NFL Notes: Roger Goodell, Hot Seat, HC/GM Candidates, Jets

Roger Goodell

On Wednesday, the NFL officially signed commissioner Roger Goodell to a five-year extension (NFLTR).

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the chairman of the Compensation Committee, tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com that this deal will open line of communication between owners and Goodell moving forward.

“One thing that’s come out of this that’s very good, I believe, is the fact that owners are going to have a much more open line of communication with Roger now,” said Blank. “At every owners’ meeting now, we’re going to have an owners-only session, and then an owners session with Roger, with everyone else out of the room. The owners asked for that contact, and it’s a reasonable thing to ask. We’re going to do it.

“What many owners said in the past few days was they wanted to get on with the business of the league, and there are a lot of issues very important right now that must be addressed,” Blank said. “Now we’ll get to focus on the real issues. The important thing is, the owners have confidence in Roger, and they wanted him to continue. There was no doubt about that.”

Blank that he’s “relieved” to have this matter put to rest.

“I’m feeling relieved now,” Blank said. “I’m happy that it’s over. I was just telling Roger that in the history of the NFL, I’m not sure a big decision has been so transparent as this one. We got a lot of input from a lot of owners, a lot of guidance from them, and we feel very good about what developed out of that.”

Hot Seat

Nate Davis of USA Today updated his Hot Seat rankings on Wednesday for Week 14. According to Davis, the head coaches in danger of losing their jobs are:

1. Hue Jackson (Browns)
2. John Fox (Bears)
3. Marvin Lewis (Bengals)
4. Vance Joseph (Broncos)
5. Chuck Pagano (Colts)
6. Dirk Koetter (Buccaneers)
7. Jay Gruden (Redskins)

HC/GM Candidates

• According to Ian Rapoport, Fritz Pollard Alliance met with the NFL this week and submitted the following names as recommended GM candidates: Joey Clinkscales (Raiders), Alonzo Highsmith (Packers), Ray Farmer (Rams consultant), Will McClay (Cowboys), and Doug Williams (Redskins).
• Tom Pelissero adds that Fritz Pollard Alliance also recommended Lions DC Teryl Austin, Vikings DC George Edwards, Panthers DC Steve Wilks, and Titans OC Terry Robiskie as head-coaching candidates.

Jets

• Brian Costello of the New York Post writes that the Jets still shouldn’t be in a rush to sign HC Todd Bowles to an extension, even though he has done a good job with the team this year.
• Costello points out that there’s still a quarter of the regular season to be evaluated and Bowles’ record since taking over as the Jets’ head coach is still just 20-24.
• Beyond that, Bowles is still under contract for the 2018 season, so there’s really no rush to sign him to a new contract.