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AFC North Rumors: Ravens, Jackson, Browns, Steelers

February 5th, 2022 at 9:35pm CST by Ely Allen

Ravens’ general manager Eric DeCosta‘s end-of-season press conference touched on a number of subjects, including the contract extension negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson. While The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec does note that head coach John Harbaugh and DeCosta make it seem as if the deal is imminent, it isn’t guaranteed that Jackson signs an extension before the start of the 2022 NFL season.

“I would say that we’re working at Lamar’s pace. He’s comfortable with where we are right now,” DeCosta stated. He did call negotiations “unusual” with Jackson essentially acting as his own agent. There doesn’t seem to be any rush to get a deal done, though. DeCosta acknowledged that the Ravens are fine with Jackson playing on his fifth-year option, and Jackson seems more focused on the team’s unfinished business after being the AFC’s number one-seed in 2020 but failing to make it to a Super Bowl yet.

Here are a few more notes on the AFC North, starting with another item out of Charm City:

  • DeCosta spoke a bit, as well, about the team’s plan to focus on offensive line this offseason. One of the things that they fear they’ll need to address is the free agency of center Bradley Bozeman. Bozeman moved from guard to center after Matt Skura signed with the Dolphins in free agency last year, and they’re afraid Bozeman’s play has priced him out of Maryland. Baltimore saw Ryan Jensen leave to become the highest paid center in football in 2018, so they’re certainly used to replacing centers. They currently have utility lineman Patrick Mekari, who has started games at all three offensive line positions throughout his young Ravens’ career, and who signed an extension late in the season.
  • Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller became close friends as they rehabbed together in Colorado Springs last offseason, dreaming about eventually playing together. According to George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal, Beckham made it clear that if they were to make it a reality, it couldn’t be in orange and brown. Miller informed Thomas that Beckham told him straight up, “Don’t come to Cleveland.” In the end, Miller was traded to the Rams and, following a nasty separation from the Browns, Beckham signed to join him in Los Angeles. The pair are now set to play in Super Bowl LVI against a team Beckham knows all too well from his time in the AFC North.
  • With longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retiring last week, head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert represented Pittsburgh at Senior Bowl practices this week. Despite the quarterback group leaving much to be desired through some injury concerns and bad weather, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus reports that buzz around the event is that the Steelers like Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. Willis has shown the best combination of athleticism and arm strength at practices this week and a source informed Kyed that he’s impressed in interviews, as well. The Steelers currently hold the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and could easily see Willis fall to them, as he’s been seen as a borderline first round pick since declaring. They could also risk potentially missing out on him and trade back later in the first round or early in the second and try to maximize need and value.

Steelers Interview Three GM Candidates

February 4th, 2022 at 2:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Kevin Colbert‘s lengthy Steelers GM tenure will not conclude until after the draft, the team is beginning to meet with potential replacements. Three external candidates interviewed for the job this week.

Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden joined Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds and Chargers director of player personnel JoJo Wooden in meeting with Steelers president Art Rooney II in Mobile, Ala., during Senior Bowl week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes.

All three came up in at least one other team’s GM search this year. Dodds met with two other teams — the Bears and Raiders — ahead of his Steelers interview, which also likely included Colbert and Mike Tomlin, who are also in Mobile. Cowden met with the Giants last month, while the Bears targeted Wooden before hiring Ryan Poles. Steelers vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan is also a candidate to succeed Colbert.

While Pittsburgh is in need of a starting quarterback for the first time in nearly 20 years, Colbert’s impending departure vacates the team’s GM chair for the first time in more than 20. Colbert, however, is open to staying with the Steelers in a reduced capacity, Dulac adds (on Twitter). Colbert has been with the Steelers since 2000.

With the Colts since 2017, Dodds withdrew from both the Bears’ 2022 GM search and the Panthers’ search process last year. The former Seahawks exec also pulled out of the Browns’ GM search in 2020. Cowden is in his sixth year with the Titans, coming to Tennessee after 16 years with the Panthers. Wooden has been with the Chargers since Tom Telesco‘s GM tenure began in 2013.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert To Step Down

January 9th, 2022 at 8:41am CST by Rory Parks

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has been working, by his own request, on a series of year-to-year contracts in order to leave open the possibility of retirement. After 22 years in the Pittsburgh front office, that day may have finally come, as Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report that Colbert will step down after the 2022 draft.

As Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network reminds us (via Twitter), Colbert has repeatedly stated that he would remain in his post as long as Ben Roethlisberger was the Steelers’ quarterback. Roethlisberger is set to retire at season’s end, so Colbert is staying true to his word. He may stay with the organization in an advisory capacity to assist whomever the Steelers hire to replace him, but the 65-year-old is expected to retire sooner rather than later.

He will leave behind an extraordinary legacy. Colbert, who became Pittsburgh’s director of football operations in 2000 before assuming the general manager title in 2010, has compiled a 225-124-3 record during his time in charge of the club’s personnel. That includes two Super Bowl titles with two different coaches, along with a third Super Bowl appearance.

In all of that time, the Steelers only had one losing season, which came way back in 2003. Following the arrival of Roethlisberger one year later, Pittsburgh has been a model of consistency, and the fact that the storied franchise remains one of the NFL’s most respected and has served as a template that other teams try to emulate is thanks in no small part to Colbert’s efforts.

Vice president of football and business administration, Omar Khan, would appear to be on the short list of potential replacements. Khan has been with the Steelers almost as long as Colbert, having been hired as the football administration coordinator in 2001. He has been a popular GM candidate for other teams in recent years, and he was reportedly offered the Texans’ GM gig last year before Houston pivoted to Nick Caserio.

Rapoport and Pelissero also name pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt as a candidate.

“Doubtful” Steelers Will Trade Up From No. 24

April 26th, 2021 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

Don’t expect the Steelers to move up the board between now and Thursday. In a chat with reporters, GM Kevin Colbert threw cold water on the idea that he could advance from No. 24. 

[RELATED: Steelers CB Justin Layne Arrested]

“I’m very doubtful that we’ll trade up,” Colbert said (Twitter link via Missi Matthews of the team website). “We value our eight picks.”

Even after restructuring Ben Roethlisberger‘s deal this offseason, the Steelers need to give consideration to the future of the quarterback position. It’s a certainty that three of this year’s top quarterbacks will be taken at the top of the order, which will drive demand for the remaining first-round candidates. However, Colbert doesn’t seem to think that any of the potentially available passers will be worth the cost.

Meanwhile, Colbert indicated that he’s high on the depth of this year’s cornerback crop. He also gave a strong endorsement of this year’s center prospects, stating that several of them are capable of starting in the NFL.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert Signs Extension

March 15th, 2021 at 1:11pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Steelers’ brass will officially be back together for at least one more ride. After wrapping up the Ben Roethlisberger saga recently, Pittsburgh has now signed GM Kevin Colbert to a one-year extension, the team announced on Monday.

Colbert’s contract will now run through the 2022 season, closing one of the last major questions for the Steelers this offseason. His deal had previously been set to expire in May, and last month Colbert waffled about his status. He’s indicated he prefers to go year to year at this point in his career, and has flirted with retirement in recent years.

The Lions were apparently interested in poaching him away earlier this offseason before they ultimately hired Brad Holmes for their gig. Colbert has been in the Steelers’ front office since 2000, and has held the title of general manager since 2010.

The 64-year-old recently spoke passionately in defense of his head coach Mike Tomlin, saying “Mike Tomlin has done so much more good in this league than not good.”

“Mike is an excellent NFL head coach. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s been to two. Have we had the success we wanted to have recently? No, that’s a collective ‘we.’ We’ll just continue to work to make sure (a downward trend) doesn’t happen.” He’ll certainly have his work cut out for him this offseason, as he needs to reconfigure the offensive line, figure out what to do about JuJu Smith-Schuster, keep the defense and elite, and start planning for the post-Roethlisberger era under center.

Kevin Colbert On Contract Situation, Mike Tomlin Status

February 18th, 2021 at 7:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Coming off an upset playoff loss, the Steelers have one of the NFL’s most difficult cap situations to navigate. Ben Roethlisberger‘s status is uncertain, and the team faces the prospect of losing several longtime starters in free agency.

GM Kevin Colbert is tasked with leading the franchise out of this predicament, but his status is not locked in for the 2021 season. With the Steelers since 2000, the Pittsburgh native’s contract expires in May. The Steelers gave Colbert an extension by this point in the 2020 offseason, having signed him to a one-year deal on Feb. 5, 2020.

Colbert did not provide assurances he will be back with the Steelers in 2021, though he indicated that discussion with ownership would come.

