Extra Points: Saints, Strief, Patriots, Flores
Saints right tackle Zach Strief is considering retirement, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate writes.
“The reality is that we all love some part of this game and there’s a part of that that’s just in us,” Strief said. “So it makes it very difficult always when that happens, when that time comes. And like I said, I think take some time, really make that decision away from football and make it with your family. When it is time, I will have no regrets. I know that when I decide that this has gone on so much longer and so much better than I ever could have imagined.”
Strief still feels like he can play at a high level and believes that his 2016 campaign was among his best. However, 2017 was a trying year for him after he suffered major knee injuries in the fall. If Strief walks away this offseason, the Saints will have to prioritize the RT position in the spring.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- If Arizona ultimately hires Patriots‘ linebackers coach Brian Flores head coach, New England would become the first NFL team to lose three assistant coaches to head coaching jobs in the same offseason, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. It is expected that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will become the Colts’ next head coach while defensive coordinator Matt Patricia appears to be headed for the Lions. Flores’ odds of getting the Cardinals’ top job improved on Wednesday morning when Mike Munchak declined to return for a second interview.
- Former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell could be a candidate for the Bears’ quarterbacks coach position, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Matt Nagy and Bevell have a common link in that they both have history with Brad Childress. Nagy is close with Childress and Bevell served as Childress’ offensive coordinator in Minnesota.
- The Texans have parted ways with Jason Lowrey as their director of football operations, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Lowrey was close with former GM Rick Smith and new GM Brian Gaine likely has someone else in mind for the position.
Patriots Re-Sign PR Bernard Reedy
The Patriots announced that they have re-signed punt returner Bernard Reedy. Reedy will be eligible to play in this weekend’s AFC title game against the Jaguars. 
The Pats will have to make a roster move in order to bring Reedy back into the fold. That will likely be accomplished by placing cornerback Jonathan Jones on IR. On Wednesday afternoon, New England opted against activating wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell from injured reserve, which cleared the way for Reedy to rejoin the team.
Reedy, 26, spent 2017 with the Patriots and Bucs. In total, he returned 18 punts for 175 yards plus seven kickoffs for 145 yards.
The Toledo product caught on with the Pats’ taxi squad in November after the Bucs ended his lengthy Tampa Bay stay. Despite being with the Bucs since the 2015 season, the former 2014 UDFA only saw live action in ’17.
Patriots Won’t Activate Malcolm Mitchell
The Patriots have decided against activating Malcolm Mitchell in advance of the Wednesday deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. That means that Mitchell will be out of action for the AFC championship game as well as the Super Bowl, should the Patriots make it. 
This was the expected outcome as Mitchell did not suit up for Wednesday morning’s practice. Ideally, the Patriots would have liked to have the 24-year-old on the field. As a rookie in 2016, Mitchell had 32 catches for 401 yards and four touchdowns. This year, he was set to have a larger role in the offense before a nagging knee injury sidelined him in the preseason.
The Pats brought Mitchell back on the practice field in late December, giving them three weeks to decide whether to activate him. In theory, the Patriots could have put him on the 53-man roster and left him on the bench for the AFC title game, giving them the option of playing him in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. Ultimately, they felt that they would rather preserve their depth elsewhere with a healthy player.
Heading into the big game against the Jaguars, the Patriots still have a solid cast of receivers including Brandin Cooks, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Kenny Britt, Dwayne Allen, and Chris Hogan.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Dolphins, Landry
The Patriots are on the verge of losing both of their coordinators, Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels, to head coaching jobs. Will things roughly stay the same, even after two of the league’s most talented young assistants move on?
“I mean, I believe so,” said Patriots captain Duron Harmon (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com). “The culture is built. The culture is built. This is two decades of winning. A winning franchise. Coach Belichick is going to make sure whoever is in the defensive room is going to be the right guy to display the message and the picture that he wants his defense to play with. That goes through the defensive coordinator, whoever he hires.”
Replacing both Patricia and McDaniels will be a tall task, but the belief in Foxboro is that Bill Belichick will be able to keep things moving with new coaches in each role. For now, that’s all on the backburner as the Pats get set for the conference title game against Jacksonville.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Jarvis Landry‘s upcoming negotiations with the Dolphins will be about more than just money, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. The wide receiver has been productive, but he also loses focus at times and doesn’t run the right routes. He has also allowed his emotions to get the best of him at times and the team is worried about how he’ll hold up in the long run. Sources have described Landry as “a pain” to deal with and “hard to reach,” according to Salguero. Of course, money will still be a major factor in talks. Big name receivers like Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, Davante Adams, and Demaryius Thomas average between $14-14.5MM per season and Landry believes he deserves to be in that group or perhaps make more. The Dolphins, meanwhile, might prefer to pay him something in the neighborhood of $10-$11MM/year. Ultimately, it sounds like there is a disparity between how the Dolphins view Landry and how Landry views himself. The Dolphins probably see Landry as being a very good wide receiver, but not in the same tier as, say, Antonio Brown.
- The Dolphins are trying to pluck defensive line coach Kris Kocurek from the Lions after receiving permission to interview him, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Kocurek coached Ndamukong Suh for five years in Detroit, so he could help Miami get the most out of the mercurial defensive tackle.
- It sounds like the Jets could move on from tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins this offseason.
- Over the weekend, the Bills hired a new offensive coordinator.
- The Dolphins hired a new running backs coach on Wednesday.
