NFL Expected To Conclude Kareem Hunt Investigation By March
The NFL’s investigation into the three incidents that have put former Chiefs star Kareem Hunt‘s playing career in jeopardy is still ongoing, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. However, Rapoport writes that the league is expected to conclude its investigation before free agency opens in March, which means that any clubs interested in signing Hunt will have all the information they need prior to addressing their running back situation.
For now, Hunt remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, but once the investigation is over, the league will announce a suspension for Hunt, which is expected to be at least six games. But Rapoport suggests that, since Hunt was placed on the list with five weeks left in the 2018 regular season, he could see the length of his ban reduced.
Many have believed that the supremely talented 23-year-old would be playing in 2019, and the information that Rapoport passes along this morning certainly supports that notion. While he may be sidelined to start the 2019 campaign, it appears that he could be eligible to return to game action no later than October.
Although the Bears are the only team that we know has contacted Hunt since he was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, Rapoport notes that several clubs have touched base with him and have been keeping tabs on him. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com agrees, saying that multiple teams are interested in Hunt and that he is expected to sign with a new team sooner rather than later.
For his part, Hunt has not spoken publicly since an interview he gave to ESPN shortly after his release, and Rapoport says he has been quietly attempting to turn his life and career around.
Hunt has undergone counseling for anger and alcohol issues.
Cardinals To Hire Clements; Won’t Add OC?
The Cardinals interviewed Tom Clements for their offensive coordinator post but will be bringing him aboard with a different title.
Arizona will add Clements as its quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). At this point, the Cardinals are not expected to fill the position of offensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Kliff Kingsbury is essentially going to serve in that role, with the 65-year-old Clements now set to play a key part in assisting the first-time NFL coach. The plan will be for Kingsbury to call plays but Clements to assist him in game plans and other facets, per the Arizona Republic’s Bob McManaman. Clements’ primary role will be developing Josh Rosen.
Should the Cardinals go without an OC, it will mark an interesting conclusion to a lengthy process. The franchise interviewed four coaches — Clements, Jim Bob Cooter, Hue Jackson and John DeFilippo — for the role and sought meetings with other coaches that did not end up taking place. The Cards were initially connected to an all-college group, with Texas State HC Jake Spavital mentioned as a candidate. The team also wanted to interview 49ers assistant Mike McDaniel and former Falcons OC Steve Sarkisian. Neither came to pass, and the search moved on to names like Cooter, Clements, DeFilippo and Jackson this week.
Clements, 65, has coached at the NFL level since 1997. He served as an OC or assistant head coach with the Packers and Bills, the latter from 2004-05 and the former from 2012-16. Clements has not coached in the league since his 11-season Packers tenure ended. Prior to ascending to Green Bay’s OC role, Clements coached Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as QBs coach for six seasons.
This will be the sixth franchise with which Clements has been employed.
Ravens, John Harbaugh Close On Extension
John Harbaugh‘s shift from lame-duck status back to long-term security with the Ravens is nearing completion. The Ravens and their longtime coach have an agreement in principle on an extension, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
One year remains on Harbaugh’s current deal. This new agreement is not yet finalized, with CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweeting key issues remain unresolved. While an extension is expected to be completed, JLC notes it is not done. Although, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com describes the road left to go as procedural (Twitter link).
Talks Harbaugh was set to be fired preceded trade rumors surrounding Baltimore’s 11-season leader, but the Ravens turning their season around and winning their first AFC North title since 2012 helped Harbaugh re-establish himself. The parties began extension talks earlier this month. He will be in charge of the full Joe Flacco-to-Lamar Jackson transition.
The Broncos, Buccaneers and Dolphins were loosely linked to Harbaugh as trade suitors. Each either hired coaches or have identified a future HC. Harbaugh may well have been the top candidate on this year’s market had the Ravens allowed it. Baltimore’s transition from Ozzie Newsome, who hired Harbaugh in 2008, to Eric DeCosta will not feature a major sideline shakeup. The new GM evidently saw enough from the franchise’s winningest coach to begin his tenure tethered to him.
Harbaugh, 56, is 114-77 and ranks fifth in wins among active coaches. Three straight Ravens playoff absences — and a 40-40 record from 2013-17 — moved him close to the chopping block, but the switch to Jackson (and Baltimore’s defense returning to elite status) transformed a 4-5 team to a 10-6 division champion. This marked the Ravens’ seventh playoff appearance under Harbaugh.
