The NFL’s Longest-Tenured Head Coaches
Following 2023’s five-team coaching carousel, this offseason featured a quarter of the jobs becoming available. One HC-needy team (New England) did not put its position on the market, promoting Jerod Mayo, but the rest did. The Patriots’ decision also produced the first shakeup among the league’s longest-tenured head coach list since 2013.
Since the Eagles fired Andy Reid, Bill Belichick‘s Patriots HC stint had run the longest. After a 4-13 season, the six-time Super Bowl-winning leader was moved out of the picture. No team hired Belichick, generating a wave of rumors, and only one (Atlanta) brought him in for an official interview. While Belichick should be expected to take at least one more run at a third-chance HC gig, Mike Tomlin rises into the top spot on this list.
Tomlin is going into his 18th season with the Steelers, and while he has surpassed Bill Cowher for longevity, the steady leader still has a ways to go to reach Chuck Noll‘s 23-season Pittsburgh benchmark. Tomlin, 52, enters the 2024 season 17-for-17 in non-losing seasons, separating himself from his predecessors in that regard.
Belichick’s ouster brought far more attention, but his Patriots predecessor also slid out of the HC ranks after a 14-year Seattle stay. Pete Carroll‘s third HC shot elevated the Seahawks to their franchise peak. No Hawks HC comes close to Carroll’s duration, and while the Super Bowl winner was interested in remaining a head coach, no team interviewed the 72-year-old sideline staple.
Belichick and Carroll’s exits leave only Tomlin, John Harbaugh and Reid as coaches who have been in place at least 10 years. With Mike Vrabel also booted this offseason, only eight HCs have held their current jobs since the 2010s. A few 2017 hires, however, stand out; Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Sean McDermott have now each signed multiple extensions. Now riding back-to-back Super Bowl wins, Reid joined Tomlin in signing an offseason extension.
Here is how the 32 HC jobs look for the 2024 season:
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007; extended through 2027
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008; extended through 2025
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013; extended through 2029
- Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017; extended through 2027
- Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017; extended through 2027
- Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017; extended through 2027
- Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019: signed extension in July 2022
- Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019; extended through 2026
- Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
- Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020; signed offseason extension
- Robert Saleh (New York Jets): January 15, 2021
- Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions): January 20, 2021; extended through 2027
- Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles): January 21, 2021
- Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears): January 27, 2022
- Brian Daboll (New York Giants): January 28, 2022
- Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings): February 2, 2022
- Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars): February 3, 2022
- Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins): February 6, 2022
- Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints): February 7, 2022
- Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): March 30, 2022
- Sean Payton (Denver Broncos): January 31, 2023
- DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans): January 31, 2023
- Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts): February 14, 2023
- Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals): February 14, 2023
- Jerod Mayo (New England Patriots): January 12, 2024
- Antonio Pierce (Las Vegas Raiders): January 19, 2024
- Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans): January 22, 2024
- Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers): January 24, 2024
- Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers): January 25, 2024
- Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons): January 25, 2024
- Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks): January 31, 2024
- Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders): February 1, 2024
NFC Front Office Updates: White, 49ers, Seahawks
The Commanders recently announced all the updates to their personnel and football support staff that the team has made this offseason. We’ve already covered nearly all of the updates as they occurred throughout the past few months, but we finally got confirmation of a rumor we’d seen back in May. We saw the writing on the wall before, but Chris White has officially been announced as a member of the Commanders scouting staff, according to the team announcement.
White comes from Chicago, where he recently served as assistant director of pro scouting before being removed from the team’s website a month ago. He had served in the role for two years, getting promoted after five seasons as a pro scout for the Bears.
As predicted, White will be serving in Washington as director of pro scouting. He’s essentially filling the role left vacant by former director of pro personnel Chris Polian, who made his way to Cleveland to work as an advisor under Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
Here are a couple other updates from around the NFC:
- The 49ers are bringing on Jordan Fox to work as a player personnel analyst in 2024, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Fox debuted in the NFL as a seasonal personnel operations intern for the Jets in 2022. After two years with New York, Fox earns his first full-time NFL position in San Francisco.
- Up the coast, the division-rival Seahawks are granting a first full-time NFL position, as well. Per Stratton, the team’s player personnel intern, Azzaam Kapadia, has officially been promoted to the full-time player personnel assistant role. Kapadia interned with the Colts at one point in time and worked part-time as a film analyst for the Browns during the 2022 season.
Seahawks’ RG Anthony Bradford Still In Mix To Start
The Seahawks are seeing a bit of change on the interior of their offensive line this offseason. Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas return at tackle and Anthony Bradford returns after starting 10 games in 2023, but the departures of Evan Brown and Damien Lewis required updates to the depth chart. Throw in the fact that Seattle drafted UConn guard Christian Haynes in the third round of this year’s draft and not even Bradford is a sure thing to return to a starting role this year. 
