Eagles To Hire Chris Kuper As OL Coach
The Eagles will be without Jeff Stoutland for the first time since 2012. Not long after the highly-regarded offensive line coach departed, Philadelphia has lined up his replacement. 
Chris Kuper is being hired as the Eagles’ new O-line coach, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The former NFL offensive lineman has been a coach at the pro level dating back to 2016. Kuper worked as an assistant O-line staffer during his time with the Dolphins (2017-18) and Broncos (2019-21).
That was followed by a first opportunity to work as an offensive line coach. Kuper joined Kevin O’Connell‘s initial Vikings staff in 2022 and remained there through this past season. Upon seeing his contract expire, 43-year-old knew as of last month he would be working elsewhere in 2026. He will now join the Eagles as an experienced member of the group being assembled by Sean Mannion.
Mannion was brought in as Philadelphia’s new offensive coordinator, replacing Kevin Patullo in the process. The former NFL quarterback has only been a coach for the past two years, but having worked with the Packers he experienced NFC North overlap with Kuper. Familiarity between the two also includes the fact Kuper was present for part of Mannion’s Vikings tenure at the end of his playing career. The two will now reunite on the sidelines.
The Eagles’ offensive line faces a number of questions at the moment. Right tackle Lane Johnson (35) but also left guard Landon Dickerson (27) are contemplating retirement. In Johnson’s case in particular, the absence of Stoutland could prove to be significant. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia proceeds up front with a new coach now in place.
Kuper will not hold the title of run-game coordinator, something which was previously the case for Stoutland. That responsibility will instead fall to Ryan Mahaffey, who followed Mannion from the Packers’ coaching staff to that of the Eagles. Another familiar face will be present for Mannion’s first season as a coordinator.
Bengals Want To Re-Sign QB Joe Flacco
The Bengals will of course hope Joe Burrow manages to remain healthy in 2026. If the team is once again forced to rely on a backup next season, though, a familiar face could be in play. 
Cincinnati is interested in re-signing Joe Flacco, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. The Bengals acquired him via trade midway through the 2025 campaign with Burrow sidelined for an extended period. That gave Flacco another short-term starting opportunity, although he only posted a 1-5 record with Cincinnati. The 41-year-old intends to continue playing next season, but he is a pending free agent.
[RELATED: Bengals Could Use Franchise Tag On Trey Hendrickson]
Late in his brief QB1 stint, Flacco expressed a desire to operate as a full-time starter in 2026. Burrow is of course in place to remain in Cincinnati for the foreseeable future – provided his hinted discontent with the franchise does not produce a trade, that is. That would consign Flacco to backup duties in the event he were to re-sign with his third career AFC North team. The former Super Bowl MVP can at least be considered higher on the Bengals’ depth chart than Jake Browning, who struggled when thrust into the starting role in 2025.
Browning is a pending restricted free agent, and the matter of whether or not he is tendered by Cincinnati will no doubt depend on the Flacco situation. Opportunities from outside suitors will be something to watch for in Flacco’s case, Fowler adds. The QB market is not likely to include many free agents or trade chips viewed as having more upside, while the draft may only see one passer selected in the first round.
Those factors could help Flacco’s market value. It will be interesting to see if he elects to at least explore free agency before making a decision or winds up matching the Bengals’ desire to work out a new deal. Cincinnati is currently near the top of the league in terms of projected cap space with over $54MM available.
Final 2026 NFL Draft Order
With Super Bowl LX in the books, the full 2026 NFL draft order has been set. Free agency is not far away, but attention will increasingly turn to April’s event as the offseason progresses.
The top of the first-round order is not subject to much in the way of speculation. The Raiders own the No. 1 selection and are widely seen as the landing spot for Fernando Mendoza, the lone quarterback regarded as a first-round lock at this point. How other QB-needy teams positioned throughout the order operate over the coming weeks – knowing there is a lack of high-end prospects this year – will make for an interesting storyline around the league.
