David Montgomery To Enter NFL Draft
Iowa State’s David Montgomery is going pro. This week, the running back announced that he’ll forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. 
Montgomery rushed for 1,216 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Cyclones in 2018. The early belief is that he could be in the mix for the first round, depending on how things shake out. At the moment, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Montgomery as the No. 4 RB in draft while Todd McShay has him ranked third. Meanwhile, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller sees Montgomery as the most NFL-ready of any RB prospect and has him ranked first ahead of Alabama’s Damien Harris and Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary.
Montgomery’s work ethic may also propel him to the first round.
“People will judge David by what he does on the football field, but there’s another part of him that’s pretty darn impressive,” coach Matt Campbell said. “David is relentless at his craft. We have to almost literally get him out of this (football) facility at night, because he wants to be here constantly.”
Cardinals To Interview Kliff Kingsbury
Former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury will interview with the Cardinals for their head coaching job on Tuesday, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kingsbury was reportedly blocked from interviews by USC, who recently hired him to be their offensive coordinator, but the Jets and Cardinals have found some sort of work around. 
After Kingsbury’s interview with Gang Green on Monday, no one is quite sure about his employment status. As far as we know, he’s still signed up to be the offensive coordinator of the Trojans, but it’s possible that he has resigned from the post in order to pursue his NFL dreams.
Kingsbury built a reputation for innovative and explosive schemes at Texas Tech, but he would be an out-of-the-box hire for the Cardinals or the Jets. Then again, the Cardinals also have young offensive wizard Zac Taylor on the radar, so they’re not squarely locked in on head coaching retreads.
In addition to Kingsbury and Taylor, other known candidates for the job include Jim Caldwell, Dan Campbell, and Adam Gase.
Falcons Offer OC Job To Dirk Koetter
Dirk Koetter may be going back to Atlanta. The Falcons offered the offensive coordinator position to Koetter, the former Buccaneers head coach and one-time Falcons OC. 
If Koetter and the Falcons finalize the deal, he’ll take over for the vacancy left by the firing of Steve Sarkisian. He was one of three known candidates to interview for the job, along with former Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and experienced coach Mike Mularkey.
The Falcons stressed consistency this offseason and going back to the future with Koetter should help achieve that goal.
“We’re not having wholesale changes on how we play in terms of a system,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said last week. “Not only is it important for the players and the staff, but also for Thomas (Dimitroff) and his staff as well in terms of the players that we’re scouting for, to fit the system. I think adaptability is probably the top factor going in.”
Koetter was a hot head coaching candidate a few years ago after he was widely credited with doing a great job coordinating the Falcons’ offense, but things never worked out in Tampa Bay. He went 9-7 his first year but that mark slipped to 5-11 last year and he was very nearly fired at the end of last season.
Coaching Rumors: Packers, LaFleur, Rhule
Matt LaFleur has the Packers job and he has Rams coach Sean McVay to thank. The two are close friends and it’s likely that McVay lobbied for him, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets.
McVay employed LaFleur as his offensive coordinator in 2017, but McVay called the plays himself. Then, last offseason, he allowed LaFleur to fly the coop and call plays for the Titans. Without that stepping stone, LaFleur probably wouldn’t have gotten the big gig in Green Bay.
Meanwhile, the Packers are over the moon about LaFleur because his offensive focus will allow the club to keep defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the rest of the staff, provided that LaFleur is not keen on making major changes.
Here’s the latest round of coaching rumors from around the NFL:
- The Packers interview was the only known meeting for Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, so the LaFleur hire likely means that McDaniels will return to the Pats for another year, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. McDaniels did have one other request from the Bengals, but he turned them down.
- Two other teams looking for head coaches believe that Baylor’s Matt Rhule is the Jets‘ top target, Manish Mehta of the Daily News tweets. An interview is likely coming soon, though no date has been set just yet.
- Dolphins GM Chris Grier has long thought highly of Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald hears. Furthermore, another source believes Flores is near the top, or perhaps at the top, of the Dolphins’ wishlist. Flores talked with the Fins on Saturday.
Jets Interview Jim Caldwell
The Jets interviewed Jim Caldwell for the club’s head coaching vacancy, according to a team announcement. Caldwell most recently served as the Lions’ head coach from 2014-17, but also had a multi-year stint with the Colts. 
Caldwell has been on the Jets’ radar for a while now, but they did not solidify a scheduled time to meet until recently. Caldwell, admittedly, would not be the sexiest choice, but he would offer experience and likely would not seek total control over the 53-man roster. Many of the other names in this year’s pool may want that power, but ownership says that GM Mike Maccagnan will continue to have full authority over personnel.
The Lions made the postseason twice during Caldwell’s tenure in Detroit. And, with the Colts, his teams went 26-22 with one AFC title and two divisional championships.
The Jets previously announced completed interviews with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, and Cowboys defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Kris Richard.
