NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

• The Athletic’s Jeff Howe says league sources expect former Saints HC Sean Payton to be the white whale of the 2023 coaching cycle, with the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones an obvious potential suitor. 

Eagles

• ESPN’s Tim McManus thinks the Eagles will try to bring back veteran S Rodney McLeod despite his age and injury issues to try and maintain some continuity on the back end of their defense. 
• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports Eagles OL Brett Toth had surgery on a torn ACL in his knee.

Giants

• The NY Daily News’ Pat Leonard reports members of the Giants’ front office have contacted “multiple members” of the Dolphins’ staff and assistant coaches to do “due diligence” on former HC Brian Flores. 
• Leonard adds New York has received “encouraging and glowing reviews” of Flores.
• Leonard points out the Giants’ “thorough process” on Flores reinforces their “serious interest” in him as a head coach. 
• He adds although the Giants ruled out trading for Texans QB Deshaun Watson, that does not mean the team would not hire Flores as head coach.
• Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports the Giants may prefer an experienced head coach and a source told him not to discount Bills DC Leslie Frazier, who is interviewing Friday, as a candidate: “Don’t completely rule out Frazier.” 
• New Giants GM Joe Schoen on the state of the franchise: “We need to see progress. We need to see the offense get better, the defense gets better, we need to see progress throughout the entire football operation to see we’re getting better in the future.” (Matt Lombardo)
• Schoen commented on the franchise making changes: “I’m a true believer in giving everybody an opportunity. If you’re a hard worker and buy into the process, you can work with me.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• When it comes to QB Daniel Jones and RB Saquon Barkley, Schoen thinks the two pieces can still fit together with a better offensive line place: “Daniel Jones has got to be on his feet. If you want to see what Saquon can do, you know it’d be nice if you could block guys. So, yeah, the offensive line will be a priority.” (Jordan Schultz)
• Team owner John Mara also commented on Jones during the Schoen press conference: “We do feel like Daniel can play. “We’ve done every possible thing to screw this guy up.” (Kim Jones)
• Mara said of the upcoming interview on Thursday that the rift between Flores and Dolphins GM Chris Grier “will certainly be one of the things we’ll discuss with Brian.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Schoen on potentially building the offense around Jones: “The kid has physical ability … We’ll build an offense to accentuate what Daniel does best.” (Vacchiano)
• Schoen was also willing to comment on the tight salary cap position that the team finds itself in entering the offseason: “It’s a concern and it’s real. … There are going to be difficult decisions that have to be made.” (Vacchiano)
• Schoen on the current state of the roster: “I do think there are pieces in place. There are positions that are a little bit more devoid of talent. My focus is to build a young base of talent through the draft.” (Vacchiano)