This year’s NFL Combine will begin on February 23. Events such as the Senior Bowl have already taken place, leaving the Combine as the next major checkpoint in the evaluation of top prospects. Teams will begin arranging ‘Top 30’ visits with several players of interest relatively soon during the build-up to the draft. This year’s event will take place in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
Pending the inevitable trades which will shake up the order, here is a final look at how things stand leading up to Day 1:
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)
- New York Jets (3-14)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
- Tennessee Titans (3-14)
- New York Giants (4-13)
- Cleveland Browns (5-12)
- Washington Commanders (5-12)
- New Orleans Saints (6-11)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-11)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)
- Miami Dolphins (7-10)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1)
- Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens (8-9)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
- New York Jets (via Colts)
- Detroit Lions (9-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (9-8)
- Carolina Panthers (8-9)
- Dallas Cowboys (from Packers)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
- Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars)
- Chicago Bears (11-6)
- Buffalo Bills (12-5)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
- Houston Texans (12-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
- Denver Broncos (14-3)
- New England Patriots (14-3)
- Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
Seahawks’ Defense Dominates In Super Bowl LX Win Over Patriots
Two years ago, the Seahawks took a risk in hiring a 36-year-old Mike Macdonald who only had two years of experience as a coordinator at the NFL level. As they celebrate in confetti, joyous off a 29-13 win fueled by Macdonald’s defense, the toughest defense to score against in 2025, it’s clear the risk was well worth the reward. 
While the defense held the spotlight for most of the biggest game of the year, there are plenty of other factors to point to when determining how Seattle got to this place in 2025. Starting with the defense, though, Macdonald inherited a group that allowed the eighth-most points and the third-most yards in 2023. In his first year at the helm, that unit improved greatly to the league’s 11th-best scoring defense and the 14th-best total defense. They finished 2025 having allowed the fewest points and the sixth-fewest yards in the NFL.
The team’s defensive personnel looks extremely different than it did two years ago. With Bobby Wagner, Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, Jordyn Brooks, Dre’Mont Jones, and Michael Jackson all departed, the Seahawks made an effort to get younger on defense, building around promising, young players like Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love with defenders who fit Macdonald’s system. By trading for Ernest Jones, drafting players like Byron Murphy and Nick Emmanwori, keeping Leonard Williams in free agency, and bringing in free agents DeMarcus Lawrence, Josh Jobe, and Jarran Reed, Seattle gave one of the league’s best defensive minds a completely retooled defense that dominated throughout their Super Bowl-winning campaign.
Macdonald didn’t just make significant changes to the defense, though. He also realized that turning around an offense that finished 21st in yards and 17th in points scored in 2023 was going to be a priority. While the unit improved in 2024, there was a determination that what was in place was not good enough. The team fired rookie NFL offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, traded resurgent veteran quarterback Geno Smith, traded away unhappy wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, and released ten-year mainstay Tyler Lockett.
Credit can go to general manager John Schneider and his front office staff for this year’s offense, built around young draft picks like running back (and Super Bowl LX MVP) Kenneth Walker III, Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Zach Charbonnet, AJ Barner, and all five starting offensive linemen who were drafted in the last four years — aside from center Jalen Sundell who signed last year as an undrafted free agent.
The necessary supplement to Schneider’s strong draft success to make this unit the third-best scoring offense with the eighth-most yards gained was just the right free agent additions. A new resurgent quarterback, Sam Darnold, and a savvy No. 2 receiver in Cooper Kupp proved to be the perfect fit.
As the Seahawks look to run it all back in 2026, there will be some contract situations to address. Walker, Jobe, Boye Mafe, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen, and midseason trade acquisition Rashid Shaheed are all set to become unrestricted free agents in March, while starting linebacker Drake Thomas is set to become a restricted free agent.
Luckily, Seattle is in an excellent position when considering cap space for 2026. With their biggest cap hits coming from Darnold ($36.9MM), Williams ($29.64MM), Uchenna Nwosu ($20.77MM), and Kupp ($17.5MM), the Seahawks are sitting pretty with approximately $73.28MM of cap space, per OvertheCap.com, good for the sixth-highest amount in the NFL. And while they only have four draft picks for this coming April, they hold all three of their Day 1 & 2 picks. The team’s biggest challenge will be replacing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who will now depart to become the next head coach of the Raiders.
After falling short in the toughest game they played this year, the Patriots will turn focus now on how to return to this spot and make sure this sort of offensive performance never happens again. New England rode the league’s No. 2 scoring offense and No. 3 total offense to the Super Bowl then struggled offensively throughout the playoffs. While their defense held AFC opponents in check, in great part due to forcing eight turnovers throughout the postseason, MVP runner up Drake Maye didn’t throw for over 235 yards until tonight, and the offense gave up eight turnovers of its own. And while the running game had buoyed the offense during the run to Super Bowl, Seattle’s defense held them to only 79 yards on the ground tonight. 
