Cardinals Interviewed Seahawks DBs Coach Karl Scott For DC Job
The Cardinals are continuing to interview potential defensive coordinators to serve under new head coach Mike LaFleur.
The latest addition to the list is Seahawk defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Karl Scott, who has already completed an interview for the job, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Scott, 40, is a longtime defensive backs coach who came up with a number fo college programs. After stints as the defensive backs coach at Texas Tech and Alabama – the latter of which included time with Xavier McKinney, Trevon Diggs, and Patrick Surtain – Scott moved to the NFL in 2021. He spent a year as the Vikings’ defensive backs coach but was not retained on Kevin O’Connell‘s new staff the following year.
Scott then moved to Seattle, where he has served as the defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator for the last four seasons. He has found success with a long list of defensive backs: cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Josh Jobe and safeties Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, and Ty Okada.
Those results have earned Scott interest from multiple teams for DC jobs in recent offseasons. Spending two years under Mike Macdonald has only boosted his resume for this year’s hiring cycle. He is a rumored candidate to follow Klint Kubiak to Las Vegas to become the Raiders’ DC and interviewed for the Commanders’ job last month.
In Arizona, Scott would be tasked with reviving a Cardinals defense that struggled under Jonathan Gannon despite his background on that side of the ball. They have a young cornerback corps with plenty of potential with safety Budda Baker serving as the unit’s anchor for the last several years. Scott’s expertise in secondary play makes him a strong candidate to get the most out of that group, which may allow the team to invest more resources in other areas of need.
Raiders To Interview Seahawks WRs Coach Frisman Jackson For OC Job
Like many new head coaches, Klint Kubiak is looking to his former staff in Seattle to help fill his new one in Las Vegas.
The Raiders are expected to interview Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson for their offensive coordinator vacancy, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He is the first candidate to interview for the job, though Seahawks quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko is viewed as an early frontrunner.
Jackson, 46, has played or coached the wide receiver position since 1997. After five years in college –split between Northern Illinois and Western Illinois – Jackson caught on with the Browns as an undrafted rookie in 2002. He primarily served as a returner and managed to carve out a rotational role in 2004 and 2005, but he did not play in 2006 or 2007 and retired from playing the following year.
Jackson then began coaching wide receivers at the college level, starting at Western Illinois and continuing with four other programs, including his other alma mater. His first NFL job came with the Titans in 2017, and after returning to the college level for two years at Baylor, he made a permanent move back to the pros. He spent two years in Carolina and two in Pittsburgh before landing in Seattle, where he survived the team’s offensive coordinator change from Ryan Grubb in 2024 to Kubiak in 2025.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba took massive strides under Jackson, going from 63 receptions for 628 receiving yards in 2023 to 100 receptions for 1,130 receiving yards in 2024. In 2025, he jumped to 119 catches and a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Raiders have a few young talents at receiver, but none anywhere near Smith-Njigba’s level, so Jackson would be tasked with raising the overall floor of the unit as the team looks for bigger upgrades in free agency and the draft.
Dolphins Hope To Trade QB Tua Tagovailoa
With the 2025 NFL season officially over and most top coaching positions filled, the spotlight will now turn to the league’s annual quarterback carousel.
Among the passers likely to be available is Tua Tagovailoa, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The Dolphins have long been expected to move on from the 2020 first-round pick as part of a full organizational overhaul, which also featured changes at head coach and general manager.
A trade would be preferable to an outright release for a number of reasons. Cutting Tagovailoa would incur a $99MM dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history. The Dolphins can restructure his deal to push the majority of that dead money into 2027 with a post-June 1 cut, but the extra cap savings would not be available until that date.
Finalizing a trade would allow Miami to part ways with Tagovailoa earlier in the offseason while also reducing the resulting financial impact. It would also get back some kind of return, though the draft compensation in such a deal may be minimal
Miami appears to be willing to eat some of Tagovailoa’s remaining contract to facilitate a trade, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 27-year-old is owed $54MM in guaranteed money in 2026, comprised of a $39MM salary and a $15MM option bonus (via OverTheCap). Understandably, an acquiring team would not want to pick up that entire tab. But they might be willing to take on part of Tagovailoa’s deal if the Dolphins absorb the rest. In that event, a trade that yields draft picks and a dead cap charge under $99MM would be considered a major success for Miami’s new front office.
