The Titans’ list of head coaching candidates is continuing to take shape on Monday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team has requested interviews with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. There was word earlier on Monday that they have requested an interview with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as well.
All three candidates have previous head coaching experience and Titans G.M. Mike Borgonzi knows both Nagy and Spagnuolo from his time in the Kansas City personnel department.
Joseph will be able to have a remote interview with the Titans this week, but will not be able to have another interview with the team until the Broncos are eliminated or in the week between the AFC title game and the Super Bowl. Joseph was 11-21 as the Broncos’ head coach in 2017-18, but his work running the defense under Sean Payton since returning to Denver has put him back on the head coaching radar.
Spagnuolo was 10-38 as the Rams’ head coach from 2009-2011. He was also the Giants’ interim head coach for four games in 2017 and has been in his current job since the 2019 season.
Chiefs Clips
The regular season is over and that means teams looking for head coaches can now step up their searches.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Titans have started that process by requesting an interview with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The Titans will be able to hold an initial interview with Nagy later this week.
Nagy has been linked to the opening in Tennessee since Brian Callahan was fired early in the regular season. He has previous head coaching experience and he worked with Titans G.M. Mike Borgonzi when Borgonzi was in the Chiefs’ organization.
Nagy went 34-31 in four seasons as the Bears’ head coach. He took the team to the playoffs twice, but was fired after going 6-11 in 2021. He was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator before going to Chicago and returned to Kansas City after being let go by the Bears.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s plans for the 2026 season have been a topic of conversation since he confirmed he’d play in 2025, but Kelce did not make any definitive statements during the first 17 weeks of the season and that didn’t change in Week 18.
After the Chiefs closed out the season with a loss to the Raiders, Kelce talked about his love for the team and said he will “spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow and get close to the family and figure things out.” Kelce didn’t put a timeline on how long it will take for him to figure things out.
“I mean, who knows? Who knows? Either it hits me quick, or I’ve got to take some time,” Kelce said, via Jesse Newell of TheAthletic.com. “I think last year was a little bit easier. I think I knew right away I wanted to give this one a shot. So we’ll see.”
Kelce is not under contract for 2026, so that would need to be worked out if he plans to play again next season but the decision about playing has to come before any other conversations are going to go on in Kansas City.
The Raiders and Chiefs saved their worst for last.
In the most unwatchable game of the 2025 season, featuring Kenny Pickett, Aidan O’Connell, Chris Oladokun and Shane Buechele at quarterback, Daniel Carlson kicked a 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left to hand the Raiders a 14-12 victory.
The game had no touchdowns, eight field goals, four turnovers, a safety, nine sacks, 12 punts and a combined 372 yards. They were 0-for-4 in the red zone.
The Raiders kicked off knowing they had secured the No. 1 overall pick. They ended a 10-game losing streak in what might be the final game of Pete Carroll’s career. He went 3-14 in his first season with the Raiders in the worst season of his 19-year career.
Carlson kicked field goals of 32, 23, 55 and 60, and Harrison Butker was good from 36, 40, 47 and 41.
Raiders edge rusher Tyree Wilson tackled Buechele in the end zone for a safety that ended up being the difference.
Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 87 yards on 26 carries.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce may or may not be retiring at some point after Sunday’s 2025 finale at the Raiders. Whether Kelce calls it quits or not, the future Hall of Famer is close to passing a current Hall of Famer on the all-time reception list.
Kelce has 1,077 career catches. Terrell Owens has 1,078. With two on Sunday, Kelce will take over the eighth spot in the record books.
Kelce will need to have a monster day to finish at No. 7, unless he decides to play another year. Hall of Famer Tim Brown has 1,094. Which means Kelce would need to have 18 catches in Las Vegas (not likely) to pass Brown.
All players ahead of Kelce on the all-time reception list are in Canton, with the exception of tight end Jason Witten, who finished his career in 2020 with the Raiders and who is a finalist for enshrinement this year, and Larry Fitzgerald, who also retired after 2020 and also is a finalist for the next class.
Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez has the most receptions for a tight end, with 1,325. He’s third all time, behind Fitzgerald (1,432) and Jerry Rice (1,549).
NFL teams always insist that they would never tank to get a better draft pick. But teams with a high draft pick on the line can and do choose to give plenty of playing time to inexperienced backups, and that’s exactly what the Raiders will do on Sunday, with the first pick in the draft on the line.
If the Raiders lose to the Chiefs, they will pick first overall in the 2026 NFL draft. Raiders coach Pete Carroll said he plans to give playing time to everyone on the active roster, including both backup quarterbacks, Aidan O’Connell and Kenny Pickett.
