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From The Insiders on @nflnetwork: Don’t expect Nick Sirianni to shed much light on Jalen Hurts’ status this week, certainly as long as Hurts remains in the concussion protocol. That’s how the #Eagles coach rolls with most injuries. But Hurts should be good to go. pic.twitter.com/KdgglCE7pL
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 7, 2025
Blogging the Boys
Cowboys deny Bears’ request to interview Mike McCarthy for head coach
The Dallas Cowboys have officially denied Chicago’s request for Mike McCarthy… and now we wait.
The Dallas Cowboys have denied a request by the Chicago Bears to interview Mike McCarthy for their head coaching position. After a lot of ambiguity and double talk from the font office, this is the first real indication of which way Dallas may be leaning regarding McCarthy’s future with the team.
McCarthy has about one week left on the five-year contract he signed with the Cowboys in 2020. Because of that, even if they have no plans to re-sign him, Dallas has to grant permission for any other team wanting to interview McCarthy until that deal expires. For whatever reason, they did not give it to the Bears.
It would seem unusually cruel on the Jones family’s part to deny this request if they have no intention of bringing McCarthy back in 2025. Perhaps they’re still weighing their options before announcing a final decision, in which case it is their right to not allow another team to steal McCarthy away. But more likely than not, this is a sign that Mike McCarthy is about to get a new contract from the Cowboys.
Blogging the Boys
3 Cowboys’ impending free agents who have likely played their last game in Dallas
There are a number of players who the Cowboys are going to have to make some decisions on soon.
DT Osa Odighizuwa
You could make a solid argument that Osa Odighizuwa is Dallas’ most important impending free agent. The 26-year-old put together the most complete season of his career this year, sustaining consistently solid play throughout the eternity of the 17-game regular season.
Odighizuwa finished the year playing some of the best football we’ve seen him play as a Cowboy. In Dallas’ final seven regular season games, the former third-round pick recorded 28 total pressures, 10 QB hits, and 2.5 sacks. Odighizuwa’s 6.5 sacks and 55 total pressures were by far the most in a single season during his four-year NFL career.
Everything Odighizuwa did this season should make the Cowboys want to bring him back on a long-term deal. The only problem is his productive season is going to make the 26-year-old a hot commodity on the free agent market, should he get there.
Last offseason, defensive tackles Grover Stewart and Justin Jones both signed three-year deals totaling $39 and $31M respectively. Odighizuwa is younger than either of those players and is as, if not more, productive of a player. There’s a real chance a team may offer him a three or four-year deal worth $11-13M a year, which is a deal it would be hard to see the Cowboys matching.
With all the potential suitors they will need to compete with, if the Cowboys allow Osa Odighizuwa to hit free agency it’s almost a guarantee he will be wearing another logo on his helmet come next fall.
Big Blue View
Second team requests head-coaching interview with New York Giants OC Mike Kafka
Mike Kafka wasn’t good enough to call offensive plays for Brian Daboll’s 3-14 New York Giants in 2024. The Giants offensive coordinator, though, certainly seems to be good enough to continue drawing head-coaching interest around the NFL.
The New Orleans Saints on Tuesday became the second team with a head-coaching vacancy to request an interview with Kafka. The Chicago Bears made the same request on Monday.
This will mark eight head-coaching interviews for Kafka in three offseasons since he joined Daboll’s staff in 2022. Last offseason, he had two interviews with the Seattle Seahawks for their vacancy, and one with the Tennessee Titans. After the 2022 season, he interviewed for openings with the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN
NFL playoff mythbusters: Why you’re wrong about all 14 teams
Philadelphia Eagles
Myth: Running back Saquon Barkley has been the difference-maker between last season’s Eagles and this season’s team.
This time last year, the Eagles were in the process of blowing a 10-1 start, losing five of their final six regular-season games and getting blown out of the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay. But this season’s Eagles won 12 of their past 13 games and are steamrolling into the playoffs as one of the favorites to win it all.
Barkley, the Eagles’ high-profile offseason signing, had one of the greatest seasons by any running back in league history, clearing the 2,000-yard rushing mark (2,005) and getting within 100 yards of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored 15 touchdowns from scrimmage. There has even been talk of Barkley getting MVP votes, though a non-quarterback has not won that award since Adrian Peterson in 2012.
