The Dolphins hired Nathaniel Hackett as their quarterbacks coach, but they had interest in interviewing Bruce Gradkowski for the job before adding Hackett to Jeff Hafley’s staff.
Miami requested to interview Lions offensive assistant Bruce Gradkowski for the job. The Lions denied the request, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
Because he is under contract to the Lions and the position is considered a lateral move, the team was allowed to decline the Dolphins’ request.
Gradkowski played 37 games, with 20 starts, as an NFL quarterback, with the Bucs, Browns, Raiders, Bengals and Steelers. He last played in the NFL in 2014.
Gradkowski served as the St. Louis BattleHawks’ offensive coordinator in the spring league in 2023-24 before joining the Lions in the 2025 offseason.
Lions Clips
Dan Skipper’s days of helping the Lions as an offensive lineman are over, but he’s reportedly set to continue contributing to the team in another way.
Rachel Hopmeyer of CBS Detroit reports that Skipper will be joining the team’s coaching staff for the 2026 season. Skipper announced his retirement in January after playing 70 games for the Lions since joining the team in 2017.
After announcing his retirement, Skipper worked with offensive linemen and tight ends at this year’s East/West Shrine Game.
Skipper’s role is not known, but the team has lost assistant tight ends coach Sean Ryan to the Lions and assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver is set to become the team’s tight ends coach, so there are roles to fill on the staff in Detroit.
Lions left tackle Taylor Decker is used to facing pressure, but he won’t be getting any from Penei Sewell.
Decker said at the end of the regular season that he will be taking some time to decide whether or not to return for the 2026 season. Decker battled a shoulder injury throughout the 2025 campaign and said that he needs to “make informed decisions” about continuing his career because of the impact that his health has on his entire family.
Losing Decker would leave a big hole for the Lions to replace on their offensive line, but Sewell told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press last week that he won’t be doing any lobbying to keep Decker in the fold.
“I give Big Dog his space,” Sewell said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “He’s been in it for quite some time now, so he deserves it and whatever he decides it’s the best thing for him.”
Decker has spent the last 10 years with the Lions. If he does retire, moving Sewell over from right tackle would be one of the team’s options to replace him.
Former Lions defensive lineman/linebacker Tracy Scroggins died on Monday at the age of 56.
“We join the NFL community in mourning the loss of Lions Legend Tracy Scroggins,” the Lions said in a social media post.
The Lions selected Scroggins in the second round of the 1992 draft out of Tulsa. He spent his entire 10-year career with the Lions, appearing in 142 games.
His 60.5 career sacks rank seventh in team history.
Scroggins’ family released a statement to TMZ: “Tracy was a devoted father, cherished family member, and loyal friend whose life was marked by remarkable strength and perseverance. While many knew him for his career as a professional football player in the NFL, those closest to him knew him as a kind-hearted and generous man who cared deeply for his family and friends.”
The family also said Scroggins suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, though CTE is diagnosed only through a neuropathological autopsy performed after death. It is unclear whether Scroggins’ family will have his brain tested.
“Playing in the NFL gave Tracy the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream and to rise from poverty,” the statement continued. “However, unfortunately, the NFL was also ultimately the cause of his untimely demise. Tracy spent every moment of retirement courageously battling the devastating effects of CTE. While our hearts are heavy, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace.”
Scroggins was one of nearly 5,000 players to file concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL before the league’s sweeping concussion settlement in 2015. He filed an additional claim against the NFL in 2016.
The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX less than 24 hours ago and some have already turned their attention to Super Bowl LXI.
Sportsbooks have set the odds for who will be raising the Lombardi Trophy in SoFi Stadium on February 14, 2027. The Seahawks are at the top of the list, but they aren’t the only team on that rung.
They aren’t even the only NFC West team. The Rams join the Seahawks at +950 at DraftKings at the moment.
The Bills have the top odds of any AFC team with the Eagles, Patriots, and Ravens tied for the fourth spot. The Packers, Lions, Chargers, and Chiefs round out the top 10.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Cardinals and Dolphins are both at +25000.
The Jets are hiring Seth Ryan as their passing game coordinator, Rich Cimini of ESPN reports.
Ryan, 31, is the third generation in the Ryan family to coach for the Jets. His father, Rex, was the Jets’ head coach from 2009-14, and his grandfather, Buddy, was the Jets’ defensive line coach from 1968-75, which included the Super Bowl III championship team.
Seth Ryan follows Aaron Glenn from Detroit.
