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Raiders Request DC Interview With Karl Scott; Bo Hardegree, David Shaw On Radar?

January 27th, 2025 at 11:09am CST by Adam La Rose

Pete Carroll is set to return to the NFL coaching ranks with the Raiders. As the 73-year-old prepares to fill out his staff, a number of names worth monitoring have emerged.

Karl Scott was floated as a potential defensive coordinator candidate once the news of Carroll’s Vegas hire emerged. Scott serves as the Seahawks’ defensive passing game coordinator and he represents the last holdover from Carroll’s Seattle staffs. To no surprise, then, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports Scott has received a DC interview request from the Raiders.

Vegas has had Patrick Graham in place as defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, but with a new staff incoming it would come as no surprise if he were to depart in the near future. The 46-year-old is believed to be a leading candidate for the Jaguars’ DC gig, so he may have his next opportunity lined up soon. In any case, it will be interesting to see if Scott receives strong consideration to reunite with Carroll in Vegas.

The 39-year-old began his coaching career in 2007, making a number of stops at the college level. Scott spent three seasons working under Nick Saban at Alabama as the team’s defensive backs coach before receiving his first look in the NFL. The Vikings hired him to be their DBs coach for 2021, and he has held that same role with the Seahawks since 2022.

Making the jump to defensive coordinator would be a first for Scott, but given his familiarity with Carroll the Raiders’ gig could be a suitable one. Vegas finished ninth in points allowed in 2023, but this past season – one in which injuries along the edge in particular hindered the team – saw a regression to 25th in that department. Whether Scott or another candidate is hired, guiding that unit to a rebound will be a clear goal next season.

With respect to the offensive coordinator position, a separate Jones report notes Bo Hardegree is a name to watch. The Titans’ quarterbacks coach previously held that title with the Raiders; in 2023, he served as Vegas’ interim OC. A return to Sin City could be in order, especially since Hardegree (who interviewed with the Bears before they made their offensive coordinator hire) is still on the market.

Jones also writes that David Shaw could be on the Raiders’ radar. The longitme Stanford head coach has drawn HC interest around the NFL in recent years, and in 2024 he worked with the Broncos as a senior personnel executive. Shaw, 52, was also on the Bears’ interview list for their offensive coordinator gig. He, along with Scott and Hardegree, will be worth watching closely as Carroll weighs his staffing options.

Cowboys Request OC Interview With Kevin Koger, DC Interview With Ryan Crow

January 27th, 2025 at 8:58am CST by Adam La Rose

Brian Schottenheimer was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Cowboys last week. The process of finding his OC is underway.

Dallas has requested an interview with Kevin Koger, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Koger worked as the Falcons’ tight ends coach in 2024, his sixth season in the NFL. Prior to his Atlanta tenure, he held the title of offensive quality control coach with the Packers in 2019 and ’20.

That period was followed by three years as the Chargers’ TE coach, so Koger has experience as a positional staffer. The 35-year-old has never worked as a coordinator at the NFL level, nor as an OC dating back to his time on the sidelines in the college game. He has drawn interest in the past, though, meeting with the Broncos and Packers in 2022 as well as the Browns during this year’s hiring cycle.

On the other side of the ball, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Cowboys have submitted an interview request for Ryan Crow. After working under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, Crow was fired following the 2023 season. He took on the outside linebackers gig with the Dolphins for 2024, and his work in that role has garnered attention. Crow interviewed with Vrabel and the Patriots last week, and now he is set to speak with the Cowboys for their coordinator vacancy.

With that said, former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is seen as the frontrunner for Dallas’ DC posting. The latest update on that front confirmed Eberflus remains the name to watch, although the Cowboys have also interviewed Bears safeties coach Andre Curtis. A colleague of Eberflus’ given their time together in Chicago, Curtis could land a role of some kind in Dallas provided the Eberflus hire goes through. In the meantime, Dallas will continue adding to the list of outside candidates.