AFC Notes: Steelers, Haley, Dolphins
Here’s a look at the AFC:
- Quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner is considered the favorite to take over for Todd Haley as the Steelers‘ new offensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Rapoport notes that Fichtner is close with offensive line coach Mike Munchak as well as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which could give him the leg up. However, no decision has been made yet.
- Kirby Wilson, the Steelers‘ running backs coach under Mike Tomlin during his first seven seasons with Pittsburgh, is another candidate to replace Haley as OC, Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette (on Twitter) hears. Interestingly, Munchak’s name has not come up as a OC candidate yet, even though he declined a second interview with the Cardinals on Wednesday.
- Former Denver assistant head coach/running backs Eric Studesville is headed to the Dolphins as running backs coach/run game coordinator (Twitter link via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com). Studesville has ties to Dolphins head coach Adam Gase since both men were on the Broncos’ staff together both under Josh McDaniels and John Fox.
Steelers To Hire New Offensive Coordinator
The Steelers are allowing offensive coordinator Todd Haley to walk now that his contract has expired, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The team will now look to hire a new OC. 
[RELATED: Ben Roethlisberger To Play 3 More Years?]
The Steelers may have a couple of in-house candidates to replace Haley. One is quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner, who was previously assigned to act as a “buffer” between Ben Roethlisberger and Haley on the sidelines. The other is offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who appears to have withdrawn his name from consideration for the Cardinals’ head coaching vacancy.
On the whole, Haley’s offense has been a success in Pittsburgh, but his bickering with Big Ben and off-the-field incidents have tested the patience of his superiors. Haley’s latest unfortunate headline came when he suffered a shattered pelvis during a barroom brawl on New Year’s Eve.
Mike Munchak Declines Second Interview With Cardinals
Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak has turned down the chance for a second head coaching interview with the Cardinals, a source tells Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). With Munchak out of consideration for the job, Patriots linebacker coach Brian Flores is now a leading candidate for the job. 
It’s not immediately clear why Munchak has removed himself from consideration for the Cardinals job. As PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker shows, Munchak is also a candidate for the Giants’ head coaching vacancy, but that job likely belongs to Pat Shurmur. With rumors swirling about Todd Haley‘s departure, one has to wonder if Munchak is in the mix to become the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator.
Munchak went just 22-26 in three seasons as the Titans’ head coach, but was said to have made a great impression on Cardinals brass. The Cardinals will now dig deeper into Flores – despite his lack of coordinator experience – as well as Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
Steelers, Mike Hilton Agree To Extension
The Steelers announced that cornerback Mike Hilton has agreed to a one-year extension. Hilton was scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent in March, meaning that he was likely to be back on a one-year deal anyway. The move is something of a formality, though it does speak to his increased importance to the team. 
[RELATED: Todd Haley’s Contract With Steelers Expires]
Hilton served as Pittsburgh’s primary nickel cornerback in 2018 and played in more than 58% of the team’s snaps. He was productive in that role, amassing 64 tackles, four sacks (three of which came in the Steelers’ late season win over the Texans), two picks, and one forced fumble. Hilton ranked as the 27th best corner in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and placed higher than teammates Artie Burns (44th) and Joe Haden (52nd).
Fellow would-be ERFAs Xavier Grimble and Kameron Canaday also inked one-year extensions with the Steelers this week.
Falcons To Retain OC Steve Sarkisian
Despite some iffy play-calling decisions in 2017, Steve Sarkisian is expected to return as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator in 2018, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). 
This news doesn’t come as a huge shock, particularly after head coach Dan Quinn shot down the notion of Sarkisian being a candidate for the Seahawks’ OC vacancy back when it was still open. Still, the Falcons offense appeared to take a step back under his watch. In 2016, Matt Ryan won the MVP trophy under Kyle Shanahan‘s guidance and the Falcons put up 415.8 yards and 33.8 poins per contest. This past season, Ryan regressed and the team averaged less than 365 yards per game with 22.1 points each week. The Falcons went 0-7 in games in which they failed to score 20 points, making Sarkisian a target for criticism.
Despite the wishes of some Atlanta fans, Sarkisian will don the headset for a second season. From the sound of Rapoport’s report, that could be made official in a year-end press conference this week.
Drew Brees Not Planning To Test Market
Drew Brees is scheduled to reach free agency in March and could potentially cash in on the open market. However, Brees sounds inclined to sign a new deal with the Saints before the new league year begins on March 14. 
“I’m not in the mood to make anything secretive,” Brees said. “It’s the same way I felt two days ago. It’s the same way I felt 12 years ago. That is that I’ll be here as long as they’ll have me, hopefully.”
Few expected Brees to leave the Saints this offseason, but it’s surprising to hear Brees dismiss the idea of at least testing free agency. If Brees signs an extension without collecting offers from suitors, he could be leaving significant money on the table. Then again, Brees already has nearly $200MM in NFL earnings to his credit, so getting top dollar is not a priority for him. Instead, it sounds like Brees – who turned 39 on Monday – would prefer to return to the Saints for a shot at another Super Bowl ring without uprooting his family.
The Super Bowl XLIV MVP could have been in line for another championship appearance if not for last week’s Minneapolis Miracle. Brees had another spectacular season in 2017, finishing out with a league-high 72.0% completion rate and 7.53 yards per passing attempt. After earning his eleventh career Pro Bowl nod, the veteran is showing no signs of slowing down.