AFC North Coaching Updates: Ravens, Browns, Steelers

The Ravens defense got off to a slow start last year, and though they were able to finish strong down the stretch, disappointing veteran safeties and underwhelming linebacker play contributed to the team finishing second to last in pass defense. The team hired Tyler Santucci to act as the new linebackers coach after moving on from Mark DeLeone, and they continue to make changes to defensive coordinator Zach Orr‘s coaching staff.

Assisting Santucci will be Matt Pees, who has been named assistant inside linebackers coach, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Pees rejoins his father, senior advisor Dean Pees, after working under him for two years in Atlanta. After three years as defensive assistant for the Falcons, the younger Pees spent 2024 as a defensive analyst (advance/special projects) for the Bears.

In the secondary, the team has moved on from secondary coach Doug Mallory, per Zrebiec. Replacing him, in a sense, will be Donald D’Alesio, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, who has been with the Chiefs for four seasons, the last three as safeties coach. In his three years at the job, he molded Bryan Cook and Justin Reid into starters. He’ll now work with star safety Kyle Hamilton and whomever the team brings in (or back) to play alongside him. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that D’Alesio’s title will be defensive backs coach.

Here are a few more coaching updates from around the AFC North:

  • The Browns announced a number of changes to their coaching staff yesterday. We already were aware of the additions of tight ends coach Christian Jones and assistant defensive line coach Adam Morris, as well as the shifting of Bill Musgrave to quarterbacks coach. The new information includes the shifting of assistant special teams coach Stephen Bravo-Brown to assistant wide receivers coach and offensive assistant/run game specialist Nick Charlton to pass game specialist. Additionally, Cleveland has hired Ben Wilkerson as assistant offensive line coach after he served in the same role for the Jets last year before being let go. Joining Wilkerson as an assistant offensive line coach is Sanders Davis. Davis has spent the last six seasons at Rice University, with the last four being as offensive line coach. This will be his first NFL coaching job. Lastly, Kyle Hoke has been hired as assistant special teams coach. A 13-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Hoke will debut in the NFL, after stops at Western Michigan, Army, South Carolina, John Carroll, Texas State, Indiana State, San Diego State, and Texas A&M.
  • The Ravens aren’t the only AFC North team making changes to their secondary and linebacker coaching staffs. We learned a week ago that Gerald Alexander was being hired as the Steelers secondary coach, and we questioned the fate of sitting secondary coach Grady Brown. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor informed us this week that Brown’s contract was not renewed. The Steelers saw inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry depart for New York, and per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, they will replace him with Scott McCurley. McCurley spent most of his coaching career in Green Bay from 2006-18 before eventually following Mike McCarthy to Dallas, where he spent the past five seasons coaching the likes of Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, and, of course, Micah Parsons.

Bills T Tommy Doyle Retires

The Bills announced the unfortunate news today that offensive tackle Tommy Doyle has announced his retirement from the NFL, according to team reporter Maddy Glab. Doyle made the decision to medically retire from the sport after not appearing in a game since Week 3 of the 2022 season.

Doyle was a 2021 fifth-round selection for the Bills out of Miami (OH). Though he earned some sparse playing time on offense and special teams as a rookie, his most memorable NFL moment came when he was on the receiving end of a Josh Allen touchdown pass in the team’s Wild Card victory over the Patriots.

The following season, Doyle missed all but one game after being placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL. Coming off of the season-ending injury, Doyle pushing to make an impact in his third NFL season when he suffered a severe leg injury in the Bills’ second preseason game of 2023. That severe injury reportedly left Doyle with nerve damage.

“I was really battling and competing and working to come back from that (ACL) injury, only to be kind of struck with an even more disastrous injury,” Doyle explained when discussing his decision. “…I put a lot of time, effort, and energy to try to get back on the field, but ultimately, that’s really not the plan God has for me, and I know that to be true. I feel that this is the time to announce it and move on.”

While his time in the NFL wasn’t able to work out, we at Pro Football Rumors wish Tommy Doyle the best in his future endeavors.

Jaguars Interview Champ Kelly For GM

The Jaguars have added one more name in their search to replace former general manager Trent Baalke. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly has concluded the team’s first round of interviews with a meeting today.

Kelly was expected to be a popular candidate for general manager jobs in last year’s cycle. While he didn’t find interest everywhere, he did end up interviewing for the open role in Carolina last year that went to Dan Morgan. After acting as the interim general manager for the Raiders in 2023, he also was interviewed to step into the official role in Las Vegas, but when the role eventually went to Tom Telesco, Kelly remained in his role as assistant general manager.

