NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Lions set to interview several G.M. candidates this week



The Lions are interviewing a few head coaching candidates this week and they’ll also continue their search for a new General Manager.

Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the team will interview Saints assistant G.M. of pro personnel Terry Fontenot on Tuesday. Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes and Vikings assistant G.M. George Paton will interview on Wednesday and Saints assistant G.M. of college personnel Jeff Ireland is expected to meet with the team on Friday.

The Lions interviewed three internal candidates during the season and also spoke with former Falcons G.M. Thomas Dimitroff, former Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli, and ESPN analayst Louis Riddick.

There was also word of interest in making a move to hire Seahawks G.M. John Schneider over the weekend, although it would be a complicated move to pull off.

NBC

 

A 9 team parlay paid out $82?

 

The Chargers have fired head coach Anthony Lynn.

The move was made this morning after a season in which the Chargers finished 7-9, missing the playoffs for the third time in Lynn’s four seasons.

Although Lynn got credit for the promising development of rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, he also took a lot of criticism for the Chargers’ many close losses, in which game management mistakes came back to bite them.

The Chargers are now the sixth NFL team seeking a new head coach. The Chargers job will be an attractive one to a coach who thinks Herbert is the long-term answer at quarterback, although there are plenty of other spots on the roster that need work.

Also seeking new coaches are the Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Texans and Falcons.

NBC

 

Olivier Vernon out for playoffs with ruptured Achilles



The Browns defensive line will be missing a significant piece when they head to Pittsburgh for next Sunday night’s playoff game.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Monday that defensive end Olivier Vernon ruptured his Achilles during Sunday’s 24-22 win over the Steelers. Vernon was carted to the locker room early in the fourth quarter.

Vernon had two tackles for loss and a sack in Sunday’s win. He had 36 tackles, nine sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery over all 14 games he played this season.

The injury will keep Vernon from playing and it will also impact his offseason. Vernon is set for free agency and the timing of the Achilles rupture will create some question about when he’ll be able to get back on the field.

NBC

 

Why is that lion holding a hockey stick?

 

Cause it cant play football.

 

Another year, another search for an offensive coordinator in Minnesota.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak plans to retire.

Kubiak, 59, became assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2020, a year after joining the team as assistant head coach and offensive advisor. He added the coordinator role and title after offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was hired to coach the Browns.

Stefanski became the coordinator late in the 2018 season, after John DeFilippo was fired during his first season on the job. Before that, Pat Shurmur held the job in 2017 and part of 2016, after Norv Turner resigned during the season.

Kubiak previously retired while coaching the Broncos, leaving a year after winning Super Bowl 50. He served as a senior personnel advisor with Denver in 2017 and 2018 before getting back into coaching. Before joining the Broncos, Kubiak served as head coach of the Texans from 2006 through 2013.

The Vikings will now need yet another offensive coordinator. Whether they will continue the run-centric Kubiak offense or pivot to an attack more premised on the pass remains to be seen.


NBC

 

Source: Urban Meyer is looking for $12 million per year



It’s become the worst-kept secret in NFL circles that the Jaguars coaching job will go to Urban Meyer if he wants it. As of Sunday, the question was whether he wants it.

If he wants it, he’ll want to be paid for it. Handsomely.

A league source tells PFT that Meyer is looking for $12 million per year.

That’s not a crazy number, given the manner in which the market is going. The Panthers gave Matt Rhule nearly $9 million per year when he made the jump from Baylor to Carolina last year. And plenty of NFL coaches are getting paid in the eight figures annually.

With Meyer, the question is whether his success at Ohio State and Florida will translate to the NFL. If, as it appears, the Jaguars believe it will, it’s a fair price given the broader realities of the industry, especially as gambling promises to goose revenue to unprecedented levels, and beyond.

NBC

 

The Dolphins will be seeking a new offensive coordinator.

Chan Gailey will not return for the 2021 season, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The possibility of Gailey’s departure had been much-discussed as the offense struggled to improve after rookie first-round draft pick Tua Tagovailoa became the starting quarterback. Head coach Brian Flores benched Ryan Fitzpatrick for Tagovailoa midway through the season, and the offense didn’t play as well after that.

The Dolphins’ next offensive coordinator will have a big task in getting the offense fixed with Tagovailoa at the helm. Hiring the right coach for the job may be the most important decision Flores has made in Miami.

 

After reporting that the Dolphins would not retain offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, ESPN has now retracted the report.

ESPN, which reported both on TV and on its website that Gailey was out, appears to have been fooled by a prankster posing as Adam Schefter on Twitter. Someone at ESPN saw the fake Schefter tweet, thought it was really Schefter and then passed it along so that both SportsCenter and ESPN.com passed along the report, attributing it to Schefter.

“ESPN published an incorrect story on Monday involving Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey,” a statement at ESPN.com now says. “The story has been removed from ESPN.com, and replaced with this correction. The story was also mentioned on the 1 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter.”

The Dolphins have not said whether Gailey will be back next year.

 

The Steelers almost beat you with a big chunk of starters resting. The players needed the rest because they never had a true bye week. After that game you guys should be glad because we didn’t play our starters. No way you guys are even in the game if our starters played

 

Steelers sat:
Roethlisberger, at this point that probably helped you. Watching Ben the past several weeks, I was hoping to play the Steelers week 1 of the playoffs. After yesterday, I am hoping they don't bench him for Rudolph
Ironhead and Watt, this is where you really should be focusing on your spewing of "if only our starters were in there". I'm not sure there are any other players that were out that would have made a difference. If I'm wrong, please elaborate.

Browns out: (besides the fact the facility was closed the majority of the week due to lingering COVID issues.
Kevin Johnson
Denzel Ward
B.J. Goodson
Andrew Sandejo (whom some would say would be an upgrade, but after the blown coverage's yesterday, they might have some arguments)
Malcolm Smith (not a huge factor, but he has 72 tackles on the year)
Harrison Bryant
Bill Callahan (one of the most prominent coaches on staff besides the coordinators.)

(Edit) What is going in your favor is the injury to Olivier Vernon, that is a big blow to our rotation.

All of these have an opportunity to be back on the field next weekend with continued negative tests besides Goodson, who should return after testing positive two weeks ago. The other two that actually did test positive is a reserve WR and another less relevant position coach.

I would say, Ward, Goodson, Johnson, Sedejo and Bryant are a bigger effect than Ironhead and Watt.

Unless you are going to argue that Ben is essential to you winning, you will need to argue that and any other info I have missed.

Bring on Ben, I hope he plays!!

 

Oh...and if you think you are going to get away with 14 carries from Chubb next week, I think you are mistaken... You could say they rested him in this game as well. If they unleashed the full Chubb, I don't think the game is as close as it was.

 

lol.....Browns fans make the playoffs for the first time in 2 decades and proceed to talk trash.

You folks never learn.

 

And . . . . . We never will.

 

Larry Fitzgerald is retiring.

1432 catches
17492 yards
121 touchdowns
1 team

One heck of a career

 

Larry Fitzgerald has more career tackles than he does drops.

 

Kinda tells the story about the QB's he's had to endure.

Fitzgerald tackle = QB interception.

 

Indeed.

37 career tackles i think versus like 29 drops.