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New England Patriots News & Rumors

2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 15th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles To Interview Jerod Mayo

January 13th, 2021 at 9:07am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles are expected to interview Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo for their head coaching vacancy, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Mayo has only been coaching for a short while, but he’s been a fast riser over the last couple of years.

[RELATED: Latest On Eagles, Robert Saleh]

Known in New England as “Jerod Belichick,” Mayo has guided the Pats to the least points allowed in the NFL over the last two seasons. He’ll be the fourth candidate interviewed — Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles are also set to meet with the Birds. Soon, University of Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley could join that list.

Mayo may lack experience, but he comes with the endorsement of prominent Patriots figures.

“The same stuff [Mayo] carried when he was a player, he’s definitely still got it,” said Patriots ILB Dont’a Hightower in 2019 (via Jeff Howe of The Athletic). “He’s a hell of a coach. Honestly, I wouldn’t expect anything less. He’s got so much knowledge and so much wisdom that he brings – not just as a football player. He’s definitely done it. He’s seen it. He’s played it. The reputation that he has, he’s an all-pro, so it’s great to have a linebacker coach who has been through so much and can relate to a lot.”

2021 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

January 12th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

This year’s NFL GM carousel figures to be more active than usual. The Falcons, Lions, Panthers, Texans, and Jaguars are all on the hunt for a new front office leader. And that’s only the official list. The real tally shows six clubs looking for a GM, since the Washington Football Team is expected to install a GM to work alongside head coach Ron Rivera. By mid-January, we could easily see a couple more jobs opening up — that’d put ~25% of the NFL on the market.

We’ll keep track of the GM candidates for each club here, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make general manager changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-19-21 (7:02pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington Football Team

2021 NFL Draft Order

January 11th, 2021 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Wild Card weekend is in the books and 75% of the NFL’s 2021 Draft order has been set. Here’s the rundown, thus far:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers

GM Notes: Colbert, Patriots, Panthers, Rhule, Bears, Pace

January 10th, 2021 at 8:27pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We brought you a new batch of coaching notes earlier, and now we’ve got a new collection of front office bullets to pass along as the Browns and Steelers wrap up wild card weekend:

  • Let’s start with the Steelers, who could be in danger of losing their GM this offseason. We heard last week that the Lions were going to pursue Kevin Colbert, and Jason La Canfora tweets their interest in making that happen is still “very real.” While La Canfora’s sources don’t think Colbert would actually make the jump, he says the Lions “continue to gather info and strategize on how to possibly lure him.” Colbert, in the midst of his 21st season in Pittsburgh, has also flirted with retirement recently. Perhaps a first-round exit at the hands of the Browns could convince him to jump ship?
  • The Patriots just lost one key exec when Nick Caserio got hired by the Texans, and fortunately for them it doesn’t look like they’ll lose another. Dave Ziegler has pulled himself out of contention for the Broncos’ GM job, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Rapsheet writes that the “organization has committed to Ziegler’s future, and Ziegler has committed to” New England, so it sounds like the Pats gave him an extension and/or raise to stay.
  • There was another big withdrawal on Sunday, as Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds removed himself from the Panthers’ search, Stephen Holder of The Athletic tweets. He had interviewed for the job last week. Dodds declined an interview request from the Browns back in January, so he appears to be waiting for the right opportunity to leave Indy.
  • Meanwhile as the Panthers’ search chugs along, they’ll take a look at a couple of internal candidates. Carolina will interview Director of Player Negotiations & Salary Cap Manager Samir Suleiman and Director of Player Personnel Pat Stewart for their GM vacancy (Twitter link via Joe Person of The Athletic). The Panthers are conducting an exhaustive search, so it’s possible these are just courtesy interviews.
  • One last note on the Panthers for now. No matter who they hire, it looks like it may be Matt Rhule who’s in charge at the end of the day. “Rhule will essentially be running the show in Carolina,” after they replace the fired Marty Hurney, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. That’s not all that surprising after owner David Tepper paid him a fortune to lure him from Baylor and Rhule earned strong marks for his first season with the Panthers, getting a bare-bones roster to fight hard and play a bunch of close games against good teams. Florio writes that whoever gets the gig “surely won’t get the job without Rhule’s agreement.” Rhule seems like a strong coach, but obviously these kind of arrangements can get dangerous, as we’ve seen with the Texans and Bill O’Brien.
  • Matt Nagy is going to be back with the Bears in 2021, but GM Ryan Pace’s future apparently isn’t entirely secure. Chicago could target Chiefs exec Mike Borgonzi this offseason, multiple sources told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. As Biggs points out, it would make sense for them to bring in someone familiar with Nagy if they’re going to change GMs but not coaches. Nagy, of course, coached in Kansas City under Andy Reid for a while. The Bears’ blowout loss to the Saints today certainly isn’t working in Pace’s favor, and the drafting of Mitchell Trubisky second overall never worked out. This will be an interesting situation to monitor this week.

Patriots Notes: Gase, Slater

January 10th, 2021 at 7:24pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Adam Gase became a polarizing figure during his stint as the Jets’ head coach, to put it kindly. His tenure was nothing short of a disaster as New York finished 2-14 this year, and media and fans alike are united in their dislike of him. That being said that might not be enough to damage Gase’s rep in league circles, and it sounds like he could have some opportunities in front of him. Even before Bill Belichick recently sung his praises ahead of Week 17, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes that he had already heard Gase’s name connected with the Patriots.

