The 2024/25 NFL season is in the books. There is still no three-peat champion in NFL history. A few quick thoughts as we embark upon the long, long march to the 2025/26 season…

Super Bowl LIX- I wish I had been more firm in my conviction that the Philadelphia Eagles were the team to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs. I picked them, but I left a sliver of doubt because of KC’s legacy. Philly left no doubt on the field. This was as thorough a domination of a Super Bowl as we’ve ever seen.

The Eagles were superior at every level and every position. There wasn’t a single area in which they weren’t clearly the better team. Even the Chiefs collection of legendary championship stars: Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones looked pedestrian. KC’s vaunted coaching geniuses, Andy Reid & Steve Spagnuolo were thoroughly outclassed by Nick Sirianni, Kellen Moore and the real star of the Super Bowl, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Hell, even the maligned Eagles kicker, Jake Elliott, outshone the best clutch kicker in the game.

The only gripe I have, and it’s a minor one, is awarding the MVP to Jalen Hurts. Hurts was good, but Philly won this game because of an absolutely dominate defense. A defensive player should have gotten the nod. Any of Josh Sweat, Zack Baun or Cooper DeJean would have been a fine choice. Alas, this is an award that invariably goes to the star quarterback of the winning team and Jalen Hurts is worthy of recognition for his accomplishments.

Building a Champion- Howie Roseman deserves all the accolades he’s gotten for building the Eagles roster into the best in the NFL, but I think most people are paying more attention to the free agency moves and trades to acquire talent instead of the masterclass in drafting he’s displayed the last few years.

Going back to the 2021 draft, he was able to work out a deal with rival Cowboys, to jump the rival Giants and land DeVonta Smith. The price paid was minimal as well.

How about 2023? He again moved up to get his guy. Maybe he didn’t need to move up one spot for Jalen Carter. The Bears were obviously not interested (more on that later), but they were also obviously shopping the pick. Howie didn’t take the chance of another team jumping him and a fourth round pick is a small price to pay.

Last year’s draft might have been the best yet. I liked Quinyon Mitchell for the Eagles but thought they would have to move up for him. Howie stood pat and let Mitchell come to them. He then doubled down on corners by taking Cooper DeJean in the second round ( I had DeJean going in the first round). The Eagles collapse in 2023 was mainly because their secondary imploded down the stretch. In one draft, Howie Roseman remade it.

Going further, the Eagles and Chiefs met in the Super Bowl two short years ago. The Eagles entered this Super Bowl with an almost completely new defense. The 2022/23 Eagles defense was good, this 2024/25 Eagles defense is historically great. It wasn’t just Vic Fangio, it was Howie Roseman deftly remaking and retooling the defensive roster.

Jalen Carter- A lot of people on Bears social media continue to gripe about the Bears passing on Carter, and I get it. Carter looks like he may well be the next Aaron Donald. He’s dominant and just going to get better. I remember being disappointed when Donald went one pick ahead of the Bears in 2014, then watching him become the most dominant defensive player since Reggie White. I wanted Donald, and I’d love to have a guy like Carter.

The thing is, there’s no guarantee Carter would have become the player he is in Chicago. There were character red flags coming out of Georgia and I’m not alone in questioning his maturity.

He landed in Philadelphia, who had seasoned veterans like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham to mentor him. Then he got a defensive mastermind in Vic Fangio to coach him up and unleash his potential.

Chicago had none of that. Carter’s natural, physical talent was undeniable, but we’ve seen many a physical talent flame out in this league when they don’t have the proper coaching and guidance. Maybe he would have excelled in Chicago, but my instinct says he would never have gotten to be as good as he already is in Philly. It was a risk a young, rebuilding team like the Bears couldn’t take.

Kellen Moore- The Saints have hired Moore as their next head coach, thereby completing the 2025 coaching cycle. The Saints job was perhaps the least desirable of the seven available. New Orleans continues to be in cap hell because of years of kicking the can down the road. They’ve got a mix of aging veterans and young talent with holes at every level of their roster. This is not a quick rebuild, but one that could take years.

Still, they did well landing Moore. He just won a Super Bowl by building an offense around the strength of the players at his disposal. I said a couple weeks ago that a possible Moore hire would garner a B grade from me, I’ll up that to a B+. It’s a solid hire for the Saints.

Here’s my rankings of the new head coaches heading into 2025:

1. Ben Johnson, Bears
2. Mike Vrabel, Patriots
3. Aaron Glenn, Jets
4. Kellen Moore, Saints
5. Pete Carroll, Raiders
6. Liam Coen, Jaguars
7. Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys

Quarterback Carousel- Free Agency will be very interesting, as always, but perhaps more so this year. There are eight teams with decisions to make at quarterback, with two more lurking as possibilities. How things shake out will go a long way in determining how the draft will go.

Speaking of the draft, it’s a down year for quarterbacks. I think only 2 will go in the first round, and neither would have cracked the first round last year.

Here’s the starting caliber quarterbacks that I think could be available via free agency or a trade:

• Kirk Cousins
• Aaron Rodgers
• Sam Darnold
• Russell Wilson
• Justin Fields

There’s also some veterans that are better suited to be backups that could land a starting role as a bridge QB. Those include Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Gardner Minshew & Mac Jones.

Now, here’s the teams that I think are in play for a QB:

• Jets- I like them to sign a cheap veteran then look to draft a QB.
• Browns- The best they could possibly hope to land is Fields. They do have the number two pick in the draft.
• Steelers- They’ll bring back either Wilson or Fields. My guess is Wilson.
• Colts- I don’t think they’ll give up on Richardson, yet, but I think they’ll kick the tires on Cousins and Rodgers.
• Titans- My gut says they’ll roll with Levis for one more season and either trade the first pick or take either Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter.
• Raiders- They’re in play for everyone. If the Steelers let Wilson walk, this is likely where he lands. They’re also a team to watch as far as the draft goes.
• Giants- I think they’re major players for Cousins, Darnold & Fields. With the head coach and GM on incredibly hot seats, I’m not sure they want to tie their fortunes to a rookie from this class.
• Vikings- They’re either handing the keys to McCarthy or bringing back Darnold on the franchise tag. My gut says they’ll tag Darnold.
• Saints- It’s going to be a lengthy rebuild in NOLA. Does Kellen Moore want Carr or not?

The Falcons aren’t in the quarterback market but they do have to decide what to do with Cousins. The 49ers need to extend Purdy, which could have repercussions throughout the league.

Free Agency- Teams have until March 12 to re-sign or tag their own players, so right now it’s pure speculation on who might be available. That being said, here’s my wishlist for the Chicago Bears:

• Trey Smith, OG, Kansas City
• Drew Dalman, OC, Atlanta
• Josh Sweat, EDGE, Philadelphia