Ravens, John Harbaugh Working On Extension
Maybe John Harbaugh is staying put after all. The Ravens are making progress on extension talks with their head coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Nothing is done yet, but both sides are encouraged by where things stand at the moment. 
[RELATED: PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Despite a group of quality free agent coaches and available coordinators, multiple teams have considered the possibility of trading for Harbaugh. The Buccaneers and Dolphins are seriously mulling the idea of forfeiting draft compensation for the one-time Super Bowl winning coach, but they’ll have to concentrate on their other targets instead if Harbaugh re-ups in Baltimore.
Right now, it sounds as though Harbaugh and the Ravens will spend a 12th year together. Through eleven seasons, Harbaugh owns a 104-72 record (.591) as the Ravens’ head coach with seven playoff appearances.
Chargers To Activate TE Hunter Henry
The Chargers have officially activated tight end Hunter Henry to the 53-man roster. He’ll eligible to play on Sunday against the Patriots, just eight months after tearing his ACL. To make room for Henry on the active roster, the team placed linebacker Jatavis Brown, who went down with an ankle injury in the team’s Week 17 win over the Broncos, on injured reserve. 
Monday was the deadline for Los Angeles to activate Henry thanks to the 21-day window that opened when he resumed practicing. If he was not activated, the third-year tight end would have been forced to spend rest of the season on the PUP list. The good news is that Henry was not held out of Saturday’s game against the Ravens due to any setback. Instead, the Chargers simply decided to play it safe with one of their star offensive players.
Assuming he’s fully healthy, or somewhat close to it, the Chargers are expected to get Henry involved in the passing game. The Bolts could exploit the Patriots’ weak coverage across the middle of the field and give their D something extra to think about in addition to their other aerial weapons and Melvin Gordon‘s slick running.
After hauling in 81 catches for 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first two seasons of his career, Henry was primed for a breakout campaign in 2018. His offseason injury robbed him of a chance to truly shine in the regular season, but he’ll now have an opportunity to contribute when it really counts.
Eric Weddle To Retire If Not Back With Ravens
Safety Eric Weddle is hoping to finish out the last year of his contract with the Ravens in 2019. But, if the Ravens won’t have him back, he says he’ll just retire and “ride off into sunset,” (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun). 
Weddle, 34, came to the Ravens in 2016 after he parted ways with the Chargers. His identity was largely intertwined with the Bolts, but he quickly found a fit in Baltimore and, apparently, can’t envision himself playing anywhere else.
Weddle earned his sixth career Pro Bowl nod this year and his age hasn’t slowed him down much, so it would only make sense for the Ravens to want him back. The vet finished out with 68 total tackles, three passes defensed, and graded out at Pro Football Focus’ No. 17 ranked safety in the entire NFL.
For now, Weddle is set to return at a cap figure of $9.25MM. Should the Ravens release him, they’ll save $7.5MM versus just $1.75MM in dead money.
Dolphins Call Off Vic Fangio Interview
Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio won’t be interviewing with the Dolphins after all. A chat was originally slated for Monday, but the Dolphins did not schedule the interview despite doing significant research on him (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
For now, the Broncos are the only known team with interest in Fangio, but one of the other six teams (not counting the Dolphins) could always add him to the list. Fangio offers experience in five different locations as a defensive coordinator and guided a Bears defense that dominated up until Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Eagles.
Fangio is out of the picture, but there are still plenty of intriguing candidates on their list, including Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Latest On Browns, Freddie Kitchens
The Browns are slated to talk to offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens on Monday or Tuesday about their head coaching vacancy, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The interview is more than just due diligence – Rapoport hears that Kitchens has a realistic chance at securing the job. 
Multiple teams have expressed interest in Kitchens as an offensive coordinator candidate, but the Browns have so far denied those requests. That’s an indication that the Browns see Kitchens as a real candidate for the top job. At the very least, the Browns believe they’ll want to keep him in the fold going forward, though an outside big name head coaching hire may want to pick his own OC.
Kitchens never called plays before Hue Jackson and Todd Haley got the boot, but quarterback Baker Mayfield soared under his tutelage once he got the headset. The Browns were reinvigorated with Kitchens and interim head coach Gregg Williams running the show and managed to finish the second half 5-3.
As shown in PFR’s Head Coaching Tracker, Kitchens is going up against several candidates who have a leg up when it comes to experience:
- Jim Caldwell, former head coach (Lions): Interviewed on 1/2
- Dan Campbell, assistant head coach/tight ends (Saints): Interviewed on 1/4
- Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator (Colts): Interviewed on 1/6
- Brian Flores, defensive coordinator (Patriots): Interviewed on 1/5
- Mike McCarthy, former head coach (Packers): To be interviewed
- Mike Munchak, offensive line coach (Steelers): Expected to interview
- Nick Sirianni, offensive coordinator (Colts): Expected to interview
- Kevin Stefanski, offensive coordinator (Vikings): Interviewed on 1/3
- Gregg Williams, interim head coach/defensive coordinator (Browns): Interviewed on 1/1