The Cowboys are also on the lookout for a new special teams coordinator, and a pair of known interviews have taken place for that role. Broncos assistant ST coordinator Chris Banjo has met with Dallas, per Pelissero’s colleague Mike Garafolo. A candidate to be promoted to the role in Denver, Banjo has also drawn interest around the league. In addition, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports Bears assistant special teams coordinator Carlos Polk has received a look. Especially if Eberflus lands the DC gig, it would come as no surprise if a familiar face in the form of Polk – who has been in his current position since 2022 – were to be brought in. In any event, Dallas will remain a team to watch closely as the coordinator landscape becomes clearer over the coming days.

Bears To Hire Dennis Allen As DC, Declan Doyle As OC

January 26th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Bears new head coach Ben Johnson is starting to fill key positions on his staff, hiring ex-Saints head coach Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Johnson has also landed on Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle as his offensive coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Hiring Allen is hardly a surprise; he was mentioned as Johnson’s preferred DC as soon as the former Lions coach arrived in Chicago. Doyle interviewed with the Bears, but his relative youth and inexperience made him a somewhat unexpected pick. Notably, both coaches are part of Sean Payton‘s coaching tree and even overlapped for one season in New Orleans.

The Bears also elected to retain special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, despite reported interest in Darren Rizzi, another Payton disciple. This has been a big day for the 2024 Saints’ play-callers, despite the team’s 5-12 record. The Seahawks hired 2024 Saints OC Klint Kubiak as well.

At 28 years old, Doyle will be the youngest active coordinator and one of the youngest in NFL history; he has just five NFL seasons under his belt. Doyle’s first three came as an offensive assistant with the Saints, two under Payton and one under Allen. He then reunited with Payton in Denver, though the Broncos’ tight ends hardly featured in the offense during Doyle’s tenure.

Doyle won’t call plays in Chicago, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Those duties will remain with Johnson, though Doyle will obviously play a crucial role in shaping the Bears’ offense as they head into a second season with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams. Doyle’s priority will likely be a leaky offensive line that allowed a league-high 68 sacks in 2024. Their struggles contributed to the Bears finishing near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories, including a league-low 4,820 total yards. Doyle’s key offensive weapons include wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze as well as running back D’Andre Swift. The former tight ends coach will also look to revitalize Cole Kmet, who took a step back last season after posting career-highs in receptions and receiving yards in 2023.

Allen, meanwhile, will take over a Bears defense that finished 27th in yards allowed but 13th in points allowed in 2024. Chicago’s run defense was among the worst in the league, but they allowed just 17 touchdowns through the air, the fewest in the NFL. Allen will have a solid starting secondary, though the future of safety Jaquan Brisker is uncertain after missing most of the season due to his third concussion in three years. Allen will have more work to do along the defensive line, where the Bears lack high-level talent outside of Montez Sweat.

The Saints fired Allen after 2 1/2 seasons. The franchise’s continuity plan did not work, but GM Mickey Loomis was not ready to move on compared to where ownership was. Allen went 18-25 as Saints HC; that followed a miserable 8-28 mark overseeing the Raiders from 2012-14. While Allen has not worked out as a head coach, he played a key role in forming Saints contenders during his second stint in New Orleans. After Allen’s Oakland ouster, he reunited with Payton and soon took over as Saints DC.

After a woeful mid-2010s stretch, the Saints’ defense recovered under Allen. From 2017-21, the team posted a top-10 total defense in five consecutive seasons. This Bears chance will be Allen’s fifth as either a DC or HC. Following a tenure in which he collected a Super Bowl ring as Saints DBs coach, Allen will begin the 2025 season having either been a head coach or DC in 15 of the past 16 seasons. That represents considerable experience compared to Doyle, who will be riding shotgun to Johnson on offense.

With his three coordinators in place, as well as a few key assistants, Johnson’s first (and arguably most important) moves as head coach are complete. Now, he will turn his attention to the Bears’ offseason roster priorities as he tries to return the storied franchise to competitive relevance.

