Raiders Promoting Rob Leonard To DC
After interviewing a few candidates for the defensive coordinator position under new head coach Klint Kubiak, the Raiders have opted to go with an internal candidate. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard is set to be promoted to coordinator in Las Vegas. 
A former college linebacker who led NC State in tackles in 2008, Leonard immediately turned to coaching out of college, starting as a defensive assistant at nearby Cardinal Gibbons HS (N.C.). With a year of experience under his belt, he rejoined his alma mater, spending three years as a graduate assistant with the Wolfpack before making the jump to the NFL in 2013. Leonard made his NFL coaching debut with the Giants, spending four years as a defensive assistant before getting promoted to assistant defensive line coach in 2017 under then-defensive line coach Patrick Graham.
He moved into the assistant linebackers coaching role the next year, taking over oversight of New York’s outside linebackers, including standout Olivier Vernon. In 2019, he reunited with Graham in Miami as the Dolphins linebackers coach, his first full position coaching role. He moved back to assistant defensive line coach in 2020 before being named outside linebackers coach the following year. In that final season with the Dolphins, Leonard coached a rookie Jaelan Phillips to an 8.5-sack campaign. In 2022, Leonard found his way to Baltimore, joining Mike Macdonald‘s first staff as defensive coordinator for the Ravens, where he helped a veteran Justin Houston to a resurgent 9.5-sack season at 33 years old.
It was at that point that Leonard made his way to Las Vegas, once again reuniting with Graham, the team’s defensive coordinator at the time. As the Raiders’ new defensive line coach in 2023, Leonard took over the tutelage of star defensive end Maxx Crosby, helping him to earn his second straight first-team All-Pro honors while recording career highs in sacks (14.5) and tackles for loss (23). It was also the first year Crosby seemed to have any help across the line as defensive end Malcolm Koonce (8.0) and defensive tackle Adam Butler (5.0) contributed to a team total of 46 sacks, the team’s highest sack total since 2010.
Despite some contract turbulence and injury issues for Crosby, Leonard has been an agent of continuity for the star pass rusher in Las Vegas. There’s a chance that owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek may be leaning on the scale a bit to influence Leonard’s promotion in hopes of increasing their odds of retaining Crosby moving forward. Leonard’s résumé speaks for itself, though, with multiple stops showing results with players young and old alike.
In fact, when Pete Carroll was named head coach in Vegas last year, he interviewed Leonard for the DC job before ultimately opting to retain Graham. With Graham now in Pittsburgh, it’s Leonard’s turn to lead the Raiders defense. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, several NFL and college teams made requests to interview Leonard over the past two years, but the Raiders did everything in their power to keep him in the building as “they believed they had a future star” in Leonard.
Though several names had been mentioned as defensive coordinator candidates to succeed Graham, only three interviews had been scheduled. In the end, continuity will remain key for a defense that finished 14th in 2025 giving up the 14th-fewest passing yards and the 17th-fewest rushing yards as it looks like Leonard will be promoted to defensive coordinator, pending a finalized deal. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that continuity will continue with defensive pass-game coordinator Joe Woods being retained in his current role. Woods had been a rumored candidate for the DC position, as well.
Here’s a final look at how the Raiders’ search for their next defensive coordinator played out:
- DeMarcus Covington, defensive run game coordinator (Packers): To interview
- Joe Cullen, defensive line coach (Chiefs): Rumored candidate
- Jeff Howard, safeties coach (Seahawks): To interview 2/14
- Rob Leonard, run game coordinator (Raiders): Promoted
- Zach Orr, former defensive coordinator (Ravens): Interview requested
- Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): To interview 2/13
- Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Karl Scott, defensive backs coach (Seahawks): Rumored candidate, to stay in Seattle
- Jason Tarver, linebackers coach (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Mentioned as candidate, withdrew from search
- Joe Woods, defensive backs coach (Raiders): Rumored candidate
Brian Flores Lawsuit Will Bypass Arbitration, Proceed In Open Court
Score another legal victory for Brian Flores.