We talked about this a bit in a recent breakdown of the team’s offensive line, but a more recent update from the end of minicamp may inform things a bit differently.
As a fourth-round rookie out of LSU last year, Bradford was one of the larger linemen in last year’s rookie class, weighing in at 332 pounds. His strength and size were worth the investment, but a lack of natural athleticism and quickness were thought to limit Bradford to a developmental role to start his career.
Multiple injuries to players like Phil Haynes, Lucas, and others forced Bradford into a starting role much earlier than expected. Bradford performed respectably as a starter but certainly left loads of room for improvement. As expected, the area he was predicted to need developing in, pass protection, was a huge handicap to the offensive line. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded his pass blocking as the 70th-best in the league out of 77 graded guards.
In our breakdown we entertained the possibility of Haynes beating out Bradford for the starting job as a rookie. All 49 of Haynes’ starts for the Huskies came at right guard, so it’s a position with which he’s very familiar. A second-team All-American in 2022, Haynes excels in the areas Bradford struggles in. During his college career, Haynes was noted for his plus athleticism and great short-area quickness. With scouts noting his strength, football IQ, and finishing mentality, as well, a lot of signs seem to be pointing to Haynes being the favorite to take over the job in 2024.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson set the record straight earlier this month after interviewing new head coach Mike Macdonald following the final day of minicamp. Per Henderson, Macdonald claimed that Bradford is “right in the mix” to start. Bradford hadn’t been participating in the offseason program as he worked his way back from an ankle injury but was finally working with the team in the final days of camp. With the starting experience, it sounds like he’ll continue to be given every opportunity to retain his starting job.
One player to keep an eye on was also mentioned in our previous breakdown. McClendon Curtis, an undrafted rookie last year, has been an under-the-radar option for Seattle. As Bradford missed time in recovery, it was Curtis taking the majority of first-team snaps on the offensive line, while Haynes spent most of his time on the second-team unit. McClendon isn’t boasting a ton of experience, only playing four special teams snaps in his rookie year, but coaches seem to appreciate what he’s done so far in the offseason.
This is a battle that’s sure to rage into training camp. Haynes will continue learning and growing in the new system, attempting to usurp his predecessor; Bradford will continue working his way back from injury, attempting to show his development from a rocky rookie season; and Curtis will hang around as an unlikely but potential option to take the job.
Seahawks Planning To Expand DL Dre’Mont Jones’ Role
Dre’Mont Jones joined the Seahawks with considerable expectations last offseason, and he served as a full-time starter during his debut campaign with the team. The veteran defensive lineman operated primarily on the interior to start the season before injuries in the pass rush department led to him being used more along the edge. 
Jones had a productive season in Seattle with career highs in tackles (49) and quarterback hits (12). With only 4.5 sacks – his lowest total since his rookie campaign – however, the former Bronco underwhelmed to a degree in terms of rushing the passer. The arrival of Mike Macdonald as head coach will see the Seahawks’ defensive front in general and Jones in particular used in a variety of ways in 2024.
The 27-year-old is joined by the likes of Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins as a veteran along the D-line. Williams fared well after arriving via trade, and he re-signed in March before testing the open market. Seattle selected Byron Murphy in the first round of the draft, adding further to the team’s depth along the interior. That will leave Jones and Williams free to spend considerable time along the edge and allow Macdonald’s scheme (which generated considerable success during his DC stint in Baltimore) to maximize their versatility.
“I think his skillset lends to trying to play a little matchup ball with him or setting another guy up,” Macdonald said of Jones’ expanded role (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson). “He can do a lot of things. We’ve talked about it, but we’re really excited about Dre’Mont.”
The Seahawks have Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor and Derick Hall atop the depth chart for edge rushers entering 2024. Nwosu’s health will be a key storyline for the team after his 2023 campaign was ended by a pectoral strain. Further missed time on his part or poor play by the team’s complementary options could see Jones used more on the edge than along the interior. In any case, the Ohio State product will be counted on to produce under Macdonald as the Seahawks attempt to make needed improvements in the front seven.
Jones has two years remaining on the $51MM contract he signed last spring to head to the Emerald City. He will carry a cap hit of $10.77MM this season thanks to a recent restructure, but that figure is set to spike to $25.65MM the following year. With none of his 2025 salary guaranteed, how well he adapts to a hybrid role will be key in determining his Seahawks future.
