The Daily Briefing Friday, February 4, 2022

MINNESOTA

Here is how upstart Kevin O’Connell took down Jim Harbaugh (and two other finalists) for the Vikings head coach position.  Chad Graff and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic:

After newly hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah joined the organization two weeks ago, the coaching search had shifted into overdrive. The last candidate slated to be interviewed was the most high profile, and polarizing, of the finalists.

Jim Harbaugh arrived at Vikings headquarters early in the morning brimming with his trademark confidence. He hoped to complete his journey back to the NFL where he’d again chase his dream of a Super Bowl after seven years at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

An electricity rippled through the building upon his arrival. For all of his eccentricities and concerns about people skills or leadership style, the 58-year-old Harbaugh has an undeniable presence about him, one that fills any room he enters, be it a conference room where the Vikings set up shop for the NFL Draft or the sprawling indoor practice field. It is a different kind of energy from the other three finalists, 36-year-old Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, 43-year-old New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and 45-year-old Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, all younger up-and-comers, though Morris did have previous head coaching experience in Tampa Bay and Atlanta.

Harbaugh was batting cleanup in the interview order, which, coupled with coaching the San Francisco 49ers to three NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance in four seasons and fresh off leading his Wolverines to a long-sought conquering of rival Ohio State, put so much more attention on his turn than the previous three relatively anonymous candidates.

But while many Vikings fans salivated over the possible addition of a big name with a big resume and a bigger personality, and with some media reports painting Harbaugh’s interview on national signing day as nothing more than a formality, the Vikings made it abundantly clear to Harbaugh that he was coming in to compete with the other three men for the job, sources told The Athletic. There were some in the organization who wondered if his hard-driving ways, which had been known to grind on those around him in San Francisco and Ann Arbor, would fit in Minnesota after the Vikings had just extricated themselves from the tension-filled end of the Zimmer-Rick Spielman regime.

Harbaugh knew there would be questions. He knew of the perception that he was a coach who was difficult to work with, and he spent the days leading up to the interview preparing to address all of their concerns. In the end, he is one of the winningest football coaches of the last decade and the owner of a 44-19-1 record in the NFL. He believed that after some time with the Vikings’ decision-makers, his resume and gumption would win over Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, CEO Andrew Miller and Adofo-Mensah (with whom he worked in San Francisco) and inspire them to bring forth a lucrative contract.

But that offer never came, sources said. On a whirlwind day, the Vikings opted against offering Harbaugh a contract and instead turned to O’Connell. A deal with the Sean McVay disciple can’t become official until after the Super Bowl, but O’Connell is expected to become the franchise’s 10th head coach.

For outsiders intoxicated by Harbaugh’s accomplishments and pedigree, it was a stunning result. For many Vikings insiders, however, it was the logical conclusion to a deliberate process aimed at reshaping how things are done in a franchise that has straddled the line between mediocre and contender for too long. It was an exhaustive process that included marathon interviews, Harbaugh professing his desire to return to the NFL and conversations that didn’t go as planned. The Athletic spoke with multiple sources to understand how the Vikings arrived at hiring O’Connell when everything seemed pointed toward Harbaugh.

When the Vikings interviewed candidates for their vacant general manager job, they asked each contender to name three coaches they’d potentially want to work with. Because they did not want to fall too far behind in the coaching carousel, while they were interviewing candidates to replace Spielman after 16 years of leading the front office, a committee of Vikings executives set about interviewing a group of coaches that intrigued them.

When the 40-year-old Adofo-Mensah was hired two weeks ago, he was known to be a fan of Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was among that group of eight coaches to have interviewed with Vikings brass. But Hackett was hired by the Broncos on the day Adofo-Mensah was introduced, so Adofo-Mensah provided the Vikings with three coaches he liked: O’Connell, Graham and Harbaugh.

The Athletic reported earlier in the winter that Harbaugh, who led the Wolverines to the Big Ten championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff, was itching to get back into the NFL. His connection to Adofo-Mensah from their days together with the 49ers made it easy to connect the dots.

Shortly after he became the team’s GM, Adofo-Mensah led virtual interviews with Graham and Harbaugh. Graham impressed the search committee with his smarts and Ivy League background. He became a finalist, along with O’Connell, Morris and 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Then Adofo-Mensah called Harbaugh. Adofo-Mensah and Harbaugh share a circle of friends and Adofo-Mensah was curious if one of the most recognizable coaches in America was truly interested in returning to the NFL. Harbaugh insisted he was.

So Harbaugh became the Vikings’ fourth finalist. When Ryans withdrew his name from the running, speculation swirled that he knew something, perhaps that the job was being steered toward another candidate. The Vikings’ search committee flew to Los Angeles and interviewed O’Connell and Morris on Monday. Both conversations went well, but O’Connell “blew them away,” according to a source. He had studied the team’s roster from the previous season. He came prepared with ideas on how to improve the team and was able to offer a nuanced review of quarterback Kirk Cousins, whom he coached for one season in Washington.

O’Connell quickly became the favorite of the search committee, which was looking to overhaul the working environment at team headquarters, prioritizing leadership, inclusivity and collaboration after the front office, coaching staff and roster fractured under the pressure on Spielman and Zimmer’s watch. O’Connell seemed to fit that style and mesh well with Adofo-Mensah’s measured approach. Leadership also believed O’Connell’s offensive background was more in line with where the game is going.

But the Vikings knew the search was not over.

They returned home on Tuesday and spent nine hours with Graham. He had only been a defensive coordinator for three years, but the Vikings weren’t deterred throughout the process by a lack of coordinator experience as long as the candidate impressed with his leadership and willingness to work with others. After all, in the early days of the Wilf family ownership, they watched a young coach named Mike Tomlin join Brad Childress’s staff, spend a year in Minnesota as the defensive coordinator and then leave to become a championship-winning head coach for the Steelers.

For those who believed this was all a show with a scripted ending that had Harbaugh in purple, the length and thoroughness of the interview with Graham seemed to indicate that they were taking their due diligence seriously. While Harbaugh had the most impressive resume and certainly would’ve qualified as the biggest swing for the team, it was also a signal that this process was far from a done deal.

In words and actions, the Vikings made it clear that Wednesday was not going to be merely a coronation and a celebration of Harbaugh’s return to the NFL. The Vikings also knew that Harbaugh was notoriously unpredictable. There was no way they could assume anything when it came to a coach so … unconventional.

Harbaugh was going to have to interview like anyone else. He was going to have to earn it.

But it is not clear Harbaugh saw it that way. When he left Ann Arbor for the Twin Cities, reports out of Michigan were that it felt like goodbye. The parents of recruits were quoted as saying Harbaugh had warned them that he was “definitely looking” for an NFL job.

Besides, the Vikings’ search committee wasn’t 100 percent sold on Harbaugh. The coach had clashed with leadership in San Francisco, and even though many place more of the blame at former GM Trent Baalke’s feet, the way an incredibly successful run came to such a quick and flammable end was cause for concern. Some in the Vikings organization wondered about his leadership style and how that would align with their new goals in the post-Spielman/Zimmer era. They had just endured and been weighed down by a volatile head coach’s moody nature and a GM’s inability to find a way to make it work.

Mark Wilf and linebacker/team leader Eric Kendricks spoke about the need to reconnect players and franchise leadership, to feel supported. And now they were looking at Jim Harbaugh to do that?

Others liked the idea of pairing a proven, veteran coach with an inexperienced general manager and thought Harbaugh, with his track record for winning, was the perfect candidate for a team that doesn’t want to rebuild. With Cousins under contract next year and an aging defense, the ability to make big roster changes quickly will be challenging. Mark Wilf said in January that he didn’t think the team was far away from contending and did not want to tear it down and start over. Harbaugh has proven time and again that he can take rosters that accomplished less under previous head coaches and get them to perform better. He has done it at the University of San Diego, at Stanford, with the 49ers and at Michigan. Why couldn’t he do it here?

