Welcome back to The MMQB newsletter. The NFL coaching carousel continues to whirl, with dominoes falling across the league. Albert Breer took readers inside the meeting that sealed the deal for Robert Saleh in Tennessee. He also broke down potential candidates for the Dolphins' offensive coordinator job and what Mike McDaniel brings to the Chargers' offense in his mailbag. With four of the 10 head coaching vacancies filled, Conor Orr reset the table, predicting the outcome and listing the top candidates for the six remaining jobs. Before we get into the weeds on the coaching landscape, let's look ahead to the weekend's conference championships. Our staff is divided on both matchups: Orr and Gilberto Manzano take the Broncos over the Patriots in the AFC, while our six writers and editors are completely split on the Rams-Seahawks matchup in the NFC. |
By The MMQB Staff The NFL's conference championship round is here! Two games on Sunday will determine the matchup for Super Bowl LX. In the first game, the Patriots will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. The biggest unknown of the weekend is how Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will fare in his fifth career start and first since 2023. Our Gilberto Manzano says not to count the Broncos out even after Bo Nix's season-ending injury. But the Patriots have a great opportunity to get back to their first Super Bowl in the post–Tom Brady era, in Mike Vrabel's first year as head coach. A pair of division rivals from the NFC West will square off in the second game, as the Seahawks host the Rams with a Super Bowl berth on the line. These teams split their season series, with the Rams winning 21–19 in Week 11 and the Seahawks winning a memorable rematch with a come-from-behind 38–37 overtime win in Week 16. The rubber match comes with even higher stakes, with the Rams earning a shot at redemption after a wild win over the Bears. There are four possible Super Bowl matchups remaining, and all four are represented by our writers and editors making picks. Conor Orr, senior writer
Gilberto Manzano, staff writer
Matt Verderame, staff writer
John Pluym, managing editor
Mitch Goldich, senior editor
Clare Brennan, associate editor All picks are straight up. Visit SI Betting for picks against the spread and much more gambling content. |
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By Albert Breer From Darren Boyd (@DarrenBoyd13): Who is the favorite to land the Dolphins' OC gig? Darren, I don't think there is one. My sense is the Dolphins are going to get their process going on staffing over the next couple of days, and they'll be open-minded in finding an offensive coordinator to work alongside new coach Jeff Hafley. As far as candidates, I'd start with Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, who's been with Matt LaFleur since he arrived in Green Bay, and the coordinator for four years—I think LaFleur might let the 42-year-old pursue a job elsewhere to call plays. Depending on how some other dominoes fall, ex-Giants coach Brian Daboll and Ravens OC Todd Monken could be in the mix if they're available. One internal candidate to consider is Bobby Slowik, whom Kyle Shanahan would likely recommend to Hafley, his old secondary coach. Hiring a defensive coordinator will be important, too, though maybe a little less so since that's Hafley's area of expertise. There are options in Green Bay, including linebackers coach Sean Duggan, who may be at the top of the list, given that Duggan went with Hafley from Ohio State to Boston College to Green Bay. Ex-Patriots DC DeMarcus Covington is another Packers assistant who could get consideration. |
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By Gilberto Manzano The Broncos are being overlooked for Sunday's AFC championship game as 5.5-point home underdogs against the Patriots, which is good value from a betting standpoint if you ask me. There's too much focus on Bo Nix not being available due to injury and not enough attention on the advantages that could come from having a stout defense and getting to call Mile High Stadium home. Those two reasons are why I'm confident the Broncos will hang with the Patriots, but Stidham is also no slouch. He's one of the better backups in the league and he could certainly do better than what New England saw from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud last week. Denver will lose Nix's ability to extend plays with his legs and his confident downfield throws, but Stidham is also not afraid to push the ball, evident from his memorable Week 17 shootout in 2022, when Stidham helped the Raiders push the playoff-bound 49ers into overtime. Stidham completed 23 of 34 passes for 365 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt. Broncos coach Sean Payton took notice of Stidham's performance and signed him to be Russell Wilson's backup in 2023, perhaps with the intention to push him for the job. Stidham did start two games for Denver that year once Payton got tired of Wilson, though Stidham wasn't as impressive as his memorable start with Las Vegas. But Stidham has three years of experience working with Payton and it would go a long way if he plays efficiently and protects the ball on Sunday against the Patriots, who drafted Stidham in '19. Let's not be so quick to punch the Patriots' ticket to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX. |
