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Buccaneers QB Tom Brady To Retire

By | at January 29, 2022 1:29 pm

The increased rumblings of a Tom Brady retirement following his 22nd season did not let up, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports this is the direction the all-time great is expected to take. Not long after that report surfaced, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington confirm the Buccaneers quarterback is set to walk away (Twitter link).

Brady has long said he wanted to play through at least his age-45 season, with even that lofty timetable being potentially extended after his seventh Super Bowl victory last year. Those plans appear to have changed. Last weekend’s Rams game indeed looks like it will be Brady’s finale, though some uncertainty exists on the Bucs’ part.

While Schefter and Darlington add the Bucs have braced for Brady’s exit for weeks, the team did not receive advance notice of Saturday’s news. Bruce Arians indicated earlier this afternoon (via the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud, Twitter links) he had not yet been informed about the retirement. Brady’s agent also tried to hit pause on this situation (via SI.com’s Albert Breer, on Twitter). Brady does appear to be ending his career, but Greg Auman of The Athletic notes (on Twitter) TB12Sports deleted a tweet acknowledging its top client’s accomplishments. Bucs players are nevertheless voicing their appreciation for Brady on social media.

The 44-year-old quarterback has pushed the boundaries of the position to an unprecedented place, remaining a Pro Bowl-caliber player into his mid-40s. Brady finished as this season’s second-team All-Pro passer and had the Bucs as the NFC’s No. 2 seed. Tampa Bay’s reload operation did not result in the team defending its Super Bowl title, with Chris Godwin‘s injury and Antonio Brown‘s explosive exit weakening this year’s team late in the season. But Brady did not show much in the way of decline following his bounce-back 2020 slate. But one of the greatest players to in the sport’s history is unlikely to go through a walk-off tour next season despite having signed a through-2022 extension last year.

Given the cap gymnastics the Bucs performed to bring back their entire Super Bowl-winning core, it was going to be difficult for the team to pull off a similar act for the 2022 season. The likes of Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, Jason Pierre-Paul, Carlton Davis, Ryan Jensen and Alex Cappa are among the Bucs set for free agency in March. With on the cusp of ending his storied career, it can certainly be expected a second Gronkowski retirement will soon follow. Gronk said this week that if he was forced into a decision now, he would indeed leave the game for a second time.

Having been a pro in every 21st-century season and having started for the past 21 years, Brady will finish as the NFL’s leader in every major statistical category. The former Patriots mainstay’s postseason resume laps his peers’, and after his NFL-most 43 touchdown passes this season, Brady will finish his career with 624 — 53 more than the next-closest passer’s total. He and Drew Brees passed this record back and forth last season, and while the recently retired Saints legend is a bit closer to Brady in passing yards, the ageless Bucs QB will exit the game with that record (84,520) as well. Brady’s retirement comes a year after Brees’ and days after Ben Roethlisberger‘s.

Brady’s place as the game’s greatest player can be debated in the years to come, but the former sixth-round pick is without question the best draft investment in NFL history. The 199th overall pick in 2000, Brady launched his unexpected rise to NFL stardom by keeping the Patriots’ QB1 job after a September 2001 Drew Bledsoe injury. The Michigan product proceeded to start 316 games, missing time only because of a 2008 ACL tear and 2016’s four-game Deflategate suspension. In between, Brady piled up six Super Bowl-winning seasons with the Pats.

While the Patriots machine centered around Bill Belichick‘s defenses in the early 2000s, with Brady making just one Pro Bowl in his first four seasons as a starter, he collected three rings in that span. After the Patriots acquired Randy Moss in 2007, Brady made a seismic leap by throwing 50 touchdown passes and winning the first of his three MVP honors. Although the Pats’ hopes at a 19-0 season did not come to fruition, with that upset loss to the Giants coming months before Brady’s September 2008 knee injury, the New England centerpiece remained on his position’s top tier for another decade and change.

Including the famed 25-point comeback win in Super Bowl LI, Brady finished his career with a record five Super Bowl MVP awards and won four championships past age 37. Brady’s decision to sign with the Bucs for two years and $50MM led to the end of that franchise’s 12-year playoff drought and Tampa Bay’s second Super Bowl win.

This retirement call may close the team’s title window, with the Bucs fully committing to Brady and not acquiring an heir apparent. It will be interesting to see if Arians retires for a second time, though the 69-year-old Tampa HC said he would return in 2022. The Bucs will need to dive back into the quarterback market soon, be it another veteran or through the draft, after their successful 2020 plan is abruptly coming to a halt.

