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NFL Staff Rumors: Allen, Sanders, Williams, Panthers, Saints

January 19th, 2025 at 8:21pm CST by Ely Allen

Former Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was hired to rejoin his old coworker, Raheem Morris, in Atlanta as defensive coordinator. This threw a wrench in some other plans in coaching searches around the league. Specifically, two teams that viewed him as a defensive coordinator candidate will have to look elsewhere to fill the position.

After Ulbrich filled in for a fired Robert Saleh in New York, he was likewise being viewed as a backup candidate for defensive coordinator behind Saleh in San Francisco. The 49ers are hoping to hire Saleh back to his old job as their defensive play-caller. Saleh is still interviewing for some open head coaching positions, though, and in case he becomes unavailable, Ulbrich was seemingly the second option.

The second team watching Ulbrich was whatever team ends up hiring former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Johnson had Ulbrich tabbed as the potential defensive coordinator on his first staff as an NFL head coach. Rapoport claims former Saints head coach Dennis Allen is the new name to look out for to join Johnson’s first staff.

Here are a few other rumors in staff conversations around the NFL:

  • As more and more hurdles continue to present themselves in the Cowboys‘ pursuit of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, it’s beginning to seem like him becoming their next head coach is an unlikely scenario. According to another Rapoport report, the NFL Network reporter claimed he “would be surprised — probably very surprised — if (a formal interview) did, in fact, get scheduled.”
  • New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel hasn’t spoken much of how much of the existing staff in New England will be salvaged, but the understanding seems to be that, like in most new head coaching situations, Vrabel will likely be replacing both coordinators. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, one name to watch for defensive coordinator is Lions defensive line coach and run-game coordinator Terrell Williams. Williams was one of Vrabel’s most-trusted assistants during his time as head coach in Tennessee, where Williams served as assistant head coach in addition to his duties as defensive line coach. Especially with the likely turnover expected on the defensive staff in Detroit, it makes perfect sense that Williams would explore the opportunity to take his first coordinator position.
  • The Panthers are reportedly moving on from passing game coordinator Nate Carroll, son of former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Joe Person of The Athletic confirmed the report, adding that the team does not expect Carroll back in any capacity.
  • Switching for moment from coaching staffs to the front office, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis addressed the consistency of staff in the team’s personnel department. Amidst questions concerning job security, Loomis claimed that “he loves (vice president/assistant general manager — college personnel) Jeff Ireland and (director of pro personnel) Michael Parenton in their” current roles, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. While he does expect changes and tweaks in their processes and procedures, Irelend and Parenton’s jobs appear secure.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, David, Bucs

January 16th, 2025 at 6:37pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson has played just six games in the last two seasons due to a broken fibula in 2023 followed by an Achilles tear this past September.

Thompson led the Panthers in tackles each year from 2020 to 2022 but still took a pay cut to stay in Carolina after his 2023 injury. Rather than a strong comeback to earn another multiyear extension, Thompson went down for the season after just four starts. Now, the 2015 first-round pick is set to his free agency in March for the first time in his career, though he’d prefer to finish his career with the team that drafted him. ‘

“I would love to end my career here. Be one of the guys in history to play with one team,” said Thompson, per Joseph Person of the Athletic. “But it’s up to them. These two injuries … there’s nothing I can do. But it happened. Get better and come back strong.”

