The winds of change are blowing around the NFL.
Just hours after the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, a number of teams across the league announced the firings of coaches or front office executives. The annual purge is commonly referred to as “black Monday.”
As major moves continue to be made, here’s a look at how these firings — or surprise retainings — could impact a number of Utah-related players in the NFL.
Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders
Fun fact: Rivera’s four-year tenure in Washington featured more team names (three) than playoff appearances (one).
The former Carolina Panthers head coach largely flopped in D.C., finishing 26-40-1 and never posting a winning campaign. The then-Washington Football Team won the NFC East division crown in 2020 with a 7-9 record amid COVID-19 chaos.
In addition to his coaching duties with the Commanders, Rivera had final say over all personnel matters, and he brought a handful of BYU, Utah and Utah State products into the organization.
Former Utes teammates Cody Barton and Terrell Burgess saw significant playing time on defense and special teams in 2023, while Aggies legend Tyler Larsen appeared in seven games on the offensive line. All three were acquired as free agents under Rivera, with Larsen signing with the club four different times over three years.
BYU receiver Dax Milne and Utah offensive lineman Braeden Daniels were both drafted by Rivera, but were each placed on injured reserve and missed all of 2023.
Rivera’s booting from Washington is the start of a seismic rebuilding process for the franchise, with new team owner Josh Harris looking to assemble a new coaching staff, revamp the front office and draft a cornerstone quarterback.
Barton, Burgess and Larsen will all be unrestricted free agents this offseason, and with a complete roster overhaul inevitable, it just wouldn’t make sense for the Commanders to re-sign any of them for 2024. None qualify as true pieces to build around going forward.
The new Commanders regime will most likely continue to develop Daniels, as he has three years remaining on his rookie deal and provides needed depth on the line.
As for Milne, he’ll be in the final season of his contract, and having sat out all of 2023, there will be plenty of question marks regarding his health. Having been one of Rivera’s hand-picked “guys” in the draft, new offensive coaches may want to part ways with Milne if he doesn’t match their intended vision for the scheme.
Arthur Smith, Atlanta Falcons
Smith’s failure to win in Atlanta has been rather embarrassing.
Once known as an offensive guru, Smith used each of the Falcons’ past three first-round draft picks to take explosive, “can’t miss” skill position players, only to never scratch the surface of his roster’s potential and finish 26th league-wide in scoring this past year.
Atlanta did manage to find a late gem in the draft in Tyler Allgeier, the former BYU running back Smith selected in 2022’s fifth round. As a rookie, Allgeier set a Falcons franchise record by rushing for 1,035 yards, becoming the first former Cougar to crack quadruple digits on the ground.
Despite Allgeier’s early success, Atlanta still elected to take running back Bijan Robinson seventh overall in last year’s draft, a move which puzzled pundits since the Falcons had greater needs to fill elsewhere.
Allgeier did have a solid campaign in 2023 — posting 876 total yards with six scores — but he played second fiddle to Robinson and saw his workload become more inconsistent, with his average yards per carry dropping from 4.9 as a rookie to 3.7.
Under a new coaching staff, Allgeier could possibly be given a more prominent, defined role in Atlanta, as he and Robinson do complement each other’s skill sets nicely even though it wasn’t obvious in Smith’s confusing scheme.
Although unlikely, Allgeier could also be an intriguing trade candidate, still holding two years on his rookie deal at a relatively cheap price for the production he provides. The Falcons would surely entertain any offers and should keep the phone close this offseason. Allgeier could be the missing backfield piece a number of contenders covet.
Fourth round rookie cornerback and former Ute Clark Phillips III should stick around in Atlanta no matter what, holding plenty of upside to be a valuable defensive contributor despite an up-and-down past campaign.
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
While the Saints seem to plan on bringing Allen back for a third season at the helm, the team has much bigger fish to fry: salary cap chaos.
New Orleans currently is more than $72 million over the 2024 salary cap — the largest such debt across the league. Saints leadership will have to exercise extreme creativity to stay within financial bounds, which could lead to some tough decisions involving their Utah products. Such decision making could determine Allen’s future in the organization.
Former Weber State standout Rashid Shaheed is an exclusive rights free agent, meaning the Saints can automatically bring him back should they extend a qualifying offer.
Given Shaheed’s value as a receiving threat, he could prove expensive and fetch a larger payday elsewhere should New Orleans fail to free up necessary funding for his salary. Shahid would be unable to negotiate with other teams unless he’s not given a qualifying offer from the Saints.
New Orleans’ pair of BYU fan favorites — Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill — could end up on the cutting room floor as tragic cap casualties.
Williams dealt with injuries in 2023 and posted career lows in every major category, making the veteran’s $4.6 million projected cap hit in 2024 seem somewhat unreasonable. He’s adored in the locker room and offers value as a glue guy, so the Saints could look to keep him around on a cheaper, restructured deal.
Hill’s situation is a bit more complicated. The “Swiss Army knife” holds a projected $15.7 million cap hit for his age-34 season, more than doubling last year’s cost. His versatility is precious, but New Orleans likely can’t afford such a steep price for a player who gave the team just under 700 total yards last year.
A restructuring is always an option, but perhaps Hill will test the open market for a bigger payday and change of scenery. Reuniting in Denver with his former head coach Sean Payton is a scenario worth exploring.