The Dolphins seem to be mulling their options as their new leaders step into their jobs. New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) that Tagovailoa can “absolutely bounce back,” but the quarterback has not been informed of a decision one way or the other.
Raiders, Titans Expected To Pursue WR Addition In Free Agency
The Raiders and the Titans are entering 2026 in similar situations.
Both franchises are hoping that new head coaches can reverse their fortunes. Both will have No. 1 picks at quarterback, assuming Las Vegas drafts Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as expected. And both are expected to be in the wide receiver market in free agency, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Each team has one receiver with any meaningful experience under contract in 2026 and two 2025 draftees who had quiet rookie seasons. In Las Vegas, that trio is Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, and Dont’e Thornton, while Calvin Ridley, Elic Ayomanor, and Chimere Dike fill those roles in Tennessee.
That will likely bring the Raiders and the Titans in direct competition for the top wideouts who hit the market in March. George Pickens would the belle of the ball, but he will likely be tagged by the Cowboys. That would leave Alec Pierce as the most coveted young wideout in free agency. He put up a career-high 1,003 receiving yards in 2025 with excellent efficiency metrics for a second year in a row. In both seasons, he recorded 11.9 yards per target – which ranked first in 2024 and third in 2025 – while also leading the league in yards per reception (22.3, 21.3).
Other receivers expected to be available include Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Wan’Dale Robinson. Doubs has an appealing profile and could benefit from a bigger role in a new offense, while the other four have connections to the Raiders’ and Titans’ new coaching staffs. Klint Kubiak could try to bring Shaheed to Las Vegas after the two worked together in New Orleans in 2024 and Seattle in 2025. Jennings and Samuel both know new Titans head coach Robert Saleh from their shared time in San Francisco, though Saleh has not drawn from the 49ers for his new offensive staff. And Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll drafted and developed Robinson during his time as the Giants’ head coach.
Like any young quarterback, Mendoza and Cam Ward would benefit from veteran pass-catchers, especially ones who are already familiar with their new coaching staffs. As the two teams with the most salary cap space in the NFL (via OverTheCap), the Raiders and the Titans are both well-positioned to add impact receivers in free agency.
Sean Payton Has Not Decided On Broncos’ 2026 Play-Caller
FEBRUARY 8: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms nothing has been decided with respect to offensive play-calling duties for the Broncos in 2026. Several league sources believe Payton will eventually relinquish that responsibility to Webb, though it could happen gradually rather than all at once.
FEBRUARY 5: Davis Webb‘s promotion to Broncos offensive coordinator stirred speculation that he may take over play-calling duties from Sean Payton.
Webb received interest from several teams this cycle for both head coaching and offensive coordinator jobs that would have come with the opportunity to call plays. Since experience as a play-caller has become an increasingly important factor in getting a head coaching job, his decision to stay in Denver suggested he would get a shot at calling the Broncos offense.
However, there is no language in Webb’s contract guaranteeing him that responsibility, according to Luca Evans of the Denver Post, and Payton has yet to make a decision on the matter.
Giving up play-calling duties would be a major departure for Payton, who has been calling plays for his offenses for the last 20 years. But he may have already hinted at such a change, per 9News’ Mike Klis (via DNVR Sports). Payton talked about needing to move quicker as a coach in January, and delegating play-calling duties to Webb may allow him to do that.
“I don’t think Sean [Payton] is ready to announce that, but I’m not going to be surprised if Davis Webb does [call plays],” Klis said.
Payton has voiced his approval of Webb’s play-calling abilities in the past. Webb called the Broncos offense for a preseason game in 2025 and the unit scored 27 points, racked up 562 yards, and averaged 7.8 yards per play.
“I had thrown a couple of call sheets or stat sheets from my first time and highlighted a few things and said, ‘see if you can beat this,’” Payton said (via Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post). “And he did.”
Of course, the regular season is a different story, but who better to mentor Webb in his first year as a play-caller than Payton himself? And if Webb were to falter for any reason, Payton could always step in to right the ship.
