Joe Whitt Favorite For Packers DC
- Incumbent cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt is considered the favorite to become the Packers‘ next defensive coordinator, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Green Bay will start its DC search by interviewing three internal candidates: Whitt, safeties coach Darren Perry, and assistant head coach/linebackers Winston Moss. While all three coaches are currently under contract with the Packers, there’s no guarantee that any or all of them will return in 2018, as Demovsky writes in a separate piece. If Green Bay hires an outside candidate to replace Dom Capers, that new coach could aim to bring in his own assistants.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/18
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Baltimore Ravens
- DB Bennett Jackson
Green Bay Packers
- LB Ahmad Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- DT Josh Augusta
- CB Sheldon Price
Los Angeles Chargers
- LS Anthony Kulwa
Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints
Russ Ball Favorite For Packers GM?
Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball is considered the favorite to become Green Bay’s next general manager, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who reports there is a “preponderance of opinion” both inside the Packers organization and within the NFL as a whole that Green Bay president Mark Murphy is simply “going through the motions” in seeking a replacement for Ted Thompson.
Following Thompson’s reassignment within the Packers’ hierarchy, the club is hoping to hire its next general manager by next week. They’ve started the search process by interviewing director of football operations Eliot Wolf today, and will also meet with two other internal options: Ball, and director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst. Although Green Bay seems likely to promote from within, the team reportedly also has interest in former Bills general manager Doug Whaley.
Unlike Wolf and Gutekunst, Ball doesn’t offer personnel experience, as he’s spent his career on the financial side of operations. However, Murphy said earlier this week that a personnel background won’t be required for the Packers’ next general manager, an indication that Ball could be a serious candidate. If Ball is promoted, though, Green Bay could risk losing Wolf and Gutekunst to other clubs, defections that would weaken a front office that has already seen executive Alonzo Highsmith take a position with the Browns.
Ball, who originally began his NFL career as a strength and conditioning coach, has completed 10 seasons in his current role with the Packers. Prior to joining Green Bay, Ball spent time with the Chiefs, Vikings, Redskins, and Saints, all the while working in administrative roles.
Packers Interview Three Assistants For DC
The Packers’ search for a new defensive coordinator is getting started. And the early interview list has some striking similarities to the GM queue. 
Assistant coaches Winston Moss, Darren Perry, and Joe Whitt will interview to become the new DC, coach Mike McCarthy announced on Thursday. McCarthy stressed the importance of the job while noting that the team will also consider external candidates.
“The defense needs to be better than the offense,” McCarthy said (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). “I mean, that has to happen. So you’ve got four ways to do it. You get player acquisition, player instruction, player finance — who you pay to build your roster — and player performance. I mean, there’s so many things out there that we can advance in as far as analytics, more science, we have a strong history of developing young players, maximizing their abilities. But we can always get better, and that’s really where I’m at with it. So the defense, we need to, we need to be better.”
Moss, 53, is also up for the Lions’ head coaching vacancy. Like Moss, Perry and Whitt have been with the organization for years and offer familiarity with the system put in place by former DC Dom Capers.
Lions Interview Packers’ Winston Moss
The Lions interviewed Packers assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss on Thursday, according to a team announcement. As shown on PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Moss is the fourth candidate to sit for an interview, following Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, Detroit offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. 
The jump from positional coach to head coach is not unprecedented, but Moss may have a hard time selling the Lions on himself when going up against candidates with coordinator and even head coaching experience. Moss is the only known candidate for Detroit without at least having served as a coordinator. Fellow candidate Pat Shurmur is a former HC, though he owns a lifetime record of 10-23 and has not held that job in a full-time capacity since the 2012 season.
So far, the Lions are the only squad to have requested a head coaching interview with Moss. If he does not land the Detroit job, he may want to send his resume elsewhere given the upheaval in Green Bay.
Packers Interview Eliot Wolf
The Packers are interviewing Director of Football Operations Eliot Wolf for their GM vacancy on Thursday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Wolf is one of three strong in-house possibilities for the position. 
The Packers are starting the process with their internal candidates. After Wolf, the next two interviews should be with Russ Ball and Brian Gutekunst, though not necessarily in that order. Knowing the culture of the Packers, it would be a bit surprising to see them go out-of-house for the GM hire when there are three qualified execs already in the building. However, the team could reportedly consider ex-Bills GM Doug Whaley.
