East Notes: Gase, Giants, Eagles
Before the Dolphins reached out to Adam Gase about their head coaching vacancy, owner Stephen Ross sought advice from around the NFL on possible solutions for the position. Gase’s name kept coming up during the process, which helped lead the Dolphins to pursue him. After spending time with Gase this week, Ross became sold on the 37-year-old, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.
The Dolphins hired Gase on Saturday, but the job was his to lose two days earlier, according to Beasley. Gase “wowed” Ross and his advisers during an informal interview Wednesday on Ross’ private jet, per Beasley. The Dolphins then had Gase participate in a marathon interview Thursday as a way to assess his leadership skills. They came away impressed enough to make Gase an integral member of their franchise going forward.
Now for the latest from the NFC East:
- If Doug Marrone gets the Giants’ head coaching job, don’t expect him to retain offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, reports Tom Rock of Newsday. That would seem to be a less-than-ideal scenario for 35-year-old quarterback Eli Manning, who combined for 65 touchdown passes and nearly 9,000 yards under McAdoo the last two seasons.
- Speaking of the Giants, they erred in keeping general manager Jerry Reese, opines the New York Daily News’ Gary Myers, who expects Reese to lose his job if the team misses the playoffs again next season. That means the next GM would have a second-year coach forced on him. Myers believes the Giants would’ve been better off letting Reese go and hiring a new GM to select Tom Coughlin‘s replacement.
- At the outset of their coaching search, the Eagles pursued Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sumlin is staying put, however, Rapoport adds.
Latest On NFL’s Potential Return To LA
A return to Los Angeles in 2016 is looking likelier than ever for the NFL. In a 48-page report distributed Saturday to the league’s 32 teams, commissioner Roger Goodell criticizes the respective stadium proposals in St. Louis, Oakland and San Diego, referring to them as “unsatisfactory and inadequate,” according to the LA Times’ Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno. Further, in the opinion of Goodell, each market had “ample opportunity but did not develop their proposals sufficiently to ensure the retention of its NFL team.” The Rams, Raiders and Chargers agree, having applied for LA relocation earlier this week.
Last month, the city of St. Louis approved financing on a plan to construct a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium. That proposal 
includes $300MM from the league, whose policy is to spend a maximum of $200MM on stadiums. Goodell subsequently called the notion of using $300MM of the league’s money “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.” The Rams, for their part, said in their application to move that no NFL team would accept the St. Louis deal, Farmer and Fenno write.
Oakland has not made a formal stadium proposal, on the other hand, while San Diego – like St. Louis – has proposed a $1.1 billion stadium. At $200MM in funding from the NFL, the potential San Diego stadium doesn’t exceed the league’s maximum. The problem is that a public vote to OK $350MM of city funding isn’t scheduled until June. That clearly won’t work, as league owners will gather next week in Houston – Jan. 12-13 – to vote on possible relocation.
The Raiders and Chargers have a proposal to share a stadium in Carson, and the Rams want their own facility in Inglewood. In order for any of the teams to move, they’ll need 24 approval votes from league ownership. Goodell’s report indicates LA is capable of supporting two teams, which ostensibly helps both the Chargers and Raiders. However, the Cowboys have proposed a measure for ownership vote that would see the Chargers head to Inglewood with the Rams instead of Carson with the Raiders, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports (Twitter link). La Canfora adds (on Twitter) that many owners would prefer to see the Rams and Chargers as the two LA-bound teams. However, as Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal points out (via Twitter), Chargers owner Dean Spanos rejected the idea of partnering with Rams owner Stan Kroenke in a letter to the LA committee last month. At least for now, Spanos seems committed to teaming with the Raiders’ Mark Davis.
For any potential LA scenario to come to fruition, all three clubs must sign final economic term sheets for relocation by Monday, per La Canfora (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC Notes: Luck, Weddle, Jets, Broncos
Earlier this week, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said signing a contract extension to stay in Indianapolis “would be great.” It appears he’ll be in luck (no pun intended), as Colts owner Jim Irsay told Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star that an extension for the 25-year-old this summer “is the goal.”
“If we don’t get an agreement, we still have time,” Irsay continued. “And he is going to be signed. There’s a reasonably good chance we can come to that agreement this offseason. He will be here, trust me. Andrew and I have talked – we talked after the end of the season – and he couldn’t be more excited.”
