Pat Shurmur delivers commanding presence in Giants press conference

Shortly after Jon Mara and Pat Shurmur shook hands, the lights dimmed in the Giants press room as Shurmur walked to the mike. Once the lights came back on, Shurmur cracked a smile and a couple of jokes, before getting down to business. The lights are staying on with this guy in the  house. 

The Giants got themselves an "adult," a head coach who is going to have full command of the team when the players reconvene in late March. Shurmur came off as organized and strong in his first press conference in front of the New York media, a huge contrast from the guy he succeeded in Ben McAdoo, who was rigid and arrogant. 

Now the challenge will be figuring out the Giants quarterback situation, handling its plethora of stars and fixing a team that was in disarray this past season. 

Pat Shurmur Officially named Giants Head Coach

The worst kept secret is now official. Pat Shurmur is now the Giants head coach after the Vikings were eliminated from the postseason last night.

Shurmur was the offensive coordinator of a Vikings team that was 11th in the league in total offense, 7th in the NFL in rushing yards per game, and 10th in the NFL in points per game. While Vikings season ended ingloriously in Philadelphia, Shurmur got a lot of credit for turning around the career of quarterback Case Keenum.

Keenum was a career back-up, before he took over for an injured Sam Bradford and threw for 3500 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. A quarterback whisper, Shurmur will be expected to get the most out of Eli Manning in the final years of his career in New York and work toward finding Manning's successor.

The Giants could draft a quarterback with the Number 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft, which could be either Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen. While neither Rosen or Darnold were impressive in college this fall, neither would be expected to start next season IF Manning is still around.

Shurmur has the head coaching experience that the Giants were looking for, albeit it wasn't great experience, considering he went 9-23 with the Cleveland Browns. His old boss, Mike Holmgren, recently told the Daily News that Shurmur was rigid and needed to lighten up during his Cleveland days.

Shurmur will get a five-year deal from the Giants. His press conference will be Friday.

Already Shurmur has been busy. There is a belief now that Shurmur will tab former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator, relieving Steve Spagnuolo of his duties.

As it stands now, ALL seven NFL head coach vacancies have been filled. The Raiders brought back Jon Gruden; the Titans named ex-Patriot linebacker Mike Vrabel as their head coach; the Cardinals hired former Panthers Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilkes as its head coach; the Bears hired former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Naggy; the Colts will hire Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and the Lions will hire Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Eagles vs. Patriots: The Super Bowl That Nobody Wanted

Super Bowl LII is now set and it will have a very familiar feel. The New England Patriots will play the Philadelphia Eagles. Stop me if you heard this before. Not only will this be the eighth time the Patriots have been to the "Big Game" in the Brady-Belichick era, it will be the second time in 13 years that the Patriots get the Eagles as an opponent.

In 2005 (the 2004 season), the Patriots defeated the Eagles 24-21 in Jacksonville at Super Bowl XXXIX to capture the franchises third Super Bowl title in four years. The game was best remembered for the Donavan McNabb's nearly eight minute fourth quarter touchdown drive when he team was down 10, effectively killing the Eagles chances of coming back and winning.

Oh what have we done to deserve this?

The Eagles pounded the Vikings 38-7 in an uncompetitive NFC Championship game that saw Nick Foles have the game of his life. Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in 13 seasons. It was a performance we haven't seen from Foles since taking over for injured Carson Wentz. It certainly was Foles' best outing since his breakout campaign in 2013 when he threw for 27 touchdowns and two picks that year.

Meanwhile, the Patriots stamped their ticket to another Super Bowl by squeaking past the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20. What has to be painful for the Jaguars is the fact they had the Patriots and left them off the hook. Jacksonville had a 14-3 lead with under seven minutes to play before halftime. Then the officials started bailing out the Patriots on two questionable penalties. One penalty was on Barry Church for an unnecessary roughness penalty when he slammed into the head of Rob Gronkowski. The other was a ridiculous 32-yard penalty for pass interference by A.J. Bouye, when it was clear that Brandin Cooks was pushing off.

The penalty gave the Patriots the football at the Jaguars 13-yard line. New England would score quickly to make it 14-10.

