Latest On Bears’ GM Search
At least three finalists have emerged for the Bears GM gig. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the organization has requested second interviews with Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort and Patriots senior consultant Eliot Wolf. We previously learned that Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles would also be getting a second interview. Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown could also be a candidate for a second interview, per Rapoport.
[RELATED: Bears Request Second GM Interview With Ryan Poles]
Ossenfort has been the director of player personnel in Tennessee for the past two years. Prior to the Titans, he spent 17 seasons in the Patriots’ organization, acting as the director of college scouting in his last six years in New England.
Wolf started off as a pro personnel assistant in 2004 with the Packers, where his father, Ron Wolf, served as general manager. In eight years with the team, Eliot worked his way into the director of pro personnel role, which he held for three years. In his last two seasons in Green Bay, he spent time in the roles of director of player personnel and director of football operations. He left Wisconsin for the assistant general manager position in Cleveland before taking his current position as a senior consultant in New England.
Brown had a seven-year stint as the Bears assistant director of pro personnel. He’s served as a top executive in Indy for the past five years, with Brown earning credit for his draft evaluation. He interviewed for the Falcons GM gig last offseason.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/24/22
Here are Monday’s reserve/futures deals:
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
- DT Brandin Bryant, OL Jacob Capra, WR Tanner Gentry , LB Joe Giles-Harris, CB Olaijah Griffin (two-year deal), CB Tim Harris, WR Isaiah Hodgins , DE Mike Love, CB Nick McCloud, TE Quintin Morris, S Josh Thomas
New Orleans Saints
- RB Josh Adams, WR Kirk Merritt
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- K Jose Borregales, RB Kenjon Barner, TE Codey McElroy, G John Molchon, OLB Elijah Ponder, DL Benning Potoa’e, DL Willington Previlon, DL Kobe Smith, CB Rashard Robinson, S Troy Warner
Tennessee Titans
- S Jamal Carter, OL Christian DiLauro, TE Austin Fort, OL Derwin Gray, QB Kevin Hogan, WR Cody Hollister, LB Joe Jones, WR Mason Kinsey, OL Daniel Munyer, OL Jordan Roos, LB Tuzar Skipper
Byron Leftwich Gets Second Jaguars Interview
Byron Leftwich is getting a second look in Jacksonville. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), the Jaguars have scheduled an in-person interview with the Buccaneers offensive coordinator for tomorrow.
Leftwich, of course, entered the league as a 2003 first-round pick of the Jaguars and spent four years under center in Jacksonville. Following his playing career, Leftwich transitioned to coaching, and he’s recently made a name for himself on the sideline.
The 42-year-old has spent the past three seasons as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator, including a Super Bowl-winning campaign in 2020. Despite the Buccaneers offense dealing with a number of absences in 2021, the offense still ranked second in points scored and yards. After emerging as a HC candidate last offseason, Leftwich has been connected to both the Jaguars and Bears gigs this year.
Leftwich is one of many candidates for the Jaguars head coaching gig:
- Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interviewed 1/3
- Jim Caldwell, former head coach (Lions): Interviewed 1/4
- Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator (Colts): Completed second interview 1/20
- Nathaniel Hackett, offensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/14
- Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator (Cowboys): Interviewed 1/7
- Bill O’Brien, former head coach (Texans): Interviewed 1/13
- Doug Pederson, former head coach (Eagles): Interviewed 1/6
- Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator (Cowboys): Declined early interview
Raiders To Interview Dwayne Joseph For GM Opening
We can add another name to the list of Raiders GM candidates. According to Mike Jones of USA Today (on Twitter), the Raiders will interview director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph for their general manager opening.
Joseph joined the Raiders back in 2019 as their director of pro scouting. Following his first two years on the job, Joseph was named as a top minority candidate for a GM job. However, the executive didn’t end up getting any interviews during last year’s cycle.
The 49-year-old has been in front offices since 1998. He’s had multiple stints with the Bears organization, including most recently as assistant director of pro personnel between 2013 and 2015. Joseph has also spent time with the Dolphins and Eagles.
Joseph is now the fifth candidate to emerge for the Raiders GM job, joining a list that already includes:
- Trey Brown, scout (Bengals): Interviewed 1/21
- Ed Dodds, vice president of player personnel (Colts): Interview requested
- Champ Kelly, assistant director of player personnel (Bears):Interviewed 1/20
- Dave Ziegler, director of player personnel (Patriots): Interviewed 1/21
Bears Request Second GM Interview With Ryan Poles
Ryan Poles is getting a second interview in Chicago. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel has been asked to interview a second time for the Bears GM job.
Poles is already a finalist for the Vikings GM job. He will meet with the Bears on Tuesday and the Vikings on Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The other finalist for the Minnesota job, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, will meet with the organization again on Tuesday (per Albert Breer on Twitter).
Poles has spent much of his career with the Chiefs, working his way up from director of college scouting to executive director of player personnel, where he works alongside GM Brett Veach and assistant GM Mike Borgonzi.
Last offseason, the Chiefs executive was considered for the Panthers GM job. Besides interest from the Vikings and Bears, Poles was also a finalist for the Giants GM gig (a job that ultimately went to Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen).
Giants To Interview DC Patrick Graham For HC Position
The Giants are considering an in-house candidate for the HC vacancy. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the team is expected to interview defensive coordinator Patrick Graham for the position.
This is the first time this offseason that Graham has been connected to a head coach gig. Last offseason, he was connected to the Jets HC job.