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Giants To Hire Brian Daboll As Head Coach

By | at January 28, 2022 5:20 pm

The league’s third head coaching hire has reportedly been made. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that the Giants are hiring Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their new HC. 

Daboll was thought to be the favorite for the job when he became the first candidate to receive a second interview in New York. That, along with the obvious connection to newly-hired GM Joe Shoen, had many speculating that the position was his to lose.

Of course, the Giants weren’t the only suitor for the 46-year-old’s services. He was named as one of three finalists for the Dolphins’ HC vacancy, and recently considered the favorite in Miami. Rapoport’s colleague, Tom Pelissero, tweets that the Saints also wanted to interview him.

Instead, he will be replacing Joe Judge in an attempt, along with Schoen, to reset the Giants on an organizational level. The two hires prove that the franchise’s stated goal of looking from outside New York to find its next HC and GM has been fulfilled.

Daboll will be tasked first and foremost with improving the Giants’ lackluster offense in what could very well be a make-or-break year for quarterback Daniel Jones. His job developing Josh Allen would certainly represent cause for optimism on that front.

Meanwhile, this news drops the number of remaining candidates set for second interviews with the Dolphins down to two: Mike McDaniel and Kellen Moore, the OCs for the 49ers and Cowboys, respectively.

Here’s a final look at the Giants’ coaching search:

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Texans Giving Josh McCown Second HC Interview

By | at January 28, 2022 1:25 pm

On the Texans’ HC radar for a second straight offseason, Josh McCown is now the team’s first known finalist for the position. The longtime quarterback is in Houston going through a second interview Friday, according to Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).

While Brian Flores emerged as the early favorite for this job, McCown has gained considerable momentum. The former Texans reserve quarterback is now all in on moving into the coaching ranks. He has yet to hold a full-time NFL coaching role. Flores has since been connected to other jobs. After meeting with Nick Caserio and Co., Flores went through a Giants interview Thursday and has received a request from the Saints.

The Texans met with McCown last week about their HC job, and the Jaguars soon spoke with the near-20-year veteran QB as well. This would be an outside-the-box hire, given McCown’s experience, but it remains firmly in play for the rebuilding franchise. McCown, 42, has been regarded as a future coach for a bit now. The Texans were interested in him for their HC job last year, but McCown was not quite ready to enter the ranks. He is now, injecting additional intrigue into this situation.

The journeyman passer finished his playing career in Houston, when he arrived after residing as a remote Eagles practice squad QB during the 2020 season. McCown did not see any action during Deshaun Watson‘s final year as the Texans’ starter but made an impression on the team. Here is how Houston’s HC search looks at this juncture:

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Dan Quinn Remaining With The Cowboys

By | at January 27, 2022 11:06 am

The most sought-after candidate in this year’s head coach hiring cycle has taken himself out of consideration for numerous jobs. Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has informed HC-needy teams that he will be staying put in Dallas, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). 

Six of the nine teams with a vacancy requested an interview with Quinn, so it was widely believed his stay with the Cowboys would only last one season. Instead, he will carry on with the Cowboys to take another shot at a Super Bowl with one of the league’s most complete rosters.

Quinn conducted one interview with each of the Dolphins, Vikings and Giants. He was also a finalist for the Bears‘ and Broncos‘ positions, both of which have been filled today. The widespread interest he generated was in large part due to the success of the Cowboys’ defense in 2021. The unit ranked in the top ten in the league in points allowed (21 per game) and led the NFL with 26 interceptions.

The 51-year-old’s work with the ‘Legion of Boom’ in Seattle earned him the HC position in Atlanta. His return to life as an assistant in Dallas has certainly paid off, though, considering the opportunities he’s gotten in recent weeks. That interest is unlikely to die down, as Pelissero adds Quinn “should be a hot name again next year”. For now, though, teams will have to look elsewhere for their 2022 HC hires.

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Bears Hire Matt Eberflus As Head Coach

By | at January 27, 2022 10:04 am

Hours after the first head coaching hire was made, the second has been soon to follow. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the Bears are hiring Matt Eberflus as their new head coach. 

