NFL Player News

He’ll likely get a chance to compete to start when and if Lance Briggs moves on in 2008, but Okwo will be behind Hunter Hillenmeyer for the time being.

Bevell becomes the second known coach on the Jets’ list of in-person interview candidates for their OC opening. It was recently announced that former Chargers OC Greg Roman would also get an in-person interview. Bevell has spent the last four seasons with the Dolphins, and last served as an offensive coordinator in 2021 with the Jaguars. Bevell has years of offensive play-calling experience and had his longest tenure with the Seahawks from 2011-2017. The last time he worked with a top-10 offense was in 2015, when the Seahawks finished fourth in both scoring and total yards.

The Buccaneers and Chargers both spoke with Callahan about their offensive coordinator jobs earlier this offseason, but both opted to go in another direction. Bengals beat writer Paul Dehner also believes Callahan could be in the mix to return as the Bengals’ OC if Dan Pitcher were to leave — although, that seems unlikely at this time. Callahan’s market has been relatively quiet, which is no surprise given how his time with the Titans went, but he could be a fit with John Harbaugh and the Giants, who are left without an OC after Todd Monken took the Browns’ job. Callahan served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2023 before landing with the Titans in 2024, but the team left play-calling duties to Zac Taylor. Callahan struggled to get the Titans’ offense off the ground in his brief 23-game tenure with the team, and would likely be tasked with calling plays in New York should he get the job. In addition to Callahan, Fowler also reports that former Commanders’ OC Kliff Kingsbury could be in the running for the Giant’s job, which was reported earlier by Giants’ writer Jordan Raanan.

According to Fowler, the Jets will host three coaches for in-person interviews as they move into the second stage of their interview process. Roman, who was dismissed by the Chargers after a year in which his offense ranked 20th in scoring despite finishing 12th in yards, will take on his biggest challenge yet if he lands with the Jets. With no clearcut plan at quarterback, and Breece Hall potentially leaving via free agency this offseason, Roman will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to turn around a Jets offense that was among the league’s worst last season.

Fangio, 67, could consider retirement, but Garafolo does add that the discussions between Fangio and the Eagles have “been leaning to the positive recently but anything good change.” The Eagles reportedly considered Browns DC Jim Schwartz and new Packers DC Jonathan Gannon to replace Fangio should he opt not to return, but Schwartz would be the only option available of the two, and that’s assuming the Browns let him after his contract after the decision to pass on him for their head-coaching vacancy. This will be a situation to monitor until there’s a permanent solution, but Fangio’s defense was fifth in points allowed last season and ranked 13th in total yards allowed.

Alexander spent five years in the NFL as a safety before quickly transitioning to coaching. The 41-year-old spent seven seasons in the college ranks before joining the Dolphins as a defensive backs coach in 2021. Brian Flores, the Vikings defensive coordinator, was Miami’s head coach at the time, so the Vikings know who they’re getting in Alexander. He also coached defensive backs with the Steelers and Raiders.

Smith served as the Dolphins offensive coordinator under Mike McDaniel for the last four seasons. He was named the NFL’s top OC in 2023 despite not calling plays in Miami. The 44-year-old coach has worked in the NFL since 2010 with stops in New Orleans, Chicago, Oakland/Las Vegas and Los Angeles (Chargers) as well. Having previously worked as a tight ends coach, offensive line coach and run game coordinator, Smith will assist Kevin O’Connell in run game planning. He previously interviewed for the Eagles offensive coordinator position before they hired Sean Mannion.

It’s no secret that Joe Brady will continue to run the offense in Buffalo as head coach, but now we know who’ll be heading up the Bills’ defense in the post-Sean McDermott era. Leonhard’s hiring, which was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, takes him off the table for teams like the Ravens and Chargers that also had interest in the 43-year-old coach. A former walk-on safety at Wisconsin, Leonhard played 10 years in the NFL before returning to Wisconsin to start his coaching career and remaining there for seven years. He’s only coached in the NFL for the last two seasons, but had his fingerprints on one of the league’s best defenses as the defensive pass game coordinator in Denver. Leonhard takes over a Buffalo defense that finished 20th in DVOA.

Per Wilson, Ferentz is expected to coach tight ends, though his role has not yet been formally defined. The former offensive lineman entered the NFL in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the Texans. He joined the Broncos in 2015 and spent 2018-2023 with the Patriots. Ferentz spent the last two seasons serving as an assistant offensive line coach with the Giants.

Maye practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday, nursing an injury in his right shoulder. He was downgraded today after coming down with an illness. The Patriots have another week of practice before Super Bowl LX will be played. We have no concerns about his availability.

Darnold was limited in practice today. The Seahawks continue to smartly take it easy on their star quarterback as he rehabs his multi-week soft tissue injury. Darnold threw for a season-high 346 yards against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. We have no concerns about his availability. The team removed him from this week’s injury report at the end of the day, indicating he would play if Super Bowl LX were to be played this weekend.