There were a lot of questions this week, so let’s dive into the mailbag and hit it rapid-fire style at the end.
From louis Serpa (@louisSerpa1): Bert, how dumb would Sark (Steve Sarkisian) have to be to take the cheese and take the Dallas job?
Louis, I don’t think you can call it dumb—this is a weird time for college coaches. With the advent of, and loosening of rules around, the transfer portal, and the introduction of NIL money into the equation, the job has changed. It’s hard to build a roster, and it can be even harder to hold it together—and the presence of an escape hatch for players makes it difficult to dish tough love the way most football coaches do.
Add the challenges that already existed in coaching college football, and it’s a lot.
If Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is looking to jump to the NFL, he has a lot of company among his peers. Just last year, then-UCLA coach Chip Kelly interviewed for coordinator jobs in the NFL, because he was sick of the nonfootball demands of his job, and wound up as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator to escape them. Just this month, Mike Bloomgren left an FBS head coaching job—at Rice—to become the offensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns.
Conversely, the best college jobs—the true blueblood jobs—are better than many NFL jobs because of how they pay and support their coaches and their resources are endless. Sarkisian has one of those, so I don’t think he’d leave for just any NFL job. But I get why going to a place such as Dallas (for all the problems there, it’s still the Cowboys) could lure him away.
From Sam Mooney (@SamMooney4): Why all the Jalen Hurts hate?
Sam, I’m not sure what level of hate he’s gotten. It hasn’t been a ton. And the “hate” I have seen, I think, has been pretty fair (if you’re referencing questioning whether the Philadelphia Eagles can win on third-and-long and/or coming from behind).
Maybe it won’t matter. On Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, it mostly didn’t. Hurts had 39 yards passing with 20 minutes left in the game, then he hit a couple of throws, and Philly was up 16–3, and cruised from there. That, of course, shows the strength of the Eagles’ roster. DC Vic Fangio has turned the defense into a monster, and the combination of a top-two (it’s them and Detroit) offensive line and Saquon Barkley has been lethal.
To its credit, Philly doesn’t need Hurts to be Superman. Or hasn’t yet. So it’s fair to ask if he can be when it matters most (and he was really good in the Super Bowl two years ago), and the team needs more from him. Especially when most other teams would tell you the way to beat the Eagles is to get on top of them, keep Hurts in the pocket and make him beat you from there.
From FantasyLife.eth (@FantasyLife_): Are the Chiefs being overlooked on their way toward a three-peat?
Not by me. They looked awesome against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. The defense should get a fresh-legged Chris Jones back this week and, if they manage their corner issue, they’re right there with Philly and the Houston Texans among the best units left on that side of the ball. And with Hollywood Brown back and Xavier Worthy improving, Andy Reid and Matt Nagy’s vision for the offense is starting to coalesce.
I worry a little about the tackle issue, particularly this week with Houston bringing Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter off the edges. But I don’t think the other six playoff teams will be rooting for the Chiefs to get through against the Texans, which tells you all you need to know.
From Non Fungible Analyst (@baineschile): What the heck happened to Diontae Johnson this year? Looked great on the Panthers...then, a fall like I can't remember.
Talent has never been the issue with Johnson. Everything else has.
Beware of the player Mike Tomlin has deemed he can no longer manage.
From Espo (@Ay_Espo): Will the Jets hire a GM first and who is likely to be paired with AG?
Espo, I like Aaron Glenn as a New York Jets candidate, but he might have another option to go to the New Orleans Saints (or even one of the other three openings in which he’s interviewed), so the Jets can’t 100% count on getting him. That said, I do think he’d be exactly what they need.
As for guys he’d pair with—I’ve heard Washington Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark did well interviewing with the Jets. He and Glenn were together in Detroit from 2021 to ’23, and, as such, could easily put together a collective vision for the team. Detroit Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew is another name, and then there are guys such as Khai Harley, Jeff Ireland and Michael Parenton in New Orleans who were with Glenn down there.
So, if it’s Glenn, that’d be good news for the Jets. He can be the sort of change agent that the organization needs. He won’t be weighed down by the organization’s checkered history or the pressure of New York since he was a player there. He’d make a lot of sense.
From Vernell (@VernellGordon): There’s been a lot of speculation about Ryan Poles being on the hot seat among lots of Chicago Bears fans and pundits. Do you expect Poles to be the general manager going forward, and is it safe to assume he will get a new deal with whoever the head coach will be to lineup everything with Caleb?
Yes, Vernell, I do. But I think it’ll be important after a new coach is hired for the entire football operation to have clearly defined roles, and how the whole enterprise will be set up—with the coach being a big voice in how it’s done.
What I know is that the McCaskeys were sensitive to the idea that coaching candidates were leery about team president Kevin Warren’s presence in Chicago, which, I believe, is why they had Poles run point on the search. At the same time, I’ve heard Warren solicited opinions ahead of the search on whether the Bears were doing the right thing in moving forward with Poles. So the questions you’re asking have been asked internally.
This, again, is why everyone’s going to have to be really clear with one another at the end of this process.
From Gino (@BigGinoBambino): Who’s your favorite to be Mike Vrabel’s next OC?
From Jason (@patsletsgo10): Any chance Dave Ragone from the Rams gets a look for Pats OC job?