The Patriots are also in a decent position to run it all back, though, in 2026. There are a few strong contributors like Jaylinn Hawkins, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Jack Gibbens set to test free agency, but New England holds the 11th-most cap space in the NFL at $42.74MM, per OvertheCap.com. They can even expand on that number by addressing the contracts of a few veterans, who could end up as cap casualties like Stefon Diggs or Morgan Moses. If tonight showed them any glaring issues, they can make a strong attempt to address it with that excessive cap space or one of their 11 draft picks.
Tonight’s game wrapped up another fine NFL season and set us up for what is sure to be an exciting offseason as we now careen toward free agency and the draft. All those whose teams were eliminated far before tonight can renew their championship hopes with visions of tomorrow, and all 10 newly hired head coaches can start sweating as they realize the example that’s been set before them by Mike Vrabel taking a 4-13 squad to 14-3 and a Super Bowl berth in his first year and Macdonald winning a Super Bowl in Year 2. Congratulations to the Seahawks and the 12s (formerly known as the much cooler “12th man”)! Good luck to the rest in 2026!
Derek Carr Could Consider 2026 Return; QB Has No Shoulder Limitations
Last May, Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement, and it was subsequently reported that he was “extremely unlikely” to reverse that decision. In addressing the matter several months later, however, he did not close the door to an NFL return, and both the Bengals and Colts considered him during their search for injury replacements for their starting quarterbacks in 2025.
According to Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, Carr is content in retirement at the moment but could be open to a 2026 comeback if the right opportunity presents itself. It is unclear exactly what the “right opportunity” would include, though the NFL.com triumvirate says Carr’s prospective coaching staff would be a key factor.
Carr, who stepped away from the game (at least temporarily) at age 34, chose that route rather than undergoing a shoulder surgery that would have jeopardized his availability for the 2025 slate. In their own announcement on his retirement, the Saints said the four-time Pro Bowler had “significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff.”
Fortunately, Carr’s shoulder responded well to rest and recovery. He began rehabbing as the 2025 season went along, and he presently has no shoulder limitations. He is throwing fully as part of his regular exercise regimen.
While Carr is not actively pursuing a comeback, the usual dearth of quality options on the free agent and trade markets, as well as the perceived weakness of the 2026 draft class of collegiate QBs outside of presumptive No. 1 selection Fernando Mendoza, could make him attractive to clubs in need of a bridge option. The fact that he is back to full strength heightens his appeal.
The Saints still control Carr’s rights, meaning they would have to work out a trade with an interested club. But Rapoport et al. do not see that as a real hurdle. Tyler Shough’s strong showing as a rookie and the amicable end to Carr’s New Orleans tenure suggest such a deal would be easy to consummate, and trade compensation would likely be minimal given that Carr has no future with the Saints.
Across 27 games with New Orleans, Carr posted a 14-13 record and completed over 68% of his passes, throwing for 40 touchdowns against just 13 picks. That amounted to a 98.8 quarterback rating.
Bears Promote Press Taylor To OC
FEBRUARY 8: The Bears have indeed named Taylor their new offensive coordinator, per Rapoport (as relayed by Bobby Kownack of NFL.com). Of course, Johnson will continue to serve as the offensive play-caller, but Taylor — who is still considered a talented young coach — will receive a promotion and will take on a larger role in assisting Johnson and installing Chicago’s offense.
FEBRUARY 4: A successful first season as Chicago’s passing game coordinator may lead to a promotion for Press Taylor. The Bears will consider Taylor for their offensive coordinator job, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Head coach Ben Johnson is on the hunt for a new O-coordinator after losing Declan Doyle to the Ravens last week. Doyle left to work as a play-caller, which is a responsibility Johnson handles in Chicago. Taylor and Cardinals passing game coordinator Connor Senger are the first known candidates to replace Doyle.
Unlike Senger, the 38-year-old Taylor has previous OC experience, having held the position in Jacksonville from 2022-24. Head coach Doug Pederson called the plays in the first of those seasons, but he passed those responsibilities to Taylor over the next two years.
While the Jaguars finished a respectable 13th in total offense and scoring in 2023, they plummeted to 25th and 26th in those categories during a four-win 2024. That led to a coaching change in Jacksonville and Taylor’s departure.
