Broncos Shake Up Front Office, John Elway To Hire GM
Major shakeup out of Denver, as John Elway is giving up personnel control of the Broncos. In a surprising move, Elway will move to President of Football Operations, and will hire a GM who is in control of the roster, the team announced Monday.
“As part of a transition I’ve thought about for a long time, I have made the decision to step up into an elevated role and hire a general manager to lead our personnel and football staff. While I’ll continue to be President of Football Operations in 2021, the GM will have final say on the draft, free agency and our roster. This person will be empowered to make all football decisions, working in partnership with Vic,” Elway said in a statement.
Under the new structure, both the new GM and Vic Fangio will report to Elway. Obviously the legendary former quarterback isn’t going anywhere, bu he is giving up a huge amount of power, and this feels like a way for the organization to bring in a new front office head without having to deal with the ordeal of firing Elway.
Elway took over in Denver in 2011, and obviously had quite a bit of success his first handful of years after luring Peyton Manning to the Broncos. That culminated in a win in Super Bowl 50, but things went downhill quickly after Manning and head coach Gary Kubiak retired.
The team has now endured four losing seasons in a row, and they have an unsettled quarterback situation with Drew Lock looking iffy his first two years in the league. Elway’s hire of Vance Joseph to replace Kubiak didn’t work out, and he’s drawn a lot of criticism for failing to stabilize things under center ever since Manning left. His one big swing in the draft, taking Paxton Lynch out of Memphis in the first-round, was an abject disaster.
There are now a whopping seven GM vacancies across the league. Elway’s top deputy has been Matt Russell, and he had an opportunity to interview for the GM job but declined and elected to retire, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Russell will stay on for the time being to help Elway with the GM search, Schefter says. Bears exec Champ Kelly, 49ers exec Adam Peters (who has been linked to several other openings), and Bucs exec John Spytek are all names to keep an eye on for this search, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says (Twitter video link). Spytek previously was a national scout under Elway in Denver, Peters was with the Broncos from 2009-16, and Kelly was with the organization from 2007-14.
Vikings OC Gary Kubiak To Retire
We just got word of one offensive coordinator vacancy as the Dolphins fired Chan Gailey, and now it looks like we’ve got another. Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak plans to retire, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Kubiak joined Minnesota in an advisory role in 2019, then took over as offensive coordinator this season after Kevin Stefanski left to take the Browns’ head coaching job. Kubiak is an incredibly accomplished coach, winning three Super Bowls as an assistant with the Broncos and 49ers before winning another won as head coach of Denver in Super Bowl 50. He also was the Texans’ head coach from 2006-13, and the Ravens’ offensive coordinator in 2014 before getting hired by the Broncos.
The Vikings were a disappointment this season, but that was mostly because of their defense, so it’s unlikely that he’s being squeezed out and this is probably entirely his call.There were a lot of positives to take away from this Minnesota offense, like Dalvin Cook rushing for 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games or rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson emerging to look like a star in the making.
Now at the age of 59, Kubiak has dealt with a couple of health scares in recent years, which was what caused him to step down as coach of the Broncos after a 9-7 2016 season. That initial retirement lasted only a couple of seasons though, so it’s entirely possible we haven’t seen the last of him on an NFL sideline even with this second retirement.
It’s unclear what the Vikings will do to replace him, but if they choose to promote from within like Mike Zimmer often likes to do, one logical candidate is Kubiak’s own son Klint Kubiak, who was the quarterbacks coach this past season.
Chargers Fire Anthony Lynn
The Chargers and Anthony Lynn are parting ways. On Monday morning, the Chargers formally announced that their head coach has been relieved of his duties. 
The Chargers had a great deal of respect for Lynn and they were reportedly 50/50 on whether to keep him. But, after huddling up on Monday, Bolts brass decided to move on.
