Ravens
Reports emerged of a strained relationship between Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh after Baltimore decided to move on from the head coach. Harbaugh shot down those rumors, saying everything was “absolutely positive” between the quarterback and himself.
“Phenomenal relationship with Lamar,” Harbaugh said, via GiantsWire. “Everything has been absolutely positive. Ask him, he’ll tell you. We love each other. We tell each other we love each other. He’s one of my favorite human beings. We revolutionized offensive football with Lamar Jackson. I don’t know why that doesn’t get written enough about more.”
Steelers
The Steelers are on the hunt for their next head coach after parting ways with Mike Tomlin. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor cites a league source who said candidates will be interviewing the team’s front office as much as they are being interviewed.
“Coaches will be interviewing Steelers brass as much as they will be interviewing the coach,” the source said.
One league executive thinks candidates will value the organization’s stability and patience from owner Art Rooney II. However, the source also thinks the organization has fallen behind as a “modern operation.”
“Coaches will value the stability and ownership patience, but I think the organization has truly fallen behind in the NFL in terms of a modern operation,” the executive said.
Another league source thinks Pittsburgh’s biggest issue is not having a set franchise quarterback.
“The biggest thing is, right now you don’t have the quarterback — or at least there’s uncertainty at the quarterback,” the source said. “You’re just coming into a lot of uncertainty.”
Texans
The Texans enter the offseason with some questions about their coaching staff, including first-year OC Nick Caley. Houston HC DeMeco Ryans said he is “evaluating everything” this week, including their roster and assistant coaches.
“With the coaching staff, with our players and asking about contracts,” Ryans said, via Aaron Wilson. “Coaches, players, I’m evaluating everything as we go throughout the week.”
Texans QB C.J. Stroud stood behind Caley, saying there’s been growth in their relationship and his play-calling ability.
“Yeah, definitely. I love Cales,” Stroud said. “I think there’s growth in our relationship, there’s growth in his ability to call plays, growth and DeMeco trusted him. Whatever our coaches decide, I love Cales and I’m rocking with him however long he’s going to be here.”
Houston was without star receiver Nico Collins in their Divisional Round loss to the Patriots, while TE Dalton Schultz left the game with a calf injury. Ryans thinks losing both players caught up to them against New England.
“You don’t replace a Nico Collins,” Ryans said. “You don’t replace a Dalton Schultz. When you lose your top guys, as any team in this league, it’s going to be difficult. I think you got to see the Niners went through something similar too. It catches up with you. The best teams are going to advance, and the best teams are going to win the Super Bowl. You need your top guys out there. You need your top playmakers out there. We definitely missed Nico not being out there. Dalton, he made the huge explosive, when C.J. [Stroud] was able to scramble on the third down and find Dalton on the sideline. He made a huge play for us, caught another one there, almost got in the end zone. We definitely missed Dalton and we missed Nico. They’ve been two of our most productive players all year. In that moment, you look for other guys to step up and make plays for sure. But we did, we missed those guys.”
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