NFL News

[jaadam4]

Huge price tag for Sean Payton:

Caldwell actually interviewed for a couple HC jobs this cycle. Panthers and Broncos.

Now will Caldwell receive a job? Seems unlikely. Would need several other candidates to opt out like Ben Johnson did. Sean Payton and DeMeco Ryans in particular.

I don’t think Payton is worth that. Hell I don’t think any coach outside of maybe Andy Reid or Bill Belichick is. Payton had a resume but so did Gruden and we see how that turned out after he got his huge payday

[Futureshock]

What ever someone is willing to pay you, I guess.

[Futureshock]

Dolphins could make a play for a franchise-tagged Lamar Jackson, after the draft

Posted by Mike Florio on January 18, 2023, 8:09 PM EST

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The signs currently are pointing to the Ravens applying the non-exclusive franchise tag to quarterback Lamar Jackson, if they can’t sign him to a long-term contract.

That would allow other teams to negotiate with Jackson and sign him to an offer sheet. If the Ravens don’t match the offer sheet, they would get two first-round draft picks from Jackson’s new team.

Some believe that Jackson would like to return to his hometown of Miami and play for the Dolphins. Jackson, given the ability of coach Mike McDaniel to draw up game plans that get the most out of the talents of his players, could work very well as a runner and a passer in Miami’s attack.

But there’s a problem. The Dolphins don’t have a first-round pick in 2023, thanks to the tampering investigation and sanctions arising from the failed effort to lure coach Sean Payton and quarterback Tom Brady to Miami.

There’s another way to skin the cat. If Jackson doesn’t sign an offer sheet with another team before the draft, the Dolphins could sign Jackson to an offer sheet after the draft. Then, if the Ravens don’t match, Baltimore would get Miami’s first-round picks in 2024 and 2025.

Before the Ravens would be in a position to match or take a pair of first-round picks, Jackson would have to negotiate a multi-year offer sheet with a new team. He has been unable to do that, so far, with the Ravens.

If the Ravens apply the non-exclusive franchise tag to Jackson, they’ll be inviting any other team to do what the Ravens have been unable to get Jackson to do. If the Dolphins wait until after the 2023 draft has come and gone, they’ll have a chance to give it a try — if they want.

[Futureshock]

Report: Wes Phillips plans to stay with Vikings after Chargers interview request

Posted by Josh Alper on January 19, 2023, 11:30 AM EST

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The Chargers are looking for a new offensive coordinator, but it doesn’t look like it will be Wes Phillips.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that the Chargers requested an interview with the Vikings offensive coordinator after firing Joe Lombardi earlier this week. Fowler reports that Phillips plans to remain with the Vikings rather than vie for a spot on Brandon Staley’s staff in Los Angeles.

Phillips moved to the Vikings from the Rams with Kevin O’Connell when O’Connell was hired as the head coach in Minnesota last year. He spent three years with the Rams and worked in Washington and Dallas before making the move to Los Angeles.

Staley said earlier this week that he thinks the Chargers offensive coordinator opening is “one of the top jobs in the league,” but Phillips’ call suggests that not everyone thinks it will be a sure bet for success.

[Futureshock]

Your value is what they'll pay you...

If he returns, Sean Payton likely will get at least $20 million per year

Posted by Mike Florio on January 19, 2023, 10:47 AM EST

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It’s being reported as news that Sean Payton wants $20 million to $25 million per year as part of his next coaching job. But it’s really not news. It’s a given.

Once it became obvious last year that Payton to the Dolphins was a behind-the-scenes done deal that became derailed by the Brian Flores lawsuit, it was reported that the Dolphins would have paid him $100 million, on either a five-year or four-year deal. Which would have resulted in an average of $20 million or $25 million per year.

It would have been interesting to see whether Payton would have reduced his expectations to coach the Chargers, given the presence of quarterback Justin Herbert. But that one isn’t happening, unless Payton sits out 2023 and the Chargers make a change in 2024.

Sitting out 2023 would be very expensive to Payton, if someone is ready to pay him $20 million to $25 million per year right now.

While that sounds like a lot, here’s the item we posted on December 1, 2021: “The full extent of coaching pay isn’t widely known, because plenty of teams used related businesses to funnel extra cash to top coaches. Since there’s no salary cap, no internal rules are being broken. The practice would become relevant only if, for example, entry-level coaches ever tried to claim in court that the 32 separate businesses that make up the NFL are colluding to hold down the wages paid to head coaches.”

Some believe collusion happens when it comes to coaching pay. If the full extent of coaching salaries were available over the past 50 years, chances are that the rate at which coaching pay has increases would be far less than the rate at which player pay and total revenue have mushroomed.

There’s no salary cap for coaches. There’s also no salary floor, no spending minimum. NFL teams have generally done a good job of avoiding bidding wars for coaches, with most teams willing to hold the line — like the Giants did three years ago when the Panthers overspent for Matt Rhule.

