Flea Flicker Divisional Round Predictions

It’s the Divisional Round and four teams remain. Here are some guesses at the games. 

Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos

Pick: Bills

The sooner Sean Payton is out of the playoffs the better. He and Aaron Rodgers run 1-2 or 2-1 as the most annoying people in football.

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks

Pick: 49ers

The 49ers remarkable run continues.

Houston Texans @ New England Patriots

Pick: Texans

The Patriots remarkable run ends. 

Los Angeles Rams @ Chicago Bears

Pick: Rams

Caleb Williams runs out of miracles. Depending on miracles is never a sustainable way to play. 

NFL Head Coach And General Manager Churn

This week, the Pittsburgh Steelers joined eight teams looking for a new head coach. Mike Tomlin stepped away after 19 years of sustained winning. He started that long run with a bang as he won a Super Bowl title in his second year as head coach. After that, the Steelers were a playoff staple for 17 years. Now, nine teams are looking for a head coach. 

Head Coach Vacancies

New York Giants

Fired: Brian Dabol

Tennessee Titans

Fired: Brian Callahan

Arizona Cardinals

Fired: Jonathan Gannon

Atlanta Falcons 

Fired: Raheem Morris

Baltimore Ravens

Fired: John Harbaugh

Cleveland Browns

Fired: Kevin Stefanski

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired: Pete Carroll

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Mike McDaniel

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Stepped Away: Mike Tomlin

Unless something wild happens, there’s really only eight head coach vacancies. Numerous reports from numerous sources have John Harbaugh and the New York Giants uniting. It’s surprising that there hasn’t been an “official” announcement as those reports have been flowing freely for over 24 hours. 

The cycle is fairly light when it comes to the annual general manager churn. When the season ended, only two teams were looking for a new general manager.

General Manager Vacancies

Atlanta Falcons

Fired: Terry Fontenot

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Chris Grier

The Miami Dolphins acted fast as they hired Green Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan before the first week of the offseason was complete. 

The Atlanta Falcons were perhaps lagging behind the pace of the Dolphins in their pursuit of a new general manager because of other front office business. Last week, the Falcons hired former quarterback Matt Ryan as their new President of Football. Who knows what responsibilities of that job will be? One thing that’s certain is that he’ll have a role in selecting a new general manager and head coach. 

Current Interview Requests:

Head Coach

New York Giants

Hired: John Harbaugh

I hesitate putting this one as finalized as it hasn’t been finalized. I remember a day when Josh McDaniels walked away from a supposedly done deal with the Indianapolis Colts. It was such a done deal that he’d even hired an assistant coach. Despite that, I can’t see Harbaugh pulling a McDaniels. 

Tennessee Titans

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Steve Spagnuoulo - Chiefs DC

Lou Anarumo - Colts DC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Jason Garrett - former Cowboys head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Arthur Smith - Steelers OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Kliff Kingsbury - former Commanders OC

Mike McCarthy - former Cowboys head coach

Mike McCoy - Titans interim head coach

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Chris Shula - Rams DC

Brian Daboll - former Giants head coach

Jonathan Gannon - former Cardinals head coach

John Harbaugh - former Ravens head coach

Arizona Cardinals

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Thomas Brown - Patriots passing game coordinator 

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Thomas Brown - Patriots passing game coordinator

Atlanta Falcons

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Aden Durde - Seahawks DC

Ejiro Evero - Falcons DC

John Harbaugh - former Ravens head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Baltimore Ravens

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Davis Webb - Broncos QB coach

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Brian Flores - Vikings DC

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Kliff Kingsbury - former Commanders OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Joe Brady - Bills OC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Jim Schwartz - Browns DC

Cleveland Browns 

Todd Monken - Ravens OC

Aden Durde - Seahawks DC

Dan Pitcher - Bengals OC

Tommy Rees - Browns OC

Jim Schwartz - Browns DC

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhasse - Rams passing game coordinator

Grant Udinski - Jaguars OC

Las Vegas Raiders

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Davis Webb - Broncos QB coach

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhasse - Rams passing game coordinator

