HEADLINES

Chiefs, Nick Bolton Expected To Discuss Extension

January 30th, 2025 at 8:53pm CST by Ben Levine

The Chiefs and Nick Bolton are currently focused on their Super Bowl matchup with the Eagles. When the season ends, there’s a good chance the two sides discuss a long-term pact. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs and the linebacker are expected to discuss a potential extension after the season.

It’s not a huge surprise that the Chiefs would have interest in retaining the impending free agent. The former second-round pick has spent his entire career in Kansas City and has evolved into one of the team’s most dependable defenders, with Fowler noting that the linebacker is a favorite of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

After earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors in 2021, Bolton took his play to another level as a sophomore. He finished the 2022 campaign with 180 tackles, and he carried his production into the playoffs, where he notably returned a Jalen Hurts fumble for a touchdown during Super Bowl LVII.

A wrist injury limited the linebacker to only eight games during the 2023 campaign, but he still managed to return in time for the postseason, where he led the Chiefs with 40 tackles en route to another Super Bowl championship. He started all 16 of his appearances during the 2024 campaign, finishing with 106 tackles and a career-high three sacks.

Bolton may not necessarily lead this year’s free agent class, as the linebacker will be joined by the likes of Zack Baun, Dre Greenlaw, and Jamien Sherwood. Still, the 2025 campaign would represent Bolton’s age-25 season, so the free agent shouldn’t have a tough time attracting a lucrative, long-term deal. Considering the number of free agents the Chiefs will be looking to re-sign, there’s a chance the linebacker ultimately prices himself out of Kansas City.

Texans Add Brian Johnson, Grant Udinski To List Of OC Candidates

January 30th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Ben Levine

The Texans have cast a relatively wide net in their search for a new offensive coordinator, and we’ve got two more names to add to the growing list of candidates. According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Texans have requested an interview with Commanders pass game coordinator Brian Johnson. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the team interviewed Vikings coach Grant Udinski today.

Johnson would bring plenty of experience to Houston. The long-time coach had three stops as offensive coordinator in the college ranks, guiding the offenses at Utah, Houston, and Florida. He broke into the NFL in 2021 when he was named as the Eagles quarterbacks coach, and he quickly earned a promotion to offensive coordinator in 2023.

His stint as Philly’s OC left plenty to be desired, with pundits criticizing his lack of offensive creativity. To his credit, the Eagles still ranked top-ten in both yards and points that season, but Johnson was canned following that campaign. He quickly landed on his feet in Washington, where he was recruited by Dan Quinn to be the Commanders’ new offensive pass-game coordinator. Working alongside OC Kliff Kingsbury, the team squeezed a standout season out of rookie Jayden Daniels, and that performance apparently put Johnson back on the coordinator radar.

Udinski has spent the majority of his coaching career in Minnesota, working his way up from an assistant to his current role of assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach. Plenty of teams have been enamored by the Kevin O’Connell-led offense, especially after the Vikings got a career-best season from Sam Darnold. As a result, Udinski garnered interest from the Patriots, Seahawks, and Buccaneers for their respective OC vacancies.

Following the Texans’ sudden decision to move on from Bobby Slowik, the team has looked far and wide for a new offensive leader. As our 2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker shows, the team’s current list of candidates includes:

Chiefs WR Skyy Moore Returns To Practice

January 30th, 2025 at 5:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Skyy Moore could be activated to the 53-man roster just in time for the Super Bowl. The Chiefs announced that the wide receiver has been designated to return from IR and was a limited participant at today’s practice.

Moore landed on injured reserve back in October thanks to a core muscle injury. Even with Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice sidelined, Moore struggled to carve out a role on the 2024 Chiefs prior to his injury. In six games, the wideout only garnered three targets without a catch.

At one point, Moore was expected to be a major part of Kansas City’s post-Tyreek Hill solution. He was limited to only 22 catches as a rookie, although he showed some promise in the postseason when he hauled in five receptions and a touchdown. He saw a somewhat larger role as a sophomore, appearing in more than half of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps in 14 games. Still, Moore was limited to only 21 catches while getting lapped by the likes of Rice, Justin Watson, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the depth chart.

Following a lost 2024 campaign, Moore’s future in Kansas City is very much in doubt. The team added Xavier Worthy to their wide receivers room this past offseason, and while many of the team’s veteran WRs are set to hit free agency (including Brown, Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and JuJu Smith-Schuster), their initial acquisitions were already an indictment on Moore.

