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Dolphins Request To Interview Bills LBs Coach Bobby Babich For DC Position

January 26th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

A new, rising name in defensive coaching circles, Bills linebackers coach Bobby Babich has been requested to interview for the Dolphins open defensive coordinator position, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. With Vic Fangio expected to be departing for the Eagles defensive coordinator position, Miami will look at the possibility of bringing in a promising, young coach to replace him.

Babich started his NFL coaching career with the Panthers in 2011 after five years of coaching at the collegiate level for Kent State and Eastern Illinois. He later had a stint with the Browns as an assistant position coach before spending a single season at FIU as secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator.

Babich has spent the past seven seasons in Buffalo under head coach Sean McDermott, starting as an assistant defensive backs coach before earning a promotion to safeties coach in 2018. After four years in that role, Babich replaced his father, Bob Babich, as the Bills’ linebackers coach in 2022. During his first season as Buffalo’s LBs coach, Babich helped guide Matt Milano to his first All-Pro season. In the years before coaching up this year’s linebackers, Babich coached what many thought to be the league’s best safety tandem in Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

If all requests are granted, this will be three interviews for Babich for defensive coordinator positions. He’s scheduled to interview with the Packers and has been requested to interview for the Giants’ job, as well. So far, he is only the second candidate mentioned for the job in Miami, joining former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley in contention.

Panthers Request OC Interview With Eagles’ Marcus Brady

January 26th, 2024 at 7:39pm CST by Ely Allen

It was already thought to be the case as he interviews for other head coaching and offensive coordinator positions, but it seems Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is officially not expected to return to Carolina in his previous role. There’s a chance that Brown is a candidate and wins over new head coach Dave Canales, but for now, the team will move on with interviewing new candidates, starting with a request to interview Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Since the focus in Carolina has been bringing in a new head coach, Brady is actually the team’s first offensive coordinator interview since their season ended. In 2023, former head coach Frank Reich called plays for most of the season for the Panthers offense, ceding play calling duties for a short time to Brown before eventually losing his job. Now, with the offensive-minded Canales in the house, a changing of the guard is expected in Carolina.

Brady’s name picked up traction in the Canadian Football League. Shortly after his seven-year playing career ended as a CFL quarterback, Brady jumped to the coaching side of football, accepting a wide receivers coaching job with the team he ended his playing career with, the Montreal Alouettes. Eventually, Brady would get a promotion to become Montreal’s offensive coordinator, leaving a year later to accept the same position with the Toronto Argonauts.

After six years of calling plays in the CFL, Brady finally made the jump to the NFL in 2018 when he accepted the assistant quarterbacks coaching job under Reich in Indianapolis. A year later, Brady was promoted to quarterbacks coach and became the heir apparent behind then-offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. When Sirianni departed to coach the Eagles, Brady was, naturally, promoted to fill his shoes in 2021. Halfway through the 2022 season, though, Brady was fired by a 3-4-1, turnover-prone Colts team. Brady called up his old buddy Sirianni in Philadelphia and was hired as an offensive consultant for the Eagles three weeks later, before getting promoted to his current position in 2023.

Brady’s name has been thrown around a couple different times in the past two years for offensive coordinator jobs. Last year saw Brady interview for the Rams and Jets open coordinator jobs. So far this year, he was requested to interview for the open offensive coordinator job in Chicago before it was awarded to Shane Waldron from Seattle.

With the job in Carolina now openly being advertised, Brady enters as the Panthers’ first potential candidate to serve as offensive coordinator under Canales. Canales is expected to call plays for the Panthers offensive after having done so in Tampa Bay last year, so it will be interesting to see exactly what the team is looking for in a new offensive coordinator under the first-time head coach. Brady is our first clue to figuring that out.

Bears Request DC Interview With Bills’ Eric Washington

January 25th, 2024 at 8:51pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bears continue on in their efforts to add a new defensive coordinator for 2024. As they attempt to replace the former coordinator, Alan Williams, Chicago has requested an interview with Bills assistant head coach and defensive line coach Eric Washington to potentially fill their role at defensive coordinator, according to Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS.

Washington has a history in Chicago. After several years coaching at the college level, Washington broke into coaching at the NFL level as a defensive assistant for the Bears in 2008. After only two years in the role, Washington was promoted to defensive line coach for Chicago. He only held the job with the Bears for one year before taking the same role for the Panthers from 2011-17.

After those seven years as a position coach, Washington was granted another promotion, allowing him to serve as a defensive coordinator for the first time. Under Washington’s first year, the Panthers defense delivered middling results. In Year 2, things took a turn for the worse as the team finished 31st in points allowed and 23rd in yards allowed.

Following his time in Carolina, Washington reunited with his former defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott, in Buffalo as a defensive line coach, once again. In his four years with the Bills, Washington added senior defensive assistant to his title before landing on his current role for this year. The Bills ranked fourth in the league in sack this year with 54, and the team has consistently had a strong pass rush under Washington.

So far, the Bears have already interviewed Titans secondary coach Chris Harris and Titans assistant head coach and defensive line coach Terrell Williams for the open position. Whoever gets the job will have a bit of a safety net. Since head coach Matt Eberflus just spent the season calling defensive plays following the surprise departure of Williams, the Bears know they have a functional play-caller for the defense if the new coordinator struggles.

If permitted, Washington will be the third to interview for the job. Should it pan out, it would result in a nice return for Washington to Chicago, where his NFL coaching career began.

Titans Request Interview With Ravens’ Dennard Wilson For DC Job

January 25th, 2024 at 6:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Ravens defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson continues to receive interest in defensive coordinator positions around the NFL. Once rumored to be the heir apparent for the job in Philadelphia and having already interviewed for a coordinator position in New York this month, Wilson will add the Titans to his list of teams with interest as, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Tennessee is the latest team to request an interview with Wilson for a defensive coordinator job.

A Maryland native, Wilson had a short stint as a player in nearby Washington, D.C., after going undrafted as a defensive back out of Maryland. It didn’t take long for him to turn to the non-playing side of football, taking a job as a pro scout for the Bears in 2008. Wilson found his way to coaching in 2012 when he joined the Rams as a defensive quality control coach, only taking three years to get promoted to defensive backs coach.

Since then, Wilson has widely been regarded as one of the league’s better defensive backs coaches, spending time with the Jets and Eagles before his role in Baltimore. In both previous locations, he even eventually added the role of passing game coordinator to his title. During his time with the Eagles, Wilson’s unit helped lead the league’s top pass defense and second-overall defense in total yards allowed. First-team All-Pro cornerback James Bradberry, Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, and converted safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson all flourished in Wilson’s room, with Gardner-Johnson even leading the league in interceptions following the position change from slot cornerback.

For a time, it was thought that Wilson was the clear choice to take over at defensive coordinator for the Eagles whenever Jonathan Gannon moved on to a head coaching job. Unfortunately, the team ended up hiring Sean Desai instead, a decision that reflects poorly a year later. After getting passed up for the gig, Wilson found his way to Baltimore where he has helped yet another defensive unit reach elite status. This year Wilson has guided the blossoming of second-year safety Kyle Hamilton, watched converted cornerback Brandon Stephens take over as a full-time starter after switching from safety, and coached backup safety Geno Stone as he went toe-to-toe with Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland for the interception title.

Now, Wilson will get a chance to interview for the Titans’ job. He will, in fact, be the first to interview for the Titans’ job, just as he was the first to interview with the Giants. This wasn’t technically a job we knew to be open. Technically, Shane Bowen still resides as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, but with head coach Mike Vrabel no longer employed, Bowen and the rest of his staff have been actively interviewing for open positions elsewhere.

Bowen may still get an opportunity to keep his job under new head coach Brian Callahan, but the fact that Wilson has been invited to interview suggests that the position is open. If Bowen is still a candidate, his first competition will be with the position coach coaching in the AFC Championship game this weekend.

Chargers To Bring In Ravens’ Joe Hortiz For Second GM Interview

January 24th, 2024 at 10:11pm CST by Ely Allen

After landing their desired option at head coach earlier today, the Chargers appear to be moving forward with their hiring process for a new general manager. After hosting Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown today for a second interview, the Chargers are now set to host Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz for a second, in-person interview tomorrow, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Hortiz has worked his way through the ranks in Baltimore’s front office since joining the franchise in 1998. Beginning in the scouting department, he became the team’s director of college scouting and enjoyed considerable success in the role. Hortiz held that position for 10 years before being promoted once again in 2019. He has overseen both pro and college scouting ever since.

The Chargers have been without Tom Telesco at the helm since he was dismissed alongside Brandon Staley midway through the season. The team thus has a vacancy at general manager for the first time since 2013. As is the case for the team’s coaching search, the presence of quarterback Justin Herbert on a long-term deal will likely make the Los Angeles posting an attractive one, but the roster does include a number of veterans on pricey contracts. Plenty of work will need to be done over the short and long term for the new general manager to sustainably set the team up for postseason contention during Herbert’s prime.

Here is an updated look at the Chargers’ GM search:

Bears To Interview Titans’ Chris Harris For DC Position

January 21st, 2024 at 8:54pm CST by Ely Allen

For the second year in a row, Titans defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Chris Harris has been a popular candidate to become a first-time defensive coordinator in the NFL. His most recent opportunity will take him back to Chicago, where he will interview for the Bears defensive coordinator position, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Harris’ NFL career began as a sixth-round draft pick for the Bears out of Louisiana-Monroe. Even as a late-round pick, Harris earned a starting role as a rookie and, after being traded back and forth from the Panthers, Harris left Chicago as a well-respected defender in the Windy City.

The former NFL safety began his coaching career almost immediately after announcing his retirement. Just like his playing career, Harris’ coaching career began with the Bears, as well. After two years as Chicago’s defensive quality control coach, Harris earned an assistant defensive backs coaching job with the Chargers. He got his first full position coaching job in 2020 in Washington, staying with the Commanders as their defensive backs coach until 2022. He joined Mike Vrabel‘s staff in Tennessee for the 2023 season, leaving Washington for the position he holds now.

Before officially heading to Nashville, though, Harris interviewed for a couple defensive coordinator jobs in Houston and San Francisco. Ultimately, he did join the Titans and spent 2023 in Tennessee. That trend from the 2023 offseason has continued into 2024, though, as, once again, multiple teams are interested in interviewing Harris to potentially call plays for their defenses. This past week, the Jaguars interviewed Harris as a potential option to replace Mike Caldwell as defensive coordinator.

Now, the Bears will have an opportunity to interview Harris, as well, and better yet, an opportunity to bring him back to Chicago. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus found himself serving double duty after defensive coordinator Alan Williams re-signed extremely early in the season. Eberflus remaining on staff would be ideal for a first-year coordinator like Harris, providing a safety net and sage advice in the first year calling plays for a rookie DC. Harris could end up being a perfect fit in a possible return to Chicago.

Falcons Request Second Interview With Panthers’ Ejiro Evero

January 21st, 2024 at 8:34pm CST by Ely Allen

The Falcons are preparing to move forward in the search for their next head coach. So far, Atlanta has interviewed 13 candidates to replace Arthur Smith and still plan to interview former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel this Wednesday. Despite Vrabel’s impending interview, Atlanta has begun the process of reaching out for second interviews. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is one of the candidates moving on to the second round of interviews.

Evero was a popular candidate for open head coaching jobs last year following an impressive season coaching the Broncos defense. He interviewed with the Panthers and Broncos, made it to second interviews with the Texans and Colts, and was considered a potential finalist for the Cardinals job before eventually accepting the Panthers defensive coordinator job under Frank Reich. Under Evero, the Panthers went from 22nd in yards allowed in 2022 to fourth in 2023, only furthering many teams’ desires to see him as a head coach.

So far this year, Evero has interviewed for the Falcons, Panthers, and Seahawks open head coaching gigs. He continues to impress on the interview circuit as both Seattle and Carolina have invited Evero back for second interviews. With Atlanta joining the club, the 43-year-old defensive coordinator is batting 1.000 on getting second interviews this offseason.

The Falcons requested interviews with at least 14 candidates, that we know of. New Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce is the only one who hasn’t been confirmed to have interviewed. As we mentioned above, Vrabel is still awaiting his first interview. Besides those two, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Bills interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, and 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks have all conducted interviews with the Falcons.

Of all those candidates, Belichick, Callahan, and Harbaugh join Evero as candidates who will receive a second interview. Rumors have named Belichick as a favorite for the position, but Atlanta may be tempted to go with a newer up-and-coming name like Callahan or Evero. There could still be weeks to go as several candidates will be in the playoffs for at least another week, but count Evero as one of the candidates moving forward for the next round of interviews.

Saints, Browns To Interview Texans’ Jerrod Johnson For OC Position

January 21st, 2024 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

5:44pm: It appears the Saints‘ request will be honored as Johnson is reportedly expected to interview with the Saints sometime early this week, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Additionally, the Browns have added Johnson to their list of offensive coordinator candidates, as well. Cleveland fired their offensive coordinator of four years, Alex Van Pelt, this week following a one-sided loss to the Texans in the Wild Card round. Van Pelt was a non-play-calling coordinator on head coach Kevin Stefanski‘s staff. His dismissal and Stefanski’s desire to interview one of the top up-and-coming names in the coaching world may point to a willingness from Stefanski to give up play-calling duties. Regardless, Johnson will interview with the Browns early this week, as well.

9:56am: Jerrod Johnson is back on the OC interview circuit. Landing on the coordinator radar last year, Johnson ended up in Houston as the Texans’ quarterbacks coach. After C.J. Stroud‘s rookie season, teams should be expected to give Johnson more attention as OC jobs become available.

One will be the Saints. New Orleans will be the first team to request an OC interview with Johnson this year, with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones noting the young assistant has received a slip from the NFC South team. Johnson joins Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson and Bengals QBs coach Dan Pitcher on the Saints’ OC radar thus far.

The Chargers brought in Johnson for a meeting last year but ended up going with Kellen Moore soon after the latter’s Cowboys exit. A former Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach, Johnson still managed to move up the ladder. Working under Bobby Slowik in Houston this season, the 35-year-old assistant presided over one of the better QB rookie years in recent NFL history. Stroud’s early readiness will likely garner Johnson more than one OC meeting this offseason.

