NFC North

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love told reporters Wednesday he is "hopeful" he will play in Sunday's playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering an injury in the regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears.

"We'll see," he said. "Yeah. I'm hopeful."

Love exited Green Bay's matchup against the Bears in the second quarter due to an elbow injury and didn't return. The Packers suffered a 24-22 loss on a last-second field goal to end the regular season with an 11-6 record.

Love was forced to miss two games earlier this season due to an MCL sprain. In his 15 appearances, he threw for 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The No. 26 pick in the 2020 draft, Love is in his second season as Green Bay's full-time starting quarterback. He's led the Packers to the playoffs in back-to-back years, proving the team's investment in him to be a good decision. He was signed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension prior to the 2024 campaign.

As the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, Green Bay will face the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round. The two teams opened the year against one another in the NFL São Paulo Game, with the Eagles earning a 34-29 win. Love threw for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss before suffering the knee injury that cost him two games.

The Packers will need Love to be at his best if they hope to make a deep run in the playoffs. If he's forced to miss time, Green Bay will turn to backup quarterback Malik Willis to lead the offense. Willis produced back-to-back wins in his two starts this season.

Detroit Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown turned a jab from an opposing player into a trademark.

On Wednesday, St. Brown released new merchandise featuring the phrase "Slot Merchant." A hoodie and a T-shirt are available for purchase on St. Brown's official merchandise website.

Amon-Ra St. Brown just released “Slot Merchant” merchandise available to purchase on his website

😂#OnePride pic.twitter.com/XhzWAtggww

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) January 8, 2025

During an appearance on FS1's The Facility in October, Pittsburgh Steelers wideout George Pickens threw a barb toward St. Brown while answering a question about where he ranks himself among the other top receivers in the NFL.

"I probably say schematically is the big thing in football. That's how you get Amon-Ra St. Brown, slot merchants, that's schematically getting fed the ball," Pickens said in an attempt to explain why other receivers produce bigger numbers than he does.

St. Brown finished the 2024 season ranked second in the league with 115 receptions, fifth with 1,263 receiving yards and third with 12 receiving touchdowns. It's his third straight year with over 100 catches and over 1,000 yards, but he's not necessarily the "Slot Merchant" that Pickens pained him out to be.

In 2024, St. Brown had 42.9 percent of his snaps come from the slot, the lowest mark of his four-year career and a drop from his 47.3 percent rate in 2023. He saw most of his snaps from the slot in his rookie season when he operated out of the position at a 62.7 percent clip.

Regardless of where St. Brown is lined up, his production is one of the key reasons why the Lions went 15-2, won the NFC North title for the second straight year and claimed the NFC's No. 1 seed. Detroit is hoping to earn its first Super Bowl title in franchise history, and St. Brown will have to be at his best for the team to achieve that goal.

Mike Kafka is reportedly getting in the mix for a few head coaching vacancies.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the New York Giants offensive coordinator is set to interview with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints on Thursday as the two teams continue searching for their next head coach.

Kafka has been in a coaching role in the NFL since 2016 following a one-year stint as a graduate assistant at Northwestern. He had an impressive start to his coaching career, serving as an offensive quality control assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming the team's quarterbacks coach in 2018.

In his first year in that position, Patrick Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns on his way to his first MVP award. He stayed in that role until 2021, also taking on pass game coordinator duties along the way. He helped the Chiefs win a Super Bowl in 2019 and was a cog in some of the most impressive offenses in recent memory.

His work with the Chiefs led to him landing a job as the Giants' offensive coordinator in 2022. He's been in that role ever since and was also named assistant head coach ahead of the 2024 season.

In his first season with New York, Kafka was given play-caller duties and helped lead the Giants to their first playoff win in 11 seasons.

Kafka's name has come up in a handful of coaching searches over the past few years, as he interviewed with the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers in 2023. Last year, he interviewed with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks for their vacant head coaching positions.

With an impressive resume and previous head coaching buzz, perhaps this offseason will finally see Kafka land his first head coaching gig.

The Chicago Bears are reportedly set to interview an NFL coaching legend for their vacant head coaching position.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll will interview with the Bears on Thursday. Carroll stepped down as Seattle's coach after 14 seasons last year.

Carroll, one of just four head coaches to lead a team to a national championship and a Super Bowl, spent the 2024 season as an advisor to the Seahawks but decided one year away from the sideline was enough, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in December that Carroll was interested in the Bears job and wanted to get back into coaching.

Carroll, 73, would be the oldest coach in the NFL if he is hired during this year's coaching cycle.

The Bears have requested to interview a handful of candidates, including Detriot Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. They also requested to interview Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract expires Wednesday, but the Cowboys denied the request, per Schefter.

The Bears fired head coach Mike Eberflus in November following a loss to the Detroit Lions and a six-game losing skid.

Whoever takes over as Chicago's head coach will get a roster highlighted by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Williams won a Heisman at USC, where Carroll was the head coach from 2001 to 2009.