Wolf was connected to the 49ers and Colts GM vacancies a year ago and was recently linked to the Giants GM gig before the team hired Dave Gettleman. He’s reportedly getting antsy in Green Bay and he may consider leaving if he does not become the successor to Ted Thompson. There is a scenario in which Gutekunst becomes the GM and he stays, but the feeling is that both Wolf and Gutekunst will bail if Ball gets the job. No matter what decision he makes, it sounds like it will be tough for Packers president Mark Murphy to keep the band together.
“I think it goes back to just getting the best man, best person for the job,” Murphy said this week. “We’ve got some good people here and you don’t want to lose them, but I also think the most important thing is getting the right person.”
NFL Workout Updates: 1/3/18
Here are today’s workout updates, with the only note coming from Rob Demovsky from ESPN.com.
Green Bay Packers
- CB Ian Wells (via Twitter)
NFL Reserve/Future Contracts: 1/3/18
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Green Bay Packers
- G Kofi Amichia
Kansas City Chiefs
- CB Makinton Dorleant
- WR Brandon Shippen
Minnesota Vikings
- WR Brandon Zylstra
Philadelphia Eagles
- CB Elie Bouka
- P Cameron Johnston
- TE Adam Zaruba
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Redskins
Coaching Notes: Spagnuolo, Bettcher, McDaniels
The coaching carousel is in full swing. Here are six stories regarding coaching staffs across the NFL:
- The Giants have interviewed their interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo for the full-time job, the team announced today. Spagnuolo is considered a longshot to land the position given that new general manager Dave Gettlemen would probably like to bring in his own guy. But, the former Rams head coach still had his shot to impress the Giants executives today. New York has six more candidates they’re planning on interviewing in the days to come. Check out who by using our 2018 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker.
- The Cardinals also used most of the day to interview an internal head coach candidate, defensive coordinator James Bettcher, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Bettcher had the first chance to make his case as the team has another seven coaches they would like to talk to about their vacant head coach position.
- The Colts will speak with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels tonight about their head coach vacancy, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). McDaniels is getting head coaching interest from many different teams because of his offensive knowledge. Indianapolis could be looking for a more offensive-minded coach to pair with quarterback Andrew Luck. Although they have requested interviews with coaches on both sides of the ball, including: Matt Nagy (Chiefs), Kris Richard (Seahawks), Mike Vrabel (Texans) and Steve Wilks (Panthers).
- La Canfora does also note that the bad weather in the Boston area could affect potential interviews regarding McDaniels and fellow Patriots coach Matt Patricia. The team has to be back home to prepare for their divisional round opponent, which could push back a few potential interviews for both New England coordinators.
- The Packers have a offensive coordinator vacancy after reassigning Edgar Bennett to another position earlier today. Three names who the team could show interest in to replace Bennett are former Green Bay coaches Ben McAdoo and Joe Philbin, along with current offensive line coach James Campen, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Broncos have hired Sean Kugler to be the team’s offensive line coach for 2018, reports Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). While Kugler is a new face to the coaching staff, the team did decide to keep both of their coordinators and fire three other coaches on Monday.
Packers Interested In Doug Whaley As GM?
Doug Whaley could be a candidate for the Packers’ GM vacancy. Whaley is “expected to draw interest” from Green Bay, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). 
Whaley was fired by the Bills less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the 2017 draft. The timing of the move puzzled many in the football world, but it was not an overall shock to see the Bills move on from him. During his time at the helm, the Bills’ best record was 9-7 and they did not qualify for the playoffs in any of his four seasons. He also made some big blunders, like the team’s trade to land Sammy Watkins in the 2014 draft and the onerous contract given to Marcell Dareus.
Still, it seems as though Whaley is receiving some credit for his role in the Bills’ current success. Although coach Sean McDermott and longtime ally Brandon Beane are running the show, the roster has Whaley’s fingerprints all over it. This year, the Bills ended their 17-year playoff drought and they could make some noise if they can get past the Jaguars in the Wild Card round.
In December, the Browns interviewed Whaley for their GM post before giving the job to John Dorsey. Many speculated that the interview was a sham and done only to satisfy the Rooney Rule.