2019 NFL season
| File:NFL100th.png The NFL's centennial emblem, which will be used throughout 2019. | |
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 5, 2019 – December 29, 2019 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | January 4, 2020 |
| Super Bowl LIV | |
| Date | February 2, 2020 (tentative) |
| Site | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 26, 2020 (tentative) |
| Site | TBD |
The 2019 NFL season will be the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season will tentatively begin on September 5, 2019, in the home team of the Super Bowl LIII champion. The season will conclude with Super Bowl LIV, the league's championship game, tentatively scheduled for February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Player movement
Retirements
- Ryan Kalil - The five-time Pro Bowl center and three-time All Pro (two first team, one second team) retired on December 30 after 12 seasons, all with the Carolina Panthers [1]
- Brian Orakpo - The four-time Pro Bowl linebacker announced his retirement on December 31. Orakpo played for the Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans during his 10-season career.[2]
- Darren Sproles - The three-time Pro Bowl and two-time first team All-Pro running back announced his retirement on July 15, 2018, citing that 2018 would be his final season. During his 14-year career, Sproles played for the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles.[3]
- Kyle Williams - A five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle and two-time All-Pro (one first team, one second team), Williams played his entire 13-season career with the Buffalo Bills and announced his retirement December 28, 2018.[4]
Others
Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft will be held from April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee.[6]
2019 deaths
Preseason
Training Camps for the 2019 season will be held in late July through August. Teams will start training camp no earlier than 15 days before the team's first scheduled preseason game.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, with teams to be announced, is tentatively scheduled for August 1, 2019, and will be televised nationally by NBC. The game will be held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the same city where the league was founded 99 years prior.
NFL centennial promotions
On October 18, 2018, the NFL announced that it would commemorate its 100th season throughout 2019, beginning at Super Bowl LIII. An NFL 100 emblem will be featured in promotions across all NFL properties during the season, worn on jerseys as a patch, placed on game balls, and painted on fields.[7][8]
The Chicago Bears (who, as the Decatur Staleys, were one of the 14 charter members of the league) will also celebrate their centennial season with commemorative events throughout 2019. On November 15, 2018, the team unveiled a customized version of the league-wide centennial emblem (which will be worn on jerseys in place of the NFL-branded version), and announced that the team would introduce a throwback jersey.[9]
Regular season
The 2019 regular season's 256 games will be played over a 17-week schedule that is expected to begin on September 5, 2019. Each of the league's 32 teams will play a 16 game schedule, with one bye week. There will be games on Monday nights and on Thursdays, Including the National Football League Kickoff game and games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season will conclude with a full slate of 16 games, tentatively scheduled for December 29, all of which are expected to be intra-division matchups, as it had been since 2010.
- Scheduling formula
Under the NFL's current scheduling formula, each team plays the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team plays against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule are against the two remaining teams in the same conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division will play all three other teams in the conference that also finished fourth). The division parings for 2019 will be as follows:
|
Intra-conference |
Inter-conference |
The entire schedule will be released in April 2019 Highlights of the 2019 season include:
- NFL Kickoff Game: The Kickoff Game is tentatively scheduled for September 5.
- NFL International Series: Five games will be held outside the United States in 2019. In addition to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the three teams hosting an annual game abroad as part of their relocation agreements (the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, and Oakland Raiders), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will also host a home game abroad. Opponents, dates and times will be released with the rest of the schedule in April 2019.[10]
- NFL London Games: Four[11] games will be played in London, with two of the games set to debut at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after construction delays prevented the stadium from opening in time for the 2018 game scheduled there. The remaining two games will be played at Wembley Stadium, one of which will be hosted by the Jaguars as part of the team's long-term agreement to play an annual game in London.[12]
- NFL Mexico Game: The NFL will play one game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 2019.
- Thanksgiving Day: As has been the case since 2006, three games will be played on November 28, including the traditional afternoon doubleheader hosted by the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys respectively, as well as a primetime game.
