Month: November 2024

Patriots Rumors: Interviews, McCourty

The Patriots coaching staff are currently in Nevada for the East-West Shrine Game, and they plan on conducting a few interviews for a vacant spot on their staff while they’re there, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. New England will interview Bills assistant offensive line coach Ryan Wendell and Oregon Ducks associate head coach/run game coordinator/offensive line coach Adrian Klemm in Las Vegas this weekend.

Wendell played for the Patriots for eight years, winning a Super Bowl with them in 2014. The undrafted lineman out of Fresno State was a starter for them that season for the third straight year. He joined the Bills’ staff in 2019 as a coaching assistant and was promoted after a year to his current position.

Klemm was also an offensive lineman for the Patriots, wearing the red, white, and blue from 2000-04. Klemm was never a full-time starter but served as an important backup who started in multiple spots for New England over the years. Klemm’s coaching career has been much longer than Wendell’s and has mostly been in the collegiate ranks with stints at SMU and UCLA before his jump to the NFL. In 2019, Klemm accepted the assistant offensive line coaching position for the Steelers, eventually getting promoted to offensive line coach in 2021. Klemm left the team that year, though, with two games remaining in the regular season to join the Ducks in his current role.

Here’s one more rumor about the Patriots as they begin their offseason:

  • Veteran Patriots safety Devin McCourty is considering joining his brother, Jason, in retirement, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. He said recently that he isn’t “sure either way.” He reportedly has a family vacation on his mind right now and may address his future after that, but it’s up in the air right now. The 13-year veteran has spent all of his career in New England and hasn’t missed a start since 2015. He has stayed a consistent contributor over the years with four interceptions this past season and 14 in the last four years.

Effect Of COVID-19, NIL On NFL Draft

The NCAA has effected many changes of late in college football and, while they ultimately won’t change the overall talent pool in the NFL, there is a latent period of adjustment that the NFL will live within for the next few years. The biggest difference during this adjustment period is the thinning of the talent pool behind projected Day One draft picks, according to Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post, specifically the quarterback talent pool.

The changes that have created this lag in middle-class talent are ones that make it more attractive for players to stay in college longer. For instance, the NCAA granted every college athlete an extra year of eligibility when many sports lost a full season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Athletes are initially given four years of eligibility with the opportunity to take a redshirt year and extend their eligibility to five years. Sometimes medical redshirts are granted for season-ending injuries or other serious situations. Most athletes who exhaust their eligibility play four to five years, while a select few sometimes play six seasons.

There are extremely rare cases that exceed even this. University of Miami tight end Cam McCormick is such a case as he prepares for his eighth season as a college athlete. After originally signing with Oregon, McCormick redshirted his first year in 2016, appeared in seven games as a redshirt freshman in 2017, received a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending injury in the Ducks’ first game of 2018 as a redshirt sophomore, missed the entire 2019 season due to injury as a redshirt junior, sat out the entire 2020 COVID season as a redshirt senior, once again suffered a season-ending injury in the 2021 season opener as a sixth-year senior, and utilized his extra year of eligibility from COVID-19 to play as a seventh year senior in 2022, appearing in all 13 games.

McCormick utilized his regular redshirt, his medical redshirt, and his extra year of COVID eligibility to play seven seasons in Eugene and still missed two of his eligible seasons due to injuries suffered in the season opener. Before his decision to transfer to the Hurricanes, the NCAA granted McCormick two more years of eligibility for those two lost seasons, meaning, this season, the 24-year-old will be an eighth-year senior, and he will be eligible to return as a ninth-year senior in 2024. This is a clear example, albeit an egregious one, of how the NCAA’s allowance of extra eligibility keeps a player in college long after they would otherwise have exhausted their allowable years.

Another way players have found their way to staying in college longer is through the transfer portal. Transfers have often been a helpful tool for college athletes who find themselves in unfavorable situations due to coaching dismissals or slipping down the depth chart. There have long been stories of success from players who decided to make the move to start over at a new school.

Recent changes to transfer rules have made transfers much more prevalent in the sport. Before the changes, coaches had the ability to block certain schools as transfer destinations and many players were forced to sit out for a year, causing many to reconsider a change of scenes. But with waivers available to help athletes play immediately and full and open recruiting of players in the transfer portal, the prospect of changing schools becomes much more attractive.

An old trend would see players who had started for two or three years declare early for the NFL draft even if they likely weren’t a top selection because they saw the writing on the wall that they would be losing playing time to an underclassman. These days, those same players will instead choose to transfer and spend their last few years of eligibility with a school that will allow them to continue to develop and display their ability before potentially going to the NFL.

