NFC Notes: 49ers, Cowboys, Giants

49ers

• Per Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee, 49ers GM John Lynch says they don’t anticipate DE Dee Ford needing offseason knee surgery: “Not as we know right now. We’ll have those conversations. But, I think Dee is in good health right now.”

Cowboys

• Per SB Nation’s R.J. Ochoa, former Cowboys WR Michael Irvin said he had a conversation with some “significant people” about the possibility of Dallas trading QB Dak Prescott and signing Patriots QB Tom Brady.
• NFL Media’s Jane Slater says she asked the team about the possibility and was told Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy is more inclined to work with and develop a young QB like Prescott than sign Brady. 
• Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones previously dismissed the idea of pursuing Brady: “Not even a thought. We’re so, so all in on Dak. [McCarthy] is so all-in on Dak. He’s so convicted that [Dak’s] the guy that can help us win championships.” (Jon Machota)
• Irvin clarified that the people he spoke to weren’t with the Dallas organization. (Twitter)

Giants

New Giants HC Joe Judge cast a wide net with his first staff. In addition to hiring the usual cadre of former colleagues he was familiar with, Judge hired a few he’d never worked with, including OC Jason Garrett and a few of Garrett’s former assistants like OL coach Marc Colombo, senior offensive assistant Derek Dooley and offensive assistant Stephen Brown. Despite not being intimately familiar with everyone he hired, Judge says he has complete trust in his staff. 

“To me, it’s a big trust factor with the guys I have on the staff,” Judge said via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz. “I have a personal relationship with a lot of these guys, professional relationships with nearly all of them. Guys who I have not worked with directly, I’ve competed against, I’ve known for some time. I’ve more than done my research on everybody on this staff, including the guys I’ve worked with. No stone has been unturned.”

New York is also where former Browns HC Freddie Kitchens will have his first chance to rehabilitate his image following a disastrous first year in Cleveland. Kitchens will coach tight ends for the Giants, but Judge says his experience will come in handy for everyone on offense. 

“I think any position on offense is good for Freddie,” Judge said. “What I love about Freddie is he brings an element of toughness and discipline to his room. He brings outside-the-box thinking a lot of times to how he approaches the game from a game-plan perspective.”

Judge also made the decision to retain a handful of coaches from previous HC Pat Shurmur‘s staff, including WR coach Tyke Tolbert. Judge said he was impressed with Tolbert’s work developing fifth-round rookie WR Darius Slayton, along with managing extended absences from WRs Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate. 

“Tyke’s a guy I knew throughout the league from going against him,” Judge said. “He’s a guy that came recommended by a lot of people that I know very personally. But ultimately, the deciding factor on Tyke is you turn his tape on, and his guys play hard, they play fundamentally sound, he’s been able to develop a number of receivers in different systems.”