Browns To Interview Andrew Berry
Andrew Berry, the Eagles’ VP of football operations, will interview for the Browns GM job on Friday, Jim Trotter of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.Patriots college scouting director Monti Ossenfort will also be in the building on Friday to interview for the same job, but as Trotter notes, the Browns had similar overlap in their head coaching search.
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Berry has been the rumored favorite for the job, in part because of his relationship with the organization and owner Jimmy Haslam. The exec spent the 2016-18 campaigns as the Browns’ vice president of player personnel. Prior to that, he served as the Colts’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-15.
Recently, the Eagles denied the Panthers’ request to interview Berry for a front office position. They have no such ability here, since the GM job would give Berry authority over the roster.
It remains to be seen whether a front office headlined by Berry, Ossenfort, or anyone else would still include assistant GM Eliot Wolf or VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith.
Eagles Interested In James Urban
The Eagles are interested in Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban as a candidate for their offensive coordinator vacancy, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Urban has been credited with developing Lamar Jackson into one of the league’s premier quarterbacks and he could be ripe for a move up the ladder.
Urban also offers familiarity with the organization. Prior to joining the Ravens, he spent years in Philly on Andy Reid‘s staff. Ironically, he went on to become part of the Ravens’ braintrust that pushed for a trade up with the Eagles in the 2018 draft to select Jackson. The Eagles, who then had both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles under contract, had no real place for Jackson.
The Eagles surprised many when they fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh earlier this offseason. Since then, they’ve been researching OC candidates including former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, as well as former Redskins OC Kevin O’Connell.
Eagles Deny Panthers’ Request To Interview Andrew Berry
Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry is a popular man these days. The Browns are interested in Berry for their GM vacancy, and the Panthers also requested an interview with Berry, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter). Adam Schefter says Carolina wanted to interview Berry for its executive vice president position (Twitter link), but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the Eagles denied the request (Twitter link).
Because the Panthers wanted to hire Berry for a role that doesn’t include final roster authority, Philadelphia has the right to block the interview. The Panthers already have Marty Hurney in place as GM, and recent reports indicated that Hurney and new head coach Matt Rhule would collaborate in finding an assistant GM. But Panthers owner David Tepper wants to add multiple people to his front office, and Berry’s significant personnel experience intrigued him.
A Harvard graduate, Berry first entered the NFL in 2009 as a scouting assistant in the Colts’ front office. He was eventually promoted through a number of roles, and he ultimately served as Indianapolis’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-15 before leaving for Cleveland, where he spent the 2016-18 campaigns as vice president of player personnel.
Though his three years in Cleveland did not go particularly well, Berry is currently considered the favorite for the Browns’ GM job, where he would work with new head coach Kevin Stefanski and chief strategist Paul DePodesta.
Updated 2020 NFL Draft Order
The stage has been set for the conference championships. The Titans, Chiefs, 49ers, and Packers are moving on to the semifinals, while the Texans, Seahawks, Ravens, and Vikings will begin planning for the offseason ahead. Unfortunately for the Texans, their first round pick belongs to the Dolphins.
Here’s an updated look at the 2020 NFL Draft order from Nos. 1-28:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
Lions To Hire Cory Undlin As DC
The Lions are hiring Eagles defensive backs coach Cory Undlin as their new defensive coordinator, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Undlin and Lions head coach Matt Patricia began their NFL careers together as coaching assistants with the Patriots in 2004 and they’re teaming up more than 15 years later. 
Undlin takes over for Paul Pasqualoni, who stepped down/retired at the end of the 2019 season. He comes with ample NFL experience, including stops with the Browns and Broncos, in addition to the aforementioned Pats and Eagles stints. The Eagles’ secondary has not performed well in recent years, but many feel that Undlin was stuck with some iffy personnel.
Even though Undlin is taking over as DC in Detroit, he won’t necessarily call the plays. Patricia quietly took that responsibility away from Pasqualoni last year and he may opt to ease Undlin into that responsibility.
Undlin’s departure leaves yet another vacancy on the Eagles’ coaching staff. They’ll have to find a new DB coach, offensive coordinator, and wide receivers coach after firing Mike Groh and Carson Walch last week.
Browns Request GM Interview With Eagles’ Andrew Berry
The Browns are interested in bringing Andrew Berry back to Cleveland. They requested an interview with the Eagles’ vice president of football operations, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
With Berry being part of the Browns’ new-age front office experiment, along with Sashi Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, this certainly loomed as a possibility. The Eagles hired Berry in February of last year.
The prospect of a Berry-DePodesta reunion surfaced earlier this week. DePodesta is seeking an analytically oriented coach, and Berry would make sense as a GM for this approach. Prior to becoming a the Colts’ pro scouting coordinator and the Browns’ VP of player personnel, Berry graduated from Harvard with an economics degree. He has a computer science master’s.