It could get interesting this year, if the Broncos and Panthers end up in a tug of war for Payton. They are the wealthiest two ownership groups, and the Wal-Mart mega-billionaires who bought the Denver franchise have far more cash that Panthers owner David Tepper and his $17 billion net worth.

Our guess? The Broncos, sensitive to the fact that they’re the newest members of Club Oligarch, won’t blow the curve so quickly. That would make Tepper the most likely to be the one to bridge the gap between what the best coaches earn and what the best players make by paying Payton more than $20 million per year.

Tepper paid more than $20 million combined for quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield in 2022. Dollar for dollar, that cash would be much better invested in an accomplished coach like Sean Payton.

[Futureshock]

After being his assistant for years, isn't Dan Campbell like getting Payton?

[Futureshock]

Buccaneers fire Byron Leftwich

Posted by Josh Alper on January 19, 2023, 10:26 AM EST

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Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said a couple of days ago that there was no decision about offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich’s future with the team, but the Bucs have now made that decision and it will result in a change in Tampa.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Bucs have fired Leftwich. That move was widely expected after the Bucs finished 25th in points scored during the regular season and flamed out offensively again in their playoff loss to the Cowboys.

Stroud reports that the team is parting ways with a number of other assistants as well.

It’s a steep fall for Leftwich, who was up for head coaching jobs at this point last year and was reportedly in talks for the job with the Jaguars before they pivoted to Doug Pederson. The 2023 season was Leftwich’s fourth running the offense in Tampa and they won a Super Bowl in 2020, but it was also his first without Bruce Arians as the head coach and the team wasn’t nearly as successful as they’d been in Leftwich’s previous seasons at the rudder.

The search for a new coordinator in Tampa will be impacted by uncertainty at the quarterback position. Tom Brady is set for free agency and has given no indication that he’s planning to return, so anyone taking the job will do so without a clear idea of who will be filling the most important spot on the unit.

[Futureshock]

I would!

Brandon Staley: I wouldn’t say I was out-coached for a half by Doug Pederson

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 19, 2023, 9:53 AM EST

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Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has been widely criticized for his team’s meltdown from a 27-0 lead to a 31-30 loss to the Jaguars, but Staley isn’t going to concede that he was out-coached.

Asked if he was out-coached by Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson, Staley disputed that characterization.

“I thought it was a tight game,” Staley said. “I thought that for a half, I wouldn’t say that was the case for a half. At the end of the game, that team that we were playing showed a lot of fight, a lot of resilience. I thought it was a high-quality game against two teams that are both young and hungry. So I thought it was just a high-level game all around. I think Doug is an outstanding coach, and I know we were coaching at a high level, and I hope we get another chance at those guys.”

Staley may not have been out-coached in the first half, but few would dispute that he was out-coached in the second half. And as he addresses his team’s painful loss, Staley would probably be better off acknowledging that everyone on the team can learn from it, including Staley himself.

[ghandi]

The OC took the fall for both Tampa and the Chargers

[Cody_Russell]

Thought for sure Brandon Staley was gone a few days ago. Realizing the Chargers owner is cheap and likely didn’t want to pay to fire Staley… perhaps there’s some sense to why he kept the job in hindsight.

…

I’m rooting for the Broncos to acquire Sean Payton for entertainment purposes.
The draft capital the Broncos would have to give up would put them in a deeper hole. I have the assumption that Russell Wilson cannot be fixed. In the slim scenario where Payton would fix the Broncos, it would be good for the AFC West. Boring to see Mahomes sleepwalk to a division title every year. Increase the competition.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Wasn’t Leftwich the hot new HC candidate last year?

[jaadam4]

Wasn’t Leftwich the hot new HC candidate last year?

That's what I was thinking. I've heard nothing but great things about Leftwich, I think they're dumb on that one.

[Mainevent]

Leftwich got a lot of the credit during the Super Bowl run and he was Arians guy and Arians pushed him as a candidate. This year (and to an extent last year) he took a lot of the blame for the start and stop offense. They had a lot of injuries this year, but the offense was hideous regardless. How much of that is Bowles vs. Leftwich, who knows. Bowles seems like the type of guy that is the complete opposite of Arians "no risk it, no biscuit" style.

[ghandi]

That's what I was thinking. I've heard nothing but great things about Leftwich, I think they're dumb on that one.

Well it cant be the 45 year old QBs fault can it?...The games they won it was usually the defense that won the game.....The OC or DC is just usually the easiest guy to blame.

[Cody_Russell]

Geez, ton of people being fired in the NFL in recent days. Add the Dolphins’ defensive coaching staff to the list.
Yet the HC openings list remains at 5. Texans, Colts, Panthers, Broncos, and Cardinals.

Wasn’t Leftwich the hot new HC candidate last year?

Yes.

There’s also a rumor that Byron Leftwich turned down the Jaguars last year because they wouldn’t fire GM Trent Baalke.