Matt Kartozian/Imagn Images |
By Albert Breer Robert Saleh's interview with the Titans on Monday night wasn't a coronation, the way that Miami's interview with Jeff Hafley earlier in the day appeared to be, or Kevin Stefanski's interview in Atlanta on Saturday was set up to be. The 49ers' defensive coordinator had to go in and win the job. Unlike Hafley in Miami and Stefanski in Atlanta, Tennessee hadn't yet had a chance to sit down with Saleh. Because of the Niners' run and the NFL's rules, Monday was his first interview with the team. The Titans had looked at a wide swath of candidates in the weeks before and had only Chiefs OC Matt Nagy in the building. And from there? Win the job Saleh did. |
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By Conor Orr And then there were six. The Ravens, Steelers, Bills, Cardinals, Browns and Raiders are the remaining teams without a head coach after the Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley on Monday afternoon and the Titans hired Robert Saleh late Monday night. Matt Nagy allowed his contract to lapse in Kansas City, giving himself a crack at a head coaching job and, perhaps, a new narrative that doesn't tie him directly to Patrick Mahomes. Eric Bieniemy will return in his place, to be the offensive coordinator where he held that title from 2018 to '22. We'll see how Nagy factors into the offensive coordinator conversation ahead. If you think it's impossible that Nagy would land in Tennessee as a coordinator, I would remind you of the Broncos' search in 2019, when the two finalists for the job were Vic Fangio and Mike Munchak, and John Elway hired both of them. Before we get into predicting the jobs ahead, let's reset the market and go over our top remaining candidates. |
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By Gilberto Manzano In a way, the controversial ending to the Bills-Broncos divisional round matchup took the spotlight off McDermott, who endured another disappointing playoff exit with Buffalo's 33–30 overtime loss in Denver. The excuses were there to help McDermott keep his job, including all the injuries on the defensive side, and, of course, the controversial officiating on a night that might be remembered as the Denver screwjob for long-tortured Bills fans. But behind the scenes after the latest January heartbreaker, the Bills asked themselves whether McDermott had hit his ceiling with this team. The answer was, obviously, yes. And it didn't help that Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson weren't a part of this year's AFC playoffs, and the result was still the same for the Bills despite having the best football player on the planet. But just because the Bills lost patience with McDermott for failing to get his team to the Super Bowl in nine seasons, and with Allen turning 30 in May, don't expect Buffalo to have a hurried hiring process. Yes, they missed out on John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski after the Giants and Falcons hired them, but even if those guys were available, this team has to search under every rock. They can't afford to get this decision wrong just because they have a one-track mind about getting Allen to the Super Bowl as soon as possible. Plenty of patience will be required if the Bills go with a first-time head coach. However, there are a handful of intriguing, inexperienced candidates who can take Allen and his offense to the next level. Perhaps someone who can get ahead of the trend of defenses finding advantages in the past two seasons. |
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By Daniel Flick The NFL season is down to three games—two conference championship matchups and Super Bowl LX—and 28 teams have no more opponents to prepare for, no more snaps to play, and no more title-winning dreams. There are, however, budding opportunities to find players who can help elongate next season. Practices begin Friday for the East-West Shrine Bowl, and four days later, the Senior Bowl begins its three-day practice showcase ahead of the Jan. 31 kickoff. The college football season, at long last, ended Monday night in Miami Gardens as Indiana captured its first national championship. All-star season and predraft events are officially underway. The NFL combine is a little over one month away. Draft season, by all accounts, is here—as is Sports Illustrated's latest first-round projections. |
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