“Quite honestly, that’s all I deserve because we have to continue to prove ourselves year after year,” Colbert said of his lack of a long-term contract, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Joe Rutter. “We didn’t do good enough. That is the evaluation I’m making on myself. Art (Rooney II) and I will discuss it at the appropriate time.”

The Steelers hired Colbert after he spent every 1990s season with the Lions. Rumblings of Lions interest in rehiring the 64-year-old GM emerged early this offseason, but nothing developed on that front. The Lions agreed to terms with former Rams college scouting director Brad Holmes to succeed Bob Quinn.

Pittsburgh resides in an unusual place, having overtaken Baltimore in the AFC North but seeing its season end after a disastrous wild-card outing against Cleveland. The Steelers have endured upset losses in their past two playoff games, with the loss to the Jaguars three years ago ending a 13-3 season. And they turned an 11-0 record into a 12-4 finish this past season. The Steelers are more than $30MM over the projected $180MM cap, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, Bud Dupree, Alejandro Villanueva, Mike Hilton and James Conner are free agents. Maurkice Pouncey retired last week.

“Coach can only do so much with the players he’s given,” Colbert said of the state of the team’s Mike Tomlin-led roster. “I can provide him with what I think are the right fits. When it works, great. When it doesn’t, we both know we weren’t good enough.”

Tomlin is signed through the 2021 season, and the Steelers have a team option on their coach for the ’22 season. Tomlin has coached the Steelers for 14 seasons. He is one season away from matching Bill Cowher and becoming the third straight Steelers coach to enjoy a 15-year tenure. Tomlin, Cowher and Chuck Noll have been the franchise’s only coaches since 1969.

The Steelers have been to the playoffs eight times under Tomlin, winning Super Bowl XLIII and losing in Super Bowl XLV. But they have only advanced to the AFC championship game once in the past 10 seasons, marking a downturn for the six-time Super Bowl-winning franchise.

“Mike Tomlin has done so much more good in this league than not good,” Colbert said. “Mike is an excellent NFL head coach. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s been to two. Have we had the success we wanted to have recently? No, that’s a collective ‘we.’ We’ll just continue to work to make sure (a downward trend) doesn’t happen.”

GM/HC Notes: Colbert, Panthers, Jets, Smith

January 13th, 2021 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the latest from the GM/head coach carousels. Five GM vacancies and seven HC openings remain as of Wednesday afternoon.

  • Before making his way to Pittsburgh, Kevin Colbert spent many seasons in Detroit. The Lions have been connected to making a push for a Colbert Motor City return, but they have not asked the Steelers for permission to interview him, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The Steelers gave Colbert an extension last year. After working with the Lions throughout the 1990s as their pro scouting director, Colbert has been with his hometown Steelers since 2000.
  • The Panthers continue to go through second interviews. After meeting with 49ers exec Adam Peters and Titans staffer Monti Ossenfort again this week, Carolina brought back Chiefs assistant player personnel director Ryan Poles and met again with Seahawks VP of football operations Scott Fitterer. Poles is one of a few Chiefs execs to receive interest this offseason, while Fitterer has been on the GM interview circuit for a few years. The Seahawks promoted him in September.
  • The Jets finished up Robert Saleh‘s second interview Wednesday but appear set to identify more finalists soon. They want to speak with Titans OC Arthur Smith again, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Jets are not alone in pursuing Smith, who has interviewed for six HC jobs thus far. The Falcons are also high on the second-year OC.
  • Although Brian Daboll has not completed quite as extensive an itinerary as Smith has, he has impressed the Jets. Gang Green is high on the third-year Bills OC, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. Daboll met with the Jets on Sunday. He cannot meet with the team in person until the Bills’ season concludes.

2021 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

January 12th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

This year’s NFL GM carousel figures to be more active than usual. The Falcons, Lions, Panthers, Texans, and Jaguars are all on the hunt for a new front office leader. And that’s only the official list. The real tally shows six clubs looking for a GM, since the Washington Football Team is expected to install a GM to work alongside head coach Ron Rivera. By mid-January, we could easily see a couple more jobs opening up — that’d put ~25% of the NFL on the market.