Adofo-Mensah’s interest in Harbaugh was considered a statement as well. Adofo-Mensah was in San Francisco in those last, ugly days of Harbaugh’s tenure. So if anyone knew enough to stay away from the coach, one figured it would be Adofo-Mensah.

At first, the interview seemed like it was going well. Harbaugh saw the Vikings’ gleaming new practice facility and the team started to see some of the coach’s most redeeming qualities.

A buzz reverberated through the building. Is this really happening? Are we really going to hire Jim Harbaugh?

Harbaugh started to feel it, too. He left Ann Arbor believing he was not coming back, and as the process got rolling, it started to look like he would be in Minnesota to stay.

But the Vikings had some hard questions to ask. They wanted to know more about his style and ability to work with others. They wanted to know more about how things ended with the 49ers. They wanted to hear his vision for leading this team back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1977.

Sometime around 3 p.m., for reasons that are not exactly clear, things started to take a left turn. The tenor started to change, and if there was any momentum at Harbaugh’s back as he tried to secure the job, it disappeared.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN first reported that Harbaugh called Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel to tell him he was coming back to the Wolverines for the 2022 season and beyond.

The reason had nothing to do with money or a contract because the Vikings did not offer Harbaugh the job, sources said. There do not appear to be any hard feelings on either side — just a realization that this was not the right fit.

After that, the Vikings turned their attention to O’Connell. In reality, their attention never left him. Harbaugh would have been the headline-grabbing hire, but the Vikings kept coming back to a guy who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round in 2008, backed up Tom Brady for one season and also had short stints with the Jets, Dolphins and Chargers. He had left a positive impression on the entire search committee in a way that Harbaugh hadn’t. He had the makeup and the coaching connections to make the Vikings believe that he would be the perfect partner for Adofo-Mensah.

In the grand view, they thought, what better way to usher in a new era of collaborative, innovative Vikings football than with a 40-year-old general manager willing to delegate and a 36-year-old coach ready to run a modern offense.

The success of past McVay assistants Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, Zac Taylor in Cincinnati and Brandon Staley with the Chargers was a positive for O’Connell as well.

The Rams leaned heavily on 11 personnel this season with wide receiver Cooper Kupp posting a record-setting season. It was easy for the Vikings to envision O’Connell deploying something similar with Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson. Plus, as questions swirl at quarterback, who better to make a judgment on Cousins than O’Connell, his coach for a year in Washington and a former quarterback himself?

O’Connell only attempted six passes in an uneventful four-year playing career. He entered the coaching ranks in 2015 as the quarterbacks coach in Cleveland, and his rise has been swift. After a year working for the 49ers together with Adofo-Mensah in 2016, O’Connell spent three seasons with Washington, then joined McVay as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2020.

Success has followed and brought O’Connell and the Rams to the Super Bowl, prepping for a matchup against the Bengals. That, of course, is the end goal for the Vikings as they undergo this transition from Spielman and Zimmer to Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell.

O’Connell will not be officially announced as the new head coach until after the Super Bowl.

If Harbaugh would have been considered a risk, O’Connell certainly constitutes one as well. He has never been a head coach and did not call plays for the Rams. But the NFL is trending younger with its head coaches, and the Vikings are the latest team to go in that direction after saying goodbye to the 65-year-old Zimmer.

What this means for the direction of the team is not immediately clear. Was Harbaugh the “win-now” coach? Does the younger O’Connell represent an openness to rebuilding? Not necessarily. The 42-year-old LaFleur has won the NFC North in each of his three seasons and taken the Packers to two NFC title games. The 36-year-old McVay has won three NFC West titles and is coaching in his second Super Bowl in five years.

Zimmer, on the other hand, won two playoff games and two division titles in eight seasons in Minnesota.

What we do know is it will most certainly be different with Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell in charge.

Because on Wednesday evening, change came to TCO Performance Center. It just wasn’t the change many expected.

NEW YORK GIANTS

This is actually could prove to be a pretty big hire when the history of NFL football is told 20 years from now.  Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Mike Kafka leaving Andy Reid.

Brian Daboll’s first coaching staff with the Giants is coming together, and he has his coordinators locked in.

Daboll on Thursday selected Mike Kafka as his offensive coordinator, a key move for a side of the ball that went from bad to entirely broken in 2021.

Kafka, 34, was the youngest of the three finalists for the job. Daboll also considered Pep Hamilton (most recently with the Texans) and Chad O’Shea (Browns) and he went with Kafka, an interesting choice considering Kafka is not a play-caller.

Kafka played quarterback at Northwestern and was a 2010 fourth-round draft pick of the Eagles. He moved from team to team in a six-year career as a backup and started his coaching career in 2017 as a quality control coach with the Chiefs. The next year, Kafka was promoted to quarterbacks coach as the Chiefs moved Patrick Mahomes into the starting lineup. Kafka and Mahomes made magic together and in 2020 Kafka added the title of passing game coordinator.

Kafka arrives to implement Daboll’s offense but he is likely to add in wrinkles he picked up from working in Kansas City with Andy Reid.

Daboll called the plays on offense the past four seasons with the Bills and it remains to be seen if he will retain that assignment as the head coach of the Giants. Joe Schoen, the new general manager, has said he prefers that Daboll not call the plays. Daboll said he is not married to calling the plays and if he does or not will depend on who he hires as offensive coordinator.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Daboll said on Monday. “This hire will be important, all the hires are gonna be important. We’ll find the right guy and we’ll work together, if he can call the plays and if we feel comfortable with that I’m fine with that.”

Daboll is keeping Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator. Graham was a finalist for the Vikings head coach position but that is reportedly going to Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. Daboll is also retaining Thomas McGaughey as the special teams coordinator.

The Giants hired Shea Tierney as the quarterbacks coach. Tierney, who worked with Josh Allen in Buffalo, and Kafka, after helping mold Mahomes, now will work closely with Daniel Jones.

– – –

The Giants have been tarred as “racists” by Brian Flores and those pushing his allegations in the media and beyond.  It rubs Tiki Barber, the former star RB who has not always been completely in alignment with NYG management the wrong way.

Former Giants star Tiki Barber is “frustrated” over allegations of racism against the team in a new class-action lawsuit filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores.

Barber became choked up on Wednesday while defending the Mara family, which co-owns the Giants with Steve Tisch, saying that he believes neither family is racist.

 “The fact that the Maras, and I always say this with the Tisches as well, they embraced me like I was family, you know what I mean? And so, I know them intimately, so when I say that I don’t believe they’re racist — I know they’re not,” Barber told Brandon Tierney on their WFAN Sports Radio show “Tiki & Tierney.”

“Yeah maybe they don’t have the right head coach, the Black head coach,” he continued. “They don’t have a Black general manager or a Black coordinator, I know they’re not a racist organization.”

Barber’s emotional plea for the Mara family came after a listener named Dwayne in Piscataway, called in to ask about Barber “minimizing” the situation between Flores and the Giants.

The former running back, 46, went on to recall a time when the Mara family called him personally to say goodbye to Wellington before he died in October 2005. Barber said he went to his bedside in a room in Westchester, New York, surrounded by family, and told Mara, “Thank you for making me a Giant.”

Barber also explained on his radio show Wednesday, “So, for Dwayne to try to boil me into saying something that’s not true, it’s frustrating because you don’t know my truth and you don’t know my interactions with this Giants organization. And to force me because I have this seat to do so, it’s just wrong and it’s frustrating — and it’s creating an emotion in me that’s not anger, but I can’t even put my voice on it yet.

