With president of football Matt Ryan and head coach Kevin Stefanski in place, the Falcons are moving toward finding the next member of their new regime.
According to multiple reports, Bears assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham and Texans assistant General Manager James Liipfert will both have second interviews for Atlanta’s General Manager vacancy this week.
Cunningham had interviewed for the president of football job that went to Ryan. He’s been in the mix for several G.M. jobs over the last few offseasons.
Liipfert interviewed with the Falcons for their G.M. job last week.
Atlanta is replacing Terry Fontenot, who spent five seasons in the role.
Texans Clips
The NFL named Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter and safety Calen Bullock to the Pro Bowl Games on Monday, the team announced.
Both players were first alternates.
Lassiter replaces Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who is unavailable after his team won the AFC title, and Bullock will fill in for Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey.
Lassiter and Bullock join teammates Derek Stingley Jr., Nico Collins, Azeez Al-Shaair and Will Anderson Jr. on the Pro Bowl Games roster.
The Texans ranked sixth in pass defense this season and first in total defense.
Lassiter totaled 91 tackles, four interceptions and 17 passes defensed.
Bullock intercepted four passes during the regular season and had another in the playoffs. He totaled 64 tackles, one forced fumble and 10 passes defensed.
The Eagles’ search for a new offensive coordinator is set to add another candidate.
Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports that they are set to interview Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for the position on Nick Sirianni’s staff. Johnson also spoke to the team in 2024, but they wound up hiring Kellen Moore at that time.
Moore spent a year in the job and parlayed a Super Bowl win into the Saints’ head coaching job. Kevin Patullo called the offensive plays in 2025, but was relieved of those duties after the team’s playoff loss to the 49ers.
Johnson has been the quarterbacks coach in Houston since 2023. He has never held a coordinator position.
Robert Saleh is the new head coach in Tennessee and he’s getting to work on filling out the Titans’ coaching staff.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team is interviewing Texans defensive backs coach Dino Vasso for their defensive coordinator job.
Vasso has spent the last five seasons on Houston’s staff. DeMeco Ryans has been the head coach for the last three of those seasons and Ryans was a linebackers coach under Saleh with the 49ers earlier in his career.
Vasso has also coached for the Eagles and Chiefs since entering the NFL ranks in 2013.
The defensive coordinator spot is an important one, but the biggest hire Saleh will make to his staff will be on the other side of the ball. Developing quarterback Cam Ward will be vital to any hopes Saleh has of success in Tennessee, so the offensive coordinator hire will be a significant one.
The Falcons announced the completion of an interview with a General Manager candidate on Thursday.
They have met with Texans assistant GM James Liipfert. It is the first interview that the Falcons have announced for the position.
Liipfert has been with the Texans since 2018 and was promoted to his current position last year. He was previously the director of college scouting and he worked with Texans GM Nick Caserio while in the Patriots’ organization from 2009-2017.
The Falcons have also requested interviews with Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams.
The Patriots have become a great team again, and they helped create a great number during Sunday afternoon’s division-round game against the Texans.
An average audience of 37.9 million tuned in for the game between Houston and New England on ESPN and ABC.
It’s the biggest number for any ABC sporting event, other than a Super Bowl. It was also the best for any show televised by ABC since 2014.
The 37.9 million figure matches the audience from last year’s Rams-Eagles Sunday afternoon game. Which makes it, essentially, a drop; the new Nielsen Big Data + Panel has been contributing to a goosing of NFL audience measurements.
The four divisional-round games (39.597 million for Broncos-Bills, 32 million for 49ers-Seahawks, 37.9 million for Texans-Patriots, 45.4 million for Rams-Bears) had an average audience of 38.7 million.
The Dolphins are taking a look at an AFC South assistant for their offensive coordinator role under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
Via Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com, Miami has put in a request to interview Houston quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for the role.
Johnson, 37, has been the Texans’ quarterbacks coach since 2023. That season, he helped C.J. Stroud win AP offensive rookie of the year.
Johnson has also spent time with the 49ers, Colts, and Vikings.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is expected to be named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after breaking the league record for sacks in a season. Sacking the quarterback is what every nominee for the award does best.