This was the second time Kelly came up short in the GM-race for the Raiders. Kelly was also considered a top candidate for the Raiders’ position when the team hired Dave Ziegler, whom he would eventually replace in an interim role.

Kelly came on as the team’s assistant GM, and together with Ziegler, Las Vegas worked hard to rebuild a defense that had been worn thin and bring in top offensive talent like wide receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. The defense now holds promising players like Robert Spillane, Tyree Wilson, and Jack Jones, while youth also blooms on the offensive side of the ball in players like stud rookie tight end Brock Bowers and second-year wide receiver Tre Tucker.

After making the rounds with two interviews in 2024, Kelly didn’t draw as much interest in 2025. This is the first job for which he’s been interviewed this offseason. He becomes the 11th candidate reported for the job in Jacksonville and the 10th candidate to interview.

Here’s how the Jaguars’ general manager search is shaping up so far:

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/14/25

Friday’s reserve/futures deals across the NFL:

Chicago Bears

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Ex-Texans OC Bobby Slowik Joins Dolphins

It didn’t take too long for Bobby Slowik to find another job in the NFL. About two and a half weeks after being fired by the Texans, the former coordinator will rebound by reuniting with his old boss from San Francisco. Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Slowik will join the Dolphins as senior passing game coordinator.

Slowik worked alongside Miami head coach Mike McDaniel when the two were in San Francisco together from 2017 to 2021. McDaniel started in 2017 as the run game coordinator before spending that final season as offensive coordinator. Slowik began with the Niners as a defensive quality control coach before becoming an offensive assistant in 2019 and getting promoted to offensive pass game specialist in 2021. When McDaniel left for Miami in 2022, Slowik was named offensive passing game coordinator. The next year, Slowik followed DeMeco Ryans to Houston for his first offensive coordinator job.

During his first year as a coordinator and play-caller, Slowik oversaw an offense which posted middling numbers in terms of both yards and points. The Texans’ ground game left plenty to be desired, but a superb rookie campaign from quarterback C.J. Stroud helped lead the team to the divisional round of the playoffs. Slowik was among the hottest head coaching candidates during last year’s cycle as a result.

This past campaign saw a regression from his unit; Houston was marginally better on the ground with running back Joe Mixon leading the way, but a major drop-off in passing efficiency led to questions about the Texans’ postseason chances at the onset of the playoffs. While the team managed a home upset against the Chargers, it was, once again, eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Following their elimination from the postseason, Slowik didn’t garner nearly the same head coaching interest as he did last year, though he did log an interview with the Jets. The young coach’s momentum, in fact, took a U-turn with Houston relieving him of his duties. He’ll now start working towards a second coordinator opportunity through his work with the Dolphins.

The “senior” in Slowik’s new title is doing a bit of work, as Miami already has a passing game coordinator in quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell. According to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Bevell’s title, one he’s held since 2022, will not change with the arrival of Slowik. Bevell, 55, will continue to serve as quarterbacks coach & passing game coordinator, while Slowik, 37, will serve as senior passing game coordinator.

Raiders Finalize 2025 Coaching Staff

The Raiders reeled in the short leash allowed to interim head coach turned official head coach Antonio Pierce after only one season and have turned to former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll to right the ship in Las Vegas. Two and a half weeks after the hiring of the veteran head coach, the Raiders have finalized the coaching staff they will carry into the 2025 NFL season. Though we were already aware of many of these signings, there were some breaking updates, as well.

For instance, we were already aware of the hiring of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, wide receivers coach Chris Beatty, and run game coordinator/offensive line coach (and son of the head coach) Brennan Carroll.

To fill out the position coaches, we learned that tight ends coach Luke Steckel would be retained from the previous staff and that Deland McCullough has been hired as running backs coach. A longtime assistant with the Titans, Steckel has worked with multiple positions, though tight ends coach has been his only title lacking the word “assistant.” Last season was his first in role for the Raiders, and the result was tight end Brock Bowers setting NFL records for receptions in a rookie season (112) and receiving yards in a rookie season by a tight end (1,194). McCullough returns to the NFL after time with Indiana and Notre Dame. He previously coached running backs in Kansas City from 2018-20.