With Brown having made a return from injury in time for the playoffs, the Chiefs current depth chart is pretty much full. Considering how much time Moore has missed, he’ll face an uphill battle to garner a Super Bowl roster spot.

Lions To Add David Shaw To Staff

January 30th, 2025 at 4:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions added their new offensive coordinator — John Morton — from the Broncos’ staff. They will now bring in some more coaching help from Denver’s front office.

After David Shaw spent a year as a Broncos personnel executive, he will return to coaching. The Lions are adding the former Stanford HC as their pass-game coordinator, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. This hire comes shortly after ex-Lions OC Ben Johnson met with him about the Bears’ OC role — one that went to ex-Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle.

In addition to being with the Broncos last year, both Morton and Shaw overlapped with the Raiders as assistants during Jon Gruden‘s first run with the team. This will be Shaw’s first NFL coaching role since he served as the Ravens’ wide receivers coach in 2005.

That job in Baltimore concluded a nearly decade-long stint in the NFL. Shaw served as an offensive quality control coach with both the Eagles and Raiders before earning a promotion to Oakland’s QBs coach in 2001. He parlayed that job into a position with the Ravens, where he held the titles of quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach during his four seasons with the organization.

Shaw moved back to the college ranks in 2006 when he became San Diego’s passing game coordinator, but that stop only lasted one year before he was named Stanford’s offensive coordinator in 2007. He spent four years running the Cardinal offense before replacing Jim Harbaugh in 2011. Shaw ended up lasting more than a decade as Stanford’s head coach, guiding his squad to a 96-54 record. That stint included three conference titles and five bowl wins, with Stanford peaking at No. 3 in the AP poll in 2015.

Shaw resigned from Stanford in 2022 following a pair of 3-9 showings. He caught on with Denver’s front office ahead of the 2024 campaign, and after a year in an executive role, Shaw is now returning to the sideline.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Coaching Rumors: Moore, Saints, Rizzi, Cowboys, Bears, Jets, Panthers, Hill, Raiders

January 30th, 2025 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Mike McCarthy following Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury out of the Saints HC pursuit, Kellen Moore looms as the presumptive favorite. While SI.com’s Albert Breer agrees with that classification, he does not view Darren Rizzi as being out of the running. Rizzi interviewed for the position, though Mike Kafka and Anthony Weaver have conducted two interviews. Seeing the Saints lose some bigger names could influence them to revisit Rizzi as a viable candidate. While this would be an unorthodox move — both due to Rizzi’s interim status and background in special teams — it is fairly clear the New Orleans job is not viewed as particularly attractive right now.

If Rizzi does not land the job, a reunion with Sean Payton in Denver may await. Here is the latest out of the coaching ranks:

  • The Jets hired Steve Wilks over Chris Harris for their DC post, but CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes that the latter should not be discounted from coming to New York as well. Harris has been a regular on the DC carousel in recent years, Harris stayed with the Titans despite the team firing Mike Vrabel. A role similar to what he holds in Tennessee, that of pass-game coordinator, could await in New York.
  • Former Chargers DC Renaldo Hill is signing on with the Panthers, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person. This will mark a return to the league after a year off for the former NFL safety; he had previously worked as the Dolphins’ defensive pass-game coordinator under Vic Fangio. Although Person notes the Panthers have a safeties job available, Hill’s title is not known. Carolina is also adding Rams assistant AC Carter as their OLBs coach, the Charlotte Observer’s Mike Kaye adds. Carter has been the Rams’ assistant D-line coach for the past two years. He made his NFL debut as a Broncos quality control staffer under Ejiro Evero in 2022.
  • The Bears spoke with Lunda Wells about a job recently, but the Cowboys are keeping him. Dallas has reached an extension to retain its tight ends coach, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. We heard earlier this week Brian Schottenheimer would likely keep Wells, who came over along with McCarthy in 2020.
  • Elsewhere on the Chicago staff, the team interviewed Ohio State assistant Justin Frye for its O-line coach position, per the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs. Frye has only worked at the college level, topping out as UCLA’s OC under Chip Kelly. The former Bruins HC rejoined his ex-assistant at Ohio State last year; Frye has been coaching Buckeyes blockers since 2022, collecting a national championship ring this past season. Tulane O-line coach Dan Roushar is also expected to interview, Biggs adds. Roushar spent 10 seasons with the Saints (2013-22), before making an in-state move back to the college level.
  • On the defensive side, the Bears are also making a move. Ben Johnson is adding Birmingham Stallions assistant Bill Johnson as his D-line coach, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Johnson, 69, served as both an O-line and D-line coach with the USFL-then-UFL franchise. He has been out of the NFL since 2018, when he served as Rams D-line coach. He was on LSU’s national championship-winning staff in the same role a year later. Bill Johnson’s longest NFL stay came with New Orleans (2009-16), but he has nearly 20 years’ experience in the league.
  • The Raiders made news Wednesday night by agreeing to keep Patrick Graham as DC; Pete Carroll will be Graham’s third HC in Las Vegas. More continuity is coming for a new regime still, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adding the team is retaining special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. In coaching for more than 30 years, McMahon has served as ST coordinator for the Rams, Chiefs, Colts, Broncos and Raiders; he has been in Vegas since 2022.
  • Northern Illinois HC Thomas Hammock is generating some looks from the NFL. At least three teams have reached out about a potential position coach role, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Hammock has been the Northern Illinois leader since 2019 but previously enjoyed a stint as Ravens RBs coach. The Huskies picked up a signature win last season by upsetting Notre Dame.

Momentum Building For Mike Kafka To Reclaim Giants’ Play-Calling Duties

January 30th, 2025 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Going 3-14, the Giants are attempting to get by while making only minor staff changes. In addition to retaining their GM and HC, the Giants are keeping OC Mike Kafka and DC Shane Bowen. Only DBs coach Jerome Henderson has become a notable scapegoat thus far.

This is a rather interesting setup, especially as Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen will enter the season on some of the NFL’s hottest seats, but the former may be eyeing a significant change. A year after taking over as the Giants’ primary play-caller, Daboll saw John Mara mention the prospect of him giving up that role again. Weeks later, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz notes a “strong sentiment” exists in the building for Kafka to retake play-calling duties.

Despite Daboll coming over after being at the helm for Josh Allen‘s superstar ascent, he gave Kafka the play sheet to start his Giants tenure. The ex-Chiefs QBs coach impressed during his first season, which featured a surprisingly efficient Daniel Jones offering and produced a divisional-round appearance. The Giants were unable to sustain that form, as Jones regressed significantly — to the point the team cut bait before season’s end. Nevertheless, Kafka remains in the running for the Saints’ HC job. He has managed this after the Giants have gone 9-25 since their divisional-round game in Philadelphia.

New York ranked 30th in scoring in 2023 and 31st in ’24. The 2023 season featured what appeared to be a good excuse, with Jones missing much of it due to neck and knee injuries, but Daboll was unable to move the struggling QB back on track. Kafka has received at least one HC interview in each of the past three offseasons. He joins Anthony Weaver and rumored frontrunner Kellen Moore as coaches left in the Saints derby — after the exits of Joe Brady, Kliff Kingsbury and Mike McCarthy.

Daboll has far more experience calling plays, having done so at his four previous OC stops; Kafka would stand to benefit if he helps the Giants rebound while calling the shots. Daboll shifting to a CEO sideline role may be helpful, as he attempts to manage a third season. The Giants are also set to have a new starting quarterback — be it one of the top rookies, depending on the Titans and Browns’ decisions at Nos. 1 and 2 — or a veteran stopgap.

The Giants have been linked to having Cam Ward fans in the building, and they were doing plenty of homework on Shedeur Sanders during the 2024 season. At No. 3 overall, New York as a decent chance — as this draft’s top non-QB prospects are viewed as being much better than either of the two premier college arms coming out — of landing one of the two. It will be interesting to see if the Giants landing a rookie or a veteran as their preferred starter affects their play-calling plan. As of now, Kafka said he has not been told — should he not land the Saints’ HC job — who will hold this role in 2025.

NFC South Notes: Bucs, Brooks, Saints

January 30th, 2025 at 2:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the post-Super Bowl LV offseason showed and last year reaffirmed, the Buccaneers are high on retaining talent. Those waves of re-signings and extensions involved numerous core players staying, and last year’s effort included Mike Evans re-signing on a third contract. Evans’ deal preceded the Bucs drafting Jalen McMillan in the third round. Tasked with a bigger role after Chris Godwin‘s season-ending ankle injury, McMillan impressed down the stretch — to the point the Bucs could use a rookie-contract wideout to replace their longtime WR2. But it does not appear Tampa Bay has given up on keeping their long-running wideout tandem intact.

Multiple execs informed ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler they expect the Bucs to attempt to re-sign Godwin, who played out a three-year, $60MM deal. Tampa Bay had twice franchise-tagged Godwin, giving him an extension in 2022, but has seen him suffer two major injuries. Then again, the Bucs re-upped the talented Evans sidekick — the second-leading receiver in franchise history — months after an ACL tear. Godwin, 28, would stand to have a nice market if he hit free agency for the first time. The Bucs have until March 10 to prevent that, but the team has also done very well — as the Shaquil Barrett, Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean deals show — to re-sign players even if they do test the market.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • After Liam Coen avoided contact with Bucs brass during his secret negotiations with the Jaguars, a report indicated Tampa Bay was unlikely to do its former OC any favors regarding assistant coaches. The Bucs are not prepared to let contracted staffers follow Coen to Jacksonville, and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes the team blocked O-line coach Kevin Carberry from interviewing for the same position with the Jags. Carberry worked with Coen in Los Angeles and came to Tampa last year, but unless a promotion to OC would be in the offing, the Bucs can block interview requests involving assistants.
  • Jonathon Brooks re-tore the right ACL he injured in college, and the Panthers running back is not expected to be ready to start the 2025 season. The 2024 second-round pick may not factor prominently into that campaign. Brooks underwent surgery last week, per The Athletic’s Joe Person, who adds the Panthers hope the running back would be ready to return before season’s end. A definitive timeline is not yet in place, but Carolina will not be expecting an Adrian Peterson-like recovery from a player who now has sustained two ACL tears since November 2023. It took Brooks until November 24 to debut for the Panthers. He suffered the latest tear Dec. 8. Two years of Brooks’ four-year rookie contract figure to be dominated by missed time.
  • Chris Olave suffered two concussions during the season; the second knocked him out for the Saints‘ eight games. The former first-round pick visited specialists, and while he did not don a game uniform again, he did return to practice. Olave said he is now symptom-free, per ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell, and ready for a full offseason. That represents good news for a Saints team searching for a new head coach. One year remains on Olave’s rookie contract, though the Saints can extend it through 2025 by exercising the Ohio State alum’s fifth-year option by May.
  • Cam Jordan wants to play a 15th NFL season, but something might have to give in order for that to happen. The Saints used Jordan as an inside defender on 22.7% of his snaps last season, Terrell notes, and Jordan wants to come back exclusively as a D-end. The decorated sack artist’s production has declined in recent years. After totaling at least 7.5 sacks every season from 2012-22, Jordan registered four in 2024 — after a two-sack 2023. Jordan is due a $12.5MM base salary in his contract year, but as one of the many Saints prior restructures, this contract contains four void years. It would cost New Orleans $23.9MM in dead money to dump Jordan ahead of his age-36 season.

Ken Dorsey On Cowboys’ OC Radar; Latest On Brian Schottenheimer’s Staff

January 30th, 2025 at 12:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys have conducted two interviews for their OC role already, but neither of the early candidates — the Falcons’ Kevin Koger and Cardinals’ Klayton Adams — have experience in the role. Brian Schottenheimer is now moving to see about a meeting with a seasoned option.

Following his second firing in 15 months, Ken Dorsey is back in the mix for a coordinator gig. The Cowboys have the ex-Bills and Browns play-caller on their radar, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, and are determining a potential interview. This marks the first Dorsey coordinator mention since his recent Cleveland ouster.

The Browns fired Dorsey after his stint as their play-caller, doing so despite having hired him only last year. Prior to Dorsey’s one-and-done stay in Cleveland, Buffalo axed him midway through his second season in the role. Dorsey worked under Brian Daboll as Buffalo’s QBs coach prior to climbing into the OC chair.

Beyond their OC search, the Cowboys are making more moves to fill out their staff under Schottenheimer. Andre Curtis will become the team’s defensive pass-game coordinator, while Aaron Whitecotton will step in as D-line coach. Dave Borgonzi will come aboard as linebackers coach, the team announced. Curtis, who overlapped with Schottenheimer in Seattle, interviewed for the Dallas DC job Matt Eberflus ultimately landed. Additionally, the Cowboys are interviewing Saints running backs coach Derrick Foster for the same position, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets.