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL will proceed through the U.S. public legal system, not the league’s private arbitration process, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Flores, later joined by Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, filed the lawsuit in 2022 alleging racial hiring practices within the NFL with claims against the league itself and multiple specific teams.
The NFL has long been trying to keep Flores’ suit out of open court and instead under the control of Peter Harvey, the arbitrator appointed by commissioner Roger Goodell. Several court rulings have gone against those efforts, with multiple judges pointing out the inherent issues with Harvey arbitrating the case while being employed by one of the parties.
Flores’ attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and David Gottlieb issued a statement on the decision (via ESPN): “The court’s decision recognizes that an arbitration forum in which the defendant’s own chief executive gets to decide the case would strip employees of their rights under the law. It is long overdue for the NFL to recognize this and finally provide a fair, neutral and transparent forum for these issues to be addressed.”
The next step in the legal process is a pretrial hearing, set for April 3. The NFL is also waiting to see if the Supreme Court will accept its petition to review lower court decisions regarding this issue of arbitration.
Flores’ lawsuit was already a landmark one for its attempt to confront suspect hiring practices that have persisted even after the institution and expansion of the Rooney Rule. But now, perhaps unintentionally so, it may have become much bigger.
The NFL has long used its own private arbitration process that unsurprisingly tends to favor the league in final decisions. Flores’ case threatens the validity and enforceability of that process. The court decisions that have already been made support the contention that the league should not be able to influence the arbitration of cases in which it has a vested interest. A Supreme Court ruling could establish firmer, long-term legal precedent, though they would have to accept the case for review, which is not a certainty.
Arbitration could also become a major issue in the next CBA negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA. The union may be empowered by these rulings and attempt to restrict or eliminate the arbitration process, at least as they relate to players. NFL coaches do not currently have a union and would have to individually negotiate mandatory arbitration out of their contracts unless such language becomes legally prohibited.
Flores was not able to land a head coaching gig this offseason despite three excellent seasons in Minnesota. And despite receiving a mammoth $6MM salary on his new deal with the Vikings, he still wants to get another chance to be a head coach, per Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline. Team owners may be cautious about hiring a coach with an open lawsuit against the league and multiple specific teams. Flores may have to wait until the legal process plays out, which could take years. But continued success with the Vikings defense could become too hard to ignore.
Nasir Adderley Attempting NFL Comeback
Nasir Adderley played out his rookie contract from 2019-22. Instead of signing a new deal in free agency, however, the safety announced his retirement. 
Health was cited as one of the main reasons why Adderley ended his career. No indications emerged over a notable period of time that he was contemplating a return to football. That recently changed.
“It’s now been three years since I left the NFL, and I am extremely happy with my development,” Adderley wrote in an Instagram post. “Health, family, and entrepreneurship were my top priorities, and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. The freedom to manage my own schedule was very important to me, but what I didn’t realize was how much I’d miss having football in my life. The competition, the brotherhood, and just being involved in the game that means so much to me and my family.
“Therefore, I am officially announcing my intention to return to the NFL.”
During his rookie season, Adderley only made four appearances and was not a defensive regular. The former second-rounder was a full-time starter for his final three years with the Chargers, though. Over that span, Adderley totaled 230 tackles, three interceptions and 12 pass deflections. Coverage was a sore spot in 2020 and ’21, but the Delaware product delivered much better production in that regard during his final season.
At the age of 28, Adderley could be seen as a free agent with more upside than some of the other options on the market. Of course, the length of his absence will no doubt lead to offers along the lines of a one-year, ‘prove-it’ contract. A different Chargers regime is in place than the one which drafted him, so Adderley could easily find himself playing on a new team in 2026 provided he lands an NFL gig.
Patriots To Move DC Terrell Williams To New Role, Likely To Promote Zak Kuhr
FEBRUARY 14: ESPN’s Mike Reiss also points to Kuhr as a “leading candidate” for the defensive coordinator gig. As Vrabel noted earlier this week, though, there are still a number of roles which are undecided on his staff at this point. Filling the DC vacancy will obviously be a priority over the coming days.