While the Patriots got breaks, the Jaguars couldn't. Twice Mercedes Lewis and Marcus Lee were mugged by Patriots defenders, but no flags were thrown for interference or holding.

Still, the Patriots deserve credit. They came back and the Jaguars folded like a cheap camera. Jacksonville managed only 62 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone, while the Patriots scored two touchdowns, including an acrobatic catch by Danny Amendola in the back of the end zone to give New England the lead.  Bottom line, the Patriots and Tom Brady executed, the Jaguars didn't.

Now we get to sit through another Super Bowl between two of the most vilified franchises in the NFL. In one corner, the Patriots, a team that everyone loves to hate because of their unbridled and unchallenged success as the unstoppable NFL dynasty. In the other corner, the Eagles, whose fans are enough to turn any metropolis into a Third World Country.

The digust was apparent last night as hundreds, if not thousands, tweeted out that they would not watch the Super Bowl. Some even said they rather see an astroid hit the earth. Don't believe it? Read it here. 

There is no question that there is Patriots-fatigue among NFL fans. After a while, seeing the same movie over and over again with the same conclusion is enough to drive people away.

The NFL rating continue to take a hit. While Sunday's AFC and NFC Championships were the highest rated shows since last year's Super Bowl (mainly because the NFL still competes against itself), the overall ratings were down from a year ago. The Patirots-Jaguars game drew a 27.3 rating on CBS, which is "essentially flat" from last year's NFC title game between the Packers and Falcons in the same 3 p.m. time slot according to Awful Announcing. 

The game was down 14-percent in viewership from the 2016 AFC title game between the Patriots and Broncos, and was the lowest early window-conference title game since 2013.

The NFC title game between the Eagles and Viking was no better. It drew a 24.7 rating, which was down 11 percent from last season's primetime conference title game between the Patriots and Steelers.

But don't tell that to CBS Boston who only highlighted that the Pat-Jags game was the highest rated game since last year's Super Bowl, failing to mention the other facts. Fake News CBS Boston, Fake News.

The decline in ratings is nothing new. The playoffs overall have been a failure for the NFL with ratings declining anywhere between 9 to 20 percent in some instances. A lot of factors are attributed. Lack of quality games, star power, horrible officiating, the NFL anthem protest, and the unstoppable Patriots are all factors.

How many people will watch? If the trend continues, Super Bowl 52 will see a drop in ratings too.

As a point for reference, Super Bowl XXXIX which featured the Eagles and Patriots drew an average of 86 million viewers, which, at the time, was down from the 90 million viewers that watched Super Bowl XXXVIII the year before. Last season's Super Bowl drew on average 111.3 million people, which was down from the 111.8 million for Super Bowl 50, and 114.4 million for Super Bowl XLIX.

Speaking of the Patriots, they have made football uncompetitive. Nobody can stand up to them. Even when Brady had to deal with Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger in their prime, the Patriots always dominated those teams. Now with Peyton Manning retired, Roethlisberger and the Steelers a great underachiever, there is nobody that can stop the Patriot machine.

The Eagles? Forget it. Sure the Eagles will give their best effort. They won 13 games this year -- they are no joke. They can be a handle, but there is no chance that the Patriots are going to lose to the Eagles. Maybe it will be close? Maybe the Patriots will pull another rabbit out of their hat? Maybe New England will romp to a Super Bowl title?

It doesn't matter.

Because the Patriots won Super Bowl 52. It just isn't official, yet.

Jets should cut Robby Anderson in light of Police Arrest

As was reported on Friday Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson was arrested on nine counts, including two felonies, after allegedly fleeing police at 105 mph in a 45 mph zone.

 On top of that police say that Anderson threatened to sexually assault an officer's wife, by telling the arresting officer that he would "F --- her, and nut her in the eye."

This is not the first time Anderson has had trouble with the law. Eight months ago he was arrested at a concert in Miami with resisting arrest with violence. He is still awaiting trail for that incident, which is scheduled for March.

There is a disturbing trend of violence and trouble that Anderson has been around in his short NFL career. Remember this is a young man who went underrated because a lot of teams were concerned about his background. The Jets took the risk, and inspite of a breakout season in 2017, the Jets have little choice but to release Robby Anderson.

