Texans Request Interview With Will McClay
The Texans are continuing to search for a new GM, and they have requested an interview with Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Just two days ago, we learned that Houston was eyeing McClay and Eagles VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, though the Eagles have denied the Texans’ request to interview Douglas.
[RELATED: 2018 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]
It could be equally difficult to pry McClay from Dallas, as Breer notes. McClay is highly respected around the league, and he is among the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s recommended minority candidates for GM jobs this offseason.
Earlier today, it was reported that the Patriots denied the Texans’ request to interview Patriots executive Nick Caserio and Monti Ossenfort. However, it was also reported that, despite that denial, Houston could still interview Caserio and Ossenfort once the Patriots’ season ends, and since Dallas’ season is already over, the Cowboys may not be able to block the Texans’ request to meet with McClay. They could, though, give McClay a raise in order to keep him around.
Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News recently wrote that he does not expect McClay to depart for a GM position just yet, as he has a great deal of say with the Cowboys, enjoys working with other members of the team’s front office, and is determined to bring another Super Bowl to Dallas.
Chiefs Expected To Trade Alex Smith
Just yesterday, we learned that the Chiefs would be open to trading QB Alex Smith this offseason, but that they would not actively seek out trade partners.
But a lot can change in a day. Ian Rapoport, who reported yesterday that Kansas City would be willing to listen to offers on Smith, says today that the Chiefs, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Titans less than 24 hours ago, are likely to deal the Utah product in the coming months (video link).
As Rapoport observes, Smith’s value is as high as it can be after a strong 2017 campaign. He set several career-highs in 2017, including passing yards (4,042) and touchdowns (26). He also completed 67.5% of his passes and threw only five interceptions, leading to some early-season MVP rumblings. He also led the league in quarterback rating (104.7).
Plus, Smith has a very tradeable contract, as he is owed a relatively low (for a good QB) $17MM in 2018, the last year of his current deal. Rapoport notes that any new team would need to give Smith a new contract, but money should not be an obstacle to actually acquiring him.
Rapoport named a number of teams that could be interested in Smith in yesterday’s report, but today he specifically mentioned the Browns as a potential landing spot — new GM John Dorsey has already traded for Smith once in his career — and he named the Cardinals as another logical destination. Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM confirms that Arizona will indeed have interest in Smith, though they would still likely draft a QB even if they land him (Twitter links).
Smith himself is not ready to talk about his future, as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk (citing the Kansas City Star) writes.
Packers, Bengals Interested In Vic Fangio
Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is receiving head coaching consideration from Chicago — he interviewed for that position on January 3 — and he is also drawing plenty of interest as a defensive coordinator elsewhere. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, at least the Bengals and the Packers wants to talk to Fangio about their DC vacancies.
Biggs reports that Chicago recently denied the Bengals’ request to interview Fangio, but as of Tuesday, Fangio will be able to meet with whomever he wants, as both his three-year contract with the Bears and the end-of-season grace period that prevents coaches from bolting immediately without permission will have expired.
We learned yesterday that John DeFilippo would be open to retaining Fangio if DeFilippo is hired to become the next Bears head coach, and Biggs suggests that the Bears would like to keep Fangio as DC regardless of whom they hire as a head coach. Nonetheless, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune tweets that there are “significant doubts” as to whether Fangio would want to stay in Chicago under such a scenario.
The Bears have already interviewed a number of head coaching candidates and are interviewing Chiefs OC Matt Nagy today (see our up-to-date head coaching tracker here). But even if Fangio is open to remaining with the Bears as a DC, it could be difficult for Chicago to keep him if their head coaching search stretches on too long, as he is likely to have opportunities to accept or decline in the near future. Nagy, though, is the last-known candidate for the Bears to interview, as it does not appear as if they will get a shot at the highly-coveted Steve Wilks.
Haloti Ngata Wants To Continue Playing
Haloti Ngata wants to continue his playing career, and he wants to continue it in Detroit, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. The soon-to-be 34-year-old defensive tackle has flirted with retirement in the past, and just a few months ago, Birkett himself said that he expected Ngata to call it a career this offseason.
