Although Super Bowl week is primarily about the two teams playing in the big game, there’s plenty of other notes and nuggets that can be learned about some of the other 30 franchises.

Here is some of what we learned already.

The Worst Kept Secret In the NFL

New Atlanta Falcons head coach, err Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is not allowed to talk about any job but the one he currently has, even if the rest of the NFL world knows that he’s been hired to replace Mike Smith as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Quinn was asked about his new job and he did his very best to give information without giving direct answers.

“I think all of us have those experiences where you have to juggle things at the same time,” Quinn said about a potential new employment challenge that might or might not happen. “For me, like I said, just being here, I am having an absolute blast.”

The Seahawks defensive coordinator for a few more days was asked about when he believes it will be the right time for him to become a head coach.

“I think fortunately for me I have had a lot of opportunities to watch guys, so you learn from the good experiences and you learn from some of the ones that you go, ‘Well that didn’t go maybe as well as it could of.’ So I don’t know if there is a moment that just comes down on you, but I know that is something that I wanted to do, lead a bigger group for a long time. That is really part of the reason I wanted to become a defensive coordinator in hopes that one day I will have the opportunity to become a head coach,” Quinn explained.

The NFL’s policy on assistant coaches only being able to interview during their team’s playoff bye weeks has come under scrutiny as some deserving coordinators have been shut out of the hiring process.

Assuming that the Falcons hire Quinn, he wouldn’t have fallen into the trap and he is in favor of the current format.

“To be honest with you, I thought the process that allows you to do it during the bye week is really one that I am in favor of,” Quinn explained. “You may think it sounds unusual, but during that time you don’t even know the team that you are playing. It is really a more relaxed time. When you are in the bye, ‘OK, it can be this team, that team,’ then all of a sudden, you find out who wins you go, ‘Alright man we got a game to play.’ For us two weeks ago, we were waiting. It could be Carolina. It could be Detroit. It could be Dallas. It was three teams; you did a lot of work on three teams, but then until that moment hits, you got three teams recovering, until that time hits you are kind of watching. To make a long story longer, to go through the process during the bye made a big difference.”

Despite currently being the Seahawks defensive coordinator and getting ready for Sunday’s Super Bowl, Dan Quinn has even managed to hire Raheem Morris as his defensive coordinator… even though he wouldn’t admit to doing so.

Here is a great exchange from Quinn and Lee Diekemper, publisher of JoeBucsFan.com–

JoeBucsFan: With Raheem Morris coming on your staff, what do you like about Raheem? What are his qualities that you like?

Dan Quinn: (Very long pause) I’m not going to comment about any of the teams that I have visited with.

Joe: I’m not asking you about the Falcons job.

Quinn: Yeah, I’m not going to comment about any of the teams I’ve visited with.

Joe: OK, how about this: One of your former players, Raheem. What do you like about him as a defensive coach?

Quinn: What I like about Raheem is that he is a terrific coach. He really is. He is a leader in every sense of the way, going all the way back. I’ve known him for a long time.

Joe: Do you think he got a raw deal in Tampa? He was the last coach to have a 10-win season for the Bucs and the next year he was gone.

Quinn: I will let Rah talk to you about that one. I don’t want to comment in respect to [another team].

Quinn seems to be making a lot of moves for a franchise that he’s only interviewed with.

In unrelated news, the Atlanta Falcons still haven’t officially hired a new head coach but our sources tell us that there will be an announcement on Monday. If you put your ear to the ground, you can probably guess who it will be.

Pac-12- SEC Rivalry?

For the second consecutive season, neither the Pac-12 nor the SEC have won a national championship. Although both conferences were represented in the season’s final game and lost, these two conferences put the most players in the NFL.

Although the SEC has been the best football conference going back nearly a decade, the Pac-12 guys have a chip on their shoulders.

“They take the PAC- 12 as a soft conference and obviously it’s not, we made it all the way to the national championship game. We didn’t win it but we made it there, the PAC- 12 is a tough conference,” former Oregon Duck and current New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount said.

When asked about a rivalry, Blount responded bluntly.

“Oh yeah, for sure. For sure, definitely.”

You don’t want to mess with Blount and if you think the Pac-12 is soft, that’s directly messing with Blount.

You don’t want to do that.

For sure, definitely.

Squeezing The Posts

In this year’s grandest spectacle of football, the NFL Pro Bowl (okay, maybe not), the league experimented with some rule changes. Among those were changes of possession after each quarter, timeout changes (two per quarter with the potential of one carrying over instead of three per half) and narrower goal posts to make the kicking game more interesting.

Instead of the standard 20-yard extra point attempt, the line of scrimmage was moved back on touchdowns to reflect a 35-yard attempt with the newer, 14-foot goal posts (from 18 feet). This caused one of the greatest kickers of all-time, Adam Vinatieri to miss a pair of extra points.

The NFL likes to use exhibitions like the preseason and Pro Bowl to test potential rule changes.

Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski weighed in.

“I heard what he (Adam Vinatieri) said, it kind of stinks to be penalized now that everyone is getting good. Whatever it is, it is,” said the Patriots’ kicker. “There are a lot of kickers right now who are, I wouldn’t say weapons, but they are reliable to where you know what you have and I would hate for that to get diminished because we’re making too many kicks. Other than that, I don’t really think about it. Whatever it is, I’ll adjust to it and try my best. I would just have to get prepared to get yelled at more if they shorten the uprights.”

An Endorsement For Junior Seau

The late, great linebacker of the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, Junior Seau is up for Hall of Fame election.

Seau was voted as an All-Pro 10 times and was voted to the Pro Bowl 12 times during his illustrious 20-year playing career.

Being voted to the 1990’s NFL All-Decade Team, Seau seems to be a mortal lock to get into Canton.

Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick was asked about what it would personally mean to him if Seau was inducted.

“Well, it would mean a lot,” Belichick stated. “It’s obviously got to happen. I can’t imagine having a Professional Football Hall of Fame without Junior Seau in it. The one word that comes to me when I think of Junior in life and football (is) passion. He’s a very passionate guy, lot of energy, lot of enthusiasm. First guy in the building in the morning, watching film, lifting weights, ready for practice, always loved to practice, flying around on the practice field, energy before the game on the sideline (and) during the game, emotional player, but a smart player. Player that played with a purpose; played with good physical skill; but also good concentration, good awareness. Great team player, very supportive of his teammates – I mean, everybody in the locker room loved Junior. They loved what he did and they loved the way that he interacted with the team. He was a great player. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach him. We had a lot of great experiences together. Obviously it was the end of his career; things were a little different than when he was in San Diego and so forth. But he brought a lot of energy and passion to our team, and I personally had a very good relationship with Junior. I loved coaching him and he always expressed how much he enjoyed playing on the New England Patriots and that meant a lot to me.”

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady weighed in on his former Patriots’ teammate.

“He was a phenomenal player, teammate, friend,” Brady explained. “His attitude was infectious. He brought enthusiasm every day to practice. He showed up in the roommate and he’d be the first person there at six in the morning on the treadmill running, going into his 18th year in the league. He had a love for life and he’s missed by all of his family and friends, and certainly by me and the guys that had a chance to be around him. He was a special person. I have no doubt he’ll be elected. If he can’t make it, nobody can. He’s truly one of a kind. It was a privilege playing with him.”

Seau died of suicide in 2012 and after his brain tissue was sent to a lab for research purposes, his family announced that he had definitive signs of CTE, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom.