Browns Interview Ben McAdoo
The Browns are interviewing former Giants coach Ben McAdoo for their offensive coordinator vacancy, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (on Twitter). McAdoo has a history with new GM John Dorsey, which could make him a favorite for the position. 
After an ugly final season in New York, McAdoo must rebuild his stock before he can be considered for another head coaching job. While his ability to lead a locker room has been questioned, his offensive acumen and play-calling ability is what got him the Giants’ top job in the first place. Hue Jackson is finally ready to allow someone else to call plays and McAdoo would seem to be a strong candidate to take over.
McAdoo was the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, he took over as head coach when the team pushed out Tom Coughlin. He started off with an 11-5 season, but he was sacked this year when the team had amassed only two wins through December. In McAdoo’s defense, he wasn’t left with much to work with on offense when the team’s top receivers all suffered serious injuries at the start of the year.
Fired Titans coach Mike Mularkey is also in the mix for the job and Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan recently interviewed with Jackson for the position.
Colts Expected To Hire Matt Eberflus As DC
After seven seasons as the Cowboys’ linebackers coach, Matt Eberflus is set to receive his first coordinator opportunity.
Once Josh McDaniels officially takes the Colts’ reins, he’s expected to bring Eberflus with him as his defensive coordinator, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Eberflus is a coaching free agent, so the Cowboys won’t be able to block this hire.
Eberflus also spent two seasons coaching the Browns’ linebackers. He’ll ascend to a DC position under McDaniels. SI.com’s Albert Breer reported this likely chain of events last week.
While the coaches have not worked together on an NFL staff, they are both Ohio natives, with Eberflus hailing from Toledo and McDaniels (son of a high school coach) growing up around the Cleveland area. Working under Rod Marinelli in recent years, Eberflus has coached Sean Lee for most of his career.
He’ll have a chance to oversee the development of a young Colts linebacking contingent. The Cowboys have run a 4-3 scheme under Marinelli, while the Colts have used a 3-4 look for the past several seasons. It will be interesting to see if they convert back to a 4-3 look under Eberflus.
Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes Eberflus, who took on the responsibility of passing-game coordinator in 2016, looked to be in line to succeed Marinelli in running Dallas’ defense. The Cowboys have lost several assistants this offseason.
Josh McDaniels Expected To Choose Colts
Although a report emerged on Sunday indicating the Colts were moving forward with Josh McDaniels as their head coach, the Titans’ firing muddied those plans. But it looks like that will be a momentary blip.
McDaniels is expected to choose the Colts and become their head coach, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (Twitter link). This will come after the Titans — and former McDaniels Patriots colleague Jon Robinson — were expressing interest.
No offer has been made, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star notes (on Twitter), but he adds the Colts don’t appear to be nervous about the Titans’ late entrance into this race. The Colts cannot formally offer McDaniels this job until the Patriots’ season concludes.
However, the Colts and McDaniels have been connected to going forward together since late last week when he and Texans first-year DC Mike Vrabel became the finalists for this position. McDaniels has 10 years of OC experience (nine with the Patriots and one with the Rams) and was the Broncos’ head coach for most of the 2009-10 seasons. Although that partnership did not work out, McDaniels has continued to churn out top-tier offenses in New England.
While the 41-year-old OC has enjoyed the benefit of having one of the greatest quarterbacks off all time around which to center his offense, Tom Brady has also done his best work under McDaniels. Prior to McDaniels taking over as Patriots OC in 2006, Brady had one 4,000-yard passing season and had never thrown more than 28 TD passes in a campaign. While Brady thrived under Bill O’Brien while McDaniels was in Denver and St. Louis, he’s maintained top-level play at an age when most quarterbacks have retired slowed down.
McDaniels interviewed with the Colts, Bears and Giants — and as of Monday morning was still in contention for the Giants’ job. But Chicago went with former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, and the Giants are expected to offer their HC job to Pat Shurmur. The Titans entered the race late but were not believed to be a serious Colts threat. Chris Ballard and his likely HC hire share an agent in Bob LaMonte, and have a “strong relationship” — per Rapoport (on Twitter).
McDaniels will be the person tasked with restoring Andrew Luck as one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks.
