Andrew Siciliano is all over it:

@AndrewSiciliano

SIX new @NFL  playoff teams this season, a guaranteed tradition unlike any other.

Texans

Browns

Steelers

Lions

Packers

Rams

34th straight year at least FOUR teams make the playoffs that missed them the previous season.  @NFLResearch

This from Jayson Stark and Jake Ciely in The Athletic:

Jayson: THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN MUCH! Here it comes, that list you’ve waited many decades to read. This is all the seasons in the past 50 years when the Browns and Lions have made the playoffs in the same season:

1994

1982

And that’s a wrap!

Additionally, only once in the last 50 years have they even lost a playoff game in the same year. And that was over 40 years ago (1982). Of course, it’s hard for them both to lose a playoff game when they’re not actually playing one of those games.  But also …

NOW THEY CAN DO SOMETHING WAY MORE UNLIKELY! So here’s the next question I asked, because I couldn’t make my brain not ask it:

These are two franchises that have been part of the NFL for more than 70 years. How many times in all those years, would you guess, have they each won a playoff game in the same season?

Would you believe that answer is … zero? … as in never?

Also true! And not just true in the 74 seasons they’ve been in the NFL together. Not even back before that, from 1946-49, when the Browns were dominating the All American Football Conference and the Lions were in the NFL.

That’s partly because when they were both powerhouses in the 1950s, there was no such thing as “the NFL playoffs.” There was only an NFL championship game — which they did meet up in three years in a row (1952-54) but ran into the unfortunate technicality that only one of them could win it.

So think about what could happen this weekend, on this planet that we live on. The Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions could win playoff games in the same season for the first time in the lifetimes of, well, anyone? What a time to be alive.

When they write “only once in the last 50 years have they even lost a playoff game in the same year” we guess they are talking calendar year.  In the 1994 “season”, the Lions lost their playoff game to Green Bay on December 31, 1994, while the Bill Belichick won a playoff game on January 1, then lost on January 7, 1995.  Back to The Athletic:

Jake: This got me thinking about how many times the Browns and Lions have lost a playoff game, given they’ve never won in the same playoffs. Well, the Browns have made the playoffs 33 times, and the Lions 20, and would it surprise you to know that they have the two worst playoff records?

That’s right. The Lions have a .350 Win% (worst) at 7-13, and the Browns are .364 with a 12-21 record. Glimmer of hope for Lions fans — if the Lions win and the Browns lose this week, the Browns would take over the worst Win%.

NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

Coach Matt Eberflus won’t be fired, but not all of his assistants can say that.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus improved his team enough in 2023 to convince his bosses to keep him around in 2024.

The Bears are planning to stick with Eberflus as their head coach for the 2024 season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

That news broke shortly after the news that Luke Getsy has been fired as offensive coordinator. So Eberflus has two big jobs ahead of him in hiring an offensive coordinator to replace Getsy and a defensive coordinator to replace Alan Williams, who resigned early in the 2023 season and was not replaced.

Then an even bigger job commences for Eberflus and the Bears: Deciding whether to stick with Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback or draft a quarterback, most likely USC’s Caleb Williams, with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Eberflus went 3-14 in his first year as head coach in 2022 and followed that up by going 7-10 in 2023. He’ll need to be better in 2024, or else the Bears will have a much bigger housecleaning in 2025.

DETROIT

From Jayson Stark of The Athletic:

Stark: As you know, since the last time the Lions won a playoff game … it’s been a while.

It happened as recently as January 5, 1992, when the Lions whomped on the Jimmy Johnson/Emmitt Smith Cowboys, 38-6, at the exotic Pontiac Silverdome. So seeing as how it’s been 32 years since that game happened, what better time to play America’s favorite game …

“SINCE THE LAST TIME THE LIONS WON A PLAYOFF GAME”

Ready? Here we go. Since the last time the Lions won a playoff game…

*The Patriots have won 33 of them!

*Three other teams (Packers, 49ers, Steelers) have won at least 20!

*Eight teams have won at least 15 … 16 teams have won at least 10 … and all 31 teams have won at least one playoff game … in that time when the Lions were winning none of them!

*In other Detroit news … the Tigers have won 25 playoff games since the last time the Lions won one … the Pistons have won 79 … and the Red Wings have won 149 … which means …

*Those other Detroit teams have won 253 playoff games just in the time when the Lions were winning zero playoff games!

But that’s not all because, since the last time the Lions won a playoff game …

*Two teams (Patriots and Packers) have played more than 40 playoff games in that time when the Lions were winning none.

*And four other teams (Steelers, Eagles, 49ers, Colts) have played more than 30 playoff games while the Lions were winning none.

