HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Ohio State’s Justin Fields Declares For NFL Draft

January 18th, 2021 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here. On Monday morning, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields officially declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.

[RELATED: Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Jaylen Waddle, Mac Jones To Enter Draft]

“Growing up, my dream was to one day play the game that I love at the highest level,” Fields said. “Now thanks to God’s grace and mercy, along with the help of you all, I am in a position to turn that dream into reality.”

Fields began his college career at Georgia before transferring to Ohio State in 2019. In just two short years, he cemented himself as one of the most accomplished Buckeyes inn program history. The dual-threat QB threw for 5,373 yards, 63 touchdowns, and nine interceptions across 22 starts. Now, the two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year is on track to be an early pick in the spring.

The Jaguars are expected to select Clemson star Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall, though Urban Meyer has indicated that Fields will also be considered. Most analysts have Fields as one of this year’s top three QBs — at minimum — along with BYU’s Zack Wilson.

Texans Interviewing Eric Bieniemy

January 18th, 2021 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Texans will conduct a virtual interview with Eric Bieniemy on Monday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Ordinarily, assistants in the midst of the playoffs are not allowed to interview. However, Bieniemy has been given the green light by KC and the league office.

Deshaun Watson has been pushing the Texans to consider Bieniemy for the head coaching vacancy. However, the Texans didn’t reach out to the Chiefs offensive coordinator until just last week. At this point, it’s not clear if Bieniemy is a real candidate for the job, or if owner Cal McNair is just looking to mollify his star quarterback.

Watson wanted to be involved in the GM search, but he was kept out of the loop throughout the process. He learned about Nick Caserio‘s hiring at the same time as everyone else, and he wasn’t happy about it. On the plus side, Watson doesn’t have any problems with Caserio — his beef is with McNair & Co. and their lack of communication.

Here’s the rundown of the Texans’ HC search, via PFR’s tracker:

Jets Hire Mike LaFleur As OC

January 18th, 2021 at 10:24am CST by Zachary Links

Robert Saleh is the Jets’ new head coach, and he’s taking his SF friends with him. 49ers passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur will serve as his new offensive coordinator, as Mike Silver of NFL.com tweets. Furthermore, Niners offensive line coach John Benton will take on the same job with the Jets while also managing the run game. 

[RELATED: Jets Hire Robert Saleh]

Saleh will also hire at least two more Niners offensive assistants — Greg Knapp has been tapped as the QB coach while Rob Calabrese will be the pass game specialist for Gang Green.

There were seven vacancies in this cycle, and six of those teams requested interviews with Saleh. The Jets came away with the 41-year-old, who is regarded as one of the league’s sharpest defensive minds. Under Saleh’s watch, the 49ers surrendered just 169.2 passing yards per contest in 2019. And, this past year, his unit had the fifth lowest total in total yards surrendered.

The Jets gave Saleh the freedom to build his own staff, something that they were reluctant to do for certain candidates in their last search. For LaFleur, it’s a chance to spread his wings — he’s been with Shanahan since 2014, dating back to his internship with the Browns.

49ers Hire DeMeco Ryans As DC, Mike McDaniel As OC

January 18th, 2021 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have officially promoted inside linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator. On the other side of the ball, they’re bumping run game coordinator Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

[RELATED: 49ers Re-Sign Josh Johnson]

Ryans takes over for former DC Robert Saleh, who has agreed to become the Jets’ new head coach. Many believed that Saleh would try to take Ryans with him to the East Coast, but the 49ers didn’t want to let Ryans get away. Given the work he has done with LBs Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner, and Azeez Al-Shaair, the young assistant was a natural fit for the role.

McDaniel, meanwhile, takes over for Mike LaFleur, who will serve as Saleh’s OC in New York. McDaniel has worked with Kyle Shanahan at multiple stops and his profile has grown larger over the years. He was a candidate in the Browns’ most recent head coaching search and the Dolphins were also eyeing him as an OC candidate in this cycle.

Sean McVay Non-Committal On Jared Goff

January 17th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Rams just lost their defensive coordinator to the Chargers, and more big changes could be on the way. Los Angeles just wrapped up what was by all accounts a successful season, winning a playoff game and advancing to the divisional round after failing to make the postseason the year before. But if they want to make it back to their old heights of the 2018 Super Bowl run, they’ll need much better production in the passing game. 

Sean McVay seems to understand that, and he’s now raised plenty of eyebrows in his last two press conferences by declining to commit to Jared Goff. In his post-game press conference immediately after the Rams’ loss to the Packers, McVay was asked whether Goff is his quarterback and he replied “yeah, he’s the quarterback right now.” As we’ve often seen, “right now” can be something of a kiss of death in coach-speak.

