Steelers’ Art Rooney II Addresses Situation Post-Tomlin
In the aftermath of head coach Mike Tomlin‘s departure from Pittsburgh, Steelers owner/president Art Rooney II made some things clear from the team’s perspective. One such item made clear, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was that Tomlin was not in danger of losing his job before he stepped down. Rooney expressed that he was willing “to take another run at it” with Tomlin next season, which he had expected to discuss with the long-time head coach before his resignation. 
Despite his desire to run it back with Tomlin in 2026, Rooney asserted that he made no attempts to talk Tomlin out of his decision. “I did not,” Rooney said in response to the question, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post. “He was pretty clear about what his intentions were…We had a great conversation, and I understand where he was.”
Mike DeFabo of The Athletic added on that part of the reason Rooney declined to push back on Tomlin’s decision was because it was, as the owner framed it to the media, a “family-driven” exit. Tomlin’s decision not to coach in the near future had already been reported, but DeFabo’s wording stated that “Tomlin does not plan on coaching again anytime soon.”
Moving forward, Rooney and general manager Omar Khan will reportedly be leading the search for Tomlin’s replacement, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. The pair ruled out a number of candidates fairly quickly as Rooney told the media that he didn’t “expect anyone on the current staff” to be a candidate to step into the open head coaching role, per DeFabo. Realistically, this would only apply to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, and we can probably just narrow it down to Smith since he’s been rumored as a candidate in New York, requested to interview with the Cardinals, and interviewed with the Titans.
Another aspect of the future affected by Tomlin’s exit, in the eyes of Rooney, is the team’s quarterback position. After Aaron Rodgers led the team to the playoffs in his first year with the team, there was some speculation that the 42-year-old passer would be running it back as Pittsburgh’s quarterback for the 2026 season. The other option the veteran is reportedly considering is one in which he hangs up his cleats for good. As Rooney puts it (via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated), “Aaron came here to play for Mike, so I think it’ll most likely affect his decision.”
Even if his starting quarterback departs along with his head coach, though, it doesn’t appear as if Rooney is expecting to blow things up further. He’s looking to carry on Tomlin’s moniker of “the standard is the standard” and expecting the next head coach and quarterback to pick up where Tomlin and Rodgers left off. When asked if the team could enter a “rebuild” phase, he pushed back on that notion, saying he didn’t “like that word” and that he couldn’t understand why anyone would “waste a year of your life not trying to contend,” per Pryor.
Instead, Rooney and Khan will hit the ground running to try and find Tomlin’s replacement while righting the ship in a direction that hopefully leads to the franchise’s first playoff win in 10 years.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/14/26
More teams signed players to reserve/futures deals on Wednesday:
Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Chargers
New Orleans Saints
- DE Myles Cole
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LS Cal Adomitis, DT Kyler Baugh, WR Cole Burgess, DE Anthony Goodlow, S Daequan Hardy, S Jack Henderson, DE K.J. Henry, RB Max Hurleman, G Steven Jones, RB Lew Nichols, WR John Rhys Plumlee, LB Julius Welschof, T Aiden Williams
San Francisco 49ers
Browns Request HC Interview With Rams DC Chris Shula
The Browns are expected to request an interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula for their head coaching vacancy.
Shula, 39, has become one of the most popular candidates in this offseason’s hiring cycle. He has received interview requests from every team except the Falcons and seems to be headed for a top job in the next few years.
He has spent the last eight years under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, starting as an assistant linebackers coach and eventually rising to defensive coordinator in 2024. The Rams defense has not been statistically elite under Shula, but the unit made clear improvements from 2024 to 2025. He has also been instrumental in developing the team’s core four pass rushers: outside linebackers Byron Young and Jared Verse and defensive tackles Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske. That experience aligns with the Browns’ current roster, and a team that seems to be headed for another full reset may want an exciting young coach to lead that effort.