Postseason
The 2019 Playoffs are tentatively scheduled to begin on the weekend of January 4–5, 2020, with the Wild Card Playoff round. The four winners of these games will visit the top two seeds in each conference in the Divisional round games, tentatively scheduled for January 11–12. The winners of those games will advance to the Conference championships tentatively scheduled for January 19. The 2020 Pro Bowl will be held at a site to be announced, tentatively scheduled for January 26 and will be broadcast on ESPN. Super Bowl LIV, tentatively scheduled for February 2, will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Fox.
Head coaching and front office personnel changes
Head coaches
Off-season
| Team | Departing coach | Interim coach | Incoming coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | Steve Wilks | TBD | Fired | Wilks was fired on December 31, 2018, after a 3–13 (.188) season. This was Wilks' only season with Arizona.[13] | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Marvin Lewis | TBD | Mutual Decision | Lewis and the Bengals parted ways on December 31 after a 6–10 (.375) season. In 16 years as the Bengals' head coach, Lewis was 131–122–3 (.518), with 7 playoff appearances. Notably, the Bengals never won a playoff game under Lewis and had missed the playoffs in each of his last three seasons.[14] | |
| Cleveland Browns | Hue Jackson | Gregg Williams | TBD | Fired | Jackson was fired on October 29, 2018, accumulating a 3–36–1 (.088) record during his 2½-season tenure with the Browns. Jackson failed to win any away games during his tenure and lost every game in 2017.[15] He rejoined the Cincinnati Bengals as an assistant coach immediately after his firing. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams finished out the 2018 season. |
| Denver Broncos | Vance Joseph | TBD | Joseph was fired on December 31, 2018, after a 6–10 (.375) season. The Broncos were 11–21 (.344) in Joseph's two losing seasons as head coach, with no playoff appearances.[16] | ||
| Green Bay Packers | Mike McCarthy | Joe Philbin | TBD | McCarthy was fired on December 2, 2018, shortly after the Packers' loss to the Arizona Cardinals. McCarthy leaves with a record of 135–85–2 (.613) with nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl championship. Philbin, the team's offensive coordinator, was named as interim head coach.[17] | |
| Miami Dolphins | Adam Gase | TBD | Gase was fired on December 31, 2018, after a 7–9 (.438) season. The Dolphins were 23–25 (.479) in Gase's three years as head coach, with one playoff appearance in 2016.[18] | ||
| New York Jets | Todd Bowles | TBD | Bowles was fired on December 30, 2018, finishing the season with a record of 4–12 (.250) and a cumulative record of 24–40 (.375) with no playoff appearances in four seasons with Jets.[19] | ||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Dirk Koetter | TBD | Koetter was fired on December 30, 2018, after a 5–11 (.313) season. The Buccaneers were 19–29 (.396) in Koetter's three years as head coach, with no playoff appearances. Previously, Koetter was Buccaneers' offensive coordinator for one season in 2015.[20] | ||
Front office personnel
Off-season
| Team | Position | Departing office holder | Interim replacement | Incoming office holder | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | GM | Reggie McKenzie | Shaun Herock | Mike Mayock | Fired | McKenzie was fired on December 10, 2018, after six-plus seasons as Raiders' GM.[21] Herock, team's director of college scouting, served as the Raiders’ interim GM until the team settles on a full-time replacement. Mayock had previously been a television commentator for the past 26 seasons and has never held a front office position.[22] |
Stadiums
This will be the third and final season for the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park, and this will also be the fourth and final season for the Los Angeles Rams at United Airlines Memorial Coliseum (as each stadium will be known in 2019 under new naming rights deals). Both the Chargers and the Rams will move to Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California in 2020.