Cowboys Fire OC Scott Linehan
Days after receiving a vote of confidence from head coach Jason Garrett, Scott Linehan is out of a job. The offensive coordinator has been dismissed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Soon after Rapoport’s report, the Cowboys made it official with a formal announcement.
According to a statement from Garrett released by the team, this was a “mutual decision” between the Cowboys and the Linehan:
“This was not an easy decision because of how highly we regard Scott Linehan as a football coach and as a person. He and I had some really positive, substantive and open discussions which took place in the latter part of this week, and we ultimately agreed that it would be in the best interest of all of the parties involved if we were to make a change at this (offensive coordinator) position,” Garrett said. “This was very much a mutual decision, and there was a great deal of common ground and shared understanding between both of us during our meetings. Scott has had an incredibly positive impact on our football team. He has been instrumental in the development and success of a significant number of our veteran and younger players. He is an outstanding football coach, a great friend and we wish him and his family nothing but the absolute best moving forward.”
On Monday, Garrett told a local radio station that he did not foresee any changes to the coaching staff. Hours later, in a separate interview, he said that nothing was firm either way. Later, Jerry Jones did an interview of his own in which he made it clear that Garrett was not the one making the decision.
There were factors out of Linehan’s control – including the absence of offensive line anchor Travis Frederick – but there’s no way to sugarcoat it: the Cowboys offense underperformed in 2018. The midseason addition of wide receiver Amari Cooper opened things up, but the Cowboys ultimately did not have confidence in Linehan’s ability to steer the ship.
The Cowboys averaged 343.8 yards per game in 2018, good for just 22nd in the NFL. They also finished tenth in rushing yards, which fell below expectations given the presence of Ezekiel Elliott and the team’s reputation for having one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Lions Hire Darrell Bevell As OC
The Lions have hired Darrell Bevell as their new offensive coordinator, the team announced on Wednesday. Bevell guided the Seahawks’ offense for seven seasons and oversaw the Vikings’ attack from 2006-10. 
[RELATED: PFR’s Offensive Coordinator Search Tracker]
Bevell did not coach in 2018, but took part in some interviews during the last cycle, which included his Seattle ouster. It has been Bevell’s plan to coach in 2019, and he’s accomplished that by joining the Lions.
Bevell wasn’t necessarily known to be a leading candidate for the Lions’ job, but he either outshined other candidates or simply hung around long enough to watch the other ones sign elsewhere. Nathaniel Hackett and Todd Monken were both in the running for the job, but they’ve since hooked on with the Packers and Browns, respectively.
With Jim Bob Cooter at the helm in 2017, Matthew Stafford played some of his best football and the Lions finished out with the No. 7 scoring offense in the NFL. Last year, however, Stafford regressed hard. The Lions are hoping that Bevell will be the answer after the QB managed just 3,777 passing yards in 2018.
The Falcons and Jaguars also spoke with Bevell about their respective OC vacancies.
Steelers’ Ryan Shazier Eyeing NFL Return
Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has made tremendous strides in his rehabilitation and wants to continue forward in his recovery with an eye on playing football again, owner Art Rooney says (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette). Shazier’s contract is up, so Rooney says the team would probably have to sign him as a player in 2019 in order for him to do that.
When Shazier was carted off of the field in December 2017, doctors feared that he might never walk again. After months of grueling rehab, Shazier is now able to walk with some assistance. All along, the linebacker has been hopeful about returning to the gridiron.
“There is no ceiling in Ryan’s recovery. He aggressively approaches it every day,” Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said in March of last year. “We support him in every way possible in that endeavor. Where that leads, only he will know and he will determine further down the road. His approach, his mental approach. I can’t tell you how impressive an inspiration he is to us.”
Last May, the Steelers converted $8.26MM of the linebacker’s 2018 base salary into a signing bonus. The move had no cap implications for the Steelers, but it allowed Shazier to collect on the bulk of his pay for the 2018 season immediately rather than waiting for it in increments throughout the year. It sounds like the Steelers are prepared to do right by him once again as he continues on his inspirational journey.
Jaguars To Hire John DeFilippo As OC
The Jaguars are expected to hire former Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo as their new OC, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). DeFilippo beat out a small group of other candidates, including former Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell and former Cardinals offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. 