2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

January 26th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Last year, half the league changed up at offensive and defensive coordinator. As most HC-needy teams have now filled their open positions, the coordinator carousel has accelerated. Here is how the market looks now. When other teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-21-25 (1:59pm CT)

Offensive coordinators

Chicago Bears (Out: Chris Beatty)

Cleveland Browns (Out: Ken Dorsey)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Brian Schottenheimer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Ben Johnson)

  • John Morton, pass-game coordinator (Broncos): Hired

Houston Texans (Out: Bobby Slowik)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Press Taylor)

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: Alex Van Pelt)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Klint Kubiak)

New York Jets (Out: Nathaniel Hackett)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Kevin Patullo, pass-game coordinator (Eagles): Promoted

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (Out: Ryan Grubb)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Liam Coen)

Defensive coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Jimmy Lake)

Chicago Bears (Out: Eric Washington)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Lou Anarumo)

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Mike Zimmer)

Detroit Lions (Out: Aaron Glenn)

  • Larry Foote, inside linebackers coach (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • Kelvin Sheppard, linebackers coach (Lions): Promoted

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Gus Bradley)

Jacksonville Jaguars (Out: Ryan Nielsen)

  • Anthony Campanile, linebackers coach/running game coordinator (Packers): Hired
  • Jonathan Cooley, pass-game coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
  • Patrick Graham, former defensive coordinator (Raiders): Interviewed 1/27
  • Daronte Jones, defensive pass-game coordinator (Vikings): Interviewed 1/27
  • Aubrey Pleasant, defensive pass-game coordinator (Rams): Interviewed 1/28

Las Vegas Raiders 

New England Patriots (Out: DeMarcus Covington)

  • Ryan Crow, outside linebackers coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/21
  • Terrell Williams, defensive line coach (Lions): Hired

New Orleans Saints (Out: Joe Woods)

New York Jets (Out: Jeff Ulbrich)

  • Chris Harris, former defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator (Titans): Interviewed 1/29
  • Steve Wilks, former defensive coordinator (49ers): To be hired

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Nick Sorensen)

NFL Injury Notes: Hurts, Rapp, Elliss, Flowers

January 25th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jalen Hurts‘ knee has been a talking point during the week after it was injured during the Eagles’ divisional round victory. The team will have its franchise quarterback in place tomorrow, although his mobility will remain something to monitor.

Hurts made progress in practice over the past few days, and he was listed as a full participant. He does not carry a designation heading into Sunday, confirmation that he will be in the lineup for the NFC title game. The two-time Pro Bowler did say, however, that he anticipates he will wear a knee brace tomorrow (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

Philadelphia’s offense has continued to rely heavily on running back Saquon Barkley through the first two rounds of the playoffs. He has racked up 355 scrimmage yards to date in the postseason, and he will no doubt be a focal point against the Commanders tomorrow. Nevertheless, Hurts’ mobility will important to watch given his capabilities as a rusher and his significance to the ‘Philly Shove’ in short yardage and goal line situations.

Here are some other injury notes from around the NFL:

  • Regarding tomorrow’s other conference title game, the Bills will be shorthanded in the secondary. Safety Taylor Rapp exited last week’s win over the Ravens with a hip injury, and he has not practiced since. Head coach Sean McDermott ruled Rapp out yesterday. As a result, second-round rookie Cole Bishop – who handled a part-time role on defense during the regular season – is in line to start.
  • The Broncos were the first team to be eliminated from the postseason by the Bills, and their defense was dealt an injury blow in the process. Rookie edge rusher Jonah Elliss suffered a fractured scapula bone in his right shoulder during the loss to Buffalo, as detailed by Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. Elliss, the Broncos’ third-rounder in last year’s draft, had an impressive debut campaign with five sacks despite only logging a 38% defensive snap share. Tomasson writes he is expected to be fully recovered in time for offseason workouts in April, so a clean bill of health for the 2025 campaign should come to pass.
  • Zay Flowers suffered a knee sprain in Week 18, and it kept him out of the wild-card and divisional rounds. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after Baltimore’s season-ending defeat (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec) the second-year wideout could have been in play for this week had the team advanced to the AFC title game (subscription required). More notably, Harbaugh added surgery may be required during the offseason on the affected knee. After an encouraging rookie season, Flowers topped 1,000 receiving yards and earned a Pro Bowl nod. His health for 2025 will of course be of great importance to the Ravens.

