Well, FedEx field is no more. FedEx bails out of their remaining 2 year naming rights deal — which coincides with the announcement of the $75 million investment for improvements and upgrades to the stadium. I remember how pissed off I got when Snyder changed the name from Jack Kent Cook Stadium to FedEx Field. So I welcome this change.
On the Draft front, NC QB Drake Maye and LSU QB (Heisman winner) Jayden Daniels are both now at play for Washington as an alternative to Caleb Williams. However, everything depends on what Chicago decides to do with Justin Fields. On top of all that, we are entering Free Agency with the most cap space in the entire league, and we just freed up more space by releasing Charles Leno, Logan Thomas, and Nick Gates.
The hiring spree finished a few weeks ago — Adam Peters has assembled an impressive coaching staff and Front Office group. They poached Lance Newmark from Detroit to become our new Assistant GM. This means Martin Mayhew’s job title has changed to Senior Personnel Executive, and Marty Hurney is now an advisor to the GM. Interestingly, these two from the Ron Rivera era survived the changeover and will remain in the front office.
Additionally. the new coaching staff is pretty remarkable. Most notably, the coaching reunions with Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury with coaches from their previous staffs. Like former Cowboys assistant Sharrif Floyd, now our assistant DL coach, and former Raiders and Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who is here to coach LBs — Ken Norton reunites with Dan Quinn from their time in Seattle.
Also, former Buccaneers assistant coach David Raih is our new Tight Ends coach, reuniting him with Kliff Kingsbury, whom he worked with in Arizona. Another interesting hire is John Pagano (Chuck Pagano’s brother). John Pagano is a former Chargers and Raiders defensive coordinator, and he is coming in with the title of Special Defensive assistant. Anyhow, here is the official staff list.
SUPER BOWL GAME
CHIEFS 25 — 49ERS 22
Muffed punts, fumbles, picks, and missed extra points defined this thrilling Super Bowl game. But the missed extra point in the 4th quarter essentially lost this game for San Francisco. If Jake Moody had made the extra point, this game would have ended in regulation time. Nevertheless, the significant difference in this game was Patrick Mahomes — Mahomes made the necessary plays and managed to score the crucial game-winning TD. Meanwhile, Brock Purdy couldn’t score touchdowns on multiple trips to the Red Zone.
However, San Francisco’s Defense failed to stop Kansas City in critical scoring drives, keeping this game closer than it should’ve been. As a result, Steve Wilks was let go, and Nick Sorenson is now their new Defensive Coordinator, with the addition of Brandon Staley as an assistant head coach. San Francisco’s championship window is starting to close. They need to reload and upgrade some pivotal spots to contend in 2024.
On the other hand, Kansas City continues to defy expectations. They had an early season slump, but they pulled through and are now back-to-back Super Bowl champs. Overall, 2023 was an impressive championship season for Kansas City, where we witnessed the emergence of Rashee Rice as a legitimate number-one receiver. Isiah Pacheco established himself as a solid starting RB. And Travis Kelce had another outstanding season. Congratulations to the 2023 NFL Champs
Rod Rioja 