A buyout window in the Buffalo Bills' lease on New Era Field opens after the 2019 season ends. The window allows the team to cancel its lease on the stadium for a $28 million fee and relocate. If the Bills choose not to exercise the buyout window, they will not be allowed to relocate until the lease expires after the 2022 season.[23]
Raiders relocation
The Oakland Raiders' lease on Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum expires after the 2018 season. The team is slated to move to Las Vegas, Nevada once Las Vegas Stadium is completed; it is currently scheduled to open in 2020. The Coliseum management has expressed a reluctance to allow the Raiders to continue using the Coliseum after the lease expires unless the team pays more to cover the losses the Coliseum incurs by hosting Raiders games. In December 2018, the city of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the Raiders and the NFL seeking financial damages and unpaid debt, claiming the proposed relocation is illegal but not asking for an injunction forcing the team to stay. The Raiders have stated that if any legal action were filed against them, that they would not renew with the Coliseum and find another, undetermined, temporary home for 2019 until Las Vegas Stadium is finished.[24]
Media
This will be the sixth year under the current broadcast contracts with ESPN, CBS, Fox and NBC. This includes "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season (regardless of the conference of the visiting team). NBC will continue to air Sunday Night Football, the annual Kickoff Game, and the primetime Thanksgiving game. ESPN will continue to air Monday Night Football and the Pro Bowl. Fox will continue to air Thursday Night Football alongside with NFL Network, with Amazon Video and Twitch.tv continuing to simulcast those games online in the second and final year of that site's current contract. Fox will also broadcast Super Bowl LIV.
In November 2018, ESPN announced that it would air coverage for all three days of the 2019 NFL Draft on ABC, replacing Fox's broadcast television simulcast of NFL Network in 2018. ABC's coverage will cater towards a mainstream audience and be hosted by the panel of ESPN's College GameDay, while ESPN and NFL Network will continue to carry more conventional coverage of the draft.[25]
References
- ^ "Panthers center Ryan Kalil details his retirement plans". charlotteobserver. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ "Titans LB Brian Orakpo retiring after 10 seasons in NFL". NFL.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ "Eagles Running Back Darren Sproles to Retire After 2018 Season". Sports Illustrated. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/kyle-williams-to-retire-after-sunday-s-game-against-miami/1677829914
- ^ Anderson, Roy (28 December 2018). "Saints: Tight end Benjamin Watson hanging up cleats in 2019". Fansided. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Knoblauch, Austin (May 23, 2018). "Nashville Tennessee Titans To Host 2019 Draft". NFL.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ^ "NFL prepares to celebrate 100th season in '19". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ "NFL unveils 100th season logo". ProFootballTalk. 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ Kane, Colleen. "Bears to celebrate 100th season with fan festival and new book featuring rare interview with Virginia McCaskey". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ Teope, Herbie. "NFL reveals home teams for '19 international games". nfl.com. NFL. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ BBC
- ^ Patra, Kevon. "NFL to play four games in London during '19 season". nfl.com. NFL. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ "Steve Wilks Out As Cardinals Coach". AZCardinals.com. Arizona Cardinals. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "Marvin Lewis out as coach of Bengals after long run". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ Schefter, Adam (October 29, 2018). "Hue Jackson out as coach of the Cleveland Browns". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Denver Broncos fire head coach Vance Joseph". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "Packers fire coach Mike McCarthy after 13 seasons". NFL.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ "Miami Dolphins fire head coach Adam Gase". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "Jets Chairman & CEO Christopher Johnson Informs Todd Bowles He Will Not Return in 2019". New York Jets. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "Buccaneers Head Coach Dirk Koetter Relieved of Duties". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Teope, Herbie. "Raiders fire general manager Reggie McKenzie". NFL.com. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ Knoblauch, Austin. "Raiders hire Mike Mayock as general manager". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ Precious, Tom (21 December 2012). "Bills agree to lease deal with $130 million in stadium upgrades". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ Beaton, Andrew (December 11, 2018). "Oakland Files Lawsuit Against Raiders, NFL". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ "ABC To Broadcast All Three Days Of NFL Draft In '19". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2018-11-27.