Jaguars To Conduct GM Interview With Terrance Gray; Internal Candidates In Play?
The list of candidates for the Jaguars’ general manager position continues to grow. As the team searches for Trent Baalke‘s replacement, internal and external staffers are receiving consideration.
Jacksonville will interview Bills vice president of player personnel Terrance Gray this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The summit will take place tomorrow, per Bovada’s Josina Anderson. This will mark the second time Gray has met with an interested team for a GM gig this year. He was a finalist for the Titans’ position before they ultimately tapped Mike Borgonzi for the job.
This is the only GM search remaining, and eight confirmed candidates are in play. Though, more may be on the horizon. Around 10 candidates are believed to be in play, per Rapoport, even though the full list is not yet known. At least one of them is an internal staffer, however. That exec’s name has yet to surface. Interim GM Ethan Waugh remains with the franchise and is playing a key role, albeit as a secondary decision-maker to new HC Liam Coen, during this process.
One of Waugh’s former 49ers coworkers, Josh Williams, will go through with his GM interview Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. The San Francisco scouting director is an interesting candidate, as he worked under Baalke with the NFC West club. Baalke hired Williams during his 49ers GM tenure, and he overlapped with Waugh for several years.
The Jags are set to conduct their first round of interviews over Zoom this week, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, and they are aiming to have a GM in place by the time the Combine begins. The annual Indianapolis-based scouting event is set to start Feb. 24, with position drills beginning on the 27th.
As for Gray, he has been on the GM interview circuit for a bit. In addition to his Titans meetings, the veteran Bills exec met with the Chargers and Raiders last year. He was among the execs to decline a Patriots interview, as a few minority staffers correctly assumed the meetings were to check a Rooney Rule box in order to officially promote Eliot Wolf. Gray has been with the Bills since the first Sean McDermott-Brandon Beane offseason (2017) and has held his current title since 2022.
With Buffalo having won five straight AFC East titles and qualified for the playoffs in seven of the eight seasons since the top duo’s arrival, it makes sense teams continue to look into their staffers. Gray is set to make his case for another AFC team. Via PFR’s GM Search Tracker, is how this process looks as interviews begin:
- Chad Alexander, assistant general manager (Chargers): Interview requested
- Brandon Brown, assistant general manager (Giants): Interview requested
- Trey Brown, senior personnel executive (Bengals): Interview requested
- Ian Cunningham, assistant general manager (Bears): Interview requested
- James Gladstone, scouting director (Rams): Interview requested
- Terrance Gray, vice president of player personnel (Bills): To interview 2/12
- Mike Greenberg, assistant general manager (Buccaneers): Declined interview
- Jon Robinson, former general manager (Titans): One of top candidates?
- Josh Williams, director of scouting and football operations (49ers): To interview 2/11
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order
With Super Bowl LIX in the books, the 2024 campaign has come to a close. The final first-round order for April’s draft is now set as a result.
All 32 teams currently own a Day 1 selection, leaving the door open to each one adding a prospect in the first round for the first time since expansion in 2002. Any number of trades will no doubt take place between now and the draft, though, and it will be interesting to see how teams maneuver in the lead-in to the event. Of course, Tennessee in particular will be worth watching closely with a move to sell off the No. 1 pick being seen as a distinct possibility.
A weak quarterback class will leave teams like the Titans, Browns, Giants and Raiders with plenty of key offseason decisions. The free agent and trade markets do not offer many short-term alternatives which are seen as surefire additions, and teams which do not make moves in March will rely on the incoming group of rookies as part of their efforts to find a long-term solution under center. The two prospects seen as the clear-cut top options in 2025, however, are two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2024 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.
Here is a final look at the first-round order:
- Tennessee Titans (3-14)
- Cleveland Browns (3-14)
- New York Giants (3-14)
- New England Patriots (4-13)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
- Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
- New York Jets (5-12)
- Carolina Panthers (5-12)
- New Orleans Saints (5-12)
- Chicago Bears (5-12)
- San Francisco 49ers (6-11)
- Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
- Miami Dolphins (8-9)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
- Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
- Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
- Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
- Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
- Denver Broncos (10-7)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
- Green Bay Packers (11-6)
- Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
- Houston Texans (10-7)
- Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
- Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
- Detroit Lions (15-2)
- Washington Commanders (12-5)
- Buffalo Bills (13-4)
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Bills To Fire ST Coordinator Matthew Smiley
In the wake of their season-ending in the AFC title game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott offered a vote of confidence in special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley. Buffalo will nevertheless be making a change on the sidelines. 
The Bills are parting ways with Smiley, as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. That represents a notable about-face on McDermott’s part, considering his remarks at the end of the campaign. Smiley had severed as special teams coordinator for the past three seasons.
“Matthew has done a nice job,” McDermott said at his season-ending press conference (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). “Listen, I know there are plays that have come up, and I know he doesn’t feel great about them, nor do I. Those are learning pieces for a coach in his position… All that being said, I’m confident that Coach Smiley is going to learn from those situations and plays that came up this year.”
In spite of that sentiment, Buffalo will make a move in the third phase for 2025. Smiley’s unit was affected by the many defensive injuries the Bills dealt with early in the year in particular, but it still fell short of expectations. Personnel issues were a consistent problem in 2024, a year in which the team allowed a punt block return and a kick return touchdown. Overall, Buffalo’s 30.8 kick return yards allowed on average was the fifth-worst mark in the league.
Smiley, 46, first joined the Bills in 2017 as a special teams assistant. He previously worked in that capacity with the Jaguars from 2013-16 after working as a special teams coordinator on two occasions at the college level. He will now look to find his next opportunity late in the 2025 hiring cycle as McDermott and the Bills seek out a replacement capable of leading a more consistent showing on special teams moving forward.
Bills See RB James Cook As Core Player; Team Plans To Bolster CB Group In Offseason
The Bills see running back James Cook as a “big part” of their future, as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported last month (video link). That is hardly surprising, as Cook has posted a robust 4.9 yards-per-carry average over his first three years in the NFL and led the league in rushing touchdowns (16) in 2024.
Because Cook, a 2022 draftee, is now eligible for an extension, it would be fair to expect Buffalo to engage in contract discussions with the two-time Pro Bowler’s camp this offseason (especially since he is a former second-round pick and does not have a fifth-year option included in his rookie deal). The problem, as Rapoport observes, is that Cook is just one of a number of talented young players whose contract situations may need to be addressed in short order.
Like Cook, linebacker Terrel Bernard, center Connor McGovern, cornerback Christian Benford, and edge defender Gregory Rousseau are all entering platform years, and Rapoport identifies that quintet as a group that could be in line for a new deal. GM Brandon Beane could deploy the franchise tag on one of those players next offseason if need be, but he will still have plenty of work to do to keep a championship-caliber core intact.
Indeed, despite the Bills’ inability to get over a Kansas City-sized hump in the AFC playoff field, Beane understandably is not going to overhaul his roster. In his end-of-season presser following another difficult playoff defeat at the hands of the Chiefs several weeks ago, Beane said he and his staff will “reset” and “recalibrate” as the Bills seek to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 campaign (via Alex White and Maddy Glab of the team’s official website, who also name WR Khalil Shakir as a rising fourth-year pro who might be the target of extension talks).
Part of Beane’s offseason plan will almost certainly include negotiations with at least some members of Buffalo’s 2026 free agent class, but Beane naturally indicated he will first attend to the players who are due to hit the open market next month. That list includes players like midseason trade acquisition Amari Cooper – whose disappointing Buffalo stint did not foreclose the possibility of a new contract keeping the high-profile wideout in western New York – and cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Beane said he will not bloat the Bills’ salary cap picture with expensive contracts in an effort to slay their playoff demons, which is perhaps an indication that Buffalo will once again avoid the deep end of the free agent pool. However, he did concede that he will need to address the team’s outside cornerback position in some way.
The Bills’ lack of depth in that regard was on full display when Benford was injured in the first quarter of this year’s AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs and was lost for the remainder of the contest. That depth will become even more of a concern if the team does not re-sign Douglas.
“Whether it’s extending guys, signing a free agent, or draft allocation, [boundary corner] is one of the areas we would look at,” Beane said.
Underlying all of this is the fact that the Bills could look to give quarterback and newly-minted MVP Josh Allen a pay bump. If such a raise comes as part of an extension or restructure, it could allow the team to reduce Allen’s $43MM cap charge for 2025 and improve their salary cap situation (at present, OverTheCap.com estimates that Buffalo is roughly $14MM over the 2025 cap, the third-worst situation in the league).
Chiefs “Very Interested” In Re-Signing WR Marquise Brown
The Chiefs want to keep Marquise Brown, but the team could face some competition for the wide receiver. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the organization is “very interested” in re-signing the impending free agent.
However, Fowler cautions that Hollywood should have a robust market as teams seek speedy outside receiver options. Several sources even believe an AFC foe could provide the Chiefs with the most competition for Brown’s services, as it’s believed Josh Allen “has long wanted to play” with the wideout.
After finishing his final season in Arizona with a career-low 574 receiving yards, Hollywood seemed to land in a perfect spot to rehabilitate his value. However, after inking his one-year deal in the offseason, Brown suffered a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason that kept him on the shelf for most of the 2024 campaign. He averaged 45.5 receiving yards in his two regular season appearances, and he’s hauled in three catches on seven targets in the postseason.
Considering his 2024 season was all but lost, suitors will presumably be looking to sign Brown to a similar one-year pact. The Chiefs would be a logical favorite to re-sign the receiver, especially since Patrick Mahomes advocated for the signing in the first place. However, if Brown is looking to parlay his next contract into a long-term deal, he may struggle to garner the necessary targets in Kansas City. First-round rookie Xavier Worthy occasionally looked the part of a WR1 in 2024, and the team will also welcome back Rashee Rice in 2025.
The Bills will continue to be connected to available wide receivers in a post-Stefon Diggs era, although the team (and their MVP QB) managed just fine in 2024. While the team is interested in re-signing Amari Cooper, there’s a chance they move on from the midseason acquisition, and veteran Mack Hollins is also set to hit free agency. That leaves second-round rookie Keon Coleman and third-year WR Khalil Shakir as the only guarantees on the depth chart.
AFC Staff Notes: Jets, Jaguars, Bills, Titans
While new regimes have been known to wait until after the draft to make major front office changes, the Jets are acting early to start their Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey run. The team is moving on from two veteran execs. Co-director of player personnel Greg Nejmeh is out after 16 years with the organization, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Jones classifies this as a mutual parting. Senior director of football administration David Socie is done as well, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. Socie had been the Jets’ chief negotiator since 2018, Costello adds, while Nejmeh climbed to his post upon Joe Douglas‘ 2019 GM hire. These moves come a year after the team fired assistant GM Rex Hogan, leaving Mougey with work to do in the front office. Woody Johnson had prevented Douglas from replacing Hogan or Chad Alexander, who left to become Chargers assistant GM, so it will be interesting to see how the Jets move forward here.
Additionally, one of the other veteran presences in the front office — ex-Browns GM Phil Savage — is being retained as a consultant, Costello adds. Savage, who closed the season as Jets interim GM, interviewed for the full-time job as well. It is unclear if Savage is being retained for the long haul, as Costello expects more changes post-draft; the veteran exec has been with the Jets since their Douglas hire. He spent six years as a senior personnel advisor.
Here is the latest from AFC staffs:
- Liam Coen still needs to hire an offensive coordinator, but that to-be-determined Jaguars staffer will oversee a new quarterbacks coach. Spencer Whipple is coming over from the Cardinals to take that job, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A Kliff Kingsbury hire, Whipple stayed on in Arizona under Jonathan Gannon. He had climbed to co-pass-game coordinator under Kingsbury before sliding to the title of pass-game specialist during Gannon’s first two seasons. This will be a key promotion, as Coen will entrust him to help elevate Trevor Lawrence.
- Elsewhere on Coen’s offensive staff, the team is interviewing Vikings assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett for its O-line coaching position, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco notes. This has been a rather difficult position for Coen to fill, as attempts to add Buccaneers staffers Kevin Carberry and Brian Piccuci failed due to Tampa Bay blocking the moves. The Bucs have let it be known they are not letting contracted assistants follow Coen, who departed after indicating he would stay. Sarrett served as Steelers O-line coach from 2019-20, spending nine years with the organization, before settling in as an assistant OL coach. He was with the Chargers during Brandon Staley‘s three seasons in Los Angeles. The Jags also have Rams staffer Zak Kromer on the radar for this gig.
- Former Bears assistant Travis Smith will find his way to Tennessee, joining the Titans as the team’s defensive run-game coordinator. Smith worked as D-line coach under Matt Eberflus for three seasons. Prior to that, he was with the Raiders for 10 years. Smith’s hire comes shortly after the Titans added ex-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie to the front office. Smith arrived in Oakland during McKenzie’s first offseason as Raiders GM.
- The Bills are signing off on a reunion for their defensive staff. Jason Rebrovich is coming back, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, to work as the team’s assistant D-line coach. A Packers staffer for the past three seasons, Rebrovich had previously worked as Bills assistant D-line coach — one of his Buffalo titles during a four-year stay — in 2014. The Bills had hired Rebrovich to work under Doug Marrone and retained him under Rex Ryan. Rebrovich spent the past three seasons with the Packers.
- The Chargers lost their previous safeties coach, Chris O’Leary, to the college level. After O’Leary became the DC at Western Michigan, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel indicates the team has selected his replacement from the ACC. Florida State DC Adam Fuller will fill the position. Fuller had been the Seminoles’ DC for five seasons and has only coached in college, doing so since the late 1990s.
Jaguars Name Tony Boselli VP Of Football Operations, Continue Staff Changes
Shad Khan said last month he hoped to beef up the Jaguars’ front office. Although the owner’s plan changed significantly thanks to the Trent Baalke firing during their HC search, the Jags are making a notable adjustment that will impact their next GM.
Tony Boselli was set to be part of the next Jags front office arrangement, and the team confirmed the move will come with an important title. The Jaguars announced Monday they are naming the Hall of Fame tackle their new executive VP of football operations. The team announcement indicates both Boselli and new HC Liam Coen will report to Khan, giving the new FO figure considerable power.
“Few people have better relationships throughout the NFL, know the game, and understand the value of strong team identity and culture as well as Tony Boselli,” Khan said. “Tony has a wealth of football acumen that we respect and need, and his counsel will be tremendously valuable to me and our football leadership team during this current rebirth and for many seasons to come.”
[RELATED: General Manager Search Tracker]
Boselli is obviously best known for his playing career. The No. 2 overall pick in 1995, Boselli moved from being the first draft choice in Jaguars history to the Hall of Fame. It took a belated bush, reminding of Terrell Davis‘ arc, for Boselli to land in Canton due to having his career cut short by shoulder injuries. Boselli, who earned three first-team All-Pro nods during a golden era for left tackles, also suffered an ACL tear late in the 1999 season.
Boselli, 52. has been with the franchise in the years since, most notably as a radio broadcaster, and has held multiple roles in the health industry. He will now be part of what still appears a Coen-led operation.
“My job is not to be out front; my job is to help Liam Coen, his staff and the new GM to have success,” Boselli said. “That’s all I want to do. That’s all I care about. It’s focused on Liam. I’m going to make sure Liam and that staff he has and the players he brings in have the ultimate success.”
Despite minimal experience compared to most coaches who have the chance to shape a GM search, Coen still looks set hold final-say power as the Jags form a triumvirate of sorts. This differs from how Khan constructed his front office during Tom Coughlin‘s time as executive VP, when he presided over GM Dave Caldwell and HC Doug Marrone. Coughlin’s second Jags stint ended with a dismissal, as player grievances mounted, two-plus years into his tenure.
In addition to Boselli, the Jags are making more moves to fill out Coen’s coaching staff. They are adding Matt Edwards and Anthony Perkins as D-line and DBs coaches, respectively, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. The Jags are also retaining Richard Anguolo as tight ends coach. The Lions inquired about the Doug Pederson holdover staffer, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, but the Jags stepped in and gave Angulo a multiyear extension.
Edwards comes over after a stint as Bills assistant D-line coach; he had spent two seasons with the Raiders and four with the Titans previously. A Packers staffer in 2024, Perkins will jump from the quality control level to take on his first role as an NFL position coach. He was previously coaching Oregon State cornerbacks before joining Matt LaFleur‘s staff. Angulo has been Jacksonville’s TEs coach since 2022; he previously spent eight seasons in Baltimore, coaching that position and working as an assistant O-line coach.
Coen has run into trouble staffing his O-line coach role, seeing the Buccaneers — not fans of the way he left town — block interviews with their O-line coach (Kevin Carberry) and assistant OL coach (Brian Picucci). Despite Picucci following Coen from Kentucky last year, he is staying in Tampa. As such, the Jags are interviewing Zak Kromer for the job, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Kromer has been with the Rams throughout Sean McVay‘s tenure, overlapping with both Coen L.A. stints. The son of Bills O-line coach Aaron Kromer, Zak is currently the Rams’ assistant O-line coach.
Jaguars Meet With Grant Udinski; Team Requests OL Interview With Austin Gund
Three more of the league’s offensive coordinator vacancies were filled on Friday. The Jaguars are among the teams who have yet to fill their OC position, though, and their search process is ongoing. So far, their search has been less than exhaustive, with the team only interviewing two candidates, Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and Rams pass game specialist Nate Scheelhaase, to replace Press Taylor.
A third interview took place today, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, as the Jaguars hosted Vikings assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski. At only 29 years old, Udinski has been on a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks.
After going undrafted in 2019 as a defensive end out of Towson, Udinski traveled to Waco, TX, where he served for a year as a graduate assistant under then-Baylor head coach Matt Rhule. The next year, Udinski followed Rhule to Carolina as a coaching assistant for the Panthers, where he remained for two years.
Under the advice of Vikings passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, who had worked with Udinski for two years in Carolina, Minnesota hired Udinski on as assistant to the head coach/special projects in 2022. After a year in that role, Udinski was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach, and this season, he added assistant offensive coordinator to his title, as well.
It’s not uncommon to see young coaches quickly rise through the ranks on offensive coaching staffs, but those phenoms are usually former quarterbacks with a high understanding of offensive schemes and philosophies. It’s strange to see so much offensive responsibility handed to a man who only seven years ago was playing defense at Towson as a walk-on. It probably doesn’t hurt that he was a CoSIDA academic first-team all-American with high marks at both the undergraduate and master’s levels of his education.
The Jaguars are not alone in their interest in Udinski, either. Today’s interview was Udinski’s fifth for an offensive coordinator role this offseason. A popular name, Udinski first interviewed twice with the Seahawks (a job that went to Klint Kubiak), then interviewed with the Patriots (a job that went to Josh McDaniels) before interviewing with the Buccaneers (a job that went to Josh Grizzard) and the Texans. While there’s a chance that the Houston and Jacksonville jobs may, too, fall out of his reach, it seems clear that Udinski’s trajectory is not slowing. The young coach is likely to find a home as a coordinator soon.
Despite having not hired an offensive coordinator yet, the Jaguars are reportedly actively looking to fill one of their position coaching jobs on the offensive side of the ball. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Jacksonville requested permission to interview Bills offensive/offensive line assistant Austin Gund for what he called “their open offensive line coaching position,” which seems to indicate that incumbent offensive line coach Phil Rauscher will not be returning to the role. Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports adds that the team has requested to interview 49ers assistant offensive line coach Cameron Clemmons for the job, as well.
Here’s a breakdown of the Jaguars’ search to fill the offensive coordinator position:
- Chip Kelly, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (Ohio State): Team has interest
- Tavita Pritchard, quarterbacks coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/29
- Nate Scheelhaase, pass game specialist (Rams): Interviewed 1/29
- Grant Udinski, assistant quarterbacks coach (Vikings): Interviewed 1/31
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Bills Don’t Regret Amari Cooper Trade, Would Consider Re-Signing WR
Amari Cooper‘s half-season stint in Buffalo didn’t necessarily go as planned. After being shipped from the Browns to the Bills in October, the veteran wideout was limited to only 20 receptions and a career-worst 37.1 yards per game. Despite the disappointing results, it sounds like Bills GM Brandon Beane would make the move again.
Speaking to reporters today, Beane said he does “not regret the move” and believes Cooper helped the Bills despite the lack of counting stats (per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). The GM also hinted that the wideout’s wrist injury may have contributed to his underwhelming production. Beane told reporters that Cooper’s wrist injury could have required surgery, with one doctor actually recommending that route. However, the wideout decided to play through the injury (per Getzenberg).
Cooper is now set to hit free agency, and there’s a chance the two sides look to continue their partnership. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bills have been happy with Cooper’s presence in the locker room, and they’re “intrigued” by the idea of giving the receiver a full offseason to click with Josh Allen.
The 30-year-old WR may not have a robust market following a disappointing 2024 campaign. In 14 games with the Browns and Bills, Cooper was limited to only 44 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns. Still, Cooper is only a year removed from a 2023 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 1,250 receiving yards, so there could be plenty of teams that are willing to look past the recent drop in production.
While the Bills will continue to evaluate their wide receiver options heading into the offseason, the front office will also be focused on keeping their franchise QB in Buffalo for the long haul. While Allen is still under contract through the 2028 campaign, Beane didn’t completely rule out extending his franchise star.
“I’m not saying it will happen, I’m not saying it won’t happen — I don’t really want to go into that,” Beane said of a potential extension (h/t Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com). “And I really can’t tell you at this point. We haven’t even approached that. It’s just, season-ending loss, he doesn’t even want to talk about it. … He was dejected, like all of us. There will be a time and place. And not saying we will, but not ruling it out either.”
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/30/25
With the Bills season having come to an end last weekend, the team has started signing players to reserve/futures contracts. The Bills added one player to their growing list today:
Buffalo Bills
- DT Branson Deen