Ron Rivera To Join Cal Program
Ron Rivera resurfaced on the coaching carousel this offseason, after spending a year out of football. The HC-turned-analyst is returning to the game, but the reemergence will not come in the NFL.
The former Panthers and Commanders HC is taking a job at Cal, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. The Pac-12 program is on track to hire Rivera for a GM-like role. Rivera is a Cal alum, playing at the Berkeley-based school before a lengthy career as an NFL linebacker.
This move comes not long after Stanford hired one of its most famous football alums, Andrew Luck, to head up its program as GM. Rivera confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) he is heading to his alma mater. Like Bill Belichick, Rivera has never worked at the college level. The ex-Bears LB had been an NFL coach from 1997-2023, but upon being fired after four years in Washington, the 63-year-old NFL lifer will give the college game a shot.
While Luck will be a former player transitioning to a front office-type role, Rivera has considerable experience in personnel. Being hired to help stabilize the Washington franchise in 2020, Rivera secured final say in personnel matters. Rivera led Washington in 2020, his only playoff berth with the team, without a GM in place. He hired Martin Mayhew for the role in 2021 but retained status as the top football staffer throughout his tenure with the NFC East club.
Even though Rivera did gain personnel seasoning in Washington, he is obviously best known as a sideline presence. After a successful run as a defensive coordinator, Rivera turned around the Panthers after they had cratered to 2-14 in John Fox‘s 2010 finale. Overseeing the likes of Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, Rivera guided the Cam Newton-piloted Panthers to four playoff berths during his nine-season tenure. This effort peaked with a 15-1 2015 season, one that produced a dominant NFC championship game performance before a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Broncos. The Panthers have not made the playoffs since their Rivera-guided 2017 cameo.
Although Rivera’s final three Commanders seasons fell short of the postseason, as the team struggled to identify a quarterback, the wheels did not fall off until the 2023 season. With help from ownership effectively mandating the team trade Montez Sweat and Chase Young, the Commanders lost their final eight games and finished 4-13. Rivera’s ouster was widely expected, but he garnered several interviews over the past two offseasons. The Bears, Jets and Raiders met with Rivera during this year’s HC hiring cycle. A Jaguars meeting for an assistant role also transpired. The Eagles and Cowboys met with him about a DC role last year.
Rivera played for the Golden Bears from 1980-83, vaulting to the NFL as a Bears second-round pick in 1984. An All-American in 1983, Rivera was a backup for Chicago’s famed 1985 Super Bowl-winning team. More than four decades after leaving Berkeley, he will attempt to elevate a mid-pack program — one that has produced two winning seasons over the past nine years — during a chaotic time at the college level. Like Belichick and Luck, Rivera will be navigating the college game during choppy waters caused by the transfer portal and changing compensation landscape.
Eagles Designate Brandon Graham, C.J. Uzomah For Return
FEBRUARY 5: Graham views it as likely he will suit up for a third Super Bowl. It should be expected the Eagles activate Graham by Saturday’s deadline, as the 15th-year defensive end said (via FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz) he is on track to play against the Chiefs.
JANUARY 30: Viewed as likely to miss the rest of the season upon suffering a torn triceps muscle in November, Brandon Graham held out hope for a return if the Eagles booked a Super Bowl trip. Now that Super Bowl LIX will feature Philadelphia, the Eagles will see about a potential comeback.
Graham, who had said before this season he would retire after it wrapped, will practice Thursday. The Eagles designated the 15th-year defensive end and tight end C.J. Uzomah for return. Additionally, the Eagles signed running back Lew Nichols to their practice squad and released tight end Nick Muse.
A Graham comeback would be significant for the Eagles, who have dealt with injuries to both he and Bryce Huff this season. Huff has since returned, though he is playing behind starters Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith in Vic Fangio‘s defense. Graham, 36, had already topped his 2023 full-season totals for sacks and QB hits in 11 games this season. The longest-tenured player in Eagles history was sitting on 3.5 and seven, respectively, in those categories when he went down against the Rams.
