Bears To Hire Alan Williams As DC
Matt Eberflus isn’t making the move alone. The Bears are set to hire Colts safeties coach Alan Williams as their new defensive coordinator, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Bears Hire Matt Eberflus As Head Coach]
Williams joined the Colts in 2018, the same year as Eberflus. Together, they helped guide the Colts to two playoff appearances across four years. Before that, Williams served as the Lions’ defensive backs coach for four seasons, but he has DC experience dating back to his time with the Vikings. All in all, he’s got more than 20 years of pro coaching on his resume.
Between Eberflus, new GM Ryan Poles, assistant GM Ian Cunningham, and Williams, there’s a clear pipeline forming between Illinois and Indianapolis. There may be even more to come, which means more work for Colts GM Chris Ballard as he reshapes his staff and front office.
“We think it’s win-win,’’ Ballard said recently (via FOX 59). “[The Bears are] getting some really good, only people, but also some really good football coaches coming into your organization as we will going forward here.’’
Bears To Interview Ex-Panthers OC Joe Brady
Fired less than a year after landing HC interviews, Joe Brady has a chance to land a job on Matt Eberflus‘ Bears staff. The former Carolina OC is interviewing for a job with Chicago, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.
The Bears have already hired an offensive coordinator, former Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy, so Brady’s interview is for another position. Considering where Brady was positioned coming out of LSU and again after his first Panthers season, when he landed five HC interviews during the 2021 hiring period, this would be an interesting move.
The Bears represent Brady’s first known connection to a team since the Panthers fired him. Despite being the point man behind Joe Burrow‘s record-setting LSU season in 2019, Brady wants to remain in the NFL.
Brady, 32, would certainly represent a notable addition to a coaching staff whose top priority will be developing Justin Fields into a franchise-caliber quarterback. Next season will be Getsy’s first NFL offensive coordinator job, but he was Mississippi State’s OC in 2018. Brady has three seasons of OC experience.
Matt Rhule fired Brady during the Panthers’ December bye week, with the move coming amid a quarterback crisis that led to Rhule’s job being in jeopardy by season’s end. The Panthers dropped from 21st to 30th in total offense last season, with Sam Darnold and Cam Newton‘s struggles playing the main role in the decline.
Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order
Championship Sunday has come and gone, and with it, we now know the matchup for Super Bowl LVI. The Rams’ win on Sunday guarantees that the Lions’ other first round pick will be in the bottom two, slightly devaluing it relative to if they had lost. Still, it is one of the bargaining chips they hold if they were to attempt to move up into the top spot, from their current position of second. As one of four teams with multiple picks in the opening round, Detroit will certainly be a squad to keep an eye on in April.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
* = Remaining playoff teams
Colts To Interview Jim Schwartz For DC
With Matt Eberflus departing Indianapolis to become head coach of the Bears, the Colts are in need of a new defensive coordinator. After interviewing Jaguars DC Joe Cullen and WFT defensive backs coach Chris Harris this weekend, the club plans to speak with Titans senior defensive assistant Jim Schwartz for the job.
It was Schwartz’s work as Tennessee’s DC from 2001-08 that landed him the Lions’ head coaching job in 2009, and he remained in Detroit for five seasons, compiling a 29-51 record during that time (though he did secure a rare playoff appearance for the team in 2011). He enjoyed a successful season as the Bills’ defensive coordinator in 2014, but then-HC Doug Marrone resigned following that campaign, and new HC Rex Ryan brought in his own staff.
Schwartz, now 55, served as the Eagles’ DC from 2016-2020, a run that included a championship ring. His Super Bowl-winning defense ranked fourth in the league, and his unit was ranked in the top-10 against the run from 2017-19. After his contract with Philadelphia expired at the end of the 2020 season, he initially planned to sit out 2021, though the Titans convinced him to come back in something of an advisory role. After finishing as a bottom-five defense in terms of yards allowed in 2020, Tennessee was ranked 12th in the league in that regard in 2021.
Colts HC Frank Reich arrived in Philadelphia with Schwartz in 2016 and spent the 2016-17 seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator, so there is an obvious familiarity there. And Schwartz has a long track record of success, so while this is the first reported interest in him in this year’s coaching cycle, Reich could do much worse in his quest to replace Eberflus.
In related news, Reich may be losing his safeties coach, Alan Williams. We heard on Friday that Williams is a candidate to become Eberflus’ defensive coordinator in Chicago, and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweeted this morning that Eberflus is indeed targeting Williams.
Packers Promoting Stenavich To OC
With former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett leaving to become the head coach of the Broncos and quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy expected to join Matt Eberflus‘ new staff as the Bears’ offensive coordinator, the Packers needed to move quickly to start rebuilding their offensive staff. The first such move was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport in a tweet this evening announcing that Green Bay will be promoting offensive line coach and running game coordinator Adam Stenavich to be the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Stenavich got his first NFL opportunity in 2017 as the 49ers assistant offensive line coach after some college coaching stints at Michigan, Northern Arizona, and San Jose State. After two seasons in San Francisco, Stenavich got hired in Green Bay at his most recent position before getting today’s promotion.
