The Daily Briefing Wednesday, February 1, 2023

On an NFL conference call, Mark Maske of the Washington Post hears this from the NFL’s top spokesperson:

@MarkMaske

The NFL’s Jeff Miller says he’s unaware of any conversations about neutral-site conference championship games as a permanent fixture in the future, although owners could consider that if they’re inclined to do so.

This from Mike Florio:

Regardless of whether conversations are happening, one or more people in positions of power have views that point toward this possibility. And the press release from 11 days ago touting the sale of 50,000 tickets to a potential neutral-site conference championship in Atlanta, issued before the NFL knew whether it would even happen, seemed to imply that the league wants to do it.

Miler, per Maske, also pointed out that “owners could consider that if they’re inclined to do so.”

Indeed they are. But the real question is whether the league office will put it on the agenda and push it.

The easiest way to push it is to appeal to their love of money. Which is fine. People love money. I love money. It can buy stuff you need, stuff you want. Get enough of it, and you can just sit around and watch old episodes of The Office all day. (Then again, I’m currently doing that.)

Money talks; home-field walks. If/when the league office makes a sufficiently compelling presentation as to all the cash the NFL would make if/when it starts selling conference championship games to cities that would pay good money for the privilege of hosting the game, that’s when owners will start voting with their wallets.

Then again, they already vote with their wallets.

TOM BRADY

Look out world, here comes Tom Brady, FOX game analyst.  ESPN.com:

Tom Brady says he is retiring “for good” from football, ending a storied 23-year NFL career during which the star quarterback won seven Super Bowls and set numerous records.

Brady announced his decision Wednesday on social media, saying he “wouldn’t change a thing” about his career.

Brady, 45, also announced he was retiring on Feb. 1, 2022, before changing his mind 40 days later and returning to play this past season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” Brady said in a video on Twitter. “I won’t be longwinded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year, so really thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me.”

Brady informed the Buccaneers of his decision at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.

Brady, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and one with the Buccaneers, ends his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (89.214) and touchdown passes (649). The three-time league MVP passed for 4,694 yards — third most in the NFL — and 25 touchdowns this past season, his third with Tampa Bay.

Brady is the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and has been MVP of the game five times.

“My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors — I could go on forever, there’s too many,” Brady said in the video. “Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”

Brady can immediately begin working as analyst for Fox Sports, who signed him to a 10-year, $375 million contract this past summer. He also launched a BRADY brand clothing line one year ago, has a successful health and wellness brand called TB12 Sports and he founded his own production company, 199 Productions — a nod to his selection as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft.

NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY

QB AARON RODGERS makes the point that making a trade would not be in another team’s interest unless they talked to him first:

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Tuesday that he “hasn’t been thinking about much of anything” to do with his football future since the end of the Packers’ season, but he definitely seems to be keeping tabs on what others might be thinking.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said that he isn’t going to make any decision about playing in 2023 before the Super Bowl but added that he feels “confident that in a couple weeks I’ll feel definitely more strongly about one of the two decisions.”

Rodgers’ call on returning is only one part of the offseason puzzle. Rodgers could share a preference to play for another team and the Packers could want to trade Rodgers so Jordan Love can step into the starting quarterback job. Rodgers said that he’s not considering those options ahead of a decision about playing, but believes others are having discussions about potential deals.

“It sounds like there’s already conversations going on that aren’t involving me, which are interesting,” Rodgers said.

Given the uncertainty about Rodgers’ plans, it would be foolish for the Packers to be caught unprepared for any of the options on the table. Obviously nothing involving another team would be able to move forward without Rodgers’ involvement, but it’s hardly surprising that the Packers would want to know what’s possible when and if Rodgers decides to play in 2023.

NFC SOUTH

CAROLINA

While announcing the hire of a coach well-versed in the way of the NFL, Panthers owner David Tepper insists he is at the vanguard of the effort to disband the “old boys” network.  David Newton of ESPN.com:

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, despite hiring Frank Reich over Steve Wilks as the team’s sixth head coach, insisted on Tuesday he’s doing what he can to break up the “old boys’ network” in the NFL.

The old boys’ network of mostly white owners has a history of not putting minority candidates in positions of power, particularly as it pertains to head coaches.

There currently are only three Black head coaches in the NFL: Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and DeMeco Ryans of the Houston Texans, who hired him Tuesday. In addition, Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins identifies himself as biracial.

The Panthers hired Reich, who is white, over Wilks, who is Black. Tepper insisted race had nothing to do with the decision.

He pointed to his executive team that includes: his wife, Nicole, the chief administrative officer; Kristi Coleman, the chief administrative officer; Kisha Smith, a Black woman who is a senior vice president that oversees human resources; and Tanya Taylor, a general counsel who is a Black woman.

“We have probably the most diverse executive team in the NFL right now,” Tepper said. “We are probably a minority of white men on our executive team right now. That’s where it starts. That’s America.

“How do you break that old boys’ network? How do you break that process? You break the process by trying to get the best people possible in every role you can do. Whether it’s the new [general counsel] we hired, who happens to be an African American woman. Whether it happens to be Frank Reich, who is a Caucasian male.”

Tepper insisted the decision to hire Reich, 61, had more to do with his offensive background. The coaching search supported that. Seven of the nine candidates had an offensive background, and all but Jim Caldwell was white.

The two defensive-minded coaches were Black.

“Every year we get in these NFL meetings, and every year they put in some new rules to benefit the offense … every single year,” Tepper said. “And it’s never going to end. It’s never going to end.

“And the reason it is, scoring brings eyeballs. That’s what the league is about, getting eyeballs to watch the thing. So, I can tell you again, the new rules will be offensive-minded rules. So, you have that challenge, first.”

Reich is the first offensive-minded coach hired in team history, which began in 1995, when Reich was the starting quarterback for the expansion franchise for the first three games.

Tepper never addressed whether the defensive-minded Wilks had a legitimate shot at the job because of the direction of the search. Wilks led Carolina to a 6-6 finish after Matt Rhule was fired following a 1-4 start.

General manager Scott Fitterer did, however.

“He had a legitimate shot,” Fitterer said. “He did a heck of a job leading this team. He’s a great man.”

Fitterer said what separated Reich from Wilks and other candidates was the interview process when he was “dialed in” with his plan and his “second-level” thinking.

He also admitted it’s an advantage hiring an offensive-minded coach in today’s NFL.

“If you want to go offense, there are some advantages to that,” he said. “And there are advantages to playing aggressively on the offensive side of the ball. … You saw it this past weekend [in the NFC and AFC Championship Games, where all four head coaches were offensive-minded].”

The law firm that represents Steve Wilks in the discrimination lawsuit he joined against the league after being fired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals after one season (2018) saw things differently. Wigdor LLP put out a statement saying it was “shocked and disturbed” by Carolina’s decision to hire Reich over Wilks.

“There is a legitimate race problem in the NFL, and we can assure you that we will have more to say in the coming days,” the firm said on Thursday after Reich was hired.

Reich kept the focus of his news conference on the challenge he faces taking over a team that has gone 29-53 since Tepper purchased the organization in 2018.

He didn’t commit to calling the plays, saying the trend in the NFL is going away from the head coach doing that. He said whether that happens depends on his offensive coordinator.

“Obviously, I have always enjoyed doing that and felt like I’ve had a good bit of success doing that,” he said.

One of Reich’s first jobs, outside of hiring a staff, will be finding a starting quarterback. The Panthers have had five different starters since 2020. Reich went through seven starters in four-plus seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before being fired in November.

Reich is thankful for another opportunity so fast after his dismissal.

“It’s a passing league, but you have to be able to run the ball to be a championship team,” he said. “That’s one reason I’m excited about this roster. I know we can do that. We’ll get the pass game right, but I know we can run the football.”

Wilks might get the San Francisco DC gig that has produced head coaches out of its last two occupants.  Michael Baca of NFL.com:

DeMeco Ryans was hired as the Houston Texans’ next head coach on Tuesday, and San Francisco is now searching for his replacement.

NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday the 49ers have requested permission from the Panthers to interview Steve Wilks for their defensive coordinator role, per a source.

Wilks remains under contract with the Panthers after finishing the 2022 season as the team’s interim head coach. The 53-year-old led the Panthers to an impressive 6-6 record after the firing of Matt Rhule, which put Wilks in consideration for retaining the title for 2023 and beyond. That scenario vanished last week once Carolina decided to hire former Colts head coach Frank Reich .

Ryans emerged as a top head coaching candidate this hiring cycle after directing a dominant 49ers defense the past two seasons. San Francisco boasted the NFL’s best defense in 2022, leading the league in yards allowed per game (300.6), points allowed per game (16.3) and turnover differential (13).

Wilks would be an ideal candidate for the 49ers defense now that Ryans has left for Houston. The longtime defensive coach was the mind behind a Carolina defense that was the catalyst to its surprising turnaround this past season.

San Francisco apparently recognizes that a respected leader would be a great fir for a defense that will be largely held together in 2023.

TAMPA BAY

This:

@TheAthleteShow

#Bucs interviewed Georgia OC Todd Monken this morning. Per a source, it was a very strong interview by Monken and there’s mutual interest to get a deal done.

Monken was the Buccaneers OC under Dirk Koetter.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

Chris Myers, Colin Cowherd and Tim Kawakami (here) of The Athletic are among those thinking we have a convergence of interest that makes QB TOM BRADY of interest to the 2023 49ers (obviously written prior to Brady’s retirement announcement):

Other than making a few urgent calls to Tom Brady, what the heck can the 49ers do now?

Other than laying out a very clear path back to the Bay Area for Brady, how will the 49ers deal with the repercussions of losing Brock Purdy at least until training camp due to a torn elbow ligament suffered in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Eagles?

Other than letting Brady know that this is the perfect setup for one (or two) more Super Bowl runs, how can a team built to compete for championships get some momentum back this offseason?

Other than doing what it takes to get Brady into a 49ers uniform for 2023 training camp, what are the 49ers’ practical options here?

My answer is the blunt answer, but it’s probably true: There aren’t any easy fixes for the 49ers, who were, justifiably, so confident in Purdy and also have Trey Lance as a backup.

Other than giving Brady a call. Being very nice to him. Putting together a good contract offer.

And waiting to hear what he says.

I don’t quite mean to suggest that the 49ers will be irrelevant in 2023 if they don’t sign Brady. There are indications that Purdy could miss only six months, whether he elects surgery or not, which would take him right to the start of camp. So maybe he’ll be healthy enough to start in Week 1. Or Week 4. Or Week 10. I’m sure right now Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch would gratefully take a Purdy full-tilt return by October, if you offered them that guarantee. But there is no such guarantee.

There’s also Lance, who is coming off a broken ankle and should be able to participate in most of the offseason workouts (though maybe not at full speed until training camp). And the 49ers should make sure to have a solid veteran or two on hand — hey, I believe Jimmy Garoppolo knows the key code to the players’ parking lot.

After watching four QBs go down this season, and then absorbing the news that Purdy will be out for a while longer, it would be prudent for the 49ers to have as many healthy QBs in camp as possible next season. May I suggest 15? 20?

And the 49ers still have an excellent roster, of course. They were winning games with Garoppolo this season, they went 7-1 with Purdy and got to the NFC Championship Game, and there’s every reason to understand that it doesn’t take All-Pro QB play to take full advantage of Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and the rest of that offense. It also doesn’t take an elite QB to just ride with the No. 1 defense in the league, which held up more than decently in Sunday’s 31-7 loss in Philadelphia considering that, as Shanahan put it, they were essentially playing by themselves once the 49ers ran out of QBs early in the third quarter.

I don’t think the 49ers would’ve strongly considered bringing in Brady this offseason if Purdy came out of that game healthy. Win or lose the NFC title game, the idea of Purdy at a league minimum salary next season plus Lance for competition seemed very, very solid. The 49ers could’ve added a savvy veteran to take QB3, maybe drafted another QB to stash on the practice squad, and who would’ve argued with that assemblage?

But as has happened to the 49ers at least four previous times this season, all the plans are blown up now. The 49ers can’t be sure about Purdy, so they can’t risk only bringing Lance along as QB1 insurance. They just don’t know enough about Lance after four NFL starts; and he’s already gotten hurt multiple times in just that limited action.

And as entertaining as it’d be to note the fan reaction if Garoppolo returns to the 49ers yet again when we all expected him to exit, it’d be almost impossible for Shanahan and Lynch to address their QB injury emergency by re-signing Garoppolo, who now has suffered major season-ending injuries in three of his six 49ers seasons.

Which brings us back to the 49ers’ pretty undeniable need for a proven veteran QB. Which is very different than their position after losing the Super Bowl in February 2020, when Brady was done with the Patriots and was interested in joining his childhood team. Shanahan and Lynch thought about it but decided to stick with Garoppolo, who’s 14 years younger and was coming off a career year.

Back then, Brady was 42 and coming off his worst season in a long while, throwing 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions and registering an 88.0 passer rating, ending it with a loss in the wild-card round. Of course, after the 49ers passed on him, Brady signed with the Buccaneers and had a massive season (40 TDs, 102.2 rating) that just happened to end with his seventh Super Bowl victory.

This season, at 45, Brady threw 25 TDs and 9 INTs, lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs and had a 90.7 passer rating. And now he might be looking to change teams again — or join Fox to start his reported 10-year, $375 million analyst deal or do whatever Brady is going to do next.

Hmm. I hadn’t connected Brady with the 49ers in this cycle because I figured they were set with Purdy + Lance, and I believe Brady might want to stay on the East Coast this time.

But back in 2020, he wanted to join the 49ers because he saw that it was such a sweet situation. And this time, it might be a little flipped — Brady looks like a perfect fit for the new 49ers’ QB situation, and maybe Brady is the one who has to think about it. This is weird for me to type about somebody who’ll be 46 next season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Brady is looking for more than a short-term commitment. (I don’t think that would be a deal breaker for the 49ers.) He also wouldn’t necessarily want to come to a team as an afterthought, in this case, only a prime option after the Purdy injury news. So we’d have to see how the 49ers describe the situation to him and how much he buys into it.

Brady would also cost a lot more than your normal journeyman QB, naturally. But Brady has been very flexible for years in working his salaries to make sure the team could continue to keep and add talent around him. And even at $25-30 million a year, he’s worth it, even with the 49ers facing a bit of a salary-cap squeeze this offseason.

Yes, Brady at some point is going to hit the wall. Yes, he’s probably never going to be the QB he was even two years ago and certainly not 10 years ago. Yes, the 49ers could and probably will look at Derek Carr and others available either as free agents or via trade.

And yes, Brady could get hurt, too. Anybody can get hurt, especially if you’re a 49ers QB. But here’s a big stat: Brady hasn’t missed a game to injury since 2008. That’s 14 consecutive healthy seasons.

When you’re the 49ers and you couldn’t get four QBs through a single campaign … a middle-aged all-timer who almost never gets hurt might seem a bit less risky than some other options. A bit less risky than every other option, I’m thinking.

Just look at it this way: Could Brady, who threw for 4,694 yards even in this past down season, simply match what Purdy and Garoppolo did this season? Could Brady run Shanahan’s system, distribute the ball to the playmakers and avoid mistakes? Would he benefit from a team that would never abandon the run the way Tampa Bay has done lately? I think the answer is yes to all of those questions.

What we don’t know is whether Brady really wants this or has his eye set on something else. And we don’t know what the 49ers can and will offer him, in dollars and contract length. But after the two sides have zig-zagged away from each other for all these years, fate has brought them this ripe and very convenient opportunity to come together at last.

– – –

Another 40 something says he is “nowhere near” retiring. Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com:

49ers kicker Robbie Gould‘s 18th NFL season ended with the team’s loss in the NFC Championship Game and he has no contract for 2023, but he’s not thinking about calling it a career.

Gould said on Tuesday that his plan is to continue playing and it doesn’t sound like he had to give another year in the league much thought.

“I’m nowhere near retiring,” Gould said, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “I got a lot left to do from a career perspective — No. 1 being winning a Super Bowl. And, two, I’m pretty close to a lot of milestones I think would be pretty neat to be able to accomplish.”

Gould was 27-of-32 on field goals and 50-of-51 on extra points this season. His 447 field goals and 84.46 field goal percentage both rank eighth in league history.

Gould’s most amazing stat, not mentioned above, is that he has made 68 kicks without a miss over the course of 7 career postseasons – including 13-for-13 this year.

AFC WEST

DENVER

Sean Payton is going to Denver along with a 3^rd round pick.  Denver gives up a 1 and a 2.  Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com:

The Denver Broncos agreed Tuesday to a trade with the New Orleans Saints to make Sean Payton the 19th head coach in franchise history, sources told ESPN.

The Saints will receive the Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and 2024 second-round pick for Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third-round selection, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Broncos are also expected to make Payton one of the highest-paid head coaches in the league.

“This was the opportunity I was looking for,” Payton told NOLA.com on Tuesday.

“It’s a great fanbase and great tradition,” he added. “The ownership group is fantastic, and I love the way they competed in some of their games last year. It’s a good football city that we had in New Orleans.”

Because Payton had signed an extension with the Saints in 2019 that was set to run through the 2024 season, the Saints and the Broncos had to negotiate compensation for Denver to sign him as its head coach.

The Broncos had traded their first-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s blockbuster deal to acquire Russell Wilson but then acquired a first-round pick from the Dolphins in the trade that sent Bradley Chubb to Miami in November. That pick originally belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, who then sent it to Miami in the trade that allowed them to pick Trey Lance in the 2021 draft.

The Saints will get back into the first round of the 2023 draft after going into the offseason without a Day 1 pick. They sent their 2023 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles last year as part of a predraft trade that allowed them to select offensive tackle Trevor Penning.

The Saints also sent 2022 third-round and seventh-round picks to the Eagles, along with a 2024 second-round pick. They later packaged more of their picks to send to the Washington Commanders and move up from No. 16 to No. 11 to select wide receiver Chris Olave.

The Saints now get a 2023 first-rounder and a 2024 second-rounder back due to the Payton trade, which wasn’t something they were counting on when they made the trade last year.

“I’ve never counted on getting anything for Sean because he might decide to do the media deal for five years, who knows? So, we weren’t spending draft capital going forward hoping we might get something if he decides to coach again,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said after the season.

Payton, who was the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2006, will succeed Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired Dec. 26, the day after the Broncos’ dismal 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium that dropped Denver to 4-11. The team finished the season 5-12 as interim coach Jerry Rosburg closed out the year.

Payton was 152-89 in his 15 seasons as Saints head coach, including a win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Payton did not coach this season and was an analyst for Fox Sports.

Payton will be tasked with repairing the league’s lowest-scoring offense in 2022 as Wilson finished with a career-low 16 touchdown passes and was sacked a career-most 55 times. The Broncos have missed the playoffs seven consecutive seasons and have fired three head coaches — Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio and Hackett — since January 2019.

Kicker Brandon McManus is the only player on the current roster who was in uniform for the Broncos’ last playoff game — their Super Bowl 50 win to close out the 2015 season.

Payton initially interviewed with Broncos officials Jan. 17 and was the fifth of eight candidates interviewed in the first wave. Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner had tipped his hand before the search began as to why someone of Payton’s experience could end up with the job.

“Obviously, the X’s and O’s are important, but we need a strong leader for this organization that’s focused on winning,” Penner said after Hackett was fired. “That starts with culture. It’s instilling a sense of accountability and discipline. We need an identity on offense. At the starting point, it has to be about culture and leadership. Those characteristics are what we’ll be focused on the most.”

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, former Stanford coach David Shaw, former Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris and former Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell were all former NFL head coaches initially interviewed by the Broncos. Niners defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was named the Houston Texans’ coach on Tuesday, was the last of the eight candidates interviewed.

Payton’s Saints teams, with Drew Brees at quarterback, were consistently among the league’s best on offense. The Saints won at least 10 games nine times in his tenure and went to the playoffs nine times.

This season, the Broncos finished last in the league in scoring (16.9 points per game), were last in the league in third-down conversions, scored 16 or fewer points in 11 games, and lost nine games by seven or fewer points.

Hackett’s dismissal put an abrupt end to the shortest tenure of any noninterim head coach in franchise history. Penner had decreed after Hackett was fired “we’ve got to get this right.”

Other coaching trades chronicled here:

Teams trading for head coaches

Notable instances of NFL teams trading for head coaches:

• Bill Parcells (Jan. 1997) — Traded from Patriots to Jets for four draft picks (1997 3rd, 1997 4th, 1998 2nd, 1999 1st).

• Mike Holmgren (April 1999) — Traded from Packers to Seahawks for 1999 2nd-round pick (Fred Vinson). When Holmgren was hired as Packers head coach in 1992, Green Bay sent the 49ers (where Holmgren was OC) a 1992 2nd-round pick.

• Bill Belichick (Jan. 2000) — Traded from Jets to Patriots for three draft picks (2000 1st, 2001 4th, 2001 7th). Patriots received two picks (2001 5th, 2002 7th) back from the Jets.

• Jon Gruden (Feb. 2002) — Traded from Raiders to Buccaneers for four picks (2002 1st, 2002 2nd, 2003 1st, 2004 2nd) and $8 million.

• Herm Edwards (Jan. 2006) — Rights to negotiate were traded from Jets to Chiefs for 2006 4th-round pick.

• Sean Payton (Jan. 2023) — Traded from Saints to Broncos for two draft picks (2023 1st and 2024 2nd). Saints sent 2024 3rd-round pick to Broncos.

— ESPN Stats & Information

More from Nick Kosmider of The Athletic:

Roughly an hour after the worst season of his professional career officially ended on Jan. 9, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson stood at a lectern and sent a clear, unmistakable message about who he thought could help fix the issues dragging down the quarterback and his new team alike.

Asked about the upcoming search for a head coach, an opening created by first-year boss Nathaniel Hackett’s firing 15 games into a disastrous 2022 season, Wilson made brief remarks about known candidates at the time like Dan Quinn, Jim Harbaugh and Ejiro Evero.

The remarks about his obvious preferred candidate, Sean Payton? Those were much more effusive.

“He’s one of the world’s best, obviously, a guy who has coached a (future) Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees,” Wilson said of Payton. “He’s competitive as can be, he’s a winner and obviously won a Super Bowl, at the highest level. I was able to be around him at the Pro Bowl and just the wizardry that you would have on the field was just magnificent. It was just spectacular just being around him and just Alvin Kamara, myself, Michael Thomas. These guys, we were just talking about ball and just how (Payton) saw the game.”

Wilson, at 34 and facing a career crossroads after his first season in Denver went off the rails from the very start, has the new teacher he wanted. The Broncos on Tuesday agreed to trade two draft picks to the Saints — this year’s first-rounder and a second-round pick in 2024 — and got back a 2024 third-round pick and the rights to hire Payton as their next head coach, a league source with knowledge of the deal confirmed.

“Great fan base. Great tradition. The ownership group is fantastic, and I love the way they competed last year,” Payton told longtime New Orleans-based reporter Jeff Duncan in a telephone interview shortly after the trade was announced. “It’s a great football city like we had in New Orleans.”

The Broncos now have a head coach who has won 152 games in the NFL and, like Wilson, is a past Super Bowl champion. While guiding the Saints to seven NFC South titles between 2006 and 2021, Payton and Brees created one of the most explosive offenses in modern NFL history. New Orleans scored more touchdowns than any team in that 16-season period, and only the Patriots scored more points overall.

