Game 224 is tonight. After that, there are only 32 left until the playoffs …
• The story of how the Panthers ended up firing Carolina GM Marty Hurney twice is an interesting one. At the start of David Tepper’s performance, Hurney was a trusted ear and an excellent resource for the new boss, while learning the ropes in professional football. That being said, being a minority owner in Pittsburgh already, Tepper had a pretty strong idea of what he wanted his team to look like – as future-oriented as his hedge fund.
So what does that mean? I was told that Tepper knew that a modern structure would be part of the solution, which meant having a general manager with football operations and research reporting to that person – Kansas City and Philadelphia are two similarly established teams (Eagles he actually had the heads of the two, Andrew Berry and Joe Douglas, looking to become GM in the last two years). And that’s how his recent discussions with Hurney went.
I don’t think Hurney knew he was going to be fired. But I also don’t think that parting ways was a shock to him. I think he knew that the news he received on Sunday was the possible end of all this and that’s partly because, I’m told, his contract was concluded after the project, anyway, so this would be a natural moment. to divide.
It does not seem to me that there are harsh feelings here and I do not think that the GM search is fixed for a certain candidate. San Francisco’s vice president of personnel, Adam Peters, was actually a defensive end for Panthers coach Matt Rhule at UCLA when he was GA there in 2011, and the two have remained in touch for 20 years since then. It will align as a possibility. So did Saints GM assistant Jeff Ireland, who turned New Orleans’ luck into a project and built a list of monsters there. (Ireland happens to be a Baylor alum.)
We know so much – the rental will be designed to align with Rhule. So guys like Peters and Ireland, as well as his own Carolina player staff director Pat Stewart, who have a strong understanding of what Rhule wants, line up as guys who feel like potential major pieces in the second phase of his reimagining. Tepper. Panthers football side.
• As we entered the Jets and assessed the impact of Sunday’s victory in the MMQB column, I thought here that we can double back and look at the decision that will face Joe Douglas in the spring of 2021 if the Jags lose and he ends up with second choice. And first, there will be quarterbacks who deserve to finish second, with Justin Fields of Ohio State and Zach Wilson of BYU, first in line.
So yes, Douglas’ decision will be a form of Darnold to those guys. But it is not as simple as against each other.
Suppose I go with Darnold and he deals with the second choice for a ransom. It would therefore seem academic to raise Darnold’s option, probably worth about $ 25 million, by 2022, and under the new CBA this option is fully guaranteed. Adding this to the $ 4.6 million he owes for 2021, they would be at $ 30 million for two years and will probably either have to pay him about $ 40 million a year. , or look for a replacement after that.
What if I go with a beginner? Then I get that player, Fields or Wilson say, for about $ 35 million over four years, with an option for 2025. Which is a nice idea when you weigh the massive financial commitment and opportunity cost to go with Darnold. . Bottom line: it should feel strong that he’s the guy, to move on with a two-man defender.
This, of course, would be a much easier decision if the Jets were still on the right track to choose first. In the current circumstances, it will be a very, very complicated one, and most importantly, through a long shot, Douglas will be made like GM Jets. I think the Jets really like Darnold and the idea of building around him. How much does she like him? If they have a second choice, we’ll find out.
• In this direction, Jaguars coach Doug Marrone has to answer the questions that Adam Gase has needed for over a month.
“No one advised me other than to go there and win,” Marrone told local media on Monday. “I was young growing up and I had a favorite team and I was excited to see where they would choose. I look back and understand, but I mean, we’re trying to win. We do everything we can and that’s my job right now and I owe it to the coaches and the players.
“None of us will look at this in the future. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, it doesn’t matter at the end of the year. But I understand the question and I appreciate it.”
And I appreciate that Marrone responded like that – he’s not blind to reality and he doesn’t expect his players to be (which he and I discussed last week).
We can be like that. We may empathize with the position of these players and coaches, while realizing exactly what is at stake here and how the results in the coming weeks could impact the Jets and Jaguars franchises for the next decade. and a half. Based on Trevor Lawrence’s perspective, that’s just the truth.