Gino and Jason, Dave Ragone is a good name. I do think if all things were equal, Vrabel would probably love to have Arthur Smith as his coordinator in New England—Smith, of course, is unavailable, since he’s the OC in Pittsburgh. Ragone was Smith’s offensive coordinator in Atlanta, was pass game coordinator in Chicago under Matt Nagy before that, and has spent the past year in Los Angeles working on Sean McVay’s staff.
So, sure, throw him on what I think will be a relatively lengthy list. Josh McDaniels will be on there, too—he and Vrabel were together in New England, and like Vrabel and Ragone, share Northeast Ohio ties. I think they should take a look at Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, who’s known Drake Maye since he was a teenager. And there’ll be a bunch of other names, too.
From Marco Falsone (@mlfalsone): Albert—tell me the Jets won’t screw up another GM/coaching search? Why should I have any faith this time around? Why will this time be different? Help me, please…
Marco, while I can’t tell you that for sure, I do think having Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman involved gives you a shot at things being different. Tannenbaum, obviously, has an intimate knowledge of the challenges of working in that franchise, and of running a team in New York. Spielman, meanwhile, seemed to do pretty good helping Washington last year based on how things turned out with Adam Peters as GM and Dan Quinn as coach.
So there’s some hope for you.
From Jordan Comstock (@that1baldguy): How do you feel about your beloved Buckeyes being in the Natty? Score prediction?
No predictions. No jinxes. Go Bucks.
From Depressed Jags Fan #4 (@JagsImperialist): What are the chances the Jags move on from Baalke for a new HC?
From JDins5 (@JDins_5): Who are the favorites for the Jaguars opening? And do you think Baalke gets stripped of some control judging by the names that have agreed to interview?
Depressed, I see that as fluid. I think Shad Khan will hire a coach, and then map things out from there. If it’s Ben Johnson, I would guess that Trent Baalke is gone. If it’s Robert Saleh, maybe Baalke winds up staying.
And, I’d probably call those two favorites. I know the Jacksonville Jaguars like both. (There could be other candidates they feel as strongly about.)
From STΞVΞ (@RacingDFS): I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team interview as many candidates as the Jets. What’s really going on here?
One theory floating around is that it’d help Tannenbaum and Spielman build a database going forward—so that they have a foundation to work off if other teams hire them, and The 33rd Team, to help run coaching/GM searches in the future.
And one certainty—a franchise that’s been as wayward as the Jets are certainly could use the intel from the people interviewing on how successful teams are winning in 2025.
From Grayson Stout (@grayson_stout): Who do you view as the favorite to land the Titans’ GM position?
Going in, I pegged the three favorites as Packers VP of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi and Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham. All three have a strong relationship with Tennessee Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker. So if one of the other finalists (the Buffalo Bills’ Terrence Gray, Indianapolis Colts’ Ed Dodds and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ John Spytek), he’ll have done a good job in the interview process.
From Ivan (@LegitMedia__): Is Ben Johnson to the Raiders actually happening?
Maybe. The Las Vegas Raiders did a lot to get Johnson to interview, so the interest is certainly real.
From Matt68 (@mtr1105): Monken and the Bears likelihood?
Matt, Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken was actually one of the first names I heard for the Bears job after Matt Eberflus was fired. So I don’t know if he gets the job, but I think you can pull his name off Chicago’s long list as one that the team is probably serious about.
From David Kromelow (@dkrom59): Would you be shocked if either Broncos QB coach Davis Webb doesn’t become an OC this cycle or Broncos DB coach Jim Leonhard doesn’t become a DC this cycle?
David, I’m not shocked by anything. But those are two really good names and would merit shots at becoming coordinators (Leonhard actually was one in college at his alma mater Wisconsin) in the NFL.
From Kevin A Molina (@KevinAMolina): If Robert Saleh gets a head coaching job, where would the 49ers turn next to fill their DC vacancy? Ulbrich? Allen? Anarumo?
Kevin, I do think Kyle Shanahan would like to get Saleh back as DC. I think they restart things a little if they don’t get him. Both Jeff Ulbrich and Lou Anarumo would be under consideration, I believe.
From Dennis Byers (@dbyers99): Why is Kliff Kingsbury not in any of the head coaching searches (especially Chicago, Jacksonville). Huge success with Washington offense, development of QBs in college and professional. I know he got fired at Arizona but he did get them into the playoffs.
Dennis, Kingsbury has received interest. The Bears and Saints have submitted requests. The Jets and Jaguars inquired, too. The Raiders tried to hire him as offensive coordinator last year, and Kingsbury is buddies with Tom Brady.
Now, I don’t think it’s a sure thing that he’d get one, but he has shots to compete for a job if he wants one. The flip side is that Kingsbury is pretty happy where he’s at.
Being back in the NFL, and with the Commanders, working under Quinn and with Jayden Daniels has, as I’ve heard it, rekindled Kingsbury’s love of coaching. He doesn’t need the money. He’s in a great spot. Washington will probably keep winning, which means he’ll get a second chance at being an NFL head coach now and in the future.
I don’t think he’s in a big rush to leave.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why the Cowboys Could Lure Steve Sarkisian From Texas.