The NFL is tempting fate with its inability to handle scandals properly, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The recent bungling of scandals, like the Ray Rice fiasco, will cause someone with real political power to notice the fundamental flaw in the structure of the league — and to suggest a solution that would entail a greater degree of independence from the league for the Commissioner. Florio suggests that a commissioner who isn’t an employee of the owners would do a better job of keeping things on the right track and doling out substantive punishments when needed. More from around the NFL as we gear up for the Super Bowl tomorrow..
- The Falcons have waited long enough to officially name their new coach and they’ll etch it in stone as soon as possible. The Falcons will name Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new head coach on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). A press conference is expected to take place the following day, on Tuesday.
- The Seahawks are going for their second consecutive Super Bowl, but they have a larger goal beyond that. Seattle wants to duplicate the Patriots’ model for long-term success, as Larry Stone of The Seattle Times writes. The Pats not only have multiple championship rings and conference championship trophies, but they are contenders year in and year out. The Patriots have won in double figures for 12 consecutive years and qualified for the playoffs in 12 of Bill Belichick’s 15 years as coach.
- In today’s presser, Roger Goodell was asked whether there’s any set of circumstances that would result in his resignation. Goodell said he can’t imagine that happening. “No, I can’t. Does that surprise you?” Goodell said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Still, he acknowledged that 2014 wasn’t his finest year. “It’s been a tough year on me personally,” Goodell said. “It’s been a year of what I would say is humility and learning. We, obviously as an organization, have gone through adversity. More importantly, it’s been adversity for me. We take that seriously. It’s an opportunity for us to get better. It’s an opportunity for us, for our organization, to get better. We’ve all done a lot of soul searching, starting with yours truly.“