“But, it’s frustrating to me that the Giants are getting this rep because I don’t think this is the case.”

News of Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and the Giants — among other teams — broke Tuesday and has rocked the league and its players.

 In the lawsuit, Flores alleges the Giants had chosen to hire Brian Daboll as their next head coach three days before interviewing Flores. The former Dolphins coach claimed his interview was a sham to fulfill the NFL’s diversity requirements in the Rooney Rule.

Barber also took a shot at ESPN personality and “First Take” host, Stephen A. Smith, who eviscerated the Giants on the morning show.

“I can’t sit here, with conviction, like Stephen A. [Smith], who doesn’t know anybody in the Giants’ organization and claim that they’re a racist organization. I would never do that. The only reason I would do that is because I’m trying to make a point, and my point is that Brian Flores is trying to make a point,” said Barber, who spent his entire eight-season career with the Giants.

– – –

On Thursday, the Giants offered an hour-by-hour recap of their decision-making process.  Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com:

The New York Giants strongly denied any wrongdoing in their interview process with former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores and called the allegations against them disturbing and simply false in a second statement released Thursday evening.

The Giants laid out a timeline of events as a key contention that Flores’ interview was not a “sham,” which he contended in his lawsuit against the team and league earlier this week. They were also adamant that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was providing his opinion and was not told of a decision that the text messages behind him and Flores contend were made before new Giants coach Brian Daboll had his in-person interview with the club.

“The allegation that the Giants’ decision had been made prior to Friday evening, January 28, is false,” the Giants said in the lengthy statement. “And to base that allegation on a text exchange with Bill Belichick in which he ultimately states that he “thinks” Brian Daboll would get the job is irresponsible. The text exchange occurred the day before Coach Daboll’s in-person interview even took place. Giants’ ownership would never hire a head coach based only on a 20-minute zoom interview, which is all that Mr. Daboll had at that point.

“In addition, Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants. Mr. Belichick’s text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search.”

Flores sued the Giants, Denver Broncos and Dolphins in a 58-page lawsuit earlier this week where he claims alleged racial discrimination regarding his interview process. Flores also alleged that the Giants interviewed him last month for their head-coaching vacancy for no other reason than compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for their open positions. The league has amended that rule in recent years and now says teams must hold an in-person interview with at least one external minority candidate for any general manager or head-coach opening.

Flores claims he went through a “sham” interview on Thursday, Jan. 27. His attorney, John Elefterakis, said on ESPN the job was “promised” to Daboll prior to that in-person meeting. Flores used the words “disbelief” and “humiliation” to describe his feelings entering the interview. The Giants in their most recent statement on the topic say there “is additional concrete and objective evidence to substantiate we did not make our decision until the evening of the 28th.” They provided a detailed timeline of their interest in Flores.

It began with a phone call from co-owner John Mara to Flores two days after he was fired in Miami. Mara made it clear in that Jan. 12 call that the Giants would interview Flores once they had a general manager in place. The two then had a Zoom call on Jan. 18 at Flores’ request to further discuss his candidacy.

Flores then communicated with several other members of the organization before having dinner with new general manager Joe Schoen the night before his Jan. 27 interview.

“The consensus from within the Giants organization after this dinner remained that Mr. Flores was an outstanding candidate, and we looked forward to sitting down with him in person the next day,” the statement read. “Our hiring process and, most certainly, our consideration of Mr. Flores was serious and genuine. We are disappointed to learn that Mr. Flores was under the mistaken impression the job had already been awarded.

“In his CBS interview [Wednesday], Mr. Flores was asked if “clubs have the right to hire the person they think is the best qualified for the job or the person they feel is right for them?” Mr. Flores responded “They do. That’s very reasonable to me.” That is exactly what we did.

“We hired Brian Daboll as our head coach at the conclusion of an open and thorough interview process. No decision was made, and no job offer was extended, until the evening of January 28, a full day after Mr. Flores’ in-person interview and day-long visit to the Giants.”

Flores and his attorneys are hinting of a sinister role in the Daboll hire.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Brian Flores lawsuit against the NFL and at least three teams will feature plenty of important witnesses. Few if any will be more important than Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Flores, the former Dolphins coach, claims he became aware that the Giants planned to hire Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to be the team’s next head coach after Belichick accidentally congratulated Flores on getting the job, when Belichick meant to congratulate Daboll.

Flores contends that Belichick had more than inside information. Flores contends that Belichick actually influenced New York’s decision to hire Daboll.

“I think there are back channel conversations and back channel meetings that are had that oftentimes influence decisions,” Flores told Jay Williams of NPR’s podcast The Limits. “I think [the Giants hiring process] is a clear example of that. Bill Belichick is a clear example of that. His resume speaks to that. It was clear to me that decision was made with his influence. That’s part of the problem. That needs to change. There needs to be a fair and equal opportunity to interview and showcase your abilities to lead and earn one of those positions.”

The Giants, in their statement issued on Thursday, insisted that Belichick had no role in the process, directly or indirectly. “Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants,” the team said. “Mr. Belichick’s text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search.”

On the surface, it’s odd to think that Belichick would have influence over the hiring practices of another team. That said, there definitely was chatter on the NFL grapevine that Belichick steered the Giants toward Joe Judge not Josh McDaniels in 2020. As the theory goes, Belichick wanted to keep McDaniels.

The difference is obvious. Two years ago, both assistants worked for Belichick. Flores and Daboll used to work for Belichick, but they currently don’t. That said, Belichick benefits from having Daboll leave a division rival.

Still, to the extent that the due diligence done regarding both coaches would extend to Belichick, he’d be in a position to give one or the other an endorsement. In this case, however, it’s hard to imagine Belichick’s input meaning more than the input of new G.M. Joe Schoen, who worked with Daboll in Buffalo.

None of that matters when it’s time to litigate Flores’s case. Flores claims that Belichick influenced the Giants’ hiring process. Flores’s lawyers will be exploring whether that happened. The NFL’s lawyers will be trying to show that it didn’t. Either way, Belichick will be swapping his sleeveless hoodie for a suit and tie as he grunts and grumbles his way through questions far more pointed and aggressive than any he ever has faced at a press conference — and as he learns that simply repeating mantras like “we’re on to Cincinnati” won’t nearly be good enough.

So if the Giants did seek the input of Belichick about the relative merits of his two former assistants, was he required to say, they are of different races so equity requires me to remain silent?

Did the Dolphins consult with Belichick when they hired him in 2019?

WASHINGTON

Up until Thursday, most of the specific charges of bad behavior with Washington’s football team revolved around underlings with the owner deserving condemnation for failing to police them according to his media and other accusers.

But on Thursday, one day after they became the Commanders, the hallowed halls of Congress heard a slew of accusers presenting some specific actions by Dan Snyder among their litany of complaints.

Former Washington Commanders employee Tiffani Johnston made new allegations against team owner Dan Snyder on Thursday at a roundtable before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, saying he placed his hand on her thigh without her consent at a team dinner and that he pushed her toward his limousine with his hand on her lower back.

“He left his hand on the middle of my thigh until I physically removed it,” Johnston said.

Describing the incident outside Snyder’s limousine, she said: “The only reason Dan Snyder removed his hand from my back and stopped pushing me towards his limo was because his attorney intervened and said, ‘Dan, Dan, this is a bad idea.’ … I learned that I should remove myself from Dan’s grip while his attorney was distracting him.”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, the committee chairwoman, read from a letter by another former team employee, Jason Friedman, corroborating Johnston’s account.

Snyder, in a statement released Thursday afternoon, apologized again for past misconduct that took place in his organization but denied the new allegations.

