According to PFF, Indianapolis Colts pending 2026 free agent Alec Pierce is the player that the Horseshoe can’t afford to lose—which isn’t all that surprising to be fair: Indianapolis Colts: WR Alec Pierce The Colts’ 2025 campaign was truly a tale of two halves. The team went from possible Super Bowl contenders to finishing third in the […] According to PFF, Indianapolis Colts pending 2026 free agent Alec Pierce is the player that the Horseshoe can’t afford to lose—which isn’t all that surprising to be fair: The Colts’ 2025 campaign was truly a tale of two halves. The team went from possible Super Bowl contenders to finishing third in the AFC South. Compounding the situation is that Indianapolis doesn’t have its first-round pick, plus has several contributors on expiring contracts. The most valuable of those names is certainly Pierce. Pierce found his groove this past year, blossoming into one of the better receivers in football. Among receivers with 75 or more targets, he placed 14th in PFF receiving grade (81.0), 14th in yards per route run (2.10) and eighth in passer rating when targeted (113.7). Additionally, his 96.3 deep PFF receiving grade since 2024 ranked second, behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Colts have decisions to make on Daniel Jones, Braden Smith, Nick Cross and others, but Pierce was an engine for their improved passing attack. No matter who Indianapolis’ man under center is in 2026, having Pierce back in the fold would be enormous. Specifically, the only other realistic choice was starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who’s also set to become a free agent this offseason, and is currently rehabbing from a season-ending torn Achilles suffered late during Week 14. The other Colts’ key free agents include safety Nick Cross, offensive tackle Braden Smith, defensive end Kwity Paye, and linebacker Germaine Pratt. Originally a 2022 2nd round pick of the Colts, the 25-year-old Pierce has emerged as arguably the league’s top deep threat, averaging an NFL leading 21.3 yards per reception average this past season—which he’s led the league two years in a row. Not only that, but Pierce eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career to go along with his 47 receptions and 6 touchdown receptions this past season as the Colts’ clear new WR1. Pierce has continued to develop as a more well-rounded route runner collectively, but his ability to separate vertically, high-point the football, and make highly contested, acrobatic catches is an elite NFL receiving skill. Regardless of who was starting for the Colts at quarterback, Pierce consistently shined as their most explosive receiver—particularly down the field, whether it was Jones, veteran Philip Rivers, or even rookie Riley Leonard. Armed with a projected $41.7M of available team cap space this early offseason, Pierce should be a top priority re-signing for the Colts—even if it comes at the expense of his Indy teammates, including fellow starting wideout Michael Pittman Jr., who’s due a whopping $29 million cap hit next season. Simply put, Pierce needs to be back for Indy, no matter the price tag. See More: Indianapolis Colts News
PFF lists Colts WR Alec Pierce as ‘2026 free agent that they can’t afford to lose’
Las Vegas Raiders coaching search: Mike McDaniel will interview
The Las Vegas Raiders continue to request interviews for the coaching opening left by the firing of Pete Carroll. They have have requested interviews with Vance Joseph, Klint Kubiak, Davis Webb, Matt Nagy, Kevin Stefanski, Jeff Hafley, Nate Scheelhaase, Mike LeFleur, Chris Shula, Ejiro Evero, Jesse Minter, Joe Brady, Klay Kubiak and now Mike McDaniel. […] The Las Vegas Raiders continue to request interviews for the coaching opening left by the firing of Pete Carroll. They have have requested interviews with Vance Joseph, Klint Kubiak, Davis Webb, Matt Nagy, Kevin Stefanski, Jeff Hafley, Nate Scheelhaase, Mike LeFleur, Chris Shula, Ejiro Evero, Jesse Minter, Joe Brady, Klay Kubiak and now Mike McDaniel. Let’s get to know McDaniel some more: Last job: McDaniel was recently fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2022-25. He was 35-33 there and 0-2 in the postseason Age: He is 42. Coaching experience: He has been an NFL coach for 18 years. Other interest: He interviewed for the Baltimore Ravens head-coaching job and is getting heavy interest as an offensive coordinator. Why the Raiders are interested: McDaniel is considered an offensive innovator. He is still a young coach. His experience as a head coach is attractive as well. He has to be considered a candidate to watch here. See More: Las Vegas Raiders News
NFL Saturday Divisional Playoffs Discussion