Aside from the fact that he is only making about $633,000 in 2018, so cutting him won't hurt financially, the Jets are trying to create a culture of good guys in the clubhouse.

Case in point, the Jets were clearly turned off by Sheldon Richardson's legal trouble, which was the beginning of the end for him in New York. Meanwhile, Muhammod Wilkerson earned his pink slip out of town by disobeying Todd Bowles clubhouse rules and missed several team meetings. If the Jets are going to hold players like Richardson and Wilkerson accountable, they need to hold Anderson accountable for this.

While Anderson didn't hurt anyone physically in this incident, his track record indicates that something bad could really happen one day, and that is a gamble the Jets should not risk.

On the field, cutting Anderson is not a great loss. They have Quincy Enunwa coming back next season after missing the entire 2017 season with a neck injury, and they have veteran Jermaine Kearse as well. That is two dependable veteran receivers for the next Jets quarterback to throw to. Mike Maccagnan and company should start there, and find Anderson's replacement either via free agency or the middle rounds of the daft.

It is time for the Jets to move on before Anderson's troubles really hurt this franchise.

Giants have their head coach in Pat Shurmur

While Pat Shurmur is getting ready to coach the Vikings offense in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, it became clear this week that the Giants and Shurmur are on the precipice of working out a deal that will make him the 18th head coach in Giants history.

After Sunday's game, win or lose for the Vikings, Shurmur can interview for a second time with the Giants, which -- if all the reports are accurate -- will be more of a formality to iron out details before anything is official. If the Vikings lose Sunday, the Giants can announce Shurmur as the head coach as soon as Monday if they should choose. If the Vikings advance to Super Bowl 52, an official announcement will wait until Feb. 5.

According to the New York Post, Shurmur is infatuated with the Giants job, because of the cache that comes with the position. He is also said to be excited about the prospect of working with Eli Manning at the end of his career, and potentially drafting his successor in this April's Draft. Shurmur certainly knows quarterbacks, he has been credited with developing QBs from Donovan McNabb to Case Keenum.

Working with a veteran like Manning would be a boon to Shurmur, especially in his first year back as a head coach.

As far as a coaching staff is concerned, we have a couple of answers. It appears that Steve Spagnuolo will return as Defensive Coordinator. This is not surprising, because Shurmur was Spagnuolo's offensive coordinator at the Rams. This would be like returning the favor in a way. Not to mention keeping Spags gives the Giants some stability on the defensive side of the ball, and gives Shurmur someone he can lean on.

Still the biggest concern with the hiring of Shurmur is his personality. Former Browns executive Mike Holmgren tore apart Shurmur in an interview with Gary Myers of the Daily News, painting the Giants head coach as someone who is rigid and too serious.

"It’s hard for him to shoot the breeze. He’s really bright and works really hard. He has a good way about him with his staff. I’m disappointed he didn’t come in and talk to me enough. I was down the hall. I wish Pat had done that with me more." Daily News.

Holmgren even said that Shurmur needed to lighten up, which might partly explain a 9-23 record in Cleveland; then again it is the Cleveland Browns, and it is not like Holmgren did a great job as a general manager.

Shurmur doesn't need to be gregarious like Rex Ryan for the Giants to be successful. And he doesn't need to go full Bill Belichick either. But if he is comfortable being on the quiet side, at least publicly, the Giants won't care, especially if he wins. In fact a lot of players have come to Shurmur's defense, calling him a great coach with a fire in his belly.

Plenty of challenges await Shurmur. Not only will he need to distinguish who the quarterback will be for 2018, but he will need to hit a home run on the first round pick. Will it be Sam Darnold? Josh Rosen? Or do the Giants go the safe route and select an offensive lineman? Or surprise people and take a very talented Saquan Barkley out of Penn State?

He will have to deal with a locker room fractured by bad tempers and arrogant personalities. Odell Beckham Jr., Landon Collins and Dominque Rodgers Cromartie are three names that come to mind of guys who have caused disruptions for the team in the past year.