FEBRUARY 12: Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams will be moving to a “high-ranking role” on Mike Vrabel‘s staff, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Williams, 51, was one of Vrabel’s first hires when he became the Patriots’ head coach last offseason. Williams stepped away from the team during spring practices due to a health scare and was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly before the regular season. He continued to work with the team in New England during the season as he underwent treatment, but he did not travel with the team to away games. Williams was announced to be cancer-free before the Super Bowl and traveled with the team to San Francisco.
Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took over defensive play-calling and led the unit to a top-10 finish. The Patriots defense also fueled their run to the Super Bowl by allowing just 26 points and forcing eight turnovers in their three AFC playoff games.
After those results in his first season as a position coach in the NFL, Kuhr is a virtual lock to take over the defensive coordinator job in New England. The Patriots still must comply with Rooney Rule requirements to interview two minority candidates for the position, but the team almost certainly made this move to promote Kuhr.
If he remained the linebackers coach, he would be a risk to be poached by another team, potentially this offseason with the Cardinals and Raiders still looking for defensive coordinators. New Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak could have a particular appreciation for Kuhr’s skills after extensively studying his defense in the lead up to Super Bowl LX. Even if Kuhr didn’t move to Arizona or Las Vegas this year, he would be a near-certainty to get a defensive coordinator job next offseason.
Kuhr is not the only candidate for the Patriots’ DC job. In addition to the two minority candidates the team will interview, Shane Bowen and Jim Schwartz could be considered for the job, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. Bowen, who was last the Giants’ DC, held the same job in Tennessee during Vrabel’s last three years with the Titans. Schwartz was a senior defensive assistant on that staff for two of those seasons. His availability is less clear with the Browns still holding his contract rights for the 2026 season.
Williams’ new role on Vrabel’s staff has yet to be announced, but the decision does not come as a major surprise. Vrabel hinted at the potential for such a move after the Super Bowl with Kuhr having thoroughly proved himself as a defensive play-caller. Given his history as a defensive line coach, an assistant head coach/run game coordinator title would make sense for Williams moving forward.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 2/14/26
Saturday has brought about the first of what will be many tender decisions around the NFL:
ERFAs
- Tendered: T Austen Pleasants (49ers)
Pleasants made 15 appearances and logged 125 offensive snaps in 2025. Both of those were career highs, making it an easy decision for the 49ers to retain him. The tender will be worth just over $1MM since Pleasants has only accrued one season in the NFL to date.
Ravens Eyeing C Connor McGovern As Potential Tyler Linderbaum Replacement?
The list of pending Ravens free agents is topped by center Tyler Linderbaum. The three-time Pro Bowler has loomed as a target for a second Baltimore contract, but nothing has been finalized yet. 
As of November, team and player were not close to reaching an extension agreement. The top of the center market is currently $18MM per year, set in 2024 when Creed Humphrey signed his new Chiefs deal. Linderbaum could very well set a new watermark at the position, but it remains to be seen if his next contract will come from the Ravens or an outside suitor.
SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora reports the Ravens are receiving “contract rejections” during negotiations with Linderbaum’s camp. The former first-rounder said immediately after Baltimore’s season ended he wanted to continue playing for the team that drafted him. Given the Ravens’ expected decision of declining Linderbaum’s fifth-year option last year, however, they left the door open to a departure in the spring.
Per La Canfora, there are “underlying medical concerns” to be taken into account in this case as well. Linderbaum faced some questions about his size entering the NFL, but through his first four seasons he has missed only two games. Durability and a consistent level of play will help the 25-year-old cash in during his first trip to the open market (provided he makes it there). A new Ravens agreement could be worked out at any time between now and the start of the new league year, but a cap-reducing Lamar Jackson extension remains priority No. 1 for the team.
In the event Linderbaum departs, Baltimore appears to have a replacement in mind. La Canfora points to Connor McGovern as a veteran who could be acquired in free agency. McGovern has made 78 starts in his career between time in Dallas and Buffalo. The 28-year-old has been a steady presence on the Bills’ offensive line since his arrival in 2023. Buffalo inked McGovern to a three-year, $22.35MM deal during free agency in 2023.