Cleveland hired Dorsey in an effort to tailor its offense more to Deshaun Watson‘s strengths. That backfired, though this may have been less on Dorsey than Watson proving a woefully unsuccessful trade acquisition. After Watson’s season-ending Achilles tear, Kevin Stefanski gave Dorsey play-calling responsibilities. He had previously held the play sheet throughout his Buffalo stay as OC. As the Browns rode the Jameis Winston rollercoaster and then inserted overmatched starters (Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bailey Zappe) into the lineup to replace him, the team finished the season ranked last in scoring.

Buffalo’s offense ranked second in points and yardage in 2022, Dorsey’s only full season, but Sean McDermott fired the veteran staffer in November 2023. Allen improved on the turnover front under successor Joe Brady, who reduced Stefon Diggs‘ role to close out the 2023 season. Prior to his OC climb in 2022, Dorsey spent eight years as a QBs coach, mentoring Cam Newton and then Allen.

Curtis spent the past three seasons as the Bears’ safeties coach. He was, however, was the Seahawks’ defensive pass-game coordinator throughout Schottenheimer’s Seattle OC tenure. Having a history with both Schottenheimer and Eberflus boded well for Curtis. Dave Borgonzi, the younger brother of new Titans GM Mike Borgonzi, also comes over from Chicago; he had previously been the Bears’ linebackers coach.

Whitecotton spent the past four seasons as Jets D-line coach, mentoring the likes of Will McDonald and Jermaine Johnson during a period that featured a few upper-echelon New York defenses. Foster has spent one season with the Saints; he coached the Chargers’ RBs from 2021-23, with that period overlapping with Austin Ekeler leading the NFL in touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.

Packers To Add DeMarcus Covington, Promote Sean Mannion

January 30th, 2025 at 10:18am CST by Sam Robinson

One of Jerod Mayo‘s coordinators is expected to land elsewhere. DeMarcus Covington is expected to become the Packers’ defensive line coach, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky reports.

Although Covington interviewed for the Bengals’ defensive coordinator job, he has not been connected to another coordinator position since. In addition to the Covington move, Demovsky notes the Packers are planning to promote Sean Mannion to quarterbacks coach. This will be an important early-career elevation for Mannion, who ended his playing career after the 2023 season.

A Bill Belichick 2017 hire, Covington has spent his entire NFL coaching career in New England. The former college assistant worked his way up from an assistant level to position coach to Mayo’s DC. Covington had been in place as the Pats’ D-line coach from 2020-23, before climbing to a DC post. Other teams spoke with Covington about DC opportunities previously, though the year under Mayo did not go especially well.

Belichick had built a perennially reliable defense, and even his final Patriots unit — one that was without Matt Judon and Christian Gonzalez for most of the 2023 season — ranked seventh in terms of yardage despite the team going 4-13. The Mayo-Covington defense, which lost Judon to a late-summer trade but saw Gonzalez become a second-team All-Pro, fell to 22nd. Covington, 35, will look to rebound in Green Bay.

Mannion, 32, joined the Packers as an offensive assistant last year. The team saw Tom Clements‘ latest retirement open its QBs coach position, and while Connor Lewis was in place as the team’s assistant QBs coach in 2024, Mannion — a nine-year NFL veteran — is poised to land the job. The notion of third-string passers rising rapidly on the coaching market has included Davis Webb‘s Broncos transition and now David Blough being coveted by a few teams; Mannion is now on this track as well. This promotion also comes as ex-Packers QBs coach Luke Getsy is staying on as a senior offensive assistant.

Mannion and Matt LaFleur overlapped during the latter’s 2017 one-off as Rams OC; the Rams had drafted Mannion in the 2015 third round, primarily using him as Jared Goff‘s backup over the course of his rookie contract. Mannion enjoyed multiple tours as Kirk Cousins‘ backup with the Vikings, playing that role under Mike Zimmer and then Kevin O’Connell. The latter, of course, managed to vault from short-stint NFL backup to the Coach of the Year favorite.

Mannion made just three career starts — due to teams resting starters or a starter’s (Cousins, in this case) COVID-19 contraction, with the latter instance involving a start in Green Bay — and lost all three. This sort of resume has not impeded Webb or Blough, and the Packers will entrust Mannion with a key responsibility as they continue to develop Jordan Love.

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