Here are some minor transactions from around the league today:
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
After the Colts changed coaching staffs, Bubba Ventrone will have an opportunity to land on his feet. The Indianapolis special teams coordinator is on track to interview with the Browns, and ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder tweets the Colts are expecting to lose him to the Cleveland job. Ventrone spent five seasons in Indianapolis and is a well-regarded ST coordinator. The Browns are also interviewing Giants assistant special teams coach Anthony Blevins, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets. That meeting is expected to commence via Zoom today, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The Browns fired ST coordinator Mike Preiffer earlier this week. Blevins has been with the Giants for the past five years.
Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:
In an offseason which already saw the Browns make a change at defensive coordinator, another notable shake-up has taken place on the sidelines. The team announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways with special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. 
The 56-year-old has been a coordinator at the NFL level since 2006, when he joined the Chiefs. He had brief stints there and in Denver, which set him up for a lengthy stay with the Vikings. He worked in Minnesota from 2011 to 2018, spending time alongside Kevin Stefanski. It was there that Priefer was named Special Teams Coordinator of the Year for the 2012 campaign.
The Cleveland native was hired by the Browns in 2019 under head coach Freddie Kitchens, then reunited with Stefanski one year later. Under Priefer, the Browns ranked 27th the NFL in 2020 in terms of special teams DVOA, climbing slightly to 25th the following season. In 2022, the unit finished midpack in that regard, ranking 14th, leading many to believe he would be retained for at least one more season.
Priefer was under contract for 2023, but he now joins Joe Woods as a Browns coordinator in search of a new NFL home. Woods has landed another DC job by joining the Saints, and Priefer will look to parlay his experience (which includes a few instances stepping in as head coach from his time in Minnesota and Cleveland) into another coordinator position.
“I appreciate everything Prief has done for this team in his three seasons as my special teams coordinator, but I have decided to move in another direction in the best interest of our organization,” Stefanski said in a statement. “I know this city will forever be grateful for the job he did as acting head coach in our AFC wild card win and for all his contributions while leading the Browns special teams units for the last four seasons. We wish Prief the best with his next opportunity.”
The Browns may already have Priefer’s replacement lined up. Cleveland has requested an interview with Colts special teams coordinator Raymond ‘Bubba’ Ventrone, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). A three-year veteran of the Browns as a player, the 40-year-old has been in charge of Indianapolis’ third phase since 2018 and has multiple options to consider, Pelissero’s colleague Mike Garafolo tweets. Since a move to Cleveland would be a lateral one, the Colts have the option of blocking the request.
The Colts’ interview process for their full-time head coach was a rather lengthy one. Their search for an offensive coordinator, by contrast, has reportedly come to an end quickly. Indianapolis is expected to hire Jim Bob Cooter as their new OC (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler). 
The 38-year-old drew plenty of interest during this year’s hiring cycle. That included an interview request being made shortly after Shane Steichen had been installed as the Colts’ new head coach. Cooter will remain in the AFC South with this move, having spent the 2022 season as Jacksonville’s passing game coordinator.
Cooter began his NFL coaching career in Indianapolis, being hired in 2009 as an offensive assistant. He spent three seasons there, before taking on a few different positions around the NFL which led him to Detroit. A single campaign spent there as quarterbacks coach was followed by three-plus as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. His ascent to that role by his early 30s represented a notable rise through the NFL coaching ranks.
After his tenure in Detroit came to an end, Cooter moved on to the Jets for a pair of seasons as their running backs coach. That was followed by a year with the Eagles in a consulting role, during which time he and Steichen worked together. The 2021 season was the latter’s debut season as OC in Philadelphia, and helped lay the foundation for the success he had this past year which earned him the HC position with the Colts.
While the Eagles were putting together a highly impressive season in 2022, Cooter was working with Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. Expectations were high for the 2021 first overall pick, after Doug Pederson had been brought in as head coach of the Jaguars. Lawrence took a major step forward across the board statistically, earning a Pro Bowl nod and helping lead the team to the AFC South title. A comeback win over the Chargers in the wild card round showcased his potential for further development down the road.
Cooter had a role in that progress, and now he will be tasked with overseeing the Colts’ offense while, in all likelihood, working a new signal-caller into the unit. Steichen’s work with quarterbacks in the past played a role in his hire, and Indianapolis has the opportunity this offseason to draft a new franchise QB. Regardless of how their efforts on that front turn out, Cooter will look to engineer a rebound on offense for a team which ranked 30th in the league in scoring (17 points per game) in 2022.
Cooter – who also interviewed with the Panthers and Buccaneers for their respective OC vacancies – was one of two candidates connected to the Colts posting. The other, Tee Martin, has not been named as a candidate for any other position this offseason, so this news points to him remaining in place as the Ravens’ wide receivers coach. Despite Cooter’s coordinator experience, it has already been confirmed that Steichen will call plays for the Colts this season, one in which much of their offense will look considerably different.
Another name has been added to the list of offensive coordinator candidates in Indianapolis. The Colts have requested an interview with Ravens wide receivers coach Tee Martin, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.