Then of course there are the expectations. The Giants are expected to turn their misfortune around in 2018. Nobody thinks that last season's 3-13 disaster was a sign of things to come. Shurmur and General Manager Dave Gettleman have to assure there is no repeat of 2017.

AFC & NFC Championship Game Preview

The wait is now over! The AFC and NFC Championship games are about to kick off this Sunday and we can't wait.

The Vikings enter the NFC title game as the favorite to top the number 1 seeded Eagles in Philadelphia. However the big question for the Vikings will be their ability to re-focus after last week's emotional win against New Orleans. The Eagles have played the "disrespect card" to their advantage so far this postseason, and will take aim at the high flying Vikings.

Meanwhile the rugged Jacksonville Jaguars are truly Tom Coughlin's team. Miss him yet Giants fans? While Coughlin isn't coaching anymore, and Doug Marrone has done an outstanding job on the sideline this year, Coughlin's influence can be felt up and down this team. Can another Coughlin creation top Tom Brady and the Patriots? It will be tough, but we'll find out Sunday.

In the meantime, check out this week's Open Mike Podcast.

Giants in Big Trouble After Patricia Rejects Them

Matt Patricia is likely going to become the next head coach of the Detroit Lions. Furthermore, if reports are true, it looks like Josh McDaniels is heading to Indianapolis to be their head coach. While those headlines certainly are painful for New England Patriots fans, they are also painful for the New York Giants.

The Giants were in the sweepstakes for one of the New England coordinators, and last week the rumor mill was hot that Patricia was coming to New York to coach Big Blue. Instead, Patricia is taking his shaggy beard and Number Two pencil to the Motor City. It's a move that makes a lot of sense for Patricia. He is familiar with Lions GM Bob Quinn, who had worked in the Patriots front office. He will also inherit a team that won nine games last season, and has a franchise quarterback in Matt Stafford.

The Lions aren't bad, they just need a little more direction, and with the way a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars got to the AFC Title game this season, who is to say the Lions can't be that kind of team next year. That is what Patricia and the Lions are betting on.

The Giants meanwhile are left at the alter to ponder what happened. How did they lose out on a defensive coordinator, whose Patriot defense's allowed 14 points per game in the second half of the season, and shut down the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night?

Perhaps the Giants job just isn't that attractive. The questions about Eli Manning's future, coupled with a clubhouse full of bad personalities, and the pressure that comes with the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft is not attractive, certainly not for a young coach who doesn't want to be fired after two years.

Now the Giants have to regroup and find a guy who wants to take on this challenge. Some rumors have Minnesota Vikings Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur as the favorite for the job. Others are saying that Shurmur and McDaniels are still candidates, but if McDaniels is truly leaning Colts, then it's Shurmur or bust for the Giants.

The question is will Shurmur take it? He's expected to be a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals job as well. Arizona doesn't have the pressures that New York demands, and Shurmur comes across as low key. That may not rub off well in New York City where fans and sometimes media value personality. (Just look at the Jets). Not to mention his tenure in Cleveland as a head coach wasn't good, but then again who's tenure in Cleveland is?

Still Shurmur is considered an offensive wiz. He turned around a staggering Vikings offense last year and got some good performances out of Sam Bradford. This year he turned Case Keenum into a Pro Bowl quarterback. That is a heck of a job for a guy considered low key. As long as Shurmur lights up a locker room and gets the most out of his players, nobody will care that he acts like Todd Bowles or Bill Belichick during press conferences.

This is a really dilemma for the Giants, because they aren't used to being told 'no.' If Shurmur is not the guy, look for the Giants to double-back and try to get an interview with Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, or settle on a previous candidate like Steve Wilks. Then again, maybe the Bill Belichick-New England Divorce will come true --- ok maybe not.

Making Sense of the Mets Signing of Adrian Gonzalez

A puzzling off-season for the Mets got a little stranger Saturday when the club agreed to a deal with free agent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. 

At 36-years old Gonzalez was a shell of his former MVP-calliber self last season with the Dodgers. In 71 games he hit only .242 with a .287 on base percentage, and was not even a member of the Dodgers postseason roster. It was the least amount of games he's played in since 2012 when he was injured. 