Giants Expected To Offer Pat Shurmur HC Job
A day after Pat Shurmur‘s Vikings offense orchestrated one of the most improbable plays in NFL history, he’s in line to become the next Giants head coach.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link) report the Giants are expected to offer Shurmur their HC position. He plans to accept once offered, Rapoport reports. La Canfora also reports this hire is expected to happen.
The 52-year-old Shurmur has been in contention for the Cardinals’ top coaching job, with SNY.tv’s Ralph Vacchiano reporting he was viewed as the favorite for that position. Should Shurmur be on his way to New York once the Vikings’ season concludes, the Cardinals will have to move on to their second choice.
Shurmur and Josh McDaniels were the finalists for Big Blue’s HC gig as of Monday morning, but with McDaniels remaining pointed toward the Colts, Shurmur rose to the forefront.
This would be Shurmur’s second head-coaching role. He coached the Browns from 2011-12, and although he won just nine games in Cleveland, the infrastructure he’d be walking into with the Giants would be better than the one he encountered with the Browns.
The Vikings have rocketed to the NFC championship game after missing the playoffs last season, landing in the NFL’s final four for the first time since the 2009 season. And unlike the Eagles, who have only had to rely on a backup quarterback since December, the Vikings have needed Case Keenum to come through for most of the season. The Vikings’ defense has powered this Super Bowl opportunity, but Keenum has taken a major step forward under Shurmur. Minnesota’s offense finished the regular season as the No. 5 DVOA attack.
The Giants had Shurmur, McDaniels and Matt Patricia in their final three. But the Patriots coordinators are set to land in Indianapolis and Detroit, respectively, in all likelihood.
Josh McDaniels Prefers Titans To Colts?
Josh McDaniels will be the next head coach of the Colts. Or maybe not.
The Titans canned Mike Mularkey on Monday morning, opening up speculation that the Titans have their eye on another head coaching candidate. If that preferred candidate is McDaniels, then they could have a match. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (Twitter link), the belief prior to the Colts report was that McDaniels would prefer the Titans to all of the other available coaching jobs. McDaniels is high on Marcus Mariota‘s potential and also has concerns about Andrew Luck‘s health.
McDaniels may have had a verbal agreement with the Colts, but there’s nothing in writing as the Patriots’ season is still ongoing. Until then, there will be speculation surrounding a reunion between McDaniels and former Pats exec Jon Robinson,
Titans, Mike Mularkey Part Ways
So much for that extension. The Titans are parting ways with head coach Mike Mularkey, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk announced on Monday morning: 
“I want to thank Mike Mularkey for his contributions to our franchise over his tenure with our organization. He took over our team during a low moment and together with Jon built a solid foundation for our franchise. I appreciated that Mike devoted himself to this team and the community. In fact, we did discuss extending his future with our team over the past week, but in those discussions about the direction of the team, it became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success. It is certainly unfortunate that we couldn’t find enough common ground. I generally believe that continuity is the best path for success, but I also view this as an important moment for our football team as we try to make that next step to sustained success on the field. Jon will begin the search immediately to identify that person.”
Just eight days ago, Strunk told fans that “Mularkey is our head coach and will be our head coach moving forward.” For one reason or another, the Titans and Mularkey are now moving in different directions. Mularkey appeared to save his job with the Titans’ opening round win over the Chiefs, but the team’s divisional round loss to the Patriots has altered the club’s plans.
Wanderlust may have also played a role here with Mularkey having his eye on another job. Meanwhile, the Titans know that several hot coaching candidates are still floating out there now that Josh McDaniels is reportedly headed to the Colts and Pat Shurmur is (possibly) in line for the Giants gig.
The Titans have been frustrated Marcus Mariota‘s development, so they’ll presumably look for a coach who can get the young QB back on the right track. McDaniels could be the best man for that task, but it’s unclear he would go back on his verbal agreement with the Colts, assuming there is one in place.
Giants Down To Shurmur, McDaniels?
And then there were two. Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are the finalists for the Giants’ head coaching position, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter). 
It appears that McDaniels is now a leading candidate for three different head coaching vacancies. Over the weekend, it was reported that he is set to take the Colts’ head coaching job. However, the Titans parted ways with Mike Mularkey on Monday morning, leading to speculation that McDaniels could be in play for Tennessee.
