Cowboys
Cowboys HC Dan Quinn said that something that’s going to be a point of emphasis for him is tweaking his scheme to best suit the players Dallas has on defense. Quinn runs a lot of Cover 3 and puts an emphasis on playing fast and aggressive. But there’s more room to tweak than there was in his predecessor Mike Nolan‘s system.
“When you’re going into a new place, you want to find what some of the strengths are in terms of the current thing,” Quinn said via the Athletic’s Jon Machota. “For me, I had some time, unfortunately, to look at a long, big history of things that I also liked, what needed to change, what would be some things that — I don’t know if modernize is the word, or tweak — to adjust so the system could have some different looks to it. It’ll certainly be part of that system. And then there are some other coaches here and some things that I want to implement. Number one, create the identity where guys can play fast. I think every really good defense, that has a part in it. It’s an aggressive front, and they play that way. That, to me, is where it starts. I’m looking forward to digging in on all those topics. But at the end of the day, how much you play of one thing or another, that’ll depend a little bit on the players.”
- The Cowboys officially announced the hires of secondary coach/defensive pass game coordinator Joe Whitt and DL coach Aden Durde and the promotion of Harold Nash to strength and conditioning coordinator. (Machota)
Eagles
- Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley told the Eagles he wasn’t interested in their head coaching vacancy.
- Patriots OC Josh McDaniels appeared to be one of the strongest candidates for the job given his offensive background but an NFL executive who has dealt with McDaniels said his personality is a serious flaw: “He doesn’t have an ability to really connect with people on a human level. He’s very arrogant. Great head coaches are extremely confident. But there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Josh crosses it.”
- Domowitch notes Eagles assistant HC Duce Staley was seen by the team as more of a last resort even though he’s loved by the players.
- One team source told Domowitch Staley would have brought back some tough love that was missing from last year’s staff but that might have worked against him, particularly regarding QB Carson Wentz: “It works against him because he wouldn’t let Carson get away with the things he’s been able to get away with. And Carson knows that. So, if Carson is part of the conversation, then that may not work in Duce’s favor either.”
- Adam Caplan reports the sense is the Eagles head coaching job came down to either McDaniels or Colts OC Nick Sirianni, with a league source comparing the latter to the best parts about Doug Pederson: “[People] I know speak highly of him. Like Doug, in terms of players really liking him. Got more edge than Doug though. Can coach hard if he needs to.”
- After the Eagles hired Sirianni, an NFL source told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Good guy, solid candidate. Fairly smart but not super smart. Concern is he is likely to top out at a B-level coach for team that is in the mix to make the playoffs, but not a real SB chance. Low drama, even keel.”
- ESPN’s Tim McManus highlights Eagles DB Jalen Mills as someone with an uncertain future depending on what system the new coaching staff wants to run on defense.
- Over The Cap’s Nick Korte released updated compensatory pick projections. Typically Korte’s projections are the most accurate available, but he acknowledges this year will be potentially less accurate because of changes to the league’s confidential formula stemming from the new CBA and the pandemic.
- Nevertheless, Korte projects the Eagles to receive a sixth-round pick for the loss of RB Jordan Howard.
- According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Eagles will roll over approximately $22,756,775 in cap space to 2021, with the final amount pending an audit by the NFL.
Giants
- Due to the proven performance escalator, Giants G Will Hernandez, OLB Lorenzo Carter, DT B.J. Hill and CB Isaac Yiadom all saw base salary increases, per NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt.
- Hernandez’s base salary bumped to $3.05 million, Carter and Hill’s to $2.44 million and Yiadom to $2.18 million for a net increase of about $4.66 million on New York’s cap space.
- Rosenblatt notes Hernandez and Yiadom were already on the roster bubble and this doesn’t actually help their chances of sticking.
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