play2:24What does expected hiring of Klint Kubiak mean for Raiders?The “NFL Live” crew reacts to the Raiders being expected to hire Klint Kubiak as their next coach.
play1:06McCarthy on Rodgers: ‘It’s important for him to decompress’Mike McCarthy says he has spoken with Aaron Rodgers and supports him taking time to decompress after the season.
Jeremy FowlerCloseJeremy Fowlersenior NFL national reporterJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on X and Dan GrazianoCloseDan Grazianosenior NFL national reporterDan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsFeb 7, 2026, 06:40 AM ET
Stephen A.: Vikings not re-signing Sam Darnold is ‘unforgivable’ (0:51)Stephen A. Smith looks back at Minnesota’s decision to not re-sign Sam Darnold, who joined Seattle and led it to Super Bowl LX. (0:51)
What does expected hiring of Klint Kubiak mean for Raiders?The “NFL Live” crew reacts to the Raiders being expected to hire Klint Kubiak as their next coach.
McCarthy on Rodgers: ‘It’s important for him to decompress’Mike McCarthy says he has spoken with Aaron Rodgers and supports him taking time to decompress after the season.
Mike McCarthy says he has spoken with Aaron Rodgers and supports him taking time to decompress after the season.
The Seahawks-Patriots matchup in Super Bowl LX is front and center in the NFL, but let’s not forget the offseason begins as soon as the confetti starts to rain down Sunday night. And Super Bowl week is a good place to gather intel on what could happen over the next few months for all 32 teams.
National reporters Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been in San Francisco all week, talking to execs, coaches, agents, scouts, players and other team sources. Which free agents could get a lot of interest in March? How might the QBs pan out in free agency? And what coaching moves are still coming as coordinator positions are filled? We touch on all of that, as well as the latest on Maxx Crosby’s trade candidacy, the open NFLPA director position and, yes, even the Super Bowl matchup.
Some people I’ve talked to here in San Francisco think Seattle coach Mike Macdonald will want to keep a similar, Kubiak-style system in place. One back-pocket item to store away: Seattle was very impressed with Mike Kafka during head coach interviews two years ago. He’s now a senior assistant in Detroit and could be a name to watch.
What does expected hiring of Klint Kubiak mean for Raiders?
The “NFL Live” crew reacts to the Raiders being expected to hire Klint Kubiak as their next coach.
Fowler: Davis Webb taking over as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator is significant beyond the title. I’ve talked to several people in the league who believe that coach Sean Payton will eventually relinquish playcalling to Webb, a fast riser who had multiple head coaching interviews this cycle. Nothing has been decided as far as I understand. And the decision will be up to Payton, who has called plays at a high level for decades. But it wouldn’t be shocking if this happened gradually.
Fowler: The Bengals have expressed interest in re-signing quarterback Joe Flacco. They believe he’s a valuable backup who can be a viable starting option if Joe Burrow gets injured again. But Flacco will have options, possibly as a bridge quarterback elsewhere. The Vikings considered signing Flacco last offseason. And the Steelers will have an opening if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t re-sign there. Pittsburgh liked his free agency profile last offseason, too.
On the flip side, the Steelers really like how Will Howard has developed. A preseason hand injury stunted his progress, but Pittsburgh believes it might have something; his command of the huddle, sharpness at the line of scrimmage and ability to ingratiate with teammates have stood out. Rodgers took pride in mentoring Howard, so another year of that pairing could be effective.
McCarthy on Rodgers: ‘It’s important for him to decompress’
Speaking of the Colts, my sense is their priority will be Daniel Jones, followed by receiver Alec Pierce as a 1B option. The Colts should turn up the heat on Jones closer to the combine. Though the franchise and transition tags for wide receivers are steep — $25 million to $28 million based on projections — the Colts tagged Michael Pittman Jr. two years ago as a way to facilitate a long-term deal. I’m not taking it totally off the table for Pierce for that reason.
The Packers can try to re-sign free agent receiver Romeo Doubs and/or extend tight end Tucker Kraft, a 2027 free agent. The door isn’t closed on Doubs in Green Bay. I’m expecting both sides to at least have some dialogue and see if a return makes sense. The Raiders and Titans will have my attention for free agent receivers. Both desperately need a difference-maker on the outside.