Despite the Browns wanting to hire their head coach before their GM, front office candidates have emerged. Cleveland is slated to interview Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds. Seahawks execs Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer are on the radar as well. So is Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter).
Reuniting DePodesta and Berry would be an interesting move for a Browns franchise that hit its low point during their previous time together. Cleveland went an NFL-record 1-31 in this duo’s first two years working with Brown and Hue Jackson. Both Berry and DePodesta were on board for a 2018 Browns draft that included Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb. But since-departed GM John Dorsey held the most influence in that process.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/10/20
Today’s reserve/futures contracts. For a primer/refresher on what exactly these deals entail, click here.
Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles
Both players are former Chargers. Williams started 15 games for the Chargers in 2017 and seven last year, but injuries quickly derailed his career even though he was once highly regarded. Still only 26, he should have a decent chance to crack Philly’s secondary next year. Scott spent most of the past three seasons on Los Angeles’ practice squad.
Eagles’ Josh McCown To Have Surgery
Quarterback Josh McCown tore his hamstring in the Eagles’ playoff loss to the Seahawks, as Tim McManus of ESPN.com tweets. Remarkably, McCown played through the injury in the second half of the game as he filled in for Carson Wentz. 
The surgery will keep McCown sidelined for six weeks. After that, he’ll have a decision to make on his future. Last week’s game marked McCown’s first playoff action at the age of 40 and he’ll turn 41 in July, just before training camp gets underway.
Few players would have stayed on the field after tearing a hamstring, but McCown felt he had little choice. After Wentz exited in the first quarter with a concussion, McCown was left as the only quarterback on the Eagles’ active roster.
In June of last year, McCown announced that he would retire after 17 years in the NFL. In August, the Eagles talked him out of hit. He inked a one-year, $2MM deal to serve as Wentz’s backup after the Eagles lost QBs Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler to injury. The veteran threw just five passes in the regular season before he was called upon in the wild card contest.
Eagles To Consider Jim Caldwell, Kevin O’Connell For OC Job?
Searching for a new offensive coordinator for the second time in three years, the Eagles are likely to look outside the organization to replace Mike Groh. Candidates with disparate backgrounds are emerging.
Former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and 2019 Redskins OC Kevin O’Connell have surfaced as candidates, Tim McManus of ESPN.com tweets.
Doug Pederson canned Groh despite the Eagles’ late-season showing with a skeleton-crew offense, and with the team not preparing to promote quarterbacks coach Press Taylor, it opens the door to the prospect of an outside hire taking over. The Eagles do, however, have Duce Staley in place as assistant head coach and running backs instructor. He could conceivably be a candidate, though the team opted to promote Groh over him for the post Frank Reich vacated two years ago.
After the Lions fired Caldwell following a four-year tenure, he resurfaced in Miami on Brian Flores‘ staff. But a medical issue forced the 64-year-old coach to take a leave of absence shortly after accepting that role. Caldwell, however, received clearance to resume coaching recently. He has seven seasons’ worth of experience as HC — one of those producing an AFC championship season in Indianapolis — and was promoted to Ravens OC late in their 2012 Super Bowl season.
The Redskins opted to reunite Ron Rivera with Scott Turner, the latter replacing O’Connell as their offensive coordinator. Like Groh, O’Connell dealt with an ever-changing offensive core. But Washington ranked 30th in offensive DVOA last season. Still, O’Connell has been connected to the Browns and Rams, with the Cleveland connection potentially hinging on whether the franchise hires Josh McDaniels.
Eagles Fire OC Mike Groh
The Eagles have fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh, according to a team announcement. The club also canned wide receivers coach Carson Walch, giving them multiple openings to address on the staff. 
“After much consideration and discussion, I have decided to make a change at the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach positions. It was not an easy decision for me to make and I appreciate everything that Mike Groh and Carson Walch contributed to the organization and to my staff. As I said yesterday, they were a big part of our success down the stretch this past season. This is one of the most difficult parts of the job and something that weighs on me, but ultimately I have to make decisions that I believe are in the best interest of the football team moving forward,” head coach Doug Pederson said.
Previously, Pederson indicated that both coaches would return for 2020. But, after meeting with each of them, he’s opted to make a change.
Groh took over as offensive coordinator in 2018 after Frank Reich left for the Colts’ head coaching job. When Groh moved up, Walch took over his former post as wide receivers coach. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much to work with this year as injuries decimated their WR group. Regardless, Pederson wanted to go in a different direction.
Quarterbacks coach Press Taylor, who drew some OC interest last year, would be a logical candidate for the job, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The Eagles are one of three NFL teams with definitive OC vacancies, joining the Bears and Panthers. The Browns, Giants, and Panthers may also be in the hunt for new coordinators in the coming days.