Payton did it with a quarterback in Brees who had also just arrived in New Orleans in 2006, fresh off surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder, and was surrounded by doubts about whether he could be an elite-level quarterback. All he did from there was become one of the most prolific passers in league history.

Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler who, like Payton, has won countless big games in his career, but he’s facing doubts, too. As he enters his 12th NFL season, with his mobility seemingly in decline and his reputation as an elite signal caller battered after a season in which he notched career-low marks in completion percentage, touchdown passes and passer rating, Wilson needs a major rebound. He believes he now has the coach who can help him to do so.

“He knows how to push guys at the ultimate level,” Wilson said.

The Broncos are all too aware of where having a powerless offense in a division with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert leaves you — at the bottom staring up. Following years of patchwork fixes at arguably the two most important spots in a franchise — Denver had a dozen starting quarterbacks and four different head coaches from 2016 to 2021 — the Broncos are betting they have the combination in place to create a more explosive and consistent attack.

And it is a big bet. The Broncos have forfeited three first-round picks and three second-round picks combined across three successive drafts — plus three players — to acquire the pieces to create something functional on offense.

Big swings? That’s trying to launch the ball into a new stratosphere. To fix an offense that finished last in scoring in 2022 and hasn’t been better than 22nd since 2014, maybe there isn’t too big a price to pay.

“We need an identity on offense,” Broncos CEO Greg Penner, who led the search that landed one of the league’s winningest active coaches, said when the process began.

Simply put, Wilson, who signed a five-year, $245 million extension with the Broncos last September, has to make the 2023 season work. Everything he theoretically needs to get back on track is in place. He has his preferred coach, the one who helped the quarterback he admires most create a Hall of Fame trajectory. He should benefit from the return of key offensive pieces in wide receiver Tim Patrick, running back Javonte Williams and left tackle Garett Bolles. He will work behind what will almost certainly be a retooled offensive line. He has the benefit of chemistry with players like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton that seemed to be strengthening as the season’s stretch run arrived.

Broncos general manager George Paton, the architect of the Wilson trade 11 months ago, made clear when the Broncos began searching for Hackett’s replacement that the search for a new head coach wasn’t simply about finding someone who could “turn around Russ.”

“It’s about the entire organization,” Paton said. “It’s about the entire football team. It’s not just one player.”

That was part of the appeal with Payton. His sustained success in New Orleans — 10 or more wins in nine seasons — was about more than Brees’ excellence. In the NFL, it always has to be about more than one player, even the one at the game’s most important position. The Saints kept winning amid changes in personnel and staff. Amid their missteps in the Bountygate scandal that led to Payton’s suspension for the 2012 season. Amid defenses constantly exploring ways to foil an attack that spawned copycat attempts around the league during Payton’s tenure.

Payton won a Super Bowl with New Orleans in 2009, but he also helped the Saints author the NFL’s best record (49-15) from 2017 to 2020. The Broncos believe the foundation that created it all is something Payton still has the passion and energy to build again in Denver. His experience makes him a stark departure from the past three head coaches hired by the Broncos — Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio and Hackett — none of whom held the job elsewhere before arriving in Denver.

Though the Broncos had productive, face-to-face conversations with all eight candidates they interviewed in person, by Sunday they had zeroed in on Payton, according to a league source. It was a complicated process that featured two parallel tracks. Paton and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis began engaging in conversations about potential compensation in the days after Payton’s initial meeting with the team Jan. 17. All the while, members of the organization were continuing to engage in productive dialogue with Payton while continuing to work through the interview process with other candidates.

Ultimately, the chance to hire a coach with a sustained track record of success was worth the price of two draft picks. The Broncos view this as a long-term fix after a run of coaching staff turnover that has defined this losing era for a franchise with championship expectations. They hope the hire instantly revives their offense.

That will require a smooth transition between Wilson and the coach he has long admired. It will require Wilson and Payton coming together in the second act of their careers to create the kind of “wizardry” both produced elsewhere for so long.

“I am looking forward to winning here,” Wilson said after Denver finished a 5-12 season. “That is what we came here to do and that is what we are going to do.”

With the help Wilson has now, there is no excuse to do anything less.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

Could you have placed a bet, even in Week 17 or so, that QB TYLER HUNTLEY would be a “Pro Bowler?”  What would the odds have been?  Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:

The Baltimore Ravens announced Tuesday that they’re sending a quarterback to the Pro Bowl.

No, it is not Lamar Jackson. It’s — surprise — Tyler Huntley.

A fourth alternate, Huntley was added to replace Josh Allen (elbow injury), becoming one of the most unlikely participants ever in the Pro Bowl.

Huntley threw two touchdown passes this season, the fewest by far for a quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl since the 1970 merger, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The previous low was six touchdown passes by the Philadelphia Eagles’ Mike Boryla in 1975. In filling in for the injured Jackson for six games, Huntley passed for a total of 658 yards, which ranked 48th in the NFL this season.