*And 30 of the 32 teams in the NFL have played at least 10 playoff games in that time in which the Lions were winning none. So … would anybody like to take a guess at the only other team in this league that hasn’t played at least 10 playoff games in all that time? Here it comes, in 3 … 2 … 1. That would be …

*The Browns (of course). But even they’ve played five of them … which actually isn’t even as many as the Lions. And that’s the good news … but now for the bad news … the Lions are 0-9 since the last time they won a playoff game. Which means …

That’s more losses, just since the last time they won one, than Tom Brady had in the first 30 playoff games of his career.

But now … it’s 2024 … and Tom Brady won’t be playing any playoff games this weekend … but the Detroit Lions will. So this would be an excellent time to make sure I never have to write this note again!

We would note that the other Detroit teams have not done so well lately.

The last time any of Detroit’s four sports teams won a playoff game was April 17, 2016, more than seven years ago, when the Red Wings won a first round playoff game over the Lightning in a series they would lose.

The Tigers last playoff win was on October 16, 2013.

The Pistons last won a postseason game on May 26, 2008.  Since that loss, the Pistons have lost 14 straight in the postseason, including three first round 0-4 playoff sweeps, the last in 2019.

GREEN BAY

We thought this list would be bigger.

A factoid from Scott Kacsmar:

How legit are Brock Purdy and Jordan Love?

They are the 29th and 30th QBs ever to have a season with:

4000 yards passing

30 TD passes

9 wins

The worst QBs on that list:

Scott Mitchell

Andy Dalton

Geno Smith

Brian Sipe

Their future looks bright.

To be clear, many QBs have done it more than once.  Here are the leaders:

The most seasons with 4000 PYD/30 TD/9 wins:

Peyton Manning – 9

Tom Brady – 8

Aaron Rodgers – 7

Patrick Mahomes – 4

Philip Rivers – 4

Drew Brees – 4

Brett Favre – 4

NFC EAST

DALLAS

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com doesn’t think Coach Mike McCarthy is safe just because he won a division championship:

When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones assessed the future of coach Mike McCarthy by saying “we’ll see how each game goes” in the playoffs, my own mind went back to the notion that, if McCarthy doesn’t deliver at least an NFC Championship, McCarthy could be out — and Bill Belichick could be in.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Belichick, by saying he’d be willing to surrender some power to stay in New England, was also sending a message to potential future employers. And if Belichick is willing to defer to anyone when it comes to shopping for the groceries with which Belichick would cook the meal, it’s Jerry and Stephen Jones.

Here’s what Belichick said about the Joneses before the Patriots played the Cowboys during the 2023 regular season: “I have a ton of respect for Jerry and Stephen, and the way they run the organization down there. They’ve had decades of success. They were really the team of the ‘90s with Jimmy [Johnson] and they’ve been good. They’ve been competitive every year, obviously more than competitive. They’ve had a lot of great players down there. Tony [Romo] had a great run.

“Those are great years there with Tony, Coach [Bill] Parcells. We played them here in the early 2000s, but I always keep an eye on them, just the way they do things. They’ve gotten a lot of players that they’ve gotten a lot of production from that I’d say aren’t big-name players — free agents, guys that they dig out down there. I think their scouting staff does a good job. They’re very experienced. Almost all of their scouts have been with the Cowboys their entire career, so they home-grow them and they learn their system. I think they manage their personnel really well. Stephen kind of runs that with their personnel department, but, I mean, very consistent organization. They show up every week, every year pretty good. So, I have a ton of respect for them, definitely watch what they do and how they do it and try to learn from it.”

More than four years ago, as the Cowboys and Patriots prepared to square off in the regular season, Jones shared a story about an interaction from a bygone year with Belichick. Here’s the tweet from Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com: “After Bill Belichick was fired by the Cleveland Browns in the mid-90s, he ran into Jerry Jones at a ski resort. Jones said Bill told the Cowboys owner not to forget about him if he had an opening in the future. Jones says he still thinks about that from time to time.”

Said Belichick in 2019 when asked about that anecdote: “I have all the respect in the world for Jerry. He’s totally committed to winning. That organization is committed to winning. . . . The Cowboy organization is obviously one of the premier franchises in all of sports, National Football League. They’ve done so much for the game, so much for the league, since they’ve come in the league in 1960. Of course, Jerry, Stephen, the entire organization down there has had a tremendous amount of success, and been a very exemplary organization in terms of running a football team and being competitive through the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, now, they’re just, they string a lot of good years, a lot of championship seasons together. So, I have a ton of respect for what they’ve done, how consistent they’ve been, the way they do things.”

