Cardinals Willing To Franchise Chandler Jones
Chandler Jones isn’t going anywhere. Coach Bruce Arians told reporters today that the team is willing to place the franchise tag on the star defensive end if they cannot agree on a long-term deal. The non-exclusive tag for defensive ends is expected to come in at $16.955MM. 
Prior to the 2016 season, the Patriots shipped Jones to Arizona because they were unwilling to pay Jones major money via the franchise tag or in a new long-term deal. After trading a second-round pick for Jones (and former first-round pick Jonathan Cooper), the Cardinals have been widely expected to keep Jones no matter the cost.
The price for defensive ends keeps going up every year and Jones could eclipse the high watermark set by Giants DE Olivier Vernon last offseason. Vernon’s five-year, $85MM contract includes a $20MM signing bonus as part of his $40MM in full guarantees. The total guarantees in the deal add up to $52.5MM and will get locked in by March 2018. Jones is eight months younger than Vernon and all parties involved here know that he’s looking at a monster payday if he reaches the open market. That’s why the Cardinals won’t take any chances.
Coaching Rumors: Shanahan, Rams, Broncos
It’s a New Year and a new start for many teams on the sidelines. With a zillion interviews being requested today, we’ll run down the latest coaching rumors and requests here:
- The Rams and Broncos have requested permission to talk to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. GM John Elway says the team will consider “three or four” candidates for the job, which means that Shanahan is on the short list. It will be interesting to see if the rocky relationship between Elway and Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, plays a role in his candidacy.
- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians confirmed that the Bills and Rams have asked permission to interview offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin (Twitter link via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). As previously reported, the Jaguars will interview Goodwin today.
- The Bills will make a push for former Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. La Canfora, like many, expects Anthony Lynn to shed the “interim” title this offseason and take over as head coach.
- The Rams have requested interviews with Lynn and Matt Patricia (Patriots defensive coordinator), according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
- The Jaguars will interview Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith for their head coaching vacancy, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
- Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said teams have contacted Miami about talking to Vance Joseph for head coaching jobs, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.
Broncos Won’t Consider Assistants For HC Job
No one currently on the Broncos’ coaching staff will be considered for the newly-opened head coaching job, GM John Elway told reporters today. The Broncos are looking for a new head coach after Gary Kubiak announced that he’ll be stepping away from the position. 
Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis served as interim coach when Kubiak was forced to miss a game in October, but he apparently won’t be getting an interview. Same goes for offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, even though Phillips has previous head coaching experience with Dallas. Elway says that he hopes to retain the team’s assistants, though Phillips’ contract is set to expire. It’s also not a given that the next head coach will want to keep the current staff in tact. Without naming names, Elway said are three or four candidates that the team is “excited about.”
Meanwhile, Kubiak confirmed that he is retiring from coaching – not just stepping down from his current job. An emotional Kubiak said he’ll find other ways to spend his time and also said that he’ll be “okay” despite speculation about his health situation.
Eagles Will Keep Pederson, Roseman
The Rams, 49ers, Jaguars, Chargers, Bills, and Broncos are all in search of their next head coach. The Eagles won’t create a seventh NFL head coaching vacancy this offseason. The Eagles will retain coach Doug Pederson as well as executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman and vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas, according to a team source who spoke with Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 
[RELATED: Darren Sproles Likely To Retire Following 2017 Season]
Although the Eagles were hoping to do better than 7-9 this year, few expected the team to fire Pederson after just one year at the helm. Roseman only recently wrestled back control of the front office after the Chip Kelly ouster and there wasn’t much talk of him getting the boot either. Roseman has been with the organization since 2000 and has a strong relationship with team owners. Of course, the return of Pederson, Roseman, and Douglas doesn’t mean that there won’t be other changes made.
“I’m going to evaluate everything,” Pederson said recently when asked about potential staff changes. “Obviously right now, nothing, but we’re just going to get into the offseason and we’re going to take some time to evaluate, but I don’t anticipate anything.”
The Eagles’ first-round pick (No. 12) is owned by the Browns. However, they’ll be picking at either No. 14 or No. 15 thanks to the pick they acquired from the Vikings in the Sam Bradford trade.
Baalke Blocked 49ers From Drafting Dak Prescott
This probably didn’t help Trent Baalke‘s case in San Francisco. Apparently, Chip Kelly and others within the organization wanted to draft Dak Prescott last spring but Baalke didn’t pull the trigger, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Ultimately, that was one of the final straws for Baalke and he was fired after a dreadful 2-14 season.
Of course, it was the Cowboys who drafted Prescott in the fourth round and he has put together a jaw-dropping rookie campaign. Through 17 weeks of regular season action, Prescott appears to be the best QB in his class, ahead of No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff, No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz, and first round pick Paxton Lynch. Pro Football Focus has Prescott ranked as the 12th best QB in the NFL for the 2016 season, ahead of notables like Ryan Tannehill, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, and Philip Rivers. Colin Kaepernick, meanwhile, earned a poor overall grade of 61.9, placing him 27th amongst qualified QBs. After watching Prescott throw for 3,667 yards and 23 touchdowns against just four interceptions, 49ers ownership couldn’t help but wonder how different things would have been if Baalke was on board with the Mississippi St. product.