The NFL playoffs resume today, folks. Today’s action has the top seeds in both conferences in action, hosting teams that are both coming off of short weeks after winning games this past Sunday, and then taking to the road in hopes of continuing their path to the Super Bowl. The first game of the day […] The NFL playoffs resume today, folks. Today’s action has the top seeds in both conferences in action, hosting teams that are both coming off of short weeks after winning games this past Sunday, and then taking to the road in hopes of continuing their path to the Super Bowl. The first game of the day will take us to Denver for the AFC Divisional Round, as the Denver Broncos will play host to the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo escaped with a come-from-behind victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend, as Josh Allen’s 1-yard touchdown run with just over a minute remaining sealed a 27-24 victory. The Broncos come into this one as the top seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, the year they won their last Super Bowl. This game will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 PM Central time. If the Broncos win this game, they will host the AFC Championship Game next weekend. If Buffalo wins, they will travel to face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Houston and New England. For the nightcap, we’re heading up to Seattle for the third game this season between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. These two teams split their two regular-season matchups this year, with the Niners winning 17-13 in Week 1 at Seattle and the Seahawks getting the victory at Levi’s Stadium in Week 18 (with the #1 seed on the line), 13-3. San Francisco took out Philadelphia last week by a score of 23-19, and even though it seems like they lose 2-3 important players to injury every week, they just keep on chugging along. Speaking of injuries, this one has a bit of additional intrigue with the news that Sam Darnold was listed as questionable for this one with an oblique injury he suffered late in the week. We’ll have to see if and how much it affects his play. This game is slated to start at 7:00 PM Central and will be broadcast on FOX. If San Francisco wins, they will head to either Chicago or Los Angeles for the NFC Championship Game next Sunday. If the Seahawks win, either the Bears or the Rams will head to the Pacific Northwest. If you’re going to be watching today’s games, here’s the spot for you to talk about them with your fellow Minnesota Vikings fans. Enjoy the action, folks! See More:
NFL Divisional Round: Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncs/SF 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks – Game Information & Discussion
Please use this thread to follow this afternoon’s and evening’s NFL Divisional Round games and, as always, to discuss your Miami Dolphins. Please follow all site rules in the live threads and other posts on The Phinsider. Please note that SBNation strictly prohibits sharing illegal game streams. Sharing, discussing, or requesting illegal game streams may […] Please use this thread to follow this afternoon’s and evening’s NFL Divisional Round games and, as always, to discuss your Miami Dolphins. Please follow all site rules in the live threads and other posts on The Phinsider. Please note that SBNation strictly prohibits sharing illegal game streams. Sharing, discussing, or requesting illegal game streams may result in a temporary suspension from the site or a ban from the entire SBN platform. We have everything you need to know to watch today’s game right here: Buffalo Bills (13-5) AFC East @ Denver Broncos (14-3) AFC West Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, January 17th Location: Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado TV Broadcast: CBS Streaming: Paramount+, NFL+ FANDUEL Sportsbook betting Odds: Spread: Broncos -1.5; Point total: 45.5; Moneyline: Broncos 118| Bills +100 SF 49ers (13-5) NFC West @ Seattle Seahawks (14-3) NFC West Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, January 17th Location: Empower Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington TV Broadcast: FOX Streaming: FOX One, FOX Sports, NFL+ FANDUEL Sportsbook betting Odds: Spread: Seahawks -7; Point total: 44.5; Moneyline: Seahawks -320| 49ers +260 See More:
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady set for Sunday interview with Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are working their schedule for next week once the NFL’s rules allow in-person interviews starting Monday. They are not complete with their virtual meetings, however, as a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero indicated on Saturday morning. Appearing on NFL Gameday Morning, Pelissero updated the Dolphins head coaching search, listing Green Bay […] The Miami Dolphins are working their schedule for next week once the NFL’s rules allow in-person interviews starting Monday. They are not complete with their virtual meetings, however, as a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero indicated on Saturday morning. Appearing on NFL Gameday Morning, Pelissero updated the Dolphins head coaching search, listing Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as the “frontrunner” for the role. While focusing on Hafley in the segment, Pelissero added that the Dolphins will hold a virtual interview on Sunday with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Brady took over as the Bills’ interim offensive coordinator during the 2023 season, replacing Ken Dorsey when he was fired after a 5-5 start to the year. He dropped the interim title heading into 2024 season and has held the position since. Prior to assuming that role, he was the Bills quarterbacks coach starting in 2022. He was the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021. He was the LSU passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019 after working as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints in 2017 and 2018. He was a graduate assistant at Penn State the two years previous and starting his coaching career at William & Mary as the linebackers coach in 2013 and 2014. Born in Hollywood, Florida, Brady grew up in Pembroke Pines, in the metaphorical shadows of the Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium. If the Bills win on Saturday in their playoff game against the Denver Broncos, any interview beyond Sunday’s virtual meeting will be on hold until at least January 26, after the AFC Championship game. If Buffalo is eliminated from the postseason, it could clear the way for Brady to be added to Miami’s in-person schedule next week. See More:
Jeff Hafley ‘frontrunner’ for Dolphins, ‘blew everyone away’ during virtual interview
The Miami Dolphins may have an early favorite to fill their vacant head coaching position. While the team is still scheduling virtual and in-person interviews for this weekend and into next week, it is beginning to sound like Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has an early lead in landing the job. According to […] The Miami Dolphins may have an early favorite to fill their vacant head coaching position. While the team is still scheduling virtual and in-person interviews for this weekend and into next week, it is beginning to sound like Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has an early lead in landing the job. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the first round of virtual interviews appears to have pushed Hafley into the favored position. “Sources say Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has emerged as a frontrunner for the Dolphins head coaching job,” Pelissero said on an appearance on NFL GameDay Morning on Sunday. “No final decisions have yet been made, they have an interview scheduled on Sunday with Bills [offensive coordinator] Joe Brady, [and] multiple in-person interviews scheduled as well this coming week. But I’m told Hafley blew everyone away in his initial, vitrual interview with the Dolphins. He worked with their new [general manager] Jon-Eric Sullivan in Green Bay, has head coaching experience at Boston College. At this point, Hafley appears to be the leading candidate in Miami.” Hafley has been the defensive coordinator for the Packers the last two seasons, following a four-year stint as the head coach at Boston College. He has also worked for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a coaching career that also includes 12 years as an assistant coach at the college level. Pelissero added, “The Dolphins are not alone here. The Titans, Falcons, Raiders, and Cardinals have also asked Hafley to come in for a second interview. He is also interviewing for the Steelers head coaching job today.“ Mike Garafolo then added, “The Packers are not going to be caught off guard, by the way. They have already done some work on possible DC replacements, expecting to lose Hafley there.” Teams can begin holding in-person interviews with coaches under contract with another team on Monday. See More:
NFL playoff live discussion: Bills at Broncos, 49ers at Seahawks
The Wild Card round of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs were wildly entertaining. With a bunch of last-minute finishes and a few big upsets, the NFL has proven, once again, why they are the peak of American sports entertainment right now. But that has also set the bar pretty darn high for the Divisional Round, and […] The Wild Card round of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs were wildly entertaining. With a bunch of last-minute finishes and a few big upsets, the NFL has proven, once again, why they are the peak of American sports entertainment right now. But that has also set the bar pretty darn high for the Divisional Round, and on Saturday, we welcome the NFC’s and AFC’s top seeds to the mix. Things kick off with the Denver Broncos trying to prove their regular season breakout was no fluke. The Broncos put an end to the Kansas City Chiefs’ nine-year run on the AFC West, and now they’re looking to accomplish a whole lot more. Their defense is undeniably good, but can Bo Nix—with just a single playoff game under his belt—help lead the rest of the team deep into the postseason? Or will Josh Allen lead an experienced but flawed Bills team to the AFC Championship? On the other side, the Seattle Seahawks kick off an NFC West-heavy playoff field with a divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers continue to somehow navigate through a laundry list of injuries, but it’s Seattle who has the biggest question on the injury front: will Sam Darnold be ready and able? Darnold injured his oblique this week and did not throw at all in the team’s last few practices. The belief is Darnold will play, but we’ll have to wait and see. In this post, our Pride of Detroit community will chat during both games in the comment section at the bottom of the page. Make sure you have a free account to join the conversation! Join the conversation! Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system! And here’s how you can watch the games: Bills at Broncos Kickoff time: 4:30 p.m. ETTV: CBSAnnouncers: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tacy WolfsonStreaming: NFL+, Paramount+Vegas odd: Broncos by 1.5, per FanDuel 49ers at Seahawks Kickoff time: 8 p.m. ETTV: FOXAnnouncers: Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom RinaldiStreaming: NFL+Vegas odd: Seahawks by 7, per FanDuel See More:
NY Giants news: Mike Kafka interviews for Eagles offensive coordinator role
New York Giants offensive coordinator and interim head coach Mike Kafka interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles vacant offensvie coordinator job, per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. It isn’t particularly surprising that Kafka is getting attention as an offensive coordinator candidate. He’s a respected offensive mind who is respected around the NFL. Kafka has received head coaching interviews every off-season since becoming the Giants’ offensive coordinator, and the Giants’ offense has played above it’s talent level under him. It also isn’t surprsing that the Eagles would show interest in Kafka. After all, he has significant experience with dual threat quarterbacks after coaching Daniel Jones and Jaxson Dart. Kafka was also originally drafted by the Eagles back in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and he both played and coached under Andy Reid. The Eagles have also interviewed former Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll (who has also interviewed for the Tennessee Titans’ coaching vacancy). NFL Insider Pete Schrager reported on the Bill Simmons podcast that Kafka remains in the mix for the Giants offensive coordinator position, saying, “But Mike Kafka, who was the interim coach and the offensive coordinator last year. I got from pretty good people. He’s still in the mix for offensive coordinator of the New York Giants. It’s the rare, like, alright, so I was offensive coordinator, new head coach. And I was the interim head coach. Still might be the OC because Dart actually showed a lot of flashes with him.” It’s expected that Todd Monken will be the favorite to be the Giants’ offensive coordinator under John Harbaugh. However, there will still be a hiring process and Monken is a candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coaching position. With that in mind, it’s possible that Kafka could win the job outright thanks to the work he’s already shown with Jaxson Dart, or he could become the frontrunner if Monken is hired by the Browns. That, of course, is contingent on Kafka not being hired by the Eagles before the Giants begin interviewing for their own offensive coordinator role. See More:
NFL Divisional Round: Bills vs. Broncos
The first game in the Divisional Round of the 2026 NFL playoffs will feature an AFC matchup between the No. Buffalo Bills and the No. 1 Denver Broncos. The Bills lead the all-time regular season series between these teams, 22-17-1, and the postseason series, 2-0. They most recently faced off in the AFC wild card […] The first game in the Divisional Round of the 2026 NFL playoffs will feature an AFC matchup between the No. Buffalo Bills and the No. 1 Denver Broncos. The Bills lead the all-time regular season series between these teams, 22-17-1, and the postseason series, 2-0. They most recently faced off in the AFC wild card round just a year ago in January 2025, with Buffalo winning at home, 31-7, to advance. The Broncos have had a much different journey to the playoffs this year, and were able to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed. Here’s everything you need to know about the game: Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos Game time: 4:30 PM ESTChannel: CBSOnline Streaming: FuboTV | Paramount+Location: Empower Field at Mile High | Denver, COAnnouncers: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson (field reporter) Buffalo Bills: +1.5 (+102) Denver Broncos: -1.5 (120) Over/under: 45.5 points SB Nation Blogs Bills: www.BuffaloRumblings.com Broncos: www.MileHighReport.com Open thread: Discuss Saturday’s game in the comments below. See More: Philadelphia Eagles discussion
Eagles requested an interview with Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter, per report
The Eagles are trying to make good use of this part of the coaching cycle, and while many teams are trying to first find their new head coach, Philadelphia is trying to nail down their new offensive coordinator. Reports on Saturday reveal the Eagles have requested an interview with a familiar face: Colts OC Jim […] The Eagles are trying to make good use of this part of the coaching cycle, and while many teams are trying to first find their new head coach, Philadelphia is trying to nail down their new offensive coordinator. Reports on Saturday reveal the Eagles have requested an interview with a familiar face: Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter. Cooter was a consultant for the Eagles in 2021 — specifically helping in two-minute scenarios —, but has served in various offensive coaching roles throughout his career, including quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. After leaving Philly in 2021, he went on to be the passing game coordinator for the Jaguars under Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Pederson, and then in 2023, he joined Indianapolis’ staff under Shane Steichen. The Colts’ offense has surpassed expectations the past few seasons, and Steichen and Cooter was a big reason. In 2025, they had one of the best run games in the league, and through the first 10 games, were really dynamic through the air, too. See More:
