NFL Notes: Nick Saban, Bills, Jets, Raiders

Nick Saban

• Albert Breer writes that NFL teams should be calling Alabama HC Nick Saban and make him tell you no before hiring a new head coach.
• A few sources who know Saban have told Breer that he “has any appetite for leaving Alabama.“
• Breer admits that Saban may not be a 10-year answer for a franchise, considering that he’ll turn 67 during the 2018 season. However, Breer believes he’s much better than some of the coaches we’ve seen the last year and teams would be hard-pressed to find a better coaching option at this point.
• As Breer points out, Saban is a “program builder of the highest order in an era where coordinators and quarterback gurus are getting moved into the corner office at a breakneck rate, only to prove incapable of running an organization or leading large groups, which are skills more vital to the job than any play design or any fixed throwing motion.”
• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk mentions that in order to lure Saban back to the NFL, it’s going to cost a team somewhere between $10 million and $20 million per year.
• Beyond that, it will take an owner who is looking to make a splash hire, much like the Raiders did with Jon Gruden, and willing to turn over control of the team to Saban.
• Florio admits that it seems unlikely that any team will be willing to go after Saban this year.

Bills

Bills DT Kyle Williams said Monday that he currently does not have a timetable to make a decision regarding whether he’ll return for the 2018 season.

“I don’t have [a timetable],” Williams said, via BuffaloBills.com. “We’ll meet with the people who need to be met with, and discuss it and we’ll see where we go. … None of us really get to choose when we may or may not be done. I love to play the game and I love being a part of this football team. It’s hard for me to go down that road because I haven’t sat back and thought about it. We’ll figure it all out as we move forward.”

We have Williams featured in our Top 100  – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.

Jets

Darryl Slater of NJ.com ranks the most important free agents to re-sign for the New York Jets.

According to Slater, the Jets should prioritize:

1. CB Morris Claiborne
2. ILB Demario Davis
3. QB Josh McCown
4. TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
5. K Chandler Catanzaro
6. DE Kony Ealy

We have some of these players featured in our Top 100  – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.

Raiders

• Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie told Steve Wyche that “everything is great” with HC Jon Gruden and their relationship is good.
• Alex Marvez reports that Virginia State head coach Reggie Barlow is on the Raiders’ radar to potentially become their new wide receivers coach.
• Jim Owczarski reports that David Lippincott will join Paul Guenther in Oakland with the Raiders.