Bill Belichick “Absolutely” Will Stay With Patriots
Bad news for those of you who were hoping that the Patriots dynasty would be coming to an end this year. Bill Belichick told reporters on Monday morning that he “absolutely” plans to continue as the Patriots’ head coach into the 2018 regular season. 
Last week, an explosive piece from ESPN.com detailed a major rift within the Patriots organization. Belichick reportedly was forced to trade Jimmy Garoppolo during the season at the behest of owner Robert Kraft, perhaps with some urging by Tom Brady. Meanwhile, Brady and Belichick were said to be at odds over the constant presence of Brady’s trainer and his meddling with the recovery methods of other players on the roster. The events of the past year have led some within the building to wonder if this is Belichick’s final year on the New England sideline, according to the report.
For now, Belichick is putting such talk to rest. The Patriots begin their bid for yet another championship on Saturday when they take on the Titans.
Browns To Pursue Eliot Wolf
Green Bay director of football operations Eliot Wolf lost out on the Packers GM job this week when Brian Gutekunst was given the promotion instead. If Wolf is feeling underappreciated, he may have opportunities to take his talents elsewhere. The Browns are planning to pursue the 35-year-old executive, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. 
New Browns GM John Dorsey spent his playing career and much of his front office career with the Packers, so he has history with both Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf and his son. The younger Wolf grew up around the team and is said to have began writing scouting reports on players at the age of 14.
The Browns and Wolf sound like a natural fit, but that union can only come together with the blessing of the Packers since Wolf is under contract. The Packers reserve the right to refuse any offer put in front of Wolf, with the exception of GM offers. Since the Browns already have their GM in Dorsey, they’d need some professional courtesy out of Green Bay to make it happen.
Raiders Hire Jon Gruden As Head Coach
It’s officially official. The Raiders have announced that Jon Gruden is their new head coach. They’ll (re) introduce Gruden to Oakland media in a Tuesday press conference.
Recently, Gruden admitted there is a “good chance” that he’ll become the next coach of the Raiders. However, he denied reports indicating that he will wind up with a piece of team ownership as part of the deal. Even without minority ownership, this is a colossal deal for Gruden. It’s a ten-year contract likely to be worth about $100MM, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The sum of Gruden’s contract is jaw-dropping, but he provides a great deal of value to the Raiders outside of football. His presence will keep the fanbase in Oakland engaged for the next two years before the move to Las Vegas. Once they arrive in Nevada, Gruden’s popularity could boost ticket sales and the value of local media rights packages.
From a football perspective, Gruden offers familiarity with team ownership and a winning pedigree. It’s also an opportunity for the Raiders to rewrite history. Under Gruden, the Raiders reached the playoffs twice, ascending to the AFC Championship game in the 2000 season before their heartbreaking loss to the Patriots in the following year. In 2002, the Raiders traded Gruden to the Buccaneers for a whopping package that included two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and $8MM in cash. That season, of course, gave us the Gruden Bowl. Gruden’s Bucs blew the doors off of the Raiders and won by a score of 48-21.
One can’t help but wonder how the late Al Davis would feel about all of this. The Raiders owner always had a pension for defying popular thought, but his reluctance to dole out exorbitant salaries to coaches is what led to Gruden’s departure in the first place. Fifteen years later, Gruden is back in Oakland with a record-breaking contract.
Unlike the Cardinals, Bears, Lions, Colts, and Giants, the Raiders did not cast a wide net in their coaching search. This week, the team interviewed incumbent tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and met with one other unknown candidate to fulfill the Rooney Rule. With that obligation out of the way, the Raiders are set to announce the signing of the only coach they were ever interested in hiring.
Already, Gruden’s staff is taking shape. The Raiders will hire Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson as their offensive coordinator and former Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther as their new DC, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). And, as previously reported, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia will be moving from Dallas to Oakland.
The deals for each coordinator will be four years in length, giving them two years in Oakland and two years in Las Vegas, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deals will also be backloaded in order to capitalize on the absence of state income taxes in Nevada, Michael Gehlken of the Journal-Review tweets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles Deny Texans Permission To Interview Joe Douglas
The Eagles denied the Texans permission to interview their VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). As shown in PFR’s GM Search Tracker, Douglas was one of seven execs tied to the job.
[RELATED: PFR’S 2018 GM Search Tracker]
Unless Howie Roseman surprises everyone by retiring, there’s no plausible way that Douglas can ascend to the Eagles’ top job. However, the Eagles could keep Douglas happy with some combination of a pay bump, a shiny new title, and maybe a tacit promise to be the heir apparent to Roseman, whenever that day comes.
Douglas joined the Eagles in 2016 and he’s already impressed ownership with his acumen. This past year, Roseman granted Douglas additional control over the team’s draft board.
Bills exec Brian Gaine is said to be the favorite for the job in Houston. Packers exec Brian Gutekunst, an exceptionally qualified candidate, will interview with the team on Sunday.
Lions Likely To Hire Matt Patricia
It sounds like Matt Patricia is ready to leave the nest. The Patriots are bracing for their defensive coordinator to leave, most likely to become the next head coach of the Lions, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
As shown in PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Patricia is up for three jobs with the Lions, Cardinals, and Giants all showing interest. If the Lions are indeed hiring him, they’ll have to wait until the Patriots’ season is officially over to put pen to paper. However, they could reach a handshake agreement with him before that point.
