Eagles’ Front Office Creating Confusion
When the Eagles announced new roles for head coach Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman earlier this month, with Roseman elevated to the role of executive vice president of football operations and Kelly appointed to oversee the player personnel department, there were bound to be some growing pains as Philadelphia’s front office adapted to its new structure and other teams figured out how to interact with that structure.
However, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says there may be more to this situation than the expected transitional hurdles. Roseman was conspicuous only by his absence at the Senior Bowl, which has led some league insiders to wonder about Roseman’s true role with the club. After Kelly was granted complete control over personnel, Roseman was expected to be in charge of the salary cap and contracts. But a number of agents who represent Eagles with possible contract situations have said they were unsure who would be handling negotiations, while others said they still expected to work with Roseman.
Meanwhile, director of football administration Jake Rosenberg met with agents representing players both on and off of the Eagles roster last week, and he is currently conducting contract talks with impending free agent Jeremy Maclin. At the same time, Kelly gave his phone number to two agents with Eagles players, which represents “another indicator of his increasing say over all facets of football operations.”
The fact that Roseman was vacationing with his family while Kelly was scouting college all-star practices has created the perception that the front office restructure was not as peaceful as initially thought, and that Philadelphia is currently a hostile, divided organization.
Citing ESPN’s Adam Caplan, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com writes that at least two people turned down the chance to interview for the Eagles’ vacant GM post, with one of the candidates saying he wanted to work for an organization in which the coach, GM, and owner were on the same page. This is not to say, of course, that the team will be unable to hire a quality GM, or that the key players in Philadelphia’s front office cannot overcome whatever turmoil there might be. But it does make one wonder if the organization’s internal dynamics will detract from its ability to navigate through the offseason as smoothly as it would like.
Colts Favorites To Land Duron Carter
The Colts “appear to have the edge” in landing highly-coveted CFL star Duron Carter, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. PFR”s Luke Adams pointed out on Friday that Carter was down to two finalists and posited that the Browns had fallen out of contention. Holder confirms that speculation, writing that the Vikings are the “other team to watch” in the Carter sweepstakes but making no mention of Cleveland whatsoever.
Carter’s story has been well-documented, and Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report published a detailed piece several days ago describing Carter’s fall from burgeoning star at Ohio State to a player that no NFL club wanted even as an undrafted free agent in 2013. Since then, however, Carter has resurrected his career after excelling with the Montreal Alouettes in back-to-back seasons, displaying the type of athleticism and natural ability that can make an NFL executive’s mouth water.
Since the end of the CFL season, Carter has been auditioning for a number of NFL clubs, finally concluding his workouts last week. It was not long ago that the Vikings were considered the favorite to sign Carter, but it was later revealed that Minnesota was not the top bidder for Carter’s services, and now Indianapolis appears to have taken the lead. The Colts, of course, have been in the mix all along, and we learned back in November that the imminent departure of Reggie Wayne, combined with GM Ryan Grigson‘s willingness to take chances, Grigson’s connections with the CFL, and Indianapolis’ history of gambling on players with “baggage” suggested that Carter may soon be playing his home games in Lucas Oil Stadium.
One thing that has rarely been discussed in the myriad articles discussing where Carter might land and what he might bring to the table is the type of deal he might command. As Holder points out, financial details will of course play a role in Carter’s decision, but it is unclear what those details might be. Holder does note that Carter, who amassed 1,939 receiving yards during his two years in Montreal, does have personal relationships with current Colts Jonathan Newsome and Trent Richardson, but Minnesota also holds the attraction of being the place where Carter’s father, Cris, resurrected his own career and became a Hall-0f-Famer.
Per a CFL-NFL agreement, Carter cannot sign with an NFL club until February 10, but when he is eligible to sign, the smart money appears to be on the Colts.
Falcons To Hire Dan Quinn As HC
It may be little more than a formality at this point, but D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that current Seahawks DC Dan Quinn will be named the new head coach of the Falcons on Monday, February 2 in Atlanta.