As PFR’s coaching trackers have become more prominent, revisiting our IR Return Tracker shows the Eagles with four IR activations left. Teams received two more in the playoffs this year, marking a change from the NFL’s 2022 and ’23 setups under its current format. Graham and Uzomah join return man Britain Covey in the practice window. The team will not activate defensive lineman Byron Young, whose practice window expired this week.
Philly has not produced the prolific sack numbers it carried into Super Bowl LVII, but Fangio’s defense has improved significantly from where it was under Sean Desai and Matt Patricia last season. The Eagles led the league in yards allowed and finished second in scoring. While the Chiefs have not closely reminded of their 2022 offense this season, only eclipsing 30 points one time, the Patrick Mahomes-led unit proved it still had firepower last week by hanging 32 on the Bills. The Eagles having one more pass-rushing option could be significant, as the Chiefs have proven historically reliable in close games.
The Eagles re-signed Graham on a one-year, $4MM deal last March. Having broken Chuck Bednarik‘s record for service time as an Eagle, Graham said to start training camp he would make this season his last. After the injury, Graham was less definitive. But returning in time for the Super Bowl could provide a fitting conclusion — well, should it go the Eagles’ way.
Graham, of course, delivered his signature play in a Super Bowl by forcing a Tom Brady fumble to set up Philly’s game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII. The Patriots entered that game having qualified for seven straight conference championships; the Chiefs are now riding the same streak, and the Eagles are all that stand in the way of Kansas City becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. That stands to make a potential Graham return a closely monitored situation.
Uzomah sustained an abdominal injury in Week 17. The former Bengals Super Bowl starter has not played a regular role with the Eagles. A Jets cap casualty in 2024, Uzomah has played in seven Eagles games but has not caught a pass. He would serve as depth behind Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra.
Buccaneers To Hire Charlie Strong
A college head coach throughout the 2010s, Charlie Strong had settled on the analyst level recently. He spent his second tour of duty at Alabama in that role in 2023, but the ex-Louisville, Texas and South Florida HC is heading back to the NFL.
Strong will join Todd Bowles‘ Buccaneers staff as defensive line coach, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This will mark Strong’s second job as an NFL assistant. He was previously on Urban Meyer‘s 2021 Jaguars staff, being in place as inside linebackers coach that season. Long will replace longtime Bowles assistant Kacy Rodgers, whose contract had expired. Rodgers is now with the Lions.
In addition to Strong, the Bucs are adding to their offensive staff. Tampa Bay is hiring Kefense Hynson as its pass-game coordinator, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds. Like Strong, Hynson has spent his career at the college level. Unlike Strong, this will be Hynson’s first NFL gig. He comes over after an extended run as Oregon State’s wide receivers coach.
Strong, 64, stayed one season under Meyer but is better known for his college roles. He submitted 11-2 and 12-1 college seasons, with Teddy Bridgewater at the controls at Louisville during the 2012 and ’13 campaigns, en route to a Texas offer. The successful ACC leader was unable to turn around the Texas program at that point, losing seven games in each of his three seasons running the then-Big 12 program. He fared better to start his South Florida tenure, going 10-2 in 2017, but did not impress over the final two years of that stay and was eventually fired.
Previously serving as defensive coordinator at South Carolina and Florida, Strong has been in coaching since 1983. Hynson started in 2003, becoming a college coordinator (at the Division I-FCS level) by 2007. For the past seven years, Hynson served as pass-game coordinator at Oregon State. He moved up to interim HC in 2023 and was retained under new HC Trent Bray in 2024. Hynson, 44, mentored the likes of Luke Musgrave and Isaiah Hodgins in that time.
This represents another dive into the college ranks for the Bucs, who added Liam Coen from Kentucky last year. Coen had prior NFL experience as an OC, with the Rams in 2022, and has already departed for a head coaching gig. The Bucs promoted Josh Grizzard to take his place. Hynson will work under Grizzard, while Strong will operate as a Bowles lieutenant — for a team that does not employ a traditional defensive coordinator.