Miami Dolphins

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Chris Shula - Rams DC

Anthony Campanile - Jaguars DC

Patrick Graham - Raiders DC

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Kelvin Sheppard - Lions DC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

For merely sentimental reasons, it’d be pretty cool to see Don Shula’s grandson coaching the Dolphins. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ejiro Evero - Panthers DC

Brian Flores - Vikings DC

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Klay Kubiak - 49ers OC

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhaase - Rams passing game coordinator 

Chris Shula - Rams DC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

General Manager

Atlanta Falcons

Ian Cunningham - Bears assistant GM

Josh Williams - 49ers director of scouting football

Miami Dolphins

Hired: Jon-Eric Sullivan - Packers VP of Player Personnel

Throwback Thursday: The Summer of ‘36

This Flicker was originally posted on March 21, 2013. And a time or two since. 


Sid Gillman, Paul Brown, and Woody Hayes are three of the most influential football coaches in the history of the game. All three got their football coaching start in Ohio. All three lived together in the summer of 1936. Paul Brown had established himself as a very successful coach at Massillon High School. Sid Gillman had just started his coaching career at Dennison University. Woody Hayes hadn't settled on coaching just yet. He had enrolled in the graduate school of education at Ohio St. He had plans to become a principal or school superintendent. That summer might have gone a long way in steering him toward football. As they worked and studied, all three were housed temporarily in the Sigma Chi fraternity house on the Ohio St. campus. All would impact each other and the game of football.

Gillman and Brown had come to Ohio St. that  summer to learn from innovative Buckeyes coach Francis Schmidt. They learned from Schmidt while Hayes took his education classes. In the evening, the three would come together at the fraternity and talk football. Sometimes they would argue. Sometimes they would "steal" each other's ideas. For Hayes it was the equivalent of a football laboratory. Much of his coaching philosophy can be traced back to those evenings at Ohio St. If nothing else, Hayes dropped the education path and picked up the football path.

Many consider Sid Gillman the "father of the passing game." His innovations changed offensive football. He was the first to make significant use of game film. Paul Brown revolutionized the position of head coach. His organization, testing, and use of assistant coaches changed the game. He certainly changed the structure of coaching in the NFL. Hayes, while not the innovator of Gillman and Brown, was one of college football’s greatest coaches.

Ara Parseghian had some decent success as a football coach. He also had perhaps the best perspective on the three housemates. He played for Gillman at Miami University, played for Brown at Great Lakes Naval Training Center during World War II and with the Cleveland Browns, and coached with Hayes at Miami. He saw the three like this:

"Paul Brown was a constant organizer with a terrific ability to place the personnel, motivate the personnel, and innovate. Sid was so passionate about the game, and he was still an innovative guy. And Woody was a people person. He was a great recruiter and he could talk football stuff with anybody. I wouldn't rate him up with Brown and Sid, but he got things done with his ability to deal with people....I was the beneficiary of playing or coaching with all three of them. You talk about doing post-graduate doctoral work."

Despite spending that summer of football together in '36, the coaches didn't get along too well. More accurately, Brown and Hayes didn't get along with Gillman. With his intense focus on football and his "win at all cost" ways, Gillman pissed off a lot of people throughout his coaching career. When Gillman and Brown later faced each other as professional coaches, the games had extra meaning. They did not get along. Their families did not get along. Unfortunately, it would never change. Gillman and Hayes would become coaching rivals in the college game. Recruiting rivals too. Gillman at Cincinnati and Hayes at Miami, and later at Ohio St. Many years after the football and recruiting wars, Gillman and Hayes would make amends. They just happened to run into each other and Hayes asked his past rival to explain the Gillman passing offense. Eight hours later they left as something closer to friends, certainly no longer enemies. Hayes said later of their talk, "You know, I still don't know what the hell he was talking about."

I love hearing about the intersecting paths of influential football coaches. Most of these intersections aren't as fleeting as three coaches living together for a short while during a summer long ago. Most of these intersections involve working together for a year or more. Seeing as Brown, Gillman, and Hayes all got their coaching starts in Ohio, it shouldn't have been too much of surprise that their paths crossed. I still find it fascinating that this summer spent living together so early in their respective careers might have been the launching point for all that would come. I grew up hearing about those three coaching giants. As exciting as it was to hear of this time that they spent together it was as disappointing to learn that their continued relationships weren't exactly peachy. At least Gillman and Hayes made amends. Gillman and Brown never really tried. It seems that Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, and Woody Hayes got along well enough to live together and talk football. For a brief time in the summer of '36 the future of football was greatly impacted at a fraternity house on the Ohio St. campus.