Lynn went 9-7 his first year as the Chargers’ head coach, followed by a 12-4 showing and a playoff win in Year Two. Things took a turn after that, however. The Chargers went just 5-11 last season and 7-9 in 2020, losing a mind-boggling amount of close games both times. The slide continued this year, thanks in part to some in-game blunders by Lynn. The Chargers rallied a bit after getting bumped from playoff contention, but it wasn’t enough to save Lynn’s job.
The Chargers job should hold lots of appeal, and not just because they’re in sunny Los Angeles. Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has been a revelation. Herbert, 22, set the rookie record for passing touchdowns while posting the second-highest total in passing yards. There’s also ample cap room, plus skill position and defensive talent. That includes All-Pro safety Derwin James, who is set to return after losing the 2020 season to injury.
Jaguars Fire Doug Marrone
The Jaguars and Doug Marrone have parted ways. On Monday morning, the Jaguars fired their head coach to join the Jets, Lions, Falcons, and Texans on the vacancy list. 
[RELATED: Jets Fire Adam Gase]
This was the long expected move, though the Jags did not make it official until after the season finale. Marrone narrowly avoided an ouster after the 2019 season and stayed on board after the dismissal of GM Dave Caldwell. Marrone had fans in the front office, but it would have been a surprise to see him stay after a 16-game losing streak.
“I am committed and determined to deliver winning football to the City of Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said. “Realizing that goal requires a fresh start throughout our football operations, and with that in mind I spoke this morning with Doug Marrone to express my gratitude for his hard work over the past four seasons as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.”
“I’ll always appreciate Doug’s passion, grit and class, and I’m confident he will enjoy success in the next chapter of his career. As the search for our new general manager continues, now the quest begins to find a head coach who shares my ambition for the Jacksonville Jaguars and our fans, whose loyalty and faith are overdue to be rewarded.”
From here, the Jaguars may focus their attention on Urban Meyer. The former Florida and Ohio State coach has reportedly made inquiries about future Jacksonville staff members, though Meyer counts at least one other NFL team as a suitor. And, of course, Meyer has a history of cold feet, so the Jaguars will be doing their due diligence with other candidates. Despite their struggles, the Jaguars shouldn’t have trouble attracting big-name coaches. With the No. 1 overall pick and $100MM+ in cap space, they arguably offer the best situation of any coachless club.
Jets Fire Adam Gase
Well, it’s official. The Jets have fired head coach Adam Gase, the team announced in a statement Sunday evening.
“This evening, I informed Adam Gase he will no longer serve as the Head Coach of the Jets. During his time here, I had the pleasure to get to know Adam and his wonderful family and wish them nothing but the best moving forward. While my sincere intentions are to have stability in our organization – especially in our leadership positions – it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction. We knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done when Adam joined us in 2019. Our strong finish last year was encouraging, but unfortunately, we did not sustain that positive momentum or see the progress we all expected this season,” Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said in the release.
We heard yesterday that this move was expected as soon as Week 17 concluded, and it certainly isn’t surprising. New York rattled off two wins in their final three games, but obviously it wasn’t enough to save Gase’s job. He’ll finish his two-year stint with a 9-23 record. As Johnson’s statement alluded to the team went 6-2 down the stretch last year, but that didn’t result in any momentum.
Things were a disaster right from the start in 2020 as the team lost each of their last six games. In that same report from yesterday we heard they were going to consider a lengthy list of candidates including NFL assistants like Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs OC), Matt Eberflus (Colts DC), Don Martindale (Ravens DC), Arthur Smith (Titans OC) and Brandon Staley (Rams DC), as well as college coaches like Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Matt Campbell (Iowa State) and Dan Mullen (Florida).
It sounds like GM Joe Douglas is planning an exhaustive search. Even when he settles on a candidate there will still be plenty of unanswered questions, including what to do with Sam Darnold and whether or not to draft a quarterback with the second overall pick.
Gase, 44, first earned national recognition for his role as Peyton Manning’s offensive coordinator in Denver from 2013-14. He was head coach of the Dolphins from 2016-18, and was initially praised for his work in Miami before things spiraled. After being fired by the Dolphins he was very quickly picked up by the Jets. Bill Belichick has spoken very highly of him in recent days, but due to how polarizing he became during his time in New York, it’s unlikely he lands another head coaching gig anytime soon.