AFC Staff Notes: Jets, Jaguars, Bills, Titans
While new regimes have been known to wait until after the draft to make major front office changes, the Jets are acting early to start their Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey run. The team is moving on from two veteran execs. Co-director of player personnel Greg Nejmeh is out after 16 years with the organization, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Jones classifies this as a mutual parting. Senior director of football administration David Socie is done as well, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. Socie had been the Jets’ chief negotiator since 2018, Costello adds, while Nejmeh climbed to his post upon Joe Douglas‘ 2019 GM hire. These moves come a year after the team fired assistant GM Rex Hogan, leaving Mougey with work to do in the front office. Woody Johnson had prevented Douglas from replacing Hogan or Chad Alexander, who left to become Chargers assistant GM, so it will be interesting to see how the Jets move forward here.
Additionally, one of the other veteran presences in the front office — ex-Browns GM Phil Savage — is being retained as a consultant, Costello adds. Savage, who closed the season as Jets interim GM, interviewed for the full-time job as well. It is unclear if Savage is being retained for the long haul, as Costello expects more changes post-draft; the veteran exec has been with the Jets since their Douglas hire. He spent six years as a senior personnel advisor.
Here is the latest from AFC staffs:
- Liam Coen still needs to hire an offensive coordinator, but that to-be-determined Jaguars staffer will oversee a new quarterbacks coach. Spencer Whipple is coming over from the Cardinals to take that job, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A Kliff Kingsbury hire, Whipple stayed on in Arizona under Jonathan Gannon. He had climbed to co-pass-game coordinator under Kingsbury before sliding to the title of pass-game specialist during Gannon’s first two seasons. This will be a key promotion, as Coen will entrust him to help elevate Trevor Lawrence.
- Elsewhere on Coen’s offensive staff, the team is interviewing Vikings assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett for its O-line coaching position, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco notes. This has been a rather difficult position for Coen to fill, as attempts to add Buccaneers staffers Kevin Carberry and Brian Piccuci failed due to Tampa Bay blocking the moves. The Bucs have let it be known they are not letting contracted assistants follow Coen, who departed after indicating he would stay. Sarrett served as Steelers O-line coach from 2019-20, spending nine years with the organization, before settling in as an assistant OL coach. He was with the Chargers during Brandon Staley‘s three seasons in Los Angeles. The Jags also have Rams staffer Zak Kromer on the radar for this gig.
- Former Bears assistant Travis Smith will find his way to Tennessee, joining the Titans as the team’s defensive run-game coordinator. Smith worked as D-line coach under Matt Eberflus for three seasons. Prior to that, he was with the Raiders for 10 years. Smith’s hire comes shortly after the Titans added ex-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie to the front office. Smith arrived in Oakland during McKenzie’s first offseason as Raiders GM.
- The Bills are signing off on a reunion for their defensive staff. Jason Rebrovich is coming back, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, to work as the team’s assistant D-line coach. A Packers staffer for the past three seasons, Rebrovich had previously worked as Bills assistant D-line coach — one of his Buffalo titles during a four-year stay — in 2014. The Bills had hired Rebrovich to work under Doug Marrone and retained him under Rex Ryan. Rebrovich spent the past three seasons with the Packers.
- The Chargers lost their previous safeties coach, Chris O’Leary, to the college level. After O’Leary became the DC at Western Michigan, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel indicates the team has selected his replacement from the ACC. Florida State DC Adam Fuller will fill the position. Fuller had been the Seminoles’ DC for five seasons and has only coached in college, doing so since the late 1990s.
Teams Prepared To Trade First-Round Picks, More For Browns’ Myles Garrett
Toward the end of the season, Myles Garrett raised the possibility of a trade sending him to a Super Bowl contender. The Browns remain insistent they will not consider doing so, but Monday saw the situation escalate with a formal trade request. 
