Five NFL teams still need head coaches. The next 10 days will bring one of the most intriguing game-within-the-game subplots, as those teams try to avoid moving too slowly, or too quickly.
Coaching candidates not participating in the playoffs are now free to interview or be hired at any time, and this week will bring a flurry of interviews — the Commanders are expected to have extended chats with Dan Quinn (Cowboys defensive coordinator), Raheem Morris (Rams defensive coordinator, former Washington assistant) and Bobby Slowik (Texans offensive coordinator, former Washington assistant).
However, the candidates who have games this Sunday are banned from interviewing until those games are completed.
That list includes two of the hottest candidates on the market in this cycle — Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
It’s an open secret the Commanders have been intrigued by Johnson from the get-go, but to wait for him is also to run the risk of losing a second-choice candidate if that candidate gets locked up by another team this week.
The wild-card teams in the process are the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers, both of whom have been linked to big names.
The Falcons have had two interviews with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, but have also spoken with most of the other top candidates in the cycle.
The Chargers appear to be targeting Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, but no deal has been struck yet.
Either job coming open could create chaos across the landscape, as those teams would begin their search anew. The Falcons are reportedly going to send a contingent to Detroit to talk to Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn next week.
The good news for Washington is that the job remains an attractive one, with a No. 2 overall draft pick, $90 million in cap space, as well as the excitement that comes from new ownership and a new general manager, Adam Peters.
Peters has participated in the interviews, joining a search group that includes owner Josh Harris and two executives he brought on to assist, Bob Myers and Rick Spielman.
The other good news is that beyond getting a top candidate, timing isn’t everything in an NFL coaching search. Unlike college football, where players can transfer and must be re-recruited, NFL players are under contract, and new players can’t be signed, or drafted, until this spring, long after the coaching carousel has stopped.
Last year, Eric Bieniemy coached in the Super Bowl before joining the Commanders as an offensive coordinator a week later.
There also appear to be more qualified candidates than there are landing spots, especially if Belichick and Harbaugh find seats before the music stops.
Former Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel is still on the market, along with Quinn, Morris, Macdonald and Glenn, leaving five candidates who are perceived to be ready, for just three openings.
That doesn’t even count Bieniemy, who interviewed for the Commanders’ head coaching position and will likely be widely interviewed for offensive coordinator positions around the league.
Former Commanders coach Ron Rivera is also already on the move. He’s reportedly interviewing in Philadelphia for the Eagles’ defensive coordinator opening, and signaled at the end of his time in Washington that he was willing to take a lesser role to stay within the game.
Offensive coordinator has been a particularly volatile position in the NFL. With Monday night’s hiring of Brian Callahan by the Titans, every team in the league will have changed its coordinator since 2022.
Talented play-callers are on the fast track to being head coaches, while those who work under play-caller head coaches are finding a need to get out from under that shadow to build their own candidacy.
Washington’s spinning carousel still seems likely to land on the Lions’ Johnson as the pick for head coach, and one interesting angle was a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that said Johnson is expected to bring Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley with him wherever he goes.
Fraley has ties to the area, having played at Gaithersburg High, and would provide an immediate jolt to a unit that is widely considered to be one of the Commanders’ weakest links.
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