With Taylor assisting their aerial attack in 2025, the Bears climbed from 31st in passing to 10th. Quarterback Caleb Williams made obvious strides in the second year of his career, helping the Bears to 11 wins and an NFC North title. While wide receiver D.J. Moore‘s production declined significantly, and fellow wideout Rome Odunze missed five games because of a foot injury, tight end Colston Loveland helped pick up the slack during an outstanding rookie campaign.
The Bears selected Loveland 10th overall last year and then grabbed another promising target, receiver Luther Burden, in the second round. After he helped Loveland and Burden combine for 105 catches, 1,365 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025, the Bears are considering a bigger role for Taylor.
Klint Kubiak To Become Raiders’ HC
FEBRUARY 8: With Super Bowl LX behind him and the job done, Kubiak has confirmed that he will be the next head coach of the Raiders, per Stacey Dales of NFL Network. Las Vegas will be welcoming the Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator to potentially serve as head coach over the presumed No. 1 draft pick, Mendoza, for the 2026 NFL season.
FEBRUARY 1: A recent report pegged Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as the favorite for the Raiders’ head coaching vacancy. While no agreement was immediately struck upon the completion of Kubiak’s second interview with Las Vegas brass — nothing can be finalized until after Super Bowl LX — the club is “zeroing in” on Kubiak, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague, Ian Rapoport, says the Raiders believe they have their guy. 
More importantly, Kubiak himself intends to work out a deal with Las Vegas, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Kubiak, who also took a second interview for the Cardinals’ HC post on Saturday, was one of the most popular candidates in this year’s cycle. In all, he interviewed with seven of the 10 clubs in need of a head coach.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was among the candidates who interviewed twice with the Raiders. According to The Athletic’s Joe Person, Evero was still in contention to be hired during the time when Kubiak was weighing his options.
Las Vegas’ opening was not seen as particularly desirable. The club just finished a 3-14 season, does not have a particularly inspiring roster outside of a couple of high-end players, and plays in a difficult AFC West. However, the Raiders do have two things going for them: the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, and the second-most projected cap space in the league (just shy of $90MM, per OverTheCap.com).
With that No. 1 overall pick, the expectation is that the Raiders will select reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who quarterbacked Indiana to a 16-0 season and a CFP National Championship in 2025. Mendoza is easily the best passer in his class, and Las Vegas was said to be seeking an offensive-minded HC to pair with their presumptive top draft choice.
With Kubiak, the team has exactly that. The 38-year-old’s stock has risen sharply in recent years, including three different offensive coordinator stints. Each of Kubiak’s tenures with the Vikings, Saints and Seahawks have proven to be just one year in length, but they have elevated his status as one of the league’s most highly regarded offensive minds. Kubiak’s NFL resume also includes pass-game coordinator duties with the Broncos (2022) and 49ers (2023).
A coach in various capacities dating back to 2010, Kubiak has never led a college or pro staff before. He represents an unknown as a result, but that is also true of many other first-time head coaches hired during the 2026 cycle. The Raiders will aim for stability on the sidelines with this hire, something which has been sorely lacking during the franchise’s Vegas period. Changes on the coaching staff and in the front office have been commonplace in recent years.
A housecleaning took place last offseason with head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco each being dismissed after only one full season in their respective roles. The Raiders brought in John Spytek as GM, making him part of a front office influenced in large part by minority owner Tom Brady. Together, they played a key role in hiring Pete Carroll as head coach.
Expectations were high for at least modest success in 2025, with Carroll and a reunion with quarterback Geno Smith seeming to provide a strong floor for the Raiders. Not much (if anything) went according to plan, however, with Carroll firing two of his coordinators in the middle of the campaign. No observers were surprised when Carroll himself was dismissed one day after the season ended. That began a lengthy search, one which has now landed on Kubiak. Brady and Kubiak “hit it off” during the interview process, Schefter’s colleague Jeremy Fowler adds.
The Seahawks thrived with Kubiak and new quarterback Sam Darnold in place for 2025. Seattle earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC before winning two straight home games to reach next week’s Super Bowl. A strong defense has contributed greatly to their shared success over the course of the season, but Darnold was highly productive in the NFC title game (321 yards, three touchdowns, no giveaways). It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks fare next season with another new OC in place, the third since Mike Macdonald took over as head coach.