Luck is set to count over $16MM against the Colts’ cap in 2016, the final year of his deal, before he’s scheduled for free agency. The chances of Luck hitting the market are essentially nonexistent, though, as the Colts will either extend the four-year veteran or, worst-case scenario, place the franchise tag on him. An extension could potentially make Luck the NFL’s highest-paid player.
More from the AFC:
- Standout Chargers safety Eric Weddle, a pending free agent, said this week that he doesn’t expect to stay with the organization that took him in the second round of the 2007 draft. General manager Tom Telesco agrees. “He’s stated he’s ready to move on,” Telesco said, per ESPN’s Eric D. Williams. “And probably for all parties involved, that’s probably the best case.”
- There’s no shortage of important Jets who are without contracts for 2016, as Kimberly A. Martin of Newsday writes. The best of the bunch is Pro Bowl defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, whom the Jets might slap the franchise tag on and then use as trade bait at the draft, according to Martin. It’s possible the Jets will pay D-lineman Damon Harrison instead, team him with Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams long term, and move Wilkerson for help elsewhere.
- The Broncos are hoping to retain soon-to-be free agent linebacker Danny Trevathan, but he’s down on their priority list, per Mike Klis of 9News. “We’re going to get paid,” said Trevaithan, who Klis notes should be able to ink a deal worth $3MM to $6MM annually. Fellow linebacker Brandon Marshall‘s contract is also up, though he’ll be a restricted free agent. The Broncos could give him a first-round tender worth $3.5MM.
Extra Points: Dolphins, Gruden, Browns, Titans
As the Dolphins search for their next head coach, the areas they’re prioritizing when talking to candidates are quarterback and defense, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Dolphins brass wants to hear from prospective head coaches how they plan to help the two improve after an up-and-down fourth season from Ryan Tannehill and a year in which the defense finished 25th overall.
Further, per Salguero, interim head coach Dan Campbell‘s only chance to get a promotion to the full-time role is if he presents Miami’s hierarchy with two proven coordinators willing to join his staff. Whether it’s Campbell or someone else, the Dolphins want a coach who has real solutions to repair their problems on both sides of the ball.
More from around the NFL:
- A report Thursday night stated that ex-head coach Jon Gruden is interested in the Eagles’ job, but CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweets otherwise. Gruden to the Eagles is “not happening and not discussed,” La Canfora offers.
- With perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas facing an uncertain future with the Browns, Cleveland.com took a look at which teams could be candidates to acquire the 31-year-old during the offseason. The list consists of the Packers, Broncos (who tried to acquire Thomas at this season’s trade deadline), Colts, Titans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Vikings and Patriots.
- It was reported earlier Thursday that the Titans received permission to speak with Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard regarding their vacant general manager job. The two are likely to powwow Monday, reports Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (Twitter link).
- Marc Ross, another candidate for the Titans’ GM job, might make the most sense for Tennessee if the club is looking to promote interim head coach Mike Mularkey, notes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. Ross, who’s currently the Giants’ vice president of player evaluation, was a member of Buffalo’s front office when Mularkey was its head coach from 2004-05.
- The NFL has chosen the staffs of the Cowboys and Jaguars to coach the 2016 Reese’s Senior Bowl from Jan. 25-30, according to a press release. The Cowboys will coach the North team against the Jags-led South squad.
Latest On Eagles’ Coaching Search
Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo interviewed for the Eagles’ head coaching job Thursday, the team announced (link to press release). McAdoo, who talked to the Giants about their head coaching vacancy earlier this week, is the fourth different candidate to interview with the Eagles, joining two in-house names – interim head coach Pat Shurmur and running backs coach Duce Staley – and Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
[RELATED: 2016 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]
One obvious similarity McAdoo, Shurmur, Staley and Gase share is that they’re all offensive-minded coaches. The sa
me holds true for longtime head coach Jon Gruden, who has expressed interest in the Eagles’ job to owner Jeffrey Lurie through an intermediary, Paul Domowitch of Philly.com reports. Gruden has a fan in Lurie, according to Domowitch, but Lurie is unsure if Gruden and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman would be able to work well together. Gruden has told people he and Roseman would be able to get along, per Domowitch, who notes that ex-Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the same thing before taking over in 2013. That didn’t turn out well, of course, as Kelly and Roseman were at loggerheads during Kelly’s short run in Philadelphia. Regardless, Domowitch writes that Lurie’s focus right now is on the assistants the Eagles have interviewed and the ones they’ve yet to interview.
