Bear Hands

Is Steichen still in the running? Turned away for a few hours and all of this went down ha

Well this is sure an interesting twist. Steichen took the odds lead earlier so I do wonder what’s cracking. I just don’t see Payton happening.

Thanks for the GT kid shoutout. I should've just posted the whole thing in my OP, forget the Athletic is paid, but do highly recommend it for all who don't. It's like 1.99/month

A lot of the former Miami staff and connects helped build the current Bengals squad. Good link:

I agree with this. He used them, but didn't seem to have a need for a high-volume dude. Once Hock was gone, Wright/Mitchell/Zylstra kinda gave off Tremble/Thomas/Sullivan (but better) vibes. Brock Wright is a promising TE in DET. We could benefit in getting a guy in the mid-rounds with similar upside like Schoonmaker.

The Richardson value is what I find interesting if we miss out on the top-3. I imagine many aren't fans of that next tier and AR does have tantalizing upside. Do teams view Tanner McKee in the same ballpark? Or is he meh? And is there a big drop off to Hendon Hooker, Jaren Hall, & Clayton Tune? I just wonder how teams will rank Richardson and if he's really high end first rounder. The microscope on him will be monster in this draft build up.

I'm a fan of the RBs projected in RD 3-5. Nothing against Chubba, and we'll need to see if we re-sign Foreman, but added RBs are always welcome in those mid rounds. One of my personal favorites to fit with those two in our backfield is Tyjae Spears. Tulane had an awesome year mainly due to him and Michael Pratt. His vision and quick cuts to find holes are awesome. He capped off a sensational year dominating USC, big part of why they won. He's like Pollard meets Herbert. Tackle breaker, quick accelerator, quick cuts, pass catcher, home run hitter.

oof. Staley got lucky he hired such an awful staff. Lions fans can vouch for how bad Lombardi is. And Day is just one of those floaters who never really worked his way up, just found a comfortable little corner on squads every two years. If I were Herbert, I'd be mighty frustrated.

Oh Brugler had some minor notes about the Gibbs pick in Rd 2:

Some people say Bryce's true height is like a hair under 5'11". I think it's marginal at the end of the day, if you're under 6'1, you start to get a bit small as a QB. Once you dip below 5'10", then I'd say it's a big issue. But if you are smaller, you have to still stand tall and read the middle of the field. Bryce can do that and has a nice arc on his throws. Biggest question with him is that build. He's lean.

I would not complain one bit and have no stakes in NC college ball. Let's do it

Our second rounder in the mock is an eyebrow raiser:

HC: Steichen or Johnson - Happy with either QB Room: CJ Stroud, Cooper Rush, Matt Corral - It's possible the new HC doesn't want Darnold. Is he really worth a $5 mil backup contract? If we don't land a top-3 QB, this gets really interesting for a new coach. Do you gamble w/Richardson? The FA crop is bad, Darnold is a .500 guy at best, and the remaining draft is sparse. Draft: I'd love to land a WR, TE, & RB a piece. Favorites: WR: Zay Flowers, Rashee Rice, Josh Downs TE: Luke Musgrave, Dalton Kincaid, Luke Schoonmaker RB: Zach Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Tijae Spears

For those interested, pick 1-9: 1. IND (from CHI): Bryce Young QB 2. HOU: Will Levis QB 3. AZ: Will Anderson Jr DE/EDGE 4. CHI (from IND): Jalen Carter 5. CAR (from SEA): CJ Stroud QB 6. DET: Christian Gonzalez CB 7. LVR: Paris Johnson LT 8. ATL: Peter Sko LT 9. SEA (from CAR): Tyree Wilson DE

I was googling with a last 24 hour filter, looks like Steichen took the lead on some.

This is a scenario some have been floating with Levis being projected QB1 or 2 by HOU or IND. Some have been panning this, others promoting, and I think we all would find to be a conversation starter at the least. Next year's first is high, but this would keep most of our remaining picks in tact. 40 is nice to keep. I'd maybe think one of our thirds and next years 2nd could do it. 2024 1st would for sure, but it's a steep price. https://theathletic.com/4097059/2023/01/17/2023-nfl-mock-draft-dane-brugler/

Latest front runners/odds below per books. AZ & IND are the big wildcards: AZ: Sean Payton (or) Brian Flores (Tied Odds) +650, w/Vance Joseph & Demeco Ryans just slightly behind CAR: Ben Johnson, Steichen close behind HOU: Jonathan Gannon, buuut Payton rumors are heating up DEN: Dan Quinn +175 IND: Fluctuating...Saturday & Bienemy were up there before Harbaugh decided to return. Philly would be pretty lucky if Steichen isn't hired in this cycle & Payton goes to HOU. That consistency in staff would be huge. Especially if they win the SB.

I thought I kept seeing some dude mention Leftwich and it was really cringe.

Still super high on Kincaid. Really does give off Kittle vibes. Musgrave, Kincaid, & Schoonmaker are the 3 I quite like.

Isn't there someone here that think Leftwich is somehow Tepper's grand plan or something? lol

This all does make me wonder if Steichen impressed and he gave them some of his prospective staff. Some of these don't make a ton of sense with Wilks (Like Vic), but maybe I'm wrong. Hell, maybe they're trying a bit of a different approach and vetting the HC candidates through referrals, that are in part also "coordinator" interviews. I'm probably wrong though ha

100% agree. Like most industries, the most critical thing is getting the right guys in charge. There are outliers where a rockstar type really carries things (This is typically QBs, sometimes the Donald, Ray Lewis, Von Millers of the world) but if you DON'T have the right coach, you're going nowhere fast. We experienced that trainwreck full-stop with Rhule (I hate even typing his name)

Pure speculation but I do wonder how an interview with someone like Manuel goes given there's no official signed-HC. Rather than a Johnson pairing, we did already interview Shane. Wonder if he's Steichen's preferred DC and we wanted to chat with him after a good interview. There's so many freaking candidates at all levels now, it's pretty wild. And nothing finalized for any club. It's a coaching interview circuit wild west.

Having Fangio back in the QC would be wild after all these years. He was a "young gun" DC when he was under Dom.

We need offense, we need new life, we need a new coach. If Young goes 1 or 2, and then someone jumps on Levis before Stroud, it's definitely going to be a possibility Stroud is a target. We can snarkily discount that possibility, but given Fitt's presser and propensity for trades, I'd waiver on the "I don't know, could happen" side of things. Chatter about Stroud is totally warranted given our spot and situation. We're obviously looking at him, Young, Levis, & Richardson.