First, there\u2019s the structure of the front office. Senior vice president of football and business administration Brandon Shore is expected to work alongside owner Stephen Ross and president Tom Garkfinkel during the search, as he\u2019s transitioned into an elevated role. As I\u2019ve heard it, the likely new structure will have three guys atop the football side\u2014the head coach, the new GM and Shore, in a role like Mike Disner\u2019s in Detroit, Tony Pastoors\u2019s in Los Angeles or Brandt Tilis\u2019s in Carolina (those guys are even on the org chart with the GM).<\/p>\n
As such, Miami is expected to look for a GM with a strong player-evaluation background, since these sorts of structures generally have much of the non-scouting football departments (analytics, strength, training, medical, etc.) reporting to those in the type of role envisioned for Shore. Along those lines, you\u2019d expect to hear names like Green Bay exec Jon-Eric Sullivan, who came up on the scouting side under the late Ted Thompson.<\/p>\n
Then, there\u2019s Mike McDaniel\u2019s fate, and only Ross knows for sure what that is. Ross likes McDaniel, and my sense is he\u2019d like to keep him, but will take in information from his top lieutenants on the decision, which is a coin flip right now. If McDaniel does stick, a GM with a standing relationship with McDaniel, like 49ers exec Josh Williams, could have an edge in that search.<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, the barometer for McDaniel making it to the end of the season with his job was not losing the locker room after former GM Chris Grier was let go on Halloween. It\u2019s fair to say he\u2019s met that standard, with the team 5\u20132 since, after a 2\u20137 start. \u2014Albert Breer<\/p>\n
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\u2022 Cleveland\u2019s future remains uncertain, so we can start with the one thing that has already happened\u2014that being chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta returning to baseball in the fall. For now, while the Browns are open to eventually finding someone like DePodesta again, they aren\u2019t planning to fill his role, and are content with the state of his department.<\/p>\n
That did, though, open up discussion of a restructure that might move GM Andrew Berry into a president-of-football-ops type of role\u2014something that, at least at this point, looks like it won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
So with the team at the bottom of the AFC North for a second straight year, that leaves ownership to decide who to go forward with. And the plan is to meet after Sunday\u2019s season finale in Cincinnati to discuss that, with a decision on the future of Berry and Kevin Stefanski coming thereafter. Berry, at this point, seems likely to stay. Stefanski\u2019s future is murkier, though the Haslams still like their coach, and how he and Berry work together. \u2014A.B.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Speaking of the Browns, there was some league-wide chatter about the potential of a Kevin Stefanski trade\u2014\u201csmoke,\u201d as one industry source put it\u2014though the mechanics of a coaching trade are extremely difficult to pull off and, at least as of Friday, it didn\u2019t feel imminent or even expected. That said, at the very least it shows how highly Stefanski might be positioned in this coaching cycle if he was a rising coordinator. The ball will be in Cleveland\u2019s court to manage a situation in which they have an asset who is coveted by other teams. \u2014Conor Orr<\/p>\n
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The future of Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is murky after another down year in Cleveland. \/ Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
\u2022 Brian Flores\u2019s free agency will in effect begin following the Vikings\u2019 final game and I don\u2019t expect it to be a foregone conclusion that he returns to Minnesota, though the Vikings would obviously like to keep him. While this is a depressed market in terms of head coaching candidates (and Flores could get head coaching interviews this cycle), this is a booming market to be an experienced, shut-down defensive coordinator with several teams expected to make changes at the spot this offseason. In addition, Flores\u2019s prospects improve given that a few teams\u2014the Rams, Chargers, Packers and Broncos\u2014could be losing defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs. The highwater mark for defensive coordinators was set by Vic Fangio in Philadelphia. I wonder if Flores challenges that number this winter. \u2014C.O.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Another note on coaching salaries: While this is a little inside baseball, some in the industry are wondering whether this could be a market reset for coaches. Every few years, typically because of bidding wars for top-tier candidates, coaching salaries tend to balloon (this happened during the DeMeco Ryans chase, as well as the year Matt Rhule became head coach of the Panthers). Without a true No. 1 candidate on the market this offseason a la Ben Johnson or Mike Vrabel, does the cost for a head coach come back down to earth? \u2014C.O.<\/p>\n