Jets Hire Darren Mougey As GM

January 25th, 2025 at 3:32pm CST by Adam La Rose

JANUARY 25: ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out the news that Mougey’s hiring has been made official. Mougey will team up with Glenn, the new head coach, to establish the next era of Jets football.

JANUARY 24: The Jets made their head coaching hire earlier this week, and their general manager vacancy is now set to be filled. After Lance Newmark appeared to be the top target, though, the team has moved in another direction.

Bovada’s Josina Anderson reports Broncos assistant GM Darren Mougey will be hired by the Jets. He was among the staffers who lined up a second interview for this week, so it comes as little surprise he is set to get the nod. Still, after Newmark looked to have a deal all but in place on Tuesday, this is a notable pivot on New York’s part.

The Jets were open to bringing in a head coach or a general manager first during the 2025 cycle, and Aaron Glenn wound up being the initial hire in the team’s case. The former Lions defensive coordinator has a history with New York as a player, and Newmark represented a familiar face with Glenn given their time spent together in Detroit. A natural fit was in place, but the Jets opted to conduct follow-up interviews with both Mougey and Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown before making a final decision.

Mougey’s meeting took place yesterday, and Troy Renck of the Denver Post notes he returned to the Broncos’ facility to await word on whether or not he received the Jets’ GM job. No subsequent reports have emerged at this point confirming Mougey has won out, and SNY’s Connor Hughes indicates he has not received finality from his sources indicating Mougey has beaten out Newmark and Brown. But provided the team ultimately announces this news he will be set to undertake his first general manager role. The 39-year-old has been with the Broncos throughout his front office career, so this will double as his first posting with any other organization.

Mougey quickly transitioned from his playing career to the scouting world as an intern with the Broncos in 2012. By 2020, he had reached the level of assistant college scouting director while continuing to rise through the ranks. Mougey took over as director of player personnel for 2021, and the following year he was promoted to assistant GM. After working under both John Elway and George Paton, he will now lead a staff of his own.

New York conducted a wide-ranging search for both the head coach and general manager positions, and in a matter of days both vacancies have now been filled. The quarterback position will remain a talking point until clarity emerges on the Aaron Rodgers front, and a number of other key priories – including potential extensions for cornerback Sauce Gardner and wideout Garrett Wilson – are in place. How Mougey and Glenn address them will be key in shaping the organization’s direction moving forward. Paton and the Broncos, meanwhile, will now have a notable front office vacancy to fill.

Via PFR’s GM search tracker, here is a final look at how the Jets’ process played out:

Bears Hire Two New Assistant Coaches

January 24th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Ben Johnson has been working quickly to assemble a new staff in Chicago. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears‘ new head coach has even contributed to the continued dissolution of the Lions‘ coaching staff, hiring Antwaan Randle El as the team’s new assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. Schefter adds that, while the Bears are still working to fill their defensive coordinator position, Johnson has already poached Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris to take the role of defensive pass-game coordinator and defensive backs coach in Chicago.

Randle El, a fairly successful former NFL receiver who made his mark as a return man, retired as a player back in 2011, taking a job as the athletic director at a Christian high school in Virginia that he helped found a few years later. In 2019, Randle El made a return to the NFL as an offensive assistant on the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl ring as a coach while assisting his former wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay.

In 2021, Randle El was hired under Dan Campbell as the wide receivers coach in Detroit. He’s built a reliable stable for the Lions, forming then-fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown into a star wideout, helping first-round receiver Jameson Williams navigate his way back from a nasty torn ACL suffered in his final collegiate game, and helping players like Josh Reynolds, Tim Patrick, and Kalif Raymond make big supportive impacts in Detroit. He’ll now follow Johnson to Chicago, where he’ll inherit a corps that loses Keenan Allen but returns a talented duo in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze.

It’s strange to see a defensive position coach get hired before a defensive coordinator, but it’s certainly understandable for Harris, who makes a long-awaited return to the NFC North after spending eight years of his 14-year playing career as a Packer. The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will take the new position in Chicago after five years in Dallas as defensive backs coach (with one of those years also giving him the title of assistant head coach).