When the initial Pro Bowl rosters were announced in December, Patrick Mahomes was named the starter, and Allen and Joe Burrow were selected as backups. The alternates were: Tua Tagovailoa (first), Justin Herbert (second) and Jackson (third).

Mahomes can’t attend the Pro Bowl because the Kansas City Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl. Four other quarterbacks are unable to play because of injury: Allen (elbow), Tagovailoa (concussion), Herbert (shoulder) and Jackson (knee). Burrow is also out for the exhibition.

All of these banged-up quarterbacks opened a spot for Huntley, who struggled in throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions this season. Huntley becomes the first quarterback since Vince Young in 2006 to make the Pro Bowl after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.

In addition to Huntley, quarterbacks Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars were also added to the Pro Bowl roster Tuesday.

The Pro Bowl Games are being held in Las Vegas this week. The grand finale flag football game will take place at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. All of which might serve as a farewell for Carr, whose time with the Raiders appears to be over.

Carr and Lawrence are somewhat legitimate candidates, so we presume Huntley is the last one in.  Who would be next?  Mac Jones?

CINCINNATI

Good point:

@_TaylorCornell

It’s pretty cool as a Bengals fan to have reached the point where a loss to the #1 seed in the AFC Championship Game is disappointing.

A few years ago that would have felt like a pipe dream

A three-point loss filled with controversy to boot.

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON

A question from Pete Prisco:

@PriscoCBS

Would you rather have Bryce Young on a rookie deal and all the assets or Deshaun Watson? Hmmm.

That is what new coach DeMeco Ryans found enticing.  DJ Bien-Amie of ESPN.com:

The Texans have hired San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal is for six years, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Ryans will be officially introduced as the franchise’s sixth full-time coach on Thursday. The Texans, meanwhile, become the first team in NFL history to have hired three consecutive Black coaches.

Ryans had his first interview with the Texans on Jan. 20 and met again with the franchise on Tuesday. Other NFL teams that had requested permission to talk with Ryans about head-coaching vacancies were the Broncos, Panthers and Colts.

“For so many reasons, DeMeco is everything we are looking for in a leader and coach for our organization,” Texans owner Cal McNair said in a statement. “He has a proven track record for developing high-quality players and constantly innovated his defensive scheme over the last six seasons in San Francisco.

“We started this process with the goal of finding someone our fans and city can be proud of and we’ve done just that. While we received a lot of incredible feedback and support for DeMeco from different people, it was our discussions with him and his vision for our football team that made him the right coach to lead us as we continue to evolve as an organization.”

Ryans’ hiring ends a three-week search since the Texans fired Lovie Smith on Jan. 8. Ryans, a former Texans standout linebacker, will be the fourth coach in Houston in four years after Smith and David Culley were each fired after one season.

Former coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was fired after starting the 2020 season 0-4. O’Brien led the Texans for six full seasons before that, and his 52-48 record (.520) leaves him as the only Texans coach over .500.

The franchise hired Nick Caserio as GM in 2021. Caserio hired Culley (4-13) in 2021 and promoted Smith (3-13-1) from defensive coordinator in 2022.

Now Caserio has hired Ryans, who took over the 49ers’ defensive unit in 2021.

TENNESSEE

Although going from grass to a form of artificial turf is not usually presented as a player safety issue, the Titans are making that assertion – plausibly we would say.  Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Titans are looking to open their new Nashville stadium in 2026.

But before that happens, they’re making a significant change to their current home field.

Tennessee announced on Tuesday that the club is changing the playing surface at Nissan Stadium to turf for 2023.

In the Titans’ announcement, the team cited the fact that Nashville is in a transition climate zone and that Nissan Stadium had a higher rate of lower-extremity injuries as reasons for the change. The playing field will now be monofilament, Matrix Helix Turf with organic infill. The Titans say they’ll be the first NFL stadium to use synthetic turf with organic infill.

“Ultimately we’ve landed on the decision, based on that data, to transition to a monofilament surface with an organic infill that mimics the natural feel of grass while getting the consistency and durability of field turf,” Titans president and CEO Burke Nihill said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s website.

“I think our grounds crew is among the best in the National Football League. … Ultimately there’s just a limit to how much can be done for a natural grass surface in this part of the country. This turf is cutting-edge technology and will be a huge improvement in terms of consistency and performance.”

After the team tried different grass surfaces, head coach Mike Vrabel said that he supports the changes. The playing field will now be the same as the indoor facility at the Titans headquarters.

“There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our players,” Vrabel said. “We’ve had a lot of issues [with the grass at Nissan Stadium] after a certain part of the season. It’s hard to grow grass. It gets slick. We put new turf down, we try and put new sod down and it’s slick, you see guys slipping. Those are real things that I’ve witnessed over my time here. Our grass surface is not on the level of some of the other grass surfaces [across the NFL]. At the beginning of the year, summer, training camp, early season, I can see it being very consistent. But as the season wears on, and the weather changes, there is a noticeable difference in performance of the field.