Carson Wentz To Request Trade
The relationship between Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Carson Wentz is fractured beyond repair, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. Wentz is expected to ask the Eagles for a trade this offseason and will do whatever he can to facilitate a deal out of Philadelphia.
Wentz was benched for rookie signal-caller Jalen Hurts a few weeks ago, but shortly thereafter, it was reported that Philadelphia had not lost faith in Wentz and had no intention of trading him (though that may have simply been a tactic to maintain its leverage in trade negotiations). Wentz, however, was said to be rattled by the team’s decision to select Hurts in the second round of this year’s draft and was upset with how his benching unfolded. As a result, he is looking for a fresh start elsewhere.
Just yesterday, we learned that the Eagles plan to retain Pederson for the 2021 season, so assuming Mortensen’s report is accurate, the club may be choosing its head coach over its former MVP-candidate quarterback. However, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network says the Eagles still believe the situation is salvageable (Twitter link), so it remains to be seen how aggressive the team will be in trade talks.
If the club does elect to move on from Wentz, a trade is much more feasible than a release. Trading Wentz before the third day of the 2021 league year would result in a dead cap charge of just under $34MM for 2021, but given that Wentz’s cap number for next season is set to be just above $34MM, the Eagles would actually save a bit of cap space and would at least have some draft pick compensation in their pocket. Releasing Wentz would result in a massive dead cap hit of nearly $60MM, and while the Eagles could spread out that hit over two years by designating him a post-June 1 cut, carrying $30MM on the books for two consecutive seasons for a player no longer on the roster wouldn’t make much sense.
Because of the presence of former Eagles OC Frank Reich and their abundance of cap space, the Colts have been rumored as the most likely destination for Wentz in the event a trade is consummated. Indeed, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says Wentz would prefer Indianapolis over several other clubs (video link), and if incumbent Colts signal-caller Philip Rivers elects to retire at season’s end, Indy will certainly be in the market for a QB.
Rapoport says that Rivers, who signed a one-year, $25MM pact with the Colts this offseason, is very much open to retirement, and his decision may hinge on whether the team advances to the playoffs. TV networks are said to be eyeing Rivers, who could easily transition to the broadcast booth if he hangs up the cleats.
Jets Plan To Fire Adam Gase
The expected firing of Adam Gase is on track to transpire after Week 17, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. While Gase said earlier this week he has not been notified he will be fired, the Jets’ 0-13 start essentially ensured he would not be back.
This will mark Gase’s second ouster in three seasons; the Dolphins fired him after the 2018 season. He has gone 9-22 with the Jets. Although the former successful OC led his team to upset wins over two potential playoff squads and helped the Jets hire GM Joe Douglas, the past two Jets seasons have involved controversy and continued losing.
As far as a replacement goes, the Jets appear to be looking at a wide array of candidates. Current assistants Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs OC), Matt Eberflus (Colts DC), Don Martindale (Ravens DC), Arthur Smith (Titans OC) and Brandon Staley (Rams DC) are set to be considered. As are college coaches Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Matt Campbell (Iowa State) and Dan Mullen (Florida), according to NFL.com. Harbaugh, a previous Jets candidate, appears a long shot. The former 49ers coach is finalizing an extension to stay at Michigan, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweets.
After leading the Dolphins to the playoffs in his first season as head coach, Gase has seen his teams miss the past four postseason brackets. In New York, he feuded with previous GM Mike Maccagnan and was consistently connected to dissatisfaction with Le’Veon Bell‘s contract and performance. Two-plus months after cutting Bell, the Jets will move on from Gase. They were prepared to fire Gase earlier this week had the Browns upset not occurred, according to NFL.com.
The Jets already fired Gregg Williams after the polarizing defensive coordinator made a play call that cost the Jets an excellent chance at beating the Raiders. Gase and Williams feuded as well. Jets ownership sought Williams, which helped lead to then-Baylor HC Matt Rhule declining to leave the college ranks in 2019. Rhule ended up in Carolina a year later.
