Scoop City: Inside The NFL

The Falcons announced this week that they’re benching Kirk Cousins in favor of Michael Penix Jr., the quarterback they took in the first round of the draft. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel share what they know about why the team’s doing this so late in the season and where their relationship with Cousins, who they made a big move to get last offseason, goes from here. Dianna and Chase also measure...

The Jets have had another turbulent season and The Athletic's deeply-reported story on Thursday adds to it, detailing the extent to which Woody Johnson affects his organization. Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Michael Silver uncovered, among other things, that Johnson once nixed a trade with the Denver Broncos because of a player’s rating on Madden. Dianna, Zack and Mike share what they learne...

The Bills and the Eagles posted huge wins this weekend as the playoff picture came into clearer view. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel share what they’re hearing and seeing about the teams in serious contention and ask each other whether they believe in the Eagles, Bills, Lions, Chiefs, Rams, Texans and Broncos. Then, Bengals running back Chase Brown stops by to talk about his role in a late-season...

It actually happened: Bill Belichick is going be the next head football coach at UNC, not another NFL team. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel talk with The Athletic’s national college football insider, Bruce Feldman, about what people inside the NFL and college football are saying about why he took the job, whether he’ll be successful and what this means for the next NFL hiring cycle. Dianna also sh...

Could the coach with the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history be happy working at the college level for the first time? Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel ask legendary coach Bruce Arians, who worked in the pros and in major college programs, what taking a job at a place like UNC would be like for Bill Belichick. They also get insight from Arians on what this year’s class of rookie quarterbacks is bri...

Scoop City has made a list and checked it twice for the NFL’s contenders and bottom dwellers. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel square what the teams trying to make a run need with what they can do, from the Ravens and Chiefs to the Texans and Commanders. They also make wishes for teams trying to bounce back from the bottom like the Browns, Jets, Bears and Bengals. Then, The Athletic’s Zak Keefer, h...

The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus after a disastrous loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel get into what got us here, how the locker room is reacting to the moment and what the organization has to do to fix it. They also go deep on the top teams in the NFC, including the Lions and Eagles, and explore how the Bills managed to wrap up the AFC East on December 1. T...

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones kicks off Thanksgiving week by saying he hasn’t ruled out extending Mike McCarthy’s contract. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel share what they’re hearing and seeing from Dallas as the Cowboys sort out some existential issues in the final weeks of the season. They also open the Scoop City Mailbag to answer your questions about the Ravens, Lions, Bucs, Vikings, Raider...

Both of New York’s football teams are in shambles. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel get into where the Giants go from here after releasing Daniel Jones and the bizarre news that the Jets have brought back former GM Mike Tannenbaum to help them find a new GM and head coach. Then, they reconvene “Scoop Court” to rule on whether Chase can still credibly claim the Chiefs are the best team in the league...

After the New York Jets fired GM Joe Douglas this week, Dianna Russini and The Athletic published blockbuster reporting about how deep the dysfunction runs in the Jets organization. Here, Dianna and Chase unpack her scoops about Douglas’ exit and how Jets owner Woody Johnson suggested to coaches and team officials that they bench Aaron Rodgers earlier this year. They also rate the sadness levels o...

The Giants are benching Daniel Jones, the quarterback they’d once seen as a franchise centerpiece. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel break down what got them to this point, and with the help of The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, contemplate whether head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen can survive what’s next. Dianna and Chase also run a heat check on the stories shaping this week’s NFL news cycle and s...

Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel forecast what the offseason job market could look like and whether as many as 10 or 11 teams could soon be looking for new head coaches. They also contemplate questions about how Aaron Rodgers could affect the Jets’ effort to land a new head coach and whether there’s anything to all the talk about Deion Sanders potentially coaching in the NFL. Plus, The Athletic’s J...

