HEADLINES

Pete Carroll

Broncos, John Fox Agree To Extension

April 4th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Peter Sowards

10:12pm: Fox’s deal is worth between $5MM to $6MM per year, reports Ryan Parker of The Denver Post.

9:10pm: Rapoport’s sources describe the deal as “fair and generous” (via Twitter).

8:33pm: The Broncos and head coach John Fox have agreed to a new three-year extension, reports FOX NFL Insider Jay Glazer (via Twitter). As Glazer notes in his tweet, both Super Bowl head coaches — Fox and Seattle’s Pete Carroll — have agreed to new deals in a 24-hour span. It’s a “completely new” three-year deal, meaning the four-year, $14MM contract he signed in in 2011 was proverbially torn up.

Extending Fox’s contract was a top offseason priority for the Broncos, reported CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora in December. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII that negotiations were to begin after the big game.

The Broncos are 34-14 in three seasons under Fox’s tutelage, winning the AFC West each year. Before moving on to Denver, Fox coached the Carolina Panthers for nine seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in February 2004.

Seahawks, Pete Carroll Agree To Extension

April 4th, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Ben Levine

12:31pm: It’s a three-year extension for Carroll, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

FRIDAY, 8:05am: Carroll’s new deal will make him one of the league’s three highest-paid coaches, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

THURSDAY, 10:13pm: The Seahawks and head coach Pete Carroll have agreed to a contract extension, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The deal will be announced at a press conference on Friday.

Carroll was entering the final season of his five-year, $35MM deal, but it isn’t unprecedented for a championship-winning coach to sign an extension shortly after winning a Super Bowl. Carroll would follow John Harbaugh (Ravens), Tom Coughlin (Giants) and Mike McCarthy (Packers) in a line of coaches that signed extensions after winning a ring. Last offseason, Harbaugh signed a four-year deal worth nearly $7MM a season. Considering Carroll made about that much money in 2013, Carroll’s new deal may exceed Sean Payton‘s league-leading $8MM annual salary. The deal should also have an impact on a potential Jim Harbaugh extension. Harbaugh’s deal is set to expire after the 2015 season.

After eight seasons as an NFL head coach, Carroll won his first Super Bowl this past February. Since taking over as the Seahawks head coach in 2010, the 62-year-old helped take the team from a sub-.500 squad to a perennial contender. Prior to his time in Seattle, Carroll also coached the Patriots and Jets. From 2001-2009, Carroll coached the USC Trojans and led the team to an 83-19 record, establishing the Trojans as one of the premier teams in college football.

NFC Notes: Seahawks, Bryant, Rice, Harbaugh

March 3rd, 2014 at 9:44pm CST by Peter Sowards

The Super Bowl champion Seahawks debuted their season highlights tonight, and coach Pete Carroll left the door open on a possible return of two recently released players, defensive lineman Red Bryant and receiver Sidney Rice.

“Maybe we have a chance to get them back,” Carroll said via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. “Maybe we don’t. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The two were slated to earn a combined $17MM in 2014 before receiving the ax.

Other notes from the NFC…

  • 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh addressed rumors he will leave the team after next season. “No,” Harbaugh told SI.com’s Michael Rosenberg. “Zero opportunity or chance of that in my mind.” Harbaugh flatly denied the assertions that he wants more money and power, and he spoke of the respect shared between himself and GM Trent Baalke.
  • Cowboys quarterback Kyle Orton is set to earn $3.25MM in 2014, but the team still doesn’t if he plans on playing, according to ESPNDallas.com’s Todd Archer. Orton would have to repay $3MM of the $5MM signing bonus he received in 2012, so signs point to his return, but no declarative statement has been made.
  • Attempting to ease cap woes, the Cowboys converted base salary to bonus money for cornerback Orlando Scandrick and Sean Lee, per FOX Sports 1 NFL insider Mike Garafolo (Twitter link). This type of conversion lowers a cap number by spreading the hit over the length of the contract. Garafolo continued, saying the team will continue to rework contracts, and that Scandrick had $3.75MM converted. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that Dallas created $4.75MM in space with Lee and $8.5MM total.
  • With a $6.75MM salary and $11.3MM cap number in 2014, Giants offensive lineman Chris Snee reiterated his willingness to take a pay cut and “mentor the young guys,” from ESPN Giants reporter Dan Graziano.

NFC Notes: Dimitroff, Shields, Orakpo, Eagles

February 15th, 2014 at 10:14am CST by Matt Feminis

Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff was put under the microscope by the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Dawson Devitt, who published the first part of an exhaustive retrospective analysis of the GM’s transaction history 2008-09, including free agency, cuts, trades, extensions and drafts. The verdict? More good than bad.

Other opinions from NFC writers:

  • Packers free agent cornerback Sam Shields‘ arrow is pointing up, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, who says the 26-year-old is worth $7-8MM per year. Shields has blazing speed to run with outside burners and has improved leaps and bounds with his technique and tackling.
  • With Henry Melton, Jay Ratliff and Nate Collins set to hit free agency, defensive tackle “will have to be a top priority” for the Bears, according to ESPN Chicago’s Michael C. Wright, who believes the team will add interior defenders in the draft, via free agency and still attempt to bring back its own free agents.
  • The Redskins can re-sign both Brian Orakpo and Perry Riley provided both players don’t ask for unreasonable deals, says ESPN Washington’s John Keim.
  • Thanks to second-year head coach Chip Kelly’s familiarity with college players, Dallas Morning News writer Rick Gosselin believes the Eagles are in a window when they have a distinct draft advantage. Gosselin cites past examples of Jimmy Johnson‘s move from the University of Miami to the Cowboys, Jim Harbaugh‘s jump from Stanford to the 49ers and Pete Carroll’s escape from USC to the Seahawks when the coaches drafted players they were familiar with, creating the core of winning NFL teams. Kelly, who recruited nationally for Oregon, “spent four years with the Ducks so he has a four-year window when he’ll know the draft board better than the NFL lifers,” contends Gosselin.