Zolak & Bertrand: The Football Card – Championship Weekend

The crew owns a record of 42-41-2 after the Divisional Round as we continue to inch towards the end of the season.

Beetle won his fourth in a row as the Chiefs (+2.5) upset the Bills in Buffalos. Zo missed by predicting that the Bucs and Lions was going to be a low-scoring affair (UNDER 49). R.J. finally got his first win since replacing Hardy, as he bet on the Packers and 49ers not scoring much (UNDER 50.5). T-Bone was a winner after riding with the Lions (-6.5) once again.  Lastly, Milliken continued to struggle by betting on the 49ers (-9.5) to win by a bigger margin over the Packers.

One of the biggest questions we get each week is what betting lines do we make our picks from. In past years, sports betting wasn’t allowed in Massachusetts, but that barrier has finally been broken down. Check out Bet MGM to see the exact same lines the guys are looking at.

This matchup should be all about defense. Ravens are #1 and the Chiefs are #2 in points allowed per game, which should keep the score low with a ticket to the Super Bowl on the line. That's why Beetle is so confident about both teams combining to score 44 points or less.

It's been the year of Lamar Jackson with his second MVP likely on the horizon, so Zo is riding with them to finally get over the hump and make the Super Bowl. The Chiefs offense hasn't been the same this year with their lack of weapons and Travis Kelce getting older. Should be an opportunity to slow the dynasty at least for a year.

R.J. is confident that the Lions finally get stopped against the 49ers, which would make you think Brock Purdy will be carving up the Lions defense. But nope, he envisions the Lions melting down and the 49ers running out the clock with Christian McCaffrey. Not to mention, we've seen Kyle Shanahan protect his system quarterbacks in these spots before.

T-Bone immediately looked at how strong the Lions' defense has been this season and took the under on Christian McCaffrey racking up 128 yards between the run and pass game. He believes if the 49ers end up winning, Brock Purdy is going to have to make some magic happen with his wide receivers. But we all know T-Bone has been on the Lions to the Super Bowl train for quite some time.

Milliken sided with R.J. in believing that the Lions' Cinderella story is finally coming to an end, so he thinks Jared Goff will have one of his meltdowns against such a strong 49ers defense (3rd in point allowed). Even in a win, with how aggressive the Lions operate on offense, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Goff make a mistake. So, book at least one interception with a chance to go to the Super Bowl on the line.

The 2024 NFL coaching carousel has taken a surprising turn - one that could have major implications on the New England Patriots' 2024 coaching staff.

On Thursday afternoon, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Atlanta Falcons are expected to hire Raheem Morris as their next head coach. Morris is currently the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.

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Morris' hire comes after the Falcons interviewed 14 candidates for the job. That includes former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who met with the Falcons twice and at one point was viewed as a strong favorite to land the job.

Now, Belichick remains without a team. Between the Belichick ties and Morris' ties to the Rams, this hire could impact the Patriots' coordinator search - as well as their hiring of positional coaches - in a number of ways.

The first is Belichick's continued 'free agent' status. With the Falcons job filled there are only two head coach openings left in the NFL - the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks. Belichick hasn't interviewed with either team (in fact, the Falcons are the only team he spoke with), and early in the process it was reported the Commanders aren't interested in hiring him.

It now looks like there's a real chance Belichick could be without a head coaching job in 2024. It's hard to say what would happen if that was the case - would he take another job as senior advisor? Work in media? Take the year off and come back in 2025? Or just outright retire? From the outside looking in, all options seem realistic at this point.

As long as Belichick isn't employed, the status of some of his former coaches in New England remains up in the air. When it seemed like he was heading to Atlanta, it felt like a foregone conclusion that some coaches would simply follow him. That group included is sons Steve Belichick and Brian Belichick, as well as special teams coaches Joe Judge and Cam Achord.