We learned last week that Atlanta planned to hire Quinn whenever Seattle’s season ends, and, one way or another, the Seahawks’ season will be over at the end of Super Bowl XLIX on February 1. It has been clear for several weeks that Quinn was the Falcons’ top choice to replace Mike Smith, and they have demonstrated all along they were willing to wait for their man. In the meantime, Atlanta named Kyle Shanahan as the team’s new offensive coordinator, and it was also reported that Seahawks defensive backs coach Kris Richard could follow Quinn to Atlanta to become the Falcons’ new defensive coordinator.
However, Ledbetter also reports that the Falcons plan to hire Washington defensive backs coach Raheem Morris for a hybrid assistant-defensive coordinator position. Quinn himself is expected to call the defensive plays, so it remains unclear if Morris’ hiring will affect Richard in any way.
As for Quinn himself, he has engineered two excellent defenses in his two seasons as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, defenses that have played a starring role in at least one, and perhaps two, Super Bowl victories. As our Dallas Robinson recently wrote, “Both of [Quinn’s] Seahawks defenses have finished first in DVOA per Football Outsiders, and in 2014, Seattle allowed just 268 yards per game and 15.9 points per game, both first in the league.” The 44-year-old also brings a decade of NFL experience with him, much of which came as a defensive line coach for the 49ers, Dolphins, and Jets.
Quinn also worked as defensive line coach for Seattle from 2009-2010 before moving to the college ranks as Florida’s defensive coordinator during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. But after returning to the NFL as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator in 2013, Quinn has met with nothing but success, and he immediately established himself as one of the top assistants in the league.
The Falcons, of course, were once considered the favorite to land Rex Ryan, who ultimately became head coach of the Bills, and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was also frequently linked to Atlanta’s top job. The Falcons also interviewed Adam Gase, Josh McDaniels, Doug Marrone, and Keith Armstrong, but Quinn boasted the strongest defensive background of any head coaching candidate this year, with the possible exception of Ryan. For a team that has talent on the offensive side of the ball but a porous defense, Quinn seems to be an almost perfect fit. And, as of February 2, he can begin going to work for his new club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
North Notes: Hoyer, Gordon, Lions
After hearing last night that the Browns would be interested in bringing back Brian Hoyer, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com delves into the never-ending Hoyer-Johnny Manziel saga once again. Specifically, Grossi notes that one of the most overlooked aspects of that conversation is the fact that Hoyer was returning from his first major injury and surgery in 2014. and that it is therefore reasonable to expect a natural uptick in his performance in 2015. Grossi also notes that, if Cleveland does bring Hoyer back, it is unlikely the team would sign another veteran quarterback like Josh McCown, but someone like Mike Glennon may be an option if Manziel does not return.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the team’s north divisions:
- The issues concerning Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon often take a backseat to the team’s quarterback drama, but Grossi points out in the piece linked above that the Browns are taking the position that Gordon was active for only five games during the year and therefore fell one game short of qualifying for a credited season towards free agency. If Cleveland is right, and if Gordon does not prevail in a potential grievance protesting the suspension, Gordon will be under contract for 2015 and will be a restricted free agent in 2016.
- Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that, even though Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles was healthy for the first time in his career in 2014, he appeared in just five games and is likely down to his last chance in Detroit.
- Kyle Meinke of the Detroit Free Press looks at the Lions‘ options for upgrading their offensive line in free agency, pointing out that the team is unlikely to have enough cap space to sign the top linemen on the market, but a solid second-tier option like guard Orlando Franklin or tackle Michael Roos could be in play.
- As they look to address perhaps their biggest position of need, the Ravens met with USC cornerback Josh Shaw during Senior Bowl week, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- Coley Harvey of ESPN.com writes that tackle Marshall Newhouse is one of the free agents the Bengals will likely let go this offseason.
Colts Preparing Mega-Deal For Luck
The Colts have already begun working on the parameters of a “blockbuster mega deal” for quarterback Andrew Luck, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Luck, whose excellent regular season has his team positioned to fight for a Super Bowl berth this afternoon, has more than lived up to the hype surrounding him when he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick three years ago. He now appears set to cash in on that success.
Under the terms of the 2011 contractual bargaining agreement, players are extension eligible following the conclusion of their third season — with the regular season now several weeks in the rear-view mirror, Indianapolis has the freedom to begin negotiating with Luck. After being drafted in 2012, Luck signed a fully guaranteed four-year deal worth about $22.1MM. In 2014, his base salary amounted roughly $2.4MM, and combined with his signing bonus proration, he counted a little more than $6MM against the Colts’ salary cap. In 2015, his base salary rises to ~$3.4MM, and his salary cap hit increases to approximately $7MM. He’ll remain under contract in 2016 due to his fifth-year option, which the Colts will assuredly exercise.
Due to Schefter’s phrasing, it’s fair to assume that Luck’s new deal will approach the value of some of the larger quarterback contracts in the NFL. Currently, Aaron Rodgers constitutes his own among QB pacts — the total value of his deal is $122MM, $54MM of which is guaranteed. The next sub-set of deals are similar, as Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Peyton Manning, Colin Kaepernick, Jay Cutler, and Tony Romo‘s contracts all have an average annual value between $18MM and $20MM, though the guarantees vary. Luck should top that second bucket of signal-callers, and his representatives will no doubt target Rodgers’ total value, AAV, and guarantees when discussing a fresh pact — whether he’s able to match the Green Bay quarterback should be one of the more fascinating plot lines of the talks.
Another interesting factor in the negotiations will be how the Seahawks progress with regards to extending Russell Wilson, another 2012 draftee who is also up for an extension. As a third-round pick, Wilson’s rookie contract is more modest than Luck’s — the Seattle QB earned less than $700K in base salary in 2014. However, a recent report indicated that the Seahawks plan to make Wilson the highest-paid QB in the league, which isn’t surprising given that Seattle tends to hand out contracts that redefine positional markets (Earl Thomas, Percy Harvin, Richard Sherman). Additionally, Wilson boasts a Super Bowl on his resume, something Luck has yet to attain, and it remains to be seen how that level of postseason success will affect negotiations.
Coordinator Updates: Kiffin, Gase, Musgrave
Let’s take a look at a few notes regarding various coordinator vacancies:
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has emerged as the favorite to land the 49ers offensive coordinator opening, with Colts special assistant Rob Chudzinski also under consideration.
- Citing ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson tweets that Eagles QB coach Bill Musgrave has become a “hot contender” for the Raiders‘ offensive coordinator position.
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Jim Schwartz will be very selective in choosing his next job, as he has two contract years left. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora adds (via Twitter) that he would not be surprised if Schwartz sat out the 2015 season altogether, though things may have been different if the Cowboys‘ defensive coordinator job had become available.
- Rapoport tweets that Adam Gase is interviewing with the Jaguars today regarding their offensive coordinator vacancy, but he reiterates that the Raiders, Rams, Falcons, and Bears all have permission to talk to Gase. La Canfora, though, tweets that he would be surprised to see Gase land with Chicago or Oakland, where he would be reunited with former Denver coaches.
- The Falcons are impressed with Gase, whom Teryl Austin would bring with him if Austin were hired as Atlanta’s head coach, according to a tweet from La Canfora. Although we heard earlier today that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has established himself as the presumptive favorite for the Falcons’ head coaching vacancy, La Canfora tweets that, if Seattle wins today, Atlanta will have to weigh the risks of waiting two weeks to hire Quinn and possibly missing out on top coaching candidates like Gase.
East Notes: Fangio, Foles, Rolle
After dining with Washington brass last night, Vic Fangio will have a lengthy, official interview today for the team’s vacant defensive coordinator post, reports Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Fangio, who also met with the Bears regarding their defensive coordinator vacancy, is widely regarded as Washington’s top choice.
Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- Although a new GM and new defensive coordinator could change things, John Keim of ESPN.com appears convinced that Brian Orakpo will not return to Washington next year.
- They have some in-house matters to take care of first, but Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com writes that the Eagles, although not flush with cash, will have enough money to be players in the free agent market. McManus suggests if the team makes a big splash, it will come at the corner or safety positions.
- In the midst of rumors that Nick Foles may not be the Eagles‘ long-term solution at quarterback, star running back LeSean McCoy defended his signal caller, McManus writes. “I like Nick,” said McCoy. “The person and the player that everybody thought he was, he is. There were a lot of injuries this year — Nick obviously got injured. He gets all the blame and he shouldn’t. I think Nick is a good quarterback, he is the leader of this team, and things just didn’t work out for him this year due to injury. But we’ve got his back.”
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com does not believe Antrel Rolle will return to the Giants next year, and he looks at how that will affect the team’s free safety position. Raanan also looks at a few possible cap casualties.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News writes that, even if his hires of Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan turn out poorly, owner Woody Johnson should at least get credit for taking the right approach in making those hires.
- Brian Costello of the New York Post provides a behind-the-scenes look at those Jets hires from Charley Casserly, who served as Johnson’s adviser during the hiring process.
Tampering Charges Filed Against Jets
At a press conference last month, during which he discussed the firing of Rex Ryan and John Idzik, Jets owner Woody Johnson also touched on former Jet and current Patriot Darrelle Revis. Johnson said simply, “I’d love for Darrelle to come back.” Since that statement was made about a player currently under contract with another club, and since the league maintains that “Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club’s player to that player’s agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy,” tampering charges have been filed against the Jets, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
As Schefter writes, “the league is trying to determine whether there was a violation and if there was, how severe of a fine should be levied against Johnson and the Jets.” Of course, New England is likely to decline Revis’ $20MM option for 2015, which would make him a free agent and which would allow the Jets to talk to him without fear of repercussions.
Falcons To Interview Dan Quinn Again
It appears increasingly likely that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will become the next head coach of the Falcons. PFR’s Luke Adams wrote several days ago that Quinn was expected to get a second interview with Atlanta this week, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the interview will happen tomorrow.
If the Seahawks lose today’s NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, Quinn could be announced as the Falcons’ head coach by the middle of the week. But even if Seattle advances to the Super Bowl, the interview can still take place and an informal agreement could emerge during that interview. Even though Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is ostensibly still in the running for Atlanta’s top job, it seems as though he will return to Detroit to further bolster his head coaching candidacy.
Hensley On Ravens: Thomas, Torrey Smith, Hill
ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley’s latest mailbag includes his take on a number of issues facing the Ravens this offseason. Let’s dive in:
- Hensley was asked what the most surprising development of the Ravens’ offseason would be, and he responded with his prediction that Baltimore will pursue a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver in free agency. Such a move would represent a significant departure from the Ravens’ typically low-key approach to free agency, and the team currently does not have enough cap room to make such a splash, but Baltimore needs a big-bodied, athletic receiver to continue the offensive momentum it established under Gary Kubiak in 2014. Quarterback Joe Flacco has never had such a weapon at his disposal, and Hensley believes the time is right to bring in a player like Demaryius Thomas.
- Of course, if the Ravens do make such a move, they may part ways with Torrey Smith and Marlon Brown may see a much-deserved increased role in the offense.
- Hensley believes the Ravens should give extensions to starting guards Kelechi Osemele and Marshal Yanda, and that John Urschel will probably take Jeremy Zuttah‘s job as the starting center in 2016.
- Echoing Conor Orr of NFL.com, Hensley writes that the Ravens are factoring restricted free agent Will Hill into their 2015 plans, and they hope he will win the starting free safety job. However,given the mediocre play of Matt Elam and Darian Stewart, strong safety is still a big question mark.
- Even if Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb can remain healthy in 2015–a very big “if” considering their injury histories–Hensley believes the team’s biggest weakness is at cornerback, and he believes the Ravens should draft a corner in the first three rounds of this year’s draft.
- Hensley does not see the team using the franchise tag this year.