And that may well have been the case if Ngata had not suffered a torn biceps that ended his 2017 campaign prematurely. In an interview with WXYT-FM, Ngata said, “I think if I finished the year healthy I would have been a little closer to probably retiring, but I want to finish the season so I think I want to keep on playing. And definitely I loved being able to be here and help Detroit have more dominance in this league. We’ve had winning seasons, I just want to continue to build this franchise and get it to where it can be a dominant franchise and a great team. So I definitely want to be here, I definitely want to keep on playing, but we’ll have to see once free agency hits.”
As Birkett observes, the Lions allowed just 74.6 yards rushing per game when Ngata was healthy, but after Ngata’s injury, the Lions allowed 129.7 yards rushing per game. Ngata noticed the drop-off and said that, had he been healthy, he may have been able to help push the Lions to the postseason.
Ngata will become an unrestricted free agent in March, and despite his advanced age, and the fact that he has not played a full season since 2011 due to suspension or injury, his pedigree and his 2017 performance will surely land him a job somewhere. He has not been the same player for Detroit that he was for Baltimore for nine seasons — which is to be expected — but he clearly has something left in the tank, and he does not want his career to end to an injury.
Latest On Steve Wilks
Add the Cardinals to the list of teams looking to get a crack at Panthers DC Steve Wilks, who is arguably this offseason’s hottest head coaching candidate. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Wilks — who is coaching Carolina’s defense in its playoff tilt against the Saints this afternoon — will spend the coming week trying to fit in interviews with Arizona, the Giants, the Lions, and the Colts (Twitter link).
The Cardinals have already interviewed a few candidates for their head coaching gig, including their own DC, James Bettcher, and Patriots’ DC Matt Patricia. But they plan to at least sit down with Wilks to see what the hype is all about.
As Rapoport notes in a brief segment with colleague Mike Garafolo (video link), all four of the above-referenced teams are waiting to hire a new head coach until they have had the chance to meet with Wilks (which is interesting, because we heard just yesterday that the Lions are expected to hire Patricia). Rapoport adds that, despite the fact that the Panthers have fielded an impressive defensive unit this season, it is Wilks’ leadership ability, even more so than his prowess as a defensive coordinator, that has him in such high demand.
Garafalo notes that new Giants GM Dave Gettleman is anxious to get Wilks in front of team ownership, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Wilks will interview with Big Blue on Monday. How many interviews he takes beyond that will depend on the outcome of today’s playoff matchup.
The Bears also requested to interview Wilks, but as of yet, there has been no word as to whether Wilks will meet with Chicago.
Patriots Deny Texans’ Request To Interview Nick Caserio, Monti Ossenfort
In their efforts to fill their GM vacancy, the Texans asked to interview top Patriots executives Nick Caserio (director of player personnel) and Monti Ossenfort (director of college scouting). However, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, New England denied that request.
But, Schefter goes on to say that the Patriots’ refusal does not necessarily bring the matter to a close. The ESPN scribe writes that Caserio and Ossenfort still might be able to interview for the Texans job after the Patriots’ season ends, thanks to the league’s newly-relaxed rules that govern hiring executives from other clubs. In past years, teams could block their executives from interviewing elsewhere by saying that the individual had final say on the 53-man roster. Now, the league’s anti-tampering policy provides that final authority regarding the composition of the 53-man roster will not prevent someone from accepting a position with another team.
Interestingly, the Patriots did permit Caserio to interview with the 49ers for their GM job last offseason, and as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe observes (Twitter link), they allowed him to interview with the division-rival Dolphins two seasons ago, so their refusal represents a notable change in procedure. But given that New England is about to lose defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to head coaching positions with other teams, perhaps the Pats are simply trying to maintain some degree of continuity.
If Houston is willing to wait, they could still get a crack at Caserio and Ossenfort. In the meantime, the Texans are looking at Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst and Bills vice president of player personnel Brian Gaine.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/31/17
Here are today’s workout notes from around the league:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WRs Mario Alford, Corey Brown, Tevaun Smith, Rannell Hall, Quan Bray (tweet via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
New Orleans Saints
- S Kelcie McCray (tweet via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Coaching Rumors: Joseph, Eagles, Colts
This offseason’s coaching carousel is expected to be one of the more exciting ones in recent history given all of the jobs that will become available, though that excitement is not limited to the head coaching gigs. It’s been a busy morning already, but let’s take a look at a few more head coach and coordinator rumors:
- Broncos head coach Vance Joseph is facing increasingly longer odds of being retained for a second season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
- Former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, who is currently serving as a senior personnel executive for the team, has interest in returning to the sidelines as an offensive coordinator. However, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reports that the Broncos are looking to keep Kubiak around and expand his role to include more front office responsibility and perhaps some coaching responsibilities as well.