While Gruden could be a Plan B option if Lurie doesn’t end up smitten with any of the other candidates, the owner is currently bullish on Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson – who is scheduled to interview Sunday – and Gase. However, contrary to a previous report, the Eagles won’t conduct a second interview with Gase this weekend, according to Les Bowen of Philly.com.
Gruden hasn’t coached since 2008, having served as an analyst instead, but he had a successful tenure from 1998 until then atop the Raiders and Buccaneers, respectively. The 52-year-old compiled a 95-81 regular-season record, five playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title with Tampa to cap off the 2002-03 season. He also won eight-plus games in eight of his 11 seasons at the helm in Oakland and Tampa. Immediately prior to his time as a head coach, Gruden worked in Philly as its offensive coordinator from 1995-97.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Name Rob Chudzinski O-Coordinator
Hours after announcing former Ravens assistant Ted Monachino as their new defensive coordinator, the C
olts have made another significant move with respect to their coaching staff. This time, though, the Colts are staying in house, promoting interim offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski to the full-time job, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Chudzinski, 47, has extensive experience as an O-coordinator, having held that post in Cleveland (2007-08) and Carolina (2011-12) before joining Indy’s staff as an assistant in 2014. Chudzinski took over as the Colts’ coordinator in November after the firing of Pep Hamilton.
With the promotion of Chudzinski and, more importantly, the return of star quarterback Andrew Luck from injury next season, the Colts will hope to revive an offense that finished the 2015-16 campaign 28th in yardage and 24th in points. In Luck’s only game with Chudzinski calling plays this season, Nov. 8 against Denver, he completed 21 of 36 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers in a 27-24 upset win, also adding 34 yards on six rushes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Peyton Manning HGH Allegations Resurface
It’s possible Peyton Manning took back the Broncos’ starting quarterback job Sunday in helping the AFC’s top seed to a 27-20 win over San Diego. The 39-year-old’s name is also in the news again for the wrong reasons, however, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Deborah Davies of Al Jazeera told CNN’s Reliable Sources that the media outlet has another source to corroborate a recent report that accused the Mannings (Peyton and his wife, Ashley) of having human growth hormone – a banned NFL substance – shipped to their house in 2011.
Last week, the existence of Al Jazeera documentary “The Dark Side,” which centers on the global epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs in sports, came to light. In the documentary, ex-Guyer Institute pharmacist Charlie Sly claims the Indianapolis-based anti-aging clinic supplied Manning and his wife with HGH as he was recovering from a serious neck injury. Manning quickly refuted the allegations, calling them “complete garbage.” He also threatened legal action. The story faded from the headlines soon after, but Davies has revived it.
“[W]e had a second source,” she said. “Absolutely impeccably placed, knowledgeable, and credible, who confirmed exactly what Charlie Sly said. Shipments of HGH were repeatedly, repeatedly sent to Ashley Manning in Florida and other places in the U.S. . . . There are different kinds of sources. There are some you can name, there are some you can’t. This is a source we cannot name. We could not name. The value of that source was to add to the level of confidence we already had in what Charlie Sly was saying.”
On why neither Davies nor Al Jazeera revealed the existence of a second source sooner, she stated, “It would simply have led to another range of speculation, another set of fishing expedition questions.”
Whether the source actually exists may never be known, but the timing is poor for both Manning and the Broncos – who now face the potential of having to deal with more steroid-related questions as they get ready for the playoffs.
49ers Fire Jim Tomsula
The 49ers have fired head coach Jim Tomsula after one year on the job, according to team CEO Jed York, who issued a statement Sunday night (link via the club’s website):
“Jimmy has been a valuable member of the 49ers organization for the last nine years. We all know he is a man of high 
character, and his contributions on the field and in our community have always been greatly appreciated. This entire organization is proud and grateful to have worked so closely alongside Jimmy. We all wish him and his family great success in the future.”
Last offseason, after interviewing a slew of candidates to replace the departed Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco elected to promote Tomsula – its defensive line coach from 2007-14 – signing him to a four-year, $14MM contract ($10.5MM of which still has to be paid out). However, the Tomsula era didn’t go nearly as well as Harbaugh’s reign, which included a 44-19-1 regular-season record and three playoff appearances in four years. The Tomsula-led Niners finished the 2015-16 campaign 5-11 (the franchise’s worst mark since 2007) and suffered nine losses by double-digit deficits. They defeated the NFC West rival Rams, 19-16, to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, but it obviously wasn’t enough to save Tomsula.
