Randy Edsall

North Notes: Le’Veon, Edsall, Bengals, Browns

Le’Veon Bell recently stated (through song, that is) that he’d like $15MM per season on his next contract with the Steelers, but as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets, that’s simply not going to happen. As Corry notes, the top end of the running back market has stagnated, and it’s the middle class of runners that is seeing a pay increase. Adrian Peterson is still on top in terms of running back deals, earning more than $14MM per year; No. 2 is LeSean McCoy, but he’s all the way down at $8.01MM annually. The burgeoning section of running back pacts is in the $5-8MM range, which Bell, if he can stay healthy, will presumably top. But a running back coming off a major injury redefining his positional market? Highly unlikely.

Here’s more from the North divisions:

  • The Lions hired former UConn/Maryland head coach Randy Edsall as director of football research/special projects back in January, and today Jim Caldwell explained exactly what Edsall will be up to during the season. “He’s going to do a little bit of advanced scouting for us, taking a look at teams from a defensive standpoint to help our offense,” Caldwell told Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. “We’re going to have him work with a little bit of time management issues, clock management issues. Across the board, there’s going to be quite a few things.” Twentyman compared Edsall’s role to that of Jim Tressel‘s with the Colts in 2011, while Ernie Adams has done similar work with the Patriots for many years.
  • The best contract on the Bengals‘ roster is that of quarterback Andy Dalton, writes Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, who notes that Cincinnati only fully guaranteed Dalton $17MM. The rest of the deal is essentially a pay-as-you-go deal, with the Bengals having the option of getting out down the road. The worst pact, per Fitzgerald, is defensive tackle Domata Peko‘s two-year deal, not due to its poor structure but simply because the Bengals appeared to have overvalued Peko.
  • While the Bengals don’t have many poor contracts to choose from, the Browns are lacking in team-friendly deals, but tackle Joe Thomas has been so productive that Fitzgerald believes the veteran has earned his contract. Unfortunately, Cleveland has a long track record of questionable pacts, and the worst might be linebacker Paul Kruger, who signed a five-year, $40.5MM after making just six career starts with the Ravens.
  • Earlier today, the Lions officially released veteran linebacker Stephen Tulloch after months of speculation that they would do so. Detroit saved $6MM against the cap by making the move now (and waiting until Tulloch got healthy to cut him).

Lions Hire Randy Edsall

The Lions have hired former Maryland/UConn head coach Randy Edsall, reports Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Edsall, 57, will serve as the director of football research/special projects.Randy Edsall (Vertical)

The role is certainly not a common one among NFL staffs, but according to Twentyman, Edsall will assist in gameday preparation (presumably scouting future opponents, searching for tendencies, etc.), and will also aid in draft and free agency work. Presumably, he’ll act as something of a liaison between the front office and the coaching staff, but I’d assume he’ll primarily work under general manager Bob Quinn, if only because the pair has a professional history — Quinn acted as a graduate assistant under Edsall when the latter was head coach at Connecticut.

[RELATED: Lions hire Kevin Anderson as chief of staff/assistant to the GM]

Quinn, of course, came to Detroit from the Patriots’ scouting staff, and as Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com points out, director of football research, while not an ordinary NFL title, is a position on New England’s staff. Ernie Adams, a confidant of Bill Belichick, has long held the same job with the Patriots, working on in-game strategies and decision-making (Adams was profiled by Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe last year).

Edsall’s coaching experience dates back to 1980, and while most of that time was spent in the college ranks, he did spend a few years in the NFL, acting as the Jaguars defensive backs coach form 1994-97. He’d been the head coach at Maryland since 2014, but was relieved of his duties after posting a 2-4 record to start the 2015 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.