Thompson’s injury occurred early enough in the 2024 season that he could be ready for training camp next summer, barring any setbacks. But after two season-ending injuries, teams will likely wait for Thompson to be healthy before they make any contract offers. The 10-year veteran’s desire to stay in Carolina could motivated him to sign a team-friendly deal with the Panthers. That would allow him to stay in his current home and rehab with the team’s familiar medical and training staff.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • The Panthers have several other pending free agents, including cornerback Michael Jackson. Carolina traded for the 2019 fifth-rounder before the regular season, and he started all 17 games despite his lack of familiarity with their defense. Head coach Dave Canales said that Jackson is “exactly the type of guy we want to have here,” according to Person, indicating that the team is open to re-signing the former Seahawk.
  • Panthers O-lineman Brady Christensen is more likely to test the market, per ESPN’s David Newton. The former third-round pick recovered from last year’s biceps tear to start four games at center and two at left tackle this season. Christensen will likely be looking for a starting opportunity this offseason, most likely at guard or center.
  • Xavier Legette played through a wrist injury as a rookie and will likely undergo surgery in the offseason, per Person. The injury originally occurred when he was at South Carolina, though the Panthers’ first-round pick insisted that it did not impact his play this season.
  • In Tampa Bay, 34-year-old linebacker Lavonte David is unsure about his future. He has played for the Buccaneers for his entire 13-year career and is the team’s second-leading tackler behind Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks. “I got a lot to think about, man,” David said when asked about his potential retirement (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). “Go ahead, go home, get my little girl, be a dad and go from there.’’
  • One player the Bucs are set to retain in 2025 is punter Jack Browning, who signed to the team’s active roster late in the 2024 season. His deal included a one-year extension for the 2025 season for a non-guaranteed minimum salary of $960k, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman. Browning is no certainty to make the team’s 53-man roster out of training camp, but he will have a chance to compete for the punting job in Tampa Bay.

2025 NFL Cap Carryover, By Team

January 11th, 2025 at 9:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

With the regular season in the books, all NFL teams have declared their cap carryover for the 2025 league year. Unused cap space from the current campaign will roll over, a substantial element of many teams’ financial planning.

Last offseason saw a record-breaking jump in the salary cap ceiling (pushing the upper limit to $255.4MM). To no surprise, another spike is expected but a smaller year-to-year increase is likely to take place. It was learned last month that teams are preparing for the 2025 cap to check in at a figure between $265MM-$275MM.

As teams evaluate key roster-building decisions – including restructures and cuts aimed at manufacturing cap space – carryovers are crucial. It it still not known what exactly the cap ceiling will wind up as, but in the meantime every club’s space which has been rolled over will add a degree of clarity with respect to how their offseason will take shape. Several teams (including the top two on this year’s list) have made a concerted effort in recent years to carry unused space through the course of a campaign knowing a spike in cap charges for core players are forthcoming.

Courtesy of Over the Cap, here is the full breakdown of each team’s 2025 cap carryover amount:

  • San Francisco 49ers: $50.01MM
  • Cleveland Browns: $41.95MM
  • New England Patriots: $34.86MM
  • Las Vegas Raiders: $33.57MM
  • Detroit Lions: $23.73MM
  • Washington Commanders: $19.83MM
  • Dallas Cowboys: $18.84MM
  • Jacksonville Jaguars: $15.89MM
  • Green Bay Packers: $15.11MM
  • Tennessee Titans: $14.72MM
  • Arizona Cardinals: $11.38MM
  • Indianapolis Colts: $10.1MM
  • Seattle Seahawks: $8.42MM
  • Pittsburgh Steelers: $6.83MM
  • Philadelphia Eagles: $6.81MM
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $6.63MM
  • Atlanta Falcons: $6.07MM
  • Minnesota Vikings: $5.94MM
  • Cincinnati Bengals: $5.94MM
  • Chicago Bears: $5.08MM
  • Los Angeles Chargers: $4.89MM
  • Houston Texans: $4.81MM
  • Kansas City Chiefs: $3.15MM
  • Miami Dolphins: $3MM
  • New Orleans Saints: $2.93MM
  • Los Angeles Rams: $2.75MM
  • Baltimore Ravens: $2.14MM
  • Denver Broncos: $1.91MM
  • Buffalo Bills: $1.34MM
  • New York Giants: $1.17MM
  • Carolina Panthers: $490K
  • New York Jets: $346K

Panthers Make Multiple Defensive Staff Changes

January 10th, 2025 at 7:59pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Panthers are making multiple changes to their defensive staff after ranking dead-last in yards and points allowed this season.