As the 49ers begin searching for the 20th head coach in their history, one possibility general manager Trent Baalke could look to is Chip Kelly, according to both CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link) and Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). Another is the Saints’ Sean Payton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Both Kelly and Payton are offensive minds, which the 49ers are seeking, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports. In addition to Kelly and Payton, Maiocco names Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as someone who could be on the 49ers’ radar. Whether the team’s next head coach is Kelly, Payton, Jackson or someone else, he’ll have the freedom to keep or fire any of its current assistant coaches, per Maiocco (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coaching Rumors: Payton, Browns, Titans, Kelly
The Eagles will pursue head coach Sean Payton if he and the Saints agree to part ways Monday, sources tell Paul Domowitch of Philly.com (Twitter link). Payton is under contract for two more years in New Orleans, which might present a problem for the Eagles, as Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk writes. The Saints will want compensation for Payton, possibly in the form of a second-round pick, and the Eagles don’t have one this year.
More coaching rumors from around the NFL:
- In addition to the previously reported Teryl Austin and Adam Gase (links: 1; 2), the Browns are also requesting an interview with Jacksonville assistant Doug Marrone, per CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
- The presence of quarterback Marcus Mariota might not be enough to make the Titans’ head coaching job appealing to potential candidates, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Concerns over a lack of stability with respect to the franchise’s ownership could ultimately lead to the promotion of interim head coach Mike Mularkey to the full-time role.
- Two college head coaches, Jim Mora Jr. (UCLA) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), are hoping to land head coaching jobs in the pros, tweets Michael Silver of NFL.com. Mora was previously at the helm in Atlanta (2004-06) and Seattle (’09), going a combined 31-33 with one playoff appearance.
- Chip Kelly isn’t a lock to get another head coaching job this offseason, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio writes that some teams might be hesitant to give Kelly a shot because of a fear that he’d eventually try to parlay his role as a head coach into that of a football czar, too, as he did in Philadelphia.
Browns Links: Coaching/GM Search, Manziel, Thomas
The Browns have promoted executive vice president/general counsel Sashi Brown to executive VP of football operations, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan. Brown will join owner Jimmy Haslam, Dee Haslam (Jimmy’s wife), and consultant Jed Hughes in finding the club’s next head coach, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (on Twitter) and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The coach will then help them hire a general manager (Twitter link via Ulrich). The new GM will report to Brown and the coach will report to Haslam, according to Ulrich (via Twitter). The GM’s duties will center on talent acquisition and scouting, while Brown will handle the 53-man roster and salary cap (via Ulrich on Twitter).
More on the Browns as they embark on another new era:
- Haslam acknowledged that the Browns are in for a long rebuild. Thus, they’ll add talent through the draft and, for the time being, avoid spending big on free agents (Twitter link via Ulrich).
- A report Sunday night stated Jacksonville assistant Doug Marrone would be the first to interview for the Browns’ head coaching vacancy. However, Haslam shot down the notion of Marrone being first in line, according to Cabot (Twitter link). No word yet on whether the team will speak with Marrone.
- The Browns will interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin for their head coaching opening in the coming days, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- Haslam informed previous GM Ray Farmer he was firing him before the Browns’ loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, not after, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Further, Haslam notifed the coaches of the Farmer and Mike Pettine firings via email, tweets Rapoport.
- More Johnny Manziel drama, courtesy of Peter King of TheMMQB.com: The two-year veteran didn’t show up to concussion protocol at 9 a.m. Sunday, which is a team requirement even if the player is inactive. Moreover, Manziel was unreachable via phone when the Browns tried to contact him. King now doubts the quarterback will ever play another down for the Browns. The 2014 first-round pick would prefer to go to the Cowboys (Twitter links: 1; 2; 3).
- Perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas, who has been in Cleveland since it drafted him third overall in 2007, is unsure about whether he’ll be a Brown next season. “When there’s turnover in the coaching staff, a lot of good players end up leaving, a lot of good coaches leave,” he said, according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi. “There’s a lot of uncertainty when there’s turnover in the coaching staff. Certainly I could be one of them not here next year.” On whether he even wants to stay a Brown, Thomas stated, “I’ll have to wait and see what happens with everything next week.” Thomas had previously hoped Pettine would return, per Grossi. Whether Pettine’s firing affects Thomas’ relationship with the Browns remains to be seen. For what it’s worth, Thomas has three years and $29.5MM left on his contract, which contains no dead money.