There were eye rolls around the football world when the Jaguars made contact with McCoy this week and there’s sure to be some eyebrow raises about their hiring of DeFilippo. DeFilippo was hailed as a quarterback whisperer in Philadelphia for his coaching of Carson Wentz and his ability to quickly get Nick Foles ready for primetime at the end of the 2017 season, but he flopped as the OC in Minnesota. The Vikings handed him a pink slip midway through the year as their Kirk Cousins-powered offense floundered.
DeFilippo will have his work cut out for him in Jacksonville. Many believe the Jaguars should move on from quarterback Blake Bortles, but releasing him would leave $16.5MM in dead money on the cap, which may ultimately tie them to the former first-round pick for another season. If they do let him go, they’ll have less money to fill holes elsewhere and that may mean relying on a rookie QB. The Jaguars have the No. 7 overall pick, which will probably be too late to land Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, the consensus top QB in this year’s draft.
Jets To Hire Gregg Williams As DC
The Jets are finalizing a deal with former Browns’ interim head coach Gregg Williams to become their defensive coordinator, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Williams was the defensive coordinator the Jets were targeting no matter who their head coach was, Schefter adds. 
The Jets have denied pushing certain assistants on candidates Matt Rhule and Mike McCarthy. Whether you choose to believe the Jets on that front is up to you, but it appears that they had a heavy hand in marrying new head coach Adam Gase and Williams.
Williams was widely mocked during the year for his assertion that several teams wanted him as a head coach. He may have been pumping himself up a bit, but things improved on both sides of the ball during his eight-game run as the Browns’ interim coach in 2018. Ultimately, the Browns chose interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens as the man to run things going forward, but Williams managed to boost his stock a bit in the latter half of the year.
With the Jets, Williams inherits an iffy defense, but one that has potential in the secondary and a solid defensive lineman in Leonard Williams. The Jets have no real pass rush to speak of, but they hope to change that with upwards of $100MM in cap room.
Packers To Hire Nathaniel Hackett As OC
Nathaniel Hackett‘s Packers meeting went well. Green Bay is bringing the former Jacksonville offensive coordinator aboard as its OC, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter).
The Jaguars fired Hackett midway through this season, and he interviewed for the Lions’ OC job. He’ll now join Matt LaFleur‘s staff and play a major role in revamping the Packers’ offense.
The Packers interviewed Hackett and recent Browns OC hire Todd Monken for this job and are set to entrust key Rodgers prime seasons to two recent AFC South offensive coordinators — both 39. LaFleur has less experience being an offensive coordinator than Hackett; they will pair up in hopes of guiding the Rodgers-centered team back to the playoffs.
This will be Hackett’s third NFL OC gig. He served in that role under Doug Marrone at Syracuse and then with the Bills before following Marrone to Jacksonville in 2015. The Jaguars promoted him to OC during the 2016 season. Neither of Marrone and Hackett’s Buffalo units ranked in the top half of the league, and they took a major step back this season. But in 2017, the Jags ranked in the top six in both points and yards on their way to the AFC championship game.
Despite their 2018 descent, the second-generation coordinator will land on his feet. And after working with the likes of E.J. Manuel, Kyle Orton and Blake Bortles, Hackett will now oversee the work of one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Quite the change of scenery.
Kyler Murray Enters NFL Draft
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner says he wants to play in the NFL. On Monday, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray announced that he has entered the 2019 NFL Draft, which likely means forgoing an opportunity to play professional baseball and join the Oakland A’s. 
In theory, Murray can still alter his plans and join up with the A’s, who may be willing to rework his contract in order to match his potential earning power in the NFL. But, if Murray can convince teams that he is absolutely serious about playing football, he may be able to put himself in the first-round mix, which would result in a hefty four-year guarantee.
Right now, NFL scouts estimate that he’ll be a second- or third-round pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. But, given his tremendous athleticism and upside, it’s not hard to see him as a Day 1 selection.
Most evaluators have also told Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter) that Murray projects as a Friday pick, meaning Round 2 or 3. However, QBs tend to inch up the board as the draft draws near, which is why we’ve had 13 first-round QBs taken in the last four years versus just two second-round signal callers in the second round.
In his first season as a starter, Murray threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns and ran for another 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Sooners. Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff semifinals with Murray at the helm but fell to Alabama 45-34.