All of the assistant hirings were new information. Nate Carroll, the younger of the head coach’s two sons on staff, will join as assistant quarterbacks coach after not being retained as passing game coordinator in Carolina. After getting fired as offensive line coach of the Browns, Andy Dickerson will serve as assistant offensive line coach in Vegas. Former Patriots tight ends coach Bob Bicknell will join as a senior offensive assistant after not being retained in New England. Joining him as a senior offensive assistant will be Joe Philbin, who was retained after serving as the team’s interim offensive line coach last year. New offensive assistant Sean Binckes will be making his NFL coaching debut after two years as an offensive graduate assistant at Ohio State. Lastly, former Seahawks offensive lineman Kyle Fuller will join Carroll’s staff as an offensive quality control coach.

On defense, we were already aware of the retention of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, as well as the retention and added title of run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard and the hiring of linebackers coach John Glenn. We also were made aware of the hiring of Joe Woods as defensive pass game coordinator, but now we see defensive backs have been added to his title, as well. This is not to be confused with the hiring of new defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson, who has held the same role in the past with the Raiders (2015-16), Broncos (2017-18), Cardinals (2019-22), and Saints (2023-24).

All of the assistants on defense were breaking reports, as well. Assisting Leonard on the defensive line will be Kenyon Jackson, who served in the same assistant defensive line position for the Texans last year. Ty McKenzie has been hired as defensive assistant/linebackers coach. McKenzie was an inside linebackers coach for the Titans (2018-19), a linebackers coach for the Lions (2020), and an outside linebackers coach for the Dolphins (2022) in the past but spent last year as a defensive analyst at the University of North Carolina. New defensive assistant Rip Rowan will be making his NFL coaching debut after spending the last three seasons as defensive line coach at Georgia Southern. Lastly, Beyah Rasool will be the team’s new defensive quality control coach, making his NFL coaching debut after time with multiple universities including, most recently, Florida.

On special teams, we already were aware that veteran special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was being retained, and now we know that both special teams assistant Derius Swinton II and quality control/special teams coach Kade Rannings have been retained in their same roles, as well. Additionally, we knew that former Seattle vice president of coaching operations Matt Capurro would be reuniting with Carroll, but we didn’t know in what capacity. We now know he’ll hold a very similar role as senior vice president of coaching operations in Las Vegas.

There we have it: the 2025 Raiders coaching staff. The top-10 scoring defense retains its leader, albeit with a bit of a different supporting cast, while the offense has been completely revamped, aside from the mentor of the phenom tight end. We’ve seen Carroll build a team into a winner in Seattle, and now we’ll see if he can do the same with a team that has the second-worst cumulative record (119-205) over the last 20 years.

Possibilities For A Brock Purdy Extension

FEBRUARY 10: 49ers owner Jed York confirmed (via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press) the team has recently been in contact with Purdy’s agent regarding extension negotiations. He confirmed a deal remains the organization’s goal, so it will be interesting to see if talks progress in the near future or if this situation drags out deep into the offseason.

FEBRUARY 9: In the past, we may have mentioned 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy as an extension “candidate,” but according to Diana Russini of The Athletic, an “extension is inevitable.” While there was initially some intrigue around the situation due to the team’s earlier than expected elimination for the postseason, Russini assures everyone that the team has always planned on extending Purdy, never wavering on him as their franchise quarterback. Here’s how they got here and what an extension may look like.

Purdy has been the best bargain deal of the past three years. As Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy has been letting the Niners off easy with his four-year, $3.74MM rookie contract. Now that Purdy is finally eligible for an extension, he’ll be a bargain no more. There are varying opinions, though, on just what an extension could look like for the 25-year-old.

Since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback in Week 13 of his rookie season, Purdy has secured a 23-13 regular season record and a 4-2 postseason record en route to two berths in the conference championship and a Super Bowl appearance. In the time since his first start, Purdy ranks fourth among all quarterbacks in QBR (70.2), third in passing yards (9,452), first in yards per attempt (8.9), and seventh in touchdown passes (64). He’s also recorded the most games with a 120-plus passer rating (13) and 130-plus passer rating (10) of any quarterback in NFL history through his first three seasons.

The only thing that could limit Purdy’s income potential is a down 2024 season. While still putting forth a strong performance, Purdy, like the rest of his team, took a step back this year. He completed a career-worst 65.9 percent of his passes, failed to reach 4,000 passing yards, and only threw 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Additionally, Purdy understands that the more he makes, the fewer good players can surround him. With offensive stars like tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams, and wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, as well as defensive playmakers like linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa, taking up the top portions of the salary cap, Purdy may need to be mindful of just how much his salary could affect that.

