Falcons Prefer To Hire HC Before GM
The Falcons have a new president of football in Matt Ryan, who landed the job on Jan. 10 despite a lack of front office experience. The former Falcons and Colts quarterback and ex-CBS analyst immediately took on the task of finding a new general manager and head coach for Atlanta. Both positions are vacant after owner Arthur Blank fired Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris on the heels of a second straight 8-9 season.
The Falcons’ head coach and GM searches are occurring concurrently, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team would prefer to hire a head coach before a GM, though, Albert Breer of SI.com says. That isn’t a surprise, as Ryan is already in place as the de facto GM.
Blank said last week that Ryan has “final decision-making authority,” meaning he’ll outrank Fontenot’s replacement. However, Ryan insists Atlanta’s next GM will not be a figurehead.
“The final decisions that I am going to have to make is who we hire, but we are empowering (the HC and GM) to go out there and do their job and I have expressed that in the interviews that we have had,” Ryan stated (via Josh Kendall of The Athletic).
Ryan hasn’t conducted any GM interviews, but some of the candidates he beat out for his job may be in the running, per Ledbetter. Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner, Panthers executive vice president of operations Brandt Tilis, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, and Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham interviewed for the president of football position. Those meetings also counted as GM interviews, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports (via Scott Bair of Marquee Sports). It’s unclear if the Falcons will hold more discussions with anyone from that group.
Turning to the Falcons’ head coaching search, Blank revealed that Ryan has led the interviews (via Ledbetter). Ryan has met with eight candidates so far, including John Harbaugh, but he’ll come off the board when he finalizes an agreement with the Giants. Here’s the entire group the Falcons have considered so far, courtesy of PFR’s HC Search Tracker:
- Aden Durde, defensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/10
- Ejiro Evero, defensive coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
- Jeff Hafley, defensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/15
- John Harbaugh, former head coach (Ravens): Interviewed 1/12; second interview canceled
- Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator (Broncos): Interview requested
- Klint Kubiak, offensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/10
- Mike McDaniel, former head coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/12
- Jesse Minter, defensive coordinator (Chargers): Interviewed 1/15
- Antonio Pierce, former head coach (Raiders): To interview
- Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator (49ers): Interview requested
- Kevin Stefanski, former head coach (Browns): Interviewed 1/11; seen as a frontrunner
- Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/10
Coaches with defensive backgrounds comprise the majority of the list. That’s OK with Ryan, who said he’s not pushing for an offensive-minded hire (via Kendall). When Ryan makes his pick, he won’t meddle into how that individual puts together a coaching staff. Rather, Blank said Ryan will enable the coach to pick his assistants, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports relays. Blank has made it clear he’d prefer for the next head coach to retain defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. However, if Morris’ successor doesn’t want to keep Ulbrich, it seems he’ll be allowed to hire a different D-coordinator.
Micah Parsons Doesn’t Expect To Open 2026 On IR; Week 3 Return Possible
Then 9-3-1 and riding a four-game winning streak, Green Bay was rolling heading into Denver for a Week 15 clash with the Broncos. The wheels began falling off for the Packers that afternoon in a 34-26 defeat. Adding injury to insult, the Packers lost their best defensive player, superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons, to a torn ACL.
Parsons’ injury was a fatal blow to the Packers, who failed to win a game without him. They closed the regular season with four straight defeats before limping into a wild-card matchup against the archrival Bears. The Packers stormed out to a 21-3 halftime lead, but the Bears flipped the script in the second half and pulled off a shocking 31-28 win.
While the Packers are stewing over a brutal end to their season, they at least received some good news earlier this week. Parsons said he doesn’t expect to open the 2026 campaign on injured reserve, per Ryan Wood of USA Today. Doing so would keep Parsons out for at least four games, but he’s aiming to make his season debut in either Week 3 or Week 4.
After beginning his career in Dallas, where he earned first-team All-Pro honors three times in four years, Parsons joined the Packers with great fanfare last summer in a stunning late-August trade. Months of drama between Parsons and owner Jerry Jones culminated in the Cowboys sending the 26-year-old to the Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The Packers immediately handed Parsons a four-year, $188MM extension with $136MM in guarantees.
