NFL rumors: Baker Mayfield future in TB, Saints trying to steal C.J. Stroud's guy, Patriots OC interviews
- Bucs and Baker Mayfield have mutual interest in Tampa Bay return
- Saints pursuing an offensive coordinator from Texans staff
- The Patriots are interviewing a pair of OC candidates
NFL rumors: Saints pursuing C.J. Stroud's guy
One of the great stories of this past season has been the Houston Texans, who entered the year as a potential candidate for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and instead wound up not only finishing with a winning record, but winning the AFC South. The fairytale didn't end there, as Houston won a playoff game for the first time since 2020. The Texans did fall short in the AFC Divisional Round in Baltimore, but their season is one Texans fans will remember for a long time.
The reason the Texans were able to go as far as they did was the emergence of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Texans selected Stroud with the No. 2 pick in this past draft expecting him to eventually lead them to the playoffs, but he defied all expectations by playing like a top-five quarterback in his rookie year despite his roster being far from loaded.
With Stroud looking as good as he did, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has been generating a ton of head coaching interest. While Slowik deserves credit, he's not the only one who has been coaching Stroud. Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson played a big role in Stroud's emergence and is reportedly receiving interest from the Saints to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy.
The fit makes sense not only with Stroud looking as good as he did as a rookie, but with Johnson having ties with Saints head coach Dennis Allen with Allen coaching and Johnson playing at Texas A&M University.