We’ll keep track of the GM candidates for each club here, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make general manager changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-19-21 (7:02pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington Football Team

GM Notes: Colbert, Patriots, Panthers, Rhule, Bears, Pace

January 10th, 2021 at 8:27pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We brought you a new batch of coaching notes earlier, and now we’ve got a new collection of front office bullets to pass along as the Browns and Steelers wrap up wild card weekend:

  • Let’s start with the Steelers, who could be in danger of losing their GM this offseason. We heard last week that the Lions were going to pursue Kevin Colbert, and Jason La Canfora tweets their interest in making that happen is still “very real.” While La Canfora’s sources don’t think Colbert would actually make the jump, he says the Lions “continue to gather info and strategize on how to possibly lure him.” Colbert, in the midst of his 21st season in Pittsburgh, has also flirted with retirement recently. Perhaps a first-round exit at the hands of the Browns could convince him to jump ship?
  • The Patriots just lost one key exec when Nick Caserio got hired by the Texans, and fortunately for them it doesn’t look like they’ll lose another. Dave Ziegler has pulled himself out of contention for the Broncos’ GM job, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Rapsheet writes that the “organization has committed to Ziegler’s future, and Ziegler has committed to” New England, so it sounds like the Pats gave him an extension and/or raise to stay.
  • There was another big withdrawal on Sunday, as Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds removed himself from the Panthers’ search, Stephen Holder of The Athletic tweets. He had interviewed for the job last week. Dodds declined an interview request from the Browns back in January, so he appears to be waiting for the right opportunity to leave Indy.
  • Meanwhile as the Panthers’ search chugs along, they’ll take a look at a couple of internal candidates. Carolina will interview Director of Player Negotiations & Salary Cap Manager Samir Suleiman and Director of Player Personnel Pat Stewart for their GM vacancy (Twitter link via Joe Person of The Athletic). The Panthers are conducting an exhaustive search, so it’s possible these are just courtesy interviews.
  • One last note on the Panthers for now. No matter who they hire, it looks like it may be Matt Rhule who’s in charge at the end of the day. “Rhule will essentially be running the show in Carolina,” after they replace the fired Marty Hurney, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. That’s not all that surprising after owner David Tepper paid him a fortune to lure him from Baylor and Rhule earned strong marks for his first season with the Panthers, getting a bare-bones roster to fight hard and play a bunch of close games against good teams. Florio writes that whoever gets the gig “surely won’t get the job without Rhule’s agreement.” Rhule seems like a strong coach, but obviously these kind of arrangements can get dangerous, as we’ve seen with the Texans and Bill O’Brien.
  • Matt Nagy is going to be back with the Bears in 2021, but GM Ryan Pace’s future apparently isn’t entirely secure. Chicago could target Chiefs exec Mike Borgonzi this offseason, multiple sources told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. As Biggs points out, it would make sense for them to bring in someone familiar with Nagy if they’re going to change GMs but not coaches. Nagy, of course, coached in Kansas City under Andy Reid for a while. The Bears’ blowout loss to the Saints today certainly isn’t working in Pace’s favor, and the drafting of Mitchell Trubisky second overall never worked out. This will be an interesting situation to monitor this week.

Lions To Pursue Seahawks GM John Schneider

January 3rd, 2021 at 9:40am CST by Rory Parks

The Lions are leaving no stone unturned in their search for a new GM. In addition to three in-house candidates and myriad external options, including a few high-profile targets, the club is expected to make a run at Seahawks GM John Schneider, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.

Schneider has long been considered one of the best executives in the game, and he and Pete Carroll have forged a remarkably productive GM-HC tandem since they came to Seattle in 2010. Under their leadership, the ‘Hawks have compiled a 111-63-1 record, five division titles, two NFC championships, and a Super Bowl.

But Carroll, not Schneider, has final authority over all personnel decisions. That means that a club like the Lions could interview Schneider if it offers him full control (though as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, it may not be quite that simple, and Detroit may need to send compensation to Seattle if it wants to hire Schneider away). Plus, while Carroll signed a long-term extension several months ago that will run through the 2025 campaign, Schneider is only under contract through the 2022 draft, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. Rapoport says that, in addition to Detroit, Schneider is expected to get a call from at least one other team,

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says the Lions would also be interested in Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. Colbert has gone year-to-year with Pittsburgh for awhile, but that’s because he wants to leave open the possibility of retirement. He plans to be back with Pittsburgh in 2021, so it looks like another one-year pact is on the horizon.

Vikings assistant GM George Paton, who has been a fixture on the GM rumor mill in recent years, is also on the Lions’ radar, per Rapoport, and there is a new and interesting connection between Minnesota and Detroit. Paton’s boss, Rick Spielman, is the brother of new Detroit exec Chris Spielman, who is expected to have an integral role in the Lions’ search process.

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