Here are the latest NFL minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Arthur Smith accepted the Falcons’ offer to become their head coach. The Falcons announced Friday afternoon they have hired the Titans offensive coordinator.
After two years as Tennessee’s OC, Smith received widespread interest. Every team with a head coaching vacancy reached out to the young coach for an interview. The Falcons landed him and will move forward with the breakout play-caller in charge.
Tennessee’s tight ends coach prior to being promoted in 2019, Smith will become the second straight Titans OC to make the leap to a head coaching job. The Packers hired Matt LaFleur in 2019, but Smith’s Titans work exceeded his predecessor’s. Ryan Tannehill revived his career under Smith, posting a historic 9.6 yards-per-attempt figure in 2019 and finishing with a 33-7 TD-INT ratio this season. Both years ended with Titans playoff berths, and each involved Derrick Henry rushing championships.
Riding their retooled offense, the Titans made a run to the 2019 AFC championship game. Henry became the first player to win back-to-back rushing titles since LaDainian Tomlinson in the 2000s, and the 2020 rushing champ’s 2,027-yard performance ranks fifth all time. After making just one playoff berth between 2009-18, the Titans went 2-for-2 in postseason qualification during Smith’s two seasons as their OC. Smith, 38, began his NFL coaching career as a low-level assistant in Washington in 2007 but was with the Titans since 2011.
This will mark a change for the Falcons, who have used defensive-oriented head coaches throughout Matt Ryan‘s career. Atlanta hired Mike Smith in 2008 and Dan Quinn in 2015. Smith will now oversee the final chapter of Ryan’s Falcons career. After an MVP season under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta’s 2016 NFC championship season, Ryan has not made a Pro Bowl since.
The Falcons remain in search of a GM, though former GM Rich McKay played a key role in hiring Smith. Both Atlanta power brokers will now turn their attention to bringing in Thomas Dimitroff‘s successor. The Falcons are believed to be favoring Saints GM Terry Fontenot for that job. This new regime will be tasked with restoring the Falcons to contender status. They fell well off the pace late in Quinn’s tenure, starting 1-7 in 2019 and 0-5 this year.
Josh Gordon‘s latest path back to NFL action hit another snag Friday, and it is certainly fair to wonder if the former All-Pro wideout will receive another opportunity.
The NFL rescinded its conditional reinstatement of Gordon, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Seahawks wide receiver is again suspended indefinitely. The league reinstated Gordon late last year, but another setback left him unable to return to the field.
Connected to Antonio Brown throughout the offseason, the Seahawks instead re-signed Gordon. But the NFL did not clear him to return to action until Week 16. While Gordon’s reinstatement put him on track to play in that game, his latest stumbling block nixed those plans. Gordon has battled substance abuse throughout his career, which was sidetracked with a 10-game suspension in 2014. The 2013 first-team All-Pro missed both the 2015 and ’16 seasons and has not been the same player since the 2014 ban ushered in a run of hiatuses.
Overall, Gordon has been suspended nine times since becoming a pro. While most players in his situation have drifted out of the league, the 29-year-old receiver has continually managed to work his way back into the NFL’s good graces and receive additional opportunities. Gordon returned to the Browns in 2017, played in 12 games in 2018 and 11 in 2019. However, more substance-abuse trouble intervened in 2018 and ’19 to end Gordon’s respective seasons in New England and Seattle.
The Seahawks have shown steady support for the embattled playmaker, but after missing a third full season in his career, Gordon faces the prospect of never playing again.
Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts given out:
Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Las Vegas Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
The Texans have faced scrutiny from several angles over the past two years. While Bill O’Brien bore the brunt of the criticism, the organization has continued to encounter issues since O’Brien’s dismissal.
CEO Cal McNair made another attempt to address concerns Friday. McNair said he has texted with Deshaun Watson since it became public the quarterback was unhappy. Watson expressed disappointment the Texans did not keep him fully in the loop regarding their decision to hire Nick Caserio as general manager, and McNair confirmed the franchise QB will have input regarding the next Texans head coach.
“That’s the intent. We want him in the loop and part of the process,” McNair said, via Fox 26’s Mark Berman. “Deshaun and I connected over texts since he’s returned from vacation, and I believe in dealing with the personnel issues directly with the players — but in conjunction with our general manager. Deshaun, it’s no secret that he’s disappointed in the communication during the [GM] hiring process.
Following Caserio’s lead, McNair said he has no desire to trade Watson. The four-year veteran has been connected to a potential trade request, despite signing a $39MM-per-year extension last summer, shortly after the reports of his dissatisfaction surfaced. Watson is believed to be far more upset about recent Texans events than he was when the team traded DeAndre Hopkins without informing him of the decision.
“He’s our quarterback,” McNair said. “I’ve liked Deshaun and watched him since he played at Clemson. I’ve believed in him and his leadership in (winning a) championship in college, and I think he can lead our team to championships here.
“We went to the second round of the playoffs and he was a good leader. This year, the flip side of the coin, our record wasn’t nearly as good, but he was still the same great leader. We believe in him. My mom loves him. He’s a great person. He’s a Texan.”