Harris’ coaching career started in Kansas City where he worked with a secondary that included Eric Berry, Sean Smith, Brandon Flowers, and Husain Abdullah. His focus on the staff eventually shifted more specifically to cornerbacks as he worked with Smith, Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Kendall Fuller, and Orlando Scandrick. After a year as a defensive assistant at Florida Atlantic University, he joined the Cowboys staff as defensive backs coach, where he mentored stars like Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, and several other impact starters. Harris inherits a talented group in Chicago that stars Kevin Byard and features Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaquan Brisker.

Johnson will continue to build out his staff, with former Saints head coach Dennis Allen being mentioned recently as a strong possibility to fill the defensive coordinator role. Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle has also been linked to the new Chicago staff. While he hasn’t coached with Johnson, Doyle worked with Campbell during their four years together in New Orleans. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears “would likely have to give him the (offensive coordinator) title to get him out of Denver,” which may not be very likely. In two years in his current role, Doyle’s tight ends have combined for only 845 yards and nine touchdowns over the two-season span, with no one getting more than 204 yards or three touchdowns.

Johnson was a highly touted head coach prospect, and he’s quickly building a talented staff of popular names around him. Bringing in accomplished position coaches who have formed incredible position groups over the last several years marks a strong start to his first NFL coaching gig. Bears assistants recently announced as not expected to return under Johnson include defensive backs coach Jon Hoke and running backs coach Chad Morton., per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. They follow in the footsteps of former passing game coordinator/interim offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown and former defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who were previously reported as not returning.

Broncos’ 2024 Courtland Sutton Talks Placed 2025 As Negotiating Window

January 23rd, 2025 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Marvin Mims showed considerable growth as a playmaker down the stretch, the Broncos only trotted out one reliable pass catcher this season. After bouncing back in 2023, Courtland Sutton resumed that role to help Bo Nix‘s development.

Sutton’s 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches were far and away the top Broncos marks in both categories this season, and with Nix managing to cram his 29 touchdown passes from Weeks 4-18 — to produce the second-most TD tosses by a rookie in NFL history — his top receiver can claim plenty of credit. Such claims will now be relevant, as Sutton has reached the final year of his contract.

After scoring 10 touchdowns to help Russell Wilson rebound in his second and final Broncos slate, Sutton pushed the Broncos for a raise. The 6-foot-4 receiver stayed away from OTAs and continued to angle for better terms after showing up for Denver’s minicamp. Like Darius Slayton, however, Sutton’s quest only resulted in minor incentives being added to his 2024 equation. (Sutton cashed in on $1MM of his incentives this season.) The Broncos look to have set up 2025 as the time for true negotiations, telling Sutton last year he was pushing for a new deal too early, according to 9News’ Mike Klis.

Sutton remains tied to a four-year, $60MM extension agreed to during the 2021 season. Months prior to acquiring Wilson, GM George Paton agreed to what became a team-friendly deal with Sutton and, thanks to two season-ending injuries, a player-friendly pact (3/30) with Tim Patrick. The latter followed Jerry Jeudy out the door in 2024, and Sutton is the last man standing from the pre-Sean Payton era in Denver. That makes his 2025 status something to monitor, as does the former John Elway draftee’s perennial involvement in trade rumors.

Teams asked about Sutton in 2022, 2023 and 2024; countless rumors swirled. The two most notable instances came when the Ravens ventured deep into trade talks in March 2023, before signing Odell Beckham Jr., and the 49ers then offering a third-rounder for Sutton during their Brandon Aiyuk standoff last August. The Broncos balking at the 49ers’ proposal showed how much they counted on Sutton to help Nix, and he finished 578 yards ahead of the next-closest Broncos pass catcher this season.