[Related: Bears To Hire Ryan Poles As GM]

Eberflus was one of three finalists for the job, along with Jim Caldwell and Dan Quinn. He conducted a second interview with the team on Wednesday, and the front office – which now includes, of course, former Chiefs exec Ryan Poles – clearly liked what they heard.

The 51-year-old has long been regarded as one of the league’s top defensive minds, something that has been confirmed with Chicago giving him his first HC opportunity. He was a candidate for the Jets’ and Chargers’ vacancies last year, but came up short. He also interviewed twice with the Jaguars for their current opening. Schefter tweets that Eberflus going to Chicago furthers Byron Leftwich‘s status as the “clubhouse leader” for Jacksonville’s next HC.

Just like the other hire of the morning, this represents a reversal of positional background for the affected team. After the Broncos replaced Vic Fangio with an up-and-coming offensive mind in Nathaniel Hackett, Eberflus will bring a celebrated defensive background to the Bears after they dismissed Matt Nagy.

Here’s the final rundown of the Bears’ HC search:

With the updates coming fast and furious now, be sure to check in on our Head Coach Tracker regularly.

41 comments Chicago Bears Newsstand

Ben Roethlisberger Officially Retires

By | at January 27, 2022 9:59 am

What had been expected for months has now become official: Ben Roethlisberger has called it a career. The 39-year-old tweeted a video making the announcement. 

“I don’t know how to put into words what the game of football has meant to me, and what a blessing it has been. While I know with confidence I have given my all to the game, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all it has given me… The journey has been exhilarating, defined by relationships and fuelled by a spirit of competition… I retire from football a truly grateful man” he said.

“To the Rooney family, the Tull family, Coach [Mike] Tomlin, Coach [Bill] Cowher, the incredible people on every level that make the Pittsburgh Steelers a special organization, thank you for believing in me… To all my teammates and the friendships I have gained, I appreciate you… Putting that jersey on every Sunday with my brothers will always be one of the greatest joys of my life. To Steeler Nation, the best fans in all of sport, thank you for accepting and supporting me as you quarterback over the years”.

Roethlisberger’s 18 years – all with the Steelers – will be remembered most for his two Super Bowl titles (XL and XLIII). The 2004 Offensive Rookie of the Year and six-time Pro Bowler retires in fifth place on the All-Time Passing Yards list (64,088).

It had been assumed since December that the 2021 season would be Roethlisberger’s last in the NFL. Against the odds, the regular season finale against the Ravens didn’t turn out as his final game, as the overtime victory, along with some outside help, got the Steelers into the postseason one final time and continued a career-long streak of never having a losing season.

Going forward, the team will have Mason Rudolph and, in all likelihood, Dwayne Haskins on the roster at the quarterback position. The Steelers will undoubtedly be one of the suitors for an offseason QB acquisition, but whomever the next starter will be, they will face the tall task of carrying on the standard set by a future Hall of Famer and franchise icon.

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Broncos Hire Nathaniel Hackett As Head Coach

By | at January 27, 2022 8:02 am

The first domino has fallen in the 2022 head coaching hiring cycle. The Broncos have hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach, as first reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). 

Hackett, 42 has been the offensive coordinator in Green Bay since 2019. While he hasn’t handled play-calling duties during that time, he is credited to a large degree with the high level of play QB Aaron Rodgers has sustained well into his thirties, and the Packers’ three-straight 13-win seasons.

Prior to his time in Green Bay, he had established himself as one of the best young offensive minds in the league during stints in Buffalo and Jacksonville. He interviewed with the Jaguars once already, and had a second meeting scheduled for today. That sped up the hiring process for Broncos general manager George Paton, who “stepped in Wednesday night to get a deal done”, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Hackett will take on a HC role for the first time in his career, both at the college and NFL levels. Meanwhile, he marks the fourth coach hired by Denver since 2016, a stretch that includes five consecutive losing seasons. The offense-based background for Hackett represents a departure from that of the recently-fired Vic Fangio, as well as Dan Quinn, the Cowboys’ DC who has been the hottest name in this year’s hiring cycle and was a finalist for this job.

For the Packers, QB coach Luke Getsy, who also interviewed in Denver, is the favorite to take over as their OC. Meanwhile, this news strengthens the case for Byron Leftwich to get the Jacksonville gig.

Here’s how Denver’s HC search ended up looking:

Be sure to check in on our Head Coach Search Tracker for all the latest updates as more vacancies begin to be filled.