And Then There Was Nine

About a month ago, I thought that this might be a light year in the annual coaching churn. It looked like there might be as few as four or five head coach vacancies. Nope. With yesterday’s news that Mike Tomlin was stepping away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, there are now nine head coach vacancies. That’s a lot. At least it’s a lot more than a saw coming. We’re one unhappy owner from reaching the recent high mark of 10 head coach vacancies in 2022. 

The Vacancies:

New York Giants

Fired: Brian Dabol

Tennessee Titans

Fired: Brian Callahan

Arizona Cardinals

Fired: Jonathan Gannon

Atlanta Falcons 

Fired: Raheem Morris

Baltimore Ravens

Fired: John Harbaugh

Cleveland Browns

Fired: Kevin Stefanski

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired: Pete Carroll

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Mike McDaniel

Pittsburgh Steelers

Stepped Down: Mike Tomlin

Seeing league staples John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin outside the head coach ranks doesn’t feel right. Harbaugh might not be on the outside for long. Tomlin will probably take a much-deserved break. I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows the Steelers coach he replaced, Bill Cowher, and makes it a permanent break. Tomlin is only 53. That’s five years younger than Mike Zimmer was when he was hired to coach the Minnesota Vikings in 2014. Cowher was only 49 when he stepped away from coaching. Permanently walking away a year removed from a Super Bowl win was probably a much easier thing for Cowher. Tomlin is 18 years removed from his one big win. And he has a big loss in between then and now. 

The Steelers have a fascinating head coach history. From 1933-68, the team had 16 head coaches. Pittsburgh was consistently one of the league’s worst teams. Everything changed in 1969. Since 1969, the Steelers have employed three head coaches. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin. That stability reflects success on the field. Each of the three head coaches won a Super Bowl. Noll won four (four in a six-year period). Cowher and Tomlin won one each. The remarkable success of those three coaches is the reason for the stability. It’s the sort of stability that might make the Steelers head coach job the most desirable of the nine vacancies.

Here’s a ranking of the most attractive head coach vacancies.

9. Miami Dolphins

8. Cleveland Browns

7. Las Vegas Raiders

6. Tennessee Titans

5. Arizona Cardinals

4. Atlanta Falcons

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

2. New York Giants

1. Baltimore Ravens

There are only 32 NFL head coach jobs. It’s a small fraternity and that makes every job attractive. That being said, there’s little else attractive about working for the owners of the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals. Before you even get to important details like roster, draft position, cap situation, etc., the owners of those teams make those jobs a challenge before a coach even gets to football work. The top four are easily the most attractive of the this year’s cycle. The Steelers job has only come open three times since 1969. The Ravens haven’t needed a new head coach in 18 years. With the impatience of today’s NFL owners, that’s incredible. Of the top four, the Ravens and Giants have the best personnel. It’s easy to separate the top four from the rest. 

The race for the nine available head coach jobs is on. 