[RELATED: HC Steichen To Call Colts’ Plays]
For Martin, the 2022 campaign represented only his second season as an NFL staffer; he held the same title as he did the previous year, also spent in Baltimore. Prior to his Ravens hire, though, the 44-year-old enjoyed a highly-regarded college career. Martin’s time working with receivers at Kentucky, USC and Tennessee put him squarely on the NFL radar, and his hire was seen as a positive one for the Ravens’ positional group.
Production in the passing game has long been a talking point for Baltimore, particularly in the Lamar Jackson era with now-ex offensive coordinator Greg Roman at the helm for their offense. Tight end Mark Andrews has firmly entrenched himself as one of the league’s best at his position, earning three Pro Bowl nods and comfortably leading the team in receiving yards in 2022. Production on the perimeter, however, was once again lacking.
The Ravens lost their top two wideouts (Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay) to mid-season injuries, limiting their success in the passing game. Still, the fact that veteran Demarcus Robinson paced the team’s WRs with 458 yards underscores how much they struggled on offense down the stretch (a period in which Jackson was also injured, in fairness). Last season, Martin helped Marquise Brown record his only 1,000-yard campaign to date, prior to his trade to the Cardinals.
Last offseason, Martin was in the running for the Bills’ OC vacancy created by the departure of Brian Daboll. As a result, this isn’t the first interest being shown to him for a coordinator opportunity. His lack of experience in the NFL – and of guiding a team’s offense at the pro level – would be striking, given the Colts’ hiring of a rookie bench boss in Shane Steichen. Indianapolis’ only other reported candidate is Jim Bob Cooter, who by contrast has three-plus years of OC experience.
If Martin were to land the position, he would inherit a team with few known commodities at receiver aside from Michael Pittman Jr. The former second-rounder led the Colts with 925 yards, but an increase in overall production from the unit will be a top priority for Steichen’s staff in 2023. Given Martin’s background, he could be help in that regard.
Today’s lone minor move:
Indianapolis Colts
Four years after his Lions offensive coordinator stint, Jim Bob Cooter has received considerable interest about moving back up the ladder. The Jaguars assistant has now received three OC interview requests.
The Colts want to speak with the Jags’ pass-game coordinator about their OC job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Since the hiring period began, Cooter has received meeting requests from the Buccaneers and Panthers as well. He has gone through with both interviews, with Joe Person of The Athletic noting (via Twitter) the Panthers meeting has taken place.
This would be a for a non-play-calling role, however. Shane Steichen has confirmed he will call plays in Indianapolis. Frank Reich has not yet done so in Carolina, though the ex-Colts coach operated as the team’s play-caller throughout his time in the AFC South. The Bucs have filled their OC post, hiring Dave Canales on Wednesday night. Cooter served as the Lions’ primary play-caller under Jim Caldwell and Matt Patricia, though it has been a bit since that stint concluded.
Although the Jags may not be thrilled about Cooter interviewing with a division rival, they cannot block the meeting from taking place. Since the job involves a promotion, Cooter is free to meet with the Colts. Cooter, 38, has been with the Jags for a year, coming over after Doug Pederson‘s hire. The Jags have built an extensive brain trust for Trevor Lawrence, with Pederson calling plays but Cooter, OC Press Taylor and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy spearheading a turnaround this past season.
Steichen and Cooter have not overlapped during their careers thus far. Cooter has been with three teams since the Lions moved on following the 2018 season. He spent two years as the Jets’ running backs coach under Adam Gase and was an Eagles consultant in 2021. The Colts must interview at least one external minority candidate for their OC role, though based on how thorough the team was during its HC search, there will likely be a few interview requests sent out before this process wraps.
The Lions promoted Cooter to OC when he was just 31, and Matthew Stafford finished eighth in QBR in each of Cooter’s first two years as OC. The Jags are coming off a remarkable turnaround, going from picking first overall to advancing to the divisional round. Lawrence showed consistent promise down the stretch, culminating with his leading the third-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history — a 27-point rally past the Chargers in the wild-card round.
Known to make a few headline-worthy comments, Jim Irsay let another fly while introducing Shane Steichen as the Colts’ next head coach. The Colts have been linked to a potential trade-up for a quarterback — a scenario GM Chris Ballard said would be on the table last month — and Irsay kept such a maneuver front and center.
“Do you trade up? There’s so many things you can do,” Irsay said. “The [Eagles] took Jalen [Hurts] in the second round. … Although, the Alabama guy doesn’t look bad, I tell ya.”
[RELATED: Colts Do Not Commit To Retaining DC Gus Bradley]
Heisman winner Bryce Young has been viewed as a top-five prospect in the weeks leading up to the Combine. While Young’s 5-foot-10 frame makes him a unique talent to choose so early, ESPN.com’s Todd McShay slots him as his No. 1 overall prospect. McShay’s first mock draft features the Colts trading up from No. 4 to No. 1 with the Bears to draft Young. Housing a bevy of needs and a quarterback who nearly set the position’s single-season rushing record in Justin Fields, the Bears will undoubtedly entertain trading down.