Jeff Bezos Not Barred From Commanders Bid
Before Dan Snyder sold the Commanders to a group of investors led by Josh Harris last year, there was wide speculation about who all would be taking place in the bidding process for the franchise. An obvious name came up in Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, due to his ownership in local news outlet, The Washington Post, but word came out that Bezos’s ability to bid was not a reality. Conflicting reports have surfaced of late claiming that Bezos was not blocked from the vote but was simply outbid, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports.
This insight comes from a recent article from the Financial Times which suggests that Snyder did not, in fact, block Bezos from submitting a bid. It claims that Bezos simply did not put forth a bid worth more than the $6.05BB-offer put forth by Harris and company.
Snyder certainly has had issues with the Post and its views, also voicing displeasure for Bezos himself. That being said, Snyder is reportedly not so petty that he would turn down an offer for more money if it came from Bezos. An unnamed source for the Financial Times claimed, “I don’t think Snyder would have not sold to them if Jeff came in with a bid of $7(BB).”
Business reporter Daniel Kaplan, formerly of The Athletic, dissents that perhaps Snyder was, in fact, that petty, but once the funding difficulties of the Harris group became known, Snyder became more open to the idea. Kaplan particularly notes that the potential for more money could have softened Snyder’s resolve, as well.
Florio suggests the stance that perhaps the lack of a late bid from Bezos to outdo the $6.05BB-figure was not due to an inability to match the desired amount but was more a valuation determination. He puts forth that, should Bezos shell out the money it takes to buy an NFL franchise, the Commanders would not be worth the trouble. A damaged brand, an outdated stadium, and a slew of other messy situations left by the preceding staff make Washington a tough sell.
Instead, Florio claims that the smarter move would be to wait for the next franchise, perhaps the Seahawks, to hit the market. The NFL has made it known that they certainly have interest in having Bezos as a part of their ownership group. If interest is ever to turn into reality, a franchise with far less baggage may make the most sense for the billionaire.
Seahawks Sign RB Ricky Person Jr.
The Seahawks added to their backfield today. The team announced that they’ve signed running back Ricky Person Jr. to a contract.
After collecting more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage in four seasons at North Carolina State, Person Jr. caught on with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2022. After spending most of his rookie season on the practice squad, the running back joined the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL.
Person played sparingly as a backup in 2023, but he saw a larger role this past season. The running back finished the campaign with six touchdowns, and he notably collected 102 rushing yards in his team’s championship win.
In Seattle, Person will be competing for a bottom-of-the-depth-chart spot behind Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. The newest addition will be going against the likes of 2023 seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh and undrafted rookies George Holani and Kobe Lewis.
The team also announced that they’ve waived a trio of undrafted rookies. The grouping includes cornerback Ro Torrence, defensive end Rason Williams, and running back TaMerik Williams.
Seahawks Agree To Reworked Deals With Jarran Reed, Dre’Mont Jones
The Seahawks recently restructured the contracts of two of their starting defensive linemen, Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones. While the goal of most such transactions is to lower a player’s salary cap charge, that was not the case with Reed, whose cap number actually increased from $6.34MM to $6.47MM.
Reed, 31, had one year and $4.47MM left on his current deal, along with $900K in incentives. As ESPN’s Brady Henderson details in a thread on X, Seattle took $530K of those incentives and added them to the contract’s base value, while also adding $510K in per-game roster bonuses. The incentive package was originally based on sacks and playing time, and the $370K of incentives that remain are based exclusively on sacks (Reed will earn $185K if he records eight sacks, and he will unlock the full $370K if he hits the 10-sack threshold).
Per Henderson, the goal of this modification was to add a small contractual sweetener for a player who saw significant snaps for the ‘Hawks last season and who appears to be an integral part of new HC Mike Macdonald‘s plans. Indeed, the performance of Ravens interior defender Justin Madubuike had a positive trickle-down effect on the rest of Macdonald’s Baltimore defense, and while no one expects Reed to replicate Madubuike’s 2023 performance, the club does hope he will continue to generate a strong interior pass rush.
Meanwhile, the reworked Jones deal did create considerable cap room for the Seahawks, who were just $1.1MM under the cap after signing their rookie class. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com details, Seattle converted nearly $10MM of Jones’ 2024 base salary into a signing bonus and added two void years to the deal. Those void years carry $4.9MM in cap charges, and Jones’ 2025 cap number increased by roughly $2.5MM to a whopping $25.65MM, but his 2024 number decreased by $7.4MM, which should give the team plenty of breathing room to operate throughout the summer and into the regular season.
Jones signed a three-year, $51MM deal with the Seahawks last March, the largest contract that the team had ever authorized for an external free agent. He did not play poorly, but he did underperform relative to expectations, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 55th-best interior defender out of 130 qualifiers (eight spots behind the more modestly-priced Reed). Despite his categorization as an interior lineman, Jones did begin to see more action on the edge last year in the wake of the season-ending pectoral strain that Uchenna Nwosu suffered in October.