“Everybody’s gonna play and I’m hoping it works out well,” Carroll said. “It doesn’t always, good plans don’t always come through, but we’ve got plans for these guys to get in there and get their playing time. Really excited to see them. Excited to see them play.”
Among the Raiders who won’t play are starting quarterback Geno Smith, and the Raiders’ two best players, defensive end Maxx Crosby and tight end Brock Bowers. They’re out with injuries, although Crosby has made clear that he wants to play through his knee injury and the Raiders shut him down against his will. If there’s one player on the team who would play to win in any game, it’s Crosby. But the Raiders won’t let him play.
As long as the draft is ordered by giving the highest pick to the team with the worst record, teams will be incentivized to lose. If the NFL wanted to, it could change the draft order in ways that would incentivize teams out of the playoff race continuing to win. For example, the non-playoff teams that ended the regular season with the longest winning streaks could get the highest picks. That would generate plenty of interest in Sunday’s Saints-Falcons game: Both teams are out of playoff contention, but the Saints are on a four-game winning streak and the Falcons are on a three-game winning streak. Reward teams with high picks if they keep playing hard after they’re out of the playoff race, and the NFL would both eliminate tanking and make Week 18 more exciting.
But as it stands, there’s much incentive to tank because the highest pick goes to the worst team. For his part, Carroll insists that his team is just bad, not intentionally bad.
“I never even dreamed it would be like this,” Carroll said. “These guys will continue to work and they’ll stay with it. They don’t want to accept it. They want to only focus on the next opportunity that’s coming up.”
The Raiders have a big opportunity on Sunday, not to win on the field, but to win by losing.
Geno Smith’s season is over.
The Raiders ruled Smith out for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs because of an ankle injury. Kenny Pickett started in place of Smith when he missed time earlier in the season, but head coach Pete Carroll did not reveal whether Pickett or Aidan O’Connell will start this weekend.
Carroll said in his press conference that there is a “rotation in mind” for both players to see action. The Raiders will clinch the No. 1 overall pick in the draft with a loss to Kansas City.
Smith signed a two-year extension after being traded to the Raiders last year and has $18.5 million guaranteed for next season. His play was poor enough that the team could opt to move on without him in 2026, especially with that first-round pick to be used on a quarterback.
Defensive tackle Adam Butler (biceps) and left guard Dylan Parham (illness) have also been ruled out. Running back Raheem Mostert (knee, ankle) is listed as questionable.
The Chiefs have a few injury designations as they prepare for their season finale against the Raiders on Sunday.
Kansas City has listed receiver Xavier Worthy (illness) and guard Trey Smith (ankle) as doubtful for the contest. However, head coach Andy Reid said in his press conference that Smith will not play.
Running back Isiah Pacheco, defensive end George Karlaftis, offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (knee), and defensive lineman Jerry Tillery are all questionable.
Tight end Jake Briningstool (hamstring) has been ruled out.
Running back Kareem Hunt (illness), cornerback Kristian Fulton (knee/wrist), long snapper James Winchester (illness), and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (illness) are all off the injury report and are expected to play.
Despite no Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ worst season in 13 years, their Christmas night game against the Broncos delivered.
Prime Video announced on Thursday that the Week 17 Broncos-Chiefs game drew a record 21.06 million viewers, on average.
The prior record was set earlier this month, when 19.39 million watched the Week 14 Thursday night game between the Cowboys and Lions.
The big numbers for the non-compelling Christmas night game bodes well for the earlier non-compelling Christmas afternoon games on Netflix. To date, however, Netflix hasn’t announced its audiences for Cowboys-Commanders or Lions-Vikings.
Last year, the Ravens-Texans game on Netflix set the current streaming record of 24.3 million viewers.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the beginning stages of his rehab after undergoing surgery to repair his torn ACL suffered during Kansas City’s Week 15 loss to the Chargers.
Head coach Andy Reid said on Monday that Mahomes has been around the team as the season winds down.
“[H]e’s in the building working and doing his rehab, spending a lot of hours doing it,” Reid said, via transcript from the team. “He’s really attacked that and will continue to do that. He’s around and sees the guys, but most of his time is being spent rehabbing.”
Reid added that Mahomes is unlikely to make the trip to Las Vegas for the Chiefs’ season finale. He was in attendance in a suite for the team’s Christmas Day loss to the Broncos.
Mahomes completed 62.7 percent of his passes this year for 3,587 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