Along with the Bears, the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders all have coaching vacancies. Though the Raiders' coaching search is the newest—they fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday—Carroll has already been linked to Las Vegas. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Carroll is a "name to keep in mind" in the coaching search.

The Detroit Lions are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl, but their coaching staff could look quite different in 2025.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport appeared on Tuesday's episode of the Dan Patrick Show (4:40 mark) and said there is a "pretty good chance" the NFC North team loses offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to teams with head-coaching vacancies this offseason.

He pointed out Johnson has "been in command for a couple years" and highlighted the "culture" and "leadership" Glenn has developed with the defense.

"To me, he's the guy who is most of an extension of Dan Campbell on the staff," Rapoport said of Glenn. "I think he's got a really good chance to get one of these jobs as well."

The Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints are all looking for new head coaches as of Tuesday, meaning there are a number of different landing spots for both coordinators.

Johnson is surely intriguing to teams with young quarterbacks such as the Bears, Patriots and Jaguars given his offensive background and innovative approach to play-calling, while Glenn has likely turned plenty of heads this season while leading a Lions defense that has dealt with a number of injuries.

Glenn was at his best Sunday as the Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 and clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Quarterback Sam Darnold has been largely excellent this season but went just 18-of-41 for 166 yards in the loss as the Vikings failed to score anything but field goals.

That type of pressure-packed performance from the defense only improved Glenn's chances at landing a head-coaching job.

As for the Lions, Campbell will surely still be the head coach in 2025 as he looks to continue the incredible turnaround of the franchise in what will be his fifth season. He just might have to do so without his two top assistants that have helped build the success in Detroit.

The Chicago Bears are on the hunt for their next head coach, and general manager Ryan Poles hasn't ruled out trading for a head coach.

"We'll look at all avenues to get the best coach here," he said, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

Poles' comments come after reports that multiple teams have shown interest in trading for Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and another report that teams could be interested in a trade for Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

The Chicago GM also said the Bears' coaching search could turn some heads this offseason.

"There's going to be some names that you don't expect, that will surprise you," Poles said, per Cronin.

Perhaps O'Connell or Tomlin could be the names Poles is referring to.

With the season the Vikings are having, a majority of NFL teams would likely be willing to trade for O'Connell. Minnesota finished the regular season 14-3, shocking the league with former San Francisco 49ers backup Sam Darnold under center.

Before the season, making the playoffs seemed like a stretch for the Vikings. Now, the idea of Minnesota winning the Super Bowl doesn't sound too crazy.

O'Connell is also heading into the final year of his contract in 2025, which sparked some of the trade conversation as he hasn't inked a new deal with the Vikings.

However, Minnesota made it clear it has no intention of trading O'Connell amid the reports:

I just asked someone from the Vikings about the report that multiple teams are interested in trading for coach Kevin O’Connell. Response: “We love Kevin and there will be no trade.”

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 6, 2025

As for Tomlin, who wouldn't want the longest-tenured current head coach to lead their team? While his Steelers are far removed from the Super Bowl they won in 2008, he has been a consistent winner and is one of the most respected coaches in the league.

Even if Pittsburgh doesn't end its season with a Super Bowl, the idea of the Steelers trading away a head coach who has been around for 18 years seems a bit absurd.

Perhaps the Bears will have to look to teams other than the Vikings and Steelers to land a coach in a trade this offseason.

Daniel Jones will be available for the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs.

The Vikings announced Tuesday that they have signed the former New York Giants quarterback to the active roster and waived Brett Rypien in a corresponding move.

Minnesota signed Jones for $375,000 for the remainder of this season in late November after he and the Giants parted ways. It gave the 27-year-old the opportunity to join a playoff team and provided experienced depth for the Vikings behind Sam Darnold.

The quarterback position on the NFC North team has been under the spotlight throughout the campaign, as it seemed like it made J.J. McCarthy the present and future of the franchise when it selected him with the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 draft.

However, the rookie was lost for the year to injury before he ever stepped onto the field in a regular-season game, which left the offense in Darnold's hands.

It was fair to worry about that development considering Darnold went a combined 21-35 as a starter for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers and failed to live up to the expectations that were placed on him as the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft.

Yet he exceeded all expectations in Minnesota and led the team to a 14-3 record while completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Such success is a testament to his own resiliency and the situation around him with the Vikings.

There are far worse situations for a quarterback than getting the ball to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones, especially doing so while playing for head coach Kevin O'Connell.

Minnesota's plan will surely be to rely on Darnold as it prepares for Monday's playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, but it can at least take solace knowing it already found success with one castoff quarterback who did not live up to expectations as a high draft pick in New York if it is forced to turn to Jones.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell believes defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn should be an NFL head coach next year.

"Glenn is as good a coach as you're going to find, he's an even better human being," he told reporters. "If nobody wants him I'll take him again, I can tell you that right now, but the thought of going through another cycle and he's not somebody's head coach is ridiculous. This guy's as good as they come. He can do it all. He understands how to manage a game. He understands offense, defense, special teams. He knows how to communicate. He understands discipline of players. And he's motivated, he's inspiring. I don't want to lose him, but I also root for the guy because I think he's a hell of a coach."