Ryan was with the Lions for five seasons. He was the assistant wide receivers coach for four seasons before becoming the assistant tight ends coach under Tyler Roehl in 2025.
The Lions passed over Ryan when Roehl left the team, instead promoting assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver to tight ends coach.
Earlier this week, Rams head coach Sean McVay and Rams General Manager Les Snead each said that the organization would give quarterback Matthew Stafford time to decide if he would like to return for an 18th season.
Stafford didn’t need much of it.
Accepting the AP MVP award at NFL Honors on Thursday night, Stafford ended his speech by addressing his daughters and saying that he will return to Los Angeles for 2026.
“I am so happy to have you at the games on the sideline with me,” Stafford said. “And I can’t wait for you to cheer me on next year when we’re out there kicking ass. So I’ll see you guys next year — hopefully I’m not at this event and we’re getting ready for another game at SoFi.”
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, of course, will host Super Bowl LXI next February.
With Stafford shouting out the Rams’ home stadium, it doesn’t appear there will be any exploration of other teams like there was last offseason.
Stafford, who turns 38 on Saturday, led the league with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns. He then passed for 936 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in three postseason games.
The Lions have promoted assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver to tight ends coach, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Oliver replaces Tyler Roehl, who left the Lions after one season to become Iowa State’s offensive coordinator. The Lions did not promote assistant tight ends coach Seth Ryan.
Oliver has spent five seasons in Detroit. He began as a quality control coach before a promotion to assistant offensive line coach under Hank Fraley in 2023.
He started as a tight ends coach at Idaho (2019) and then at the University of San Diego (2020).
Oliver will work under new offensive coordinator Steve Petzing.
From the moment Lions fan Ryan Kennedy hired counsel in the aftermath of his in-game altercation with Steelers receiver DK Metcalf, it was obvious this was coming.
Kennedy has sued Metcalf and various others, via Christian Romo of USA Today. The lawsuit focused on the alleged assault — and on the statements made about Kennedy following the December 21 incident.
The civil action, filed on Tuesday, targets Metcalf, the Steelers, and Ford Field management in connection with the assault. Metcalf, Shannon Sharpe, Chad Johnson, and Shay Shay Media were sued for defamation.
Johnson said during an episode of the Nightcap podcast that Kennedy provoked Metcalf by using a racial slur, and by using a misogynistic term in reference to Metcalf’s mother.
“The statements were false and reckless,” the lawsuit alleges. “Plaintiff Kennedy did not call Defendant Metcalf the ‘N-word'; did not call Defendant Metcalf mother a ‘c---'; and did not ever use any racial slurs or hate speech whatsoever. . . . Defendant Metcalf provided false information to Defendant Johnson about what Plaintiff Kennedy allegedly said, thereby instigating and authorizing the publication of the defamatory and reckless statements which were intended to harm Plaintiff Kennedy.”
Kennedy seeks $100 million in damages, along with a “full public retraction and correction of defamatory statements” from Johnson and Sharpe.
The Lions will have their third offensive coordinator in the last three years for the 2026 season, but the turnover isn’t a problem for quarterback Jared Goff.
Former Cardinals coordinator Drew Petzing is now in charge of the offense in Detroit and Goff said Monday that “quarterbacks who have played for him were glowing” in their reviews of what Petzing brings to the table.
“He’s done it before. He’s been a coordinator. He’s called plays,” Goff said, via NFL.com. “And I think he was a home run hire. And I’m really excited for him.”
John Morton replaced Ben Johnson after Johnson became the head coach of the Bears in January 2025, but his run calling plays ended when head coach Dan Campbell took over those responsibilities during the season. The Lions still finished fourth in the league in points scored, but the unit failed to come through often enough for the Lions to return to the postseason. Goff said he hopes the change leads to a return to the consistency of previous seasons.
“Just consistency and efficiency. Yeah, that’s really it. The years where we were really good, winning 12, 15 games. It was efficient. It was consistent,” Goff said. “We weren’t really having like bad games where I felt like this year we had some bad games offensively. You’re gonna have a bad play or a bad series, that’s gonna happen. But being able to get back on track quickly is something that we need to be able to do. We know we have the players. We know we have everything we need in place. It’s just consistency and raising our standard a little bit and level execution.”
If the Lions can’t bounce back in 2026, chances are good that the changes will be more sweeping than this offseason in Detroit so Goff won’t be the only one hoping that Petzing shines in his new role.