The 49ers had multiple opportunities to grab Prescott, but instead they are entering the offseason with no clear answer at the position. Blaine Gabbert and Kaepernick fizzled this year and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft might not help their quarterback dilemma considering the dearth of quality QBs. UNC’s Mitch Trubisky is widely considered to be the best signal caller in this year’s unimpressive crop.
49ers Targeting Tom Cable, Others For HC Job
Josh McDaniels isn’t the only candidate on the 49ers’ list. The team is also looking to bring in Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, Jaguars interim coach Doug Marrone, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco.
The Jets interviewed Cable for their head coaching vacancy before the 2015 season, but he did not receive any interviews last offseason. Cable, of course, offers head coaching experience after nearly three years at the helm in Oakland. From 2008-2010, the Raiders went 17-27 under Cable and never finished higher than third in the AFC West.
Meanwhile, the top GM candidates right now are Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, and Seahawks co-player personnel directors Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.
CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe are leading the search to fill both vacancies. After witnessing years of discord between former coach Jim Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke (and perhaps some disagreement between Baalke and recent ex-coach Chip Kelly), the 49ers may opt for a ready-made GM/coach combo like McDaniels and Caserio. McDaniels appears to be one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market this offseason and Caserio has been viewed as a rising front office star for the last couple of years.
Rams Ask To Interview Doug Marrone
The Rams are requesting permission to interview Jaguars’ interim head coach Doug Marrone for their own head coaching job, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
It’s not an automatic that the Jaguars will grant L.A.’s request since Marrone is a candidate to take over as head coach. Marrone had dinner with owner Shad Khan recently to discuss the job and a second meeting is likely on the horizon, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Khan has consulted with a number of people about the matter and one Super Bowl-winning coach advised him to promote Marrone (Twitter link).
The Rams are said to be looking to make a splashy hire, and Marrone may be a longshot in a search that will include 8-10 candidates in total. At minimum, however, the request could ratchet up the pressure on Khan and help Marrone’s case for taking over as head coach in Jacksonville.
Reportedly, if Sean Payton and the Saints part ways, Marrone will be in the mix for that job as well.
RELATED:
Rams To Interview Sean McVay
In a league that is continually going younger on the field, the Rams might take that trend to the sidelines and hire a babyfaced coach. Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay, who is still just 30 years old, will interview with the Rams this week, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. That meeting will likely go down on Thursday, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Josh McDaniels To Interview WIth Rams]
McVay is widely credited with developing Kirk Cousins into a top quarterback and the Rams are eyeing him as someone who could help groom Jared Goff into a franchise guy. Cousins himself has praised McVay for his leadership skills and offensive knowledge.
“I could be here a long time talking about Sean’s help in my development and his ability to call plays for our offense and lead our offense,” Cousins said in August. “In the 2015 offseason I was coming off a year when I had been benched halfway through and was going into the next year with the chance to really only compete as a backup. I was a little disappointed with that and Sean was a great encourager through that process, challenging me to stay the course. I think his belief in me and his support and his encouragement was what enabled me to eventually have the opportunities that I had.”
Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is also a likely interview candidate for Los Angeles, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. All in all, the Rams are expected to interview 8-10 candidates.
RELATED:
McDaniels To Interview With Rams, Jags, 49ers
Josh McDaniels is a popular man. As the Patriots offensive coordinator gears up for the playoffs, he’ll interview for three vacancies towards the end of this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Rams, Jaguars, and 49ers will all speak with the highly sought after coaching candidate. 
[RELATED: Three Teams Reach Out To McDaniels]
Over the weekend, we learned that all three teams reached out McDaniels and we now have confirmation that he will meet with all three. McDaniels is reportedly likely to take a head coaching job this offseason and each of these openings have their perks. The Rams job could be particularly appealing for the Pats’ OC, provided that he has a high opinion of quarterback Jared Goff. McDaniels could instead prefer the idea of resurrecting Blake Bortles‘ career or starting fresh with a quarterback of his choosing in San Francisco.
Last week, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen wrote that McDaniels is not a likely fit for the Jaguars. Regardless, Jacksonville will meet with him this week since this could be the last chance for all interested teams to meet with McDaniels if the Patriots reach the Super Bowl.
2017 NFL Draft Order
The Browns almost blew it yesterday. In the regular season finale, the Browns took the Steelers to overtime before ultimately losing 27-24. Had they won, the Browns would have been picking at No. 2 instead of the top position. Meanwhile, the Jaguars nearly slipped to No. 5, but they held their ground in the draft order when they lost 24-20 to the Colts. Phew.
The playoffs will help determine the bottom 12 picks, but the draft order has now been set for most of the NFL. Here is the list, with ties being broken by strength of schedule:
1. Browns (1-15)
2. 49ers (2-14)
3. Bears (3-13)
4. Jaguars (3-13)
5. Titans (via the 4-12 Rams)
6. Jets (5-11)
7. Chargers (5-11)
8. Panthers (6-10)
9. Bengals (6-9-1)
10. Bills (7-9)
11. Saints (7-9)
12. Browns (via the 7-9 Eagles)
13. Cardinals (7-8-1)
T-14. Eagles (via the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings)
T-14. Colts (8-8) (Note: The Vikings and Colts have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broke by coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 14 and the other team getting the No. 15 pick.)
16. Ravens (8-8)
17. Redskins (8-7-1)
18. Titans (9-7)
19. Buccaneers (9-7)
20. Broncos (9-7)