- The Eagles may lose their defensive coordinator this offseason, and ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports that Philadelphia could also lose several top position coaches (Twitter links). Caplan says Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo and WR coach Mike Groh could be targeted by other clubs, though Philadelphia could still block either man from accepting coordinator jobs elsewhere.
- Colts GM Chris Ballard has strong ties to several members of the Chiefs‘ coaching staff — special teams coach Dave Toub and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy — and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that both men will get consideration for Indianapolis’ head coaching job. La Canfora points out, however, that Colts owner Jim Irsay may prefer to make a “splashier” hire if possible.
- The Bengals have reached out to external candidates for their (expected) head coaching opening, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). This will be an open search for Cincinnati, which generally prefers to promote from within.
- Saints head coach Sean Payton said that Darryl Tapp, who played in the league for 11 years (including four games with the Bucs this season), is now serving as a coaching intern for New Orleans. It would appear, then, that Tapp’s playing days are over and he is shifting his sights to the next stage of his career.
Dean Pees Expected To Retire
Ravens DC Dean Pees is expected to retire after the season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Pees, 68, has not yet told his players of his intentions.
Baltimore has an excellent chance of advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 2014 today, and its defense is a big reason for that. The team ranks ninth in the league in yards allowed per game in 2017, fourth in points allowed per game, and it has generated a league-leading 33 turnovers. Nonetheless, the Ravens have largely feasted on rookie and/or second-string quarterbacks this season, and the team’s defense has struggled against more established signal-callers.
Schefter refers to Pees as one of the league’s top defensive minds whose units frequently feature exotic looks, but that would be news to Ravens fans. Pees’ defenses in Baltimore have been generally marked by conservative play-calling and late-game collapses, with some notable exceptions.
However, he has been a part of two of the league’s more successful franchises over the past 14 years. He broke into the NFL as the Patriots’ LB coach in 2004 before being promoted to New England’s DC in 2006. He left New England for Baltimore in 2010 and served as the Ravens’ LB coach in 2010-11. When Chuck Pagano left his job as Baltimore’s DC to accept a head coaching position with the Colts in 2012, Pees was elevated to defensive coordinator.
The Ravens won the Super Bowl that year, a game that featured a last-minute goal-line stand by their defense. In addition to that championship ring, Pees earned a ring with the Patriots, who won Super Bowl XXXIX when Pees was their LB coach.
The Ravens have typically promoted from within when it comes to their defensive coordinators. Under head coach John Harbaugh, all four defensive coordinators that the team has employed — Rex Ryan, Greg Mattison, Pagano, and Pees — were previously position coaches on the team’s staff. Don Martindale, Baltimore’s current LB coach, would be the top in-house candidate to replace Pees, though the Ravens would surely be interested in reuniting with Pagano, who is expected to be fired by the Colts.
Packers Expected To Part Ways With Dom Capers
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but the Packers are expected to part ways with longtime defensive coordinator Dom Capers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Capers, 67, has been with the team since 2009, but it appears as if his ninth season will be his last.
Capers’ unit will finish outside the top-15 in league rankings for the sixth time in the past seven years, and the last time it enjoyed a top-10 ranking was in 2010, when the Packers won the Super Bowl. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Capers could step down or retire to avoid the ignominy of a firing.
Silverstein opines that Green Bay has the makings of a solid defense, but that moving on from Capers is essential. He also believes that the team needs to bring in a new coordinator from outside the organization to provide the defense with a completely fresh start. He looks at some of the top names that could be available, including current Bears DC Vic Fangio and current Lions DC Teryl Austin, though it does not appear that there are currently any substantive rumors linking the Packers to the names on Silverstein’s list.
Capers, meanwhile, is probably prepared to call it a career. He broke into the league with the Saints in 1986 and has twice served as a head coach (for the expansion Panthers in 1995 and the expansion Texans in 2002). He has one Super Bowl ring, which, as noted above came as Green Bay’s DC in 2010.