Cleveland’s stance on the situation has not changed in the wake of yesterday’s development, although that comes as no surprise since the team was aware of Garrett’s sentiment prior to his request going public. The Browns face a number of challenges this offseason, one in which a shift to a long-term rebuild is not the plan. Even if the team pursues upgrades in the near future (particularly at the quarterback position), though, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year wants a fresh start.
As a result, attention has increasingly turned to the framework of any potential deal sending Garrett to a new team. General manager Andrew Berry‘s most recent comments on the situation made it clear a package including two first-round picks would not alter the team’s aversion to entertaining a trade. Early estimates on this front show a strong market will nevertheless be in place when suitors call about Garrett’s availability.
A poll of league executives and coaches from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required) demonstrates the range of potential hauls the Browns could land in a Garrett deal. Three believe a package including two Day 1 selections could be in play, while there is a consensus that one first-rounder would be a feasible starting point. Pairing a first-round selection with at least one player or mid-round pick emerged as a realistic scenario for most of the respondents.
Two years remain on Garrett’s pact, with none of his outstanding base salary guaranteed. An extension would no doubt change that while tying him to the Browns, but it was reported Monday the former No. 1 pick’s request is not seen as a negotiating ploy. Even if Cleveland were to consider a trade, however, the cap implications would not make a deal easy to work out.
Garrett would account for more than $36MM in dead money if he were to be traded before June 1, adding further to the Browns’ unenviable financial situation. The team is currently over the projected 2025 ceiling, although moves like another Deshaun Watson restructure and releasing right tackle Jack Conklin should achieve cap compliance in the short term. The matter of Garrett’s option bonus money could complicate the timing of a trade, although Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald writes an arrangement could be made for it to be removed from his existing pact to make a trade (and subsequent extension) feasible for an acquiring team.
A trade after June 1 would still create a notable dead money charge but it would produce nearly $5MM in cap saving for the Browns (barring adjustments to his pact in the near future, of course). Garrett’s next team could owe him as little as $14.8MM in cash in 2025 – if his option were to be removed or deferred – and $25MM in 2026. A blockbuster deal to acquire the four-time All-Pro would no doubt include a new contractual commitment, however, and a raise bringing him to or near the top of the edge rusher market would come as no surprise.
With that in mind (along with the fact he is entering his age-30 season), the number of genuine suitors for Garrett may become relatively limited. Waiting until after June 1 – and therefore receiving draft compensation for 2026 rather than this April’s event – could likewise dissuade the Browns from moving forward with a trade. Nevertheless, this situation could make for one of the league’s top offseason storylines if a strong market develops.
Bears Expected To Extend GM Ryan Poles; Team Authorizes Upper-Crust HC Salary For Ben Johnson
Going 0-for-3 in winning seasons as Bears GM, Ryan Poles nevertheless received a vote of confidence from team president Kevin Warren. The third-year Bears honcho installed Poles as the leader of the HC search process, doing so shortly after the club’s decision to can Matt Eberflus.
Poles arrived in Chicago two days before the Bears hired Eberflus. This gave the ex-Chiefs exec say in whom the Bears hired, albeit without him running the 2022 search. As such, Poles will be more closely tied to his second HC hire. The Bears’ latest HC add comes with much greater fanfare compared to Eberflus, and due to the demand Ben Johnson created, a high salary will come with it.
The Bears signed off on a $13MM-per-year deal for Johnson, according to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. That AAV more than doubles Eberflus’, with Cronin placing that at $6MM. While three AFC West coaches (Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh) are out-earning Johnson, not many others are. With coaching salaries not tied to the cap, teams are not required to make them public. But Johnson’s money likely checks in as a top-10 HC salary. It came after the Bears won a bidding war of sorts.