Parsons lived up to the hype and the mammoth contract in his first 14 games as a Packer. With 12.5 sacks, he became the first player to amass a dozen or more in each of his first five seasons. He also tallied 79 pressures, 26 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Parsons ended the year as Pro Football Focus’ third-ranked edge rusher out of 188 qualifiers. In PFF’s estimation, only Myles Garrett and Will Anderson had better seasons than Parsons, who made his fifth straight Pro Bowl.
Parsons underwent successful knee surgery on Dec. 29. Barring setbacks, a healthy return will go a long way in helping the Packers rebound from a 2025 campaign that started with promise but ended with a collapse. Parsons’ absence proved crucial during a four-game stretch in which the Packers mustered just four sacks.
Rico Dowdle Seeking Multiyear Deal, Lead Role; Unlikely To Re-Sign With Panthers?
After spending his first five NFL seasons in Dallas, where he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in 2024, running back Rico Dowdle left for Carolina last March. Dowdle’s one-year pact with the Panthers included a $2.75MM base salary and a max value of $6.25MM. The deal worked out well for both sides. Dowdle went over 1,000 yards again and helped the Panthers to an NFC South title.
Although the Panthers only managed an 8-9 record in the regular season, they pushed the Rams to the limit in a 34-31 wild-card round loss last Saturday. With Dowdle two months from returning to free agency, that may go down as his last game as a Panther.
General manager Dan Morgan told reporters that Dowdle hasn’t given any indication he’s exiting (via David Newton of ESPN), but the soon-to-be 28-year-old has made it clear he wants to be a lead back. Dowdle’s workload decreased toward the end of the season, which he said will impact whether he re-signs with the team.
“That definitely is a factor,” he said. “There’s options for me. I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries].”
In Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers already had a well-compensated starting back on hand when Dowdle joined them. Hubbard, then in the midst of his first 1,000-yard season, inked a four-year, $33.2MM extension in November 2024.
Hubbard entered 2025 as the Panthers’ No. 1 back, a role he held for the first four weeks of the season. He sat out the next two games with a calf injury, though, and Dowdle feasted during his absence. In wins over the Cowboys and Dolphins, Dowdle combined for a jaw-dropping 389 yards on 53 carries. He added two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) and chipped in another 84 yards on seven catches.
Hubbard returned the next week, but he logged fewer carries than Dowdle in nine of the Panthers’ last 10 regular-season games. Dowdle totaled 12 or fewer rushes in three straight games from Week 16 through 18, however, and was a non-factor in the playoff loss. He notched five carries for nine yards against the Rams, while Hubbard racked up 46 yards and two scores on 13 attempts.
Dowdle is now preparing to test the market in hopes of securing a multiyear deal, according to Person, who casts doubt on the South Carolina native signing a second Panthers contract. He’ll shop himself around the league after posting the first 17-game season of his career and rushing for a personal-best six scores. The rest of his numbers are virtually identical to his 2024 output.
Over a 16-game span in his last year with the Cowboys, Dowdle amassed 1,079 rushing yards on 235 carries (4.6 YPC). He also caught 39 of 49 targets for 249 yards and three TDs. In his first (and perhaps only) Carolina season, Dowdle racked up 1,076 yards on 236 totes (4.6 YPC). As a pass catcher, he pulled in 39 of 50 targets for 297 yards and a score.
Dowdle, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020, only had 96 carries under his belt before his breakthrough effort in 2024. He at least showed that wasn’t a fluke in 2025, but it’s up in the air whether a second straight 1,000-yard season will lead to multiyear offers. With Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker, Javonte Williams and J.K. Dobbins also among pending free agents, Dowdle may be stuck in a crowded class of running backs when the market opens in March.
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, S Dillon Thieneman To Enter 2026 NFL Draft
Oregon no doubt breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when quarterback Dante Moore announced he’d stay in school in 2026. However, a Ducks team that went 13-2 in 2025 and contended for a national championship will lose other key contributors. That includes tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman. Both players will enter the 2026 NFL Draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.
