Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Arizona Cardinals
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
Tennessee Titans
At least three finalists have emerged for the Bears GM gig. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the organization has requested second interviews with Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort and Patriots senior consultant Eliot Wolf. We previously learned that Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles would also be getting a second interview. Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown could also be a candidate for a second interview, per Rapoport.
[RELATED: Bears Request Second GM Interview With Ryan Poles]
Ossenfort has been the director of player personnel in Tennessee for the past two years. Prior to the Titans, he spent 17 seasons in the Patriots’ organization, acting as the director of college scouting in his last six years in New England.
Wolf started off as a pro personnel assistant in 2004 with the Packers, where his father, Ron Wolf, served as general manager. In eight years with the team, Eliot worked his way into the director of pro personnel role, which he held for three years. In his last two seasons in Green Bay, he spent time in the roles of director of player personnel and director of football operations. He left Wisconsin for the assistant general manager position in Cleveland before taking his current position as a senior consultant in New England.
Brown had a seven-year stint as the Bears assistant director of pro personnel. He’s served as a top executive in Indy for the past five years, with Brown earning credit for his draft evaluation. He interviewed for the Falcons GM gig last offseason.
The Divisional Round has come to end, and after each game was decided on the final play, the season has come to a bitter end for another four teams. That brings the total number of squads locked into their first round draft position to 28. Interestingly, the Rams and 49ers are still standing after they each parted ways with top draft picks this past offseason. San Francisco’s first choice is currently slated to be 61st overall, while the Rams aren’t projected to be on the board until the 101st pick. For Los Angeles in particular, the decision is certainly paying off so far.
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:
* = Remaining playoff teams
The Patriots’ defense struggled in their Wild Card loss to the division rival Bills. That struggle could perhaps have a noticeable effect on cornerback J.C. Jackson‘s future. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Jackson was on a one-year extension this season, meaning last week’s loss is the last game he will have played before potentially hitting the free agent market.
The game was possibly Jackson’s worst in his four-year career, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN, who called out Jackson’s technique playing the ball, coverage breakdowns, and overall effort. Reiss went on to deliberate on the odds of New England tagging the second-team All-Pro, which currently projects as a $17.28MM tag. Reiss believes that Jackson’s playoff performance could prevent New England from using their franchise tag on him at all. The Patriots could always agree on an extension with Jackson, but after an impressive, healthy season, the 26-year old will likely want to test the free agency waters.
Here are a few more notes from the AFC, starting with an item out of the North:
Keeping tabs on the latest minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
New England Patriots
San Francisco 49ers
Tennessee Titans
Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:
Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
In the aftermath of an historic playoff defeat, and not long before a milestone birthday, Patriots HC Bill Belichick has no plans of leaving his current role. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, he fully intends to continue coaching in New England. 
Belichick held a press conference on Sunday after the Patriots’ 47-17 loss to the Bills. When asked if wanted to return for the 2022 season, he answered “I’d say that would be accurate”. His league-leading 22 year tenure with New England most recently saw one of the worst losses in his career. The Bills became the first team in postseason history to score a touchdown on their first seven possessions, making it clear that defensive improvements need to be an offseason priority. However, he stated an intent to take “a longer view” of the team’s overall performance during the season.
The news comes as Belichick approaches his 70th birthday in April. Reiss notes that he had once planned against coaching into his seventies, as a select few coaches have done – and, in the case of Pete Carroll of the Seahawks and Bruce Arians of the Buccaneers – seem poised to do now. With positive results stemming from an unusually busy free agency last offseason, along with an encouraging rookie season from first-round quarterback Mac Jones, there is cause for optimism the team can continue building momentum off of 2021’s 10-7 campaign.
If the league’s only six-time Super Bowl champion does return in 2022, he would likely hit a major milestone in terms of not only age, but success. If the Patriots were to win at least four games next year, that would move Belichick ahead of George Halas (324) into second on the all-time head coaching wins list. An overall record of 321-156 between the regular season and playoffs combined also gives Belichick a good chance at eclipsing Don Shula (347) for top spot on the list as early as 2023.
With the Wild Card round complete, another six positions in the 2022 NFL Draft have been confirmed.
One of the most interesting developments relates to the Philadelphia Eagles. After losing on Sunday, their own first round pick has been locked in at No. 19, having already known they would also own the 15th and 16th selections. What the team does with that much draft capital will be one of the most interesting storylines of the draft.
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:
* = Remaining playoff teams
Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:
Dallas Cowboys
Las Vegas Raiders
New England Patriots
At the moment, interim head coach Rich Bisaccia and general manager Mike Mayock are still on the Raiders payroll. However, that hasn’t stopped the organization from requesting interviews with potential replacements. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), Las Vegas requested permission to interview Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo for their HC job and Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler for their GM job. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Raiders are expected to put in a request for Colts executive Ed Dodds, as well.
We heard recently that Mayock’s job wasn’t necessarily safe, even following a tumultuous season where he was one of the organization’s calming presences en route to a playoff appearance. Mayock has spent three season’s as the Raiders GM, with the team improving their win total each season. Bisaccia, meanwhile, helped steadied the ship amid a rough season, but recent reports indicated that he was a long shot to keep his job, and that appears to be more apparent following the Raiders one-and-done postseason.
Mayo is now the team’s first definitive HC candidate. The linebacker previously had a standout career with the Patriots, with the former 10th-overall pick earning two Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl ring during his eight seasons in New England. Mayo rejoined the organization as their linebackers coach in 2019. While New England is currently operating without a true defensive coordinator, Mayo (along with Steve Belichick) are assumed to be atop the defensive coaching depth chart.
Ziegler has risen from the scouting level to director of pro personnel to his current post. While he has spent much of his career as a Pats exec, he began his NFL run with the Broncos. Last offseason, he was connected to gigs with the Broncos and Giants.
Dodds was a popular name in the GM circuit last offseason, when he was connected to gigs with the Lions and Panthers. Dodds has worked with the Colts since 2017, and he was promoted to his current position in 2018. Dodds previously spent time in the Seahawks front office, where he played a major role in constructing a Super Bowl-winning roster. He’s already been mentioned as a candidate for the Bears GM gig this offseason.