Patricia has been praised for his defensive acumen and his pre-existing relationship with GM Bob Quinn gives him an advantage over others who are up for the job. If Patricia is the hire in Detroit, it will have a ripple effect across the league and possibly displace incumbent coordinators Jim Bob Cooter (offense) and Teryl Austin (defense). Both Austin and Cooter met with the team about a potential promotion to HC.
The Patriots’ postseason gets underway next Saturday in the divisional round.
Former Packers WR Jared Abbrederis Retires
Jared Abbrederis will not seek NFL employment in 2018. The former Packers wide receiver took to Twitter on Saturday to announce his retirement. 
“As fun as the ride has been, my time has come to hang up the cleats and to start the next chapter of my life,” Abbrederis wrote. “To grow up in Wisconsin, walk on for the Badgers, and get drafted by the Packers has been such an amazing journey. As a four-year-old I had dreams of playing in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, however, I never thought that 20 years later I would actually be living out those dreams!”
Abbrederis is only 27, but he is walking away from the game after suffering multiple injuries on the field. While in Green Bay, suffered a torn ACL and missed his entire rookie season. In the following year, he missed a good chunk of time with a concussion and rib injuries. In 2017, which turned out to be his final NFL season, he suited up in seven games for the Lions. Abbrederis had three grabs for 44 yards on the year.
It’s not immediately clear what Abbrederis has planned next or whether it will involve football.
Coaching Rumors: Cardinals, Bears, Bengals
After the Titans’ exciting victory over the Chiefs, one has to imagine that coach Mike Mularkey is off the hot seat. Still, there are a number of head coaching vacancies left around the league.
Here are the latest coaching rumors from around the NFL:
- Mike Munchak‘s interview with the Cardinals will take place on Sunday, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- If hired by the Bears, John DeFilippo would be be willing to retain Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, Peter Schrager of NFL Network (on Twitter) hears. The Bears want Fangio back, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter) adds, but other teams and head coaching candidates are interested in bringing him on staff.
- Linebackers coach Jim Haslett will remain on the Bengals‘ defensive staff, Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). However, Jacob Burney (defensive line) will not be returning, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Shazier, Ravens
Great news for Ryan Shazier. The Steelers linebacker has regained feeling in his legs, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes. Shazier, a two-time Pro Bowler, underwent spinal stabilization surgery in December and is currently going through the rehabilitation process. Shazier’s father hopes to see him playing football again, but he obviously has larger priorities at this time.
Here’s more from the AFC North:
- The Ravens announced that they have signed James Urban as their new quarterbacks coach. Urban spent the last seven years in Cincinnati. “Playing the Bengals twice a year, we’ve seen what a good job James does,” head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “He’s highly regarded around the league, including by Ozzie [Newsome] and Marty [Mornhinweg]. We were all excited when he became available.”
- Ravens wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is a prime cap casualty candidate, ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley writes. In 2017, Maclin had career lows in catches and yards. The Ravens can save $5MM in cap room by cutting him before his $1MM roster bonus kicks in on March 16th. Right now, they’re projected to have just $12MM in cap room in 2018. Other cap casualty candidates include cornerback Brandon Carr ($4MM in cap savings), tackle Austin Howard ($3MM in savings), running back Danny Woodhead ($1.8MM in savings), safety Lardarius Webb ($1.75MM in savings), wide receiver Breshad Perriman ($1.62MM in savings), and linebacker Albert McClellan ($1.25MM in savings).
- NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says the league is conducting a “routine follow-up” on Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, as Mike Florio of PFT writes. It’s not often that coaches come under league scrutiny for off-the-field behavior, but Haley has a history of strange incidents. He has two other barroom incidents in his past plus multiple lawsuits that have been brought against him.
Patriots’ Bill Belichick Makes $10MM+ Year
Jon Gruden‘s ten-year, $100MM contract with the Raiders raised some eyebrows around the NFL, but Chucky may not be the league’s highest-paid coach. Bill Belichick collects $10MM/year from the Patriots, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Ryan Hannable of WEEI). That figure may actually be as high as $12.5MM, Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter) hears. 
It’s not often that we discuss a coach’s salary on Pro Football Rumors, but Belichick’s pay is worth noting in the wake of Gruden’s mega contract and rumors of discord in New England. Patriots owner Robert Kraft may have to smooth things over between Belichick, Tom Brady, and other key figures within the organization, but the fact that Belichick makes as much or more than Gruden should remove at least one complication. If Gruden was earning more per year than Belichick, then the multiple-time Super Bowl winning coach/GM would have had a strong case for a pay bump.
It had been reported that Belichick was angry with Kraft because he was forced to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers during the season. That may not be the case, as Kraft told Peter King of The MMQB that the decision was made by BB himself. Belichick, Kraft, and Brady say that they “stand united” in the face of these “unsubstantiated” theories, but only time will tell whether everyone is on the same page.
Cowboys QB Kellen Moore To Retire
Kellen Moore is calling it a career. The Cowboys quarterback will retire and become the team’s new QBs coach., a source tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. 
Moore, 29 in July, was cut by the Cowboys during the season. In October, he signed on with the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Although Moore’s career began in 2012, he has only three career appearances. Of course, he was in line to start in 2016 when Tony Romo was injured, but an injury of his own opened the door for rookie sensation Dak Prescott. With Dallas, Moore went 0-2 as a starter with four touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 58.7% completion rate.
Moore will now replace Wade Wilson, who is on an expiring contract and will not be brought back. Moore does not have coaching experience, but he did spent five of his six NFL seasons under the tutelage of Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Moore was not blessed with the tools of other NFL QBs, but his football IQ that kept him in Dallas for multiple seasons. He’ll now apply that knowhow on the sidelines.