Colts Request OC Interview With Jaguars’ Jim Bob Cooter

Four years after his Lions offensive coordinator stint, Jim Bob Cooter has received considerable interest about moving back up the ladder. The Jaguars assistant has now received three OC interview requests.

The Colts want to speak with the Jags’ pass-game coordinator about their OC job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Since the hiring period began, Cooter has received meeting requests from the Buccaneers and Panthers as well. He has gone through with both interviews, with Joe Person of The Athletic noting (via Twitter) the Panthers meeting has taken place.

This would be a for a non-play-calling role, however. Shane Steichen has confirmed he will call plays in Indianapolis. Frank Reich has not yet done so in Carolina, though the ex-Colts coach operated as the team’s play-caller throughout his time in the AFC South. The Bucs have filled their OC post, hiring Dave Canales on Wednesday night. Cooter served as the Lions’ primary play-caller under Jim Caldwell and Matt Patricia, though it has been a bit since that stint concluded.

Although the Jags may not be thrilled about Cooter interviewing with a division rival, they cannot block the meeting from taking place. Since the job involves a promotion, Cooter is free to meet with the Colts. Cooter, 38, has been with the Jags for a year, coming over after Doug Pederson‘s hire. The Jags have built an extensive brain trust for Trevor Lawrence, with Pederson calling plays but Cooter, OC Press Taylor and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy spearheading a turnaround this past season.

Steichen and Cooter have not overlapped during their careers thus far. Cooter has been with three teams since the Lions moved on following the 2018 season. He spent two years as the Jets’ running backs coach under Adam Gase and was an Eagles consultant in 2021. The Colts must interview at least one external minority candidate for their OC role, though based on how thorough the team was during its HC search, there will likely be a few interview requests sent out before this process wraps.

The Lions promoted Cooter to OC when he was just 31, and Matthew Stafford finished eighth in QBR in each of Cooter’s first two years as OC. The Jags are coming off a remarkable turnaround, going from picking first overall to advancing to the divisional round. Lawrence showed consistent promise down the stretch, culminating with his leading the third-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history — a 27-point rally past the Chargers in the wild-card round.