Minnesota Vikings Coaches

Every NFL offseason brings changes. That’s especially true for teams that didn’t make the playoffs. The first changes often involve the coaches. At least the Minnesota Vikings aren’t one of the eight teams looking for a new head coach. At a minimum, head coach Kevin O’Connell will be/is looking for a new safeties coach. Michael Hutchings was hired in 2023 to assist with the defensive backs. He was promoted to safeties coach in 2024. In three years, he’s impressed and his future is bright. It’s so bright, that Cal hired him to be the defensive coordinator for new head coach Tosh Lupoi. As a Vikings fan, I hate to see him go. As a Cal alumnus, I love the hire. It’s a fine line. If the Vikings lose only Hutchings, it will be a nice offseason. As has been the case since he was hired after the 2022 season, the annual Brian Flores watch is on. He’s been a revelation as the Vikings defensive coordinator. He’s deserving of a head coach opportunity. He’s been kept from that opportunity by a controversial three-year stint as the Miami Dolphins, a lawsuit against the league, and perhaps a splash of racism amongst a collection of rich, white owners. Personally, I want Flores to be handling the Vikings defense for eternity. Honestly, he deserves another shot at running a team. This is the third offseason that the Vikings have waited for Flores to wade through the head coach opportunities available to him. So far this year, the Baltimore Ravens are the only team that has requested an interview. He has that interview this week. If Flores does get that deserved opportunity to run a team, the Vikings top internal candidate to replace him is probably pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. The problem there is that he’s drawn the interest from a teams across the league with defensive coordinator needs. He interviewed with some teams last year and he’s getting interview requests this year. If the Vikings were to lose both, it’d create some huge defensive coaching holes. 

As for the rest of the Vikings coaching staff, it’s wait and see. Some might see needed changes with the offensive line coaches. The offensive line has been an issue for more than a decade. An overhaul of the interior of the line last offseason was a big reason for optimism going into the season. Due to a ridiculous run of injuries, they were a problem rather than a solution. Line coach Chris Kuper and assistant Keith Carter rarely knew what players would be available until a game’s first snap. It’s tough to get a group ready to play when you never know who might make up that group. The Vikings offensive line must play better. That’s obvious. My belief is that the problems this year were simply because of the injuries. While I lean towards giving Kuper and Carter a pass on this past year and an opportunity for another year, I can’t help but think of the coaches that seem to get solid line play no matter the players available. The Vikings special teams got some criticism through the season. There were some glaring mistakes but, overall, each of the groups played well and seemed to grade well. I think Matt Daniels and Dalmin Gibson are safe. 

At the moment, here’s the Vikings coaching staff. 

Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach: Mike Pettine

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Brian Flores

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Josh McCown

Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Quarterbacks: Jordan Traylor

Senior Offensive Assistant: Chris O’Hara

Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Assistant Receivers: Tony Sorrentino

Pass Game Coodinator/Tight Ends: Brian Angelichio

Offensive Line: Chris Kuper

Assistant Offensive Line: Keith Carter

Pass Game Specialist/Game Management Coordinator: Ryan Cordell

Quality Control: Derron Montgomery

Offensive Assistant: Ben Ellefson

Assistant to the Head Coach: Henry Schneider IV

Defense:

Defensive Line: Marcus Dixon

Assistant Defensive Line: Imarjaye Albury Sr.

Inside Linebackers: Mike Siravo

Outside Linebackers: Thad Bogardus

Assistant Outside Linebackers: Patrick Hill

Pass Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs: Daronte Jones

Safeties: ?

Quality Control: Chenzo Funari

Defensive Assistant: Charlie Frye

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Dalmin Gibson

Minnesota Vikings Free Agents

Thirty-plus years of free agency have turned every NFL offseason into a roster churn. The first decisions facing teams are whether to bring back their own free agents. The Minnesota Vikings will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason. The difficulty starts with being nearly $40 million over the estimated 2026 salary cap. The Vikings must get under the cap before they can even make decisions on their own free agents. Here’s a look at the players with expiring contracts. 

Unrestricted Free Agents

C.J. Ham, FB

Eric Wilson, LB

Jeff Okudah, CB

Tavierre Thomas, S

Justin Skule, OT

Rondale Moore, WR

Ryan Wright, P

Carson Wentz, QB

Andrew DePaola, LS

Matt Nelson, OT

Brett Rypien, QB

Ty Chandler, RB

Jalen Nailor, WR

Restricted Free Agents

Ivan Pace, LB

Ben Sims, TE

Exclusive Rights Free Agents

Bo Richter, OLB

Jalen Redmond, DT

Zavier Scott, RB

It’s a good thing that the Vikings don’t have a lot of must-sign free agents. The one player that I consider must-sign is defensive tackle Jalen Redmond and he’s an exclusive rights free agent. 

Among the unrestricted free agents, the following are the players I’d most like to see return.