“While past conduct at the Team was unacceptable, the allegations leveled against me personally in today’s roundtable — many of which are well over 13 years old — are outright lies,” Snyder said. “I unequivocally deny having participated in any such conduct, at any time and with respect to any person. Tanya [Snyder] and I will not be distracted by those with a contrary agenda from continuing with the positive personnel and cultural changes that have been made at the Team over the past 18 months, and those that we continue to make both on and off the field.”

The six former Commanders employees who attended the roundtable and members of Congress again pressured the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday to release a report about the team’s history of sexual harassment and its sexist, hostile workplace culture. They said the team and Snyder have not been held accountable for their misdeeds.

Snyder commissioned an investigation into the team’s workplace environment that was taken over by the NFL. After the investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson’s firm, the league fined Washington $10 million and Snyder temporarily ceded day-to-day operations of the team to his wife, Tanya.

“When the investigation of the air pressure of Tom Brady’s football concludes with a 200-plus-page report, but the investigation into two decades of sexual harassment concludes with nothing, it shows the NFL’s complete lack of respect towards women, their employees and for the culture of our country,” said Emily Applegate, who worked in the team’s marketing department and said she was sexually harassed daily by her boss.

In 2020, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and widespread protests about systemic racism, the team dropped its longtime name amid pressure from sponsors to get rid of a moniker that was criticized for decades for being offensive to Native Americans. The team was known as the Washington Football Team until Wednesday, when Snyder announced its new name, the Commanders.

“Just yesterday, Mr. Snyder tried to rebrand his team as the Commanders. With due respect, it’s going to take more than a name change to fix that broken culture,” Maloney said.

Among the allegations repeated at Thursday’s roundtable discussion: that women working for the team were repeatedly subjected to unwanted touching and crude comments; that cheerleaders were ogled by team executives and clients and fired by Snyder because of their looks; and that the team’s video production department, at Snyder’s behest, secretly edited an explicit video of cheerleaders using surreptitious footage from a calendar shoot.

It was unclear whether pressure from Congress would prompt Goodell, who has cited former employees’ privacy for not releasing the report of the investigation, to change his mind or take any further action against Snyder or the team. Spokespeople for the league and the team did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment about the status of the report or the new allegations against Snyder.

Asked about the scrutiny from Congress by philanthropist David Rubenstein during an appearance at the Economic Club of Washington, Commanders president Jason Wright said the team’s workplace problems occurred before his arrival. Wright is the only Black team president in the NFL and highlighted the diversity of the staff he has built.

“The period of this rebrand and the time we’ve been here has coincided with a period of very fast, very deep and irreversible change within the organization,” Wright said.

Congressional Republicans said it was outside the scope of the committee to push a legislative solution to the team’s treatment of employees and said the roundtable was a distraction from more urgent issues.

“The witnesses here have begged for us to do something, and nothing is going to happen as a result of this committee,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina. “That’s cruel to these people.”

– – –

Those who picked the name Commanders review the exhaustive process that led to its selection with John Keim of ESPN.com.  We learn that Arkansas State’s existence put the kibosh on Red Wolves and an obscure soccer team derailed DCFC.

Washington decided on Commanders without much internal fanfare. As the group involved in the process, including owner Dan Snyder, looked at logos and designs during the fall, they realized each had settled on this name.

It was so unceremonious that Wright couldn’t recall whether it was late October or early November. There was no aha moment. Wright declined to say which names were the finalists. But it was widely known that others under consideration included Presidents, Brigade, Redhogs, Football Team, Armada, Defenders and Red Wolves. During Episode 3 of “Making the Brand” they showed several fans these names and multiple logos, including three that looked like a wolf.

But just to reach this point, starting shortly after he was hired in August 2020, Wright and his team had to sift through 40,000 submissions by fans that led to 1,200 name ideas. They received one from a 6-year-old in Alaska, another from a great-grandmother whose family had watched every game for decades. Then, in April, Wright sent a letter to fans asking for their input on 30 names.

The group scoured the internet daily, gauging fan interest. Group members had dozens of one-on-one sessions with fans. They performed quantitative and qualitative surveys. They did design research. They cold-called fans. Because so many involved in the process were new to the organization, they said the goal was to understand which name resonated most with fans.

In September, the team purchased a handful of domains and trademarks of names they knew would be finalists, including Commanders. They wanted to limit, or beat, trademark squatters. Still, they ended up buying a handful of names from squatters.

By this point, the franchise had close to a dozen fully designed brands covering the finalists. Each one had a logo, a wordmark, a manifesto, its own typeface and font and apparel and gear.

Among the names they researched heavily: The Washington, D.C. Football Club and the RedWolves. There were problems with both. The DCFC was heavily considered, and they even designed logos. They wanted to play off the temporary Football Team name. But during the trademark search, they discovered there was a professional soccer team in Michigan called the Detroit City Football Club — DCFC — that had the colors burgundy and gold, same as Washington.

“If we had gone with that without doing that check, not only the name would have been in jeopardy but the burgundy and gold would have been in jeopardy,” Wright said. “They could have said we own the brand and the colors, you have to change both your name and the colors. That would have been the ultimate disaster.”

With the RedWolves, a popular choice on social media, they kept running into roadblocks. Every time they would design a wolf logo, the trademark lawyers — internal and external — would warn of issues. Often it was because the logo looked too much like others already in use. Sometimes the angle of the profile was too close to another. Finding a way to make it distinct became difficult.

They did not want a situation like the Cleveland Guardians baseball team, which announced its name change last July and soon became embroiled in a lawsuit — since settled — with a roller derby team in the city that used the same name. That situation led Wright to fret over last-minute issues that could arise even after the announcement.

Another factor: There was already a Timberwolves in the NBA, and Arkansas State is known as the Red Wolves. Washington wanted to be unique and own its brand, not worrying about any potential future conflict if it decided to alter the logo or design in any way.

Washington president Jason Wright on the franchise’s rebranding effort: “It showed at the core it’s not about the name. It’s about the opportunity we have to unify a set of people under a burgundy-and-gold banner. … People still love this team.” Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

“When you think of wanting to build a brand for the next 90 years or more, you don’t want to be boxed in,” said Amina Bulman, Washington’s senior vice president of corporate affairs and strategy. “You want to have room for your brand to grow and develop and not feel that around every corner you bump up with another team, whether that’s on the logo or on a song or on a [marketing] campaign.”

Wright said one difficult part was trying to marry the opinions of those on social media with those who aren’t.

“You got very different perspectives on the mail-in set of fans than you do on Twitter poll set of fans,” he said. “Very different perspectives.”

Wright and his team wanted a name that reflected how they saw Washington, as a place where leaders work — whether in government, nonprofits or the military. They wanted something that felt as if it could reflect the gravitas and weight of a franchise about to turn 90.

From the time the announcement about the name change was made in July 2020, it was agreed the colors would remain the same. But they weren’t sure of other traditions, including the old fight song. Wright said Commanders will be folded into the old fight song, though with updated lyrics after fan input.

Alumni focus groups

Because Washington wants to cling to its past — it won three Super Bowls between 1982 and ’92 and has played in five — it sought input from alumni. The organization’s alumni director, Tim Hightower, a former NFL running back who played one season for Washington, held multiple focus groups via videoconference.

The team held four focus groups with alumni, usually having 10 to 15 people on a call. They included players from the 1970s through 2019. Nothing was unanimous.

On these calls, Hightower would show names and logos, leave them on the screen for a minute, and ask for input. Former Washington defensive end Charles Mann said he was on a 45-minute videoconference four months ago that included several names, including Commanders.