Shula’s time in Los Angeles has given him an up-close look at one of the league’s most popular offenses, giving him unique insight on how to stop McVay-style systems. Shula also has relationships with other McVay lieutenants, which will help him build his staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
In addition to working with one of the most successful modern coaches in McVay, Shula is also connected to one of the greatest coaches in league history. He is the grandson of legendary coach Don Shula, who led the Dolphins to an undefeated season in 1972. While that name will not be a deciding factor in any hiring decision, it will still be appreciated by owners and executives who crossed paths with the elder Shula during his career.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/14/26
Here’s are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Houston Texans
- Signed: S Brandon Hill
- Released: T Jaylon Thomas
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Darrell Taylor
- Released: RB Elijah Mitchell
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Darrick Forrest, TE Hayden Rucci
- Released: WR Javon Baker
The Patriots added an experienced pass rusher to their taxi squad today. Taylor, a second-round pick for the Seahawks in 2020, racked up 21.5 sacks in his first three seasons of NFL ball, but he didn’t see the same success in his fourth year after getting traded to the Bears. Injuries would limit him in Chicago and Houston, where he signed following the expiration of his rookie deal, as he only appeared in four games with the Texans this season. He now arrives in New England as Mike Vrabel and Co. are making a strong playoff push after a surprising one-year turnaround.
Ravens Want To Finalize Lamar Jackson Extension Before Free Agency
The Ravens are interviewing head coaching candidates to replace John Harbaugh, but they also have their eyes on the second-biggest part of their offseason: negotiating another extension with Lamar Jackson.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said on Tuesday that he wanted to hammer out another deal with his star quarterback before the start of free agency.
“The urgency of that matters to me because we’ve got free agents and I don’t want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head,” Bisciotti said (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). “It’s very hard for [general manager Eric DeCosta] to build a roster when that thing is not settled.” DeCosta concurred, saying that an extension would allow the Ravens to re-sign more of their pending free agents and “potentially go after a couple of big-ticket items.”
Agreeing to a new contract with Jackson would reduce his $72.5MM cap hits in 2026 and 2027, giving the Ravens more money with which they can retool their roster and gear up for another playoff run. The Ravens are willing to restructure Jackson’s contract and add void years to spread his cap hit into the future if the two sides could not strike a deal. Notably, Bisciotti, not DeCosta, laid that option on the table.
The longtime owner also indicated that he hopes for smoother negotiations relative to Jackson’s 2023 talks and even proposed a similar structure with a higher value. In 2023, it took until the week of the draft – long after the window to secure top free agents had closed – to get Jackson to sign at the dotted line. That year, he occupied about $32MM in cap space with his franchise tag, but his 2026 cap hit would be much more restrictive to the team’s other moves. An extension could clear up as much as $40MM, but those savings will be far less useful if the players worth signing have already found new teams.
During the same press conference, Bisciotti revealed (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec) that some college coaches have reached out to the Ravens regarding their job openings, though the team has not scheduled interviews with any. He indicated that he would be open to interviewing one, but ultimately left that decision up to DeCosta.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/14/26
Here are today’s midweek minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on IR: WR Tyrell Shavers (story)
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: S D’Anthony Bell
Houston Texans
- Reverted to season-ending IR: CB Ajani Carter
New England Patriots
- Designated for return from IR: RB Terrell Jennings
After tearing his ACL, further thinning out the Bills’ postseason wide receiving corps, Shavers has been placed on injured reserve. Buffalo has an experienced name or two on its practice squad that could end up filling in.
Carter wasn’t able to make it off IR within his 21-day practice window. He’ll revert back to IR without the ability to be activated again this season.
Dolphins Request HC Interviews With Joe Brady, Anthony Campanile
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile are officially on the list of head coaching candidates for the Dolphins. The Dolphins have requested interviews with Brady and Campanile, according to reports from Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Brady, who’s in his second full season as the Bills’ O-coordinator, initially took the reins on an interim basis in November 2023. Then the Bills’ quarterbacks coach, Brady stepped in when Sean McDermott fired Ken Dorsey. The offense showed enough positives under Brady for the Bills to promote him to the full-time job.
After finishing second in scoring and 10th in total offense in 2024, a year in which quarterback Josh Allen won MVP honors, Brady landed on the head coaching radar last winter. The Bears, Jaguars, Jets and Saints all interviewed him before hiring other candidates.
Despite a lack of high-end receiving talent, Brady coached the Bills’ offense to fourth-place rankings in points and yards during the regular season. Allen’s strong play continued, while James Cook led the league in rushing during a 12-win campaign. Brady and the Bills then knocked off Campanile and the Jaguars in last week’s wild-card round. Buffalo will head to Denver for a divisional round meeting on Saturday.