A pact along those lines would certainly carry a much lower AAV than the one Linderbaum will soon be attached to. The guard position will likely be subject to change for Baltimore over the course of the offseason, but the team’s approach at center will be worth watching closely.
Titans Finalize Robert Saleh’s 2026 Coaching Staff
On Thursday of this week, the Titans announced their finalized coaching staff under new head coach Robert Saleh. We had already covered many of the staff changes in previous posts as they were announced, but the release this week provided some previously uncovered updates.
On the offensive side of the ball, the only new info for position coaches saw a slight change in title for Randy Jordan. Originally retained to reprise his role as running backs coach, Jordan will reportedly take on the additional title of Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship coordinator.
The release announced the hires of Isaac Williams as assistant offensive line coach and John Rudnicki as offensive assistant. Lastly, offensive assistant Trevor Browder has been retained in the same role. It will be his third season in a full-time position for the team after first joining as a Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellow in 2023.
Williams arrived in the NFL in 2022 after six years of experience at a few small colleges. He’s served as the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers for the past four years and will now assist new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo in attempting to turn around a line that desperately needs improvement to protect quarterback Cam Ward.
Rudnicki will be making his NFL coaching debut as he makes his way up from the collegiate ranks. He started as an undergraduate student assistant coach working with the offensive line at Alabama before doing the same as a graduate assistant at South Alabama. He’s spent the past three years at South Carolina with two years as a graduate assistant before serving last year as an offensive assistant working with running backs.
On the defensive side of the ball, the release announced a couple of new hires in linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and defensive backs/nickels coach Dalton Hilliard. We also got information that Ben Bloom and Travis Smith have been retained under new titles. Previously the team’s outside linebackers coach, Bloom has been retained as a senior defensive assistant, and previously the Titans’ defensive run game coordinator, Smith has been retained as senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist. Lastly, previously reported with the title of defensive quality control coach, Ahmed Saleh, the head coach’s cousin, will instead hold the title of defensive assistant.
Borgonzi finds a home after not being retained in Dallas. He boasts 15 years of NFL coaching experience including eight years as a linebackers coach — four with the Colts, three with the Bears, and one with the Cowboys. According to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi removed himself from the hiring process in regard to his brother.
Hilliard will be making his NFL coaching debut after 11 years in the collegiate ranks. He held roles at his alma mater, UCLA, Tennessee-Martin, and Arkansas State before being named secondary coach at UConn in 2022 and adding passing game coordinator to his title in 2024. He joined Colorado State in December as pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach but will spurn the Rams for the NFL.
Lastly, it was announced that Rob Dadona would be hired as chief of staff. Dadona most recently held the role of manager of coaching operations with the Falcons. He’ll be reuniting with Saleh after working with him during his tenure in New York. Dadona started his NFL career as a football operations assistant in 2019 and was promoted to assistant to the head coach when Saleh took over in 2021.
Raiders Schedule DC Interview For Packers’ DeMarcus Covington
The Raiders continue to expand their board of defensive coordinator candidates for new head coach Klint Kubiak. Interviews were announced on Thursday and Friday, and the trend continues as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported this morning that Packers defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington will interview for the position. 
Despite his short tenure as a one-year defensive coordinator for the Patriots in 2024, Covington remains a popular candidate for open jobs. He first started getting coordinator interest in 2023, when after seven years with the Patriots, the Chargers brought him in for an interview and the Cardinals requested one. Seeing interest in his defensive line coach increasing, an incoming new coach, Jerod Mayo, promoted Covington to defensive coordinator, making him the successor to Matt Patricia after the team went six years without a coach manning the traditional DC role.
He’s already interviewed this offseason with the Cowboys and Jets, and even after his dismissal from New England last year, the Bengals brought him in for an interview before landing on Al Golden. In his first NFL season outside of New England, Covington landed with the Packers in his current role. In his first year in Green Bay, Covington assisted with a defense that finished the season just above average in most categories. His defensive line showed both sides of the spectrum, as the best aspect of the Packers defense was their ability to pressure the quarterback — sixth in the NFL with 162 total pressures — and the worst aspect was their ability to stop the run — 18th in rush yards allowed.