Why it’s a myth: The real difference is not on offense. The 2023 Eagles ranked seventh in offensive efficiency and eighth in offensive EPA, and the 2024 Eagles ranked fourth in offensive efficiency and sixth in offensive EPA. Instead, the big change is on defense, where new coordinator Vic Fangio has been maybe the highest-impact coordinator hire of the 2024 offseason.
Last season’s Eagles ranked 29th in defensive efficiency and 30th in defensive EPA. Absolutely atrocious. This season? They were first in defensive efficiency and second in defensive EPA. It’s the result of Fangio, an excellent draft that produced rookie-year contributors at cornerback in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and the maturation of young players such as defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
As brilliant as Barkley has been, it’s the defense that puts the Eagles in a much better position entering the playoffs than they were last season.
ESPN
NFL playoff bracket: Schedule, Super Bowl odds, stats, more
Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
- Odds to win Super Bowl: +650
- FPI chance to make the divisional round: 50.3%
- FPI chance to make Super Bowl: 14.6%
First game outlook: The Eagles get a rematch of their season opener, as they will host the No. 7-seeded Packers in the wild-card round on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox). Philadelphia won the initial meeting 34-29 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, thanks to 109 yards and two touchdowns from running back Saquon Barkley in his Eagles debut. The Eagles haven’t won a playoff game since beating the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game after the 2022 season. — ESPN
Reason for concern: Slow starts. The Eagles failed to score in the first quarter of their first seven games and 10 times overall during the regular season. Philadelphia improved in that area down the stretch but still ranked 21st in opening-quarter points (3.7). Falling behind against good teams in the playoffs could prove costly. — Tim McManus
Big Blue View
Daniel Jones activated by the Vikings ahead of NFC playoffs
Could Jones embarrass the Giants in the playoffs?
Jones, once hailed as the Giants’ franchise quarterback, has now become a strategic tool in Minnesota’s postseason playbook. After being released by New York in November, Jones signed with the Vikings’ practice squad for a modest $375,000 deal. By promoting Jones to the active roster, the Vikings are setting themselves up for a potential compensatory draft pick should he sign elsewhere in free agency.
If Jones were to help the Vikings win playoff games, that would be a bitter pill for Giants fans to swallow. The optics would be humiliating for the Giants, who benched and then released him after they sank to 2-8 and en route to a 3-14 season.
The Vikings’ move serves as a masterclass in organizational competence. By signing Jones to the practice squad, paying him a fraction of his former salary, and then activating him strategically, Minnesota has turned a failed franchise quarterback into a potential future draft pick.
NFL league links
Articles
Washington Post (paywall)
NFL coaching updates: Raiders fire Antonio Pierce after first full season
Earlier Tuesday, the Titans retained Coach Brian Callahan but fired Ran Carthon as their general manager.
Antonio Pierce’s first full season as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders was his last. The Raiders fired Pierce on Tuesday after they finished 4-13.
Mark Davis, the team’s principal owner, had refused to offer public assurances late in the season that Pierce’s job was safe. That became a precursor to Tuesday’s move, which leaves Davis, Raiders part-owner Tom Brady and General Manager Tom Telesco in the market for a new coach during an offseason in which the team also could seek a franchise quarterback in free agency, via a trade or in the draft.
Titans fire Ran Carthon, retain Brian Callahan
The Tennessee Titans will keep Coach Brian Callahan for a second season but fired the general manager who hired him, Ran Carthon.
The Titans announced the dismissal of Carthon on Tuesday, two days after completing a season in which they went 3-14 in Callahan’s rookie season as an NFL head coach. They hired Callahan last offseason as the successor to Mike Vrabel, the 2021 NFL coach of the year for Tennessee.
The Titans have the top choice in the draft in April. But Carthon will not be making the selection.
Strunk said in Tuesday’s statement that Chad Brinker, the president of football operations, will oversee the search for a new general manager and added, “Brian Callahan will continue in his role as head coach.”
Jaguars fire Doug Pederson
The Jacksonville Jaguars did not fire coach Doug Pederson during a season in which they were among the NFL’s worst teams even after making quarterback Trevor Lawrence one of its highest-paid players. But the team’s struggles cost Pederson his job at season’s end; the Jaguars dismissed him Monday.
Dolphins keep McDaniel, Grier
The Miami Dolphins’ disappointing season did not cost Coach Mike McDaniel and General Manager Chris Grier their jobs.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced Sunday night that both will be retained.