Johnson, 38, received extensive interest from the Jaguars and Raiders. While Mark Davis said the Raiders never made an offer, they were linked to preparing a big-ticket HC contract to add the successful Lions OC. The Jaguars also were believed to have Johnson atop their list. Trent Baalke‘s presence impeded Jacksonville — though, Johnson was believed to have stopped short of asking the Jaguars to move on from their then-GM — while Tom Brady‘s Raiders sales pitch could not match what the Bears presented.
That said, the two coaches Las Vegas and Jacksonville did ultimately hire — Liam Coen, Pete Carroll — will not have holdover GMs. The Jags are still searching — for an exec Coen will need to approve — while the Raiders hired ex-Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek. Johnson will work with Poles, but Cronin adds the high-end play-caller did not call for the Bears to start fresh at GM. Furthermore, Poles is likely to receive an extension that aligns with Johnson’s deal.
As it stands, Poles is signed through the 2026 season. However, Cronin adds the Bears are expected to authorize an extension to align Poles with Johnson. This will be a significant development for Poles, who is 15-36 as a GM. The Bears gave Poles’ predecessor — Ryan Pace — more time (seven seasons), and his first playoff berth did not come until his fourth season. Pace’s second HC hire (Matt Nagy) was responsible for that, after John Fox preceded Eberflus in going 0-for-3 in postseason appearances in Chicago.
The Bears gave Pace an extension during his fourth GM offseason as well, aligning him with Nagy. Although Warren is a new piece to this puzzle, a Poles deal coming this offseason would be quite similar to the Bears’ previous front office timeline.
Poles, 39, has certainly not been the most successful member of the 2022 GM hiring class. Neither Kwesi Adofo-Mensah nor Omar Khan has received an extension yet, despite two playoff berths occurring on their respective watches. The Giants have retained Joe Schoen, though he has also not received an extension and will enter 2025 on a hot seat. The Raiders fired Dave Ziegler midway through his second season. Poles beating his group to an extension would be surprising, but Pace’s tenure shows the Bears giving their GMs more time than HCs to turn the operation around.
An extension certainly does not make a GM bulletproof, as the 2022 ouster of Jon Robinson (Titans) and 2023 dismissal of Steve Keim (Cardinals) show. But a second contract will obviously prove financially beneficial for Poles. The Bears were able to land the biggest fish in this year’s coaching pool, however, and Poles would appear to be receiving tremendous credit for it. How Johnson fares with Caleb Williams will define Poles’ GM tenure in Chicago, but the young exec may not be facing a situation where he is on a particularly hot seat going into his fourth season.
Chiefs’ Clark Hunt: Andy Reid Will Remain HC For 2025
In recent years, Andy Reid‘s future has been a talking point around the time of the Super Bowl. In this instance, though, the Chiefs are assured of having their head coach for at least one more campaign. 
“I was always surprised when I heard those [retirement] rumors because I know how much fun Andy’s having,” owner Clark Hunt said on Media Day at the Super Bowl, via Cale Clinton of The Athletic (subscription required). “He, in a lot of ways, is rejuvenated by the success the team’s had. Certainly, he’s matched with the quarterback that’s the perfect complement for him in Patrick [Mahomes]. I know he loves what he’s doing. I know for a fact he’s going to be back next year.”
While that statement is certainly more definitive than recent ones regarding Reid’s immediate outlook, it comes as no surprise. Reid – along with general manager Brett Veach and president Mark Donovan – signed an extension last April. As a result, he is under contract through 2029. Veteran coaches can obviously choose to retire with term remaining on their deals, but in Reid’s case he is set to have Mahomes available for the foreseeable future.
Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIX participation will mark the team’s fifth appearance in the big game over the past six years. In the wake of that success, Reid has added considerably to his all-time marks. The 66-year-old has 273 regular season wins, which places him fourth in NFL history. Reid’s 28 postseason victories are the second-most, behind only Bill Belichick‘s 31.
With those figures along with three (perhaps four, in one week’s time) Super Bowls on his resume, Reid has little left to accomplish. He was the league’s oldest coach in 2024, and he will be second on that list next year with Pete Carroll taking over the Raiders. Veach has assumed a greater share of control regarding roster-building decisions in recent years, with Reid ceding those responsibilities to an extent. That tandem will remain in place for at least one more offseason, however.