“We added this product inside the bubble and … the response has been very positive, very favorable to that surface to the new technology that continues to come out. Just witnessing our practices inside and how they feel and how they respond on that product. … We’re excited to be able to add this product to our stadium.”

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

S DAMAR HAMLIN is doing videos – for the American Heart Association.

Thirty days ago, Damar Hamlin‘s life was saved. Now, he’s actively trying to save other lives.

Via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com, the Bills safety has partnered with the American Heart Association to encourage CPR education and training.

It’s called the Damar Hamlin 3 for Heart Challenge. Step one is to watch a one-minute video to learn hands-only CPR at heart.org/3. Step 2 is to donate to the American Heart Association for CPR training and other programs. Step 3 is to challenge three others to do the same.

Hamlin got things going by challenging Michelle Obama, LeBron James, and Tom Brady to participate.

The Saints and Packers previously have provided dozens of AEDs to their local communities for use by youth recreational facilities. (If more teams have done so, let us know. If they haven’t, what are we waiting for?)

Between enhanced CPR training and AED availability — along with greater awareness as to the condition known as commotio cordis — lives will indeed be saved by Damar Hamlin’s ordeal. To his credit, Damar Hamlin is doing his part to make sure of it.

THIS AND THAT

DOUG WILLIAMS

Mike Jones of The Athletic talks to Doug Williams:

Here we are, 35 years after you became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and now, for the first time in history, two Black quarterbacks will face each other in this game. What does that mean to you?

You want to see progress. It was 35 years ago that I did it. Then it took another (26) years for Russell Wilson to play in it and win it and … it took 35 years to get two Black quarterbacks (in the game). But that’s progress and you like to see it.

Are you surprised that it has taken 35 years for two to face?

It’s not surprising that it hasn’t happened before now because a lot of guys didn’t get the opportunity to play in this league over time. … Whether they want to admit it or not, it’s always been a league with the mentality of, “We don’t know if a Black man can lead us.” Now, it’s gotten to the point where everyone wants the best player that can play their position, and now they’re giving guys an opportunity, and an opportunity is all that you want. And now, the opportunities that are there for Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, they’re taking advantage of it.

But yeah … after the Philadelphia game, I thought, “Wow, if Patrick can win his, then we’ll have two Black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl for the first time.” And nothing was given to Patrick. He’d lost to Cincinnati three times in a row. … Four games (against the Bengals were) decided by a total of 12 points. Four games. That tells you that you have the best of the best and it just so happened Patrick was able to pull it out, and now, here we are. Two Black quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl. And for me, not having any allegiance to any team, I can honestly say, I can’t lose!

After your Super Bowl win, did you think or expect that it would open a lot of doors? Did you understand the magnitude at that time?

You and I both know that myself, as a Black quarterback, doesn’t open any doors. The team and the owner has to open it. That’s the key. When you look at all the Black quarterbacks playing in the league now, someone had to convince the owners that they were the best option. It’s a shame that that has to happen, but it’s the same thing that’s happening with coaches. … When you see players go to these teams, it’s because someone told the owners they could play. And coaches’ mentalities have changed. They want to win, and you have some younger coaches and younger general managers who have learned to do their jobs correctly because they approach it (as), “Let’s not even look at it through color,” and guys are getting the opportunity now. I could be wrong, but I say within the next  five to 10 years, it’s going to be half the quarterbacks in this league that could be Black.

The old knock used to be that Black quarterbacks were athletes, but couldn’t get the job done mentally. But there’s no way anyone can look at Mahomes and Hurts and not see that they’re winning games both with their athleticism and with their minds. Do you think the question has finally been answered?

You would’ve hoped it was put to rest 35 years ago. Every time a young man does something positive as a Black quarterback, he puts questions to rest. It’s always been that when they’re judged by their (pre-draft) grades, for Black quarterbacks, it was about what they couldn’t do, and not what they could do. They found excuses. That’s what Black quarterbacks have always been up against: a book on what they couldn’t do, even though in reality, the cans far outweighed the can’ts. But (Sunday) night, you sat there, what could you really find to criticize about either of these guys? Patrick has proven he can do anything anyone else can do and do it better. Jalen has proven that he’s more than a runner. He can also throw from the pocket. So, a lot of questions have been put to rest. It all boils down to one thing: They’re both good quarterbacks.

The DB counts Hurts, Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Dak Prescott for nine.  Desmond Ridder in Atlanta would be #10.  Trey Lance would be 11.  Will Jordan Love make 12?  Which category is Tua Tagovialoa in or is he in a 3^rd category?  The Colts, Raiders, Texans and Panthers don’t really have a starting QB at the moment.  Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are on the horizon.  Point is, we aren’t far from half now.