Kubiak has hit the ground running in Las Vegas after brushing the Seattle confetti off his shoulders. Several candidates for defensive coordinator have been rumored as he starts to build competition for the position, but Covington will be just the third to interview. Rams defensive pass-game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant was scheduled to interview yesterday, while Seahawks safeties coach Jeff Howard is said to be interviewing today with his former coworker.
Here’s how the rest of the DC candidate list for the Raiders is shaping up:
- DeMarcus Covington, defensive run game coordinator (Packers): To interview
- Joe Cullen, defensive line coach (Chiefs): Rumored candidate
- Jeff Howard, safeties coach (Seahawks): To interview 2/14
- Zach Orr, former defensive coordinator (Ravens): Interview requested
- Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): To interview 2/13
- Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Karl Scott, defensive backs coach (Seahawks): Rumored candidate, to stay in Seattle
- Jason Tarver, linebackers coach (Browns): Rumored candidate
- Dino Vasso, defensive backs coach (Texans): Mentioned as candidate, withdrew from search
- Joe Woods, defensive backs coach (Raiders): Rumored candidate
Seahawks Interviewing 49ers TEs Coach Brian Fleury For OC Job
The Seahawks are expected to make an internal promotion to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy, but they are still taking a look at some other coaches around the league.
Among them is 49ers tight ends coach/run game coordinator Brian Fleury, who is interviewing for the job on Saturday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Fleury has spent the last seven years in San Francisco, beginning as a defensive quality control coach in 2019. He moved to the offensive side of the ball in 2020 in another QC role before a promotion to tight ends coach two years later.
49ers tight end George Kittle has made the Pro Bowl for five straight years working with Fleury with All-Pro recognition in three of those seasons. The team’s other tight ends have not had as big of an impact, though Jake Tonges stepped up for 22 catches for 209 yards during Kittle’s five game absence this past season.
Prior to joining the 49ers, Fleury served in a variety of roles with the Dolphins, Browns, and Bills, along with stints with multiple college programs. He came up on the defensive side of the ball, which he briefly continued in San Francisco before starting his work with tight ends.
Here are the rest of the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator candidates:
- John Benton, offensive line coach (Seahawks): Rumored candidate
- Mack Brown, tight ends coach (Seahawks): To interview
- Hank Fraley, offensive line coach (Lions): Rumored candidate
- Brian Fleury, tight ends coach (49ers): Interviewing on 2/14
- Andrew Janocko, quarterbacks coach (Seahawks): To interview
- Mike Kafka, former interim head coach (Giants): Rumored candidate
- Justin Outten, run-game specialist (Seahawks): To interview
- Jake Peetz, pass-game coordinator (Seahawks): To interview
Jags Not Expected To Tag Travis Etienne
The Jaguars are not expected to place the franchise tag on running back Travis Etienne, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, positioning the former first-round pick to hit free agency in March.
Etienne, 27, has been Jacksonville’s starting running back for the past four years and just finished a resurgent season following a disappointing 2024 campaign. He ranked 11th in the NFL with 1,107 rushing yards, 17th with 1,399 yards from scrimmage, and 10th with 13 rushing and receiving touchdowns. Etienne also registered the 14th-most missed tackles forced (46) and 10th-most yards after contact (831), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), who also gave him strong grades as a pass blocker.
Those are strong numbers, but they do not justify a franchise tag projected to be $14.5MM (via OverTheCap), which would be the third-highest APY among NFL running backs. A transition tag at $11.7MM is more reasonable, but it will be difficult for the cap-strapped Jaguars to carry that number into free agency. It would also set a high floor on a potential extension.
The Jaguars also have 2025 draftees Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen on the roster, though neither had a major role as rookies. Instead of pursuing a more expensive Etienne extension, the team could opt for a cheaper veteran to add to their young backfield. This year’s draft class is less strong at the position.
Etienne said immediately after Jacksonville’s season ended that he was not focused on his contract situation. He later told reporters (via NFLonFOX) that he did not intend to sign with a cold-weather team. That would seem to rule out several teams, though Etienne could always change his mind once the contract offers hit the table.