staff, Robinson tweets that the rookie head coach will likely target either Gary or Klint Kubiak. The Kubiaks were on staff with Stefanski in Minnesota, although Robinson thinks the Vikings will try to retain both. Either could be a candidate to be Cleveland’s new OC assuming Stefanski hires one.

Finally, Robinson tweeted about the future prospects for assistant GM Eliot Wolf and VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith. He thinks the Haslams are open to both staying, and that Wolf will have a conversation with whoever the new GM is about a role.

Broncos To Hire Pat Shurmur As OC

January 12th, 2020 at 5:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Pat Shurmur wasn’t out of a job too long. Less than two weeks after being fired as head coach of the Giants, Shurmur has agreed to become the new offensive coordinator of the Broncos, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). 

Garafolo notes that the deal isn’t officially set yet, but that Shurmur has accepted the job. Despite getting run out of New York he was a pretty hot name. We heard recently that four different teams had expressed interest in Shurmur as an OC, and the Redskins were reportedly sniffing around before hiring Scott Turner. Denver surprisingly elected to fire Rich Scangarello earlier today, and they moved quickly to lock up Shurmur.

Shurmur’s reputation took a hit during his time with the Giants, but it wasn’t too long ago that he was receiving a ton of praise for his work in helping guide Case Keenum to the NFC Championship game with the Vikings. That performance landed him the job in New York, but he flamed out while going 9-23 in two years.

Shurmur is a veteran play-caller, and has served as an offensive coordinator with the Rams and Eagles as well as being a head coach with the Browns for two years in 2011 and 2012. Denver started three different quarterbacks last year, but they hit a bit of a groove down the stretch with rookie Drew Lock under center. Shurmur will now be responsible for Lock’s development.

Giants To Hire Patrick Graham As DC, Dolphins Promote Josh Boyer

January 12th, 2020 at 5:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants officially have a new defensive coordinator. New York is hiring Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, Miami is promoting Josh Boyer to replace Graham, Pelissero tweets.

Graham was already the defensive play-caller in Miami, but the team allowed him to interview anyway. NFL Insider Adam Caplan says Graham will also be given the title of assistant head coach in New York, which may be part of the explanation (Twitter link).

Graham coached with new Giants head coach Joe Judge in New England, so there’s a lot of familiarity there. Graham got his start as a graduate assistant at Wagner College back in 2002 and spent most of the next decade in the college ranks before making the jump to become an assistant with the Patriots in 2009.

He also served as defensive line coach with the Giants in 2016 and 2017 under Ben McAdoo, so this is a homecoming for him. As for the Dolphins, they’ll now have two new coordinators in 2020. They elected to fire offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea after the season, replacing him with Chan Gailey. The Dolphins’ defense obviously wasn’t too good this past year, but Graham was working with startlingly little talent, so it’s hard to hold that against him.

Boyer is another former Patriots assistant who rose through the ranks under Bill Belichick. He served as cornerbacks coach for New England for seven straight years before Flores hired him to be his passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach last season.

Vikings Likely To Cut Xavier Rhodes; Latest On Everson Griffen

January 12th, 2020 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Parks

Earlier today, we discussed a possible extension for Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, an extension that would give Minnesota some much-needed cap space. In addition to a potential new deal for Cousins, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune notes that other priorities for the Vikings this offseason include extensions for head coach Mike Zimmer, GM Rick Spielman, and running back Dalvin Cook, all of whom are only under contract through 2020. The team will also need to find a new OC, as the Browns just hired Kevin Stefanski to be their next head coach.

The Vikings may also be looking at some significant turnover on the defensive side of the ball. As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press observes, four of the team’s six defensive starters with Pro Bowls on their resumes — DE Everson Griffen, DT Linval Joseph, S Harrison Smith, and CB Xavier Rhodes — are on the wrong side of 30, or will be next season (Twitter link).

Per Tomasson, Minnesota is likely to release Rhodes. That does not come as much of a surprise, as Rhodes’ play has declined dramatically since he signed a lucrative extension in July 2017, and the team could net a $8.1MM cap savings by cutting him.

Tomasson also suggests that Griffen may not be back with the team in 2020. Pursuant to the terms of a reworked deal that Griffen and the Vikings agreed to last March, Griffen is technically under contract through 2022. But because he played at least 56% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2019 and recorded at least six sacks — he actually played over 77% of defensive snaps while posting eight sacks — he has the ability to void the 2020-22 seasons and hit free agency. Or, even if he does not choose to do so, the Vikings could release him and save about $13MM of cap space.

In any event, it figures to be a busy offseason for Minnesota, a talented team that has just not been able to get over the hump.

Texans To Try To Extend Deshaun Watson This Offseason

January 12th, 2020 at 11:02am CST by Rory Parks

As members of the 2017 draft class, star quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes are both eligible for extensions after the 2019 season comes to a close. We recently heard that the Chiefs and Mahomes are expected to agree to a new contract in the coming months — a contract that could exceed $200MM in total value — but we have heard less about Watson.

Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link), the Texans will try to extend Watson this offseason, but Watson wants to wait until Mahomes has signed his new pact so that he can try to trump it. And because Kansas City does not want to reach an accord with Mahomes until a new CBA is in place, a new deal between Houston and Watson may not be consummated until the late spring or early summer months.

Of course, neither team has to negotiate new contracts with their signal-callers this year. Both players can be controlled through the 2021 season since both were first-round choices and are therefore subject to a fifth-year option. But it sounds like the Texans and Chiefs want to put pen to paper sooner rather than later, perhaps as a result of the ever-rising salary cap.

Watson, who was an MVP candidate for much of the year, finished the 2019 regular season with 3,852 passing yards, 26 TDs, 12 interceptions, and a 98.0 QB rating. He also rushed 82 times for 413 yards and seven scores, and he picked up a signature playoff win with the Texans’ comeback defeat of the Bills in last week’s wildcard matchup.

Watson’s Texans will visit Mahomes’ Chiefs in today’s divisional round bout, the winner of which will host the Titans in the AFC Championship Game.

Latest On Vikings, Kirk Cousins

January 12th, 2020 at 10:07am CST by Rory Parks

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins managed to quiet his critics for a week after last week’s upset win over the Saints in the wildcard round of the playoffs, but those critics are back with a vengeance after Cousins and Minnesota went out with a whimper in the team’s divisional round loss to the 49ers on Saturday.

To be sure, the loss did not fall entirely at Cousins’ feet. The Vikings gained just 21 yards on the ground against San Francisco’s stout defensive front, and Cousins was sacked six times. But for a highly-paid player who repeatedly faces questions about his ability to win meaningful games, it was a disappointing performance.

Nonetheless, Cousins is going to be back with the Vikings in 2020, the last year of his current contract. The real question is whether the team will seek to extend its relationship with the 31-year-old signal-caller beyond that.

As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out, Minnesota is currently projected to have the least amount of cap room in the league entering free agency. Cousins will count for $31MM against the team’s cap in 2020, but an extension could lower that number and give the Vikings some much-needed breathing room.

And Cousins did post a career-high QB rating of 107.4 in 2019 while throwing 26 TDs against such six interceptions, so an extension would make plenty of sense. After all, it would be difficult to find a free agent or rookie QB to replicate that type of production.

In the immediate aftermath of elimination, though, Cousins and head coach Mike Zimmer — whose current contract also expires after 2020 — did not want to talk about the future. “I don’t know what [Cousins’] contract situation is, so I’ll worry about that down the road,” Zimmer said.

Cousins, meanwhile, said, “[t]hat’s just not focus right now. My focus is on this game and the playoffs. I certainly love it here and love being a Viking.”

Patriots WR Julian Edelman Arrested

January 12th, 2020 at 9:16am CST by Rory Parks

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was arrested on Saturday night after allegedly jumping on the hood of someone else’s Mercedes, per TMZ Sports. Edelman was cited for misdemeanor vandalism and released.

Edelman was reportedly walking around Beverly Hills with friends around 9pm when he leaped onto the vehicle for some unknown reason. Officers were in the area working on a robbery case when a bystander flagged them down and alerted them of the incident.

TMZ’s law enforcement sources say that Edelman was drinking, which is hardly surprising. And given the nature of the transgression, the LA County district attorney may not file charges, especially if Edelman pays the vehicle owner for damages.

Edelman was also arrested in 2011 for allegedly groping a woman at a bar, but those charges were later dropped after video evidence proved inconclusive. Given that, the current allegations probably will not lead to an NFL suspension.

As one of the few reliable weapons in the Patriots’ passing game this year, Edelman hauled in 100 catches for 1,117 yards and six scores. The 33-year-old is under contract through 2021.

Marshal Yanda Considering Retirement?

January 12th, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens’ terrific season came to a sudden and surprising end at the hands of the Titans on Saturday night, which leaves Baltimore looking ahead to the 2020 campaign much sooner than it would have liked. And at some point in the near future, the team could be saying goodbye to its longest-tenured player.

Right guard Marshal Yanda, who was named to the eighth Pro Bowl of his career for his typically excellent work in the trenches in 2019, is under contract through the 2020 season. However, many of Yanda’s teammates believe he may have already played the last game of his career, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets.

Yanda, 35, did not publicly commit to playing in 2019 until he inked a one-year extension in April of last year, and with a Super Bowl ring and two First Team All-Pro nods to his credit, he may choose to hang up the cleats and move on to the next stage of his life.

La Canfora cautions that Yanda will take his time with the decision, but if he does choose to retire, the Ravens will have a massive hole to fill on their offensive line. Selected by Baltimore in the third round of the 2007 draft, Yanda has quietly put together a potential Hall of Fame career with his toughness and intelligence, and Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ running backs would surely miss him.

If he does come back next year, Yanda stands to earn $7MM, a pittance relative to his importance to the team.

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