The Dolphins join the Ravens as teams to request a meeting with the 36-year-old Brady, who was born in nearby Hollywood, Fla. While Miami is coming off a four-year run with an offensive-minded head coach in Mike McDaniel, it has mostly zeroed in on defensive candidates in this search. Brady, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak and ex-Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski are exceptions, as PFR’s HC Search Tracker shows.
Campanile, 43, is the seventh defensive coordinator to receive an interview request from the Dolphins. After serving as an assistant in various roles at Rutgers, Boston College and Michigan from 2012-19, he got his start in the NFL as the Dolphins’ linebackers coach in 2020. Then-head coach Brian Flores brought in Campanile, who retained his position when McDaniel replaced Flores in 2022.
Campanile assisted McDaniel for two years before a one-season run as the Packers’ LBs coach and running game coordinator. Notably, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was in Green Bay’s front office then.
Now coming off his first year as a coordinator, Campanile played a key role in helping the Jaguars and rookie head coach Liam Coen to a 13-4 record. While the Jaguars’ defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2024, it turned around its fortunes under Campanile. The unit ranked second in takeaways, eighth in scoring and 11th in yards in 2025. Campanile hasn’t received any other interview requests, but he’ll at least have a chance to convince Sullivan and the Dolphins he’s the right person to take over for McDaniel.
Mike McDaniel To Interview For Bucs’ OC Job
The Buccaneers will interview Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator vacancy on Friday, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman.
McDaniel, 42, was fired by the Dolphins last week after a disappointing 2025 campaign. But as one of the league’s top offensive minds, he is expected to land a job in this year’s hiring cycle, whether that be as a head coach or offensive coordinator. Currently, he is a head coaching candidate for the Falcons, Ravens, Browns, and Titans with offensive coordinator interest from the Lions, Eagles, and now, the Buccaneers.
McDaniel would prefer a “great OC opportunity” to a “not-great head coaching vacancy,” per Auman, though, of course, those qualifiers are entirely up to the coach’s judgement. At first glance, the Browns and Titans do not seem to be as appealing due to their lack of offensive firepower, though McDaniel would have a chance to mold a young quarterback with either team. The Ravens, of course, have Lamar Jackson, while the Falcons have an exciting array of young offensive weapons.
The Buccaneers would appear to fall into the “great OC opportunity” category. They have an established veteran quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a strong offensive line, and several playmakers at different positions. The unit’s struggles in 2025 seemed to be more related to their injuries, and new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was not able to step into Liam Coen‘s shoes after he left for Jacksonville, especially as a play-caller.
McDaniel is proven as an architect and play-caller who could build on the foundation established by Coen and his predecessor, Dave Canales, while adding his own motion-heavy wrinkles into the playbook. He could use success in Tampa Bay to quickly springboard into another head coaching job, especially if he can help the Buccaneers overcome their playoff struggles under Todd Bowles.
Commanders Interview Brian Flores, Karl Scott For DC Job
The Commanders are continuing to interview potential replacements for defensive coordinator Joe Whitt, with Brian Flores and Karl Scott as the latest candidates on the list.
Flores, who just completed a three-year contract as the Vikings defensive coordinator, met with the team on Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He formed Minnesota’s defense into one of the best in the league with his signature blitz-heavy scheme frequently stifling opposing passing offenses. His ability to generate pressure could be especially appealing to a Commanders team that struggled to do so in 2025.
Flores also spent a decade as a defensive assistant in New England, which included multiple Super Bowl matchups with Commanders head coach Dan Quinn when he was with the Seahawks and the Falcons.
It is worth noting that Quinn took over calling the defense’s plays in 2025 after Whitt’s initial struggles and indicated that he could retain those duties moving forward. He would almost certainly hand that responsibility off to Flores if he came to Washington.
That may not be the case if Quinn goes with a less-experienced option like Scott, who has also interviewed with the team, according to ESPN’s John Keim and Brady Henderson. The 40-year-old only has five years of NFL experience with one years as the Vikings’ defensive backs coach and four years in the same role in Seattle, plus the title of passing game coordinator. The Seahawks’ pass defense saw some improvements after Scott’s arrival in 2022, and he was retained in 2024 after Mike Macdonald was brought in as the team’s new head coach.
While Macdonald rightfully gets much of the credit for turning Seattle’s defense into one of the best in the league, Scott has still played a key role in developing the team’s young secondary. Several defensive backs have taken huge strides under Scott’s coaching, including recent first-round picks Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori. Spending time under Macdonald, who is quickly becoming one of the league’s most respected defensive minds, further boosts Scott’s resume.
