Jaguars To Conduct Second GM Interviews
The Jaguars reportedly wrapped up their first round of general manager interviews yesterday, and according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team will start their second round of interviews in the coming days. Per Pelissero, that will begin with Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan and Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham. Pelissero adds that Jaguars assistant (and interim) general manager Ethan Waugh will also interview this week after not being included initially in the first round of interviews.
Jacksonville conducted their first round of interviews in the last four days, concluding with meetings with Sullivan and Cunningham yesterday. Planning second interviews with each personnel executive the next day bodes well for their standing in the race for the job.
[RELATED: James Gladstone, Josh Williams Also Among Finalists]
Sullivan has spent the entirety of his 22-year career in the NFL in Green Bay, starting as a training camp intern in 2003. He rose up the ranks of the scouting department, eventually serving as director of college scouting from 2016-17. Sullivan had a penchant for hitting on Day 3 picks with the Packers, demonstrated by the drafting of impact players like Blake Martinez, Dean Lowry, Aaron Jones, and Jamaal Williams.
Sullivan’s next role was as co-director of player personnel from 2018-21 before being promoted to his current title in 2022. Sullivan’s success has drawn him plenty of general manager interest around the league. He has been considered for every general manager opening in this year’s hiring cycle, interviewing with the Titans, the Raiders, and the Jets.
Cunningham was one of the initial names to be connected to the Jaguars’ job, along with former Titans general manager Jon Robinson and Buccaneers assistant general manager Mike Greenberg. Cunningham started his front office career with the Ravens back in 2008 before joining the Eagles as their director of college scouting in 2017. He climbed the ranks to director of player personnel before taking an assistant general manager job with the Bears in 2022. He’s spent the past three seasons in Chicago, though he’s flirted with promotions over the past two years. He was a finalist for the Commanders job last year, and he was interviewed for jobs with the Chargers last offseason and the Titans this cycle.
Though Waugh wasn’t included in the first round of interviews, he was mentioned as a strong candidate for the position on Thursday. Waugh had a lengthy tenure in the 49ers’ front office alongside the man these candidates are all striving to replace, former Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke. The pair worked together from 2005-16, and Waugh worked his way up to vice president of player personnel for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. He joined Baalke in Jacksonville in May of 2022, taking on his current title. Despite the issues that led to Baalke’s dismissal, Waugh is nevertheless in contention for the job and will interview this week.
NFL Draft Rumors: Dart, QBs, Hunter
As far back as November, we have been consistently reporting that only two quarterbacks are being viewed as first-round prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft: Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. At the same time, we’ve been allowing for the potential that the usual, annual desperation from NFL teams at the quarterback position could lead to Day 2 or 3 passers being pushed into the first round with Ward and Sanders. 
We saw this happen last year. Early on in the pre-draft process in 2024, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye were viewed as the only first-round options, though Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels quickly forced his way into that conversation. Even after the conclusion of the College Football Playoff championship game, the two quarterbacks in that game, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix, were not generally being viewed as first-round prospects. Eventually, we ended up with six quarterbacks being selected in the first round — all in the first 12 picks — with Bo Nix joining the party, as well.
It’s not an uncommon occurrence, and this year, Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post has pegged Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart as the man to break into the first round with Ward and Sanders. “Book at least three quarterbacks to be taken in the first round of the draft,” La Canfora writes, citing that “too much demand” will overcome “not enough supply.” After watching the 21-year-old’s performance in the Senior Bowl, La Canfora quoted one general manager guaranteeing that Dart will hear his name on the first night of the draft. Another executive La Canfora talked to claimed that, while he himself wouldn’t select Dart that high, he believes Dart’s going Day 1.
Aside from his Senior Bowl performance, Dart had an impressive senior season for the Rebels, racking up the third-highest passing yards per game behind Ward (second) but ahead of Sanders (fourth). While Dart’s 29 passing touchdowns didn’t approach Ward (39) or Sanders (34), his six interceptions were fewer than both of his competitors.
Here are a couple other rumors surrounding common early conversations we’ve seen in the runup to the draft:
- Yesterday, ESPN’s NFL Nation released the results of some polling their reporters — Turron Davenport, Jeff Legwold, Daniel Oyefusi, and Katherine Terrell — conducted with NFL executives, coaches, and scouts at the Senior and Shrine Bowls. One interesting vote showed that of nine people asked if the top draft pick will be a quarterback, three said yes, four said no, and two were undecided. A big deciding factor for this will be what the Titans decide to do with their No. 1 overall pick; another factor will be if the team decides to address the quarterback position through the free agent or trade market before the draft.
- Another question NFL Nation posed was who the top quarterback in the draft is: Ward or Sanders? Of seven people asked, four sided with Ward while the remaining three went with Sanders. Oyefusi notes that the general consensus has Sanders as “a more refined pocket passer,” while “Ward’s arm talent and mobility give him the upper hand as a long-term prospect.” This goes along with most analyses we’ve seen that place Sanders just behind Ward with Dart as a distant third, if that.
- We’ve addressed plenty of speculation already on where Colorado athlete and Heisman-winner Travis Hunter may find himself playing at the NFL-level. Agreeing with early reports that Hunter is being viewed more as an elite cornerback prospect with the potential to contribute in certain packages as a wide receiver, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Hunter is being listed as a defensive back at the NFL Scouting Combine. Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal adds that, while Hunter is planning on working out with the defensive backs at the combine, the two-way athlete will run some drills with the wide receivers, as well.
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:
- Chad Alexander, assistant general manager (Chargers): Interviewed 2/13
- Brandon Brown, assistant general manager (Giants): Interviewed 2/13; strong contender?
- Trey Brown, senior personnel executive (Bengals): Interviewed 2/12
- Ian Cunningham, assistant general manager (Bears): Interviewed 2/14
- James Gladstone, scouting director (Rams): Interviewed 2/12
- Terrance Gray, vice president of player personnel (Bills): Interviewed 2/12
- Mike Greenberg, assistant general manager (Buccaneers): Declined interview
- Champ Kelly, assistant general manager (Raiders): Interviewed 2/14
- Jon Robinson, former general manager (Titans): One of top candidates?; Interviewed 2/13
- Jon-Eric Sullivan, vice president of player personnel (Packers): Interviewed 2/14
- Josh Williams, director of scouting and football operations (49ers): Interviewed 2/11
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/14/25
Friday’s reserve/futures deals across the NFL:
Chicago Bears
New York Giants
- CB Nic Jones, WR Montrell Washington
Philadelphia Eagles
- CB Tariq Castro-Fields, WR Elijah Cooks, RB Tyrion Davis-Price, LB Dallas Gant, WR Danny Gray, DT Gabe Hall, DE K.J. Henry, LB Ochaun Mathis, TE Nick Muse, CB Parry Nickerson, S Andre’ Sam, T Laekin Vakalahi, CB AJ Woods
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.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/11/25
Today’s only reserve/futures deal across the NFL:
Carolina Panthers
Kansas City Chiefs
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.