The Packers had previously denied the Broncos’ request to interview Stenavich and this most recent report confirms the suspicions that soon followed that denial. Stenavich will be shouldered with the burden of building a new offensive coaching staff. It is expected that, after being denied Stenavich, the Broncos will pursue Hackett’s former tight ends coach Justin Outten to become the offensive coordinator in Denver, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter).
In three seasons with Stenavich as the run game coordinator, the Packers have ranked 15th (2019), 8th (2020), and 18th (2021) in the NFL in total rushing yards. Combining the rushing offense’s inconsistency from year to year with questions in the air about quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ future, Stenavich could have a difficult task in front of him following a season where the Packers’ offense helped Green Bay to the NFC’s only first round bye.
Packers’ Getsy Expected To Become Bears’ OC
It looks like Matt Eberflus is getting the guy to run his offense as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out that Packers’ quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy is expected to be hired as the Bears’ new offensive coordinator.
Getsy has spent his entire NFL coaching career in Green Bay joining the Packers as an offensive quality control coach in 2014. He worked his way up to wide receivers coach before taking a year away from the team to be the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State University. He returned to Green Bay in 2019 as the quarterbacks coach and added the passing-game coordinator title to his job for the following two seasons.
The Packers have been a top ten passing offense in each of Getsy’s two years as passing-game coordinator, helping them to earn the top-seed in the NFC and setting up quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a potential fourth MVP award.
Getsy’s departure leaves holes for Green Bay at two offensive positions. The Packers have lost former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who took the position of head coach for the Broncos and now are expected to be without their quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator.
It’s expected that Eberflus will consider Getsy’s input in putting together the rest of the offensive staff. We wrote earlier about the Bears’ interest in Browns’ offensive line coach Bill Callahan and a few other expected hires for Chicago. Eberflus’ first NFL staff is starting to come together nicely.
Bucs To Start Post-Brady Rebuild?
With three-time MVP quarterback Tom Brady announcing his retirement earlier today, speculation has already started on the future of the Buccaneers’ franchise. Brady’s retirement has experts wondering about the futures of tight end Rob Gronkowki and head coach Bruce Arians. Both have flirted with retirement before. 
Contributing to the postulation on Arians’ situation is head coaching interest in the Buccaneers’ coordinators on both sides of the ball. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich recently had his second interview for the Jaguars open coaching position. Reportedly, talks have stalled as Leftwich has expressed issues with current general manager Trent Baalke continuing in that position, with Leftwich preferring Cardinals’ vice president of pro scouting Adrian Wilson to replace the polarizing GM. The Saints have requested an interview with Leftwich, who previously received interest from the Bears before they hired Matt Eberflus. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has interviewed with the Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, and Vikings. With the Bears’ job taken, Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels being the presumed frontrunner in Las Vegas, and Jacksonville having conducted multiple second interviews Bowles’ opportunities for a head coaching job are starting to dwindle, as well.
More cause for speculation has risen from an article from Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. In the article Wilson reports that Arians has informed the entire coaching staff that they have permission to seek jobs around the league regardless of whether or not the new position would be a promotion. With the potential exit of the two New England-legends and the impactful group of Buccaneers heading into free agency, this permission could potentially be an opportunity to abandon ship before the start of a Tampa Bay rebuild.
In terms of those free agents, joining free-agent-to-be Gronkowski are three other significant role players: wide receiver Chris Godwin, center Ryan Jensen, and cornerback Carlton Davis. Godwin is expected to be the top free agent priority in Tampa Bay after he received the franchise tag for this past season. Jensen came over three years ago from the Ravens on what then made him the highest paid center in the NFL. Davis was a key contributor due for a big contract year on defense before being placed on IR after Week 4 of the season and missing eight weeks during a crucial year.
The domino-effect of Brady’s retirement is already looming large over the Buccaneers’ prospects for the 2022 NFL season. Tampa Bay has the entire offseason to navigate these obstacles and mitigate the potential fallout. After winning a Super Bowl just last year, the departure of Brady could be as game-changing to the Buccaneers as his arrival was nearly two years ago.
Updates To Eberflus’ New Bears’ Staff
New head coach Matt Eberflus has wasted no time in starting to piece together his new coaching staff in Chicago. 
The Colts’ former defensive coordinator will bring some familiar names with him from Indianapolis on the defensive side of the ball. According to Zak Keefer, of The Athletic, it’s been confirmed that linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi will follow Eberflus to Chicago to retain the same position. Borgonzi has played a crucial role in the development of players like Darius Leonard, Anthony Walker, and Bobby Okereke. Rumors have been circulating that cornerbacks coach James Rowe and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli could soon follow in Borgonzi’s footsteps.