Lastly, the newest (and most drastic) change in college football: Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). NIL allows college players to profit off of their personal brand through sponsorships and other similar types of deals. This perhaps affects the NFL talent pool the most.

Many different situations used to lead to players declaring early for the draft for financial reasons. Sometimes an injury-prone player would accept their place as a middle-round draft pick just so that they could sign a multi-year contract and guarantee themselves a paycheck, rather than waste a potential healthy year in college where they can only benefit off of their scholarship. Similarly, underclassmen who had phenomenal years and don’t want to risk losing draft stock by playing another year unpaid in college would declare early and, again, ensure the money in hand, even if it wasn’t top-end money.

Those same players now have motivation to stay and play in college with a paycheck. NIL deals have made it possible for star college players to make potential millions of dollars while still in college. Those players with impressive underclassmen seasons that are worried about the risk of losing stock in the following year now are able to get paid while potentially increasing their draft stock even more with another strong year.

All of these factors have led to players staying in college for longer tenures, and this is the first year that we’re seeing it truly affect the depth of the draft’s talent pool. An agent that normally represents what he calls “a middle class of quarterbacks” spoke under the condition of anonymity and said, “I counted like 19 kids who would usually at least think about declaring for the draft who decided to stay in school.”

The agent believes that after the first round, prospects like Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett and TCU quarterback Max Duggan won’t hear their names called until the third day of the draft. Quarterbacks projected as Day Two picks like Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Bo Nix, and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler are finding it more and more enticing to stay in college and earn NIL money while they attempt to improve their draft stocks.

This won’t last forever. The lag in talent will eventually catch up to the draft in a few years, negating this effect. Until then, though, NFL teams will face a new, significant challenge in finding a wealth of talent in the middle rounds of the draft.

West Notes: 49ers, Hudson, Raiders, Broncos

The 49ers may go into the NFC championship game without Elijah Mitchell. The team’s Week 1 starter, who has become a key off-the-bench contributor behind Christian McCaffrey since the team acquired the high-priced back from the Panthers, is battling a groin injury and did not practice this week. Mitchell is listed as questionable to face the Eagles, but this is the latest in a long run of injuries for a second-year player. Mitchell went on IR twice because of separate MCL sprains this season and battled shoulder, knee and finger injuries as a rookie. Jordan Mason worked as McCaffrey’s primary backup during Mitchell’s second stint on IR, while the team also has rookie Tyrion Davis-Price and Tevin Coleman (practice squad) available. Coleman has logged 12 carries for 26 yards this season; Davis-Price has 34 for 99 as a rookie.

Here is the latest from the West divisions:

  • Rodney Hudson made it through just four games in his second Cardinals season, spending much of it on IR. The 33-year-old center signed an extension — three years, $30MM — with the Cards upon being acquired via trade in 2021, but a recent restructure points him out of town. Hudson agreed to drop his 2023 base salary from $8.25MM to $2.05MM, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This lends to the notion a new Cardinals regime will release Hudson, with OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald noting the $2.05MM figure doubles as the max amount a player can receive in 2023 via the CBA’s injury protection benefit (Twitter link). Hudson, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders, considered retirement this past offseason and may be headed out the door in 2023. The Cards would be hit with $5MM-plus in dead money by cutting Hudson without a post-June 1 designation.
  • Shifting to the AFC West, the Raiders will spend the next several weeks being connected to quarterbacks. They are expected to trade or release Derek Carr before his $40.4MM guarantee vests Feb. 15, and Josh McDaniels reuniting with Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo is already coming up. Raiders GM Dave Ziegler was also impressed with Florida QB Anthony Richardson when he scouted him against Tennessee this past season, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock has Richardson going off the board at No. 9 — as the fourth QB selected — but the ex-Gator talent is fairly raw and will have more development to complete once in the pros. If the Raiders were to sign Brady, drafting a QB at No. 7 would obviously cut into their offseason resources to build around him. But Brady also would not solve the Silver and Black’s long-term need at the position.
  • Davante Adams was set to appear in court this week, in connection to the shoving incident at Arrowhead Stadium, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes the appearance will be delayed until June 26. Adams faces a suspension for the postgame shove of a photographer, a 20-year-old Missouri-Kansas City student, in October.
  • DeShawn Williams started a career-high 15 games for the Broncos this season, playing a career-most 597 defensive snaps. The 30-year-old defensive tackle, who is on track for free agency in March, said he wants to re-sign with the Broncos, via Denver7’s Troy Renck (Twitter link). Denver will prioritize a new deal with D-lineman Dre’Mont Jones, who sounded like he wanted to test the market, and has D.J. Jones signed through 2024. Williams, though, would not be especially expensive. Contributing regularly to a top-10 defense, Williams totaled 4.5 sacks this season.

