Pittsburgh Steelers: Russell Wilson Reportedly a 'Strong Option' to Join Pete Carroll
The Steelers have important decisions to make at quarterback, with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields pending free agents.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Wilson is a "strong option" to be the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Joining the Raiders would reunite Wilson and new head coach Pete Carroll. Wilson and Carroll worked together for 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, where they won a Super Bowl during a highly successful run.
Even if Wilson leaves, it does not guarantee that Fields will return as Pittsburgh's No. 1 quarterback. The Steelers hold the 21st pick in April and could draft a quarterback or pursue one in free agency. Head Coach Mike Tomlin kept all options open at his season-ending press conference.
"There's a lot of work ahead of us," Tomlin said via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The major work, obviously, starts first and foremost just understanding what our options are, what the field looks like in terms of free agency, what the draft pool looks like and then beginning the process in terms of decision-making based on known variables."
Cleveland Browns: Head Coach Kevin Stefanski Will Return to Calling Offensive Plays
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski said he will call offensive plays next season after promoting Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator.
Stefanski had been the Browns' play caller for four and a half seasons but gave that responsibility to former Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey after Week 8. Cleveland continued to struggle, and Dorsey was fired after the season.
While Stefanski will start the 2025 season calling plays, the decision is not etched in stone.
"I reserve the right to change my mind," Stefanski said via Kelsey Russo of the Browns’ website.
Rees was the Browns' tight ends coach/pass game coordinator in 2024 and will be one of the NFL's youngest coordinators at age 32. Before joining Cleveland, Rees was Alabama's offensive coordinator for one season where he was strongly influenced by former Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban.
"I grew a lot being in that environment every day, learning from the greatest coach to do it," Rees said. "It's something I hold in very high regard. We grew to have a really nice relationship. That experience is something that you can't ever really describe in words, and I'm really fortunate to have that opportunity in my career."
Cincinnati Bengals: New Defensive Coordinator Hopes to Help Bengals Start Faster in 2025
Getting off to slow starts has been a recent problem for the Cincinnati Bengals. They are 7-14-1 in September since Zac Taylor became their head coach, and new Defensive Coordinator Al Golden wants to help solve that problem.
"That's kind of an in-house thing, like, what do we need to do in-house wise to solve that problem?" Golden said to Bengals radio play-by-play voice Dan Hoard, via Si.com. "That's a sensitive subject in terms of we all know that that's something that will be on the docket this offseason in terms of starting faster. But in terms of giving you ideas, I think it's best to keep that in-house and work through Zac on that."
Golden was linebackers coach with the Bengals for two seasons (2020-21) before leaving to become Notre Dame's defensive coordinator. Now that he's back, Golden and Taylor want to help the Bengals become kingpins in the AFC North again, as they were in 2021-22, before the Ravens won the past two division titles.
"I think you've got to understand our division that we play in," said Taylor, via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. "You're going to play six (division games) a year. That's going to dictate, really, where you end up at the end of the season.
"I think this division is different. I think when people come and they play all four teams in this division, they feel that immediately. You're certainly (going to) need a coordinator who has an understanding of that."