“They showed us the logo, color scheme, everything,” he said. “They were trying to see what our take was. I told him I don’t know if I liked any of them. I didn’t like them, but I didn’t hate them. … But I was impressed that they did that for us, like our voice mattered.”

Former cornerback Fred Smoot, who also was on one of the sessions, was a proponent of RedWolves, which he said started as a joke then took hold.

“I don’t like the name,” Smoot said of Commanders. “There ain’t too many names I’m really into. RedWolves was the one name I could ride with.”

During one call, Hightower said that former linebacker London Fletcher said of the name, “It really doesn’t matter; we’ve got to win.”

“It was very opinionated, but it showed the pride they had and making sure the color schemes and logos and slogans and brand reflected not just where we’re going but where they’ve been,” Hightower said. “They were very honest. You don’t have to worry about anyone biting their tongue.”

Native American outreach

Because of the previous name, Wright said it was important to speak with Native Americans during the process. Team representatives met with a handful of Native American leaders, leading Wright to say last July that there would be no Native American imagery whatsoever, ruling out a name such as Warriors.

– – –

And while some Native Americans wanted the team to drop its color scheme, Halbritter said that didn’t bother him.

“We wanted the name to change, and they’re doing that,” he said. “I don’t think of colors as being a racial slur.”

The final steps

Washington was in contact with the league office throughout the search, touching base once a week over the past four months. The franchise partnered with Code and Theory to design a logo.

Once the team settled on a name, Nike’s Best in Class design team worked on the uniform. The team received three uniform designs and plans to add a fourth in 2024, with fan involvement, Wright said.

“One thing Nike does is they focus on the young consumer,” said Marc Reeves, a former head of brand at Nike who is now with Relo Metrics. “All the research I’ve ever seen [on] the younger generation says it’s more than just a sport. … People take this seriously. It’s incredibly important to a community. As polarizing as Washington is, sports is one of the rare things that unifies. It’s critically important to get this right.”

Coach Ron Rivera was among those weighing in on the logos and uniforms. Washington co-CEO Tanya Snyder was more involved in the uniform process, owing to her days in fashion as a former model and clothing representative, among other roles. It took two months to come up with uniforms they liked. To prevent leaks of designs, they worked with a small number of vendors on merchandise. They wanted merchandise immediately ready so they could parade alumni through town handing out gear and have it for sale.

– – –

“We know no matter what the name, it would not be unanimously celebrated,” Wright said. “We felt the franchise and fan base deserved a momentous rollout.”

On the Commanders, this from a source within the team’s fandom:

On the “Redskin FB” social media sites.  The consensus is that the Washington group blew it.  The name is lame and the logo inspires nothing.

NEW ORLEANS

Mike Triplett updates on the Saints search:

@MikeTriplett

Candidates for Saints job now include Dennis Allen, Darren Rizzi, Aaron Glenn, Brian Flores, Doug Pederson and Eric Bienemy. Saints got permission to interview Byron Leftwich but unclear if interview will take place. Also planned to interview Brian Daboll before he got Giants job

TAMPA BAY

Another hat in the ring to replace retired legend Tom Brady – and this one has experience in that role:

Matt Cassel

@M_Cassel16

Just putting this out there. @Buccaneers, I’ve never officially retired and did well the last time I stepped in for @TomBrady (emoji of man shrugging) .

– – –

John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times checks out the options and keeps coming back to QB JAMEIS WINSTON:

David Lee Roth eventually went back to Van Halen.

Sean Connery once returned to James Bond and Billy Martin went back to the Yankees, again and again.

So why can’t Jameis Winston come back to Tampa Bay?

I’m not trying to be controversial or cute. This is a serious query and, I would assume, a topic of serious discussion in the Bucs’ front office.

In the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement, the Bucs find themselves at a unique crossroads. They still have enough talent to potentially contend, but don’t have enough salary cap space (about $16.57 million) to splurge.

That means balancing their resources between retaining their own free agents, while also trying to find a quarterback who can take them deep into the playoffs. That’s not a simple equation.

There are plenty of names floating around, but not a lot of natural fits.

Aaron Rodgers? Even if the Packers were willing to let him go to an NFC team, the cost in salary and draft picks would be extreme.

Russell Wilson? See Rodgers, Aaron.

Kyle Trask? Fans love young, unproven quarterbacks. Head coaches hate them. Months after being hired in Arizona, Bruce Arians and the Cardinals traded for 33-year-old quarterback Carson Palmer. One year after being hired in Tampa Bay, Arians and the Bucs signed 42-year-old Tom Brady. If Trask is the quarterback, I’d be surprised if Arians is still the coach.

Teddy Bridgewater? The Bucs had interest in Bridgewater two years ago, but his star has since faded. If he leaves Denver — he’s a free agent — he will be on his fifth team in six years.

Deshaun Watson? He might be able to buy his way out of his legal problems in Houston, but he’s still looking at a potential NFL suspension.

Jimmy Garoppolo? Oddsmakers in Vegas seem to love this idea. Garoppolo is limited, but he’s got a proven record when healthy. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan is 37-16 with Garoppolo in the starting lineup and 6-28 without him.

Kirk Cousins? Carson Wentz? Ryan Tannehill? Eeny meeny miny, and I’ll let you add your own Moe. Between them, they have more than 20 seasons in the NFL as starters and a combined three playoff wins. They’re solid, but pretty expensive for what they bring to the party.

Which means we’re now sneaking glances in Winston’s direction, and hoping nobody notices.

But if you take away the big-name, longshot acquisitions (Rodgers, Wilson and Watson), Winston may have the highest upside of the group.

Maybe he doesn’t have the steadiness of Tannehill or the passer rating of Cousins, but Winston has the talent to put 30 points on the board every week and I’m not sure if those other guys do.

Plus, he’s still only 28, wouldn’t cost the Bucs draft picks or a huge salary and walks in the door with an obvious familiarity with Tampa Bay’s playbook and personnel.

Would it be awkward? Maybe in the short term, but that could be overcome. Winston may have left with a bad taste in his mouth, but he didn’t drive off with any bridges burning in his rearview mirror. The Glazer family also seemed to have a particular fondness for Winston.

Most important of all, he seemed to have turned a corner in New Orleans.

Granted, the sample size was small. He spent one year as Drew Brees’ apprentice and then started seven games in 2021 before a knee injury against the Bucs ended his season.

Winston had 14 touchdown passes with only three interceptions while compiling a career-high 102.8 rating. The Saints did not ask him to do too much, but that’s almost a point in his favor.

The problem in Tampa Bay was that he was constantly making ill-advised passes, and he seemed willing to address that weakness while in New Orleans.

It’s hard to remember now, but Arians and the Bucs once had faith in Winston. Through 14 weeks in 2019, he was averaging 327 passing yards per game, had thrown 30 touchdowns and the Bucs had a 7-7 record. Then came the disastrous final two losses with the six interceptions.

You could argue that Bridgewater is a safer choice, but Pro Football Focus ranked Winston as the more attractive free agent. You could point out that Garoppolo has some nice qualities and might not cost too much in a trade, but there’s a reason San Francisco is looking to move on after he almost took the 49ers to his second Super Bowl.

Look, I doubt it will happen. Even if there are downsides, there are still a lot of other names out there that Tampa Bay could pursue.

But if the Bucs aren’t afraid to take a big swing, Winston could be their guy. He may, at the same time, provide the highest upside at the lowest cost.

That’s a hard combination to walk away from.

SAN FRANCISCO

Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News has speculated it would take about as much to get QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO away from the 49ers as it did for SF to get him from the Patriots.