• Everyone is to some extent a product of their own experiences – and here is an interesting story of Jalen Hurts landing in Philly. Eight years ago, current and then GM Eagles Howie Roseman and then Eagles coach Andy Reid intrigued with a small but dynamic Wisconsin defender named Russell Wilson. Philly was ready to take Wilson in the third round (the Packers were another team interested in Wilson in that range) before the Seahawks caught him in the 75th pick.
Philly ended up with Nick Foles at 88 and there is a lot of history.
But how he and Reid saw Wilson stay with Roseman and put Philly in search of equally competitive athletic defenders. And Wilson’s loss in 2012 came among the Eagles in the spring, with the premise that if you really like a defender, you shouldn’t feel nice and wait. Which is an important reason why the Eagles jumped on the Hurts in the middle of the second round, a move that, in 2012, would have brought Wilson to Philly.
• Bears coach Matt Nagy’s team has returned with a kind of defiance in the last two weeks, getting rid of two victories to follow a series of six games lost. And 9-7 is in sight, with the Jags this week and the possibility of the Packers game on January 3 will be played with Green Bay who has already blocked the number 1.
A four-game winning streak to end the year could lead Chicago to the playoffs. It would also likely strengthen the ground on which Nagy and GM Ryan Pace sit. But a few weeks ago? This ground seemed shaky, so I asked Nagy on Sunday night what it would be like to speculate on his own ongoing job security for most of November. And I thought his answer was pretty insightful.
“I would say that – this comes with the territory,” Nagy said. “As you said, when you sign up for this job, you will always have that. And when you go through a series of six sets of defeats, you’ll always have that. But in those times, what happens is that you realize who the people who are really with you are. And the ones that really aren’t. Then, what you have to do as a leader is that you have to make sure that, at all times, your people who are part of this, they believe and fully trust everything you say.
“And you have to have an action plan. When you go through a series of losses in six games, it’s about communicating with others where we are and continuing to fight, because sometimes the message can become stagnant and monotonous after each loss. But you have to find ways and work out ways to keep the team motivated. And keep them playing. And it’s not easy. Especially in these times.
“But then it comes back to talking about culture. And you’re talking about, well, culture is great, but if you don’t win, it doesn’t matter. Do you know when culture matters? Culture matters when you lose. When you lose and you have a sh —- culture, you don’t get hit. When you have a good culture, you get every shot in the world. Now you see her. “
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• Cam Newton’s future in the NFL is uncertain because of his game and the fact that he is not contracted for 2021 and largely because he never had to fight for a roster or to play – so few know really if he would welcome this opportunity, if he has to do it to stay in the pros. I know at the beginning of the year, Newton told people he didn’t want to go anywhere as a mentor or bridge.
Is Josh McCown ready to be now? It is not clear. But at least he dropped the idea that he was preparing to leave for WEEI on Monday, saying: “I still have a lot of football”, emphasizing at the same time that he would not want to go out with the kind of year he just had.
• When bosses took Le’Veon Bell in October, most saw it as similar to buying a luxury hood trim for a luxury car – sure, it looks nice, but it probably wasn’t necessary. Now? Now things look different. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s ankle sprain, which will eliminate him for the rest of the regular season (and those who may persist), Bell is now considering applying to the KC plan.
It is a good thing that they brought him many repetitions and adapted him well to the crime.
• Interesting note: Word is that Patrick Mahomes has recommended OC, Eric Bieniemy, to Deshaun Watson as a good candidate to be the next head coach of the Texans. Houston owner Cal McNair has already consulted with Watson on the situation and intends to continue.
• Because I forgot to mention this in MMQB – credit given to GM Titans Jon Robinson and coach Mike Vrabel for the job they did quietly in Nashville. This is the first season with 10 wins for each type, there are two games left and it marks five winning seasons in five years as GM for Robinson and three winning seasons in three years as head coach for Vrabel. And the arrow seems to be pointing up toward that program in general.
One option: with Vrabel’s success, it’s not too hard to see more former NFL players becoming attractive as potential head coaches. And there are promising guys in training, such as Aaron Glenn (Saints DBs coach), Jerod Mayo (Patriots LBs coach), Larry Foote (Bucs LBs coach) and Kevin O’Connell (Rams OC) to choose from. This could be the year, with the dynamics of the Zoom interview, making sure that most teams will throw a wider network.