More Changes To Eagles’ Offensive Staff Expected
The Eagles are making some changes to their offensive coaching staff under new coordinator Sean Mannion.
Packers wide receivers coach Ryan Mahaffey is moving to Philadelphia as the Eagles’ new run game coordinator, per Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mahaffey is replacing former Eagles assistant Jeff Stoutland, who served as the team’s run game coordinator for the last eight seasons in addition to his role as offensive line coach.
The 38-year-old former fullback has worked closely with Green Bay’s receiving corps in the last two years; before that, he served as the team’s assistant offensive line coach (2022-2023) and offensive quality control coach (2021). Mahaffey will also take on the role of tight ends coach in Philadelphia.
The Eagles may also be moving on from quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler. If they do, Raiders quarterbacks coach and interim head coach Greg Olson is a likely candidate, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He coached Mannion while he was on the Rams in 2017 and the Seahawks in 2023, his final year as a player.
Olson, 62, has a long history in the NFL with offensive coordinator stints with five teams and QBs coach jobs with three more. Most recently, he worked with Geno Smith in both Seattle and Las Vegas, Derek Carr (also in Vegas), and Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff in Los Angeles.
Packers To Hire Penn State WRs Coach Noah Pauley
The Packers are expected to hire Penn State wide receivers coach Noah Pauley for the same job in Green Bay, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
2025 was Pauley’s first season at Penn State. He did not have much immediate success with the Nittany Lions’ wide receivers, but his previous work at Iowa State and North Dakota State are much stronger parts of his resume.
As the Cyclones’ wide receivers coach from 2022 to 2024, Pauley played an instrumental role in the development of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. The two made huge strides under Pauley’s tutelage and combined for 167 receptions, 2,377 yards, and 17 touchdowns in their final college season. Both were drafted by the Texans last April – Higgins with the 37th overall pick, Noel with the 79th – and put up solid but unspectacular rookie seasons.
In a way, it is surprising that the Texans have not looked into hiring Pauley considering their investment of the players he developed in college. Houston also drafted Xavier Hutchinson in 2023, a year after Pauley coached him to career- and Big 12-high stats of 107 receptions and 1,171 receiving yards.
Before Iowa State, Pauley coached now-Packers wide receiver Christian Watson at North Dakota State. The two will reunite in Green Bay, though Watson is in the last year of his contract. So are Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, while Matthew Golden and Savion Williams were both drafted last year.
It seems like the Packers will not be signing Romeo Doubs, and the cap hits of quarterback Jordan Love, edge rusher Micah Parsons, and right tackle Zach Tom will get bigger and bigger in the coming years. The team will also need to extend tight end Tucker Kraft, so extending multiple receivers may be out of the question. Pauley will therefore be crucial to the Packers’ continued strategy of drafting and developing young wide receivers while avoiding pricey extensions and free agent contracts. His main task will be getting Golden, the No. 23 pick last year – back on track after his disappointing rookie year.
2026 NFL Offseason Outlook Series
Pro Football Rumors is breaking down how all 32 teams’ offseason blueprints are shaping up. Going forward, the Offseason Outlook series is exclusive to Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, and that link provides details on how to sign up for an annual membership.
This post will be updated as more Outlooks are published.
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans
AFC West
- Denver Broncos
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
NFC North
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
Packers Don’t Expect To Retain QB Malik Willis
Following a successful two-year stint as Jordan Love‘s backup, quarterback Malik Willis will likely be playing elsewhere in 2026. GM Brian Gutekunst admitted that the Packers will likely lose their QB2 this offseason as Willis pursues an opportunity to compete for a starting spot, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport backs that sentiment, noting that a Willis departure “feels like a given.”
The former third-round pick out of Liberty was once viewed as a steal by the Titans, although the QB never had a chance to truly show his talent in Tennessee. He garnered three starts as a rookie but didn’t impress, completing barely 50 percent of his passes for 276 yards and three interceptions (he added another 123 rushing yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts). Following the addition of Will Levis in the 2023 draft, Willis was pushed further down the depth chart, and he attempted only five passes during that 2023 campaign.