Many eyes around the league are on who will end up leading the NFLPA, with five years left on the collective bargaining agreement that was signed in 2020 and the NFL pushing to expand the regular season from 17 games to 18.
Graziano: As he gears up for the Super Bowl, remember that Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has a $15 million 2026 roster bonus that becomes fully guaranteed Feb. 13, along with $2.5 million of his 2026 salary. The Seahawks are rigid with their veteran contract structures and will not guarantee money outside of the first year, so when he signed with Seattle last offseason, Darnold’s only guaranteed money was his $32 million signing bonus and $5.5 million in 2025 salary and bonuses. (He has also earned $3 million in incentives and can add $1 million to that if the Seahawks win Sunday.) But the early trigger date on the 2026 guarantees functions as a mechanism to force Seattle to decide on Darnold (and other players with similar structures) well ahead of the start of free agency.
If dissatisfied, the Seahawks could cut him before Feb. 13 and owe him no more money. Of course, with Seattle playing in the Super Bowl in his first season as its QB, all of this has turned out to be a no-brainer. The Seahawks will happily pay him that roster bonus and the rest of his non-guaranteed salary for a total of $27.5 million in 2026. The question will be whether they’ll extend his contract with two years left on it, something they’ve been reluctant to do with other players in past years.
Fowler: Coaching dominoes will fall in Seattle after the Super Bowl. Klint Kubiak is headed to Las Vegas, and he will need an offensive coordinator. Seattle quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko is a natural candidate. He has been with Kubiak in Minnesota, New Orleans and Seattle. I expect him to have some traction there, or possibly in-house with Seattle. Offensive passing game coordinator Jake Peetz has been on the offensive coordinator cycle in recent years and could get an in-house look, too. And running backs coach Justin Outten has also come up in league circles as a potential candidate.
Graziano: One of the coaching moves that raised a lot of eyebrows this week was the resignation of longtime Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland after 13 years with the organization. Stoutland wasn’t fired, but the Eagles indicated to him that they were considering changing his role and giving the title of run game coordinator to someone else. Stoutland is at the point in his career where he didn’t feel he should have to accept a reduction in responsibilities, and so he left. Most people seem to think this is a massive loss for the Eagles, as Stoutland has been a constant amid coaching changes over the years and is credited with a lot of the Eagles’ offensive successes during that time.
In the meantime, one of the names to watch for defensive coordinator in Cleveland is Texans defensive passing game coordinator Cory Undlin, who worked with Monken as part of Jack Del Rio’s staff in Jacksonville a decade and a half ago. Houston’s defensive staff could lose a couple of guys to coordinator jobs. Cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso is a candidate for the defensive coordinator job on Mike LaFleur’s staff in Arizona but could also emerge as a candidate for that same job under Kubiak in Las Vegas. (Giants outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen is another candidate to watch for defensive coordinator in Arizona.)
Fowler: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s firing in Minnesota leaves a heavy fallout for the Vikings to sort through. He was mildly surprised but not shocked by the firing, knowing his position demanded results. He knew the public pressure was on after the QB dominoes were not friendly to Minnesota, with former Viking Sam Darnold headed to the Super Bowl. This process began with the decision to passively pursue Darnold. A source described the Vikings’ efforts to re-sign Darnold as “basically a one-year commitment,” whereas Seattle offered more Year 2 money. The Vikings tried harder to sign Daniel Jones, but Jones had $14 million from Indianapolis and a clearer path to a starting job waiting for him.
Adofo-Mensah deserves some credit for the original signing of Darnold to a one-year deal. He had been tracking Darnold for years, part of a Christmas Eve brainstorming session early in his tenure where he broke down potentially available quarterbacks by categories, such as veterans with upside. For Adofo-Mensah, keeping Darnold beyond one year would’ve been a double-down on a quarterback he really liked. But in the end, the quarterback situation and the lack of production from draft picks were hard-to-ignore issues.
In Arizona, my sense is that Kyler Murray staying with the Cardinals is still possible. New coach Mike LaFleur is familiar with Murray’s game. Nothing is decided as LaFleur sorts through staffing issues. Keeping Murray could prove the path of least resistance. If he stays, Jacoby Brissett would become a workable trade candidate. He’s due a reasonable $4.88 million in base salary. He has friends in the league — such as Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski and Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich — who could have interest in getting him.