NEWSLETTER
The Pro Bowl is over (thankfully), which means it’s officially Super Bowl Week! We’ve got a bunch to discuss in today’s ATNFL, so let’s just skip the intro and get right into it.
The NFL Pro Bowl Stinks
Darious Leonard’s pick-six of Kyler Murray for the opening touchdown of the Pro Bowl was a perfect microcosm of what the NFL Pro Bowl has become … hot garbage. Leonard intercepted a Kyler Murray pass and “took” it 40-plus yards to the endzone, barely touched by NFC players jogging around the field pretending to play “defense.”
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1490416562175721480?s=20&t=GTScgBe6ezYWc_dl27i8xA
Look, I get it. Players don’t want to get hurt in a meaningless exhibition game. But, this game has gotten to the point of “background viewing” for me, and after surveying Twitter on Sunday, I’m not alone in this opinion.
It’s been this way for a long time, and the NFL has tried to spice it up with the player captains and draft à la the NBA but has since returned to the traditional conference vs. conference matchup after that tweak fell on deaf ears. The NFL moved the game to the vacant Sunday before the Super Bowl rather than after the Super Bowl and moved the venue from Hawaii to the various locations around the country to make more people attend. None of it has worked, and while I’m not sure there is an answer for the NFL’s dying all-star exhibition, I know for sure that its current incarnation stinks.
The Pro Bowl will likely never be “fixed,” but I miss seeing guys like the late Sean Taylor treat the game like it meant something:
In honor of this two hand touch Pro Bowl going on right now, let's revisit Sean Taylor's iconic hit from the '07 Pro Bowl.
Greatest Pro Bowl highlight ever.pic.twitter.com/G5NXOScSst
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 6, 2022
Alvin Kamara Arrested in Vegas
New Orleans Saints’ superstar running back Alvin Kamara was arrested for battery stemming from an incident that occurred at an unnamed nightclub in the 3500 block of Las Vegas Blvd. (Las Vegas Metro Police responded to a local hospital to investigate reports of a battery victim).
LVMPD released the following statement on the incident:
Please click on the document below for more information on the arrest of Alvin Kamara. This investigation is still ongoing, anyone with any information about this incident is urged to call 702-828-3204 or contact @CrimeStoppersNV pic.twitter.com/QoUY9tEQT1
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) February 7, 2022
According to the statement, LVMPD detectives were able to identify Kamara as the alleged battery offender. They were able to locate and take Kamara into custody without incident on February 6, 2022. According to the release, Kamara was transported to the Clark County Detention Center, where he was booked for battery resulting in substantial bodily harm. According to Adam Schefter, Kamara was arrested by LVMPD after the Pro Bowl, which tracks with the Saints social media team posting photos of Kamara participating in the event on Twitter hours before the LVMPD statement was released late Sunday night.
Mr. @A_kamara6 👏#SaintsProBowl | 📸: Logan Bowles/NFL pic.twitter.com/9swvE21gct
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) February 6, 2022
As of publishing, no statement has been released by the New Orleans Saints, the NFL, or Alvin Kamara.
Dolphins Hire Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel is heading to South Beach after one season as the Offensive Coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers after reportedly taking the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins.
New Dolphins’ HC Mike McDaniel, who identifies as multiracial, now joins Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Ron Rivera (Commanders) and Robert Saleh (Jets) as the NFL’s only minority head coaches.https://t.co/ANRG6F0H5A
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2022
McDaniel is a Yale history graduate turned football coach in the NFL after spending his 17-year NFL coaching career working within the Mike Shanahan/Gary Kubiak coaching tree. McDaniel broke into the NFL as an intern with Mike Shanahan and the Denver Broncos in 2005. McDaniel spent time in Houston under Gary Kubiak (2006) before rejoining Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta and San Francisco for the past five seasons serving in various positions.
Another Shanahan/Kubiak disciple and current New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh (who worked with McDaniel in Houston and San Francisco) spoke about McDaniel during the Reese’s Senior Bowl media availability last week:
Here’s Robert Saleh on Mike McDaniel. Pretty much reflective of how all the guys in that group of coaches feel. pic.twitter.com/euNCwYANxm
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 6, 2022
Saleh notes that McDaniel is indeed a minority (the first minority head coaching hire in this hiring cycle) and also praised him and said he’d prefer that he didn’t come to the AFC East where he would have to match up with him twice a year.
A few weeks ago, McDaniel quickly became my top choice for the Bears vacant OC position under Matt Eberflus, but I’m glad he landed himself a head coaching gig. The fans and media in Miami will surely love the 38-year-old head coach’s press conferences for the next few years.
Miami Dolphins fans… say hello to your new head coach, Mike McDaniel 😎 pic.twitter.com/EN6Vvpx6oB
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) February 6, 2022
Is Lovie Smith the Favorite in Houston?
With Josh McCown seemingly out of the running for the lead job in Houston, the Texans appear to have set their sights on a familiar name for Chicago Bears fans in former head coach and current Texans defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.
The Texans are "in talks" to hire their associate HC and DC Lovie Smith as their next HC, per @AdamSchefter and @FieldYates pic.twitter.com/gQ9icLAWrJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 7, 2022
Former Texans head coach David Culley hired Smith before the 2021 season as Houston’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator. According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the former Bears and Illinois Fighting Illini head coach is close to being named the lead in Houston.
Educated hunch on this is the #Texans make it official either later tonight or early tomorrow. Either way, Lovie Smith will be an NFL head coach soon. https://t.co/Bvz9PtbFYZ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 7, 2022
Good for Lovie. I always loved Lovie Smith during his time in Chicago, and I feel like he got a raw deal on the way out the door of Halas Hall. Now, do I think that he’ll be successful in Houston? Probably not. Houston is an organization in shambles from the top down right now, but Lovie might be precisely what they need in their current state of flux and uncertainty — stability. Lovie Smith will bring to the table for Houston is stability and discipline. So, that’s probably, the wisest direction for them to take right now.
Extra Points …
• Ryan Poles said he wanted to “take the North and never give it back.” Justin Fields is just doing his part, even if it’s only in jersey sales for the time being.
Ryan Poles said last week that the plan is "to take the North and never give it back," and Justin Fields gave the Bears a head start by already owning the state of Wisconsin. https://t.co/2NjByCqVqi
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) February 7, 2022
• Well, crap …
Packers special teams 📈 pic.twitter.com/I21gB1EUC8
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 7, 2022
• I wanted to see Rich Bisaccia 1) get a head coaching gig after his work in Vegas this past season, or 2) come to Chicago as the special team’s coordinator if that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he’s heading to Green Bay to take their vacant special team’s coordinator job.
• I don’t care where your fandom lies, this is friggin’ awesome, and you can’t tell me any different:
Eagles safety Anthony Harris surprised 11-year-old fan Audrey Soape by taking her to a daddy-daughter dance ❤️
Audrey lost her father and grandfather in the past year, and her mother reached out to Harris.
(via @HOOSDatDude, vemberphoto/IG) pic.twitter.com/9nEV89e6N3
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 7, 2022
• New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones hits the griddy after a long rushing touchdown on Sunday:
Rate @MacJones_10 griddy 😂 @brgridiron
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/tgjZmSyLam
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 6, 2022
• This was a pretty cool moment from Sunday’s Pro Bowl:
Diggs vs. Diggs.
Awesome moment.
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/FGgSS0qPFi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 6, 2022
• It seems as though Aaron Rodgers won’t be heading to Tennessee this offseason, according to Turron Davenport of ESPN:
Titans will not pursue Aaron Rodgers to replace Ryan Tannehill, per @TDavenport_NFL pic.twitter.com/gtiGZM85iw
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 5, 2022
• Former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn will replace Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator in San Francisco:
Anthony Lynn is being hired as the Assistant Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers, per league sources. Lynn – who had other NFL and college offers – is expected to now be a key cog in the 49ers’ offense and run game.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 5, 2022
• The Indianapolis Colts have replaced Matt Eberflus with Gus Bradley:
We have hired Gus Bradley as our defensive coordinator. pic.twitter.com/5kN1bW9Qmw
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) February 7, 2022
• With the Pro Bowl now in the rearview mirror, it’s officially Super Bowl Week!
It's Super Bowl Week! #SBLVI #RuleItAll #RamsHouse
(by @budlight) pic.twitter.com/M7O2vJOqqg
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2022