Head coach Dave Canales recently reaffirmed his confidence in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, but the team has moved on from three members of his staff. Safeties coach Bert Watts, outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, and quality control coach Bobby Maffei will not return under Evero in 2025, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Watts was the Broncos’ outside linebackers coach in 2022 and followed Evero from Denver to Carolina in 2023. The Panthers’ secondary allowed the 10th-most passing yards in the NFL in 2024, along with a league-high 35 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. The unit did deal with several injuries, including stints on injured reserve by Sam Franklin and Jordan Fuller.

Lukabu also joined the Panthers in 2023 after serving as Boston College’s defensive coordinator. Carolina’s edge rush struggled to generate pressure without Brian Burns this year, and the team as a whole allowed a league-high 3,057 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per carry.

Maffei started with the Panthers as a defensive assistant in 2022 and received a promotion to defensive quality control coach after Evero’s arrival. His specific role in the team’s defense is not known, but it’s not surprising to see widespread changes after the Panthers’ defensive struggles during the regular season.

Canales and Evero will spend the coming weeks interviewing candidates to join their staff and help the Panthers defense bounce back from one of the worst statistical seasons in league history.

Panthers Will Work To Extend Jaycee Horn

January 9th, 2025 at 4:52pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Panthers will be looking to build onn the late-season resurgence of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young heading into the 2025 season.

One of general manager Dan Morgan‘s top priorities this offseason is an extension for cornerback Jaycee Horn, per ESPN’s David Newton. Carolina selected Horn with the eighth overall pick in 2021 hoping he could lock down one side of their passing defense. Injuries limited him to just 22 games across his first three years, followed by his first career Pro Bowl selection this season.

His negotiations won’t be as simple as fellow 2021 top-10 pick Patrick Surtain, who reset the cornerback market with a four-year, $96MM extension in September. Surtain has played in all but two of the Broncos’ game since he was drafted with three Pro Bowls in the last three years. He earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2022 and is poised to earn a second for his work this season, giving Denver no choice but to pay him at the top of the market.

Horn, however, has not been consistently available, and despite his Pro Bowl recognition this year, he allowed career-highs in touchdowns (6) and passer rating when targeted (92.7). Guaranteed money will be a key factor in negotiations; the Panthers may prefer a rolling guarantee structure that kicks in after Horn proves he can stay healthy for another year or two.

The Panthers picked up Horn’s fifth-year option last offseason, so he’s set to earn $12.472MM in 2025. That amount will be paid out as a base salary with no bonus money up front, so the 25-year-old cornerback has plenty of reason to come to the negotiating table. An injury in 2025 could impact his ability to get another long-term contract in his career.

It’s also worth noting that Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley will both be eligible for early extensions this offseason, which could match or surpass Surtain’s contract. If Horn waits until after Gardner and Stingley extend with their teams, he could capitalize on another increase in the cornerback market – if he can stay healthy and put together another solid showing in 2025.

