A wild weekend is approaching, so here we go with the mailbag for this week …
from #1 General Energy Pick # 16 (CoachHesterWFP): Is Urban Meyer the only true candidate Shad Khan wanted to pass?
Well # 1 overall, since we’ve been putting you on the Urban Meyer-Jaguars track for about a month now now, I can give you a little more background. There has been a certain level of communication between Mayer and Jaguar, through brokers and directly, for nearly a month, if not longer. I think the job is Meyer if he wanted to, and I think getting it would be a robbery.
Jaguars need to clean the house the same way Bills did before Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott did one (and they did so with great success). This cannot be about changing two people. This should be an overall reimagining of the organization – Executive Vice President Tom Coughlin tried to make it happen, and there was progress for a year before that effort stalled. To do this, I think they need someone who comes up with holistic ideas.
This is Meyer, which is why I think it makes sense. With a former coach for Florida and Ohio, the transformation will involve more than two assistants. He would be the mighty coaches, the player development crew, the nutritionists – in fact, he would have attended more than one program with a crew. So I think he will need, more than just a certain salary, a budget to fix a large part of the organization, the same way he did in Gainesville and Columbus.
The bottom line is, if you were looking at this employee with, “Well, what kind of violation would they filter?” Perspective, you miss the trees. It is for these reasons, and because I’ve been told he’s already looking at potential hiring at this level, which reflects a plan to do all of this, I think it’s what Jacksonville needs.
Will he do that? I don’t know. The concern for his health is real. I heard he liked his job at Fox and had a competition. But I think it would be hard for him to say no to a chance to train Trevor Lawrence in a place with all those options (multiple in rounds 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7) and cover space (mostly in NFL 2021), and where, as a bonus, he can reclaim his legacy after His departure from Florida rubbing people there the wrong way.
We’ll see what happens. I think Shad Khan would make him say no. And if he does, then Jaguar cars, based on the fact that they have placed orders for other candidates, must be prepared to take on all these additional benefits to sell to someone else. Despite the issues I raised, this is a really good job, as coaches have been given time to build.
from Joshua Walker (Jags_Walker): What’s a realistic timeline for Urban Meyer’s decision to join the NFL ranks?
If you’re Jacksonville, you’ll want an answer by the end of this week, I think. Teams participating in the wildcards tour must make available their assistants for interviews after matches are over – which means having a Brian Daboll or Arthur Smith, you’ll have to plan ahead or sooner. And if these people choose who they want to interview, because they don’t have the time for all of them, they may choose not to sit with a team working to hire someone else.
Having said that, back in the real world, he will give Jags Mayer the time he needs.
from DootDoot (@ sdfh16): If Jason Garrett doesn’t get the HC job, will the Giants switch him as OC or give him another year?
Doot, I think there was a philosophical gap to be filled on the crew of Giants this year. Truth is, Joe Judge’s imported Patriots are very specific in how they plan, train, and teach, and although Garrett has a background from Nick Saban, the City of Dallas offensive side wasn’t quite a good fit – highlighting that friction happened with the offensive coach. Mark Columbo mid-season.
So yeah, I think Joe Judge and Jarrett will have direct and honest conversations about where the crime happened and make a decision from there. The Mara family loves Jarrett, of course, and I don’t think there is a specific problem between the head coach and the attack coordinator. Garrett is a really cool guy, and I think he’d be able to tweak the switch to match Judge’s vision for the team to move forward.
from CheenoFly (CheenoFly): With DeVonta Smith winning the Heisman Cup, does that help his inventory secure a landing at No. 3 for a rendezvous with Tua?
Chino, I don’t know DeVonta Smith will go that far – and the problem is directly due to why it’s such a great story. Its size is a problem. Alabama lists it as being 6’1 ‘and 175lbs, which probably means it’s a little shorter and smaller than that. NFL teams, in these situations, operate outside of companies. And since 2010, 11 receivers have gone in the top 10.
Two of the nine were under 6 ‘3/4’ ‘and 205 pounds, neither of them went into the top five, and neither (John Ross of Cincinnati and Tavon Austin of St. Louis) worked as a pro.
Now, that didn’t mean Smith couldn’t be any different. I spoke to some scouts who thought Smith was a better player than Henry Rogers and Jerry Judy – his Alabama teammates who rose to the top 15 last year –Before His scandalous season Heisman. So there is definitely a lot of love for him out there with the teams and the belief that he will make it in the NFL. But do the teams like him in the top five? More than a midfielder, Micah Parsons or Penny Sewell? This is where I think you’ve run into Smith’s problem.
True or false, teams look for players who mathematically represent the complete package – who have a set of traits rarely found elsewhere in a draft – when they craft that high. Which is why I have no reservations that Smith would be among the top 15 picks, but I find it hard to see him in the top five.
from Knit 9 (SpiderStrick): Albert, you mentioned Ryan Cowden, Joe Schwen, Marty Horney and Martin Mayhew to GM in Washington. Are other appointments being considered as well? If Kyle Smith left for another chance, would they strengthen the personnel department? Would they, if not GM from an exploratory background?