Provided the Kubiak agreement will become finalized after the Super Bowl, the Cardinals loom as the only NFL team with a head coaching vacancy. Kubiak’s decision to join the Raiders will thin Arizona’s list of final candidates even further.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Bengals Could Tag DE Trey Hendrickson
When after months (technically years) of drama over Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson‘s contract situation ended with a one-year agreement, it seemed the saga would finally end with Hendrickson hitting free agency at the conclusion of the season. The situation refuses to die, though, as Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports (via colleague Ian Rapoport) that the Bengals are considering using this year’s franchise tag on Hendrickson. 
After a quiet start to his career as a third-round pick in New Orleans, a breakout, 13.5-sack season in a contract year led to Hendrickson signing with the Bengals on a four-year, $60MM deal. Hendrickson has remained one of the league’s top pass rushers ever since, though injuries slowed him a bit in 2022 and 2025. The Bengals had been notorious for establishing a young culture by never being the team to sign players to their third contracts. They kind of broke that tradition by agreeing to extend Hendrickson’s deal (by only a year) as a way to adjust his compensation to better match his production. The extension allowed the team to lower Hendrickson’s salary cap impact while increasing his earnings over the last years of his deal.
Not satisfied with the Bengals’ short-term commitment, and after posting a career-high 17.5 sacks in 2023, the veteran defender turned his eyes towards another new contract. After discussing the possibility of another extension and walking away without an agreement, Hendrickson officially requested a trade. Cincinnati called his bluff, refusing to deal him, and when he decided to attend voluntary workouts, the Bengals turned their eyes to the eventual discussions that were sure to take place in the following offseason.
Initially, the Bengals made it seem as if they were open to extending the star pass rusher, who had just delivered a second straight 17.5-sack campaign, but only days later, they also started to convey an openness to trading him, eventually granting him permission to seek a trade. The Bengals and Hendrickson continued to negotiate a possible extension while several teams made offers, yet the Bengals consistently seemed to believe the trade offers did not offer enough value for Hendrickson while simultaneously arguing that Hendrickson was seeking too much value in a contract extension.
Eventually, talks in both directions seemed to stall, and Hendrickson threatened to hold out, even into the regular season. The Bengals stood pat, and as training camp began, Hendrickson showed he was serious this time. After having skipped minicamps earlier in the offseason, he officially began his training camp holdout. The drama continued with extension talks stalling and trade talks arising and the cycle repeating with no solutions. Ultimately, the team landed on the altered, one-year deal he played on this year, but it seemed bridges had been burned in the process and eventual free agency was all but guaranteed.
This latest update seems to totally blow up those conclusions. Instead of allowing Hendrickson to depart from what has been a contentious situation and test the open market, it appears Cincinnati is interested in potentially squeezing a bit more benefit out of Hendrickson. Just a week and a half ago, it was reported that, with a franchise tag likely to cost more than $30MM, the Bengals weren’t expected to go that route, but Garafolo suggests the plan could be setting up for a tag-and-trade.
Though trade talks have continuously fallen through as Cincinnati seeks more value than has been offered, there’s apparently a chance they could be going for that route, again. If so, they would likely be tagging Hendrickson under the assumption that he has no interest in signing it to play in Cincinnati again. They would then be selling teams the option of trading for Hendrickson knowing that he would either come with a fully guaranteed $30+MM deal or come with an expectation of a new contract. Either way, Hendrickson would get a chance at a new contract, but in this scenario, the Bengals would be choosing where he goes and would be getting something in return for losing him. The only power Hendrickson would hold would be that he would need to sign the tag to complete the trade.
The much less likely strategy for Cincinnati would be that they intend to either convince Hendrickson to sign and play on the tag or negotiate for another extension. Seeing how well those conversations have gone in the past, it seems unlikely that the team is attempting to extend Hendrickson’s time as a Bengal. We won’t know for several weeks, until free agency begins in March, but it seems this situation won’t get a clean conclusion just yet.
NFL Coaching Updates: Steelers, Slowik, Falcons, Ravens, Cowboys
Mike McCarthy‘s new coaching staff in Pittsburgh continues to fill out as a couple more expected hires were reported this week. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Texas Tech outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You is expected to head to the NFL for the same job with the Steelers, while Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS relayed the expectations that Derius Swinton II would be hired as senior special teams assistant.
