Jon Gruden: “Good Chance” I’ll Be Raiders’ Next Coach
This is as close as we’ve gotten to a confirmation. On Wednesday, Jon Gruden told Mike Golic and Trey Wingo of ESPN (video link) that “there’s a good chance” he’ll accept the Raiders head coaching job, if it is offered to him. 
[RELATED: 2018 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]
The Raiders are one of six teams in the NFL in search of a new head coach, but unlike the Cardinals, Bears, Lions, Colts, and Giants, the Raiders have not reached out to multiple candidates. As far as we know, Gruden is the only candidate on their radar. It’s quite possible that the the two sides have a handshake deal and the only thing standing in the way of a signed contract could be the Rooney Rule. If the Raiders interview a minority candidate today or tomorrow, they could finalize Gruden’s return to Oakland.
it was previously reported that Gruden would be receiving a piece of team ownership in the deal, but Gruden adamantly denies that being the case.
“[There’s] no ownership; that’s for sure,” Gruden said.
If there is no ownership stake included in the deal, then it is safe to assume that Gruden will be among the league’s highest paid coaches when he puts pen to paper.
Lions Interview OC Jim Bob Cooter For Head Coach
The Lions have interviewed incumbent offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter for their head coaching vacancy, the club announced today.
Now that Detroit has met with Cooter, general manager Bob Quinn has now interviewed both of his coordinators as he seeks to replace fired head coach Jim Caldwell. Defensive play-caller Teryl Austin was also interviewed on Tuesday, but no reports had indicated the Lions were also considering Cooter for the top job.
That’s not to say that Cooter hasn’t done an excellent job coordinating Detroit’s offense, but he does lack in experience. The 33-year-old Cooter has only led a unit for two-plus seasons, and was an offensive assistant as recently as 2013. But in his two full years as the Lions’ OC, Cooter’s scheme and his players’ execution finished 17th and 15th in DVOA.
By default, the remainder of the Lions’ head coaching candidates will be external. At present, Detroit has been linked to Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Packers assistant head coach Winston Moss, and Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel.
Ravens Interested In Chuck Pagano For DC
The Ravens are interested in hiring former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano as their new defensive coordinator, according to Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). While Baltimore has other options to replace the recently-retired Dean Pees, Pagano appears to the club’s primary option, per Preston.
Pagano, 57, spent the 2008-11 campaigns in Baltimore and served as the club’s defensive coordinator during his final season. That year, the Ravens ranked third in total defense and first in defensive DVOA. While Indianapolis’ defenses struggled under Pagano’s tutelage, he would offer a sense of familiarity for Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of Baltimore’s defensive staff.
While Pagano may hope to generate head coaching interest around the league, such a scenario is likely a pipe dream given the Colts’ lack of success in recent years. As such, Pagano’s best hope of rebounding as a head coach down the line could be accepting Baltimore’s DC offer to work with a defense that ranked third in DVOA a season ago.
Bengals, Marvin Lewis Agree To Extension
Marvin Lewis isn’t going anywhere after all. On Tuesday, the Bengals announced that they have agreed to a two-year extension that will take him through the 2019 season. 
“Marvin Lewis has been an important member of the Cincinnati community and the Bengals family for the past 15 years, and we are happy to have reached this agreement,” said Bengals President Mike Brown. “Marvin has made significant contributions during his time here. While recently we have fallen short of our expectations, we have full confidence in Marvin to re-establish winning football in 2018.”
For a while, it appeared that Lewis and the Bengals were on a direct path to divorce. In December, it was reported that Lewis would leave Cincinnati to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Meanwhile, he admitted that he would be intrigued by an opportunity to be a GM. Apparently, that’s all ancient history.
“My family and I are very grateful for the opportunity to stay in Cincinnati and continue my career with the Bengals,” said Lewis. “My job is to win a World Championship. We have a talented roster full of veteran leaders and emerging young stars, and I am committed to making the necessary improvements to put this team in the best position to win.”
Had Lewis left, it was said that Browns head coach Hue Jackson and Redskins head coach Jay Gruden would have been leading candidates to replace him. Both men served as offensive coordinators in Cincinnati, which underscores the importance the team places on organizational familiarity. Although things were rocky between Lewis and the Bengals this year, the team has opted to bring him back for (at least) a 16th season.
The Bengals finished out 7-9 this year, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year. However, under Lewis’ leadership, the Bengals have made the playoffs seven times, including five consecutive appearances from 2011-2015. Of course, Lewis has never gotten the Bengals past the Wild Card round.
Cardinals QB Carson Palmer Retires
Carson Palmer is calling it a career. One day after Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement, Palmer has done the same. 
“Over the years, I’ve had teammates who decided to hang it up and I would ask them how they knew when it was time to walk away,” Palmer wrote on social media. “The answer was almost always the same: You just know. For me that time is now. Why? Quite simply, I just know.”
Palmer, who turned 38 at the end of December, had one more year to go on his contract but instead decided to hang ’em up. After 14 years in the NFL, multiple serious knee injuries, and tons of grueling battles, few can blame Palmer for walking away. The 2017 campaign wasn’t the sendoff he was hoping for – a broken arm ended his season in October – but he leaves the game with plenty of accomplishments and roughly $175MM in career earnings.
Palmer is third in franchise history with 38 wins as the Cardinals’ starting QB, an impressive feat considering all of the time he missed in 2014 and 2016. He also ranks high in major statistical categories for QBs including passing yards (11th), touchdown passes (11th), and completions (10th).
The retirement of Palmer leaves the Cardinals without QBs under contract for next season with Blaine Gabbert, Drew Stanton, and Matt Barkley all scheduled for free agency. Arians indicated that Gabbert could be the team’s successor to Palmer, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him re-signed before he hits the open market in March. Then again, the team’s next head coach could alter the team’s plans. There will be a handful of interesting signal callers in free agency and the Cards also have the No. 15 overall pick at their disposal.
The retirement of Arians and Palmer may lead Larry Fitzgerald to a similar choice. The wide receiver is said to be leaning towards ending his playing career even after a strong 2017 campaign. Despite being the league’s oldest wide receiver, Fitzgerald hauled in a career-high 109 passes with 1,156 receiving yards and six scores.
Packers Sign Mike McCarthy To Extension
Mike McCarthy is not a lame duck in Green Bay. The Packers have given the head coach a one-year extension to take him through the 2019 season, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Demovsky hears that the extension was actually signed during the season, but word of the deal did not leak out until today. 
[RELATED: Ted Thompson Out As Packers GM]
The Packers are making some major changes this season as Ted Thompson moves from GM to a different role, but McCarthy has been given some additional security. This year, the Packers missed the playoffs for just the third time since 2006, so the team is not automatically hitting the panic button.
McCarthy owns a 121-70-1 record in his 12-year run as head coach, including a Super Bowl victory in the 2010 season. He’ll look to get the Packers back on track in 2018, though he’ll be doing it with a new defensive staff after the firing of coordinator Dom Capers and other assistants. On the other side of the ball, the Packers are expecting to have a healthy Aaron Rodgers under center and that should help more than anything.
Bears Seek To Interview McDaniels, Shurmur
After the firing of head coach John Fox Monday morning, the Bears were expected to look for an offensive-minded coach to take over the role in 2018. 
They began the process Monday night, requesting interviews with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (Twitter link).
McDaniels is the longtime Patriots offensive coordinator who has called the shots for seven top-five scoring offenses during his tenure with the team. He also has head-coaching experience, leading the Broncos for parts of two seasons in 2009-10. McDaniels is already being sought by a bevy of teams and will certainly be a splash for the Bears.
The Bears have plenty of familiarity with Shurmur, who has been with division rival Minnesota for each of the last two seasons. Under the veteran coach’s direction, Minnesota locked up the No. 2 seed in the postseason while fielding a top-10 scoring offense. Even more impressive is that the unit accomplished the feat without its starting quarterback Sam Bradford or rookie sensation running Dalvin Cook, who were both lost early in the season to injuries. Like McDaniels, Shurmur has already garnered interest from a number of teams.
Either coach would certainly benefit rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who general manager Ryan Pace said will have a say in the team’s head-coaching decision. McDaniels has worked with Tom Brady for much of his career and also helped groom Jimmy Garropolo in New England. Shurmur’s offense has also helped veteran signal-caller Case Keenum produce a breakout year in 2017.
Should they decide against an offensive mind, the Bears might look in house at defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Whoever receives the job is likely to sign a four-year deal to match the extension Pace received earlier in the days.
New York Notes: Kearse, Claiborne, Pugh
The Jets entered Week 17 without much to play for, but the team’s players still had plenty to gain. One such player was Jermaine Kearse, who earned an extra $550,000 in incentives in the team’s loss to New England, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports.
With his fifth and final catch of the day, Kearse brought his season total to 65 grabs which earned him an extra $300,000. He finished the season 810 receiving yards, helping him garner another $250,000. That’s not a bad haul for the veteran receiver, who was signed to a $2.2 MM base salary in 2017.
Kearse enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2017, posting career highs in receptions, yards and tying his personal best with five touchdowns. He will be back with the Jets in 2018 for the final year on his contract, which he is set to earn $5 MM in base salary.
Here is more from around New York:
- Cornerback Morris Claiborne is hoping to return to the Jets in 2018, Cimini writes. The free agent said, “Why leave and pick up (and go) somewhere else if you’ve got everything here?” A first-round pick in 2012, Claiborne has just five interceptions during his six NFL seasons split between the Jets and Cowboys. After signing a one-year deal for $2.5MM in the offseason, Claiborne started all 15 games he played in.
- Giants center Weston Richburg said he has been medically cleared from a concussion for about a month, Dan Duggan of NJ Advanced Media writes. Richburg said he wanted to return to the field but was unable to due to being placed on injured reserve. He suffered the concussion in Week 4 and missed the next three games before being placed on IR. Richburg is set to be a free agent in 2018.
- Also a free agent in 2018, Giants guard Justin Pugh hopes it works out and he can return to the team, ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan writes. Pugh suffered a season-ending back injury in December but it is expected to be healed in a month without surgery.
Ted Thompson Out As Packers GM
The Packers are now searching for a new general manager after Ted Thompson is expected to take a new role in the organization, sources tell NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen confirmed Thompson will assume a new role within the team and the front office will undergo an overhaul, led by team president Mark Murphy (Twitter link).
Thompson has operated as the team’s general manager since 2005 and has been with the team through two stints since 1992. In his first NFL Draft, Thompson selected Aaron Rodgers with the 24th overall pick. Green Bay has been among the best teams in the draft since Thompson’s arrival, plucking stars like Clay Matthews and Jordy Nelson.
Under Thompson’s watch, the team advanced to the playoffs nine times and won the Super Bowl in 2010. The Packers missed the postseason for the first time since 2008 when it finished 7-9 in 2017.
There are several internal candidates to keep an eye on to take over as general manager, including director of college scouting Brian Gutekunst, director of football operations Eliot Wolf and vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball, Rapoport reports (Twitter link). Mortensen reported all three are expected to receive new duties with the change. (Twitter link). The team is expected hire a true general manager and will not operate with all three in the position, ESPN’s Jason Wilde reports (Twitter link).
Giants To Interview Eric Studesville
On Monday, the Broncos let go of running backs coach Eric Studesville but it didn’t take long for teams to come calling. The Giants plan to interview the longtime assistant coach for their head-coaching position, NBC 9 in Denver’s Mike Klis reports (Twitter link). 
Klis also notes the Giants put in a request with Denver to interview Studesville before he was let go. He is obviously free to interview with the team now without Denver’s approval.
USA Today’s Lindsay Jones points out (Twitter link) that Studesville served as the Giants running backs coach from 2001-03. While there he overlapped with new general manager Dave Gettleman, who served as pro personnel director.
In 2016, Studesville turned down an interview with the Jets for the offensive coordinator position. The coach has been with the Broncos since 2010 and even served as interim head coach following the firing of Josh McDaniels in 2010. The firing of Studesville did not sit well with C.J. Anderson, who tweeted out his displeasure following the dismissal.
Held in high regard around the league by players and front-office members, Studesville is sure to land on his feet quickly.