As two teams from the AFC East – the Bills and the Jets – continue to hunt for a new head coach, let’s check in on a few unrelated items from out of the division….
- The Bills are interested in extending the contract of linebacker Nigel Bradham, who is coming off a breakout season, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports. Bradham, who established new career highs with 104 tackles, a pair of forced fumbles, and seven passes defended, is eligible for an extension on his rookie deal for the first time this offseason.
- Asked in his weekly conference call about his discussions last week with the Falcons and 49ers for their head coaching vacancies, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said those meetings were “fine,” as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com details. “I just had an initial meeting with them and it hasn’t really gone any further in either direction,” McDaniels said. “So, again, I’m back to focusing on the next task at hand for us, which is the Ravens. I’m sure they’ll do what they need to do on their end. I’m sure those things will take care of themselves in the future.”
- Because he spent the 2013 season on the reserve/non-football injury list, Bills offensive lineman Chris Hairston finishes his rookie contract this winter eligible for restricted free agency rather than unrestricted free agency, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter). As Rodak points out, linebacker Kiko Alonso will be in the same situation a year from now.
- Given the lack of star head coaches available this winter, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald can understand why Dolphins owner Stephen Ross elected to retain Joe Philbin for the 2015 season.