According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, some league sources believe that his contract could be built around that of Daniel Jones from two years ago (four years, $160MM). Adjusted for inflation, Graziano predicted a four-year, $196MM deal with $112MM guaranteed at the end of January, which would slot Purdy at 10th in average annual salary for quarterbacks. A week later, Graziano’s sources were making the case that Purdy’s deal should be able to rival the likes of those for players like Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in salary. While Lawrence doesn’t have the supporting cast Purdy does, Purdy has achieved much more in the regular and postseason. Still, Lawrence signed an extension last year that made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL at the time with $275MM over five years with $142MM guaranteed.

Now, are the 49ers going to give Purdy $55MM per year, too, or even match or top Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at the top of the pay scale with $60MM per year? Probably not. But these projections give us the basis for where negotiations could start. Both sides have cards they could play during those discussions, as well. Purdy has seen plenty of examples from his teammates on how to holdout for a new contract, something he mentioned may be a possibility, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. The 49ers, on the other hand, have the ability to apply the franchise tag to him; they could even threaten to do it twice in a row for cheaper than the possible average salary he could eventually make.

Regardless, the consensus seems to be that, at some point soon, Purdy will be able to secure his future in the Bay Area. We’ll soon see just how well-financed that future will be, but regardless, Purdy won’t likely be the bargain he has been over the past three years for long.

Philadelphia Eagles Win Super Bowl LIX

And, with that, the 2024 NFL season has come to an end. The clock has hit four zeroes, and the Philadelphia Eagles are the Super Bowl LIX champions beating the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22.

After earning their first ever championship since before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger back in 2017, the Eagles have now won two Super Bowls in eight years, not to mention an additional appearance in the game two years ago. That last appearance, a Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs, 38-35, was avenged tonight thanks to a dominant performance from Philadelphia’s defense.

Following that previous Super Bowl loss, the Eagles were a first-round exit last year. This led to a busy offseason that saw them extend the contracts of key offensive players like wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, left tackle Jordan Mailata, and left guard Landon Dickerson. Perhaps most important was the free agent signing of division-rival running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley led the league in rushing, accomplishing the NFL’s first 2,000-yard rushing season since 2020. With the production he had in the offseason, as well, including tonight’s win, Barkley broke the record for most single-season rushing yards including the postseason with 2,504 yards.

The team’s front office did big work on the defensive side of the ball, as well. First, they hired Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator to replace Sean Desai, whom they decided not to retain. Then, they reworked defensive end Josh Sweat‘s contract to keep him around for the year, added free agent pass rusher Bryce Huff across from him, and signed huge contributors in linebacker Zack Baun and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Perhaps most crucial to the defense were the first- and second-round draft additions of cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, the former of which finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and the latter of which returned a Patrick Mahomes interception 38 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of tonight’s game.

The Eagles’ dominance on defense was felt not only in the secondary but all over the field. In addition to interceptions by DeJean and Baun, Philadelphia racked up six sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and six tackles for loss without blitzing a single snap, per James Palmer of Bleacher Report. The offense spread out the ball well but, ultimately, didn’t do much, as they weren’t really asked to. Fangio and his unit were the unofficial MVPs of the game; quarterback Jalen Hurts was the official Super Bowl LIX Most Valuable Player.

The Eagles season had an up and down start. They opened up the year with a win over the Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before dropping two of their next three games. Following an early Week 5 bye, Philadelphia established what their identity would be, rattling off 10 straight wins. An injury to Hurts resulted in their only loss after September as backups Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee took over for the remainder of the season. A loss at quarterback wasn’t too detrimental, though, as the NFL’s No. 2 rushing offense was able to continue carrying the NFL’s 29th-best passing offense.

Tonight’s Super Bowl win was a microcosm of what the team’s defense had done all year. Fangio’s defense finished second in the NFL in scoring defense and was the top defense in total yards thanks to a passing defense that had the Eagles as the only team in the NFL not to allow 3,000 passing yards this year. The Eagles blitzed at a rate that was the fifth-least in the NFL in 2024, but that strategy didn’t really pay dividends until tonight as the team was fifth-worst in pressures during the regular season, as well.

This year, the Chiefs were the Chiefs. Despite a down year from Mahomes and injuries that held the team without one or both of wide receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown for most of the season, the Chiefs won 15 games. They were buoyed a bit by a top-four scoring defense and the ninth-best total defense, but Mahomes’ clutch abilities were able to extend an already existing streak of wins in one-score games to 17 straight.

