National Football League roundup

[January 14, 2015]  Jan 13 (The Sports Xchange) - Jason Garrett said Tuesday that there is nowhere else he would rather be than with the Dallas Cowboys -- and that is where he will stay after reaching agreement with the team on a five-year, $30 million contract, according to reports.

Garrett, who has a 41-31 regular-season record with the Cowboys, entered the 2014 season without a contract extension and led Dallas to the playoffs.

- - -

Former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was named to the same job by the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday and the team parted with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

The moves were expected after Rex Ryan took over as head coach on Monday.

Roman worked on coach Jim Harbaugh's staff for the past four years in San Francisco before Harbaugh left after the 49ers' 8-8 finish in 2014 to accept to head coaching job at Michigan.

- - -
 

The New York Jets named Hightstown, N.J., native Mike Maccagnan their new general manager on Tuesday.

Maccagnan has been involved with professional football in some capacity since taking a job as a scouting department intern for the Redskins in 1990.

- - -

Keith Butler will succeed Dick LeBeau as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator.

Butler, a former NFL linebacker, was the team's linebackers coach and received increased interest from other teams for coordinator jobs. He has been with the Steelers since 2003 and has been groomed to take over the defensive coordinator role.

- - -

Sunday's divisional playoff games were among the highest-rated in NFL history.

The NFC divisional playoff game Sunday between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys was watched by 44.4 million viewers, or just under 15 percent of households with a television.

The afternoon game in Denver, won the by the Indianapolis Colts, drew 41.8 million viewers to rank as the second most-watched AFC divisional playoff game since at least 1987.

Saturday's divisional playoff games drew an average of 65 million viewers -- 34 million for the AFC game between the Ravens and Patriots and 31 million for the Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks in prime time.

- - -

John Elway's backup plan could very well be his former backup quarterback with the Denver Broncos, Gary Kubiak.

Elway, vice president and general manager of the Broncos, parted with coach John Fox on Monday after four playoff appearances in four seasons. On Tuesday night, the Broncos reportedly requested permission from the Baltimore Ravens to interview Kubiak, who was Elway's backup when they played together in Denver.

- - -

Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway ended his four years with head coach John Fox with a one-hour meeting and a warm embrace. He said both sides knew the time was right to split.

"In any relationship -- you are always going to have bumpy batches," Elway said. "I think the biggest thing between us was 'how are we going to get to that next step?' ... We did not agree on how to get to the next step."

- - -

John Fox will interview for the head-coaching vacancy with the Chicago Bears.

The Bears have interviewed several candidates, including Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

- - -

Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman is the latest Florida State player to declare his intentions to enter the 2015 NFL Draft with college eligibility remaining.

Goldman is opting out before his senior season in Tallahassee, according to a Yahoo Sports report on Tuesday. The 6-foot-4, 320-pounder finished the 2014 season with 35 tackles, including four sacks and eight tackles for a loss. He also had a forced fumble. (Editing by Andrew Both)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.