Sadiq, a three-year veteran at Oregon, broke out as Moore’s favorite target in 2025. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior paced Ducks pass catchers in receptions (51) and touchdowns (eight), and he finished second in yards (560). After leading college football tight ends in TDs, Sadiq earned First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Tight End of the Year honors.
While the draft is still over three months away, Sadiq looks like a good bet to come off the board in the first round. ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks Sadiq as the ninth-best prospect and No. 1 tight end in the class, writing that “he’s nearly impossible to match against because of his quickness and size.”
Meanwhile, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic, “NFL teams believe [Sadiq] has the talent to be a top-10 pick.” That’s rare for the position, as Kyle Pitts (fourth overall pick, 2021), Kellen Winslow II (sixth, 2004), Vernon Davis (sixth, 2006), T.J. Hockenson (eighth, 2019), Eric Ebron (10th, 2014) and Colston Loveland (10th, 2025) are the only tight ends who have gone inside the top 10.
Thieneman may have to wait longer than his teammate to hear his name called in April, but he’s still a projected top 50 selection, Thamel notes. Kiper ranks Thieneman third among draft-eligible safeties, trailing only Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and Pitt’s Kyle Louis, while Brugler lauds the junior’s “man-coverage skills and run-stopping ability.”
Thieneman is firmly on the NFL radar after an impressive three-year run divided between Purdue and Oregon. As a Boilermaker, he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third-team All-America honors in 2023 after piling up 106 tackles and six interceptions. Thieneman didn’t intercept any passes in a 104-tackle sophomore campaign, but he added 96 more tackles and another two INTs in his lone season with Oregon in 2025. The 21-year-old was a first-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection with the Ducks. That stellar performance boosted his stock heading into the draft.
Oregon QB Dante Moore Will Not Enter 2026 NFL Draft
Quarterback Dante Moore will not enter the 2026 NFL Draft. Moore announced on Wednesday that he will return to Oregon for his junior season.
This is a major blow to teams aiming to use a high pick on a quarterback in this year’s draft. Before Moore decided to stay in school, he and Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller, Fernando Mendoza, were considered locks to go near the top of the draft. With Moore out of the picture, Mendoza is undoubtedly the No. 1 option heading into the proceedings. It seems likely the Raiders will take him first overall.
The Jets (second), Cardinals (third) and Browns (sixth) are other clubs that could conceivably choose a QB in the top 10, but the likelihood of that has decreased with Moore remaining at Oregon. Moore’s NIL valuation checks in at approximately $2.3MM, per On3. That surely made it easier for Moore to delay his NFL career, though he may be leaving a substantial amount of money on the table for the time being. Regardless, the 20-year-old could benefit from further seasoning at the college level.
Before jumping to the pros in 2027, Moore will aim to build on a breakout campaign in which he completed 71.8% of passes and threw for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Moore guided Oregon to a 13-2 record, but Mendoza’s Hoosiers ended the Ducks’ season with a 56-22 blowout in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Moore, whom ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranked as the second-best prospect in this year’s class, may end up as part of a deeper group of draft-eligible QBs next year. Texas’ Arch Manning and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers represent other potential high picks in 2027. Meanwhile, it’s unknown if any QBs other than Mendoza will come off the board in the first round this year. Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, who now round out Kiper’s top three prospects at the position, are among names to watch. Unfortunately for teams in dire need of a franchise QB, neither looks like a slam-dunk first-rounder right now.
Steelers Request HC Interviews With Jesse Minter, Brian Flores, Anthony Weaver
The Steelers continue adding candidates in their search for a new head coach. They’ve requested interviews with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Vikings D-coordinator Brian Flores and Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver, per reports from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network and Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
Looking for a replacement for Mike Tomlin, whose 19-year run with the franchise ended Tuesday, the Steelers previously sent out interview requests for Rams assistants Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase. Aside from Scheelhaase, all of the Steelers’ early candidates come with a defensive background. The same was true of Tomlin when the Steelers hired him in January 2007.
Minter doesn’t have any head coaching experience, but his strong work as an assistant has made him a hot commodity across the league. All nine teams with a head coaching vacancy have either requested an interview or have conducted one with the 42-year-old, who has effectively teamed with Jim Harbaugh over the past few seasons.
Minter was Harbaugh’s D-coordinator at Michigan from 2022-23. He followed Harbaugh to the Chargers after a national championship-winning campaign with the Wolverines. The Chargers’ defense has ranked near the top of the league in back-to-back seasons under Minter. The unit finished 2024 first in scoring and 11th in yards, and it ranked ninth in scoring and fifth in yards this season.
Flores, who went 24-25 as the Dolphins’ head coach from 2019-21, was on Tomlin’s staff in Pittsburgh in 2022. He served as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach that year. Flores then left to run the Vikings’ defense, a group that finished 2025 third in yards and seventh in points. Flores’ contract is now up after three successful seasons, but head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it known that retaining him is a high priority. However, the Vikings will have to fend off teams that consider Flores a head coaching candidate and others that want him as a defensive coordinator.
Weaver has already held head coaching interviews with the Cardinals, Falcons and Ravens in the past week. A former defensive lineman with the Ravens and Texans from 2002-08, Weaver has coached with those two teams and the Jets, Bills, Browns and Dolphins since 2012. He was the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator from 2024-25, but with head coach Mike McDaniel out, Weaver’s future in Miami is uncertain. Even if the 45-year-old doesn’t leave the Dolphins for a head coaching job, he could be an assistant elsewhere in 2026.
Dolphins Request HC Interviews With Joe Brady, Anthony Campanile
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile are officially on the list of head coaching candidates for the Dolphins. The Dolphins have requested interviews with Brady and Campanile, according to reports from Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Brady, who’s in his second full season as the Bills’ O-coordinator, initially took the reins on an interim basis in November 2023. Then the Bills’ quarterbacks coach, Brady stepped in when Sean McDermott fired Ken Dorsey. The offense showed enough positives under Brady for the Bills to promote him to the full-time job.
After finishing second in scoring and 10th in total offense in 2024, a year in which quarterback Josh Allen won MVP honors, Brady landed on the head coaching radar last winter. The Bears, Jaguars, Jets and Saints all interviewed him before hiring other candidates.
Despite a lack of high-end receiving talent, Brady coached the Bills’ offense to fourth-place rankings in points and yards during the regular season. Allen’s strong play continued, while James Cook led the league in rushing during a 12-win campaign. Brady and the Bills then knocked off Campanile and the Jaguars in last week’s wild-card round. Buffalo will head to Denver for a divisional round meeting on Saturday.
The Dolphins join the Ravens as teams to request a meeting with the 36-year-old Brady, who was born in nearby Hollywood, Fla. While Miami is coming off a four-year run with an offensive-minded head coach in Mike McDaniel, it has mostly zeroed in on defensive candidates in this search. Brady, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak and ex-Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski are exceptions, as PFR’s HC Search Tracker shows.
Campanile, 43, is the seventh defensive coordinator to receive an interview request from the Dolphins. After serving as an assistant in various roles at Rutgers, Boston College and Michigan from 2012-19, he got his start in the NFL as the Dolphins’ linebackers coach in 2020. Then-head coach Brian Flores brought in Campanile, who retained his position when McDaniel replaced Flores in 2022.
Campanile assisted McDaniel for two years before a one-season run as the Packers’ LBs coach and running game coordinator. Notably, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was in Green Bay’s front office then.
Now coming off his first year as a coordinator, Campanile played a key role in helping the Jaguars and rookie head coach Liam Coen to a 13-4 record. While the Jaguars’ defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2024, it turned around its fortunes under Campanile. The unit ranked second in takeaways, eighth in scoring and 11th in yards in 2025. Campanile hasn’t received any other interview requests, but he’ll at least have a chance to convince Sullivan and the Dolphins he’s the right person to take over for McDaniel.
Mike McDaniel, Brian Daboll Among Eagles’ OC Candidates
After removing Kevin Patullo from the offensive coordinator role on Tuesday, the Eagles have begun reaching out to potential replacements. Former head coaches Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are atop the Eagles’ list, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. It’s unknown if either will interview for the job.
