NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano list Buccaneers director of player personnel John Spytek as a potential GM candidate this offseason. 
• Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich and DC Todd Bowles are also expected to draw interest as potential head coaching candidates. 
• NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero notes the Buccaneers showed some interest in trading for Cowboys QB Andy Dalton while he was with the Bengals before going elsewhere on the quarterback market. 

Falcons

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano say that although the Falcons like interim HC Raheem Morris a great deal and believe he has the demeanor to be a head coach, the odds are stacked against him getting the job following his 11-game tryout. 
• Fowler and Graziano add that the Falcons job likely won’t be seen as one of the better ones available this offseason given a new regime might need to execute a complete teardown. 
• Some around the league have wondered if the team could shop QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones but both of their contracts make that prohibitive. 
• Per the Athletic’s Jason Butt, Morris said CB Darqueze Dennard is “getting close” to being able to return from injured reserve. 

Panthers

After a missed connection on Sunday between QB Teddy Bridgewater and WR D.J. Moore, Panthers’ HC Matt Rhule recognizes that this is an area where the team has room for improvement.

“I think just coming out of that break, Teddy’s expecting him to be a little bit higher on the angle, DJ went a little flatter, and they just didn’t hit,” Rhule said, via Myles Simmons of Panthers.com. “Teddy’s expecting one angle, he ran another angle, and we didn’t hit it. So we came in as coaches today and said we have to do a better job of getting more reps and maybe cutting down on some of those things.”

“I think DJ is doing a great job of just grasping all the information that we’re throwing at him. All of this is still new to a lot of people, so for a lot of us, they’re not making excuses or anything,” Bridgewater added. “We want to keep finding ways to get these guys involved, all of our guys, and allow them to be in the best position to make plays to help us win.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano say industry sources are eyeing the Panthers for a potential general manager opening. Current GM Marty Hurney is in the final year of his contract. 
• Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (ankle) is expected to miss his fifth game when Carolina takes on the Saints this week. However, McCaffrey is close and could play in Week 8 which is a Thursday night matchup against the Falcons. (Tom Pelissero)

Saints

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano note Saints assistant HC/TE coach Dan Campbell has prior head coaching experience and some teams have him on their radar.