On the offensive side of the ball, Eberflus will have to build a new system. We’ve already seen Eagles’ passing-game coordinator Kevin Patullo’s name surface as a potential coordinator, especially being a former coworker of the Bears’ new skipper in Indianapolis. We’ve also seen Packers’ quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy‘s name mentioned as the favorite candidate to land the coordinator job.
Still nothing has been announced, but Sanjay Lal, who has coached wide receivers for six different NFL teams, most recently in Jacksonville, is reportedly interviewing today for the offensive coordinator job, according to Jane Slater of NFL Network. A London-native, Lal started out coaching in a California high school for about six years before earning opportunities to coach at a few local colleges, culminating in a position as the quarterbacks coach at the University of California, Berkeley. Lal got his first NFL opportunity joining Lane Kiffin‘s Oakland Raiders staff in 2007 as a quality control coach, getting promoted to wide receivers coach in 2009. The journeyman coach then spent time as a wide receivers coach for the Jets, Bills, Colts, and Cowboys before not being retained in Dallas when Mike McCarthy took over. After spending a year as a senior offensive assistant in Seattle for a year, Lal got another chance to coach wide receivers for the Jaguars under Urban Meyer, where he spent the past season.
The only other offensive position we’ve heard about comes from Sports Mockery writer Erik Lambert who reports that Eberflus and the Bears will pursue Browns’ offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Callahan has coached a laundry list of Pro Bowl players over the years and has two connections to the Bears’ job. Firstly, he worked with Eberflus in Dallas for about three seasons, and, second, Callahan was born and raised in Chicago.
Two names have surfaced so far at the special teams coordinator position. Lambert mentions Raiders’ interim-head coach Rich Bisaccia as the favorite to take over the special teams unit in Chicago as it becomes less and less likely that he’ll be retained as the head ball coach in Las Vegas. The other name mentioned came from Jordan Raanan who covers the Giants for ESPN. Ranaan tweeted out that Giants’ special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is scheduled to interview for the same position with the Bears tomorrow. McGaughey has already interviewed for the Chargers’ special teams coordinator job and has not ruled out remaining with the Giants.
It’s an impressive potential lineup for Eberflus as he attempts to put together his first full staff as a head coach. Updates should be expected shortly as all the names mentioned so far are no longer participating in the playoffs.
Bears To Hire Eagles’ Ian Cunningham As Assistant GM
Days after being hired as the next Bears general manager, Ryan Poles reached an agreement to bring in a right-hand man. Eagles exec Ian Cunningham is joining Poles’ staff as assistant GM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Cunningham has been a key Howie Roseman lieutenant in Philadelphia for years, having risen to the position of player personnel director. Cunningham interviewed for the Bears job Friday.
A Ravens staffer for nine years, Cunningham joined Philly’s staff in 2017 and climbed the ranks since. The Jets attempted to hire Cunningham in multiple offseasons, but he ended up staying with the Eagles. The young exec, however, will make the move this offseason and work with a first-time GM in the 36-year-old Poles.
Despite not working together previously, Poles and Cunningham are close. Each was an ACC offensive lineman, with the latter playing at Virginia in the 2000s. Both were UDFAs in 2008, and Cunningham briefly landed with the Chiefs. The 30-somethings will be the point men leading a Bears rebuild effort.
Bears Eyeing Packers’ Luke Getsy For OC
The Packers might lose another key offensive coach this offseason. After Nathaniel Hackett bolted for Denver, quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy is receiving outside offensive coordinator interest.
The Bears are targeting Getsy for their OC job under Matt Eberflus, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets, noting that an offer is out to Getsy for the job. Getsy is indeed the clubhouse leader for Chicago’s OC gig, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Bears would still need to meet with a minority candidate to satisfy the Rooney Rule before moving forward here.
Getsy, 37, also interviewed for the Broncos’ HC job. He has not yet been linked to following Hackett to Denver. Instead, Hackett has targeted Packers offensive line coach Adam Stenavich for that job. Stenavich may have another option, should Getsy leave. The Packers will likely have to choose between promoting Getsy or Stenavich, Silverstein tweets, in the wake of Hackett’s departure. The other seemingly would be an offensive coordinator elsewhere. Stenavich would be a non-play-calling OC in Green Bay or Denver, with Hackett expected to call plays for the Broncos.
Chicago also expressed interest in Eagles passing-game coordinator Kevin Patullo for its OC role. Patullo and Eberflus worked together in Indianapolis. Getsy and Eberflus do not have a similar connection, with Getsy’s entire NFL body of work coming in Green Bay. Getsy worked his way up from the quality control level and has been with the Packers for most of the past eight seasons, the past three as QBs coach.