\u2022 If the Broncos win on Sunday and clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC, that will kickstart the dance card for Vance Joseph, Denver\u2019s 53-year-old defensive coordinator. Expect to see Joseph interviewing for vacant head coaching jobs between Wednesday and Saturday of this coming week in alignment with the league\u2019s rules for coaches in the playoffs. Joseph, Denver\u2019s former head coach, has a strong r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and boasts one of the league\u2019s top defenses. \u2014C.O.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Falcons\u2019 recent surge\u2014they\u2019ve won three straight, and four of six after a five-game losing streak dropped them to 3\u20137\u2014has cast some doubt on the long-held assumption in league circles that owner Arthur Blank was preparing to clean house.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, the consulting firm Sportology, which has helped Blank with his soccer teams, has been brought in to run a top-to-bottom health check on the team\u2019s football operation. My understanding is that it\u2019s actually better than some on the outside might think. And the prospect of Matt Ryan coming aboard in a Chris Spielman\u2013type role could be in play. <\/p>\n
All that isn\u2019t to say everyone\u2019s safe. But the winning streak will likely help coach Raheem Morris, in his second year, more than GM Terry Fontenot, who\u2019s in his fifth year (Atlanta last made the playoffs in 2018). If there\u2019s a GM change, Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham would be a name to watch, given the close relationship between Ryan and Chicago GM Ryan Poles, who was a lineman for the quarterback at Boston College 20 years ago. \u2014A.B.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Titans\u2019 ongoing restructure of their front office positions<\/a> places GM Mike Borgonzi as a key figure in the Tennessee search.<\/p>\n Their plan is to set forth with a broad base of candidates, with former head coaches like Matt Nagy, Vance Joseph and Robert Saleh expected to get interviews, and first-timers like Rams DC Chris Shula and Packers DC Jeff Hafley slated to, as well. That said, there is some belief that the Titans might lean on experience in the wake of the Brian Callahan hire not working out, and Borgonzi has very strong ties to Nagy.<\/p>\n Borgonzi will lead a process that will involve president of football operations Chad Brinker, assistant GM Dave Ziegler, VP\/football adviser Reggie McKenzie and VP of player personnel Dan Saganey for the first round, over Zoom, with owner Amy Adams Strunk likely to meet the finalists for the in-person round. \u2014A.B.<\/p>\n Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi (right) is the pivotal decision-maker in a restructured Tennessee front office. \/ Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n \u2022 Since Brian Daboll was let go, Giants GM Joe Schoen has been researching and working over a list for him and ownership to consider, and that list now has around 10 names on it.<\/p>\n There are a couple names that have crossed my desk as ones linked to the opening. One is Hafley, who was the head coach at Boston College, owner John Mara\u2019s alma mater, and is a New Jersey native\u2014carrying a reputation as a strong strategist and culture builder. Another is Shula, whose steady demeanor would be a fit for the franchise and the market.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been plenty of discussion of Schoen\u2019s job status in the New York media as well. The only way I\u2019d see a change there is if there were a coach the owners wanted who insisted on bringing his own GM. Otherwise, my bet would be Schoen stays. \u2014A.B.<\/p>\n \u2022 Both the Titans and Giants dug in on Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, who agreed to a deal to remain in South Bend earlier this week<\/a>. Neither actually spoke to him. But that wasn\u2019t because they didn\u2019t want to. And my strong sense is Freeman\u2019s interest in eventually coaching in the NFL is very real. The NFL certainly has an interest in him.<\/p>\n So he\u2019ll be one to watch in future years. \u2014A.B.<\/p>\n \u2022 At this point, it\u2019d be an upset if Pete Carroll wasn\u2019t one-and-done in Vegas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n