Luke Kuechly has been ultimate chess foe for Sean Payton, Drew Brees

Sunday’s season opener in Miami features the return of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the debut of Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel. The Titans are coming off a 9-7 season. After losing to the New England Patriots in the divisional round, however, Tennessee parted ways with head coach

Despite what some have suggested, inside linebackers are not being phased out of the NFL any more than running backs. Expect that fact to be proven in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft on Thursday night. As former linebackers, themselves, Oakland Raiders’ head coach Jack Del Rio and Kansas City Chiefs’ general manager John Dorsey recognize the value of the position better than most. The AFC West competitors may see SEC standouts Jarrad Davis (Florida) and Zach Cunningham (Vanderbilt) as more likely to provide an immediate impact that rookies at other positions — a significant factor given that both clubs fancy themselves as potential Super Bowl candidates. With one final update coming, here

Matt Patricia needs to turn things around in Detroit or he’s almost certainly a goner. Same goes for six other coaches, including Adam Gase and Doug Marrone.