Watson has made it known he was a fan of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was initially left out of Houston’s HC interview requests. But the Texans have since requested a meeting with the third-year OC. McNair said this delay was related to Caserio taking over the search process. The Texans have been connected to several names, but hiring the longtime Patriots exec caused an understandable delay in their search process. Due to the Texans waiting until after the Chiefs’ bye week to submit a Bieniemy interview request, they will be unable to meet with him until after Kansas City’s season concludes.
“We were waiting on Nick’s list of coaching candidates,” McNair said. “Nick added him to the list. Other candidates had been recommended. Like all the candidates, they are Nick’s and my choices.”
Not long after the Chargers fired Anthony Lynn, the veteran coach is expected to have options to return as an offensive coordinator for the 2021 season. The four-year Bolts HC is under consideration for multiple OC jobs, according to ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter).
Thus far, Lynn has been most closely connected to the Seahawks. He has spoken with Pete Carroll about the job, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport report (via Twitter). It does not sound like Lynn has committed to coaching next season, but he will be an option in Seattle. Lynn, 52, has coached in every season since his playing career ended in 2000.
The Seahawks fired three-year OC Brian Schottenheimer earlier this week; Lynn is the first name to be connected to the NFC West champions. While other names may emerge, Russell Wilson wants a say in the team’s next play-calling hire.
“I think it’s vital, it’s critical, super significant, obviously, that I’m a part of that process,” Wilson said, via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson. “Coach and I have definitely been talking about that, [GM John Schneider] too as well. We’ve had some … great dialogue about the thought process of who we want, the leader … the innovator, all that kind of different stuff that you want. I think that’s the super-critical thing, obviously at this point in my career because you spend every day with that person.”
Prior to becoming the Chargers HC in the team’s first season back in Los Angeles, Lynn served as offensive coordinator in Buffalo. However, Lynn took over early in the 2016 season after the Bills fired Greg Roman. Prior to that season, Lynn primarily served as a running backs coach. Lynn coached running backs for five teams from 2003-16 before rising to the coordinator level. He was not the primary play-caller in Los Angeles, but the offense-oriented head coach oversaw four straight top-11 offenses in L.A. OC Shane Steichen called the Bolts’ plays this season.
Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.
Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:
Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)
Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell has emerged as the favorite to become the Lions’ next head coach, sources tell Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Lions can’t make it all official until after the Saints’ season is over, but Campbell seems primed to take over in a matter of weeks.
Meanwhile, the Lions have called off today’s scheduled interview with Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Bowles was something of a longshot to get the gig, but it’s another indication that the Lions have settled on Campbell.
Campbell interviewed with the Lions on Jan. 11th and instantly made a strong impression on Detroit brass. Along the way, the Lions have also checked in with big-name candidates such as Eric Bieniemy, Marvin Lewis, Arthur Smith, and Robert Saleh. Interim head coach Darrell Bevell was also considered but, like Bowles, he never had strong odds of getting the permanent post.
The hire would complete Campbell’s rise up the coaching ladder, which began in 2010 with a Dolphins internship. In 2015, he wound up as the Fins’ interim head coach. A few years later, he declined the opportunity to interview for their HC vacancy. Now, it seems like Campbell has found the right fit.
The Buccaneers have signed offensive lineman Earl Watford. He’ll take the roster spot of guard Alex Cappa, who has been placed on injured reserve with a season-ending ankle fracture. 
Watford was with the Bucs throughout 2019 season, starting in four of his 15 appearances. He’s a favorite of Bruce Arians, having played in 43 games (21 starts) for him in Arizona from 2014-2017 .
The Bucs beat the Washington Football Team on Saturday, but they lose their a starting lineman when Cappa was forced out. Between the regular season and the Wild Card game, Cappa logged 17 starts for Tampa Bay this season. Cappa, in his second year as a first-stringer, helped the unit place second in sacks while aiding the offense to 30.8 points per game, good for third in the NFL.
Watford, in his eighth year, will be eligible to play against the Saints on Sunday.
“He can walk in any play four positions for us,” said Arians of Watford. “[We’ll] just get him back in a little bit of football shape; he stayed in pretty good condition. Just like [with] Ted Larsen – guys that have been in this system for a while, veteran players – when you lose a guy, you try to look for veteran players rather than young guys who might not be ready.”
Aaron Stinnie will start in Cappa’s place, but Watford will be on call if needed.
The 49ers are expected to promote linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Ryans would take over for Robert Saleh, who has agreed to become the Jets’ new head coach. 
[RELATED: Jets Hire Robert Saleh]
Saleh may want to bring Ryans with him to New York, but the Jets would have to work something out with the Niners in order to facilitate the lateral move. Ryans has impressed in SF, molding youngsters Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner, and Azeez Al-Shaair into quality linebackers. Thanks in part to Ryans’ guidance, Warner went from a third-round prospect to a Pro Bowler in 2020.
Ryans may be tasked with a new-look defense in 2021. Safety Jaquiski Tartt, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, and defensive ends Ronald Blair and Kerry Hyder are set for free agency. Those players could potentially reunite with Saleh on the East Coast, as noted by Matt Barrows and David Lombardi of The Athletic.