Gase’s Jets offense rarely generated much excitement. The team has struggled to build an offensive line and did not equip Sam Darnold well at the skill positions. As a result, the former No. 3 overall pick has regressed. And during the months in which the Jets were connected to Trevor Lawrence, Darnold frequently landed in trade rumors. As Darnold’s third season concludes, his status is in limbo. The Jets are set to hold the No. 2 overall pick in April and could well look at a quarterback to begin the post-Gase era.
Jaguars Expected To Fire Doug Marrone, Target Urban Meyer
After coaching a depleted team that ended up losing 14 straight games — and securing the 2021 No. 1 overall pick — Doug Marrone is expected to be fired. The Jaguars are planning to end Marrone’s four-plus-season tenure after Week 17, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
Although the Jags have not made a final decision, Marrone narrowly avoided an ouster after the 2019 season. The team has since fired GM Dave Caldwell, and seeing a coach hang onto his job after a 14-game losing streak would obviously be quite unusual.
The team appears to be moving fast on Marrone’s replacement, eyeing Urban Meyer. The former Florida and Ohio State coach has already begun lining up a staff, according to Rapoport, who adds the ex-national champion expects to land the Jacksonville job.
At least two teams have reached out to Meyer about a head coaching role; the Jaguars certainly appear to be one of the two. Meyer, who has a history of spurning interest or leaving posts abruptly, has not committed to coaching in 2021, Rapoport adds.
Two of Meyer’s three national championships came in north Florida, when he led the Gators to titles in 2006 and ’08. This would make Jacksonville a logical landing spot. A greater interest has emerged in the Jaguars job due to the expected arrival of Clemson phenom Trevor Lawrence. Meyer has landed on other NFL teams’ radars in the past, but this time his interest in the pros appears genuine. Meyer, 56, stepped down multiple times at Florida and left his Ohio State post — at which he claimed a third national championship — in 2019.
If Meyer again ends up declining a path to the pros, the Jaguars have another option in mind. In this scenario, the Jags, per Rapoport (on Twitter), would target Meyer’s Ohio State successor — Ryan Day. Unlike Meyer, Day has NFL experience. He served as QBs coach for the 2015 Eagles and 2016 49ers. Both those gigs came under Chip Kelly, and those respective organizations cleaned house after each of those campaigns. Day, 41, has been at Ohio State since 2017, rising to their head coaching position in 2019. Day will coach Ohio State in the upcoming national championship game.
Marrone’s first full Jacksonville season went better than just about anyone could have expected. The Blake Bortles-quarterbacked team ventured to the AFC championship game, upsetting the Steelers in Round 2. The Jags nearly pulled off a bigger upset but squandered a late lead against the Patriots. Everything went downhill from there. After an ill-fated Bortles extension backfired, the Jags did not come close to competing for a playoff spot again under Marrone.
The team fired executive VP Tom Coughlin before last season ended, and while ownership kept the Caldwell-Marrone duo in place, the Jaguars purged most of the players from their 2017 squad from the roster. Even after trading the likes of Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, the Jags placed many of their new starters on IR. This helped key the 14-game skid that ended up securing the franchise the No. 1 overall pick. Jacksonville holds two first-round picks in the upcoming draft, and a new coach will be in charge of attempting to resurrect a franchise that has not made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since the 1990s.
Eagles Expected To Retain Doug Pederson
The Eagles’ disappointing season will not impede Doug Pederson from making it to a sixth year with the franchise. Pederson is expected to stay on as Eagles HC next season, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com report.
Philadelphia’s three-season playoff run crash-landing into a 4-10-1 showing, headlined by Carson Wentz‘s demotion, put Pederson’s job in jeopardy. But the Super Bowl-winning coach will have a chance to dig the team out of this hole.