Really, what makes more sense for Belichick, going to a non-playoff team in need of a rebuild? Or going to an organization with a playoff-caliber roster that simply needs a great coach?

It all could come down to whether McCarthy can at least get the Cowboys back to the NFC Championship, for the first time since 1995. Who knows? It might even take a Super Bowl appearance to get Jerry to resist the temptation to cast his lot with the GOAT of coaches.

NEW YORK GIANTS

DC Wink Martindale may have “resigned” through the media, but apparently he hasn’t informed the Giants officially.

@JosinaAnderson

I’m told, as of this tweet, that the #Giants are still waiting to communicate with DC Wink Martindale- who’s still under contract.  From the team’s point of view, there were no official discussions yesterday regarding Martindale’s departure. Reports yesterday stated he resigned.

But Paul Schwartz of the New York Post has scoop on why Martindale is upset:

Martindale, who stormed out of the building on Monday, and Tuesday morning was on a flight headed to a home he has in Florida.

What is apparent is that Martindale and the Giants are done after two seasons, with clear and present signs that Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll endured through a deteriorating relationship that could no longer continue.

Martindale is under contract and owed $3 million for the 2024 season.

He forfeits that money if he indeed resigns his position.

Also, if he resigns, his contract simply does not go away.

A resignation would allow the Giants to prevent Martindale from accepting a job with another team, which is not a situation Martindale wants to get embroiled in.

Thus, his wildly emotional response to Daboll firing his most loyal confidant, outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, along with his younger brother Kevin, a defensive assistant, has ramifications that need to get cleaned up, contractually, before Martindale and the Giants part ways.

Martindale, wearing his trademark black joggers, black sleeveless vest and donning a Yankees cap, was spotted Tuesday morning at Newark Liberty International Airport boarding a flight to Sarasota.

Heading home is not the normal course of action for an NFL coach two days after the end of a season.

This is the time for staff meetings and final evaluations, responsibilities that Martindale no longer believes he is obligated to complete.

Daboll said during his early Monday morning meeting with the media a day after closing a 6-11 season with a 27-10 victory over the Eagles that his “expectation’’ was that Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka would return in 2024.

This was before Daboll met with Martindale, and so that “expectation’’ was sketchy, given that Daboll knew the news he was about to impart.

Here is what went down, according to people in the building who were aware of the situation:

Daboll met with Martindale on Monday and told him there were staff changes coming.

Daboll mentioned the dismissals of special teams coach Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.

There is no secret how close Daboll is with Johnson and this one was a tough one for Daboll, but he felt it was necessary for the betterment of the team moving forward.

Daboll told Martindale he wanted him to stay but that he was going to fire the Wilkins brothers.

Martindale brought the Wilkinses with him to the Giants from the Ravens.

On the sideline, it is Drew Wilkins helping Martindale with the personnel groupings and directing traffic for him.

Drew Wilkins helps Martindale devise the defensive schemes.

Martindale, angered by this news, cursed out Daboll, said his piece, got up, slammed the door and walked out of the building.

He notified those close to him he planned to resign.

More than 24 hours later, the Giants still had not heard anything from Martindale.

The Giants fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins.

5

The Giants fired outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins.

Noah K. Murray for the NY Post

Why was Daboll adamant about getting rid of Drew Wilkins and, by association, Kevin Wilkins?

There was a feeling in the building that Martindale and Drew Wilkins were creating their own fiefdom within the coaching staff, at times bypassing Daboll and believing they had to answer only to each other and, ultimately, ownership.

Daboll is all about collaboration and this was not that.

Martindale, 60, was extremely popular with his players and his side of the ball, while hardly dominant, consistently performed better than the offense, which is Daboll’s bailiwick.

That caused friction, as well.

When safety Xavier McKinney complained about a lack of communication between players and the defensive staff, Martindale went out of his way to fuel the fire rather than douse it, which shows a difference in Martindale’s style and the way Daboll prefers to limit all distractions.

Martindale, highly engaging in his weekly press conferences, frequently praised his group, which raised some eyebrows after some less-than-robust outings.

He did not however, have any praise for his defense after a 49-17 loss in Dallas in Week 10, as the Giants were mauled, giving up a ghastly 640 yards, the second-most yards allowed in franchise history and the most amassed by the Cowboys in any game in their history.

In that game, Daboll encouraged Martindale to keep the blitzes coming and Martindale did so, but the results were abysmal.

A few weeks later, a Fox pregame report stated the Daboll-Martindale relationship was “in a bad place.’’

Daboll, publicly, dismissed that report and presented Martindale with the game ball after a 10-7 victory over the Patriots.

Daboll privately confronted Martindale, twice, about the report and no explanation was given.