Coaching Rumors: Seahawks, Vrabel, Getsy, Saints, Slowik, Harbaugh

January 8th, 2025 at 2:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks are not set to clean house on offense, but they are not considering anyone from Ryan Grubb‘s staff to be their next OC after making Grubb an one-and-done. Mike Macdonald confirmed as much (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta), while praising the team’s young core in hyping up the job. Although the Seahawks are only preparing to look outside the organization for help, Macdonald added (via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson) play-calling experience will not be required. This is not too uncommon, as teams regularly hire quarterbacks coaches or pass-game coordinators to be OCs. Those roles generally do not feature play-calling duties. The team has already put in interview requests, per Macdonald, though no names have surfaced yet. Additionally, Macdonald said (via Condotta) the new hire, as could be expected, will not be forced to retain all of Grubb’s staff. More changes should be expected.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • Mike Vrabel looks to have a much better chance of landing a job this year compared to 2024, though he did interview with a few teams following his surprising Titans ouster. One of those meetings came with the Panthers, who were coming off a 2-15 season. As Vrabel did not view himself as a strong candidate to land the Falcons’ job, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt notes that the then-recently fired coach was not interested in the Carolina position (subscription required). David Tepper‘s presence had hurt the perception of the Panthers’ job at that point, as the owner had been accused of meddling in personnel matters — during a second straight season in which he fired a head coach — before throwing a drink on a fan during a late-season game in 2023. Dave Canales took over and is set to begin a second offseason in charge, while Vrabel is viewed as the Patriots’ lead candidate.
  • The Saints do not have as many HC candidates compared to the Bears and Jets, but they do not appear interested in expanding right now. Aaron Glenn, Kellen Moore, Joe Brady, Anthony Weaver, Darren Rizzi, Mike Kafka and Vrabel comprise New Orleans’ current list, and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler views this as the full group for the foreseeable future.
  • Bobby Slowik appeared on interview lists last year, but the Texans OC’s second season has not gone as well. Only one team, the Jets, has contacted Slowik about an HC interview this year. As the Texans prepare for their playoff matchup with the Chargers, SI.com’s Albert Breer does not tab Slowik as automatic to return for a third season. The former 49ers assistant, after a C.J. Stroud sophomore slump, will likely need to present a plan to DeMeco Ryans to keep the gig — even after the team extended its play-caller last January. That deal came with a significant raise, but Houston’s offense dropped from 12th to 22nd in yardage and 13th to 19th in points.
  • Weeks after Robert Saleh resurfaced with longtime friend Matt LaFleur‘s Packers, the NFC North team rehired one of its former assistants for a similar role. After being canned as Raiders OC, Luke Getsy is helping out the Packers as an advisor, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley. Getsy had been working remotely for a few weeks. While Saleh has helped Green Bay’s offense with preparation, Getsy — a former Packers QBs coach before his two OC stints elsewhere — had been helping the defense.
  • Jim Harbaugh signed a five-year deal worth $16MM per season last January, and his latest quick-turnaround effort brought additional compensation. The first-year Chargers HC collected a $1MM bonus for guiding the team to the playoffs, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/6/25

January 6th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Ben Levine

With the regular season having come to an end, many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts. This allows organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Panthers Endorse Bryce Young As 2025 Starting QB

January 6th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

When the Panthers benched Bryce Young after Week 2, rumors about a 2025 separation swirled. The team had bailed on a No. 1 overall pick after 17 starts, leading to trade offers coming in before the deadline. Plenty has changed over the past two months.

Andy Dalton sustaining minor injuries in a car accident led Young back into Carolina’s lineup, and the team did not sit him down. Young played much better during this season’s second half and is poised to have a chance to build on that momentum heading into next season. Both David Tepper and Dave Canales offered endorsements of the former Heisman winner as Carolina’s 2025 starter.

Tepper said (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) he thinks the Panthers have “got our QB here,” while Canales said postgame (via The Athletic’s Joe Person) the team indeed has its guy at the position. Young closed the season with a 251-yard passing outing in a game that featured him account for four touchdowns, powering the Panthers to knock the Falcons out of the playoff race.

“Bryce is our quarterback. I’m so proud of the way that he took the challenge and he just grew,” Canales said. “Every week he took new lessons, new things, applied it to his game. Was engaged, challenging the guys, the whole thing.”

After checking in with a QBR south of 10 upon being benched, Young made significant strides under Canales after his second 2024 stint as the team’s starter. Young, who struggled throughout his rookie season while leading an undermanned offense, ranked 20th in QBR (54.5). Young piloted the Panthers to a 4-6 record once he reclaimed the reins, finishing the season with 15 TD passes (to nine INTs) and a 6.3 yards-per-attempt number. These are obviously not franchise QB-caliber numbers, but they represent an improvement that has changed Carolina’s QB outlook.

A source close to Young said (via ESPN.com’s David Newton) Canales gave up on Young upon benching him, and Young wondered at points if he had a future in Charlotte. With Canales not classifying the benching as a reset — instead shifting to Dalton on a full-time basis — Young was certainly within his rights to express concern about his long-term NFL future. Th0ugh, the team had planned to give Young more starts before season’s end; Dalton’s car accident accelerated that timetable. The Panthers, though, rebuffed midseason trade interest — as the Colts did with Anthony Richardson — even if they still were noncommittal about Young’s post-2024 status at that point. That stance has since changed.