This offseason looms as pivotal for Sutton, who is now 29. He signed what became a below-market pact, thanks to the receiver booms in 2022 and 2024, and is running out of time to cash in. The Broncos will be put to a decision, as they still have their lead WR signed for $13.5MM in nonguaranteed money. That arrangement probably will not work for Sutton, who is now a two-time 1,000-yard performer tied to the No. 27 WR AAV, and another contract push will be likely. The Broncos have an apparent need to add a complementary piece alongside Sutton, but they also could go for a younger weapon and let the seven-year veteran play out his deal.

The Broncos could have a window to pay Sutton, as their Wilson dead money comes off the books in 2026. Nix will not be eligible for an extension until 2027, opening the door to a medium-term third Sutton contract. Mims, Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin represent the rookie-contract contingent, but Sutton played a vital role atop the pecking order. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos augment this position group while managing the approaching Sutton situation.

Jets Conducting Second GM Interviews With Trey Brown, Darren Mougey

January 22nd, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Ely Allen

After the Titans and Raiders filled their general manager positions, the Jets were the only team still looking to fill a vacancy at that position, until the Jaguars made the move to fire their GM today. Now, the Jets have a bit more pressure on the clock if they want to make sure their top candidate doesn’t get hired away to Jacksonville. To that effort, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported today that Broncos assistant GM Darren Mougey and Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown will be brought in for second interviews with New York tomorrow.

Mougey and Brown both interviewed with the Jets on the same day for their first interview, as well. Mougey has been a fast riser in Denver, working his way up from intern to assistant GM. He’s provided the front office with a bit of continuity over the past few years, as he is one of the few executives to work under both former general manager John Elway and current general manager George Paton.

A Kansas City-area native, Brown is 39 but has been in the NFL ranks since 2010. Brown got his front office start in New England before joining Philly’s operation in 2013. He ended up spending six years with the Eagles, working his way up to director of college scouting. After a few years in the AAF and XFL, he landed with the Bengals in 2021. Brown was already popular during last year’s cycle, with the executive earning an interview with the Raiders while also landing on the Patriots’ short list of candidates, as well.

They join Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark as the only candidates who will have received second interviews so far. Newmark had been trending along with new head coach Aaron Glenn as the likely hire, but Pelissero notes that the team bringing in Mougey and Brown does not rule out Newmark as a candidate. Newmark was in the building with Glenn on Monday, and the team may just want Glenn to get facetime with a couple more candidates before making their decision.

Here’s how the Jets’ general manager search is shaping up so far:

Jets HC Aaron Glenn Eyeing Broncos’ Chris Banjo As ST Coordinator

January 22nd, 2025 at 4:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

As expected, Aaron Glenn has elected to depart the Lions and take over as the Jets’ next head coach. A shortlist of candidates have emerged for the offensive and defensive coordinator positions, and a target is now known regarding special teams.

Glenn and the Jets are interested in hiring Chris Banjo as special teams coordinator, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Banjo is currently an assistant with the Broncos, having taken a spot on Sean Payton‘s staff in 2023. Klis adds a New York interview request is expected, but also that Denver wants to keep Banjo in place.

The 34-year-old played 131 games in the NFL, including 39 under Payton with the Saints. Banjo retired after the 2022 campaign and immediately reached out to Payton to begin his coaching career. He was hired as an assistant on special teams, and he has drawn praise for his work since then. To that end, the 49ers recently interviewed Banjo for their own ST coordinator vacancy.

The Broncos saw assistant head coach Mike Westhoff retire midway through the season for medical reasons. The team then fired special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica after being eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Banjo is a logical candidate to replace Kotwica, although his relative lack of experience could lead Denver in another direction. If an outside hire were to be made, though, the possibility will exist of every member of Westhoff-Kotwica-Banjo trio needing to be replaced in the same offseason.

As Klis notes, Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi remains a name to watch closely in this situation. Rizzi – who took over as the teams’ interim head coach to close out the campaign – is still in the running for the full-time New Orleans gig (something which is particularly true now that Glenn is off the market). Payton is reportedly trying to hire his former colleague, although other teams are also believed to be in the mix.

Rizzi’s future remains unclear at this point, but it will no doubt be tied to that of Banjo. The latter’s situation will be worth watching closely as Glenn puts his staff together and as the Broncos sort out their special teams setup on the sidelines.

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