Daboll walked into a meeting of the defensive staff and, referring to the report, announced if anyone had a problem with him he should speak up.

No one spoke up.

The Giants will be in the market for someone new to run their defense.

Martindale left Baltimore after disagreements with the head coach, John Harbaugh.

It has happened again with Daboll and the Giants.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

From the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce:

Tampa Bay sports teams are now on a streak of 12 consecutive team seasons in which they made the playoffs:

2019: Buccaneers do not make playoffs

2020: Lightning (Stanley Cup win), Rays (World Series loss), Buccaneers (SB win)

2021: Lightning (Stanley Cup win), Rays, Buccaneers

2022: Lightning (Stanley Cup Finals loss), Rays, Buccaneers

2023: Lightning, Rays, Buccaneers

The Buccaneers will be looking to break a string of four first round departures.

AFC WEST

DENVER

QB JARRETT STIDHAM tells the Broncos they don’t need to look for a starting QB on the open market or in the draft.  Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com:

During locker cleanout Monday, Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham asserted that he’s ready to be QB1 for the team next season.

“I’m very confident that I can be the guy for us next year, I have no doubts about that,” Stidham said. “I’m going to continue to work as hard as possible … I’m excited for the opportunity for sure.”

Stidham started the Broncos’ last two games of the season, including Sunday’s season-finale loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas, after coach Sean Payton benched Russell Wilson. Stidham signed a two-year, $10 million deal last March. Ben DiNucci, who spent the season on the Broncos’ practice squad, agreed Monday on a futures contract for next season.

“At the end of the day, I’ll be back in April, ready to rock,” Stidham said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to come back for sure.”

Wilson, too, is under contract for next season, but many in the league expect the Broncos to eventually release him before the start of the new league year in March. Payton has publicly maintained no decision has yet been made on Wilson’s future.

Wilson said on Dec. 29 — two days after Payton told the team Wilson had been benched — the Broncos approached him just after the Broncos’ Week 8 win over the Kansas City Chiefs about waiving a guarantee in the five-year $242.6 million contract he signed in 2022. That guarantee would give Wilson, who is already guaranteed $39 million in 2024 whether he is on the team or not, another $37 million (his 2025 salary) if he cannot pass a physical on the fifth day of the new league year in March.

Team sources have since said they hoped to adjust the timing or the structure of the guarantee. Few in the league believe the Broncos will pay that guarantee and the expectation is Wilson will be released.

Stidham started the Broncos’ 16-9 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown. Sunday, however, did not go as well for either the Broncos’ offense or Stidham as he was 20-of-34 passing for 272 yards to go with a touchdown and an interception in the 27-14 loss.

He was also sacked five times while the Broncos rushed for 48 yards.

“He hung in there, he had some tough snaps and got hit,” Payton said after the game. “I think he had five sacks and nine pressures, but overall, he battled … I thought we got beat up front. I was disappointed with how we played up front, I’ll be honest with you.”

Stidham said late Monday morning that he had already had conversations with quarterbacks coach Davis Webb and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi about the offseason. He added he had not yet talked to Payton.

“I’ve said this before, everybody wants to play,” Stidham said. “Everybody wants to play, everybody wants to be on the field, I want to be on the field every snap of next year if possible.”

Payton made the move away from Wilson because he said he wanted to see a “spark” in the offense. The Broncos, despite Wilson having been among the league’s top six quarterbacks in touchdown passes until he was benched, sputtered plenty overall, even as Payton had said he needed to be more “patient” with the run game.

They struggled with timeouts at times, bobbled some late-game situations and finished the season tied for 27th in the league in plays of 20 or more yards, 26th in total offense (298.4 yards per game), 19th in scoring (21.0 points per game), 20th in the red zone and 30th in goal-to-go situations. And they finished the year with all of 44 points in the third quarter.

Stidham was the 12th quarterback to start a game for the team since the beginning of the 2016 season — running back Phillip Lindsay was the 13th player to start a game behind center when he opened in the Wildcat formation in 2020 when the Broncos had no quarterbacks because of COVID-19 protocols.

Stidham was asked Monday how Wilson interacted with him over the last two weeks of the season and he said: “[He] was great, super positive, super helpful … the entire time, can’t speak highly enough of Russ, what he’s meant to the room the entire way.”

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Without a GM, the Chargers are interviewing coaching candidates.  Charean Williams ofProFootballTalk.com:

The Chargers completed an interview Tuesday with their offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, for their head coaching vacancy, the team announced.

Moore spent his first season with the Chargers in 2023, taking over the play-calling job in late January.

It was Moore’s sixth season as an NFL coach, his fifth calling the plays.

Moore parted ways with the Cowboys last year, and in his first season with the Chargers, they ranked 18th in total offense and 21st in points.