In his end of year media availability on Sunday, McVay muddied the waters even further. “I’m evaluating everything we do, and that includes the QB position,” McVay said, adding “I’m not ready to make any sort of statements with regards to ANY starting position,” per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Los Angeles had the league’s top total defense this season, the weapons are good enough, the offensive line is solid, and the coaching is by all accounts great. As such, it’s fair to assume that the only way to increase their ceiling is for Goff to improve, because it’ll be hard for the defense to play any better in 2021. The former first overall pick regressed this season, ranking toward the top of the league in interceptions despite being toward the bottom in average depth of target.

It sounds like McVay is far from happy with his current depth chart, but his options are limited. Goff is under contract through the 2024 season thanks to the big extension he signed in September of 2019 that is only really starting to kick in now. There’s no realistic way to cut him before next season with the dead cap implications.

No team is likely to take on his contract in a trade, which would seem to indicate the only way for McVay to replace him would be to add some competition to the roster. It would be really hard to fit another big contract next to Goff’s, which would mean that competition would likely need to come in the form of a cheaper veteran or a player on a rookie deal.

It’s going to be a very interesting offseason in Los Angeles. Perhaps GM Les Snead, noted for his aggressiveness in recent years, has one more trick up his sleeve.

Chargers Hire Brandon Staley As Head Coach

January 17th, 2021 at 9:08pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Surprising news out of Los Angeles, as the Chargers have hired Brandon Staley to be their new head coach, sources told Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had previously been considered a heavy favorite to land the Chargers’ job, which is what makes this move so eyebrow raising. Staley, currently the Rams’ defensive coordinator, won’t have to travel far for his new gig. It’s a meteoric rise for the young defensive mind, as 2020 was Staley’s first season as an NFL coordinator. As recently as 2019, he was coaching outside linebackers in Denver.

Sean McVay then poached him away to be his DC, and he immediately earned a ton of praise for what he did with the Rams. Understandably so, as they led the NFL in total defense by a healthy margin. Having Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey certainly helped, but Staley was widely commended in league circles for his innovative schemes.

He’ll also have a lot of talent on defense to work with at his new job. Derwin James should be back at an All-Pro level after missing the whole 2020 season, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also Melvin Ingram, Joey Bosa, and Linval Joseph along the defensive line, and Casey Hayward and Chris Harris Jr. in the secondary.

Of course, what made the Chargers job most attractive is the presence of Justin Herbert, who’s coming off a sensational rookie season. We’ve heard that Herbert “loves” his offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, and it’s possible that the Chargers preferred to hire a defensive coach so they could keep Steichen in the fold.

Staley, 38, is walking into a prime situation with a talented team that could be poised for a bounce-back. He got his start at small schools James Madison and John Carroll, then broke into the NFL when Vic Fangio brought him onto his Chicago staff back in 2017. Fangio then brought him with him to Denver.

With Staley’s hiring, the Texans and Eagles are the only two teams left looking for coaches. The Lions are believed to be hiring Dan Campbell, and that move will likely become official soon now that the Saints have been eliminated.

Bears DL Mario Edwards Suspended Two Games

January 17th, 2021 at 8:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Mario Edwards will be looking for a new home this spring, but the veteran defensive lineman won’t be able to suit up for the beginning of 2021. Edwards has been suspended for the first two games of next season, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

It’s for a PED violation. It certainly won’t help Edwards, who’s set to be a free agent, find a decent contract. He played a good amount for the Bears this season, notching around 25 percent of the defensive snaps in a rotational role across 15 games. He finished the year with 17 tackles, six for a loss, and four sacks to go with one pass defended.

The Florida State product was drafted 35th overall by the Raiders in 2015, but never lived up to his draft status. He didn’t standout as a rookie, then missed almost the entire 2016 season due to injury. He started 14 games for the Raiders in 2017, but was waived before the 2018 campaign.

After spending one year with the Giants, he signed a two-year, $5MM deal with the Saints in March of 2019, and had three sacks with them in a similar rotational role. Cut back in September, he was picked up just a few days later by Chicago. Still only 26 (for another week), he should get picked up by somebody this offseason despite the looming suspension.

Jaguars To Interview Texans DC Anthony Weaver

January 17th, 2021 at 7:10pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Urban Meyer is continuing to flesh out his inaugural staff in Jacksonville. Former Cowboys OC Scott Linehan is reportedly the favorite to be offensive coordinator, while former Texas head coach Charlie Strong will be joining as linebackers coach and assistant head coach.