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com has a list of possible destinations:

Where, exactly, could Garoppolo end up? Here are logical landing spots:

Unlikely but possible

Colts: Owner Jim Irsay is rightfully unsatisfied at QB, where Carson Wentz was just OK in his Indy debut. Wentz is very expendable — the Colts could save between $13 million and $28 million by cutting or trading him — but it’s doubtful coach Frank Reich would want to change starters if the alternative is Garoppolo, who is efficient but hardly a clear upgrade.

Giants: New GM Joe Schoen was surprisingly resolute in his commitment to build around Daniel Jones in 2022, but if new coach Brian Daboll preferred veteran competition/insurance, the latter is familiar with Jimmy G, working for the Patriots during the QB’s time in New England. QBs coach Jerry Schuplinski was also part of Garoppolo’s position coaching with the Pats.

Packers: Obviously this only applies if Aaron Rodgers retires or heads elsewhere. But it makes sense if Green Bay is desperate post-Rodgers and isn’t ready to fully hand the reins to Jordan Love. Coach Matt LaFleur prefers an efficient, run-heavy offense and is friends with Kyle Shanahan, who’s long vouched for Jimmy G. His roster is still built to compete now, too.

Panthers: They’re so desperate for a QB they could easily go into the “favorites” section, but would David Tepper really sign off on another mid-tier veteran swing after Matt Rhule burned through Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Cam Newton? It should be go big or go home here, either through the draft or via trade.

Raiders: New coach Josh McDaniels has little reason to replace Derek Carr with Garoppolo, but if for some reason a trade manifests itself and he needs a stopgap for a more comprehensive roster overhaul, he at least has experience working with Jimmy G, from their time together in New England.

Seahawks: Notice a pattern here? This one’s contingent on Seattle bidding farewell to Russell Wilson, who may or may not seek a trade. Pete Carroll isn’t gonna wanna totally reset if Wilson moves on, and he’s very familiar with Garoppolo, who’s best suited for his kind of offense: slow, steady and methodical, with a heavy dependence on the ground game.

The favorites

Broncos: Rodgers will be their top target, and there are other, better fallbacks, including potentially Kirk Cousins. But if they can’t snag a big name, Garoppolo at least offers playoff experience. Denver’s roster could support him, too, with a solid run game and defense. They’ve got more than enough cap space to make it work.

Buccaneers: With Tom Brady retiring as expected, Bruce Arians is left with a playoff-caliber roster that lacks a starting QB. Emphasizing “reloading” rather than rebuilding, he’d surely prefer a proven veteran as a short-term fix. Besides the irony of succeeding his old Patriots counterpart in Tampa, Garoppolo would at least be an upgrade over the middling free agent QBs.

Jets: No, they’re not ready to give up on Zach Wilson, but GM Joe Douglas should know the value of a good veteran backup plan after 2021. Coach Robert Saleh is familiar with Garoppolo from San Francisco, as is offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, who was the 49ers’ passing game coordinator from 2017-2020. Call it a Ryan Tannehill-style play for an emergency option.

Saints: They’ve got a monumental salary cap hurdle to clear, but their defense is still built to contend, and their replacement options for Sean Payton appear geared toward a quick turnaround. Jameis Winston may get another crack at the top job, but they could stand to explore every option at QB.

Steelers: They need a long-term answer after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, but even if they spend an early pick at QB, Garoppolo would make for a logical stopgap, considering Mike Tomlin is always coaching for the playoffs and has the pieces to lean on the ground and defense moving forward.

Texans: Houston might very well be better off developing Davis Mills, who flashed as a third-round rookie in 2021, but can the Texans afford to enter 2022 with only him at QB? GM Nick Caserio was in the Patriots’ front office when New England spent a second-rounder on Garoppolo in 2014.

Washington: When aren’t they taking fliers on veteran QBs? Ron Rivera knows he must get a real, reliable starter under center after dabbling with Alex Smith, Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke. Garoppolo’s injury history might scare them off after Ryan Fitzpatrick flopped, but Jimmy G has been a steadier QB1. GM Martin Mayhew, by the way, was in the 49ers’ front office when San Francisco acquired Garoppolo from the Patriots in 2017.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Outgunned in fans on their home turf last Sunday, the Rams know they are still building a brand – and going to and winning a Super Bowl would be huge in that regard.  Brady Henderson of ESPN.com:

Los Angeles Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff believes the team can eventually become as popular in the L.A. market as the Dodgers and Lakers, but he stressed that it won’t happen overnight.

Even if the Rams win Super Bowl LVI in their home stadium.

“I absolutely believe that we can be at the level the Dodgers and Lakers have been and continue to be,” Demoff said during an hourlong Zoom session with reporters on Wednesday. “But those teams have [had] decades of success and championships and building a fan base and building a deep, multicultural fan base. Stars, legends, Hall of Famers and building on consistency. … The next two weeks are important, but so is 2022, and so is 2023.

“You cannot get to be at the pinnacle of this market by having one great season. You get to the pinnacle of this market by having great season after great season after great decade after great decade — and building fans and generations of fans with that. That only comes with sustained success and sustained investment in the market, in the community, in schools. Building relationships. That’s not overnight.”

Demoff said the Rams are “scratching the surface of what they can become” in terms of popularity, which he believes can rise to the level of one of the world’s 10 biggest sports brands. He noted that they’re still in the infancy of their current iteration.

The team spent nearly five decades in Los Angeles, before relocating to St. Louis in 1994 then returning to L.A. in 2016. This marks the Rams’ fourth trip to the playoffs and their second Super Bowl appearance in the six seasons since they’ve been back in L.A., where team owner Stan Kroenke built $5 billion SoFi Stadium in neighboring Inglewood.

The Rams will be only the second team to play in a Super Bowl at their home stadium — joining last year’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers — when they face the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13.

“I think it’s an unprecedented opportunity for the Los Angeles Rams,” Demoff said. “When you get a chance to play in the Super Bowl, that always helps win fans’ hearts and minds. When you get a chance to host a Super Bowl, that obviously helps elevate your brand, the SoFi Stadium brand, the NFL in Los Angeles as a whole. When you combine those two, it’s an unbelievably powerful mix to develop that next generation of fandom.”

Demoff cited the local television ratings for last week’s NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers as a testament to the Rams’ growth in the L.A. market.

“Close to 2 million Angelenos were watching the game,” he said, calling that an “amazing” number. “That still means that 18 million Angelenos weren’t. So I think that’s the challenge of the organization: How do you continue to make those inroads?”

DENVER

John Elway adds a vehement personal denial to that of the corporate Broncos over the allegations leveled by failed 2019 coaching candidate Brian Flores.  NFL.com:

“While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian Flores, I could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked,” Elway said in a statement.  “I took Coach Flores very seriously as a candidate for our head coaching position in 2019 and enjoyed our three-and-a-half hour interview with him. Along with the rest of our group, I was prepared, ready and fully engaged during the entire interview as Brian shared his experience and vision for our team. It’s unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him.

 “For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong. If I appeared ‘disheveled,’ as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night — immediately following another interview in Denver — and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us.

 “I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019.”

Flores, who is Black, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against the NFL and three of its teams — the Broncos, Dolphins and Giants — alleging a pattern of racist hiring practices by the league and racial discrimination.

The lawsuit alleges that the Broncos interviewed Flores only to fulfill the Rooney Rule and that then-Denver general manager Elway, CEO Joe Ellis and others arrived an hour late to the interview and appeared “disheveled” and “it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before.”

Denver previously said in a statement Tuesday that Flores’ allegations are “blatantly false” and that its “process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position.” The Broncos hired Vic Fangio, who is white, as head coach in 2019, and fired him last month after three seasons.