The Chargers have requested an interview with Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan for their head coaching job, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

The Panthers also have asked to talk to Callahan.

He has spent the past five seasons with the Bengals, although head coach Zac Taylor calls the plays.

Callahan, the son of Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan, has coached in the NFL for 14 seasons. He arrived in Cincinnati from the Raiders when Taylor was hired in 2019.

He began his career as a coaching assistant for the Broncos in 2010 before being promoted to offensive quality control coach in 2011 and offensive assistant in 2013.

Callahan was quarterbacks coach for the Lions in 2016-17 and then for the Raiders in 2018.

AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND

Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com on how long it has been since we’ve seen QB JOE FLACCO start a playoff game.

Joe Flacco will start for the Browns in a playoff game against the Texans on Saturday, nine years after he last started a playoff game, on January 10, 2015 for the Ravens. That nine-year gap between playoff starts is the second-longest for any quarterback in NFL history.

Only Doug Flutie, who started a playoff game for the Bears on January 3, 1987, and then started a playoff game for the Bills on January 2, 1999, went longer between starting playoff games.

Flacco was largely given up on as an NFL starter and didn’t even have a job as a backup at the start of this season, but when the Browns needed someone in the middle of the year, Flacco showed up and has actually played better than Deshaun Watson, the starter who was lost for the season to a shoulder injury. It’s been a stunning success story for Flacco, one of the best stories in the NFL this season.

Another one of the best stories in the NFL this season is Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has burst onto the scene as one of the league’s brightest young stars. When the 22-year-old Stroud and 38-year-old Flacco face off against each other on Saturday, it will be the fifth-biggest age difference between two starting quarterbacks in NFL postseason history, and the biggest in a game that doesn’t involve Tom Brady.

The biggest age differences ever were Between Brady and Jalen Hurts in 2022, Brady and Patrick Mahomes in 2019 and 2021, and Brady and Jared Goff in 2021.

Stroud looks like he’s going to have plenty of playoff appearances left in him. This might be it for Flacco, but even if it is, his comeback has been an incredible run.

PITTSBURGH

Scott Kacsmar with a stat that says that QB MASON RUDOLPH has a history of giving the Steelers a chance to win:

Scott Kacsmar

@ScottKacsmar

Mason Rudolph has started 13 games for the Steelers.

Steelers +4.5 would have hit in 12-of-13 games.

The one time it failed: (video of Cleveland’s Myles Garrett ripping off Rudolph’s helmet).

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON

Advantage Houston?  Scott Kacsmar:

@ScottKacsmar

Browns: 37 turnovers (most in NFL)

Texans: 14 turnovers (fewest in NFL)

The 23 extra turnovers for Cleveland is the highest gap between teams in a playoff matchup since at least 2002.

JACKSONVILLE

Jason Owens of YahooSports.com on changes in Jacksonville after a squandered season:

A day after a loss to the Tennessee Titans knocked them out of the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and some of his staff. The team didn’t stop there, making cuts among offensive coaching personnel Tuesday as well.

Running backs coach Bernie Parmalee and assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington were let go, per multiple reports. Head coach Doug Pederson addressed those media reports in a statement released by the team Tuesday morning.

“Since our season’s end, I have made the difficult decision to relieve several members of the coaching staff — on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball — of their duties,” Pederson wrote. “I want to thank each of these coaches for their tireless efforts these last two seasons. Ultimately, I felt change was necessary to allow our football team to reach the goals for which we are capable.”

The Jaguars announced the dismissal of Caldwell and the “several members of his defensive staff” Monday evening, confirming a report by Fox Sports’ Greg Auman. The team didn’t specify which staff members were dismissed alongside Caldwell. Caldwell joined the Jaguars alongside Pederson prior to the 2022 season.

The move is part of a defensive overhaul under Pederson after the the Jaguars lost five of their last six games to fall out of the playoff race. Despite the late-season collapse, Jacksonville could have clinched the AFC South with a win against the Titans on Sunday. But they fell to 9-8 and out of the postseason with the 28-20 loss to the last-place team in the division.

It was a stunning collapse after an 8-3 start had Jacksonville in position to compete for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. But they lost four straight games to the Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Buccaneers to put their postseason in peril prior to Sunday’s loss to the Titans.

After that, this tweet emerged from Josina Anderson:

@JosinaAnderson

Obviously Carousel Season is a difficult time for many NFL personnel members that include differing viewpoints on the emphasis for change & improvement.

To that end, here’s word from one coach who’s leaving the #Jaguars:

“The solutions are leaving, and the problems are staying.”

