NFL - NEWS & NOTES

If you had told me the Eagles would only score 16 and that Trubisky would have 300 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers......I would have booked my flight to LA because I had planned on going to the game if they played there in the 2nd round.

 

damn ok, thanks.

 

And two INTs by Foles, and Iggles RBs combined for just 22 rushes for 43 yards...

Tough loss.

 

Report: Kevin Stefanski having another interview with Browns...

A report on Tuesday indicated that there’s a “good chance” that the Browns promote offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens to head coach, but no deal has been struck at this point and another one of their head coaching candidates is reportedly in Cleveland to speak to the team a second time.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski is meeting with the team again on Tuesday. Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport reports that Stefanski and Kitchens are the two finalists for the job in Cleveland.

Like Kitchens, Stefanski has had limited time as a coordinator. He was promoted from quarterbacks coach when John DeFilippo was fired with three games to play in the season.

Stefanski’s contract in Minnesota is up on Tuesday and he’s one of the options that the Vikings are considering for the coordinator position in 2019. That would obviously turn out to be a moot point if things go his way in Cleveland and it sounds like we should find out soon which route the Browns will take. (PFT)

 

Cardinals make it official with Kliff Kingsbury...

We learned that the Cardinals were finalizing a deal that made Kliff Kingsbury their new head coach on Tuesday and now we’ve learned that it is final.

The Cardinals and Kingsbury’s agent both announced that the two sides have reached an agreement and, per multiple reports, Kingsbury is getting a four-year deal with a team option for a fifth season. A press conference is expected on Wednesday.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the usual contract for a new head coach in Arizona and Steve Wilks signed one around this time last year. One would imagine that Kingsbury will get a longer run, if only because it’s not a great sign of organizational strength to conduct annual head coaching searches.

How much longer will likely be closely tied to how Josh Rosen develops as a quarterback under a coach hired for his offensive acumen. Both are signed for the next three years with the Cardinals holding a fifth-year option on Rosen’s contract along with possible franchise tags, although that’s looking a bit too far down the line on the first day of the Kingsbury era. (PFT)

 

Buccaneers finalizing deal with Bruce Arians...

It didn’t take long for the Buccaneers to go from opening negotiations with Bruce Arians about their head coaching job to wrapping them up.

According to multiple reports on Tuesday evening, the team is finalizing a deal with Arians a little more than a week after they fired Dirk Koetter.

Arians spent the 2018 season working as a broadcaster for CBS after leaving the Cardinals at the end of the 2017 season. He made his first move toward getting back into coaching when he said he’d consider taking the Browns job and then expanded his horizons to include Tampa.

There have already been reports that Arians is interested in having Todd Bowles run the defense. The former Jets head coach was the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014.

Bowles would likely have some company from other former Cardinals assistants in Tampa. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Arians hopes to hire Harold Goodwin as run game coordinator/offensive line coach and Byron Leftwich as pass game coordinator after working with both in Arizona. Arians is also reportedly interested in hiring Clyde Christensen as the quarterbacks coach. (PFT)

 

Falcons hire Dirk Koetter, Mike Mularkey...

The Falcons interviewed two of their former offensive coordinators for their current vacancy at the spot and they wound up hiring both of them.

Word on Monday night was that the Falcons had offered Dirk Koetter a job as their offensive coordinator and the team announced his hiring on Tuesday. They also announced that Mike Mularkey is their new tight ends coach.

It will be Koetter’s second tour as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta. He spent 2012-2014 working under Mike Smith and then made the move to Tampa to work for Lovie Smith the next year. He replaced Smith in 2016 and went 19-29 over three years as the head coach of the Bucs.

Mularkey preceded Koetter in the offensive coordinator job and ran the offense for quarterback Matt Ryan‘s first four years with the team. He has also been a head coach in Buffalo, Jacksonville and Tennessee.

The Falcons finished in the top 10 in both points and yards in 2018, but the offense’s improvement over Steve Sarkisian’s first year wasn’t enough to keep the status quo in place. They’ll hope that the walk down memory lane goes better. (PFT)

 

Interesting move can he make Jameis Winston grow the hell up and make the Buc's a top team in the NFL once again?