In response to the Broncos’ statement, Flores said Wednesday on ESPN’s Get Up!, “I deal in truth, that’s my reaction. I deal in truth. Honesty, integrity is important to me, and hopefully, there’s a day we find out the truth on that one.”

So Flores is not saying it is the “truth” that he had a “sham interview.”  Although he has made claims about what he regards as “true” that only relates to his impressions as remembered three years after the fact.  He’s still looking for a “day we find out the truth.”

We would also point out that Flores was not shut out in the 2019 hiring cycle.  He interviewed for four head coaching jobs, and was hired by the Dolphins.

We would also note that prior to starting his search, this is what Elway said about what he was looking for after having gone through a first-time head coach in Vance Joseph:

Broncos general manager and president of football operations John Elway had said he was looking for experience in the next head coach, and he appears to have chosen the most experienced candidate the team interviewed after reportedly narrowing down the candidates to Fangio and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak.

LAS VEGAS

Raiders players exerted a lot of emotional capital in trying to get Rich Bisaccia retained as head coach.  But they insist they will give newly-arrived Josh McDaniels a fair shake.  Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com:

While several prominent Las Vegas Raiders players were vocal in their support of former interim coach Rich Bisaccia getting the job on a permanent basis, defensive end Maxx Crosby and receiver Hunter Renfrow insisted there was no ill will toward incoming coach Josh McDaniels.

Even as no Raiders players showed up at McDaniels’ introductory media conference on Monday.

“It’s a crazy business we’re in,” Crosby said after the AFC practiced at Las Vegas Ballpark on Thursday. “Obviously, we’re going to be attached to certain people. There are certain people that are special that you get to meet. So, yeah, Rich, no matter what, if he’s here or gone or whatever, doesn’t matter, I’m going to always love him. So, yeah, coach McDaniels has nothing to do with him.

“Obviously, I don’t know him much yet but we’ve had great conversations and we’re excited. We just want to win football games and that’s all that matters to me.”

Crosby and quarterback Derek Carr were the most vocal in supporting Bisaccia’s candidacy, while Renfrow was more diplomatic at the end of the season.

“Obviously, we love Rich, and we think he did a great job,” Renfrow said. “It almost feels like you’re losing a teammate. We cared a lot about him and are very thankful for him, but you can’t hold that against McDaniels. We’re excited and I don’t think there’s any turmoil.

“He’s an unbelievable coach. I’m excited to work with him…what he’s been able to do with slot receivers, and receivers in general, hopefully we can just build and take off [from] where we were last year.

Renfrow, who said it was “amazing” that receivers coach Edgar Bennett was being retained by McDaniels, led Las Vegas with 103 catches. He joined Hall of Famer Tim Brown as the only wideouts in franchise history to break triple digits in receptions in a single season, as he also had 1,038 yards and 9 touchdowns.

CLEVELAND

Owner Jimmy Haslam is heard from. Jim Trotter of ESPN.com:

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam fired back at former coach Hue Jackson on Thursday, saying that Jackson “has never accepted blame for one thing” and that the claim he paid Jackson to lose games is “an absolute falsehood.”

“Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period,” Haslam told Knox News. “He’s been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so.”

– – –

“Unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games,” Haslam said. “That is an absolute falsehood. And it’s also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing.”

In 2018, the Browns fired Jackson after he posted a 2-5-1 record midway through the season. Cleveland went on to finish 7-8-1.

With the top picks in 2017 and 2018, Cleveland drafted All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, then quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Browns also drafted Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward with the No. 4 overall pick in 2018.

On Thursday, former Browns All-Pro offensive tackle Joe Thomas said on 850 AM ESPN Cleveland that he has a hard time believing that Jackson wasn’t at least initially on board with the team’s rebuild plans.

“Who in Browns Nation didn’t realize that the team was on a deep rebuild and their focus was being competitive for championships three and four years down the line?” said Thomas, who retired after the 2017 season.

“Everybody who was a Browns fan knew that that’s what they were doing.”

JACKSONVILLE

The Jaguars will go forward with Trent Baalke as GM (presumably) and Doug Pederson as head coach. Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially announced the hiring of Doug Pederson as their newest head coach.

Pederson joins the Jaguars after a five-year run as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles that included a Super Bowl title in 2017. Pederson did not coach last season and is replacing Urban Meyer in the position with the Jaguars.

“Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship. I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “But what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League. It’s exactly what out players deserve. Nothing less. Combine this with his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and you have why I am proud to name Doug Pederson the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I know our fans will warmly welcome Doug and his family to Duval and I personally look forward to having Doug as part of everything we envision for the team, downtown and community in the years ahead.”

Pederson’s top task in Jacksonville will be making Trevor Lawrence successful. Last year’s No. 1 pick had a shaky first campaign with the Jaguars as Meyer imploded in his leadership of the team, leading to a mid-season dismissal. Lawrence threw just 12 touchdowns with a league-high 17 interceptions as the Jaguars managed only a 3-14 record.

Pederson managed to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia with a backup quarterback in Nick Foles taking over seamlessly for an injured and previously thriving Carson Wentz during the 2017 season. While his tenure with the Eagles didn’t end on a high note, Pederson’s track record with quarterbacks would have been among his top selling points to the Jaguars.

The Jaguars have another No. 1 overall pick this spring to help bolster the talent lever around Lawrence as well.

“Let’s get to work💪🏼 – Welcome to #DUUUVAL ! Great days ahead,” Lawrence wrote on his Twitter account Thursday night.

THIS AND THAT

FLORES FALLOUT

We think we covered this yesterday – but Hue Jackson’s “Me Too” claim on tanking is shrinking.

Haslam retained Jackson after the 0-16 season, in which Jackson’s chosen starting quarterback, DeShone Kizer, was 0-15. Haslam fired Jackson after the Browns started 2018 with a 2-5-1 record in John Dorsey’s first full season as general manager.

“Well, Jimmy Haslam was happy while we kept losing,” Jackson, now the head coach at Grambling, tweeted.

Without saying it directly, Jackson implied he was paid extra to lose.

But after the story circulated for most of Feb. 2 — it really was Groundhog Day — Jackson struck a different note during an evening ESPN interview when he was asked if he was “explicitly approached by ownership or anyone in the front office to tank and that you would be incentivized for it,” Jeff Schudel of the News Herald reports

“This is what I would say,” Jackson answered. “What I was approached by is understanding what that four-year plan was. I think if we understood the mechanics of it and how it was laid out, I never knew that plan would lead to those things because I didn’t understand it. I’m being very honest.”

Jackson’s remarks to ESPN are in line with what he said in a session with media covering the Browns two or three days after the 0-16 season ended. He spent about 45 minutes, maybe more, showing clip after clip of mistakes his players made. He said nothing about being paid bonus money to lose. But he did say he never would have taken the job had he known the drastic 2016-17 sacrifice to win later plan for rebuilding the team. DePodesta compared the project to rebuilding a house.

“You need to rip down the walls to get to the studs,” DePodesta said.

BEST NON-QB

Who is the best/most valuable non-QB in the NFL in February of 2022.  Seth Walder of ESPN.com explores that issue.

The NFL’s MVP award is quite often the most valuable quarterback award. As maybe it should be, given that is the most important position. But the game is played by 21 non-quarterbacks on a given scrimmage play, and some of those players were awfully valuable themselves — even if they aren’t true candidates for the actual MVP award. Aaron Donald, T.J. Watt and Jonathan Taylor had incredible seasons, but likely won’t ever get that national recognition.

They deserve their own award — the non-QB MVP.

So I’m casting my 10-player ballot for this hypothetical award. As always, my selections lean heavily on metrics — like our Expected Points Added (EPA) numbers and NFL Next Gen Stats player tracking metrics — to make these votes. No matter how you go about this, it’s a tricky exercise. Because when we expand to any non-quarterback position, there are a ton of great players to consider — including many who did not make this list. But top 10 means top 10, so that is all that is making the cut today.