As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times details, Macdonald moved Jones around the formation during minicamp and had the former Bronco line up with the outside linebackers and edge rushers as well as with the defensive tackles. One of the reasons for the Ravens’ success under Macdonald was his ability to generate a strong pass rush from veterans like Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, and he will attempt to coax the same production out of Jones.
“I think his skillset lends to trying to play a little matchup ball with him or setting another guy up,” Macdonald said of Jones. “He can do a lot of things.”
One way or another, Macdonald plans to rotate his defenders quite a bit, so the team is not expected to subtract from its perceived glut of D-linemen, a group that also includes first-round draftee Byron Murphy II. Now that the ‘Hawks are comfortably under the salary cap, there is no financial reason for them to do so anyway.
Seahawks Sign QB P.J. Walker
JUNE 13: Walker received a $20K roster bonus as part of his Seahawks agreement, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. The deal (which calls for $1.15MM in total compensation) qualifies for the veteran salary benefit, and it carries a cap charge of $985K.
JUNE 6: Seattle is set to add depth in the quarterback room. The Seahawks have a deal in place with P.J. Walker, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. 
Geno Smith is atop the depth chart for at least one more season, but the team will have a new backup in 2024. Seattle traded for Sam Howell to serve as Drew Lock‘s replacement at the QB2 spot. Entering Thursday, Smith and Howell were the only signal-callers on the Seahawks’ offseason roster, so Walker will at least provide depth for the immediate future.
The latter has seen NFL action for each of the past four seasons, including a three-year run in Carolina. Walker made seven starts with the Panthers (including five in 2022), but the ex-XFLer was not retained last offseason. He briefly spent time with the Bears before signing with the Browns. Walker did not survive initial roster cuts, but he was retained on Cleveland’s practice squad.
The 29-year-old was eventually moved to the active roster and he started a pair of games in place of the injured Deshaun Watson. Walker only completed 48.6% of his attempts across six Cleveland appearances, though, throwing five interceptions and just one touchdown pass. Cleveland moved on to Dorian Thompson-Robinson and later Joe Flacco to close out the campaign, with other passers being brought in this spring.
With the bulk of the league’s QB movement well in the rearview, Walker remained on the market deep into the offseason. He will now get an opportunity in Seattle, though, to carve out a roster spot. NFL teams will be able to elevate practice squad passers for the emergency third QB role an unlimited amount of times in 2024, something which could help players like Walker stay on at least a taxi squad for extended periods. It will be interesting to see if today’s deal allows him to find a spot on Seattle’s roster through the coming campaign.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/12/24
Here are Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Craig James
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Austin Trammell
- Waived: G Jack Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Luq Barcoo
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: NT Buddha Jones
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/10/24
Today’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
- Waived: LB Steele Chambers
New York Giants
- Placed on reserve/retired list: TE Darren Waller (story)
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: RB Gary Brightwell
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived/injured: NT Buddha Jones
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: WR Deven Thompkins
Brightwell was waived/injured by the Giants in May but ultimately reverted to IR. The former sixth-round pick struggled to carve out a role behind Saquon Barkley in New York. Brightwell’s tenure with the Giants will officially end with the RB having collected 256 yards from scrimmage.
Thompkins suffered a hamstring injury in late May that ultimately led to him getting waived/injured. As ESPN’s Jenna Laine notes, it’s about a two-week recovery timeline for the Grade 1 strain, meaning the wideout should be on the brink of full health.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times passed along a troubling wrinkle to the situation last week, noting that Thompkins’ release quickly followed public accusations of spousal abuse from his estranged wife. The woman, Maria Castilhos, posted pictures of injuries that she claims were sustained in February of 2023.
“First and foremost, Deven categorically denies the allegations levied against him by his estranged wife, Maria Castilhos,” attorney Brett Gallaway said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Deven and Maria have been going through a contentious divorce proceeding and child custody battle, and it appears that she thought it would help her case to release these false and defamatory videos.
“… We expect he will be fully exonerated after a review of the facts, background, and clear ulterior motive behind the release of these videos and fabricated assault allegations.”
Thompkins served as Tampa Bay’s primary returner in 2023, finishing with 16 kickoff returns (for 327 yards) and 25 punts (for 234 yards). The former UDFA had a limited role on offense, hauling in 17 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown. As Stroud notes, coach Todd Bowles said the “door is open” to Thompkins returning to the Buccaneers once he’s healthy, although the team has already replaced him on the roster with Cody Thompson.