While the Eagles will have a new defensive coordinator, with Jim Schwartz set to depart, their offensive point man will attempt to pick up the pieces. Pederson, 52, does have a meeting with Jeffrey Lurie set for Tuesday, however, per ESPN. It sounds like more changes are coming to Philly’s staff as well.
After the Eagles lost each of their starting wide receivers late last season, the team’s Pederson-Wentz setup still lifted the squad to the NFC East title — beating a much healthier Cowboys team to secure it — and played Seattle close in the playoffs despite Wentz’s injury. However, the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in Round 2 — a decision that reportedly affected Wentz’s confidence — and inserted him into their starting lineup after Wentz could not curtail his poor play. Wentz has expressed disappointment in how Pederson handled the benching, but as of mid-December, the Eagles were not planning to trade their recently extended quarterback. It would cost them more than $40MM to do so.
Pederson oversaw one of the most surprising playoff runs in modern NFL history three years ago, lifting the Eagles to three playoff upsets (by point spread) and doing so with Nick Foles. Pederson and then-OC Frank Reich reorganized Philly’s offense after Wentz’s injury, and Foles earned Super Bowl LII MVP honors. However, Reich’s departure for Indianapolis stung Philadelphia’s offense. Pederson has made changes to his offensive staff since, firing Reich’s replacement — Mike Groh — after last season and not hiring a new OC this year.
The Eagles, who suffered a rash of injuries at wideout and on their once-top-tier offensive line, have dropped from 11th to 26th in points scored this season. Even with this surprising season, Pederson is 42-36-1 during his Eagles tenure.
It will be interesting to see if non-Schwartz big-picture changes take place in Philly. The team has consistently been able to add pieces each offseason under Howie Roseman, helping lead to the Super Bowl title. But the team is projected to be well north of the to-be-determined 2021 salary cap, which will make it difficult for the Eagles to upgrade through free agency in March. But as of now, the Pederson-Roseman power structure looks to remain in place.
Alvin Kamara Tests Positive For COVID-19
A week after his record-tying Christmas Day performance, Alvin Kamara faces the prospect of missing the Saints’ playoff opener.
The star running back tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football (on Twitter). Kamara took another test, and it came back positive, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kamara did not practice Friday.
Kamara is not symptomatic, according to Underhill (on Twitter). The Saints went to the playoffs in each of Kamara’s first three seasons; he did not miss any of those games. The former third-round pick has only missed three regular-season games in his career.
Should Kamara remain asymptomatic, he will be cleared to play in New Orleans’ first playoff game — should that game occur on Sunday, Jan. 10, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The NFL has a new playoff schedule this year; three wild-card games will occur on Saturday and Sunday. Should the league slot the Saints as a Sunday team — if, in fact, they do not obtain the No. 1 seed — Kamara has a chance to play.
The Saints have a chance at home-field advantage in the NFC, which becomes more important now. The Saints have won one road playoff game in franchise history, but securing the bye now would limit the chances Kamara misses a postseason game. A three-way tie atop the conference between the Saints, Packers and Seahawks would give New Orleans its second No. 1 seed in three seasons. This would mean a Green Bay loss and a Seattle win Sunday, in addition to New Orleans defeating Carolina. However, the Packers are favored to beat the Bears this week and clinch the top spot.
Kamara rushed for six touchdowns in Week 16, tying Ernie Nevers‘ 91-year-old record, and leads the NFL with 21 total TDs. He battled ankle trouble in 2019 but missed just two games. He has played all 15 of the Saints’ contests this year and established a new career high with 1,688 scrimmage yards. The Saints earning the No. 2 seed — which they would if the current spots hold — would mean a matchup with the Rams, Cardinals or Bears in Round 1. As it stands, Latavius Murray (656 rushing yards; five total TDs) would start in that game.
The Saints, however, have navigated this season without key players at multiple junctures. Michael Thomas remains on IR and has missed much of the season due to ailments and a suspension. Drew Brees missed four games because of cracked ribs and a punctured lung but has since returned. This Kamara situation will be more of the same for New Orleans, which endured a first-round upset with Kamara, Brees and a healthy Thomas last season.