AFC Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Dolphins’ HC Brian Flores told the media he had a great time coaching at the Senior Bowl, as well as getting to meet many of the players who came from across the country to showcase their skills.

“It was great,” Flores said, via Pro Football Talk. “We had a really nice, good week with these young players. They really worked hard. A lot of them made really good impressions not only on our staff, but there were teams obviously from across the league. But we got to spend the most time with them. We saw them in meetings, saw them take things from the meetings to the walk-through to the practice. I thought they all did well for themselves and then came out and competed today, so it was a good week.”

Flores would not reveal what players made a good impression on him and the Dolphins staff, but did say there were quite a few who they could be taking a look at in the draft.

“There were quite a few guys who we felt like could possibly help our team,” Flores said. “We’re not going to dive into names of who those guys are, but there were a lot of talented players. I thought Jim Nagy and the Senior Bowl staff, they did a great job of getting talented players in here for us to coach, and a lot of them, they did well.”

• Flores revealed that RB coach Eric Studesville and TE coach George Godsey split playcalling duties, but a decision has not yet been made on who will be the offensive coordinator in 2021, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. 
• Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post says that is entirely possible that one of the two coaches is promoted to offensive coordinator and adds that both have already interviewed for the position.
• Schad thinks that the team likely benefitted from being able to meet with Alabama stars, RB Najee Harris and WR DeVonta Smith.
• Another name who may have impressed Flores and his staff, according to Schad, is Ohio State LB Baron Browning.

Jets

• Pete Thamel reports that Western Michigan OC Jake Moreland will join Jets’ HC Robert Saleh‘s staff as an assistant offensive line coach.
• Rich Cimini reports that the Eagles are hiring former Jets’ secondary coach Dennard Wilson to the same position in Philadelphia. Cimini mentions that Wilson was “in demand” around the league for his services. 
• Pat Leonard of The New York Daily News thinks that the possibility that Texans’ QB Deshaun Watson could land with the Dolphins should motivate the Jets to acquire him even more than they already are.
• John McClain of the Houston Chronicle said the Lions-Rams trade will have no bearing on the Texans’ situation and if they decide to trade Watson, they’ll look for two first-round picks, two seconds and two young defensive starters. He mentions the Jets as a potential target. 

Patriots

• Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Patriots S Devin McCourty indicated there would be support in the locker room for New England to bring back QB Cam Newton as the starter in 2021: “I wouldn’t mind a lot of these guys quarterbacking my team and I’ll start off saying I wouldn’t mind seeing my guy Cam Newton back. I thought he had a tough [situation] coming in [with] no offseason, no anything.”
• Jeff Howe of The Athletic lists several players from the Senior Bowl who would benefit from joining the Patriots and their coaching staff.
• The list of players includes Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond, Florida WR Kadarius Toney, Western Michigan WR Dwayne Eskridge, UCLA WR Demetric Felton, Louisville WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Wisc-Whitewater G Quinn Meinerz, Oklahoma OL Creed Humphrey, Notre Dame OL Robert Hainsey, Syracuse CB Ifeatu Melifonwu, Minnesota CB Benjamin St-Juste, UCF S Richie Grant, Northern Illinois EDGE Elerson Smith, LSU LB Jabril Cox, Houston LB Grant Stuard and Michigan FB Ben Mason.
• Howe also mentions he didn’t get the sense the Patriots were that involved in trade talks with the Lions for QB Matthew Stafford. 
• NFL Media’s Michael Giardi confirms the Patriots reached out about Stafford but their level of interest wasn’t clear. Judging by the final trade, Giardi thinks New England was easily outbid. 
• The Patriots are moving on from pro scout Ronnie McGill, who had been with New England since 2010 and was part of a group that won three Super Bowls. (Neil Stratton)