The 52-year-old Glenn will have his share of interest around the NFL, with a number of teams already requesting to interview him:

The Lions have given OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn a window from Thursday afternoon through Saturday to do head coaching interviews, per sources. All those, by rule, have to be virtual.

(As we’ve said, Johnson will be selective, and may only interview with Chicago and NE.)

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 7, 2025

The #Saints requested an interview with #Lions DC Aaron Glenn for their head coaching job, per source.

A former New Orleans assistant, Glenn was the runner-up for the job last time. The #Bears and #Jets requested him too.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2025

The Jaguars have requested the following coaches to interview for their vacancy: Patrick Graham, Robert Saleh, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Liam Coen, Joe Brady, Todd Monken and Kellen Moore.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 7, 2025

The Lions suffered a number of injuries on defense this past season, including losing star pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson for the season, but still finished seventh in the NFL in points allowed (20.1 PPG), a testament to Glenn's scheme.

His fourth year on the job was arguably his most impressive, and the Lions are the top seed in the NFC and are a major threat to win the first Super Bowl in franchise history (or at least reach the Super Bowl for the first time ever). Glenn held a depleted defense together and should be one of the top candidates for the six teams in need of a head coach.

There was concern that Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery would miss the remainder of the season when he suffered a knee injury during his team's Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills, but that will not be the case.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Tuesday the expectation is Montgomery will be available to take the field in the NFC Divisional Round.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Dec. 19 that Montgomery visited with multiple medical experts, which led to optimism he would avoid season-ending surgery on the setback and potentially return for the playoffs.

Detroit clinched a first-round bye and the No. 1 seed in the NFC with Sunday's win over the Minnesota Vikings, so Montgomery and the rest of the injured Lions have an extra week to rest and prepare for the next round.

That extra week is proving important, as the veteran running back will be available.

He was a key piece of the team's offense this season and tallied 775 rushing yards, 341 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. He and Jahmyr Gibbs make up arguably the best one-two running back punch in the league and complement each other well with their different skill sets.

DAVID MONTGOMERY IS A BEAST.

📺: #SEAvsDET on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/OiTpKUNzPB

— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2024

Montgomery is a physical runner who the Lions can rely on near the goal line and in short-yardage situations even though he can still be a threat in the aerial attack. Gibbs has more explosion and is a candidate to take it the distance every time he touches the ball.

Gibbs has elevated his game since Montgomery's injury with 487 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in three games against the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Vikings. He was unstoppable in the clutch game against Minnesota with four total touchdowns.

The Lions are loaded with weapons with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams even without Montgomery. Adding yet another offensive playmaker to that group in the postseason with the running back's return is a nightmare for opposing defenses.

They will now be forced into situations where they have to pick their poison even more as Detroit looks to take advantage of all that firepower and win a Super Bowl.

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is a "top candidate" to become the next head coach of the Chicago Bears, according to The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt.

The Bears have also reportedly requested to speak with Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, per ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Kingsbury has jumped toward the top of the list in Chicago because of his past work at USC with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and his current work developing Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels, according to Rosenblatt.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also recently reported that he expects Kingsbury to interview with the Bears.

"Observers believe experience will be a key factor in the hiring process, and Kingsbury has experience coupled with quarterback cachet," Fowler wrote.

Kingsbury served as USC's senior offensive analyst during Williams' final college season in 2023, and Williams recently said he had "a bunch of qualities" that would make him a good head coach in Chicago.

When asked what those qualities were, Williams answered: "A coach that challenges myself, whether it's an offensive coordinator or head coach, and also challenges us as players. Whether it's on the field or character, doesn't matter. Just a coach that challenges us."

Both Fowler and Rosenblatt wrote that Kingsbury would be "selective" when deciding which team to join next.

As pointed out by Fowler, Kingsbury is still getting paid by the Arizona Cardinals, whose 2023 firing from the franchise took place ten months after he signed a six-year extension.

That money, combined with the opportunity to coach a rising star in Daniels, are compelling reasons to stick around with Washington.

Kingsbury confirmed after Week 18 he would like to be an NFL head coach again "at some point."

When asked if he would interview for head coaching jobs this cycle, Kingsbury answered, "We'll see how everything plays out. But I'm very happy here."

Kliff Kingsbury’s first public comments suggesting he wants to be a head coach again. Will be a massive story early this offseason if he accepts interviews.

Great line of questioning by @Sam4TR. pic.twitter.com/Yzx9iGQJnL

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) January 2, 2025

If Kingsbury does decide to interview, he's likely to be offered multiple opportunities. The New York Jets have been connected both Kingsbury and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, per Rosenblatt and NFL insider Josina Anderson.

Kingsbury went 35-40 as Texas Tech's head coach before leading the Cardinals to a 28-37-1 record over four years with one winning season and playoff appearance.

The Commanders ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards per game and fifth in points per game in his first season as offensive coordinator. Daniels is meanwhile a Rookie of the Year candidate after finishing the regular season fourth in QBR and sixth in completion percentage.