Willis was traded to the Packers at the end of the 2024 preseason and was quickly pushed into action after Love suffered an MCL sprain in the season opener. Willis ended up guiding the Packers to wins in each of his two starts while filling in for Love, completing 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 324 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 114 yards and a score on the ground. Willis had a few more cameos throughout the 2024 campaign, tossing another touchdown and adding 24 rushing yards.
It took 11 games for him to make his first appearance of the 2025 campaign, but Willis still impressed in limited reps. He guided the team to a touchdown in a win over the Giants, and he added another passing touchdown and 44 rushing yards while relieving Love in a loss to the Bears. The Packers lost his Week 18 start to the Ravens, but he still completed 18 of his 21 pass attempts, tossed a touchdown, and found the end zone twice on the ground.
While Willis still only has six starts in four years, his successful cameos have set him up for a potential starting gig in 2026. The 26-year-old leads a free agent class that includes the likes of Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson. Willis could be seen as a logical bridge QB or a seat-warmer ahead of a young signal caller, or he could be added as competition for an incumbent. Either way, Willis will likely be viewed as more than a QB2, which should price out the Packers.
Extension Talks Between Packers, Tucker Kraft Will Happen In “Near Future”
After emerging as one of Jordan Love‘s preferred targets over the past two years, Tucker Kraft is now in line for an extension. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters that the front office has already been in contact with Kraft’s camp about “how the organization feels about him”, and extension talks “will happen in the near future,” per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
Kraft is currently rehabbing a torn ACL that ended his 2025 campaign prematurely. The 2026 season will represent the final year of the former third-round pick’s rookie contract.
After showing flashes as a rookie in 2023, Kraft had a breakout showing in 2024. After leaping fellow 2023 draftee Luke Musgrave on the depth chart, Kraft proceeded to haul in 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games. He was set to exceed those numbers in 2025. Through the first half of the season, the tight end was averaging a career-high 61.1 yards per game, and his six touchdowns had him on pace for double-digit scores.
Unfortunately, Kraft’s season ended in November after he suffered a serious knee injury. While the tight end isn’t targeting a specific return date, he did recently tell the team website that he’s hoping to be “bulletproof” by the start of the 2026 season. Kraft also noted that he didn’t experience any complications from his surgery.
Other than impending free agent Romeo Doubs, the Packers are set to return their same grouping of pass catchers in 2026. However, only 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden is attached to a contract beyond that campaign. While the team will surely look to lock in some of those receivers, it makes sense that the front office would put in a concerted effort to extend their pass-catching tight end.
While the injury may partly influence the Packers’ offer, the team is surely anticipating Kraft to command a lucrative long-term deal. $20MM in guarantees wouldn’t even put the player in the top-10 at his position, and a $14MM AAV would put him just inside the top-five among tight ends. 2022 fourth-round pick Jake Ferguson would likely be the starting point in negotiations; the Cowboys tight end inked a four-year, $52MM deal ($21.4MM guaranteed) last summer.
NFC Staff Notes: Cowboys, Pack, Rams
After interviewing Chidera Uzo-Diribe on Tuesday, the Cowboys are expected to hire the former Georgia assistant as their outside linebackers coach, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. As PFR’s Nikhil Mehta noted earlier this week, Uzo-Diribe helped develop OLBs Nolan Smith, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker into first-round picks during his time on Kirby Smart‘s coaching staff. He’ll now play a key role under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Marcus Dixon will join Uzo-Diribe and Parker in Dallas as the team’s defensive line coach, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. A Cowboys D-lineman from 2008-10, Dixon began his coaching career as a Rams assistant in 2021. He spent 2022-23 leading the D-line in Denver alongside Parker, then the Broncos’ defensive backs coach. Dixon held the same position with the Vikings over the past two seasons. The Vikings allowed Dixon’s contract to expire after the season, and they’ve since found a replacement in Ryan Nielsen.
Stephen Bravo-Brown, previously the Browns’ assistant receivers coach, is also on his way to Dallas, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. It’s unclear which role Bravo-Brown will take with the Cowboys after he wore multiple hats over six years in Cleveland. Before working with receivers last season, Bravo-Brown spent time as a defensive quality control coach and a special teams assistant.