Why would the Mets sign Gonzalez? 

A few reasons. 1) He comes cheap and its really a no risk for the Mets. New York is expected to pay only the league minimum, or roughly $550,000, while the Atlanta Braves will have to pay $21.5 million of Gonzalez's salary. The Braves put themselves in that financial hole when they acquired Gonzalez in a swap with the Dodgers a few weeks ago. Since Gonzalez was released, the Mets are basically getting him for nothing. 

2) If Gonzalez contributes, then great! The Mets are expecting Dominic Smith to be their everyday first baseman, however that does not mean that Gonzalez won't have some impact on the Mets offense. He could serve as the Mets first baseman if Smith is struggling. However, his place on this team, if he makes it, will almost definitely be as a left-handed power off the bench late in games. Consider that it was just two years ago, that Gonzalez played in 156 games, hit 18 home runs and drove in 90. The Mets are betting that there is something left in that bat of his. 

3) Leadership! The Mets need some veteran leadership on this team. While they get some of that from having Jay Bruce back, they Mets needed that veteran player who can keep the players together. If Gonzalez makes the team out of Spring Training that will be one of his primary roles. 

While Mets fans shouldn't expect a whole lot of Gonzalez, and yes, fans would rather see New York dip their feet deeper into the free agent pool, getting a guy like Gonzalez could be a steal if all pans out. 

Mets Bring Back Jay Bruce on 3-year Deal

As seen on Mets Amazing Clubhouse ...

Two stunning developments happened late Tuesday night. 1) The Mets signed someone to contract. 2) Jay Bruce is actually returning to the Mets. Talk about surprises.

The Mets ended their long hibernation this off-season by coming to terms on a three-year $39 million deal with Bruce, who returns to the Mets after finishing off the 2017 season with the Cleveland Indians.

According to various reports, Bruce will receive $10 million this season and $14.5 million in each of the final two years of the deal. He will also have a no-trade clause to five unspecified teams.

The reunion between Bruce and the Mets is surprising.  Considering he gave the Indians plenty of pop in the middle of their lineup during the final part of the season and in the playoffs, the guess would have been that Bruce would either return to Cleveland, or find a home elsewhere like San Francisco, where they recently acquired Evan Longoria to boost their lineup. 

The Mets are not viewed as a contender, and by cutting costs this off-season they have given off the impression they are going through another rebuilding process. Why would a 30-year old outfielder want to go back there?

The answer lies in the free agent market right now in Major League Baseball.  Nobody is biting on free agents right now. Players like Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish are still on the market.

Perhaps Bruce and his agent felt the market for his services was not that great? Maybe the Giants were not offering him the kind of deal he was looking for? Clearly his familiarity with New York, the Mets clubhouse and Mickey Calloway played a role in this.

Adding Bruce is certainly a plus from the production standpoint. Before the trade to Cleveland, Bruce led the Mets with 29 home runs and 75 RBI in 103 games.

The .254 batting average Bruce had in 2017 was his best output since the 2013 season when he batted .262 for the Reds.

The Mets Win Above Replacement was 2.9 with Bruce in the lineup; only Michael Conforto had a higher WAR of 3.6.

With so much uncertainty in the Mets lineup regarding the health of Conforto and Yeonis Cespedes, the Mets needed a power bat and they got it.

The concerns are where does Bruce play? The Mets could play him at first base, but that would mean Dominic Smith is either a bust, or is getting platooned, which is never a good sign for a young player.

In the outfield, the Mets don’t have a true center fielder. Juan Lageras has been either injured or below average. Brandon Nimmo? Let’s not go there. Center field is an abyss in Metsland.

If everyone is healthy, Bruce will play right field; Cespedes will man left field and Conforto will play center field.

Conforto played 43 games in center field last season, but there has always been a desire to see him play a corner outfield position.  That is now complicated by the fact that Bruce is strictly a right fielder, and Cespedes prefers to play left. When Conforto returns from the disabled list later this year the assumption is Mets fans will see a lot of platooning in the outfield the way they did last season under Terry Collins.