A Shurmur hire could be a popular one in the tri-state area, particularly after he called the game-winning play in Sunday’s thrilling win over the Saints. If he is indeed the next head coach of the Giants, however, fans could be waiting until February for that to be made official. If Shurmur and the Vikings get past the Eagles on Sunday, they’ll be Super Bowl bound.
Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was said to still be in the running for the Giants’ job, but it appears that is no longer the case. Meanwhile, Shurmur was believed to be a leading candidate for the Cardinals’ vacancy, so they may have to shift their focus elsewhere.
Titans Offer HC Mike Mularkey Extension
It sounds like Mike Mularkey will be sticking around Tennessee after all. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Titans have offered their head coach an extension. Mularkey was already under contract for the 2018 season, so we can assume that a new deal would keep him at the helm for several more years.
We heard last weekend that Mularkey was on the heat seat, and there were rumblings that the coach could be fired if the Titans lost in their wild card matchup against the Chiefs. Tennessee pulled off the victory, and subsequent reports indicated that Mularkey would ultimately be retained for 2018.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk issued a statement at the time regarding the matter:
“Our mantra all season has been to take things week by week and not get ahead of ourselves and it obviously has served us well. I regret that outside rumors gained a life of their own. No one has been a bigger supporter of Mike Mularkey than I have over the last two plus seasons. Mike and [GM] Jon [Robinson] have changed the culture of our team and organization and I am so happy we have been able to bring success on the field to our fans – winning 19 games over the last two seasons, including our first playoff win in nine years. Just to eliminate any distractions moving forward, Mike Mularkey is our head coach and will be our head coach moving forward. We still have work to be done, including this week, but I am looking forward to the journey.”
Following underwhelming stints in Buffalo and Jacksonville, Mularkey replaced Ken Whisenhunt as the Titans head coach midway through the 2015 season. He went 2-7 during the remainder of that campaign, but he’s led his team to 9-7 records over the past two seasons. The Titans beat Kansas City in their first-round matchup, but they fell to the Patriots in the divisional round last night.
Ben Roethlisberger Plans To Return In 2018
Speaking after today’s Divisional Round loss to the Jaguars, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told reporters that he plans to continue his NFL career in 2018.
“I don’t know everybody’s contract situation, but I know the guys up front are signed, and that’s good for me,” said Roethlisberger. “So I look forward to next year with those guys.”
Roethlisberger, 35, mulled retirement prior to the 2017 campaign, and further reports indicated he could consider hanging up his cleats again this offseason. But following a season which was largely in line with his career norms (64.2% completion rate, 28 touchdowns, 92.4 quarterback rating), Roethlisberger sounds as though he’s eager to return in 2018.
As Roethlisberger alluded to, Pittsburgh’s starting offensive line is signed through at least 2018. But one of Roethlisberger’s key weapons — running back Le’Veon Bell — is a pending free agent and has threatened to retire if he’s franchise-tagged for a second consecutive season. Changes could theoretically occur on the Steelers’ coaching staff, as well, as Roethlisberger’s relationship with offensive coordinator Todd Haley is said to be especially strained.
The Steelers don’t have much of a succession plan to replace Roethlisberger for the long term, as neither backup Landry Jones or 2017 fourth-round pick Joshua Dobbs are considered realistic starters. As such, Pittsburgh has been eyeing 2018 draft-eligible quarterbacks closely, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link), and could select a passer in this year’s draft.
Titans OT Jack Conklin Suffered Torn ACL
Titans right tackle Jack Conklin suffered a torn ACL in Tennessee’s Divisional Round loss to the Patriots, head coach Mike Mularkey announced today.
Conklin, 23, has played nearly every offensive snap for the Titans since being selected eighth overall in the 2016 draft. While Tennessee’s offensive line regressed as a unit last season, Conklin still stood out, grading as the No. 13 offensive tackle in the league, per Pro Football Focus, which gave Conklin excellent marks in both the run and pass game.
Given the recovery timeline associated with a torn ACL, Conklin may not be healthy when the 2018 regular season gets underway in September. As such, he’s potentially a candidate to be placed on the physically unable to perform list, which would mandate a minimum absence of six games.