McDaniel and Daboll join the previously reported Kevin Stefanski and Kliff Kingsbury as established offensive coaches on the Eagles’ radar. Judging by that group of four, the Eagles and head coach Nick Sirianni are aiming high in their quest to upgrade an offense that fell flat in 2025.
In 2024, Kellen Moore‘s lone season running their offense, the Eagles ranked seventh in scoring and eighth in yards. Running back Saquon Barkley put together the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history, helping the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship. Their offense was unable to follow up on that performance after Moore left to become the Saints’ head coach.
In the wake of Moore’s departure, Sirianni opted for continuity in promoting Patullo from pass game coordinator to OC. The Eagles won 11 games en route to their second straight NFC East crown, but their offense frustrated the team and its fans throughout the season.
Barkley’s rushing total declined from 2,005 to 1,140, which played a big role in the Eagles’ below-average offensive performance. Despite boasting a strong offensive line (albeit one that went without cornerstone right tackle Lane Johnson for a large chunk of time), a championship-winning QB in Jalen Hurts, and pass catchers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles finished 19th in total offense and 24th in scoring.
Considering their past accomplishments, either McDaniel or Daboll could end up as Sirianni’s pick to help Philadelphia’s offense rebound in 2026. McDaniel, long considered one of the game’s brightest offensive minds, is coming off a four-year run as the Dolphins’ head coach. He got plenty out of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at times, especially when the Dolphins led the league in total offense and finished second in scoring in 2023. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane joined Tagovailoa as part of a well-oiled offensive machine that year, but the unit’s production fell off a cliff in the past couple of seasons.
Hill missed almost all of 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in Week 4. That didn’t help Tagovailoa, who performed so poorly that McDaniel benched him for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Ewers was at the helm for the last three games of a 7-10 campaign for McDaniel, who lost his job after two straight sub-.500 seasons. Although his final two years in Miami didn’t go well, McDaniel is highly likely to stay in the league as either an offensive coordinator or a head coach in 2026.
Like McDaniel, Daboll is fresh off a first-time head coaching stint that began with a flourish but ended with a thud. The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game in 2022, Daboll’s rookie year as a head coach. He meshed well with quarterback Daniel Jones, who landed a four-year, $160MM extension in the ensuing offseason. That wound up as a major misfire for the Giants. Jones endured a horrid 2023 in which a torn ACL limited him to six games. After he failed to bounce back the next season, the Giants released him in late November.
After combining for a 9-25 mark from 2023-24, Daboll entered this season on the hot seat. The Giants remade their QB room in the offseason with two free agent pickups, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, as well as first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Wilson began 2025 as the Giants’ starter, but Daboll pulled the plug on the former star after an awful showing in a loss to the Chiefs in Week 3. Dart took over under center and went on to impress as a rookie, though Daboll didn’t last the year. The Giants fired him after a 2-8 start.
Daboll went a dismal 20-40-1 as New York’s head coach, but he joins McDaniel as someone who at least figures to work as a coordinator next season. Taking over the Eagles’ offense would give Daboll his fifth try as an NFL O-coordinator. He previously held the position with the Browns (2009-10), Dolphins (2011), Chiefs (2012) and Bills (2018-21). The Giants hired Daboll after a particularly fruitful run in Buffalo, where he helped Josh Allen go from raw prospect to superstar.
Also a former Alabama offensive coordinator and QBs coach, Daboll has prior working experience with Hurts and Smith. The three were together in 2017, a national championship-winning season for the Crimson Tide. Hurts was at the helm for the majority of the season, but after a rough first half in the title game, Alabama benched him for Tagovailoa. It ended up as a wise move in a 26-23 win over Georgia. Smith caught the game-winning 41-yard touchdown in overtime.
Adding to his familiarity with Hurts and Smith, Daboll coached Barkley in New York from 2022-23. General manager Joe Schoen let Barkley walk to the division rival Eagles in free agency in March 2024. Barkley, who has become an integral part of the Eagles’ offense since then, could reunite with Daboll soon.
Steelers Request HC Interviews With Rams’ Chris Shula, Nate Scheelhaase
One day after Mike Tomlin resigned, Pittsburgh has picked a pair of Rams assistants as its first head coaching candidates. The Steelers have requested interviews with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Pittsburgh turned heads when it tapped Tomlin, then just 34 years old, as Bill Cowher‘s successor in January 2007. Tomlin went on to last 19 years in the Steel City. He won a Super Bowl, led the Steelers to the playoffs 13 times, and famously didn’t post a losing season before stepping down from the role Tuesday.
As a future Hall of Famer and a Pittsburgh institution, Tomlin will be a tough act to follow for anyone, let alone a first-time head coach. Shula and Scheelhaase don’t carry any head coaching experience, but they’ve earned strong reputations for their work on Sean McVay‘s staff. Teams in the market for head coaches have taken notice of the two this offseason.
There are nine clubs that don’t have a head coach. Seven have requested interviews with the 39-year-old Shula, grandson of the legendary Don Shula.
Chris Shula has worked under McVay in various roles since 2017, the beginning of the head coach’s tenure in Los Angeles. Shula took over as the Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2024. In their first post-Aaron Donald season, the Rams finished a below-average 17th in points and 26th in yardage. They improved to 10th and 17th, respectively, in those categories in 2025. The Rams also ranked fifth in takeaways and seventh in sacks during the regular season.
Scheelhaase, 35, is a former Illinois quarterback who began his coaching career at the school in 2015. He went on to work for Iowa State, including as its offensive coordinator in 2023, before jumping to the pros in 2024. He spent last year as the Rams’ offensive assistant and passing game specialist. McVay moved Scheelhaase to pass game coordinator duties this season.
Considering the Steelers, Ravens, Browns and Raiders have all requested interviews with Scheelhaase, it’s clear his stock around the league is rising. It helps that the Rams boast one of the game’s premier aerial attacks. Quarterback Matthew Stafford may be weeks from winning his first MVP. His favorite target, Puka Nacua, led the league with 129 receptions during the season, and Davante Adams hauled in an NFL-best 14 touchdowns.
Thanks in part to Shula and Scheelhaase, the Rams are still alive heading into the divisional round. They’ll face the Bears on Sunday with a spot in the NFC title game on the line. Whenever the Rams’ season ends, they could lose at least one of their up-and-coming assistants to a team in need of a head coach. Pittsburgh, which is looking for its fourth sideline leader since 1969, has emerged as a potential landing spot.
Falcons To Interview Antonio Pierce For HC Job
Former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has emerged as a candidate in Atlanta. The Falcons will hold an in-person interview with Pierce this week, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Pierce didn’t coach in 2025, instead spending the season with CBS as an NFL analyst. Matt Ryan, the Falcons’ new president of football, worked at CBS for three years before returning to Atlanta to lead its front office. Ryan will at least consider turning to his former CBS colleague to replace the fired Raheem Morris.
Like Morris, Pierce carries a sub-.5o0 record as an NFL head coach. Pierce got off to a decent start in taking over as Las Vegas’ interim HC in 2023, however.
After the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels, Pierce guided the team to a 5-4 finish during an 8-9 campaign. Pierce won over his players, including star defensive end Maxx Crosby, who would have requested a trade had the Raiders hired a different head coach. That was enough to convince owner Mark Davis to promote Pierce to the full-time role.
While Davis hoped Pierce would be the Raiders’ first multiyear answer on the sidelines since Jon Gruden, it didn’t work out that way. Crosby’s standout play continued in 2024, but so did the Raiders’ woes at quarterback, among other areas. The Raiders stumbled to a 4-13 record, leading Davis and heavily influential minority owner Tom Brady to send Pierce packing a year ago.
Despite a 9-17 record in Vegas, Pierce is now under consideration for multiple HC openings. The former linebacker interviewed with the Giants, one of his ex-teams, last week. The Giants are aggressively pursuing John Harbaugh, who’s also on the Falcons’ radar. If Pierce is a serious candidate for either job, where Harbaugh ends up could affect his chances of landing a second head coaching opportunity this offseason.