TENNESSEE

Coach Mike Vrabel goes into a Tuesday meeting and comes out ex-coach Mike Vrabel.  The nuts and bolts are here from ESPN.com:

The Tennessee Titans fired coach Mike Vrabel on Tuesday after back-to-back losing seasons, and although he might have had trade value to other teams with a head-coaching vacancy, the team’s owner said she didn’t want to wait out such a scenario.

In an interview posted by the team Tuesday, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk was asked if she considered trading the coach instead of firing him.

“Yes, there was. But there’s a bit of misconception about a coach’s contract, say versus a player’s contract. A coach’s contract, you can’t trade them unless they are a willing partner to that trade,” she said. “So, yes, we thought about it but at the end of the day with league rules the way they are it would have maybe put us back three weeks and you know, to get the right head coach I was just not willing to go to the back of the line and take a chance of missing out on someone we really wanted.”

Earlier Tuesday, in a statement announcing Vrabel’s firing, Strunk said she told Vrabel her decision to fire him “was as difficult as any I’ve made as Controlling Owner.”

Vrabel’s firing comes a year after the Titans made a change at general manager, hiring Ran Carthon.

“As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions. Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff,” Strunk said in her statement.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Carthon said he and Vrabel never had any issues, dispelling speculation to the contrary.

“Whether it’s personal or professional, we worked well together and had a good relationship. We were in lockstep,” he said. “… I wish Vrabes nothing but the best, I consider him a friend and I feel like we’ll be that way moving forward.”

Vrabel, 48, led Tennessee to four consecutive winning seasons after arriving in 2018, but the Titans have experienced back-to-back frustrating seasons, finishing multiple games under .500 both times.

The Titans finished 6-11 this season.

“I will never shy away from acknowledging that I have unapologetically high expectations for the football team and every aspect of the Titans organization,” Strunk said in her statement. “Our vision is not simply to produce more wins than losses, it is to regularly compete for championships. While this season was disappointing, I see early signs of progress taking shape. Last year we added a promising young quarterback and several other talented players to our roster. With a coaching search, enviable cap space, and top-10 draft position, this offseason is as important as any in our history. I’m excited for the weeks and months ahead. We will meet the moment.”

Carthon said the team will launch “an exhaustive” search for its next coach and that he will be involved along with Strunk.

Carthon said he met with each of the team’s assistant coaches individually Tuesday and that the new head coach will decide whether to retain any of the current staff.

The Titans selected quarterback Will Levis in the second round of last year’s draft, and he started nine games. The Titans hold the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft.

Carthon said that when the Titans decided to start Levis over veteran Ryan Tannehill during the season, that call was made in unison between himself and Vrabel in consultation with Strunk.

The general manager said he told Levis before he made his first start, “‘You don’t have to be No. 1. You just have to be one of 11.'”

“We’re not going to make our whole search about Will Levis. We have other guys on this team that are going to require coaching, they’re going to require development, but we will bring someone in here that sees it the same way and is more than willing to work with him,” he said.

Titans star running back Derrick Henry, who will be a free agent in March, told The Athletic he was stunned by Vrabel’s firing.

“Wow. Wow. I’m shocked. Coach Vrabel is a leader of men. He is a great coach and teacher. I know he will get another opportunity right away. I look forward to it,” he said.

Carthon said Tuesday that he “had a real good conversation” with Henry on Monday but the decision on whether to try to re-sign the running back will be made between himself and the new head coach.

“The door is never closed,” Carthon said.

Vrabel guided Tennessee to back-to-back AFC South championships in 2020 and 2021, and the Titans earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2021, the same year Vrabel was named NFL Coach of the Year.

Vrabel finishes his Titans tenure with a 54-45 record. He was 2-3 in the postseason, including in 2019 when he led Tennessee to the AFC Championship Game.

Analysis from Dan Graziano, Jeremy Fowler and Matt Miller of ESPN.com:

Why make this move now?

The Titans are coming off a second consecutive down season, and there was a lot of talk around the team in recent weeks that there would be postseason meetings about the direction of the franchise. It also seemed clear that Vrabel and first-year general manager Ran Carthon weren’t on the same page about everything. I’m not sure it’s as simple as “one of them had to go,” but Amy Adams Strunk’s statement made it clear that a big part of the reason for this move was to make sure the coach and GM are aligned going forward, and that she didn’t think that would be the case if Vrabel stayed. So, knowing that, you make the move now so you can get going on your search. — Dan Graziano

How desirable is this job? What roster issues will the new coach face?