Frank Reich Targeting Vic Fangio For Panthers’ DC Role

The Falcons interviewed Vic Fangio for their defensive coordinator job but went in another direction. The Panthers look to be planning a stronger push to bring in the acclaimed defensive mind.

Frank Reich is targeting Fangio to be his DC in Carolina, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). While Fangio has also met with the Dolphins and may have a 49ers return in his back pocket, Anderson adds momentum is building toward a Fangio-Reich partnership. Fangio, 64, interviewed with the Panthers last week.

This would be a reunion for Fangio, who was the Panthers’ first DC back in 1995. Reich was on that roster, serving as the team’s starting quarterback for its first three games before moving into a backup role behind then-rookie Kerry Collins. Fangio stuck around in Carolina longer than Reich the first time around, lasting in that DC position through the 1998 season.

Reich and Fangio have otherwise not overlapped, and given the interest in the veteran coordinator, Anderson adds it could take making him the league’s highest-paid DC to finalize this reunion. After the Broncos fired Fangio last January, he has re-emerged as one of the most sought-after coordinator candidates. It will be interesting to see if the well-traveled defensive boss will accept a Carolina offer or wait for one of the other DC jobs — potentially San Francisco’s or with one of the teams still searching for a head coach — to open up.

Prior to coming to Denver, Fangio earned Assistant Coach of the Year acclaim for his work with the 2018 Bears. Chicago led the NFL in scoring defense that season — a 12-4 campaign that earned Matt Nagy Coach of the Year acclaim — and Fangio churned out productive Denver defenses despite repeated issues keeping Von Miller and Bradley Chubb healthy at the same time. Fangio also played a significant role in the 49ers’ back-to-back-to-back NFC championship game appearances in the early 2010s. Fangio has coached in the NFL since 1986 and has been a coordinator for five teams.

While Reich and Fangio would present quite the experienced play-calling tandem, the Panthers also have Marquand Manuel on their radar. The Jets assistant interviewed for the position, and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes (on Twitter) the former Falcons DC impressed Panthers brass during the meeting. The Jets’ safeties coach for the past two seasons, Manuel was the Falcons’ DC from 2017-18. The former safety who spent the 2007 season with the Panthers interviewed with the team before Reich’s hire, like Fangio, but he was in Seattle during part of GM Scott Fitterer‘s tenure in the Seahawks’ front office.

Reich’s vision for his staff helped sway the Panthers to hire him, Joe Person of The Athletic adds (subscription required), so how Carolina’s assistant cadre comes together will be interesting to observe. Fangio is one of the biggest names on the market, and considering the options he probably has, it would be quite the get for Reich to start his second-chance HC opportunity.

Falcons Hire Ryan Nielsen As DC

Ryan Nielsen will jump within the NFC South, moving from New Orleans to Atlanta. The Falcons announced Friday they have hired the Saints’ co-defensive coordinator to be their DC.

Working alongside Kris Richard in the Saints’ co-DC setup on Dennis Allen‘s staff this season, Nielsen has been with New Orleans for the past six years. This move will reunite Nielsen with Falcons GM Terry Fontenot, who came over from the Saints in 2021.

This Atlanta search featured some moving parts. Needing to replace the re-retired Dean Pees, the Falcons interviewed some high-profile names. They reached out to two coaches who have already gone through head coaching interviews — Brian Flores and Ejiro Evero — and interviewed ex-Denver HC Vic Fangio. Flores has been closely tied to the Cardinals’ HC job, while Evero has interviewed twice with the Colts and Texans. The Broncos, however, quickly blocked an Evero-Falcons meeting. Because Evero holds play-calling responsibilities in Denver and is under contract, a block maneuver could ensue. Fangio has also interviewed with three teams and looms as an option to return to the 49ers if/once DeMeco Ryans lands a top job elsewhere.

Nielsen, 43, had also interviewed with the Vikings about their DC job. No block could commence with Nielsen, due to he and Richard’s atypical arrangement. This will be Nielsen’s first crack as a play-caller, as Allen continued to run the show on that side of the ball despite succeeding Sean Payton as head coach.

Nielsen spent his time in New Orleans coaching defensive linemen. He worked as the Saints’ D-line coach — or as DC with D-line responsibilities — throughout that Louisiana run. During that stretch, Cameron Jordan (one Pro Bowl in his first six seasons) emerged on the Hall of Fame radar. Breaking the Saints’ career sack record, Jordan has made five Pro Bowls over the past six years. New Orleans also received quality work from defensive tackle David Onyemata under Nielsen.