Are the Mets better today? Yes. However, Mets fans shouldn’t be diluted into believing that the Wilpon’s are now willing to be more aggressive on the open market.

Wild Card Weekend Kicks Off Saturday

The NFL playoffs have arrived and it is time to make our picks for the first round of playoffs. The Bills and Titans surprised everyone with their entries into the tournament, but as the old saying goes, once ya get in, anything is possible.

Titans (9-7) @ Chiefs (10-6): The Titans rode into the playoffs on a stingy defense even though Marcus Mariota and the Titans offense left a lot to be desired in the regular season. Too many times this year the Titans would settle for field goals, when they needed touchdowns. They will need to score on Saturday to have a chance against the Chiefs. Kansas City comes in well rested with Alex Smith coming off one of his best regular season's of his career. Expect a big day out of Travis Kelcee in the passing attack, and a solid day from running back Kareem Hunt.
This might be Titans head coach Mike Muarkey's last shot to prove he should still be the coach of this team. If the Titans offense again is lifeless look for Tennessee to go shopping for a new head coach. Josh McDaniels, the Adams family is on line one.
 PICK: CHIEFS 27, TITANS 10. 

Falcons (10-6) @ Rams (11-5): This is Atlanta's shot for redemption. They struggled all season to get their footing and thanks to a complete team effort last week against Carolina, the Dirty Birds are back in the tournament. It won't be easy have to win three road games in the playoffs in order to get back to the Super Bowl this year, but they may have enough in the tank to make things interesting. The Rams have not been to the playoffs since 2004 when they were still the St. Louis Rams. While Jared Goff had a great year, and coach Sean McVay has turned the team completely around, the key for the Rams Saturday night will be composure. They have to stay focused for 60 minutes against an angry Falcons team at home in front of the glitz and glamor of L.A. UPSET SPECIAL: FALCONS 28, RAMS 24. 

Bills (9-7) @ Jaguars (10-6): Gotta admit, I don't like the way the Jaguars are coming into the playoffs. They have dropped their last two games and Blake Bortles has been an interception machine with five picks in the last two weeks. The Jaguars have to get back to who they are and that is running the football with Leonard Fournette, and attacking the Bills with their ferocious defense. In case you are wondering, Jacksonville was second only to Pittsburgh in sacks this year with 55.

As for the Bills, they come with a head of steam. Winners of three of their last four, they feel like a team of destiny right now with the way they got into the playoffs. While the Bills are not as good as the Jaguars, they are a live dog on the road. The Bills must get great play out of running back LeSean McCoy on Sunday and Tyrod Taylor has to avoid the big mistake in this one. Something about this Bills team. PICK: BILLS 20, JAGUARS 16. 

Panthers (11-5) @ Saints (11-5): The only divisional match-up this weekend features an NFC South battle between Carolina and New Orleans. This is the third straight game in division for both of these two teams, who last met on December 3. In fact, the Saints have now played five of their last six games inside the division, including this week's playoff game.

The Saints have done very well against Carolina this year, sweeping them in the regular season, including holding Cam Newton to 350 yards passing and three interceptions in two games this season. In both games the Saints shut down the Panthers ground game, forcing Newton to make plays with both his legs and arm -- a formula of failure for the Panthers this year. Look for the Saints to continue to target Newton all day. Meanwhile, the Panthers defense did a nice job holding down Rookie of the Year candidate Alvin Kamara, but look for him to have an impact on this game for Drew Brees and company. I like the Saints at home. PICKS: SAINTS 34, PANTHERS 20. 

Chucky Returns, Signs 10-year deal with Oakland

Now it's official. Jon Gruden will return to the sidelines in 2018 after agreeing in principal on a 10-year $100 million contract to return to Oakland to coach the Raiders. If all goes according to plan, Gruden will be the Raiders head coach when they officially become the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.

Gruden will call his final game for ESPN on Saturday afternoon when the Chiefs take on the Titans. An image came out on Twitter with Chiefs coach Andy Reid speaking with Gruden during a media session in preparation for the game, even though many predicted that Kansas City wouldn't want the coach of a division rival in the building.