After the Panthers made several signings and draft investments to beef up their offense to better equip Young, they are now again committed to bettering his situation. The Panthers will have some work to do at wide receiver, having traded Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo and with Adam Thielen wrapping an age-34 season, but the team added high-priced guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis — before extending Chuba Hubbard. More work can certainly be done around Young’s rookie contract, which runs through 2026. The Panthers do not need to make their fifth-year option call on the 5-foot-10 QB until May of that year.

Panthers To Retain DC Ejiro Evero

January 6th, 2025 at 11:03am CST by Sam Robinson

Ejiro Evero has managed to become a regular HC candidate despite coaching on struggling teams. He received tremendous interest after a 5-12 Broncos season, and teams also pursued him after he was part of a 2-15 Panthers team. Carolina’s defensive regression this season may change that, but Evero will not be fired from his current gig.

The Panthers intend to bring back Evero for a third season, Dave Canales said Monday (via The Athletic’s Joe Person). While the door appears open to other staff changes, Canales clarified Evero will not be fired.

This is somewhat interesting due to Canales inheriting Evero, whom Frank Reich hired in 2023. Evero had interviewed for the job Reich landed, only to be eventually let out of his Broncos DC contract. This led to an agreement to be one of Reich’s right-hand men. The Panthers finished fourth in total defense (but 29th in scoring) during their woeful 2023 season. Evero’s unit cratered this season, however, falling to last in total defense. The Panthers also dropped from 29th to 32nd in points allowed.

Despite this, Evero is coming back. As of early December, he was also on track to receive more HC interest. Even in a shallow pool of candidates, Evero landing a job after the Panthers ranked last defensively across the board would be borderline shocking. The Panthers, however, blocked him from leaving for another DC post last year. The Dolphins, Giants and Jaguars requested meetings. It appeared Evero would have been fine with another move, but the Panthers had him under contract and could block a move. It appears that will happen again in 2025.

Carolina went 5-12 in Canales’ first season, showing improvement down the stretch. Changes should certainly be expected to boost the Panthers’ defense, particularly in the pass-rushing department. Evero, however, also coached most of the year without top defensive lineman Derrick Brown, whom the team extended this past offseason. Brown is due back, and while a new OLB contingent should be considered likely, Evero will be the one leading the charge.

Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order

January 5th, 2025 at 10:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Once again, we saw plenty of change occur in the projected draft order after Sunday’s games. Most notably, the Patriots took themselves out of the top overall draft slot with a win over the resting Bills. While this change likely won’t hurt their ability to select one of the players that interested them most, as they likely weren’t looking to select a quarterback with rookie Drake Maye in place, New England likely could’ve benefitted from collecting some serious draft capital trading out of the top spot to any of the teams seeking quarterback help next season.

One of those quarterback-needy teams, the Titans have officially secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, tying for the worst overall record in the league with the Browns and Giants but holding tiebreakers over both franchises. The Browns and Giants, who both secured the second and third overall picks, respectively, today, are also considered top candidates to draft a passer.

With all three teams at the top of the draft interested in adding help at quarterback, the draft’s top two prospects at the position, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, saw their chances at getting selected No. 1 overall rise dramatically. Plenty could still occur to change this situation; trades could alter the draft order, and further pre-draft evaluations could change opinions on top prospects.

Still, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks at the regular season’s conclusion:

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-14)
  2. Cleveland Browns (3-14)
  3. New York Giants (3-14)
  4. New England Patriots (4-13)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
  7. New York Jets (5-12)
  8. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
  9. New Orleans Saints (5-12)
  10. Chicago Bears (5-12)
  11. San Francisco (6-11)
  12. Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
  13. Miami Dolphins (8-9)
  14. Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
  15. Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
  16. Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
  17. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
  18. Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
  19. Houston Texans (10-7)
  20. Denver Broncos (10-7)
  21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
  22. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
  23. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
  24. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
  25. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
  26. Washington Commanders (12-5)
  27. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
  28. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
  29. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
  30. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
  31. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
  32. Detroit Lions (15-2)

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

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