Given the fact Mahomes and other members of the Chiefs’ core are not going to be on the move in the near future, the team could be positioned for long-term stability through the remainder of the 2020s. On the sidelines, that degree of continuity will include Reid carrying on his current capacity.
Rams Willing To Eat Money In Kupp Trade
In their search for a Cooper Kupp trade partner, the Rams are willing to eat some of the money remaining on the star wide receiver’s contract, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Kupp is set to earn $20MM in 2025, made up of $12.5MM in base salary and a $7.5MM 90-man roster bonus due on March 17, per OverTheCap. $5MM of that roster bonus became fully guaranteed in 2024.
A pre-June 1 trade would already require the Rams to absorb the remaining prorations of Kupp’s signing bonus as a $17.26MM dead cap hit in 2025. That would allow them to pursue other needs in free agency with additional capital in this year’s draft.
Waiting until after June 1 would allow the Rams to push $7.48MM of dead money to 2026, but they would then also be responsible for Kupp’s 2025 roster bonus, essentially making the deferment a wash. The delay would also cost them 2025 draft capital in addition to the opportunity to sign top free agents in March.
Accordingly, the Rams would rather get a trade done before the new league year starts, explaining their willingness to absorb even more of Kupp’s contract. In the past, the Rams have paid a roster bonus early as a way of eating money to facilitate a trade, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That would help firm up a market for Kupp, who is expected to have suitors due to his pedigree as a tough, savvy, and versatile playmaker. If the Rams can alleviate the financial burden of acquiring the 31-year-old, his age and recent injuries would be his only remaining concerns. Despite those concerns, Kupp is expected to have suitors, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required).
Kupp’s skillset would make him a fit in almost any NFL offense, but certain teams will make more sense than others. Among them, according to Fowler, are the Steelers, the Commanders, and the Patriots. Pittsburgh were interested at the 2024 trade deadline, while Washington and New England both have plenty of cap space and young passers that would benefit from an experienced, quarterback-friendly receiver like Kupp. The Lions also have enough cap room to absorb his contract as well as Kupp’s former teammate, Jared Goff, under center.
Zack Martin Still Undecided On Future
Cowboys All-Pro right guard Zack Martin was already going to consider retirement this offseason before an ankle injury required surgery that prematurely ended his 2024 season. Now, he’s waiting for his ankle to get healthy before making a decision about his future, per Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, have had a busy offseason, promoting Brian Schottenheimer to head coach and hiring Klayton Adams to replace Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator.
When asked if the staff changes made him more interested in continuing his career, Martin replied, “a little bit,” indicating that he is willing to give the team’s new leadership a chance before retiring.
However, Martin’s desire to return to the NFL isn’t the only factor. The Cowboys are already projected to be over the 2025 salary cap, per OverTheCap, though they have a few options to clear cap space (chiefly, a Micah Parsons extension). Still, Martin commanded an $18.425MM APY on his last contract, and he has remained one of the league’s best guards when healthy.
After 11 years in Dallas, Martin does not seem to have any desire to find a new NFL team for the last few years of his career. If he really wants to retire a Cowboy, he may be willing to take a below-market deal to stay in his longtime home.
If Martin does retire in the coming months, the Cowboys would have to account for the remainder of his signing bonus prorations as dead cap hits. Last year’s restructure will allow them to designate him as a post-June 1 cut, resulting in a $9.4MM dead cap charge in 2025 with $17.01MM pushed back to 2026.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/4/25
Here are today’s reserve/futures contracts signed around the NFL:
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Washington Commanders
- OT Bobby Hart
Hart has not played in the NFL since 2022, but he played 98 games over the preceding eight seasons. He has 67 career starts, mostly at right tackle, but only has one year with a Pro Football Focus grade above 60.0 (subscription required).