Gruden has been out of coaching for 10 years, turning his persona from the short-tempered coach of the Raiders and Buccaneers into this generations John Madden in the booth. Unlike Madden however, Gruden couldn't resist the urge to coach again.

Rumors of a Gruden return to coaching was an annual right of passage around this time of the year. The Colts, Eagles, Cowboys, Raiders and Buccaneers were always teams linked to Gruden in some fashion when those jobs opened over the past decade. However, this year it was serious. The Buccaneers were prepared to bring Gruden back, but balked at his demands and decided to stick with Dirk Kottier for a third year instead.

The Raiders? Well, these are the Raiders after all. They were more than happy to fire Jack del Rio after three seasons on the sideline following a 6-10 record in 2017. The Raiders were expected to be Super Bowl contenders this year under del Rio and it never came to fruition. The Raiders believe that Gruden can fix quarterback Derek Carr and get the team over the hump.

The expectations and pressure will be huge on Gruden to be Chucky once again.

Latest Patriots Scandal Won't Bring Belichick to Giants

A bombshell report by ESPN writer Seth Wickerson that a rift exist between Patriots owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady has many wondering if the end is near for football's longest dynasty.

The report cites unnamed sources that Belichick wanted to bench Brady in favor of Jimmy Garrapolo this season, because he sensed the 41-year old quarterback is getting too old. Brady feeling jilted by his boss of 17-years went crying to Kraft to stop Belichick from starting Jimmy G. over him. The report claims that Belichick and Kraft had a lengthy meeting in October and Kraft talked Belichick into trading Garrapolo. Of course, Garrapolo went on to go 5-0 for the 49ers in the final month of the season, making him one of the prized free agents on the market later this spring.

Many are thinking that Garrapolo could be the one that got away, especially if Brady is indeed nearing the end. Others are thinking Belichick is planning his own exit by allowing assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels to interview for head coaching vacancies elsewhere. Some fans in New York think that the Giants should go all out to get Belichick if he leaves New England.

First of all, let's remember that these are the Patriots. Already they have dismissed the story as fake that the working relationship between the three are just fine. Also, remember this is a team that is no stranger to controversy. From Spygate to Deflategate the Patriots under Belichick, Brady and Kraft have been masters at using bad news to their advantage. They love playing the hate card, and will almost certainly use this to their advantage for the postseason to prove a point.

Secondly, while Belichick has strong admiration for the Giants and the Mara family, the idea that he will leave a Super Bowl contending team for a team that is trying to figure out its place in the NFC is highly unlikely, especially at age 66.

 1) Belichick enjoyed plenty of perks in New England the past 17 years. He is the head coach, general manager and president of football operations. He shops for the groceries in New England, nobody else. If he came to New York to coach the Giants, Dave Gettleman would have say in personnel. The idea Belichick would be willing to work under someone at this point sounds ridiculous.


2) Why would Belichick want to come to New York, when he will have to deal with a media that will be ready to grill him? Skeletons will brought out of the closet by the New York media and Belichick will have to fend it off. For a guy who hates dealing with the media, and has been given a pass in Boston, he would not get a pass in New York with a team that is rebuilding.

3) Speaking of rebuilding, the Giants are considering plans to move on from Eli Manning and start over with a young quarterback. Does Belichick want to deal with that at this point? The only way Belichick takes the Giants job is if he knows Eli Manning is going nowhere, and IF he can convince Gettleman to sign Garrapolo who is a free agent. Not to mention, Belichick knows that his success is tied to Brady, and he won't enjoy similar success with anyone else.

4) The NFC East is no bargain. For years Belichick has enjoyed winning division titles in August because the Patriots play in the worst division in football, the AFC East with the lousy Jets, Dolphins and Bills. The NFC East is much different. Belichick would have to compete with the Cowboys and Eagles for the division title, and would not be guaranteed a playoff spot out of that division.

If Belichick leaves the Patriots, heading to the Giants just doesn't make sense for a guy who has won so much in Foxboro, Massachusetts. What is most likely is that Belichick retires, takes a year off coaching, and comes back as a President of Football Operations for some franchise where he has full say over everything.