NFL Player News

Downs (6'0"/185) is ranked as the 12th player in the class, and is the top safety. He chose Bama over hometown Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Clemson. Athleticism, intelligence, size, agility, pursuit, coverage, he checks all the boxes. Downs work ethic and leadership also standout. He’s the brother of star UNC WR Josh, and both his uncle and father made it to the NFL. He racked up 77 tackles, one sack, 11 PBU’s and an incredible five picks in 2021. Physical traits, mental traits, pedigree, production, Downs has it all, which makes it no surprise he’s the top ranked safety in the class.

Webb has been interviewing around the head coaching circuit this cycle and is now getting offensive coordinator requests with head coaching jobs filling up. The Ravens interviewed him for head coach and are now interested in bringing him back in to call plays for Lamar Jackson’s offense. John Harbaugh’s Giants may pivot from Todd Monken at offensive coordinator if Monken takes the Browns’ head coaching job, while the Eagles have yet to fill their offensive coordinator position. With the Broncos parting ways with Joe Lombardi, Webb is a candidate for his current employer’s offensive coordinator role as well. Webb is a highly coveted offensive mind who will likely find an offensive coordinator role this offseason and will be a name we hear again in future coaching cycles.

Gruden, however, “wasn’t interested in the job.” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is turning over much of his coaching staff after a less-than-ideal first year on the job. Rosenblatt reports the team apparently contacted Gruden, who did not have interest in taking on a role under Glenn. Gruden has not coached since resigning from the Raiders after a scandal involving emails using bigoted language during the 2021 season. He consulted with the Saints in 2023 but has been out of the league since. The Jets’ staff turnover will decidedly not include Gruden.

Rivera, 64, is currently the general manager for the University of California’s football program. He was head coach of the Panthers from 2011-2019, leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance and winning NFL Coach of the Year twice. Rivera then coached the Commanders form 2020-2023 to more lackluster results, failing to finish with a winning record across four seasons. The Cardinals are continuing to search for the right head coaching candidate and Rivera, who has been out of the NFL for two years, is the latest on the interview list.

Brady spent the past two seasons as the Bills’ offensive coordinator and play-caller after getting the interim offensive coordinator job in 2023. Garafolo reports that Brady will continue to call offensive plays after the Bills promoted him to head coach. Despite Buffalo aiming for some change after firing Sean McDermott, the team retains familiarity on offense. Brady’s offenses ranked top-three in EPA per play in both 2024 and 2025. With offensive play-calling settled, Brady will need to find a defensive play-caller and an offensive coordinator to work with in evolving Josh Allen’s offense.

The Pro Football Hall Of Fame voting process is an annual disaster, so this qualifies as disappointing but not all that surprising. ESPN’s column refers to former Colts general manager Bill Polian as a cheerleader for having Belichick “wait a year” before induction on account of the Spygate and Deflategate scandals. There’s not really a way to tell the story of the modern NFL without the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach who won 333 games over the course of his career, of course. There’s little doubt that he will eventually be a Hall of Famer. (The actual HOF announcements are coming next week.) Because of the way voting is grouped, Belichick was up against Robert Kraft, Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and I.C. Greenwood. It’s unknown whether any of the members of that group got 80 percent of the vote.

He’s not waiting for the Raiders anymore. Cam Ward could see a completion percentage spike in his second year as Daboll has tended to focus more on underneath routes and quick-hitters as Giants head coach. We’re not sure it’s enough to get him out of the low-end QB2 ranks without some help at receiver or a better running game, but it’s a start. This news brought to you by major Titans source Jelly Roll.

Are we finally out of road here for Joe Lombardi? It’s the third OC job he hasn’t been able to keep for longer than three years, and not even buddy Sean Payton could keep riding this train. It’s possible the Broncos elevate Davis Webb, who has garnered head-coaching interviews, to their offensive coordinator position. Lombardi has plenty of experience as a quarterbacks coach and, despite working as an NFL coach since 2006, is only 55. He should at least be able to find NFL work elsewhere as a lower-rung assistant.

What is the first order of business for the Mike McCarthy Era? Obviously it’s interviewing his old coaches. Simmons was with McCarthy in Green Bay from 2011-2018. He’s been Washington’s defensive passing game coordinator since 2024.

Clinkscale was actually co-defensive coordinator with Jesse Minter at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, so it would be a natural move for the Chargers to keep this job in-house. Whether they’ll actually do that remains up for debate. Clinkscale joined the Chargers in 2024 with Harbaugh and has coached the last two years as their defensive backs coach. He also has coordinator experience with the 2015 Cincinnati Bearcats.

Doyle withdrew from the Eagles search despite the lateral move technically improving his standing by letting him call plays. We’ll see if he’s interested in actually interviewing for this one. Hard to do much better as a playcaller than starting off with Lamar Jackson, even if the Jackson we saw late last season was not playing up to his MVP standard of 2023 and 2024.