NFL Player News

It’s certainly not a question of talent behind Williams, as Alabama has recruited several four-and-five star commits at the defensive tackle position. One of those players is Phidarian Mathis, a four-star player who became a part of the rotation in 2018 as a redshirt freshman. There’s also Christian Barmore and a hostfull of talented players coming in 2019. Still, Williams was special -- as Hale notes -- and replacing the most dominant player in college football on the defensive side of the football will not be easy.

Daboll previously interviewed for the Titans’ head coach opening, but that job has been taken by Robert Saleh. The Bills’ job is now the only head coaching gig for which Daboll is still in the running. He has, however, received plenty of interest as an offensive coordinator. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini recently reported that he could still land in Tennessee as their OC. The Eagles are also interested in Daboll as an OC, meaning he should get to at least call plays for a team in 2026.

Rees interviewed for the Browns’ vacant head coaching job but did not receive a second meeting with the team. His days in Cleveland were numbered after the team chose to go in a different direction at head coach. The good news for Rees is that his former boss, Kevin Stefanski, just so happened to be looking for an offensive coordinator for his new job as Atlanta’s head coach. As expected, Stefanski is bringing several Browns staffers with him to the Falcons. It’s unclear who will call plays for Atlanta in 2026. Stefanski initially called plays for the Browns but eventually handed those duties off to Rees late in the 2025 season. Neither play-caller found much success, though Cleveland’s abhorrent quarterback room played a major part in that failure.

Johnson received several offensive coordinator interviews following C.J. Stroud’s breakout rookie season. That was all the way back at the end of the 2023 season. Stroud regressed in 2024 and the Texans fired OC Bobby Slowik. Johnson was a candidate to replace him, but the team ultimately chose an outside voice in Nick Caley. With Stroud playing better this year, there is again some interest in Johnson as an OC. Johnson would join a Miami team without any answers at quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa is expected to be released and the team doesn’t have a high enough pick in the draft to land a premier rookie quarterback. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Johnson stick in Houston for another year in search of better opportunities next offseason.

While it’s a lateral move on the surface, Doyle doesn’t call plays in Chicago and would do so in Philly. That also means that the Bears can’t turn down the Eagles’ request to interview Doyle. Chicago finished the year ninth in points per game and made their deepest playoff run since 2010. Most importantly, Caleb Williams showed drastic improvement in his second season after Ben Johnson and Doyle took over the offense. The Eagles would hope to get a similar turnaround from Jalen Hurts, who is coming off a career-low in yards per attempt.

Taggart also holds the title of running backs coach. He joined the Ravens in 2023 after a lengthy career coaching college football. After a quiet first year on the job, Taggart got to work with Derrick Henry for his next two seasons in Baltimore. Henry exploded with the Ravens, running for 3,516 yards over the past two years. As expected, John Harbaugh plans on bringing as many of his former staffers to New York as possible. Both Taggart and Ravens OC Todd Monken are reportedly in consideration for the OC vacancy in New York.

It’s not a done deal yet, but both coaches should make it to Tampa Bay sooner rather than later. The Bucs are finalizing a deal to bring on Falcons OC Zac Robinson in the same role. As most coaches do, he will bring along some of his lieutenants. Zampese has been coaching in the NFL for over 20 years. Yates joined the coaching ranks almost immediately after his playing career ended in 2017.

Robinson joined Atlanta two years ago when the team hired Raheem Morris as their head coach. He had previously worked under Sean McVay for five years, working his way up to pass game coordinator for the final two. Robinson started off strong, getting Atlanta to 13th in points scored despite Kirk Cousins struggling in his first year as a Falcon. The switch to Michael Penix in 2025 didn’t go as planned and the team cratered to 24th in scoring. The hope for Baker Mayfield and company will be that Robinson was simply dealt a bad hand in Atlanta. The hiring bodes particularly well for Bucky Irving. Atlanta ranked top-10 in rushing yards in both of Robinson’s seasons with the team.

Rapoport reports Abrams is let go “as part of organizational restructuring.” Abrams has been with the team for nearly 30 years, but with John Harbaugh taking over and wanting more control in the organization, he is out as part of the new organizational structure. With a tenure spanning over four general managers and his own brief stint as interim, Abrams won two Super Bowls with the Giants and was a well-respected member of the front office. He is a candidate to be hired to another front office with plenty of experience under his belt, while the new-look Giants hierarchy starts to take shape with Harbaugh.

Minter has been heavily rumored to be the favorite for the Ravens’ head coaching role and just completed his second interview with the organization. He has ties to the Ravens organization after having worked under former head coach John Harbaugh and former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald for the team. Anderson reports the Ravens have finished their second interview with Minter and a deal has not yet been reached. He remains on Baltimore’s radar, though the team has a few other second interviews on the docket.