Atlanta ranked outside the top 20 in points and yards allowed in each of Pees’ two seasons, but the team made no secret of its rebuild path. Nielsen will be tasked with elevating the young talent on the Falcons’ defense — including the likes of Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone and Troy Andersen. The Falcons’ 21 sacks ranked as the NFL’s second-worst total; only Grady Jarrett totaled more than four.

The Falcons shifted to a 3-4 scheme under Pees, so it will be interesting to see if Nielsen brings the Saints’ 4-3 alignment to Atlanta. Allen oversaw New Orleans’ defense throughout Nielsen’s tenure, making it premature to determine if the latter would make that change. But the Falcons are changing up their staff on defense.

As should be expected, Nielsen will be bringing in much of his own position coaches to Atlanta. The Falcons fired outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino, D-line coach Gary Emanuel and secondary coach Jon Hoke, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter (on Twitter). A former Colts DC, Monachino joined the Falcons upon Pees being hired. Ditto Emanuel, who worked under Monachino in Indianapolis and who has been in coaching since the early 1980s, and Hoke.

Bucs To Interview Georgia OC Todd Monken

Surfacing as a candidate shortly after Byron Leftwich‘s firing, the prospect of Todd Monken coming back to Tampa is moving closer to a reality. The Buccaneers plan to interview Monken for their offensive coordinator job next week, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com tweets.

Monken, who worked as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator under Dirk Koetter in the late 2010s, is currently Georgia’s OC. He has been in that position for the past three years. This will be an interesting interview, considering the same GM — Jason Licht — is on staff after he moved on from Koetter and Monken four years ago.

Serving as the Bucs’ OC for much of Jameis Winston‘s tenure, Monken generated some momentum late in that run. Despite the Bucs moving on in 2019, Monken interviewed for five NFL jobs — including head coaching positions — that offseason. Ending up in Cleveland as Freddie Kitchens‘ OC, Monken went one-and-done after that disappointing Browns season but landed on his feet at Georgia. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships, the second of which via a historic 65-7 rout of TCU.

The Bucs ranked in the top 10 in total offense in both 2017 and ’18, the latter year producing a third-place finish for the team’s offense. This still led Koetter and Monken out, but the latter was the primary play-caller when Ryan Fitzpatrick averaged 9.6 yards per attempt — a mark that still ranks in the top 10 for a season (an abbreviated one, as Fitz started seven games) in NFL history — for a squad that rostered an intriguing mix of wideouts and tight ends. While Koetter called plays for a point in 2018, Monken spent most of that season doing so. Kitchens was at the controls for the 2019 Browns.

Georgia has ranked as a top-10 offense nationally in each of the past two seasons, though the Bulldogs’ defense has generated more attention from NFL scouts. He enjoys a pretty nice gig for the SEC powerhouse, however, coaching sought-after recruits and, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud (on Twitter), earning the highest salary among college assistants ($2.01MM). Monken, 56, has spent most of his career in the college ranks. Though, he also coached the Jaguars’ wide receivers from 2007-10. Only the Bucs have reached out to Monken so far. Excepting Keenan McCardell, Tampa Bay has identified a host of young position coaches for its role. Here is where that search stands thus far:

Dan Pitcher Interviews For Bucs’ OC Job

The Buccaneers’ future with Tom Brady is uncertain, but if the team is to retain the 45-year-old icon, a significant age gap may exist between he and the offensive coordinator.

Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher interviewed for the Bucs’ OC position Friday, the team announced. Although Pitcher has served as Joe Burrow‘s position coach throughout the superstar quarterback’s Cincinnati tenure, he is a Marvin Lewis staff holdover who has been with the franchise since 2016.

Pitcher, 36, joins other 30-somethings Jim Bob Cooter (38) and Klint Kubiak (35) to interview for the Tampa Bay play-calling gig. The Bucs also plan to interview Giants QBs coach Shea Tierney (36) for the job. Although it is not certain the Bucs will go forward with the unusual Gen-X quarterback-Millennial OC setup, the team is targeting a host of young play-caller types. Keenan McCardell, who played for the team in the early 2000s, is the only staffer the Bucs have interviewed over 40.