 

Bruce Arians getting the band back together, Bowles to be Bucs’ defensive coordinator...

Bruce Arians’ coaching staff in Tampa Bay will look a lot like his coaching staff in Arizona.

Arians has already assembled the key members of his staff, Albert Breer reports, and one of those will be Todd Bowles as defensive coordinator. Bowles, who was fired as head coach of the Jets after the 2018 season, previously served as the defensive coordinator in Arizona under Arians.

Other assistants joining Arians will include Harold Goodwin as run-game coordinator and Byron Leftwich as pass-game coordinator. They too coached under Arians in Arizona.

One of the advantages to moving quickly to hire a new head coach is that the new head coach can get his favored assistants before other teams snatch them up. The Buccaneers are now comfortable that they have a good staff in place. (PFT)

 

Browns had the same issue, however... Kickers across the league are having issues. There aren't any on the street that improve the situation. So, you try to finish out the year and hope for the best.

I don't know if they changed the balls or what over that last couple of seasons, but the kicking has been getting worse ever since they change the PAT. It's across the NFL, not just a select few kickers. That rule change, definitely changed the game...I can't say it's for the worse either. It certainly makes it more interesting when a PAT isn't a gimme.

 

i thought he retired for age and health reasons ?

 

He did retire, but it was just for 1 year.

Money talks, bullshit walks, losing sucks, go for the bucks...

 

Colts lose Mike Mitchell for rest of postseason...

Colts safety Mike Mitchell won’t play for the rest of the postseason.

Mitchell, a longtime veteran who arrived with the Colts in October, has played well for the Colts this season, including being named the AFC’s defensive player of the week in Week Seven. But he suffered a calf strain in the wild card round against the Texans and the Colts put him in injured reserve today.

That’s a tough blow and a key reason that the teams earning playoff byes are better off than the teams that have to play in the wild card round. The Colts will face a well-rested Chiefs team on Saturday.

To take Mitchell’s place on the roster, safety Rolan Milligan was called up from the practice squad. The Colts also signed defensive end Anthony Winbush to the practice squad. (PFT)

 

Whatever is cooking in the Kitchens, I bet it's Brown!



Browns are all in, including the Kitchens sink!




Sorry...

 

It's ballsy, making him HC given his resume, but I think being a good HC is largely about managing personalities and priorities - I'm sure that's something Dorsey would have been able to evaluate with some accuracy, by now.

 

Kevin Stefanski will remain Vikings offensive coordinator...

Kevin Stefanski wound up as the runner-up for the head coaching job in Cleveland and his contract with the Vikings expired, but he won’t have to worry about finding a new home for the 2019 season.

Stefanski was promoted to offensive coordinator for the final three games of the 2018 season and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that he’ll take the job on a permanent basis now that the Browns have gone in another direction.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said the team would consider all options for the spot and Hue Jackson’s name came up in conjunction with the job, but the ultimately decided to stick with the familiar face. Stefanski was the quarterbacks coach before his in-season promotion and has been with the Vikings since 2006.

His charge for the 2019 season will be to get better production from a unit that took a step backward in quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ first season with the team. If he can’t and the Vikings fall short of the playoffs again, there may be bigger changes to come in Minnesota. (PFT)

 

Broncos hire Vic Fangio as head coach...

The Broncos have their new head coach, and the Bears need a new defensive coordinator.

Vic Fangio has been hired as the Broncos’ next head coach, ESPN reports.

Fangio has been the Bears’ defensive coordinator for the last four seasons and was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator for four seasons before that. He’s previously been a defensive coordinator with the Panthers, Colts and Texans. He has a good reputation as a defensive coach.

There was some talk, however, that he might not be a strong candidate for a head coach, as he hasn’t been one before and, at age 60, he could have faced some age discrimination in a league where younger head coaches seem to be all the rage.

Fangio beat out Mike Munchak for the top job in Denver. Now he’ll take over a Broncos team that has had back-to-back disappointing seasons. And the Bears will hope they can find a coordinator who can be as effective in Chicago as Fangio was. (PFT)

 

Don't forget...You need a Baker.

 

Nice... very nice.