Deadline Set For Expected Kirk Cousins’ Release
FEBRUARY 7: When the Falcons restructured Cousins’ contract a month ago, they set a pretty glaring deadline by which they would need to cut the veteran quarterback. The team shifted $35MM of 2026 base salary to 2027, increasing that year’s base salary to $67.9MM, a number that would become fully guaranteed if Cousins is still on the roster on March 13 of this year. Therefore, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Atlanta is expected to release Cousins before that date.
In speculating on Cousins’ future, Schefter relayed that, while Cousins wants to play next season, the door is open to both retirement and television. Cousins got a bit of experience on the small screen after the season while appearing on CBS’s postseason pregame show, and if he isn’t able to find a quarterback-needy team on which he can make an impact, he may just make the full-time transition to television or could just hang it all up altogether.
JANUARY 30: Though the Falcons hired one of Kirk Cousins‘ former coaches, he is still expected to be on his way out of Atlanta in early March, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic.
Cousins, 37, worked closely with new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski during their shared time in Minnesota. Stefanski was the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach when Cousins signed with the team in 2018 and was promoted to interim offensive coordinator during the season. He held onto the gig for the 2019 season and called plays for Cousins as he passed his way to his second Pro Bowl.
However, their reunion is expected to be extremely short-lived. Cousins’ contract was recently reworked to essentially force his release before the start of free agency. The Falcons would consider re-signing Cousins’ on a cheaper deal than his current contract, but he will likely look for a clearer starting opportunity elsewhere. Michael Penix‘s ongoing recovery from knee surgery could sideline him at the start of the 2026 season, but he is expected to retake the starting job once he is healthy.
If Cousins cannot find a more appealing situation, he may opt for a return to Atlanta to once again work with Stefanski. He would start until Penix comes back on the field, and theoretically, he could play well enough to keep the starting job. That seems unlikely given his performance in the last two years, but perhaps Stefanski could reinvigorate the veteran quarterback.
Stefanski acknowledged his connection with Cousins after he was hired by the Falcons, but did not provide any insight on his future.
“Obviously, I have a previous relationship with Kirk, but I don’t know if it’s the time yet to talk about all those types of things,” Stefanski said (via Kendall). “Those conversations will come in due time.”
NFC Staff Updates: Cardinals, 49ers, Cowboys, Lions, Buccaneers
New Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur quickly hired Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator, and he is now looking for coaches to run his defense and special teams.
Arizona is interviewing a number of candidates for defensive coordinator, while Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial has emerged as a leading candidate to take over as special teams coordinator, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Ghobrial, 37, has spent the last two years with the Giants. Before that, he served as the Jets’ assistant special teams coordinator on Robert Saleh‘s staff, overlapping for two years with LaFleur. Ghobrial previously worked for a number of college programs as well as the Lions in 2017.
The Giants had a solid year on special teams in 2025. They ranked fifth in yards per kickoff return (27.7) and 10th in average starting field position (31.3). Cornerback Deonte Banks also recorded one of the NFL’s five kick return touchdowns last year.
Here is the latest from the coaching ranks across the NFC:
- Elsewhere in the NFC West, the 49ers are hiring former Dolphins offensive assistant Roman Sapolu to their staff, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. He previously served as Hawaii’s offensive coordinator and Fresno State’s run game coordinator. He is also the son of former NFL offensive lineman Jesse Sapolu, who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers between 1983 and 1997.
- The 49ers also promoted team president Al Guido to Chief Executive Officer, per a press release. Guido first arrived in San Francisco in 2014 as the Chief Operating Officer before his promotion to president.
- The Cowboys are retaining Jamel Mutunga, who spent the 2025 season in Dallas via the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He will be the team’s assistant running backs coach moving forward, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
- The Lions are promoting assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver to tight ends coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will replace Tyler Roehl, who left Detroit to become Iowa State’s offensive coordinator.
- The Buccaneers are making internal promotions to replace cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross (fired) and safeties coach Nick Rapone (retired), according to Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds. Rashad Johnson will take over Ross’ role while Tim Atkins will succeed Rapone. Both served as assistant secondary coaches in 2025.