Here are more staff updates from the NFC:
- Longtime 49ers assistant defensive backs/safeties coach Daniel Bullocks is joining the Packers’ staff in an unspecified role, Zenitz relays. Bullocks, a defensive back with the Lions from 2006-09, spent nine seasons in San Francisco and coached the team’s safeties over the past seven years. Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson, Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are among 49ers safeties who enjoyed success under Bullocks.
- After hiring Bubba Ventrone as their special teams coordinator, the Rams have brought in Kyle Hoke as an assistant, per Wilson. A college coach for 13 years, Hoke jumped to the NFL for the first time last season and worked in Cleveland under Ventrone. Now in Los Angeles, the two will attempt to turn around a special teams unit that helped lead to the Rams’ downfall in 2025. ST gaffes were an all-too-frequent occurrence for the Rams during the regular season, and they reared their head in the playoffs with Xavier Smith fumbling a punt in an NFC title game loss to the Seahawks.
Dolphins To Hire Sean Duggan As DC
Another important hire on Jeff Hafley‘s Dolphins staff is being made. Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan is heading to Miami to become the team’s new defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. 
Once the Dolphins brought in Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager, signs increasingly pointed to Hafley following him to South Beach as head coach. As expected, that proved to be the case roughly two weeks ago. Hafley will have a familiar face at the coordinator spot on his first Miami staff.
The Dolphins interviewed Clint Hurtt for the position, but Duggan was recently named as the expected hire in this case. He and Hafley have worked together at the college and pro levels. Duggan worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio State before following Hafley to Boston College. The two continued to work alongside one another for Hafley’s two seasons as the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafely will call plays on defense during his first NFL head coaching stint. The coordinator spot will still of course be an important one, though, and Duggan will take on increased responsibilities with this new title. The 32-year-old was a defensive assistant in Green Bay in 2024 before coaching the team’s linebackers this past season. He will see an expanded purview during his first DC gig at the pro level.
Today’s news comes as little surprise but it confirms incumbent defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will not be retained for 2026. Weaver spent the past two seasons as Miami’s DC, and he was a popular target for head coaching interviews around the NFL during this year’s hiring cycle. Weaver, 45, was a finalist for the Cardinals’ gig but it went to Mike LaFleur earlier today. Late in the coordinator hiring process, Weaver will now seek out a new opportunity.
Miami ranked 24th in total defense and 22nd in points allowed last season. Improvement across the board will be sought out under Hafley, Duggan and Co. this season with the Dolphins aiming for sustained success under their new regime. Mike McDaniel managed a pair of wild-card appearances during his four-year tenure, but he did not post a playoff win and oversaw a team which regressed over time.
Bobby Slowik had already been promoted to offensive coordinator prior to today’s move. Chris Tabor is also in place as Miami’s new special teams coordinator. With Duggan now in place, many of Hafley’s most important hires have been taken care of.
Cowboys Add Derrick Ansley To Staff
New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker has been busy over the past few days working to piece together his staff. A notable name will be joining him in Dallas for 2026. 
Derrick Ansley has agreed to terms with the Cowboys, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports. This news marks an expected to end to his Packers tenure. Ansley worked as Green Bay’s defensive pass-game coordinator for each of the past two years. The team brought in Bobby Babich to fill that role earlier this week, however.
Ansley has not needed to wait long to find his next opportunity. The 44-year-old will join Ryan Smith in Dallas, per Archer. Smith was reported to be a Cowboys target recently, with the same also being true of outgoing Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr. Like Orr, Ansley has previously been a DC at the NFL level.
In 2023, Ansley was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Chargers. That move followed two years as a defensive backs coach with the Bolts but proved to be short-lived. Brandon Staley‘s midseason firing paved the way for a slew of changes on the sidelines and the eventual arrival of Jim Harbaugh. That led Ansley – who has also worked as a defensive coordinator at the college level (Tennessee in 2020 and ’21) – to Green Bay. He spent two years working under Jeff Hafley, who is now in place as the Dolphins’ head coach.
Ansley will hold the familiar titles of defensive pass-game coordinator and DBs coach, per Archer. He adds Smith will operate as Dallas’ secondary coach. Together, the two will be tasked with helping lead a needed turnaround in production from that unit. The Cowboys ranked last in the NFL in pass defense this season, a key reason why they fell short of the playoffs. A stronger showing in 2026 could help Ansley’s future coordinator stock; he interviewed for one DC opening during each of the past two hiring cycles.