The Chiefs’ goals of being the first threepeat in NFL history will now start over. They’ll expect to return Rice alongside this year’s first-round rookie, Xavier Worthy, next year, but receivers DeAndre Hopkins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Brown are all destined for the free agent market. Also, with Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine both in contract years, the Chiefs will have to decide how to approach the running backs group with only Isiah Pacheco and Carson Steele returning. Aside from that, a number of aging veterans like tight end Travis Kelce (36), left tackle Joe Thuney (33), and defensive tackle Chris Jones (31) may be starting to mull ideas about their future in the NFL.

As for the Eagles, while they will undoubtedly bask in the glow of this victory a little longer, their offseason awaits, as well. Key defenders like Sweat, Baun, cornerback Avonte Maddox, and defensive tackle Milton Williams are all facing free agency, not to mention veteran defensive end Brandon Graham, who, at 36 years old, has already indicated that retirement is in the cards. On offense, starting guard Mekhi Becton will be a free agent, and similar to Graham, right tackle Lane Johnson is 35 and could be thinking about walking out on top, as well. You can add 34-year-old cornerback Darius Slay and maybe even 32-year-old safety James Bradberry to that conversation, as well. Though, Slay spoke of wanting to play one more season.

For now, though, the Eagles will celebrate the accomplishments of the group they have. Led by stars familiar (Hurts, Brown, Smith) and new (Barkley) on offense, and a stout defense with consistent defensive line play, surprise contributors in the second level, and rising stars in the secondary.

While offensive coordinator Kellen Moore may end up getting poached to become the new head coach in New Orleans, the city that just got a front-row seat to see him win a Super Bowl, the rest of the staff, including Fangio and Super Bowl-winning head coach Nick Sirianni will focus on reloading and taking a shot at being the first NFC team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions since the Cowboys did so in the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

Final Transactions Of The 2024 NFL Season; Eagles Activate DE Brandon Graham From IR

FEBARUARY 9: With Graham active for tonight, Huff is amongst the Eagles’ healthy scratches. The latter had played in two of Philadelphia’s postseason games, and after signing a $17MM-per-year pact the fact he is not in the team’s Super Bowl lineup is a rather notable development. Most of Huff’s 2025 compensation is guaranteed, but his next action for Philadelphia will come next year.

FEBRUARY 8: The biggest game of the year will take place tomorrow night as the Chiefs are looking to threepeat for the first time in NFL history. The Eagles, on the other hand, are looking to avenge their Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and company from just two years ago. As has been the case all year, each team is allowed to elevate two players from their practice squad. Philadelphia has also taken the additional step to activate defensive end Brandon Graham from injured reserve.

Graham suffered a triceps tear in November, and it immediately became clear that he would not play again during the regular season. Triceps tears come with lengthy recovery timetables, and the 36-year-old said in the aftermath of the game in which his took place that he would be out for the rest of the year. As the season went on and the postseason drew nearer, hope began to rise that Graham would be able to make a return if the Eagles could last long enough to play in the Super Bowl.

To add on to that, Graham, who has spent his entire 15-year tenure in Philadelphia, said in July that he would retire following the 2024 campaign. If he is going to hold true to his word, he needed the team to keep winning in order to play one more game in green.

Luckily for Graham, his team held up their end of the bargain, and now, he’ll be able to hold up his. A Graham comeback will be significant for the Eagles, who have dealt with injuries to both he and Bryce Huff this season. Huff has since returned, though he is playing behind starters Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith in Vic Fangio‘s defense. At the time of his injury, Graham had already topped his 2023 full-season totals for sacks and QB hits in 11 games this season. The longest-tenured player in Eagles history was sitting on 3.5 and seven, respectively, in those categories when he went down against the Rams.

In order to make room on the roster, the Eagles have placed backup center Nick Gates on injured reserve. For their two practice squad callups, the Eagles have tabbed fullback Khari Blasingame and linebacker Nicholas Morrow. Blasingame has been elevated for all three of the team’s playoff games so far, while Morrow has been elevated for each of the last two.

The Chiefs only made standard gameday practice squad elevations today. Linebacker Swayze Bozeman and cornerback Steven Nelson will join the active roster for the final game of the season. Bozeman has played in two playoff games already for Kansas City, while Nelson will be making his 2024 debut.