Mike McDaniel, Brian Daboll Among Eagles’ OC Candidates
After removing Kevin Patullo from the offensive coordinator role on Tuesday, the Eagles have begun reaching out to potential replacements. Former head coaches Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are atop the Eagles’ list, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. It’s unknown if either will interview for the job.
McDaniel and Daboll join the previously reported Kevin Stefanski and Kliff Kingsbury as established offensive coaches on the Eagles’ radar. Judging by that group of four, the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni are aiming high in their quest to upgrade an offense that fell flat in 2025.
In 2024, Kellen Moore‘s lone season running their offense, the Eagles ranked seventh in scoring and eighth in yards. Running back Saquon Barkley put together the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history, helping the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship. Their offense was unable to follow up on that performance after Moore left to become the Saints’ head coach.
In the wake of Moore’s departure, Sirianni opted for continuity in promoting Patullo from pass game coordinator to OC. The Eagles won 11 games en route to their second straight NFC East crown, but their offense frustrated the team and its fans throughout the season.
Barkley’s rushing total declined from 2,005 to 1,140, which played a big role in the Eagles’ below-average offensive performance. Despite boasting a strong offensive line (albeit one that went without cornerstone right tackle Lane Johnson for a large chunk of time), a championship-winning QB in Jalen Hurts, and pass catchers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles finished 19th in total offense and 24th in scoring.
Considering their past accomplishments, either McDaniel or Daboll could end up as Sirianni’s pick to help Philadelphia’s offense rebound in 2026. McDaniel, long considered one of the game’s brightest offensive minds, is coming off a four-year run as the Dolphins’ head coach. He got plenty out of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at times, especially when the Dolphins led the league in total offense and finished second in scoring in 2023. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane joined Tagovailoa as part of a well-oiled offensive machine that year, but the unit’s production fell off a cliff in the past couple of seasons.
Hill missed almost all of 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in Week 4. That didn’t help Tagovailoa, who performed so poorly that McDaniel benched him for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Ewers was at the helm for the last three games of a 7-10 campaign for McDaniel, who lost his job after two straight sub-.500 seasons. Although his final two years in Miami didn’t go well, McDaniel is highly likely to stay in the league as either an offensive coordinator or a head coach in 2026.
Like McDaniel, Daboll is fresh off a first-time head coaching stint that began with a flourish but ended with a thud. The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game in 2022, Daboll’s rookie year as a head coach. He meshed well with quarterback Daniel Jones, who landed a four-year, $160MM extension in the ensuing offseason. That wound up as a major misfire for the Giants. Jones endured a horrid 2023 in which a torn ACL limited him to six games. After he failed to bounce back the next season, the Giants released him in late November.
After combining for a 9-25 mark from 2023-24, Daboll entered this season on the hot seat. The Giants remade their QB room in the offseason with two free agent pickups, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, as well as first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Wilson began 2025 as the Giants’ starter, but Daboll pulled the plug on the former star after an awful showing in a loss to the Chiefs in Week 3. Dart took over under center and went on to impress as a rookie, though Daboll didn’t last the year. The Giants fired him after a 2-8 start.
Daboll went a dismal 20-40-1 as New York’s head coach, but he joins McDaniel as someone who at least figures to work as a coordinator next season. Taking over the Eagles’ offense would give Daboll his fifth try as an NFL O-coordinator. He previously held the position with the Browns (2009-10), Dolphins (2011), Chiefs (2012) and Bills (2018-21). The Giants hired Daboll after a particularly fruitful run in Buffalo, where he helped Josh Allen go from raw prospect to superstar.
Also a former Alabama offensive coordinator and QBs coach, Daboll has prior working experience with Hurts and Smith. The three were together in 2017, a national championship-winning season for the Crimson Tide. Hurts was at the helm for the majority of the season, but after a rough first half in the title game, Alabama benched him for Tagovailoa. It ended up as a wise move in a 26-23 win over Georgia. Smith caught the game-winning 41-yard touchdown in overtime.
Adding to his familiarity with Hurts and Smith, Daboll coached Barkley in New York from 2022-23. General manager Joe Schoen let Barkley walk to the division rival Eagles in free agency in March 2024. Barkley, who has become an integral part of the Eagles’ offense since then, could reunite with Daboll soon.