Let’s break down the ballot.

1. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

A season ago, Aaron Donald took the top spot on my ballot for dominating the rest of his position group in production. This season, his teammate earns the honor — at the position that research suggests is the second-most valuable in the sport. The Rams generated 115 expected points added on Kupp targets this season (interception plays removed), which was way more than the rest of the receiving field. Only Ja’Marr Chase cracked 80 EPA for his team on targets, and he was just at 85.

There’s an argument for looking at completions only when evaluating wide receivers, but Kupp dominates that way too with 143 EPA to Justin Jefferson’s 116, the next highest. Kupp ranked second — only behind Chase — in receiving yards over expectation based on air yards, expected completion probability and expected YAC from NFL Next Gen Stats. But Kupp’s 32% target per route rate was also much higher than Chase’s, making his expected receiving yards alone more than Chase’s total season yardage.

2. Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams

How, exactly, did Donald beat out T.J. Watt when the Steelers pass-rusher tied the single-season sack record? I’ll admit, I was conflicted here. But the regularity of Donald’s incredible performances should not diminish the absurdity of them. I present below the following chart of the top 50 players in pass rush win rate (y) and how often they were double-teamed (x).

I mean, that’s ridiculous. There’s an argument for Watt — in what we call plus-EPA — but I’m just not sure we can get past the play-to-play relentlessness of Donald even when he doesn’t appear in the traditional box score. There’s a volume case for Donald, too. He recorded 94 pass rush wins to Watt’s 53 (partially because Watt only played 15 games). And crucially, as the above chart implies, there are other elite edge rushers in the realm of Watt, even if they don’t get quite as many sacks. But there are no other elite 3-techniques in Donald’s orbit.

3. T.J. Watt, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Now that I’ve explained why Donald is ranked above Watt, let’s focus on Watt’s season. And it all starts with the 22.5 sacks that tied Michael Strahan’s single-season record. We often talk about how pressures and pass rush wins give us an every-play view of the impact of a pass-rusher, but sacks still matter, too. Sacks are a guaranteed negative play for the offense. And actually converting a pressure or pass rush win into a sack is a skill in and of itself — and one that Watt possesses. The result is that Watt led all pass-rushers in plus-EPA — which is the team EPA generated on positive plays for the defense where a player is mentioned in the play-by-play description.

Watt forced five fumbles and recovered three others, which are crucial to plus-EPA. Watt also recorded seven passes defensed — another effective tool — just like his brother. And he also ranked seventh in run stop win rate at edge.

4. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Samuel’s receiving numbers alone wouldn’t get him quite this high on this list. But his receiving and rushing numbers combined? Now we’re talking. Samuel generated plus-65 EPA on his targets and more YAC over expectation (plus-403 yards) than any other player in the league. But he also generated plus-20 EPA as a rusher — more than every running back other than the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor.

Samuel ranked second in rush yards per carry over expectation (plus-1.98) and seventh among all running backs or wide receivers in total rush yards over expectation (plus-113), despite having just 59 carries. In other words, Samuel was a productive receiver and an incredibly efficient runner at the same time. The 49ers ranked seventh in offensive efficiency, and Samuel is a big reason.

5. Micah Parsons, LB, Dallas Cowboys

While not at the top of my list, there’s a legitimate case for Parsons as Defensive Player of the Year as a mere rookie. Parsons ranked first in pass rush win rate among all qualifiers this season (29%). That rate alone would not be enough to make his case because his versatility as an effective edge rusher and an off-ball linebacker means he rushed the passer less frequently than the other sack artists. In other words: he does all the other stuff well, too.

He ranked 22 out of 76 qualifiers in run stop win rate when lined up as an off-ball linebacker. And his 0.6 yards per coverage snap allowed as a nearest defender was fourth-best among linebackers with at least 200 coverage snaps, per NFL Next Gen Stats. As a rookie, he made his place among top linebackers.

6. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

For the second time in his two-season career, Jefferson is making this top-10 list, firmly establishing himself as one of the league’s top-five wide receivers (at least). He ranked second among all players in receiving yards, second in EPA on completions and fifth in EPA on targets (interceptions excluded). He was a force on third down, leading the EPA numbers and ranking second in receptions over expectation (plus-6). And he did all that with a non-elite quarterback in Kirk Cousins getting him the ball.

7. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

Adams’ value is apparent due to how reliant Green Bay’s offense was on him. He was targeted on 32% of his routes run, the highest rate among wide receivers in the league on the most efficient passing offense in the league. He ranked fourth among all players in receptions over expectation (plus-10.5) and total EPA generated on targets (interceptions excluded). Adams’ production numbers were strikingly similar to Jefferson’s, but Adams had the better quarterback throwing to him. Thus, the nod for Jefferson being slightly ahead.

8. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Originally, I thought Chase would miss the cut here due to a lower target rate (23%, a full nine percentage points below Adams). But what’s incredible about Chase is how much value he created even on that lower target volume. His EPA generated on non-interception targets ranked second only to Kupp (and fourth on completions). The Bengals should have been throwing to him much more (and handing off to Joe Mixon less).

Chase also led the league in receiving yards over expectation with plus-578. Think about how wild that number is. Based on the targets he received, an average receiver should have had in the ballpark of 900 receiving yards. He managed over 1,400 — fueled by both a positive catch rate over expectation and the second-highest YAC over expectation total in the league.

9. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

It’s true that rushing is (usually) far less efficient than passing and that a successful ground game is often a product of more than just a running back. But an excellent running back can still bring significant value to their team, and that’s exactly what Taylor did with the Colts.

Taylor blows away other backs in multiple metrics. Taylor recorded 481 rush yards over expectation based on information at the time of handoff, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The next-highest running back was Nick Chubb at just 269. On a per-carry basis among backs with at least 50 carries, Taylor ranked third on rush yards over expectation per carry behind Rashaad Penny and D’Ernest Johnson, but had far more carries than either.

EPA-wise, he destroyed his peers. The Colts generated 36.5 expected points added on Taylor carries… with Penny the next-highest among running backs at just 13.7 (Samuel was at 20.1). And remember when I said passing is more efficient than rushing? That’s usually the case, but not for the 2021 Colts, who were best off when handing the ball to Taylor. The Colts’ EPA per Taylor handoff was the equivalent of the EPA/P of the Cowboys’ and Chargers’ overall offenses.

10. Jordan Poyer, S, Buffalo Bills

Let’s start with Buffalo’s defense as a whole: It was the best in the league. No. 1 in EPA per play and No. 1 — easily — in EPA per dropback. They allowed just 12 passing touchdowns all year, less than half the number the average team allowed. And the Bills did it without a ton of superstars, plus Tre’Davious White was out for the last third of the season. How?

One part of the equation was excellent safety play. While nearest defender information isn’t perfect because it doesn’t necessarily capture a defensive back’s responsibility on a play, it’s hard not to notice Poyer as an outlier.

Opponents lost 30 total EPA (including five interceptions) when Poyer was the nearest defender to the target at the time of ball arrival, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That is the best of all players who played deep safety at least 60% of the time. His yards per coverage snap allowed was just 0.3, second-best in the same group and fueled by a minus-17% completion rate over expectation (negative is better), also second-best.

It is a little bit of a leap of faith to have Poyer here instead of bigger names like Myles Garrett or Nick Bosa, particularly given we don’t have as advanced safety metrics as we do for pass-rushers. But in what metrics we do have for safeties, Poyer was elite. In order for the Buffalo defense to produce like it did, it needed exceptional play from some of its players.