A former NFL defensive end who appeared in 33 games with the Rams, Ah You turned to coaching following the end of his playing career. Apart from a brief stint in the XFL, Ah You has only coached at the collegiate level. He started as a special teams quality control coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma, before heading to a defensive line coaching job at Vanderbilt. Following his XFL gig, Ah You spent a year as a QC analyst at USC before landing in Lubbock in 2022. The Red Raiders finished the 2025 season with the sixth-most sacks in the country, and top pass rushers David Bailey and Romello Height made strong cases to be Day 1 picks.
Swinton heads to Pittsburgh after a three-year stint in Las Vegas, where he weathered the turnover of three different head coaches. Swinton has twice served single-season tenures as a special teams coordinator and was named to the interim role in Vegas last year after Tom McMahon‘s exit. He won’t be asked to fill the role of coordinator in Pittsburgh, but his experience after having worked in nine different NFL systems could be valuable to the Steelers in 2026.
Here are a few other coaching updates from around the NFL:
- Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Jets are expected to hire Ryan Slowik to the position of safeties coach. Having coached on and off in the NFL since 2005, Slowik has only held position coaching roles in five seasons. He served as outside linebackers coach of the Cardinals in 2012, held the same position in Cleveland in 2016, and was named to the same role with the Dolphins in 2023 before moving the defensive backs coach/pass game specialist for the past two seasons in Miami. As second year head coach Aaron Glenn continues to rework his coaching staff, he’ll trust his secondary to Slowik and defensive backs coach Chris Harris.
- Zenitz of CBS Sports also reported yesterday that the Ravens are hiring Patrick Kramer to a role on their offensive staff. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec clarified that Kramer’s role will be as a quality control coach. Zrebiec also reported that Rick Minter, the father of the team’s new head coach, will also join Baltimore’s staff after serving as a defensive consultant for the Chargers. Joining both Minters in the move, per Zrebiec, will be Christina DeRuyter. She worked in Los Angeles last year as the team’s director of football logistics.
- The Falcons announced that they have hired Matt Jones to the position of assistant offensive line coach. Jones comes over from Tennessee, where he started as an assistant offensive line coach in 2023 before moving to offensive assistant for the past two years. Jones will work under new offensive line coach Bill Callahan who retained Jones on the Titans’ staff when he became the team’s head coach.
- Lastly, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, the Cowboys have hired Robert Muschamp as a defensive quality control coach. The nephew of Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, the younger Muschamp worked most recently as a defensive quality control coach with the Chargers, specifically working with outside linebackers.
Aaron Rodgers’ Return To Steelers Gaining Momentum
With former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy finding his way to Pittsburgh (after a five-year layover in Dallas), there’s been speculation that former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who found his way to Pittsburgh a year earlier, could have a new motivation to return to the team in 2026. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (via colleague Ian Rapoport), that could be the case as Rodgers appears to be seriously considering sticking with the Steelers for his 22nd season of NFL play. 
Entering the season, many, including Rodgers, had some idea that 2025 would be a swan song for the league’s oldest active player, who is now older than eight active head coaches. As the regular season was coming to a close and Rodgers was on his way back to the playoffs for the first time in four years, the 42-year-old let it be known that he wasn’t married to the idea of retiring.
Immediately following the team’s postseason exit, there seemed to be mutual interest in Rodgers coming back on a new deal in 2026, but things changed when longtime head coach Mike Tomlin decided to step away. While Pittsburgh continued to support the idea of Rodgers returning for another year, the odds of Rodgers returning without Tomlin didn’t look great. The Steelers made a move, though, and it may have been the only move that could’ve aided a Rodgers return under a new head coach.
Though, they likely didn’t choose him with this end in mind, the hiring of McCarthy, Rodgers’ former head coach in Green Bay, to replace Tomlin as head coach may end up being a crucial key in retaining Rodgers. Steelers owner Art Rooney told media the door was still open to Rodgers, McCarthy expressed his desire for a reunion with his former quarterback, and top receiver D.K. Metcalf has even been in touch with Rodgers, trying to move the needle on coming back for another run. Pelissero reports that Rodgers has had several conversations with McCarthy since his arrival, and odds are increasing that a reunion will take place.
This “will he, won’t he” won’t last nearly as long as last year, when Rodgers didn’t choose a team until June. While they won’t pressure the veteran quarterback to make a decision, everyone is hoping that he will come to a decision before the start of free agency in mid-March. In the next month or so, we should have a better idea of whether or not we’ll see Rodgers return for his age-43 season in a reunion with McCarthy.