Following the Browns’ Alex Van Pelt OC hire in 2020, Pitcher moved from the Bengals’ assistant quarterbacks coach to QBs coach — during an offseason in which Burrow-to-Cincinnati became a foregone conclusion. The Bengals striking gold with the LSU-developed talent has meant attention for Pitcher, who began his NFL coaching career as a Bengals staff assistant back in 2016. Pitcher worked in that low-level capacity during Lewis’ final three seasons, and Zac Taylor kept him on board upon arriving in 2019.

Burrow has yet to land any Bengals assistants jobs elsewhere just yet, and few teams have inquired about Pitcher or OC Brian Callahan. The latter had one HC interview this offseason — with the Colts — and this is believed to be Pitcher’s first OC meeting. Taylor calling plays undoubtedly has an effect on the interest in his lieutenants, but the Bengals’ rise over the past two years will run the risk of Taylor’s staff splintering. However, due to the sparse interest so far, the prospect of a Taylor-Callahan-Pitcher trio returning for a fifth season together in 2023 appears live. Though, a batch of new OC openings is set to emerge — as the HC-needy teams have yet to begin their searches in earnest — and the Bengals’ playoff success could certainly lead to additional Callahan or Pitcher interest.

Eagles CB Avonte Maddox To Return For NFC Championship Game

Avonte Maddox has battled multiple injuries this season. While the most recent malady did not send the veteran cornerback to IR, he has missed the past three Eagles games. He will not miss Sunday’s matchup, however.

The Eagles will go into the NFC championship game without Maddox on the injury report. The veteran slot cornerback suffered a toe injury in Week 16 but will return to action to help the No. 1-seeded team attempt to book its second Super Bowl berth in six seasons.

Philadelphia’s secondary has steadily reformed down the stretch. The team had been without both Maddox and C.J. Gardner-Johnson for extended periods this season. Both experienced slot players, the latter of whom being moved to safety following the trade from New Orleans this past summer, landed on IR this year and missed a combined 14 games. But Philly will have its full secondary available against San Francisco.

Signed to a three-year, $22.5MM extension in 2021, Maddox is the longest-tenured member of the Eagles’ secondary. He has been with the team since 2018. This season, however, brought ankle and toe problems for the former fourth-round pick. But he will take his place alongside Darius Slay and James Bradberry this week. Pro Football Focus ranked Maddox 30th among corners this season, though he only played nine games end left two of those early.

The Eagles used seven of their eight injury activations this season, bringing back the likes of Maddox, Gardner-Johnson, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Davis and Robert Quinn from IR. Lane Johnson and Jalen Hurts never landed on the injured list, despite missing multiple games. The 14-3 team will have every starter available against the 49ers.

Colts Planning Second Don Martindale HC Interview

Add Don Martindale to the growing list of candidates to advance to the second round of the Colts’ head coaching search. The Colts are scheduling a second Martindale interview for this weekend, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The Colts are the only team to reach out to the Giants’ defensive coordinator during this year’s hiring cycle, which continues a pattern for Martindale. Despite his success in Baltimore and now New York, Martindale has not been especially popular on the HC interview circuit. But he improved his stock a bit during his first season with the Giants.

[RELATED: Jim Irsay Still Pushing For Jeff Saturday As HC]

Despite significant issues at multiple positions coming into the season, the Giants managed to field a competent defense. The team finished 17th in points allowed, and while DVOA was less kind to Martindale’s unit (29th), the rebuilding team-turned-playoff entrant did enough to turn back a Lamar Jackson-led Ravens team, continue the Packers’ midseason swoon and deny the Vikings on back-to-back fourth-quarter drives in the wild-card round.

The Ravens did not renew Martindale’s contract after the 2021 season, his fourth as the franchise’s DC, but the Giants showed considerable interest. To prevent Martindale from exploring other DC opportunities after their interview, the Giants offered him a three-year contract. That did the trick, and Martindale joined OC Mike Kafka in being critical to Brian Daboll‘s first-year success in New York. The Giants have now seen Martindale, Kafka and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney receive interview requests. Kafka interviewed with the Texans for a second time, but Houston looks to prefer DeMeco Ryans. The Colts also met with Kafka, but he has not yet been summoned for a second interview.

A Dan Quinntype scenario here exists, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, who notes (via Twitter) the Giants could bump Martindale’s pay to convince him to stay rather than joining the Colts. Martindale, however, will turn 60 in a few months. After six years as an NFL defensive coordinator, he is running out of time to move up in the league.

As for the Colts, they have a host of candidates still in the mix for their top job. After virtual interviews, the Colts are meeting in-person with candidates the second time around. Irsay did not participate in the virtual interviews; the owner is meeting with the candidates who advance to the second round. Here are the coaches on Indianapolis’ second-interview radar: