Bill Belichick Fallout: NFL, NIL, Bears, Kitchens, Lombardi, Falcons, Patriots
Bill Belichick had a chance to gauge his market last year and certainly did not like the result. Although he had believed he was a true contender for the Falcons job hours before the team’s Raheem Morris hire, some of the animosity he created while in New England may well have shown up during the 2024 coaching carousel’s spin.
Several of the teams who held a coaching vacancy “quickly” dismissed the notion of interviewing Belichick, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports (subscription required). While the Falcons interviewed Belichick twice — with plenty of fallout coming from that saga — the Chargers, Commanders, Raiders, Panthers, Seahawks and Titans also needed a coach. None interviewed Belichick, leading him to what amounted to a months-long media tour. That is now complete, as Belichick accepted North Carolina’s offer to lead its program.
[RELATED: Bill Belichick’s Contract Details Emerge]
This obviously proved shocking, in the grand scheme, as it will all but certainly end Belichick’s run as an NFL head coach and keep him 14 wins short of Don Shula‘s all-time record. However, the NFL’s second-winningest coach is now believed to be “disgusted” by what the league has become, according to ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham, who adds Belichick and his confidants — Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and ex-Patriots staffer and Browns GM Michael Lombardi among them — began to look to the college level as a possible destination months ago.
Set to turn 73 in April, Belichick did not exactly have the luxury of waiting another year and hoping for more attractive jobs to open up come 2026. And one team with a vacancy already ruled out Belichick, per Howe. This would seemingly mean in addition to the Jets, with that fit — due to mutual feelings — never pointing toward a pursuit. The Bears and Saints need a coach. Belichick and his confidants had viewed the Bears as the most attractive opening thus far, but Wickersham adds Chicago was unlikely to consider the eight-time Super Bowl winner. Belichick’s circle of trust expects the Bears to target an offensive coach, a route that has become quite popular over the past several years.
Indeed, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz adds Belichick believed he would have many options to coach again in the NFL. Teams, however, were not eager to allow him to bring in his various preferred staffers. The Patriots’ post-Tom Brady decline played a significant role in teams’ view of Belichick and willingness to use what is being viewed as an old-school model, and even the interest of having him only operate as a coach — as opposed to a coach/de facto GM — was weak enough that this college jump took place. Belichick NFL interest existed, per Schultz, but it fell short of assuring him a job would await.
The subject of personnel power came up frequently this year regarding Belichick. Although Arthur Blank said Belichick did not ask for full personnel control during his interviews last year, the issue helped impede him. As Belichick undoubtedly would have threatened the power Falcons president Rich McKay and GM Terry Fontenot have, it is believed Blank was steered away from his initial goal of hiring the 24-year Patriots HC. Other owners were also skeptical, per Wickersham, of Belichick not throwing his weight around. Additionally, Wickersham indicates Fontenot discussing the Falcons’ draft strategies, from a position of knowledge, annoyed Belichick.
The Patriots had attempted to curb some of Belichick’s power around the 2021 draft, Howe adds, but that effort effectively fell apart in 2022. Belichick had lieutenants like Scott Pioli and Nick Caserio during his historically successful New England run, but both had left — Pioli in 2009, leading to more Belichick power, and Caserio in 2021. The latter’s departure coincided with the above-referenced Patriots effort to work more collaboratively. Robert Kraft is believed to have played a lead role in Belichick’s market cooling this offseason, and the owner later admitted he fired his longtime coach — rather than the party line of a mutual parting being reality.
At North Carolina, Belichick will have the kind of control he held in New England. While some big coaching names on the football and basketball sides have left their respective sports due to the chaos the transfer portal and NIL landscape have caused, Wickersham adds Belichick views the current college setup as “more transactional and less relational,” pointing to a coach carrying decades of experience in the pros being well equipped to step down and navigate the destabilized college level. Belichick said Thursday (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) coaches have reached out to him about NFL-inspired rule changes.
Belichick said he had always hoped to coach in college. This will still be one of the more interesting transitions in coaching history, as he had coached in the NFL only and had done so for 49 consecutive seasons. Belichick’s father, Steve, coached at Navy for more than 30 years and was a North Carolina assistant in the mid-1950s. Signing a five-year contract, Bill Belichick said is not planning to use the Tar Heels as a springboard back to the NFL. That would be more likely to take place with a younger coach, but with Bruce Arians (at 66) being the oldest NFL HC ever hired, Belichick had seen his chances dwindle at the sport’s top level.
Lombardi, who worked with Belichick in Cleveland and New England, is joining his longtime colleague as North Carolina’s GM. Schools are adding these positions with more frequency as the sport’s compensation model has radically changed. (Andrew Luck is now Stanford’s GM.) Lombardi spent a year as Browns GM, working alongside Joe Banner back with the Browns in 2013, and joined the Patriots in 2014. He has not held a position since, becoming a regular media presence.
Freddie Kitchens, who is most famous for his Browns one-and-done as head coach in 2019, had served as North Carolina’s interim coach post-Mack Brown. Belichick announced he is retaining the former NFL staffer. It would not surprise to see McDaniels, Patricia and Joe Judge join their former boss as well, though it is not known which former Patriots staffers are coming. Steve and Brian Belichick also will undoubtedly be in play to rejoin their father; Steve is the Washington Huskies’ DC, while Brian stayed on under Jerod Mayo with the Pats.
Belichick will be celebrated as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. His late New England decline notwithstanding, his six Super Bowl wins as a head coach lead the field by two. In the salary cap era, Belichick’s six titles are three more than anyone else. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. That will result in some other decorated coaches who have been waiting to be pushed down the list.
Broncos, Garett Bolles Agree To Extension
Uncertainty is no longer in place with respect to Garett Bolles‘ future. The longtime Broncos left tackle announced on Thursday he and the team have reached agreement on a new deal.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds this will be a four-year extension. Bolles was on track for free agency, but now he will remain on the books with Denver through 2028. Colleague Ian Rapoport notes this pact has a base value of $82MM, with upside for $86MM. The Broncos’ longest-tenured player, Bolles will collect $42MM guaranteed.
This marks the second time the Broncos have extended Bolles during the second half of a season. The first such instance came in November 2020, during the former first-round pick’s fourth season. Denver had circled back to paying its longtime LT that year despite passing on his fifth-year option. While Bolles has been somewhat inconsistent, he has been a better player over the course of his second contract than he was on his rookie deal.
Bolles, 32, had pursued an extension for a while now. After completing a rehab effort on a broken leg, Bolles had expressed a desire for a third Broncos contract. The team let him play out the 2023 season unsigned and let him enter his contract year without a new deal. Between those points, the team had signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey and extended Quinn Meinerz. While it looked for a stretch like Bolles would be allowed to hit the market in 2025, the Broncos will continue their run of high-end O-line payments. Four of their five starters up front are now attached to deals worth at least $13MM per year.
At $20.5MM per year, Bolles is once again the Broncos’ highest-paid O-lineman. McGlinchey’s 2023 deal had bumped him down to second, but with left tackle remaining the NFL’s top O-line market, it was expected a third deal would need to be in this range. That said, Bolles did not secure top-five money at the position. His AAV will check in fifth among left tackles, just ahead of Bills blindsider Dion Dawkins but south of Jordan Mailata‘s $22MM-per-year accord agreed to earlier this year.
The Broncos have an interesting situation in terms of near-future commitments. While their O-line deals now overlap with Bo Nix‘s rookie contract, the team still has the second half of the Russell Wilson dead money bill due in 2026. Though, Denver took on the larger portion of the penalty ($53MM) this year. A $30MM-plus dead cap hit is still on tap for 2025, but the team will be free of it in 2026. Nix cannot be extended until 2027.
Bolles has excelled this season, ranking in the top 10 in both pass block (seventh) and run block (10th) win rate at tackle. Pro Football Focus slots the Utah alum 16th among tackle regulars. He has done well to protect Nix, with Denver’s high-paid O-line ranking first in pass block win rate and fifth in run block win rate. After the sack-prone Wilson was dropped 45 times last season, Nix has only taken 19 this year.
Returning to make all 30 regular-season starts since a broken leg ended his 2022 season, Bolles has made the most starts by a Bronco left tackle (112) left tackle. He will now proceed to create more distance between himself and the field.
This contract will at least cover the 2017 first-rounder through the 2026 season, and it would stand to reason — due to Bolles’ age — the team will reassess at that point. McGlinchey’s deal runs through 2027, while Powers’ goes through 2026. Meinerz’s pact extends to 2028. While the team’s ascending right guard had profiled as the cornerstone piece, this Bolles agreement ensures he will continue to be the leading man on this unit for a while.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
49ers To Activate LB Dre Greenlaw
Although the 49ers will not be confused with a healthy team going into their pivotal Rams rematch, they did see Talanoa Hufanga return last week. The team now will see the other key defender who has missed most of this season back at work.
Injured while trotting onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII, Dre Greenlaw is coming back. The 49ers will activate the standout linebacker from the PUP list tonight, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. It will conclude a 10-month recovery from Achilles surgery, as Greenlaw went down on February 12. Greenlaw’s activation is now official.
The team had aimed for a midseason return, but Greenlaw saw his timeline pushed back a bit. A return will now come for a team that has lost Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Javon Hargrave for the season and one that has played without Nick Bosa and Trent Williams in recent weeks. While Fred Warner has been playing through a fractured ankle, he and Greenlaw will team up again in time for a crucial game.
At 6-7, the 49ers probably cannot afford another loss if they are to make a last-ditch push at defending the NFC West title they have won for the past two seasons. It may already be too late, with the Rams and Seahawks at 8-5, but the team routed the Bears in Week 14 to halt a losing streak. A healthier defense will take a shot at toppling a Rams team coming off a shootout win against the Bills.
Greenlaw, 27, will transition into a key stretch as well. He joins Hufanga and Charvarius Ward as 49ers defensive starters unsigned beyond this season. The team has Warner locked down, while Deommodore Lenoir signed an extension recently. With a Brock Purdy payday planned, the 49ers will need to make some sacrifices. Greenlaw could be among them. In that case, the next four games would double as an audition for the recovering player. A free agency deal, potentially in the realm of the one ex-teammate Azeez Al-Shaair inked in March, may be in the cards if Greenlaw can stay healthy.
Coming off back-to-back 120-tackle seasons, Greenlaw is playing out a two-year, $16.4MM contract agreed to during the 2022 season. Despite being a fifth-round pick, Greenlaw has worked as a 49ers regular at linebacker for most of his career. The team has used free agency addition De’Vondre Campbell on 719 snaps this season. Campbell was added to play alongside Warner while Greenlaw recovered. It did not seem at the time that the plan was for that setup to last 13 games, but it did. And given how long Greenlaw has been out, it would surprise if he was thrust into a full workload immediately.
This transaction will not count against the 49ers’ remaining injury activations, as only players moved from IR or the NFI lists back to the active roster do so. Nevertheless, the 49ers will throw a more complete version of their defense at a Rams team that has steadily gotten healthier since the teams’ September meeting.
Tom Brady To Play ‘Huge’ Role In Raiders’ Personnel Plans; Mark Davis Not Mandating QB Pick?
Since ditching their solid but unspectacular Derek Carr plan, the Raiders have delivered a rudderless two years at quarterback. They have not seen their free agency and draft plans pan out, and the organization is amid a lengthy buildup to another true search for an answer.
Although the Raiders looked into Tom Brady as a player ahead of the 2023 free agency period, the former Josh McDaniels pupil retired for a second time. That did not stop Mark Davis from aligning with the QB legend soon after. It took a bit, but Brady’s ownership stake is now official, leading to what promises to be a prominent partnership — one that will not place the 23-year veteran as a figurehead.
Brady will play a “huge” role in personnel, with Davis going as far as to confirm this (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore) at the latest owners meetings Wednesday. Bonsignore reported earlier this week Brady will hold a prominent place in the Raiders’ decision-making hierarchy “over time.” This invites obvious intrigue due to Brady’s stature and how it will impact the authority of GM Tom Telseco, who controls the Raiders’ roster. This is a night-and-day turnaround from Brady’s June 2023 assessment, which pegged a “very passive” role in Las Vegas.
More specifically, Davis wants to hear an honest assessment from a qualified staffer who is not fearing for his job, according to Yahoo’s Charles Robinson. Buying a stake in the Raiders earlier this season — after more than a year of waiting — Brady has no concerns of being pushed out. The NFL has allowed him to operate dually as FOX’s top analyst, albeit with significant sanctions, and minority Raiders owner. That setup is interesting enough by itself, but with Brady set to help shape the Raiders’ long-term plan, how they will go about addressing the quarterback spot will be a central 2025 NFL storyline.
Brady does not hold personnel experience, but Davis is certainly set to lean on this century’s highest-profile player’s body of work within the game. As it stands, Brady will be perhaps the lead decision-maker when it comes to Las Vegas determining its QB answer.
As for where that player will come from, a drafted arm might not be a lock. Conflicting accounts have emerged, per Robinson, as to whether Davis will demand the Raiders draft a starter-caliber QB. Be it through the draft or a veteran acquisition, Robinson adds Davis will mandate a long-term plan to fix this issue. The Raiders also want to improve their roster before acquiring a to-be-determined long-term QB, Robinson adds, noting that in-house extensions may be on the horizon. Given the Raiders’ 2-11 record, it will be interesting to see which players become targets.
Although Ken Stabler played longer with the Raiders, Carr operated as the longest-running QB1 in team history. The Raiders erred by signing Jimmy Garoppolo, and Antonio Pierce repeatedly benched Garder Minshew despite the team having signed him to a two-year, $25MM deal in March. Since Carr was parked in Week 17 of the 2022 season due to his contract, the Raiders have started six quarterbacks. That number might balloon to seven Sunday, if Desmond Ridder is needed in place of Aidan O’Connell. Neither of those passers, however, will be expected to factor into Telesco, Davis and now Brady’s long-term plan.
With a month left in the season, the Raiders are projected to hold the No. 1 overall pick. This top-heavy season, though, has produced a host of challengers for that spot. And the 2025 draft’s QB crop is not viewed especially well. That could prompt the Raiders to look into other options — be it a true starter or another bridge plan ahead of 2026. Antonio Pierce, who pushed for a Jayden Daniels reunion, would almost definitely — if he is retained, that is — be against a second bridge plan ahead of a 2026 draft choice. But Pierce or his replacement will be answering to Brady and Telesco on this matter.
Once they learned no Daniels trade would happen, the Raiders had Michael Penix Jr. as a potential fallback option. But the team did not want to trade up for the Washington prospect, who went eighth overall to Atlanta. The Falcons choosing Penix at 8 flummoxed the Raiders, Robinson adds, as the Telesco-led front office believed he would be there at 13. With Penix going at 8, the Broncos scuttled any plans to trade down and drafted Bo Nix — who visited the Raiders — at 12. This left the Raiders in the cold at QB, though they did do well to acquire Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Brock Bowers in a best-player-available pick.
Bowers’ historic pace should bode well for Telesco’s standing within the building, but soon he will need to provide Brady with answers at quarterback. It will be quite interesting to find out who will hold the anvil when it comes to how the franchise proceeds here in 2025, but given Davis’ comments, it should not be expected Brady will encounter significant pushback if he voices a strong opinion about a near-future path.
Commanders Claim WR K.J. Osborn
Noah Brown‘s injury will prompt the Commanders to act at receiver. They submitted a successful waiver claim for K.J. Osborn, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports.
The Patriots ended an unsuccessful Osborn tenure Tuesday. The veteran slot receiver has produced in the past, however, faring well in Kevin O’Connell‘s Vikings offense. The Commanders will give him a shot in their Terry McLaurin-led receiving corps.
Osborn had fallen well off the radar in New England, catching only seven passes for 57 yards as the Patriots attempted to find answers at the position. The Pats had given Osborn a one-year, $4MM deal but did not benefit much from that contract. Only $1.18MM of that deal consists of base salary. Washington will only owe Osborn $278K for the season’s remainder.
Although Osborn did little in New England, he was a consistent producer in Minnesota. The former Vikings fifth-round pick posted 655 yards under then-OC Klint Kubiak in 2021 and caught on seamlessly with O’Connell a year later, finishing with 650 in an offense that featured Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and, after the trade deadline, T.J. Hockenson. Osborn concluded his Minnesota run with 540 yards in 2023 but did not command a substantial market in free agency, leading to a low-end Pats accord. From 2021-23, Osborn totaled 15 touchdown receptions.
Brown suffered what Dan Quinn said was likely a season-ending injury in Week 13. The late-summer addition had been Washington’s top McLaurin sidekick. This organization spent years trying to find a reliable WR2 but saw its Ron Rivera-era efforts fail. Jahan Dotson was the most notable disappointment; the team traded the 2022 first-round pick during training camp. Brown will likely wrap his season with 453 yards, a total boosted by a Hail Mary touchdown against the Bears, and the Commanders do not have another wideout who has passed 275 on the year. That will make Osborn an interesting addition.
Osborn, 27, may need to again settle for a one-year deal in free agency — after struggling in New England and ending up in a few trade rumors before the deadline — but he will have an interesting opportunity. Brown’s quick assimilation in Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense, along with Osborn having played under four play-callers in five seasons, offers some upside here.
Steve Belichick Role Part Of Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Negotiations
Bill Belichick may well be close to make a radical career change. He remains in discussions with the University of North Carolina about succeeding Mack Brown as head coach. This would take the NFL’s second-winningest coach out of the mix for jobs in 2025 and maybe henceforth.
The sides are still negotiating, however, with a few issues lingering. A role for current Washington DC Steve Belichick is among the matters being discussed, according to ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel and Chris Low. Steve Belichick worked with his father for many years in New England. While Brian Belichick stayed on under Jerod Mayo, Steve left to run the Huskies’ defense.
We heard Tuesday that Bill Belichick’s salary and the Tar Heels’ NIL situation were among the other issues holding up a deal. The Tar Heels have made an offer. It would stand to reason Belichick does not view his chances of landing another NFL job as particularly great; otherwise, these North Carolina talks probably would not have progressed to this point. But the all-time coaching great was surprised when little interest emerged beyond the Falcons’ pursuit this offseason. He is close to preempting any NFL talks this time around.
North Carolina is working to close this deal, Thamel and Low report, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter adding the six-time Super Bowl-winning HC met with university officials during a five-hour meeting Sunday. Another development that points to this actually happening: Belichick has been contacting potential staff members for days. While the likes of Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge have been mentioned as being ready to follow their former Patriots boss, it is unclear if all would do so for a college job.
Steve Belichick, 37, coached on his father’s Patriots staff from 2012-23. While obviously possessing an advantage due to his father’s status, Steve worked his way up to the role of defensive play-caller late in his New England tenure. Mayo offered him the chance to stay in New England, but the Washington gig became the path. The Huskies ranked 46th in scoring defense this season, improving in that area (from 56th in their national championship game season) despite their first Big Ten season at 6-6.
Considering how much interest North Carolina has shown in what would be a fascinating hire, it would surprise if the school stood in the way of Steve Belichick being a major part of the program. Several former Patriots staffers would likely be en route to Chapel Hill. Now, if Bill is mandating his son be named his successor, that is a different matter. But a deal that would allow Belichick full control — something that would not be available if another NFL HC job became a legitimate possibility — certainly appears close.
This would take him out of NFL consideration, but while Bill Belichick said he would be fine staying in the media, these negotiations do not reflect that statement. At 72, Belichick appears adamant about coaching again in 2025 — to the point he is willing to enter college football at one of the most unstable points in its history.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Bengals, Conklin
Despite their wide receiver depth being an issue throughout this season, the Steelers managed a two-score win over the Browns without George Pickens. The standout Pittsburgh pass catcher suffered a hamstring injury doing post-practice work late last week, and the Steelers exercised caution by holding him out. That strategy is expected to continue against the Eagles in Week 14, with Mike Tomlin pointing to another absence for Pickens. The third-year wideout, who had never missed a game as a pro until Sunday, is battling a grade 2 hamstring strain, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Tomlin said this injury has proven to be “a little more significant” than the team initially believed, and this comes at a bad time for the AFC North leaders.
The Steelers face the Ravens in Week 15 and Chiefs in Week 16, those matchups coming on short weeks. While Pittsburgh is two weeks from its Christmas Day matchup with Kansas City, Pickens’ availability for the Baltimore rematch should probably be considered up in the air. The Steelers traded for Mike Williams and have seen flashes, most notably a game-winning TD grab against the Commanders, but the team would be lacking against upper-crust competition if Pickens is sidelined.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- Perhaps the NFL’s lead underachievers this season, the Bengals are 5-8. A team expected to return to Super Bowl contention has seen its defense crater. This franchise has proven conservative when it comes to many matters, and coaching is among them. As such, Zac Taylor is unlikely to be viewed as a hot-seat occupant, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. This reaffirms the team’s October stance. Though, this certainly does not mean the Bengals will maintain their status quo throughout the coaching staff. DC Lou Anarumo should probably be viewed as a chopping-block candidate given how poorly the once-well-regarded coordinator’s unit has performed. But Taylor, who took over after 16 Marvin Lewis Cincinnati seasons, is believed to be safe. His contract runs through 2026.
- Putting up MVP-caliber numbers (without the required record for consideration), Joe Burrow made some noise this week by indicating he will play a role in helping to push for the Bengals to re-sign Tee Higgins. The franchise-tagged wide receiver, who has been viewed as likely to leave in 2025, has said he would like to stay but did not offer much confidence he would re-sign. The Bengals cannot reengage on negotiations, which are not believed to have been serious this year, until season’s end. When the team does, new Higgins representation may be at the wheel. Rumblings have surfaced regarding a potential Higgins agency change, Graziano adds. Such a switch would inject an interesting variable into Higgins’ next round of negotiations. The Bengals hold exclusive negotiating rights with their WR2 until March 10.
- Dan Moore Jr. has twice managed to fend off competition to keep the Steelers‘ left tackle job, doing so despite the team using first-round picks on tackles in back-to-back drafts. Troy Fautanu‘s injury did leave the team with fewer options, and Broderick Jones has continued to play right tackle this season. The plan remains for Jones to switch sides in 2025, when Moore is due for free agency. Though, Jones was rumored to be the team’s preferred LT this year. Moore is likely to depart in March, Dulac adds, as they have not shown an indication they are losing faith in Jones. Next year’s Pittsburgh tackle plan will be for their 2023 and ’24 first-rounders — Jones and Fautanu — to start, with veteran Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly leaving little doubt about the 2025 starters.
- Two nonguaranteed years remain on Jack Conklin‘s contract, and the Browns — facing an unprecedented situation with Deshaun Watson — will need cap space. They will almost definitely look to Conklin’s deal, with The Athletic’s Zac Jackson noting the team will either restructure it or move it off the payroll via a post-June 1 cut. Conklin, 30, has returned from a second career ACL tear, coming back after missing 16 games last season and five this year. The quality starter’s injury history will factor into Cleveland’s 2025 decision.
Chiefs’ Harrison Butker Back At Practice
Continuing to walk a tightrope to keep a one-loss record in place, the Chiefs have seen three different kickers hit game-winning field goals during this run of one-score victories. With Harrison Butker down, both Spencer Shrader and Matthew Wright have stepped in.
The Chiefs needed to turn to Wright due to a Shrader injury — one that sent him to IR — and while style points eluded the second-stint Kansas City kicker, Wright nailed the game-winner to beat the Chargers on Sunday night. It is now possible the Chiefs are done with their revolving-door period at this position, as Andy Reid said Wednesday (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher) Butker would practice today.
This will start the veteran kicker’s 21-day activation clock. Butker has missed the past four games due to a knee injury, one that required arthroscopic surgery. This issue affected Butker’s non-kicking leg, and the eighth-year Chiefs kicker will aim to return soon. By being designated for return from IR, he would be eligible to come back against the Browns in Week 15. It is not certain he will be ready by then, however.
The Chiefs hold merely a plus-56 point differential — 11th-best in the NFL — which has placed a greater importance on precision from their kickers. Ten of the defending champions’ 12 wins have come by one score. Shrader hit a short game-winner to lift the Chiefs past the Panthers, while a banked-in Wright offering saved them against the Chargers. Butker has offered more stability. He is 18-for-20 on field goals this season, including a walk-off 51-yarder to beat the Bengals in Week 2, and 21-for-22 on PATs.
Kansas City is in good shape still, in terms of injury activations; the team holds six going into Week 15. They are aiming for Marquise Brown to return along with Butker. The free agent signing has been eligible to return from IR for months, but Reid said Wednesday he has not received clearance yet.
Commanders WR Noah Brown Likely Out For Season
Despite being added days before the regular season, Noah Brown has settled into the Commanders’ No. 2 wide receiver role. The contending team will need to find other solutions moving forward, however.
Brown sustained what Dan Quinn called an internal “serious injury,” according to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay. While Quinn stopped short of confirming Brown will miss the season’s remainder, the first-year Commanders HC said (via the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala). Brown has led the pack of Terry McLaurin sidekicks this season, being one of a few former Quinn charges to play a key role for a resurgent Washington team.
The Commanders have given Brown a 63% snap share on offense this season. Among the non-McLaurin Washington wideouts, Brown leads the way with 453 receiving yards. His most memorable contribution came when he snagged a game-winning Hail Mary from Jayden Daniels to down the Bears in October. Brown has scored a touchdown as well, helping a Commanders team that again entered training camp with significant questions about who would complement McLaurin.
It is not yet known what specific issue Brown is battling, but he was listed as having picked up a rib injury during the Commanders-Titans game in Week 13. Quinn calling this an internal injury points to something more serious, but the veteran coach praised the team’s medical staff for doing well to address this matter at the time. The bye week was not enough to minimize this matter, and it looks like Washington is going to need others to help fill the void. The team is close to having veteran slot Jamison Crowder back, at least; the second-stint Washington wideout has missed most of this season with a calf injury.
After a season with the Texans, Brown re-signed with the team on a one-year, $4MM deal. The 28-year-old pass catcher had totaled a career-high 567 yards last season. Then possessing a crowded WR depth chart, Houston moved on, leading Brown to Washington on a $1.21MM accord.
Brown had overlapped with Quinn with the Cowboys from 2021-22 and joined former teammates Tyler Biadasz, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler in signing with the Commanders. Washington has not seen another of its wideouts surpass 275 receiving yards this season. Third-round rookie Luke McCaffrey and veterans Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus represent the non-Brown options to supplement the team’s McLaurin-driven receiving corps.
Coaching Notes: Robinson, Bears, Jets, Rams
Zac Robinson is in his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator, quickly moving to the Falcons once Raheem Morris landed the team’s HC job. Other clubs showed interest in Robinson for OC posts as well. Before Robinson entered the coaching ranks, however, he played quarterback at Oklahoma State. Robinson started three seasons with the Cowboys, playing under longtime coach Mike Gundy. Had the latter not agreed to a recent contract restructure, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes Robinson was the school’s top replacement choice. Robinson, 41, started for the Big 12 program from 2007-09. Gundy, himself a former Oklahoma State QB, has been in charge in Stillwater since 2005. Robinson could land interviews on next year’s NFL HC carousel, and no other rumors have connected the first-year OC to the college game.
Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:
- The Bears have been connected to at least one college coach (Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman) about their now-vacant HC post, and others could be on the radar. An anonymous GM told the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora he expects the Bears to interview multiple college coaches during their upcoming search. Serving as team president since early 2023, Kevin Warren has a background in the college game stemming from his time as Big Ten commissioner. Although GM Ryan Poles is running Chicago’s search, Warren will have a major role to play in whom the team hires to replace Matt Eberflus.
- Woody Johnson is again staffing out his HC search, bringing in ex-Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman to tab the team’s next coach and GM. The latter shed some light into the process recently, indicating during the NFL on CBS podcast (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini) he has already interviewed “a lot of the guys” who will be on his Jets recommendation list. Spielman having worked as an advisor during the Commanders’ recent searches points to familiar names being part of this upcoming Jets research effort. It will still be Johnson making the final call, but this is not the first time he has farmed out his hiring process. He did so in 2015 as well, using former GMs Charley Casserley and Ron Wolf ahead of the Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles hires.
- Todd Grantham has been back in the NFL for the past two seasons, serving as a Saints assistant. While Robinson is not heading to Stillwater, Grantham will indeed be going to reprise his role as a college defensive coordinator. Oklahoma State is hiring Grantham as its DC, NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett notes. A former Browns DC under Romeo Crennel in the 2000s, Grantham had been the Saints’ D-line coach for the past two seasons. New Orleans firing Dennis Allen will lead to a staff overhaul, and Grantham — formerly the DC at Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Florida — will jump ship early.
- Rams assistant special teams coach Scott Frost is returning to Central Florida. The former Knights HC will take on that job once again, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reports. Frost coached the Knights from 2016-17, using the mid-major program as a springboard to Nebraska. Matt Rhule’s Cornhuskers predecessor had caught on with the Rams this year.
- Former Jets tight end Anthony Becht coached the United Football League’s St. Louis BattleHawks last season and recently interviewed for the West Virginia HC job. Becht has also drawn interest from the NFL, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The two-year St. Louis HC, the first season coming in XFL 3.0 in 2023, has never coached in the NFL and would presumably not be too close to the HC radar were he to explore a job in the league soon.