Puka Nacua‘s record-setting season may not be enough to beat out Stroud for Offensive Rookie of the Year, considering where the Texans were since the Deshaun Watson turbulence began. Stroud led the NFL in passing yards per game and in INT rate, throwing just five picks, and quarterbacked the Texans to a one-sided wild-card win over the Browns. Johnson’s first season as a team’s top QBs coach could not have gone much better.

Johnson, who bounced around the NFL as a practice squad arm during the 2010s, is just two years removed from the quality control level. The Colts employed Johnson as such from 2020-21, with the Vikings bringing him in as their assistant QBs coach during Kevin O’Connell‘s first season. Five teams — the Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks, Titans and Commanders — sent Slowik interview requests. The prospect of Ryans losing his top two offensive assistants after Year 1 will be in play.

David Shaw To Interview For Titans’ HC Position

January 19th, 2024 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Add another offensive-minded coach to the list of head coaching candidates in Tennessee. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Titans will host former Stanford head coach David Shaw this weekend to interview for their vacant head coaching job.

Shaw was out of coaching in 2023, taking a year off after re-signing from his longtime position as head coach of the Cardinal. Shaw held his position at Stanford for 12 years, winning three conference titles in his first five years at the helm. Shaw had been a homerun hire out of the gate, amassing an 82-26 record over his first eight years in Palo Alto. Unfortunately, a 14-28 record over his last four years, including two consecutive 3-9 seasons to close out his tenure, seemingly forced his hand, ending his time at Stanford.

Before serving as a head coach at the collegiate level, a position Shaw had been promoted to after time as an offensive coordinator for the Cardinal and passing game coordinator at the University of San Diego under Jim Harbaugh, Shaw had an extensive career as an NFL assistant. After starting as an offensive quality control coach in Philadelphia in 1997, Shaw spent three years in the same role for the Raiders. In 2001, Shaw was promoted to quarterbacks coach in Oakland and would leave the next year to coach quarterbacks and wide receivers in Baltimore.

Shaw’s college coaching career saw him bring up such NFL successes as Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey. His pro-style offense has often been a point of interest in the NFL, bringing his name up in several head coaching searches in the past. Despite all the interest, this will only be Shaw’s third NFL head coaching interview following an interview yesterday with the Chargers and last year with the Broncos.

You can find the full list of all candidates for vacant NFL head coaching jobs at PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, but for convenience, the Titans are as follows:

Patriots Interviewing Candidates For Coordinator Positions

January 19th, 2024 at 7:45pm CST by Ely Allen

New Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has been on the job for a week now and is starting to look into filling out his coaching staff. A report from Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS informed of the team’s plan to interview their current defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington for their open defensive coordinator position. In addition, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that New England would interview Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer for a special teams coaching job.

Covington has been in New England since 2017, when he earned his first NFL job as a coaching assistant. Before coming to the NFL, Covington worked as a defensive graduate assistant at UAB and Ole Miss. He followed that up with a defensive line coaching job at UT Martin and co-defensive coordinator position while coaching the defensive line at Eastern Illinois. Covington was promoted from coaching assistant to outside linebackers coach of the Patriots in 2019, the year Mayo was hired to coach inside linebackers. He transitioned to defensive line coach in 2020, where he’s remained ever since.

Since allowing Matt Patricia to depart for a head coaching gig in Detroit in 2018, the Patriots have not traditionally staffed a defensive coordinator. They’ve had defensive position coaches who delivered play calls to the wearer of the green helmet sticker, like Brian Flores and Steve Belichick after him, and people have speculated that Bill Belichick, a former defensive coordinator himself, was the one determining what plays to call, but much like 2022’s offensive play-calling mystery in New England, the team claims defensive play-calling to be the culmination of many different inputs. While that method may continue into 2024, it appears Mayo interviewing Covington displays a willingness to actually award the coordinator title to someone on staff for the first time since 2017.

Special teams, on the other hand, has been the responsibility of special teams coordinator Cameron Achord since 2020. Rapoport didn’t specify that the position Springer was expected to interview for would be a coordinator position, but Springer is considered one of the rising young coaches in the NFL, so it’s hard to imagine him changing teams for another assistant job. If that’s the case, it could point towards Achord either being an unlikely holdover candidate on Mayo’s new staff or being a likely special teams coordinator candidate wherever Belichick ends up. Springer has been with the Rams for the past two seasons after eight years coaching in at the collegiate level.

Whether or not Covington or Springer end up on Mayo’s 2024 Patriots staff, both interviews underline the start of the new regime in New England. No longer are the Patriots under the watchful eye of a multi-role head coach/coordinator/general manager. Mayo is establishing a new norm in New England, one subscribed to by most other teams in the NFL.

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