The Bears are pondering existential questions after a painful loss at home to the Patriots on Sunday. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel, with the help of The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, unpack why this feels like a new bottom for Chicago and what might come next for the team. Dianna and Chase also share what they’re hearing and what they’re seeing in teams that are soaring, like the Steelers and Lion...

Dallas QB Dak Prescott’s injury may be serious. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel share what they’re hearing and thinking about how the Cowboys are handling a nightmare season and why so many people are asking: what the heck are they doing? Plus, at the halfway mark of the season, they ask whether these teams should see their seasons as glass half full or half empty: the Texans, the Jets, the Viking...

Heads rolled in New Orleans and in Las Vegas after those teams lost on Sunday. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel take stock of why the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen and why the Raiders cut loose their offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy - and what the chessboard for coaching vacancies could look like across the league. They also contemplate which big moves could be left in the hours before the...

There’s one more game before the trade deadline. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel examine five teams who should be thinking about making a move, buyers and sellers - including the Houston Texans, who just lost star receiver Stefon Diggs for the season. Then The Athletic’s Dane Brugler joins the pod to talk about why so many quarterbacks from the 2023 draft class are struggling and to share his earl...

After a bonkers weekend of games, Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel break out the vibe meter to measure what teams are feeling a week out from the trade deadline. They share what they’re hearing and seeing from Washington (with an impromptu appearance from Pardon My Take’s PFT Commenter), where the vibes are soaring. And they take stock of the atmospheres in Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, Dallas...

The Chiefs, an undefeated team sore for pass catchers, just traded for one of the most recognizable receivers in the NFL. Dianna Russini shares with Chase Daniel how their trade for Deandre Hopkins went down and hears from Chase what he’s going to bring to the Kansas City offense. Then they get into what Dianna’s hearing about who could be reaching out to the Rams about Cooper Kupp, what other rec...

As reported by Dianna Russini over the weekend, the Dolphins are moving to get Tua Tagovailoa back on the field as early as next Sunday. Dianna and Chase Daniel explore what risks he and the team are taking by returning to action so quickly after he suffered the third diagnosed concussion of his career in September. They also discuss what went into Mike Tomlin’s decision to start Russell Wilson at...

After an embarrassing loss to the Lions and a testy local radio interview that sparked nationwide headlines, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took a moment at the owners meeting to open up to Dianna Russini about where the team goes next and how he deals with media. Dianna and Chase Daniel, along with new Athletic colleague Michael Silver, also dish on how the Davante Adams trade came together for the Je...

The Eagles eked out a win over the Browns this weekend, but their coach may have left the game banged up. Dianna Russini, Chase Daniel and The Athletic’s Mike Sando share the scoop on how the organization feels about Nick Sirianni after he taunted his own team’s fans and how his style is affecting them at a critical moment. They also dish on: the Deshaun Watson endgame in Cleveland; the Dallas mel...

Some of the dust is settling after the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh earlier this week. There’s an interim coach, and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s been stripped of his play calling duties. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel dig into the unresolved questions about who’s wielding power in the organization and whether they can return to good enough form to compete in a division that’s...

The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, just five games into the season. Dianna Russini, who spent the morning reporting on what happened, and Chase Daniel team up for an emergency episode to get into why ownership made the move now, how much Aaron Rodgers did or didn’t have anything to do with it and where the team can go next. Hosts: Dianna Russini, Chase Daniel Producer: Mar...

The quarterback situation in Cleveland has somehow gone from bad to worse. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel dig into whether it's finally at the point where the Browns have to bench Deshaun Watson and what it means for the organization moving forward. They also take the temperature of the Jets and other teams in the mix to deal for Davante Adams and check in on a group of teams with QB issues, incl...

One of the NFL’s top receivers is on the trading block. Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel share what they know about who’s looking to make a deal with the Raiders for Davante Adams, who could benefit from getting him the most and what it would take to get a deal done. They also check back in on the Kansas City Chiefs, who have receiver issues of their own now that they’ve placed Rashee Rice on injur...