Graham broke into coaching as a graduate assistant with Wagner College back in 2002. He slowly worked his way up the collegiate ranks and landed his first NFL gig with the Patriots in 2009. He served as Brian Flores‘ DC with with the Dolphins in 2019 before joining Joe Judge‘s first coaching staff with the Giants.
His work with the Giants is what has created the HC buzz. Despite not having a ton of individual talent to work with, Graham coaxed a top-10 performance out of his unit in 2020 in terms of points allowed, and though the New York defense struggled through much of the first half of 2021, the club had a few standout performances (including a three-game stretch where they yielded just 39 points despite facing the likes of Derek Carr and Patrick Mahomes). Graham’s reputation as a play-caller, along with his ability to forge strong relationships with his players, has attracted league-wide attention.
Graham is now the fifth name connected to the NYG vacancy, a list that also includes:
- Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator (Bills): Interviewed 1/21
- Brian Flores, former head coach (Dolphins): Mentioned as candidate
- Leslie Frazier, defensive coordinator (Bills): To interview 1/22
- Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator (Cowboys): Interview requested
Jim Caldwell Says He Didn’t Decline Vikings, Raiders Interviews
There were rumblings this week that former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell declined interviews with the Vikings and Raiders regarding their head coaching vacancies. However, Caldwell took to Twitter this morning to deny those rumors.
“I would like to correct an erroneous report that I turned down opportunities to interview for the head coaching job with Minnesota and Las Vegas,” Caldwell said in a statement. “Those reports are not true.
“I have profound respect for both organizations and for the Wilf and Davis families and I did not decline any opportunity to interview with them.”
Caldwell, 66, served as the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 before health issues forced him to step aside. Fortunately, he’s said to be back to full health now, and it sounds like he’s ready for his next job.
Between his time with the Colts and Lions, Caldwell owns a career 62-50 record as a head coach with four playoff berths and one Super Bowl appearance. Caldwell’s last stop in Detroit saw him never finish with fewer than seven wins, but he was still canned following back-to-back 9-7 seasons.
This offseason, Caldwell has already interviewed for jobs with the Bears and the Jaguars.
Raiders Expected To Interview 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans
While DeMeco Ryans is surely focused on his showdown with the Packers tonight, the 49ers defensive coordinator has garnered another interview. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Raiders are expected to interview Ryans for their head coaching vacancy.
The former NFL linebacker has been on the 49ers coaching staff since 2017, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator last offseason after Robert Saleh left for New York. During his first season in the role, the 49ers defense ranked third in yards allowed and ninth in points allowed.
We previously learned that Ryans was on the long list of candidates for the Vikings HC job. Indeed, Schefter notes that the defensive coordinator is set to meet with Minnesota on Sunday.
This is the fourth name connected to the job in Las Vegas, with Ryans joining a group that includes:
- Rich Bisaccia, interim head coach (Raiders): Interviewed 1/19
- Jim Harbaugh, former head coach (49ers): Mentioned as candidate; early frontrunner?
- Jerod Mayo, linebackers coach (Patriots): Interview requested
Bears To Interview Saints DC Dennis Allen
Let’s add another name to the list of Bears head coaching candidates. Per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football (on Twitter), Chicago will interview Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen for the vacancy. The interview is expected to be next week.
Allen was the head coach of the Raiders for two-plus seasons from 2012 to 2014. He collected an 8-24 record during his first two seasons at the helm, and an 0-4 start to the 2014 campaign led to his firing.
Obviously that record doesn’t inspire much confidence, but he’s done a great job rehabilitating his reputation in New Orleans since landing on Sean Payton’s staff in 2015. The Saints often had one of the worst defenses in the league before Allen’s arrival, and he stabilized the unit and turned them into an elite group the past few years. Allen also filled in as HC when Payton was forced to miss a game earlier this season.
The list of Bears HC candidates also includes:
- Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interview requested
- Jim Caldwell, former head coach (Lions): Interviewed 1/15
- Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator (Bills): Interviewed 1/16
- Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator (Colts): To conduct second interview 1/24
- Brian Flores, former head coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/14
- Leslie Frazier, defensive coordinator (Bills): To interview 1/21
- Nathaniel Hackett, offensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/15
- Byron Leftwich, offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interview requested
- Doug Pederson, former head coach (Eagles): Interviewed 1/12
- Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator (Cowboys): Interview requested
Texans Interview Josh McCown For HC Vacancy
An interesting name has emerged in the Texans’ hunt for a new head coach. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), Houston completed an interview with Josh McCown for their head coaching vacancy.
McCown did not see any action with the Texans last season and has not started a game since filling in for Sam Darnold in 2018. However, he did play the bulk of the 2019 Eagles’ wild-card loss to the Seahawks, after Carson Wentz exited. A 2002 draftee, McCown has been with a dozen teams — the Cardinals, Lions, Raiders, Dolphins, Panthers, 49ers, Bears, Buccaneers, Browns, Jets, Eagles and Texans — in his near-two-decade NFL run. He remained unsigned for the entire 2021 campaign.
Recently, McCown has been mentioned as a potential coaching candidate, but it was expected that he’d pay his dues on the sideline before being considered for HC gigs. He was mentioned as a candidate for the Texans job last offseason.
In addition to McCown, the Texans head coaching search includes:
- Brian Flores, former head coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/14
- Jonathan Gannon, defensive coordinator (Eagles): Interviewed 1/18
- Joe Lombardi, offensive coordinator (Chargers): Interviewed 1/15
- Jerod Mayo, linebackers coach (Patriots): Mentioned as candidate
- Kevin O’Connell, offensive coordinator (Rams): Interview expected
- Hines Ward, wide receivers coach (Florida Atlantic): Interviewed 1/15