We heard earlier today they’d be interviewing Raheem Morris for defensive coordinator, and now we have word of another candidate on that side of the ball. The Jags will interview current Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, a source told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. It’s unclear as of right now whether Weaver, who also coaches Houston’s defensive line, is interviewing to be coordinator or for a lesser role.

His first season as a coordinator this past year didn’t go too well, as Bill O’Brien was fired after just a handful of games and the defense played terribly. The Texans gave up 416.8 yards per game, the third-worst mark in the league. Weaver was previously the Texans’ D-line coach from 2016-19, and the team thought highly enough of him this past offseason to promote him to DC.

Prior to that the 40-year-old former second-round draft pick of the Ravens coached the defensive lines of the Browns and Bills. He was a graduate assistant at Florida in 2010 in Meyer’s last year coaching the Gators, so there’s an obvious connection there.

Drew Brees To Retire After Postseason

January 17th, 2021 at 5:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s been rumored for a while, but it’s inching closer to being official now. Saints quarterback Drew Brees will indeed retire whenever New Orleans’ season is over, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports (Twitter video link).

That means that no matter what, tonight will be Brees’ last game at the Superdome, as the Saints will be going on the road to Green Bay next if they win. This is in line with what we heard earlier this weekend, when it was reported that those close to the veteran signal-caller believed he’d hang up his cleats. He could always reverse course, but it looks like this is really the end of the line for 42-year-old.

If that’s the case, it’ll wrap up one of the most illustrious careers in NFL history, with Brees’ name going down all over the record books. He currently has the most yards in league history, and the second-most touchdowns behind Tom Brady. Brees signed a deal with NBC Sports last April, so he’s already got his post-playing career lined up.

There’s been speculation for a couple years now that Brees was nearing the end, and he’s missed significant time with health issues in each of the past two seasons. The moment it’s official, all eyes will immediately turn to what New Orleans will do to replace the man who has been the starter since the 2006 season.

Taysom Hill is the only other passer currently on the roster, although that same report from earlier this weekend indicated they’d like to re-sign Jameis Winston, who is set to be a free agent. Hill was up and down during his stretch as the team’s starter this year while Brees missed time with a rib injury.

Reports have indicated in the past that Sean Payton views Hill as the team’s starter of the future, although it’s unclear if he still feels that way after getting a closer look at him under center in 2020. We’ll have a much longer and more sentimental post on Brees’ retirement whenever the Purdue product and Super Bowl XLIV champ confirms the news himself.

Latest On Deshaun Watson, Texans

January 17th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Things could be coming to a head with Deshaun Watson and the Texans. After a couple of weeks of drama, there is now “a growing sense from people in and around the Texans’ organization” that Watson “has played his last snap for the team,” Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

It felt impossible to believe when trade chatter about Watson first started, but it now seems like there’s a real chance Watson is dealt before the 2021 season. In case there was any doubt about the dysfunction within the building, Schefter said in a separate tweet that a source told him “it’s gone from the least desirable head coaching job (opening) to the most undesirable head coaching job in the NFL. That’s a fact. That’s how that job is now looked at by everybody.”

It’s a pretty grim state of affairs in Houston right now. It looks like Houston’s management, led by owner Cal McNair and recently hired GM Nick Caserio, could opt for a full-blown rebuild, trading Watson for a bounty of draft picks to restock the cupboard that was left bare by former coach/GM Bill O’Brien.

All of that being said, it’s still far from guaranteed that the team has given up on mending the relationship. One source of tension between the two sides was the team leaving Watson out of the search process for coach and GM after previously promising him input. There had been reports that Watson favored Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, but the team only opted to put in an interview request for Bieniemy recently, leading many to decry it as too little too late and merely an attempt to pacify Watson.

But Caserio has apparently done “thorough homework” on Bieniemy, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that it’s “not an empty interview request by any stretch.” Fowler also calls Bieniemy “firmly in the mix” for the job, so it sounds like he’s got a legit shot. By the sound of Schefter’s tweet, if the Texans and Watson are headed for divorce, it might be hard for them to convince any top candidate to leave their respective coordinator post.

If Watson really does become available, there will be no shortage of suitors. It’d likely take a king’s ransom to pry him loose, so teams like the Jets and Dolphins with an abundance of draft capital would immediately become favorites. We’ll surely hear a lot more about this situation in the coming days and weeks, and we’ll keep you posted every step of the way.

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