The NFL announced the five finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year, and all five are edge rushers.
In addition to Garrett, the finalists are Houston’s Will Anderson, Denver’s Nik Bonitto, Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson and Green Bay’s Micah Parsons.
Garrett had 23 sacks, Hutchinson had 14.5, Bonitto had 14, Parsons had 12.5 and Anderson had 12.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, and he’s a rare winner from the secondary, as pass rushers win the award. In fact, this year’s finalists are so heavily skewed toward edge rushers that it’s fair to question whether enough voters are fully considering every defensive player, or simply filling out their ballots with five famous pass rushers.
The same panel of Associated Press voters who vote on the Defensive Player of the Year also choose the All-Pro team, and oddly that panel ranked Hutchinson sixth and Bonitto seventh among pass rushers. It’s odd, to say the least, to think Hutchinson and Bonitto are not among the Top 5 players at their position, but are among the Top 5 defensive players in the entire league.
We’re nearly certain the Defensive Player of the Year will be Garrett, and we’ll find out for sure at the NFL Honors. We can say for sure who it won’t be: Any interior defensive lineman, inside linebacker, cornerback or safety.
Texans receiver Tank Dell suffered a horrible knee injury in December 2024. He could be ready to return in 2026.
“Tank is doing awesome,” Texans G.M. Nick Caserio told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s been in the building every day. As a matter of fact, he’s here today. He’s got a great attitude. We would anticipate him being ready for the start of the offseason program. He’s in great spirits. He’s got a great attitude. Good player. I’m sure he’s excited. He can’t wait to get started. I saw him yesterday and he had a big smile on his face basically like, ‘Now it’s time, because we’re focused on 2026.’”
After catching a touchdown pass against the Chiefs in Kansas City, Dell was struck by a teammate. Dell dislocated his knee and tore three ligaments. He underwent multiple surgeries and missed all of the 2025 season.
Caserio was asked whether he believes Dell will be able to compete at a high level in 2026, given the serious nature of the injury.
“To be determined,” Caserio said. “He worked very hard. I think our performance group, they do a really good job. I think the players feel that. We have the resources available. Each player is a little bit different, so what’s required for one player might be different for Tank and his situation.
“But I would anticipate him being available for the offseason and then really April, May and June we’ll probably have a better idea. Once you get on the field you probably have a better visual representation of what that looks like. If you clear that hurdle, then training camp is more of like, ‘Okay, what does this actually look like?’ Knowing Tank, he’s probably cautiously optimistic that he’s going to be able to go out there and be Tank Dell. I think everybody is hoping that’s the case, but you never know. Injuries are — none of us control injuries and what happens. But I think everybody is rooting for Tank. He’s worked very hard and had a great attitude. I’m excited to see him out there moving around. Nobody is more excited than he is, so it will be good once we start getting on the field and getting on the grass to see what that looks like.”
Caserio’s words of caution are no surprise. It was a horrible injury. The fact that Dell even has a chance to return to his prior form in 2026 is great news.
In 11 games as a rookie in 2023, Dell caught 47 passes for 509 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2024, he caught 51 passes for 667 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.
Everyone has been secretive about what caused the off-field foot injury that forced Texans running back Joe Mixon to miss the entire season. But Texans General Manager Nick Caserio said today that no one should think the worst of Mixon.
Caserio didn’t explain how Mixon did suffer the injury, but he said it wasn’t because of any kind of irresponsible behavior.
“He didn’t do anything off the field, it wasn’t like he was riding a snowmobile or anything like that,” Caserio said. “I’d say it was more just a medical condition or situation that really didn’t improve as much as everybody hoped. I’m not trying to evade the question but that’s the reality of the situation. He didn’t jump off a building, he wasn’t cliff diving or anything like that, he wasn’t doing anything irresponsible, it was just a freak thing. Honestly, I’ve never seen it.”
Echoing comments from Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, Caserio said he doesn’t know when or if Mixon will return to the Texans.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’m not smart enough to be a doctor, so I’ll leave that to the medical experts.”