Strick, the fact that I let Kyle Smith, Vice President of Players in Washington, out of the mix a few weeks ago, garnered more attention than I thought. To be clear, a Smith actor is very strong, and I think he has a bright future and is likely to get an interview for the job there. But I think the concern would be his being promoted twice in such a short time frame, and also his willingness to have a job much more than just exploring.
The other part of it – sticking to a GM job elsewhere gives you a chance to go after the best people who don’t yet have that title. Both Cowden and Schoen have connections to the Brunn Rivera across Carolina, as does Hurney. Mayhew shares an agent with Rivera and has experience as a GM, just like Hurney. So the idea of using this opportunity to stack up for an Exploration section makes sense.
How would that look like? Well, imagine you have Hurney in a big position with Cowden as GM and Smith as Vice President of Personnel Players. This gives you a man of GM experience, a man who has been a leading GM candidate for other teams for a few years and a rising star, with all three players having a background with your head coach. That would be a good result, if you ask me.
from Janet Baker (@ jshu22): In light of Browns’ latest news, what are the NFL criteria for defining and delaying a COVID outbreak?
Janet, the lack of specific numbers and boundaries on this front was, and in some cases still is, a frustration for coaches and football managers across the NFL. But the league wanted to give itself flexibility in an uncertain situation and has mostly worked on the goal of playing 256 matches in 17 weeks and starting the qualifiers on time.
As for the game delay, one criterion here is that the games will be transferred for medical reasons but not for competitive reasons. The Denver case is a good example. COVID-19 has cleared Broncos’ midfield, but only Jeff Driskel tested positive prior to the team’s match against the Saints. Since the other players weren’t positive, what happened in Denver was not a real outbreak – and so it was safe to play the game in which the teams participated. Notorious act.
On the flip side, COVID-19 has infiltrated the Titans and Ravens’ workplaces, and their games have been postponed as a result. In Brown’s case, the issues involved, by league, did not arise at the team’s facility. If they have, the match can be postponed. Since they didn’t, it wouldn’t be the case. If this changes, and the cases are linked to the team’s training facility, the game can be transferred.
I know it just doesn’t seem fair to the long-suffering Browns fans. The truth is, this year will never be fair.
from Jonah 24 (@ DetLionsFan24): Anything about John Schneider / black matters? Could it be a match with Robert Saleh?
LionsFan, I wouldn’t rule that out completely, but I think Lions are at least a little wary, it could be a contract game. However, the relegation of Schneider, in the final year of his Seattle deal, would be a huge consequence of the crossover franchise with the stars, and would open the door to Robert Saleh as part of a package deal, since the two know each other well from Seattle (three of the four men on the Fit General’s list Motors for Cleveland last year – Ed Dodds, Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer – were Seahawks’ co-workers.)
Undoubtedly, someone like Schneider would lend some measure of credibility to the organization.
The other interesting part here is that Lions feel they can go with a scout type in this hiring, with President Rod Wood and Football Manager Vice President Mike Dessner at home in support of the new GM. Schneider will touch that base and much more with 11 years of GM seat experience. So if I were in Detroit I would have moved heaven and earth to do it, if it was really at the table.
from Shanner (@ Shaner_138): Which team is Cam Newton going to? Or is it over? Is Pittsburgh making a move for Wentz or Darnold?
Shanner, Newton’s natural landing spot would be Washington. Played nine years for coach Ron Rivera and has a close relationship with offensive coordinator Scott Turner, Turner was present on Newton’s short renaissance in 2018 (before injuries all fell apart). Washington will not pick no more than 19 in the April draft, potentially putting the team out of Justin Fields and Zach Wilson’s range in the world. Newton, if he was healthy, could help bridge the gap.
What if Washington went in another direction, like trading for, say, Matthew Stafford? Then I’m not really sure what Newton would do. I don’t know another team will say, Yes, here you are, you are the initiator. Is he willing to go somewhere new and fight for a place on the list without guarantees? I think it’s an interesting question, because it hasn’t really been in that kind of place before (except for maybe a year of reclamation in prep college).
As for the Stellers, I think they will be in the market for this young quarterback player out of season. Some who know GM Kevin Colbert well think his retirement will be tied to Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, and I think he wants to give the franchise a way to the next guy. The whole time I felt that a late first flip of Darnold or doing a young project like Carson Wentz or James Winston would make sense.
from Paul Pope Jr. (pmpjr): Just tell me he’ll be fine as a Browns fan. Just lied to me.
Paul, you have a young coach (38), a young GM (33) and a young quarterback player (25), and a great foundation with staples like Jedrick Wills, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Odell Beckham Jr., Austin Hopper and Jarvis Landry in place. This was a year of transition, and you still He won 11 matches, the most since Bill Bilesic and Nick Saban were together in Northeast Ohio. The future is still bright.
How is that?
(Yeah, I feel really bad for the fanbase who robbed her squad, reclaimed it 21 years ago, eliminated it only once, 18 years ago, since, and I had to deal with this in her first post-season shot. It’s bad. Don’t get drunk. But as I said, the future is still bright!)
“Злий ботанік кави. Аналітик. Невиліковний бекон. Фанат щебет. Типовий шанувальник їжі.”