Meanwhile, interviews with several other candidates for the Cowboys’ staff continued today. According to Archer, Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin, Eagles assistant linebacker coach Ronell Williams and former Vikings defensive line coach Marcus Dixon all conducted in-person interviews on Saturday. USC D-line coach/defensive run game coordinator Eric Henderson will meet with the team tomorrow.
NFC North Coaching Updates: Vikings, Petzing, Packers
Barring a departure for one of the two remaining open head coaching positions, the Vikings have fulfilled their biggest offseason wish of retaining defensive coordinator Brian Flores, even securing him long-term with a contract extension. While Flores is still around, assistant head coach Mike Pettine has retired, passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones landed a coordinator job with the Commanders, and the team moved on from offensive line coach Chris Kuper and allowed defensive line coach Marcus Dixon‘s contract to expire. 
Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been working to fill the roles left vacant by these departures in recent weeks. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the team has brought in Frank Smith to fill Pettine’s former role as assistant head coach. Smith, a former offensive coordinator with the Dolphins, learned under former play-calling head coach Mike McDaniel and could bring some of his influence to the offense. He’s also expected to help in run game planning. To replace Kuper, O’Connell promoted Keith Carter to offensive line coach. He was the team’s assistant OL coach last year but has served as a full-time position coach in the past and will return to that role in Minnesota next year.
On defense, Gerald Alexander will replace Jones as defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach. Alexander has bounced around since entering the NFL ranks of coaching in 2017, working DB coaching jobs with the Panthers, Dolphins, Steelers, and Raiders before landing in Minnesota. Flores worked with Alexander during his stops in Miami and Pittsburgh, so if he doesn’t get a head coaching position, Alexander will be reuniting with him in Minnesota. Replacing Dixon will be Ryan Nielsen, who will add defensive run game coordinator to Dixon’s original DL coach title. Nielsen has coordinator experience with the Saints, Falcons, and Jaguars and most recently served as a senior defensive assistant with the Bills.
Here are a few other coaching updates from around the NFC North:
- Last year, the Lions took play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator John Morton and ended up parting ways with him at the end of the season. Head coach Dan Campbell took over play calling for the remainder of the season, but he doesn’t intend to retain those duties in 2026. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, general manager Brad Holmes told the media that new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will take the reins in calling plays for the offense in Detroit next season. Petzing will be running the show as the Lions look to get back on track after a disappointing 2025 campaign.
- Lastly, in Green Bay, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that the Packers are expected to hire Sam Siefkes as linebackers coach. After a year at the collegiate level as defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, Siefkes reunites with new Packers DC Jonathan Gannon. Siefkes previously served as Gannon’s linebackers coach in Arizona, where Gannon was head coach. Siefkes’ addition indicates that former linebackers coach Sean Duggan, who was reportedly expected to follow Jeff Hafley to Miami for a potential shot at a role as defensive coordinator, is officially departed from Green Bay.
Bills, Packers Request QBs Coach Interview with Cardinals’ Connor Senger
The Bills and Packers both requested to interview Cardinals passing game coordinator Connor Senger for their quarterbacks coach vacancies, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Senger, 30, has worked closely with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray over the past four seasons. Senger arrived in Arizona in 2022 as a coaching fellow and moved up in each of the last three offseasons. He became a quality control coach in 2022, the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024, and the pass game coordinator in 2025.
The Cardinals’ air attack has struggled for the most of Senger’s time in Arizona, though Murray has only played in 41 games in that span.
Before joining the Cardinals, Senger spent time with a number of college teams. In 2017, began his coaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a Division III program for whom he started at quarterback for the previous two seasons. He worked for two more D-III schools – Carroll and Wisconsin-Whitewater – before a two-year stint at North Dakota State, which preceded his entrance to the NFL.
The jobs in both Buffalo and Green Bay offer the appeal of working with clear face-of-the-franchise quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Jordan Love. The latter has not reached the same heights as the former, but both are under contract through at least 2028. Success as one of the two’s coach could lead to an offensive coordinator by then, if not sooner. To that point, Senger called plays at the East-West Shrine Bowl this week. While that is certainly not the same to a full-time coordinator gig, it shows that Senger is viewed by some as a potential future OC.