“Knowing we’re going to have to find a young quarterback to develop,” Irsay said he favored an offense-oriented coach. Steichen’s pitch sold the outspoken owner. The former Eagles and Chargers OC laid out a specific blueprint for how he would develop a young quarterback, Stephen Holder of ESPN.com notes. This made a clear impact in Steichen landing the job, pointing to the Colts stopping their string of stopgap quarterbacks. Indianapolis has used veterans as primary starters at the position each year since Andrew Luck‘s surprise retirement, going from Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers to Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan.
Steichen played the lead role in developing Justin Herbert as a rookie, as Chargers offensive coordinator during Anthony Lynn‘s final season, and took over Eagles play-calling duties midway through the 2021 campaign. With Steichen calling plays throughout this past Eagles season, Hurts removed the doubt attached to his future as Philadelphia’s franchise quarterback. After the Eagles pursued bigger names in 2022, Hurts emerged as an MVP candidate and finished his season with 374 total yards in Super Bowl LVII.
Steichen met with Colts brass via Zoom, met with Irsay in Philadelphia and then met with Ballard and Co. for his official second interview. The Colts had ruled out Jeff Saturday by the time Steichen went through his second meeting, with Zak Keefer of The Athletic noting the team decided against keeping its interim coach weeks ago (subscription required).
Nick Sirianni handed play-calling duties to Shane Steichen midway through the 2021 season. Brian Daboll just won Coach of the Year honors after he named Mike Kafka as the Giants’ offensive play-caller. The Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy hire did not change Kellen Moore‘s status as the team’s play-caller for the past three seasons.
Steichen will, however, take the more traditional approach for offense-oriented head coaches in Indianapolis. The new Colts HC confirmed Tuesday he will call plays. The Colts will look for a non-play-calling OC in the coming days and, perhaps, weeks. But they will entrust their 37-year-old HC to right the ship offensively.
The Colts’ latest HC contract reflects their confidence in Steichen. The deal is for six years, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This matches the Texans’ DeMeco Ryans pact. Indianapolis is not in the same boat as its AFC South rival, having finished over .500 in three of Frank Reich‘s four full seasons. But the Colts went through a rather turbulent year. A six-year offer — longer than Reich’s initial pact — makes for a more attractive sales pitch in the wake of that.
Gus Bradley attended Steichen’s Tuesday press conference, and Stephen Holder of ESPN.com tweets Indy’s defensive staff was at the presser en masse. Late in the lengthy search process, Bradley became a candidate to stay in Indy. Several candidates were believed to be high on Bradley, leading the Colts to block him from interviewing for another DC position. The Panthers were interested in Bradley, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. That would have reunited him with Reich, but with Bradley blocked, Carolina brought in popular HC candidate Ejiro Evero.
The Colts not only blocked Bradley, but Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star notes the team prevented linebackers coach Richard Smith and defensive backs coach Ron Milus from exploring lateral moves. Of the Indy candidates, a connecting Bradley to Steichen was easiest. The two worked together with the Chargers for four years, finishing up that run as an OC-DC tandem. Milus and Smith worked with Bradley in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Steichen stopped short of committing to Bradley and his defensive staff, however, leaving his staff in limbo still.
“That’s the next process that I’m going to go through, is hiring a staff,” Steichen said of keeping Reich holdovers. “Those guys, we’ll have those conversations in the next few days.”
Indianapolis conducted a thorough search, debating on third interviews with candidates. Although the franchise decided against that unexplored avenue, Steichen landed the job more than three months after the team fired Reich. Jim Irsay used Philip Rivers as a Steichen sounding board, Holder adds (on Twitter), with the longtime Charger QB and 2020 Colts passer calling the young coach “savant-like.” Rivers worked with Steichen for six seasons, the final four as his position coach.
The Eagles finished third in both points and yards on offense this season, after ranking outside the top 10 in each category in 2022. Steichen will head to Indiana after Jalen Hurts accounted for nearly 400 yards in Philadelphia’s narrow Super Bowl LVII loss.
For a while, it appeared Jeff Saturday was in play to stay on in this role. Irsay stunned the football world and angered many around the league by naming the former Pro Bowl center-turned-ESPNer as his interim HC. Despite going 1-7 during his first NFL or college coaching gig, Saturday interviewed twice for the full-time job. Saturday wished Steichen well and thanks Colts fans, including those that signed a petition for Irsay not to give him the full-time gig.
“I’m so grateful for the last eight weeks of the season and the opportunity to represent you guys,” Saturday said (video link). “I appreciate the coaches for all your time, energy and effort. … It was an absolute blessing. I look fondly upon it. Wish we would’ve done better. But ultimately, that is where it is.
“… So, for everybody out there — including however many thousand who signed a petition, which may have included my wife and son, not exactly sure. But in all honesty, I’m so grateful for Colts nation and who you are. To represent the horseshoe, it meant the world to me.”
Last year, 10 NFL teams hired new head coaches. Following the Panthers, Broncos and Texans’ hires, this year’s vacancy count sits at two. Last year’s Saints and Buccaneers moves, however, showed these job openings can emerge at unexpected points.
Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:
Updated 2-14-23 (1:30pm CT)