As we head into the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, we’re going inside injury situations, head coaching and GM candidates, and more in this week’s column.
Latest NFL News and Rumors
Carolina Panthers
When the team settles on a new general manager and head coach, it could resemble that of the Philadelphia Eagles, sources said.
As we’ve written in this space previously, the Carolina Panthers had interest in Eagles OC Brian Johnson last year at this time when he was their quarterbacks coach, and they did their homework on him then.
Last week, they requested permission to interview Johnson for their head coaching vacancy.
What attracted the Panthers to Johnson was not only his work with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, but he also called plays in college at more than one coaching stop.
Yet, Johnson isn’t the only person on the Eagles’ football side Carolina requested permission to speak with.
The team requested permission to interview Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby, who is steeped in analytics and data, for their vacant GM position. He’s one of two executives with the same title (Jon Ferrari is the other). Halaby was hired away from the NFL’s league office prior to his time with Philadelphia.
Panthers chairman David Tepper is said to be “very impressed” and “enamored” with the way the Eagles run their football operations and has an awareness of the way things are done there, a league source said.
The Panthers already have someone on the football operations side who previously worked for the Eagles.
Sr. Director of Football Strategy and Analytics Taylor Rajack worked with the Eagles for five seasons (2014-2018). With the dismissal of general manager Scott Fitterer last week, assistant GM Dan Morgan, who was on the team’s scheduled GM interview list, is currently overseeing the personnel department.
MORE: 2024 NFL GM Interview Tracker
Word around the NFL is that ownership is very high on Morgan, and he has a “legit” shot to become the team’s next general manager, another league source told us. Fitterer brought Morgan in with him from the Seattle Seahawks, where the two worked together for several years.
Morgan was a former first-round pick of the Panthers out of the 2001 NFL Draft.
What’s interesting is that the Panthers’ interview requests so far for their GM opening include a combination of contract negotiators and personnel executives from several different teams.
New York Giants
Should head coach Brian Daboll decide to add an experienced offensive coach to his offensive staff, former Buffalo Bills OC Ken Dorsey is a name to watch, a league source told Pro Football Network.
Dorsey, who worked under Daboll as the quarterbacks coach for the Bills when the latter was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, could fit in as a senior offensive assistant.
The source added that head coaches typically like to add coaches who are familiar with their offensive or defensive schemes when possible, which would be a reason for Dorsey to be considered.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are expecting most of their key injured players to be available for this weekend’s NFC Divisional Round game against the visiting Green Bay Packers on Saturday evening, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
On offense, RB Christian McCaffrey (right calf strain) and TE George Kittle (back spasms) are fully expected to be in the lineup. In addition, San Francisco’s WR3, Jauan Jennings (concussion), who missed the team’s final two regular-season games, is out of the protocol, head coach Kyle Shanahan told the local media last week.
McCaffrey’s calf strain was thought to be minor, and the team took a conservative approach with him last week, holding him out of their practices during the bye week.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracket — 2023-2024 Divisional Round Schedule
Defensively, DE Clelin Ferrell (knee) is unlikely to play, with fourth-year DE Chase Young slated to start for him. Shanahan told the media that “it’s possible that we get him back sometime in the playoffs.”
In the secondary, both starting safeties Tashaun Gipson (quadriceps strain) and Ji’Ayir Brown (knee) are expected to play. Gipson missed Week 18 against the visiting Los Angeles Rams, while Brown missed the final two games.
The 49ers are hopeful that starting DT Arik Armstead (foot, knee) will be able to return to the lineup after missing the past five games. Fourth-year DT Javon Kinlaw, a first-round pick by the team out of the 2020 NFL Draft, has been starting in his place.
Seattle Seahawks
When Pete Carroll learned during a Wednesday meeting with Chair (owner) Jody Allen that he would no longer be the team’s head coach after 14 seasons, it was certainly surprising.
Carroll had initially indicated to the media after the team’s final game, a 21-20 victory over the host Arizona Cardinals, that he expected to remain in his same role going forward when asked, “Yeah, I do. I do at this point.”
Carroll, who also held the title of VP of football operations, will now serve as an advisor to the team. Full control of all roster decisions will now reside with executive VP/General Manager John Schneider.
“After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organization as an advisor,” Allen said via a statement.
So, why is Carroll no longer the head coach?
A league source with strong ties to the organization told PFN that while he has had a very good relationship with ownership over the years, there was a sense that the team would not have the same upside with Carroll leading it. Thus, getting someone with a fresh approach was in store going forward.
Seattle’s offense, while talented, was not good enough to carry the defense this past season, which had regressed. And Carroll, who has had a tough time firing coaches over the years, sources said, could have faced the prospect of moving on from some of them on the defensive side or changing some roles had he remained as head coach.
MORE: 2024 NFL Head Coach Interview Tracker
While he had been heavily criticized over the years for being too “old school” when it came to his run-first offensive philosophy, another source said that during the 2020 season, when OC Brian Schottenheimer implored Carroll to let the offense come out throwing, QB Russell Wilson put up a whopping 28 TD passes during just the first eight games.
However, the passing game regressed during the second half of that season as teams started to play more zone coverage to take away shot plays, and Carroll wanted them to get back to running the ball. For years, he had been criticized in personnel circles around the league for not being forward-thinking and taking advantage of the changes in the rules that favored passing more while having that run-first philosophy — fair or not.
After that season concluded, Carroll and Schottenheimer parted ways due to “philosophical differences.” But even so, Carroll at least was willing to see how coming out throwing has its advantages.
The thought was that it takes some time in the first half of games for defenses to get a handle and adjust to passing games. The thought is you pass early to get a lead in the first half and run more to win the second half once the team gets a big enough lead.
This past season, the Seahawks were ranked 11th in the first half of games passing percentage (64%), per Fantasy Points Data Suite.
Carroll, who won a Super Bowl (XLVIII) with Seattle, finished with a 137-89-1 regular-season record with the Seahawks and a 10-9 playoff record.
Dallas Cowboys DC Dan Quinn is thought to be high on the list of Seattle’s head coaching candidates to replace Carroll, sources said. He was the team’s defensive coordinator the season when they won their only Super Bowl in team history and has close ties to many within football operations.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