This is, quite squarely, a middle-of-the-road job. It offers some upside but is clearly a rebuild with chances for Year 1 growing pains. The strength of the team is the defense, particularly the defensive line, but Tennessee could lose several key players to free agency, including end Denico Autry, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and corners Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton. The offense has been allergic to high-clip passing yardage, the offensive line needs a major overhaul and the receiver position hasn’t been good enough since A.J. Brown was traded. All of that begs for an offensive-minded head coach to get strong consideration.

Rookie quarterback Will Levis showed promise, but he needs more support around him — particularly along the offensive line. At least the NFL is designed to rebuild quickly, and the Titans are projected to have over $85 million in cap space, according to Roster Management System. With a few prudent free agency moves — along with a productive draft — Tennessee can be on the upswing. And the new coach can have a hand in the recrafting of the roster, which will be attractive to some, if reasonable patience is promised. — Jeremy Fowler

If the Patriots job opens up, should we expect Vrabel to be a candidate?

Yes. Vrabel was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this season. He has an affinity for the organization and the organization has an affinity for him. And if you’re thinking, “Well, no one from the Bill Belichick coaching tree has had success,” you’re right, but … Vrabel didn’t coach under Belichick. He played for him and started his NFL coaching career in Houston under Bill O’Brien. So that critique might not apply here. Vrabel is a very good head coach who I think will be a candidate in several places. And linebackers coach Jerod Mayo has been thought to be the Belichick successor for a while now and might get the job if Belichick leaves. But if it’s not Mayo, then yes, I think Vrabel will be firmly in the mix. — Graziano

Whom might the Titans consider to replace Vrabel?

With Carthon involved in the hiring, he could lean on his experiences from San Francisco, where he served as a personnel executive from 2017 to 2022. Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik would make sense in that regard. He was with coach Kyle Shanahan for six seasons and is having success with Houston coach DeMeco Ryans, also a San Francisco disciple. Another intriguing name is Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, a top assistant for coach Mike McDaniel, who was a longtime Shanahan assistant. Could see someone from that mold. The Titans have made it clear that collaboration will be key, so they will likely target someone eager to align and work closely with Carthon. The defensive pool is a bit stronger, so Tennessee would be smart to evaluate some of the defensive coordinators such as Dan Quinn (Cowboys), Raheem Morris (Rams), Mike Macdonald (Ravens) and Steve Wilks (49ers), who also has the Shanahan tie. — Fowler

What is the biggest draft need?

Offensive tackle. After drafting Peter Skoronski in the first round in 2023 and moving him to guard, the Titans have a massive need at left tackle. They took 64 sacks this season, which tied for the fourth most. In the first round, it’s likely either Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Penn State) or Joe Alt (Notre Dame) would be there at No. 7 overall for this rebuilding offense. — Matt Miller

THIS AND THAT

WHERE COULD JIM HARBAUGH GO?

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com tries to figure out if Jim Harbaugh has NFL options.

Jim Harbaugh has flirted with a return to the NFL for years. But now, with a national championship under his belt, the Michigan head coach could finally be primed to make the leap back. Harbaugh has repeatedly deflected questions about a potential move, but he’s already been linked to several NFL openings while reportedly hiring famed agent Don Yee ahead of the 2024 offseason.

Where, exactly, could the former 49ers coach land if he opts to rejoin his brother, John, in the NFL ranks? Here are three logical destinations, including a full-on return to the West Coast:

3. Commanders

In theory, Washington has the most appealing job on the market. Under new ownership, which has enlisted the help of former NBA champion executive Bob Myers in the hiring process, the Commanders also boast the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, plus a league-leading $78.8 million in projected salary cap space. In other words, Harbaugh would have a chance to build this team from the ground up. The question is, does he want to do that at age 60? Or would he prefer a more seamless path to contention?

2. Raiders

Harbaugh is familiar with the organization, beginning his NFL coaching career as the Raiders’ QBs coach in 2002. Then there’s owner Mark Davis, who loves himself a splashy hire, even though 2023 interim Antonio Pierce won over the locker room down the stretch. From Harbaugh’s perspective, while there are big questions at QB, the lineup also has premium playmakers in Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby, with a top-15 pick that could be put toward a signal-caller of the future.

1. Chargers

Los Angeles went for an up-and-comer by hiring Brandon Staley in 2021. Now, with Justin Herbert squarely in his prime at QB, and a lineup littered with playoff-ready starters like Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, Khalil Mack and Derwin James, this team is primed to pivot for a “sure thing” on the sidelines. Who better than Harbaugh, a proven winner and offensive mind who has ties both to the organization (he played QB for the Chargers from 1999-2000) and the area, holding three different coaching jobs in California?

RODGERS vs. KIMMEL

In the latest in the war of words between talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and QB AARON RODGERS, Kimmel took a stab at insulting Rodgers academic credentials as proof of the QBs lack of intelligence.

Kimmel also took shots at Rodgers’ intelligence in his monologue, claiming Rodgers’ ego and arrogance make him feel like he’s an expert on topics he knows nothing about.

“Aaron Rodgers has a very high opinion of himself,” Kimmel said. “Because he had success on the football field, he believes himself to be an extraordinary being. He genuinely thinks that because God gave him the ability to throw a ball, he’s smarter than everyone else. The idea that his brain is just average is unfathomable to him. We learned during COVID somehow he knows more about science than scientists.”

“A guy who went to community college, then got into Cal on a football scholarship and didn’t graduate, someone who never spent a minute studying the human body, is an expert in the field of immunology,” Kimmel continued. “He put on a magic helmet, and that ‘G’ [referring to the logo on the Packers helmets] made him a genius. Aaron got two ‘As’ on his report card. They were both in the word Aaron, OK?”

It’s funny that Kimmel, who himself attended UNLV and Arizona State (neither at the academic level of Cal) without getting a degree (he has an honorary one for UNLV) would confuse graduation with intelligence.

Seriously, Rodgers, whatever one might think of the conclusions he has reached, has some pretty impressive factoid memory and processing speed.  We recall this:

In 2015, Rodgers added “Celebrity Jeopardy!” champion to his list of titles after defeating “Shark Tank” panelist Kevin O’Leary, and then-astronaut Mark Kelly (currently a U.S. senator from Arizona).

Rodgers, who has been a fan of “Jeopardy!” since he was child, proved to be quite an impressive player, dominating the game – especially the Leader of the Pack category –  with his quick buzzer skills. The three-time NFL MVP even managed to get iconic show host Alex Trebek to perform his signature “Discount Double Check” victory move!

We’re not sure who an appropriate third party would be (Pat McAfee? Jimmy Fallon?) but a Celebrity Jeopardy! panel that included Kimmel and Rodgers would be something we would watch.

On to Rodgers, explaining that his remark about Kimmel not wanting the release of the Epstein list was not about Kimmel actually being on it, but because Kimmel, as Rodgers remembered it, once said that Rodgers was an idiot for contending that an Epstein list even existed.

Here is the CNN story on Rodgers appearance Tuesday:

Aaron Rodgers, appearing on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” for the first time since he suggested late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s name might be among those listed in documents that identify Jeffrey Epstein’s associates, doubled down on debunked conspiracy theories Tuesday, declining to apologize to Kimmel for his remarks.

“I said, that a lot of people, and I’m quoting myself here, ‘a lot of people — including Jimmy Kimmel — are really hoping that [list] doesn’t come out,’ end quotes, that’s what I said,” Rodgers told McAfee. “I was referring to the fact that if there is a list — which again, this hasn’t come out yet, this was just a deposition — and there are names on it, then that would be the second time that a soft brain, junior college student, you know, wacko anti-vax, anti-Semite, purveyor, spreading misinformation, conspiracy theorists, MAGA — whatever other things have been said by him and other people in the media — would be right twice.”

McAfee appeared to side with Rodgers, calling Kimmel’s seven-minute monologue Monday night about Rodgers’ insinuation a “diatribe.”

Rodgers on Tuesday acknowledged, “how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be.”

“So, for him to be upset about that, I get it,” Rodgers said. “I’m not stupid enough … to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence.”

Though Rodgers said he would like to put the issue “to bed, to move forward,” he suggested that the media was looking to “cancel” him.

“This is the gameplan of the media, this is what they do,” Rodgers told McAfee. “They try and cancel … it’s not just me.”

“I wish him the best. I don’t give a s— what he says about me,” Rodgers said of Kimmel. “As long as he understands what I actually said, that I’m not accusing him of being on a list and I’m all for moving forward.”

Where did Rodgers “double down on debunked conspiracy theories” in his remarks?

Mike Florio, although he does not belittle the QBs academic skills, is tired of Rodgers’ word games:

He was asked if he was vaccinated. He said, “Yeah, I’ve been immunized.” He didn’t say, “No, I’ve been immunized.”

He plays word games when it suits him. He did it then. He did it today, with his clunky effort to explain his comment from last week about Jimmy Kimmel.

Nick Wright of FS1 recently called Rodgers the “most disingenuous athlete of my lifetime.” Rodgers also comes off, frankly, as a close cousin to Kevin Kline’s character in A Fish Called Wanda. Otto was a phony intellectual who pretends to fully understand complex subjects like philosophy — and who flies into a rage if anyone dares to call him stupid.

In fairness, Rodgers isn’t stupid. But he’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. And he’s clearly willing to bend the truth to suit his purposes.

Which probably means he’ll run for office at some point. God help us all.