If those coaches don't have a team to follow Belichick too, it changes the dynamic a bit. It's simpler for Judge and Achord - the Patriots have been interviewing potential special teams coordinators (including current Falcons STC Marquice Williams) without any formal parting of ways with either of the two incumbents, which suggests new head coach Jerod Mayo plans on going in another direction. To make that official now though the Patriots may have to fire Judge and Achord (if they are still under contract).

It's a little different with Belichick's sons. The team has been interviewing candidates who would fit their job descriptions (Steve was a linebackers coach and de facto co-defensive coordinator last year, Brian was the safeties coach), but at the same time it's been reported they've been offered opportunities to return to New England.

The return of either Belichick could come in a new role. ESPN's Mike Reiss suggested over the weekend that, while the Patriots are interviewing potential defensive coordinators, Steve Belichick could end up in an "assistant head coach/senior adviser type" of role.

Then, there's the coach from outside the organization many expected Belichick to hire - offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. If Belichick doesn't end up getting a job, McDaniels would be very much in play for the Patriots' OC job. Jeff Howe of The Athletic recently reported that McDaniels would "jump to the top of the list" of the Patriots' OC search if he didn't end up going with Belichick.

That may end up being good news for the Patriots, as the Mostert hire could take two of their other candidates off the market. According to Howe, Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson - who has interviewed with the Patriots - is a "strong candidate" to go with Morris in going from LA to Atlanta to be his offensive coordinator. Another Patriots interviewee, Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley, could also be brought over to that staff.

If that were to happen, it would mean all of the coaches known to have interviewed for the Patriots' OC position would have taken other jobs. The only other two they spoke with in addition to Robinson and Caley were Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher (promoted to OC in Cincinnati) and Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (hired by the Chicago Bears).

So with two head coaching hires left, the waiting game will continue in New England to fill out the coordinator jobs. However, it continues under potentially very different context than it did prior to Thursday.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

One of the top offensive coordinator candidates in this year's coaching carousel has met with the Patriots, we learned on Friday. However, the team will have serious competition in hiring him.

According to CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones, the Patriots have interviewed Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for their offensive coordinator opening. Johnson has received a lot of attention this coaching cycle after his work with rookie Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.

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The Patriots have been one of many stops for Johnson, according to Jones. He's also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, and will interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. There's also a chance he could end up staying in Houston via promotion, with current Texans' offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik considered a top candidate for head coaching jobs this cycle.

Johnson's stock is high after just one year in his current role in Houston. He's had a quick rise up the coaching ranks. After an eight-year pro career as a quarterback Johnson took part in the Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowship with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 and the Indianapolis Colts in 2019. The Colts then hired him as a quality control coach in 2020, and in 2022 he joined the Vikings as an assistant quarterbacks coach for one year before being hired by the Texans.

If they were to hire him, Johnson would check multiple boxes for the Patriots. Not only has he proven himself as a quarterback developer, but he's familiar with the Shanahan and McVay offensive systems the Patriots seem to be targeting. Just about every offensive coordinator candidate the Patriots have interviewed has experience in at least one of the two, and Johnson has both - having worked for Kevin O'Connell (who was previously a Rams assistant under McVay) in Minnesota before joining the Texans where he worked under Slowik (a former 49ers assistant).

In addition to Johnson, Jones also reported the Patriots have interviewed current Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown for their OC job. While Brown is technically currently employed, the coaching change in Carolina likely means a new staff is coming in leaving Brown looking for his next role.

Like many of the other candidates for the Patriots, Brown comes out of the McVay coaching tree. After spending the first decade of his coaching career at the college level, Brown was hired by the Rams as a running backs coach (the position he played in the NFL from 2008-2010) in 2020. The next year he was named an assistant head coach, and switched to coaching tight ends in 2022 before being hired by Carolina last year.

With Johnson and Brown now on the list, the Patriots have interviewed a total of six potential offensive coordinators (although two have since taken other jobs). You can follow the full list of interviews for all three coordinator jobs with our Patriots coaching staff tracker here.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.