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Saints’ HC Sean Payton “Stepping Away”

By | at January 25, 2022 12:55 pm

After speculation on his future continued to grow, Saints’ head coach Sean Payton has informed the team that he is “stepping away”, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). The news brings an end to his tenure in New Orleans dating back to 2006.

[Related: Sean Payton Not Certain To Return in 2022]

Rapoport reported earlier in the week that the 58-year-old was weighing his options, and that there was a strong chance he might not be coaching in 2022. Many thought a one-year absence was a possibility, either for Payton to take a year off from coaching altogether, or perhaps to try his hand in broadcasting, as TV networks are apparently interested in him. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reports (via Twitter) that “he is not done coaching football in the future”.

Meanwhile, Nick Underhill of The Athletic has tweeted that Payton has “retired”. That would of course suggest a much greater degree of finality to the decision, as opposed to a temporary break from the spotlight. Payton was back at the Saints’ facility on Monday, the day owner Gayle Benson confirmed that no one in the organization knew his intentions.

Payton has three years remaining on his current contract, but obviously the Saints need to begin looking for a replacement HC. One of the names mentioned as a candidate to take over is defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who has also received interest from the Bears. New Orleans will certainly have competition for any external options, as there are now nine HC vacancies around the league.

One year after the quarterback who delivered the franchise’s only Super Bowl retired, the coach who was an equally integral part of that championship is now departing New Orleans as well.

34 comments New Orleans Saints Newsstand

Bears To Hire Ryan Poles As GM

By | at January 25, 2022 12:06 pm

The Bears are in the process of hiring Chiefs assistant director of player personnel Ryan Poles as their next general manager (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). The former player in Chicago is coming back, this time to lead the franchise’s front office.

Poles had gotten a request from the Bears for a second interview earlier this week. The fact that he was a finalist for the job wasn’t a surprise, given the interest he was also receiving from the Vikings and Giants. The 37-year-old was also a finalist for the GM job in Carolina last year.

Widely seen as one of the top-up-and-coming executives in the league, Poles has worked his way up the ladder in Kansas City very quickly. After starting out on the college scouting side of the franchise, he has recently worked alongside GM Brett Veach on a much wider scale. Still, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer notes that Poles will face “a learning curve”, given that he has yet to handle player contracts, among other things, directly. Overall, though, this is being viewed as a very smart hire, leading to optimism that the Bears can move forward from the previous Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace regime and return to playoff contention. As The Draft Scout’s Matt Miller points out (via Twitter), the Chiefs will receive one third-round compensatory pick this year and next as a result of the hire.

This news represents the second GM hire so far, after the Giants brought in Joe Schoen. With Poles hired, that leaves Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the vice president of football operations for the Browns, as the only remaining finalist for the Vikings’ GM vacancy. He is now the favorite to take over in Minnesota. Be sure to keep up to date with all the latest using our GM Search Tracker.

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Ravens, DC Don Martindale Part Ways

By | at January 21, 2022 4:56 pm

Don Martindale will not lead the Ravens’ defense for a fifth season in 2022. The sides agreed to part ways Friday, making for an unexpected development.

The Ravens regressed defensively this season, dropping to 25th in yards allowed, but the team dealt with injuries throughout. Martindale had previously surfaced on the HC interview circuit, meeting with the Giants in 2020. The veteran defensive leader has not been connected to any jobs yet this cycle.

“After several productive conversations, Don and I have agreed to move forward in separate directions,” John Harbaugh said Friday. “Don has been a major contributor to the success of our defense since 2012, and especially since he became defensive coordinator four years ago. He has done a great job. Now it’s time to pursue other opportunities. Sometimes the moment comes, and it’s the right time.”

One year remained on Martindale’s contract. The Ravens had extended their DC in 2020. The 58-year-old assistant stands to be an intriguing commodity on the market, as several teams hire new coaches ahead of staff retools. He joins Vic Fangio and Mike Zimmer as proven defensive coordinators in coaching free agency.

Martindale has been a coordinator for two teams, also serving as the Broncos’ DC during a poor 2010 season. He revamped his reputation with the Ravens. Baltimore ranked as a top-10 defense from 2018-20, with Martindale’s units helping the team’s Lamar Jackson transition result in three straight playoff trips. Prior to being promoted to replace Dean Pees as Baltimore’s DC, Martindale headed up the team’s linebacking corps from 2012-17. The first of those seasons ended with the team’s second Super Bowl win.

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