More Changes To Eagles’ Offensive Staff Expected
The Eagles are making some changes to their offensive coaching staff under new coordinator Sean Mannion.
Packers wide receivers coach Ryan Mahaffey is moving to Philadelphia as the Eagles’ new run game coordinator, per Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mahaffey is replacing former Eagles assistant Jeff Stoutland, who served as the team’s run game coordinator for the last eight seasons in addition to his role as offensive line coach.
The 38-year-old former fullback has worked closely with Green Bay’s receiving corps in the last two years; before that, he served as the team’s assistant offensive line coach (2022-2023) and offensive quality control coach (2021). Mahaffey will also take on the role of tight ends coach in Philadelphia.
The Eagles may also be moving on from quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler. If they do, Raiders quarterbacks coach and interim head coach Greg Olson is a likely candidate, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He coached Mannion while he was on the Rams in 2017 and the Seahawks in 2023, his final year as a player.
Olson, 62, has a long history in the NFL with offensive coordinator stints with five teams and QBs coach jobs with three more. Most recently, he worked with Geno Smith in both Seattle and Las Vegas, Derek Carr (also in Vegas), and Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff in Los Angeles.
Packers To Hire Penn State WRs Coach Noah Pauley
The Packers are expected to hire Penn State wide receivers coach Noah Pauley for the same job in Green Bay, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
2025 was Pauley’s first season at Penn State. He did not have much immediate success with the Nittany Lions’ wide receivers, but his previous work at Iowa State and North Dakota State are much stronger parts of his resume.
As the Cyclones’ wide receivers coach from 2022 to 2024, Pauley played an instrumental role in the development of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. The two made huge strides under Pauley’s tutelage and combined for 167 receptions, 2,377 yards, and 17 touchdowns in their final college season. Both were drafted by the Texans last April – Higgins with the 37th overall pick, Noel with the 79th – and put up solid but unspectacular rookie seasons.
In a way, it is surprising that the Texans have not looked into hiring Pauley considering their investment of the players he developed in college. Houston also drafted Xavier Hutchinson in 2023, a year after Pauley coached him to career- and Big 12-high stats of 107 receptions and 1,171 receiving yards.
Before Iowa State, Pauley coached now-Packers wide receiver Christian Watson at North Dakota State. The two will reunite in Green Bay, though Watson is in the last year of his contract. So are Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, while Matthew Golden and Savion Williams were both drafted last year.
It seems like the Packers will not be signing Romeo Doubs, and the cap hits of quarterback Jordan Love, edge rusher Micah Parsons, and right tackle Zach Tom will get bigger and bigger in the coming years. The team will also need to extend tight end Tucker Kraft, so extending multiple receivers may be out of the question. Pauley will therefore be crucial to the Packers’ continued strategy of drafting and developing young wide receivers while avoiding pricey extensions and free agent contracts. His main task will be getting Golden, the No. 23 pick last year – back on track after his disappointing rookie year.
Giants Interviewed Arizona State OC Marcus Arroyo For QBs Coach
The Giants interviewed Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo for their quarterbacks coach vacancy, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
[RELATED: Giants To Hire Matt Nagy As OC]
Arroyo, 46, has spent all of his coaching career at the college level except for one year as the Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach in 2014. He has spent much of his career as a QBs coach and played a major role in developing Justin Herbert at Oregon.
Following a three-year stint as the head coach at UNLV, the 46-year-old coach has spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator/QBs coach at Arizona State. He guided Cam Skattebo to a prolific showing in 2024, but his offense took a step back in 2025.
Unlike many of the assistant coaches the Giants have targeted in recent weeks, Arroyo has no direct connections to John or Jim Harbaugh. He did, however, work with Todd Monken at Southern Miss and Willie Taggart at Oregon. Monken was John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator in Baltimore from 2023 to 2025 and was widely expected to follow him to New York before getting the Browns’ head coaching job. Taggart was the Ravens’ running backs coach in that same period and now has the same job with the Giants.
Harbaugh has already started shaping his new staff in New York, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The team added Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator earlier this week, and the new organizational leaders are starting to interview for other crucial spots. If Arroyo earns the new gig, he would be tasked with guiding a QBs room led by Jaxson Dart.
Ben Levine contributed to this report.