Volin thinks Gase would make sense as the Patriots’ new quarterbacks coach with Jedd Fisch taking the head coaching job at Arizona, or potentially the new OC if Josh McDaniels left. As he points out, there are legit ties here. Both Gase and McDaniels got their first coaching jobs as student assistants on Nick Saban’s staff at Michigan State in 1999. Then Gase was McDaniels’ receivers coach when McDaniels became head coach of the Broncos. With Gase being the Dolphins’ coach before landing the Jets job, he’s spent the past handful of years going up against Belichick twice a year in the AFC East. This hire would certainly raise a lot of eyebrows if it happens.

  • Special teams ace Matthew Slater has had a storied career with the Patriots, but it could be coming to an end. Slater is uncertain about playing in 2021 and will take some time before deciding about retirement, per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. “I’m at a point in my career now where I don’t know how much football I have left and I think as a young guy I was always thinking about the next season, the career you hope to have,” Slater said. “Now, obviously, I’m on the back nine.” If this is it, he’ll hang up his cleats after an extremely decorated career. Slater has won three Super Bowls with New England, made nine Pro Bowls, and seven All-Pro teams. It would also represent the end of an era, as the team captain is one of the few guys left other than Belichick from the old-guard Patriots.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/21

January 6th, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ll keep track of the latest reserve/futures deals here:

Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Patriots’ Cam Newton Won’t Wait To Sign

January 6th, 2021 at 12:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Cam Newton is on track for free agency in the spring. This time around, the Patriots quarterback tells Greg Hill of WEEI that he doesn’t want to wait until the summer to sign a deal. 

“That’s definitely going to go into consideration,” Newton said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss). “I’m not going to wait in the latter part of another season when I have the opportunity to do something or sign with someone.”

Though no decision has been made, the Patriots are not expected to re-sign Newton. Newton threw for just five touchdowns against ten interceptions, resulting in an NFL-low 78.9 quarterback rating. The Patriots expected more from the former MVP, and they missed the playoffs for the first time in a long time.

Newton may still hold appeal for other teams, given his potential and the dearth of talent at the QB position. Plus, he’s shown he can still be effective with his feet, having rushed 126 times for 513 yards (4.1 YPC average) and 12 TDs. He also stayed healthy – no small feat, given his pre-Patriots history.

No matter where he lands, the 31-year-old has every intention of starting.

“If you are asking me, Do I want to be a backup? Hell no!,” Newton said. “When I look at other teams, and I’m looking at other players play, there have been guys that have been getting away with murder for years because of subpar play. Do I have the right to say that with the year I had this year? No. But I’m going to be honest and say it because that’s what I do.”

Texans To Hire Nick Caserio As GM

January 5th, 2021 at 8:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nick Caserio interviewed for the Panthers and Texans GM jobs Tuesday, but he traveled to Houston for the Texans meeting. And the longtime Patriots executive will finally make the jump to a GM role.

The Texans are expected to hire Caserio as their next general manager, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The organization has decided and is hiring the veteran personnel man, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Caserio, of course, has an extensive history with the Texans. The team wanted to hire him in 2019, but his unusual Patriots contract prohibited such a move. However, he resurfaced on the Texans’ radar after Bill O’Brien‘s early-season firing. Caserio worked with current Texans executive VP Jack Easterby in New England and remains close with the former Patriots staffer. Easterby is believed to hold plenty of sway as to which direction the Texans go with this hire.

The Texans also interviewed the Steelers’ Omar Khan, Seahawks’ Trent Kirchner and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for this job. They also met with in-house staffer Matt Bazirgan and were scheduled to meet with Bills staffer Malik Boyd and Ravens exec Scott Cohen. Korn Ferry, the firm the Texans used to spearhead their search, recommended Bazirgan, Cohen, Khan, Kirchner and Riddick but did not place Caserio on its finalist list, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Interestingly, Cal McNair told candidates they would be allowed to determine Easterby’s role, Garafolo adds (Twitter link). Given Easterby and Caserio’s past, it can be assumed Easterby will remain a key Texans figure.

Now 45, Caserio has been with the Patriots for 20 years. After Scott Pioli went to Kansas City in 2009, Caserio rose into a key role as Bill Belichick‘s right-hand man. He has been with the team for each of its six Super Bowl titles. The Patriots and Caserio reached another extension agreement in February 2020. Caserio’s departure will leave Dave Ziegler as Belichick’s top lieutenant, though the Broncos — who gave Ziegler his NFL start — have requested a GM interview. The Pats lost Monti Ossenfort to the Titans last year.

The two-decade New Englander will walk into an interesting situation. O’Brien’s brief GM tenure involved a few splashy and criticized trades, and one of them — the Laremy Tunsil deal — leaves the Texans without their first- or second-round picks. Miami holds Houston’s No. 3 overall choice. Revitalizing a roster that houses a franchise quarterback (Deshaun Watson) in need of a considerable supporting cast bump would be quite an accomplishment. But the Texans hiring an exec they have pursued for years represents a big step as well.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/5/21

January 5th, 2021 at 9:44am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of the latest reserve/futures deals here:

Carolina Panthers 

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

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