NFL Rumors: Latest Reports Heading into 2017 Divisional Round

The NFL is short on plenty of things. There never seems to be enough quality quarterbacks, head coaches or entertaining halftime programs. What the NFL has plenty of are rumors—especially this time of year.

Eight teams remain in the hunt for Super Bowl LI. Five teams—the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos—are still looking for a new head coach. A total of 24 teams have already moved on to the pending offseason. There are countless situations unfolding around the league, and there are plenty of opportunities for rumors to arise.

Now, we're going to examine some of the latest. We'll be examining the latest buzz heading into the divisional round and providing our take on each situation.

Latest Buzz

McVay May Be Closing in on HC Job

Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay may not seem like your typical head coaching candidate. He's just 30 years old and has only been coaching in the NFL since 2010. However, there is a lot to like about McVay, who has held the coordinator role in Washington for the past three seasons.

This year, McVay helped Washington field an offense that was rated fifth overall by Pro Football Focus. He also helped quarterback Kirk Cousins produce 4,917 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

There's a growing belief that McVay will soon be a 30-year-old NFL head coach—though he'll turn 31 at the end of January.

McVay has already interviewed for vacancies with the Rams and 49ers. According to NFL Media's Michael Silver, McVay did well in both of them:

The idea of McVay in Los Angeles is especially interesting because it would be a completely different direction than the Rams went when they hired Jeff Fisher. Taking a chance on such an inexperienced candidate would be risky, but McVay is the kind of up-and-coming coach that could grow with the recently relocated franchise.

CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora believes McVay has a real shot with the Rams too:

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Would continue to reiterate not to discount at all Sean McVay's chances with the Rams.

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 10, 2017"

Don't be surprised if McVay gets hired before his 31st birthday.

Raiders Could be Closing in on Vegas

This week, an NFL committee meeting will take place in New York. A big area of focus during the week will be the future of the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers franchises.

Last year at league meetings, the Rams were approved for relocation to Los Angeles—a proposal that was selected over one that would send both the Raiders and Chargers to L.A. While there has still been plenty of chatter about the Chargers moving to Los Angeles—they were approved for relocation last year—it appears the league would rather the team stay put.

Vincent Bonsignore of the Orange County Register recently explained:

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While the NFL green-lighted a Chargers move to L.A. last January, there is strong indication the league prefers they stay put. If not permanently, at least long enough to get final clarity on a stadium partnership in San Diego.

That's where the Raiders come in, and potentially the NFL's stadium and finance committees.

Raiders owner Mark Davis has shown serious interest in moving the franchise to Las Vegas, and any perceived pushback from the league has yet to materialize. There's a chance the league uses this week's meetings to help approve the Raiders' relocation.

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As ESPN.com's Jim Trotter explained, the league seems to believe it can keep the Chargers in place, but not the Raiders:

Davis has already received preliminary approval from the city of Las Vegas to build a $1.9 billion stadium, so if the league does approve relocation, the proverbial ball could get rolling quickly.

If you're interested in checking out some proposed designs for the Vegas stadium, there are some interesting ones available on BusinessInsider.com.

Musgrave Not Expected to Return

Whether the Raiders remain in Oakland or not, it appears that the team could be moving forward without offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Musgrave is not expected to return next season:

Per Rapoport, the Raiders have allowed Musgrave's contract to expire:

This is a curious move, depending on which side ultimately decided not to negotiate a new deal. Musgrave helped transform Derek Carr into a Pro Bowl signal-caller, and he helped oversee an offense that was rated ninth overall by Pro Football Focus.

However, this doesn't mean that the Raiders won't have continuity on offense heading into next season. According to Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area, a league source indicated that quarterbacks coach Todd Downing will be promoted to coordinator. 

On the surface, this appears to be a smart move. It ensures Carr can continue to grow under Downing in a similar offensive system.

An interesting side note here is that the league recently implemented an informal rule requesting that teams interview minority candidates for coordinator openings.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the informal rule back in December. Maske described the "best practice" as similar to the Rooney Rule but applying to coordinator openings in existing regimes. However, Maske stated that there will be no fine for not complying.

If the Raiders do promote Downing, they might receive a wag of the finger from the league—as might the Cleveland Browns, who hired Gregg Williams before announcing the firing of Ray Horton. Yet, it doesn't appear as if they'll face any sort of tangible discipline.