Tag: Coaching Interviews

Options dwindling for Dan Quinn, Cowboys ‘would like to have him back’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Seattle is spending back-to-back days with a candidate; another pulled out of the Washington search. Dallas may end up keeping Dan Quinn.

There are two head coaching jobs left in the NFL, and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is still in the running for both. But the likelihood of him landing in the HC office in either Seattle or Washington seems to fluctuate based on the other names on the interview lists.

Seattle is set to interview Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald on Wednesday, per NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. It will be the second meeting, with the 36-year-old making the cross-country flight to the Pacific Northwest just a day after the two sides got together in Baltimore. That suggests to some that things are heating up for the Seahawks to possibly present Macdonald with an offer.

The Seahawks job was once thought to be Quinn’s to lose, given his decorated history with the club as DC during the Legion of Boom days, but Macdonald is said to have aced his interviews with clubs thus far. Ian Rapoport had one team insider describe Macdonald as “a defensive Sean McVay.”

If Seattle and Macdonald prove to be a match, it would leave Washington as the only other possibility for the 53-year-old Quinn, at least as a head coach.

Quinn was in Washington on Tuesday for an in-person meeting with the Commanders, his second face-to-face sit-down with the team. It was the start of a busy day for new Washington GM Adam Peters and the Commanders brass; they then boarded a plane bound for Detroit to meet with both Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn.

But while that flight was still in the air, Johnson notified both the Commanders and the Seahawks that he’d be pulling his name from consideration and would instead stay in the Motor City for another shot at bringing that city a championship as an OC.

The Commanders nevertheless interviewed Glenn. And they met Monday with both Macdonald and associate head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, also of the Ravens.

But with a hot candidate now being courted by Seattle and Quinn still duking it out with multiple hot-prospect contenders for the Commanders job, the odds are increasing that DQ could be back as DC in Big D.

All indications are that head coach Mike McCarthy and Cowboys management would love to have Quinn return, despite a dip in defensive production over the past season and a surprisingly bad performance in the wild-card round of the playoffs against seventh-seeded Green Bay.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

At the Senior Bowl on Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked about the possibility of Quinn remaining on the staff for a fourth season.

“I don’t know,” Jones told reporters. “I don’t know right today. Would like to have him back, but the point is, let’s just see where that goes.”

Cowboys fans might not be thrilled to go into 2024 with the exact same coaching staff that got them unceremoniously bounced from the postseason in a staggering first-round loss at home. But at this stage in the hiring cycle, the worse case might be for Quinn to actually take a head coaching job somewhere else, convince a good number of his Dallas assistants to follow him, and leave the Cowboys scrambling to find a new DC.

As much as Cowboys fans want a big change they can tie their hopes to, Quinn may be the best option for next season.

“He’s an outstanding coach,” Jones said. “We have benefitted from Dan, and we’ll see where it goes. I don’t want to comment other than the fact that we think he’s outstanding.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01hndx4mgctwzstckyp7 playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hndx4mgctwzstckyp7/01hndx4mgctwzstckyp7-7efd03f32f174a3aee696d81a571c727.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Ben Johnson interviewing with 3 teams on Saturday

Lions coordinator Ben Johnson interviewing with 3 teams on Saturday for their head coaching vacancies

Ben Johnson has a busy Saturday in front of him. The Lions offensive coordinator will interview for the head coaching vacancy with three different NFL teams.

Per Peter Schrager of the NFL Network, Johnson will conduct virtual interviews with the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons on Saturday. It’s the day before Johnson’s Lions face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round in Ford Field.

[lawrence-related id=102260]

Johnson also had at least one interview on Friday, meeting virtually with the Washington Commanders after the Lions practice session. The 37-year-old is one of the hottest candidates on the coaching carousel this offseason.

Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson are ready for their head coaching interviews

Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson are ready for their head coaching interviews, which will begin after Friday’s Lions practice

Having a second playoff game to prepare for is a welcomed new phenomenon for the Detroit Lions. So too is having coordinators in demand for head coaching jobs elsewhere.

Welcome to 2024, and welcome to the very busy time for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. The duo has been requested to interview for head coaching positions by at least 10 teams combined.

Those interviews, at least some of them, will get crammed into the Lions busy game prep schedule on Friday and Saturday this week. Johnson has known interviews with the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers on Friday after Detroit’s practice.

Johnson made it clear that his focus is on preparing the Lions to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday.

“I’ve left that to other people,” Johnson said. I know it’s still a very fluid situation and truth be told, we’ll find out more once the gameplan’s done. That’s been told to everybody I’ve been around. Nothing’s more important than the gameplan.”

It’s a good reminder of why coaches have agents. Given Johnson’s time crunch with game-planning and the interviews, he’s already cutting deeply into his family time. Johnson, 37, has a young family and is losing time with them to go through the interviewing process.

“Well, the truth is, it gets taken away from somewhere and so it gets taken away from my family a little bit,” Johnson said. “And so, it’s not the easy thing to say, but normally Fridays, get home, I can pick my daughter up from school and we’re wrestling downstairs and doing whatnot, and we’ll have to skip that this week.”

[lawrence-related id=102255]

Glenn has received four known interview requests, including with the Seahawks, Titans and Commanders. He is also expected to conduct some remote interviews on Friday and Saturday, though Glenn himself didn’t confirm any that were scheduled.

How is the longtime NFL player and coach prepping while also getting his Lions defense ready for a playoff game?

“I prepare by being myself,” Glenn said on Thursday. “Listen, I’ve been playing this game for a long time, I’ve been coaching it for a while. So, the questions that they ask, there’s a good chance I’ve got them already in my head. So, like I said, I look forward to them, nothing’s confirmed yet, but when they do happen, I’m sure you guys will know.”

Cowboys OC Kellen Moore passed over by Panthers; Carolina hires HC

Moore reportedly “really, really stood out in his interviews,” but Frank Reich’s hiring paves the way for the OC’s return to Dallas. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore isn’t going anywhere. Well, he’s not going to Carolina. Or, more accurately, he’s not going to Carolina to be their next head coach.

The Panthers have chosen Frank Reich as their next head coach, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The former Colts coach was let go by Indianapolis earlier this season after guiding the team to a 3-5-1 start.

Moore had been the last of the candidates to interview for the position. And after his Tuesday visit turned into a two-day meeting with the Panthers front office, many took that to mean that the 34-year-old might be a leading prospect for the job.

Rapoport confirmed via Twitter that Moore “really, really stood out in his interviews” and that he “made this a very tough decision” for Panthers brass. But in the end, Carolina owner David Tepper opted to stick with someone who had previous head coaching experience.

The Carolina job was the only one that Moore has interviewed for so far this offseason, but after talks last year with the Vikings and Dolphins reportedly went well (Moore also interviewed with Philadelphia the year prior), it’s thought that the ex-Boise State quarterback will remain a name to watch as the coaching carousel continues to turn.

His place in Dallas could also be something to monitor. The Cowboys parted ways with six assistants on Wednesday, including offensive line coach Joe Philbin, running backs coach Skip Peete, and assistant head coach Rob Davis, among others. Whether the staff shakeup in Dallas is done or what those moves could mean for those who are staying remains to be seen.

[listicle id=709607]

[listicle id=709579]

[listicle id=709586]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Cowboys OC Kellen Moore to have 2nd interview with Miami on Saturday

Despite the firestorm surrounding the Miami franchise, they’ll sit down with Kellen Moore as 1 of 2 finalists for their head coaching job. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is set to sit down with the Miami Dolphins on Saturday for his second formal interview regarding their head coaching position.

The Dolphins held a second interview Friday with the other apparent finalist for the job, San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Also on Friday, the 49ers announced that they had hired rushing-game guru Anthony Lynn as their team’s new assistant head coach. Many around the league took that as a preemptive clue that McDaniel must be, for all intents and purposes, a shoo-in for the Miami gig.

Yet Moore’s interview reportedly remains on the Dolphins’ slate for Saturday.

Moore first met with Miami on Jan. 20; the 33-year-old helmed Dallas to the league’s top ranking in both yards and points.

Brian Flores was fired as Dolphins head coach at the conclusion of the regular season that saw the team go on both a seven-game losing streak and then a seven-game winning streak. While Flores overachieved in three seasons in Miami, the club chalked up his release to poor communication and malfunctioning dynamics with owner Stephen Ross.

In recent days, though, Flores has made allegations that Ross purposely gutted the roster and tanked the team to improve their draft position. He even maintains that Ross offered to pay him a $100,000 bonus for every game the Dolphins lost in 2019 in order to climb in the draft order.

Those troubling allegations and the pending lawsuit will no doubt hang over the Dolphins organization, whoever ends up as their next head coach.

Moore interviewed with multiple teams about a head coaching role over the past few weeks; all but Miami have filled their position with someone else.

“I think he’s ready,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said during the regular season. “My personal opinion- I’ve worked with him for over a year- I think he would be excellent for any head coaching job.”

McCarthy is staying in place with the Cowboys. So is defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, despite being a leading candidate and finalist for several head coaching jobs. Team owner Jerry Jones says he believes Quinn actually had offers on the table, but turned them down to stay in Dallas.

Jones is on record as saying he wants to keep Moore as well.

“I would be upset if Kellen left,” Jones told the Dallas Morning News recently.

With McDaniel supposedly the favorite in Miami, it could come down to how well Moore performs in his interview Saturday.

[listicle id=692987]

[listicle id=691811]

[listicle id=691927]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Cowboys DC Dan Quinn continues interview tour with Bears, Giants next

Quinn met with four teams this week: the Broncos, Vikings, Dolphins, and Bears. He’ll travel to New Jersey to talk with his hometown Giants. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys’ season run came to a screeching and sudden halt last Sunday, but Dan Quinn has kept himself awfully busy since then. The defensive coordinator completed another head-coach interview on Saturday of the divisional-round weekend, and has another apparently slated for Monday.

Quinn will sit down with the New York Giants front office for an in-person meeting regarding their current opening, according to NFL insider Albert Breer. It will be Quinn’s fifth interview in seven days, and the third to be conducted in-person.

Quinn met with the Chicago Bears on Saturday via Zoom, according to the team. He was the tenth candidate to be screened for the head coaching position left vacant when Matt Nagy was fired following the regular season.

After Broncos team representatives came to Dallas to meet with Quinn on Tuesday, the DC met virtually with Minnesota on Wednesday and then reportedly traveled to Miami on Thursday. His interview with the Giants will take place in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

For Quinn, it will be something of a homecoming. He is a New Jersey native and grew up following Big Blue.

“I grew up probably twenty miles west of Manhattan,” Quinn said last month prior to the Cowboys’ Week 15 visit to MetLife Stadium. “Kind of my first love of football was in New Jersey and watching the Giants play growing up.”

The Giants hired Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen just last week to be their new GM; he’ll be the Giants’ fifth general manager in the last 41 years.

[listicle id=692003]

[listicle id=690989]

[listicle id=691822]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Kellen Moore, Dan Quinn on Broncos HC radar; Denver requests to talk to both Cowboys coordinators

Denver has wasted no time in requesting interviews with both Dallas coordinators, though those meetings likely won’t take place this week. | From @ToddBrock24f7

As expected, the Cowboys coordinators seem to be popular on the day after the conclusion of the NFL regular season. “Black Monday,” as it has come to be called, has claimed the jobs of head coaches in Chicago, Miami, and Minnesota. But a squad who did their housecleaning on Sunday is already getting a jump over those clubs on reaching out to candidates.

The Broncos have requested permission to interview Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as well as offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, several outlets are reporting. Denver fired three-year head coach Vic Fangio over the weekend, following their season-ending loss to Kansas City.

As previously reported in Cowboys Wire, Quinn has history with Broncos general manager George Paton, who is said to have “full authority” in selecting the franchise’s next head coach.

According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, Paton has been eyeing Quinn for some time.

Quinn, 51, will join 33-year-old Kellen Moore on the Broncos’ list of candidates. Mike Klis of Denver’s KUSA tweeted of Moore: “Might be the McVay of this hiring cycle. A rising star coach with ties to the Mountain West.”

Moore was a collegiate star at nearby Boise State and interviewed to be their head coach following the 2020 season, though he ultimately returned to Dallas.

Moore and Quinn also received invitations to interview with Jacksonville for their head coach opening. Quinn reportedly declined that interview at the time, but helped prep Moore for his virtual chat with the Jaguars just prior to the Cowboys’ Week 18 game in Philadelphia.

With the Cowboys now preparing for a postseason game on Sunday, their Broncos interviews likely won’t happen until next week.

The Broncos have already also asked to interview Patriots linebacker coach Jerod Mayo, Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, just a few hours into the yearly coaching carousel.

[listicle id=690471]

[listicle id=690649]

[vertical-gallery id=690615]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Bill O’Brien to interview for Jaguars coaching job next week

O’Brien was 54-52 in seven seasons as the coach of the Houston Texans.

Jacksonville will be interviewing a wide candidate pool to replace Urban Meyer as the franchise’s head coach, and one of the names on that list will be a familiar one for Jags fans. According to a report from the Florida Times-Union’s John Reid, the team plans to interview former Houston Texans coach and current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien for the opening.

O’Brien is a bit of a polarizing name in coaching circles, as his success as a head coach has been middling. A long-time assistant with the New England Patriots, he got his first head coaching gig at the college level with Penn State. He replaced Joe Paterno and inherited a program that had been rocked by sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, and his two winning seasons in Happy Valley were enough to segue into an NFL job with the Houston Texans.

He coached in the NFL from 2014-20, winning the AFC South division in four of his seven seasons at the helm. But he was given general manager duties ahead of the 2020 season, and he made the controversial decision to trade away superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He was fired from both roles after an 0-4 start to the season.

He’s had success with Alabama’s offense this season, coaching the Heisman winner in quarterback Bryce Young as the unit has led the team to a College Football Playoff national championship appearance.

It’s understandable why O’Brien is a candidate for this job, but given his 54-52 record as an NFL coach, there are other candidates with stronger track records, like Doug Pederson or Jim Caldwell.

Still, it’s not a major surprise that the Jags intend to interview O’Brien, and he could be a dark horse candidate if some of the more likely options fall through.

Report: Jaguars to interview Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, DC Dan Quinn

Both Dallas coordinators have said they’re focused on their job with the Cowboys, but would be ready if the right scenario came along. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Let the nail-biting begin.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have requested permission to speak with Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as well as defensive coordinator Dan Quinn regarding their head coaching vacancy, according to a report from NFL insider Adam Schefter, citing league sources.

The news comes on the first day that teams are allowed to contact assistant coaches already employed by other clubs, as per a new rule approved by the owners during fall meetings. Previously, teams had to wait until their candidates’ seasons (or postseasons) were over, putting more successful assistants at a disadvantage in the annual coaching carousel. This season, assistants can interview, virtually if need be, during Weeks 17 and 18, provided their employing club consents.

The Jaguars fired Urban Meyer after just 13 games with the organization.

Both Moore and Quinn have been expected to be sought-after names on the coaching circuit, and both spoke of the prospect just this week following the Cowboys’ 56-14 throttling of Washington.

“Obviously, if the opportunity shows up, that would be awesome. But we’ve got to take care of this thing first,” Moore told reporters on Monday. “We’ve got to make sure we’re still rolling, and this is obviously focus No. 1. We’ve got to put everything into this thing, and we’ve got a great opportunity ahead of ourselves.”

Moore, 33, interviewed last offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles and also with his college alma mater, Boise State, about their head coach positions. In the end, he chose to stay with the Cowboys and now has the offense ranked among the best in the league in several categories.

Quinn, 51, is in his first year in Dallas after spending five-plus seasons as Atlanta’s head coach. Like Moore, he explained that he’d be ready if “the right scenario” came about, but stressed that he’s focused on the job at hand, helming a revamped and resurgent Cowboys defense.

“I wasn’t coming here to look what my next job would be,” he said. “I wanted to come in here and have a blast and hopefully kick ass and make an impact.”

Both certainly have made an impact in the Cowboys’ dramatic turnaround to become NFC East champions. But head coach Mike McCarthy knows that success means the coaches who have helped build it become that much more desirable to other teams looking for similar improvement.

“I think you have to acknowledge the guys that may have the opportunity,” said McCarthy on Monday. “It’s definitely well deserving and they’re ready, so you embrace that.”

Team owner Jerry Jones also understands that this is part of the business of football this time of year, and expressed faith on Tuesday that any possible interviews- for any Cowboys staffers- would not hinder their preparations for Sunday as Dallas hosts the Arizona Cardinals in a game that could have serious playoff-seeding implications.

“I would want them to go ahead and have any visits they might want and leave it at that,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan, while not naming any names. “I would be confident and have experienced it many, many times and confident that their mind is on our team and the opportunity that we got. It’s in everybody’s best interest to win. When you’re in this situation, it’s in everybody’s interest for the team that you’re coaching to be winning and executing.”

Several other assistants around the league have also been named as potential Jaguars candidates, including Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Indianapolis defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, and former Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson.

[listicle id=689091]

[listicle id=688969]

[listicle id=689131]

[lawrence-newsletter]

NFL approves rule allowing teams to interview coaching candidates 2 weeks early

Teams no longer have to wait to interview coaching candidates until the conclusion of the regular season

On Wednesday, the NFL agreed to a proposal that could have a large ripple effect on the coaching carousel process in the league. The proposal, which will be implemented on a one-year trial basis, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, allows teams to interview coaching candidates two weeks before the end of the regular season. According to previous rules, teams had to wait until the end of the regular season to reach out to potential candidates.

Here’s the catch: Pelissero reports that in order for teams to interview coaches early, they must no longer employ the coach who began the season in the role (or at least have provided notice of termination to the coach).

What this means is that teams will now have an incentive to fire coaches before the conclusion of the regular season, which previously didn’t serve much of a purpose. This could have potential impacts on Jacksonville, as one of the main arguments in favor of retaining coach Urban Meyer at least until the end of the season was the inability to get a head start on the search. Now, that is no longer the case.

If owner Shad Khan decides to make a change in Year 1, that change could come sooner rather than later. It’s also worth noting that, as Pelissero points out, this could add a second “Black Monday,” the day immediately following the conclusion of the regular season when most head coaching changes are made, to the calendar.

This change, if permanent, could also have an impact on college football coaching searches in the future. Considering most college coaching changes are made after the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend (or even earlier for universities that don’t wait), NFL coaches have been historically difficult for schools to target because their regular season ends in January. It’s unclear if the new rule applies to colleges, as well, or just NFL franchises, but if it does, the impacts could reach beyond the professional ranks.

Per Pelissero, teams can formally request interviews beginning at 8 a.m. EST on Dec. 28, though teams retain the right to deny requests. Considering Jacksonville could be looking at its second coaching search in as many years, this rule could have an immediate impact on the team’s strategy in the coming weeks.