Eric Wilson

Ryan Wright

It’d be nice to have Jalen Nailor return but I’m guessing he’s going to be offered a deal in free agency the Vikings can’t afford to match. He’s probably also looking for an increased opportunity that he probably won’t get behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. 

The only thing that might give the Vikings pause about bringing back long snapper Andrew DePaola is that he’s going to be 39 during the 2026 season. He’s still one of the best in the league. I don’t see that changing at the grand age of 39. 

Receiver Rondale Moore is a curiosity. I really wanted to see him get an opportunity last season. That was taken away when he tore his ACL in a preseason game. Do the Vikings bring him back? I’d be for it. 

Over the next month, the Vikings will be making decisions on their current players. Then come the decisions on the players with expiring contracts. 

NFL Head Coach and General Manager Churn

There was a moment, not all that long ago, that it looked like a light year in the NFL’s annual head coach churn. Every year, it feels like at least seven or eight teams are looking for a new head coach. This year wasn’t light for long. Two teams fired their head coach during the season. A few more seemed inevitable after the season. Having four to six teams looking for a new coach felt light. “Black Monday” should be “Black Week” as the firings kept dropping as the days passed. By the end of the week, eight teams are now looking for a new head coach.

New York Giants

Fired: Brian Dabol

Tennessee Titans

Fired: Brian Callahan

Arizona Cardinals

Fired: Jonathan Gannon

Atlanta Falcons 

Fired: Raheem Morris

Baltimore Ravens

Fired: John Harbaugh

Cleveland Browns

Fired: Kevin Stefanski

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired: Pete Carroll

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Mike McDaniel

While I thought that this might be a light churn, the John Harbaugh firing is the only that I truly found surprising. 18 consistently successful seasons and a Super Bowl title felt like strong reasons for at least another year. Perhaps swap Todd Monken for an offensive coordinator that was a better fit with Lamar Jackson. I expected tweaks to the Ravens coaches rather than kicking Harbaugh out the door. I don’t expect him to be unemployed long.

The cycle is fairly light when it comes to the annual general manager churn. There are only two teams looking for a new general manager.

Atlanta Falcons

Fired: Terry Fontenot

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Chris Grier

Since both teams are also looking for a new head coach, the general manager search, interviews, and hiring should proceed at a nice pace.

Current Interview Requests:

Head Coach

New York Giants

Mike Kafka - Giants interim head coach

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Mike McCarthy - former Cowboys head coach

Lou Anarumo - Colts DC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Antonio Pierce - former Raiders head coach

Darren Rizzi - Broncos assistant head coach

Tennessee Titans

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Steve Spagnuoulo - Chiefs DC

Lou Anarumo - Colts DC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Jason Garrett - former Cowboys head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Arthur Smith - Steelers OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Kliff Kingsbury - former Commanders OC

Mike McCarthy - former Cowboys head coach

Mike McCoy - Titans interim head coach

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Chris Shula - Rams DC

Arizona Cardinals

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Thomas Brown - Patriots passing game coordinator 

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Thomas Brown - Patriots passing game coordinator

Atlanta Falcons

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Aden Durde - Seahawks DC

Baltimore Ravens

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Davis Webb - Broncos QB coach

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Brian Flores - Vikings DC

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Kliff Kingsbury - former Commanders OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Joe Brady - Bills OC

Kevin Stefanski - former Browns head coach

Cleveland Browns 

Todd Monken - Ravens OC

Aden Durde - Seahawks DC

Dan Pitcher - Bengals OC

Tommy Rees - Browns OC

Jim Schwartz - Browns DC

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Las Vegas Raiders

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Davis Webb - Broncos QB coach

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Miami Dolphins

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Chris Shula - Rams DC

For merely sentimental reasons, it’d be pretty cool to see Don Shula’s grandson coaching the Dolphins. 

General Manager

Atlanta Falcons

Ian Cunningham - Bears assistant GM

Josh Williams - 49ers director of scouting football

Miami Dolphins

Chad Alexander - Chargers assistant GM

Champ Kelly - Dolphins interim GM

Jon-Eric Sullivan - Packers VP of Player Personnel

Josh Williams - 49ers director of scouting football

The Dolphins acted fast as they found their new general manager: Jon-Eric Sullivan.