Chargers Officially Announce L.A. Move
On Thursday morning, the Chargers confirmed that they will be moving from San Diego to Los Angeles. 
[RELATED: Chargers, Rams Meet With Anthony Lynn Again]
“San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity and, my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years,” team chairman Dean Spanos said in a written statement. “But, today we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers. L.A. is a remarkable place, and while we played our first season there in 1960 and have had fans there ever since, our entire organization knows that we have a tremendous amount of work to do. We must earn the respect and support of LA football fans. We must get back to winning. And, we must make a meaningful contribution, not just on the field, but off the field as a leader and champion for the community. The Chargers are determined to fight for LA and we are excited to get started.”
Today’s announcement concludes a lengthy saga for San Diego fans who hoped that, somehow, their team would get a brand new stadium to keep up with the rest of the league. Ultimately, the team and local leadership could not agree on the amount of public funding to be contributed to a new venue.
For now, the Chargers will play their home games at the 30,000 seat StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The team will reportedly spend the 2017 and 2018 seasons there before joining the Rams in Inglewood.
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Chargers, via Twitter.
Chargers, Rams Meet With Anthony Lynn Again
The Bills’ head coaching job is no longer an option for Anthony Lynn, but he still has an opportunity to land on his feet in this coaching cycle. Both the Chargers and Rams plan to bring Lynn in for a second interview, sources tell ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Chargers Officially Announce L.A. Move]
Lynn is the only coach who was tied to all six coaching vacancies this offseason, but only three jobs remain after the Bills, Broncos, and Jaguars made their hires. It’s not immediately clear if the Niners are bringing Lynn back for a second interview, but the Rams and Chargers have advanced interest in him.
On Wednesday, the Rams gave a second interview to Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay and he is rumored to be the team’s leading candidate at this time. However, the Rams are conducting a thorough coaching search and they will not wrap thing up without further exploring other options, including ones that could get the most out of their defense. In total, twelve candidates have interviewed for the position.
Meanwhile, Lynn is now the first coach to have a second interview scheduled with the Chargers. Patriots DC Matt Patricia, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub, Lions DC Teryl Austin, and Bucs DC Mike Smith are also said to be in the mix. McDermott and Vance Joseph are out of the running after accepting head coaching jobs elsewhere on Wednesday.
Bills To Hire Sean McDermott As Head Coach
It’s a done deal. The Bills are hiring Sean McDermott as their next head coach, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter) hears that McDermott will receive a five-year deal.
[RELATED: 2017 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Initially, interim head coach Anthony Lynn appeared to be a shoo-in for the job, but amidst Lynn’s own reported trepidation about the partnership, the Bills conducted a thorough coaching search. Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin and Seahawks DC Kris Richard interviewed for the job while new Broncos head coach Vance Joseph and Eagles OC Frank Reich were named as candidates.
McDermott, meanwhile, was also a candidate for the Niners and the Chargers were looking to bring him in for a second interview. The Bills are crushing hard on the defensive guru they did not want to risk losing him to another team.
Meanwhile, McDermott has a solid relationship with former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy and Carucci hears hears that he would hire him as his offensive coordinator. McDermott’s likely DC in Buffalo will be Carolina linebackers coach Al Holcomb, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Broncos Hire Vance Joseph
The Broncos’ coaching search is over. The Broncos have agreed to a four-year deal with Vance Joseph, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). General manager John Elway has since confirmed the news via Twitter.
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For the last week or so, Joseph has been identified as the frontrunner for the Denver vacancy. From the start, GM John Elway indicated that the team had about “three or four” candidates in mind and Joseph was reportedly in the driver’s seat before he ever interviewed.
Joseph interviewed for Denver’s vacant head coaching position prior to the 2015 season when he was the Bengals’ defensive backs coach. When the Broncos hired Gary Kubiak, the club pushed to hire Joseph as their defensive coordinator, but Cincinnati blocked the move. After that, Joseph moved on to Miami and helped improve the team’s defense from a No. 25 DVOA rank in 2015 to No. 17 this year.
Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub also interviewed for the job. Anthony Lynn was “expected” to interview with Denver, but he never got the chance.
Next up for Denver is rounding out the staff. The Broncos have two offensive coordinator interviews set up for Thursday: Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Denver defensive backs coach Joe Woods will likely be elevated to DC, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Meanwhile, in Miami, linebackers coach Matt Burke is likely going to be promoted to DC.
Mike Klis of 9NEWS (on Twitter) first reported the Broncos’ offer to Joseph. Additional details provided by Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
If Hired By Rams, McVay Wants Phillips As DC
Things are heating up between the Rams and Sean McVay, so much so that the youngster is already thinking about his potential staff. If hired by L.A., McVay’s top option for defensive coordinator is Wade Phillips, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Phillips has served as the Broncos’ DC for the last two years. Although he has been largely successful in Denver, the team is apparently allowing his contract to lapse. As shown in our Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker, Phillips was contacted about the Browns’ vacancy before the job was given to Gregg Williams and other teams have also been linked to him. No matter what, Wade won’t be out of work for long.
The Rams did alright in terms of defensive DVOA last year, finishing 15th in the NFL. The Rams also have some tremendous players on that side of the ball, including linemen Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn.
Rams Hold Second Interview With Sean McVay
At the age of 30, Sean McVay could be on the verge of becoming the youngest coach in the modern era of the NFL. The Redskins’ offensive coordinator is having a second meeting with the Rams, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Meanwhile, sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that he is the “leading” candidate for the job. There have been a number of candidates for the Rams’ vacancy, but McVay is the first to receive a follow-up interview.
[RELATED: Rams Get OK To Interview Texans’ Mike Vrabel]
As a head coach, McVay could conceivably be younger than a few of the players on his roster. That doesn’t seem to bother the Rams and it hasn’t precluded the 49ers from considering him for their job either. McVay is widely credited for developing Kirk Cousins into a solid quarterback and that’s the type of acumen L.A. is looking for as they groom No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. Despite his youth, we ID’d McVay as a top ten coaching candidate for the Rams back in December.
So far, there have been 13 candidates identified in the Rams’ search, though only a dozen remain after Doug Marrone was given the job in Jacksonville.
Panthers Eyeing Steve Wilks As DC
It’s looking more and more likely that Sean McDermott will wind up elsewhere. Building off of momentum from the previous coaching cycle, McDermott now finds himself in the mix for three jobs and the Bills could finalize a deal with him today. If McDermott goes, the Panthers will likely ask secondary coach Steve Wilks to serve as their defensive coordinator, ESPN.com’s David Newton tweets. 
[RELATED: Bills, Sean McDermott Closing In On Deal?]
It’s not guaranteed that Wilks will be available, however. He has already has interviewed for the Rams’ head coaching position and he has been asked to interview for the Redskins’ DC job. With that said, it would be surprising if the Rams hired the defensive backs coach for their top job and the Panthers aren’t likely to let Wilks skip town for someone else’s DC vacancy.
Panthers GM Dave Gettleman says he wants to keep as much of his coaching staff in place as possible.
Ravens Hope Steve Smith Will Keep Playing
On New Year’s Day, Steve Smith announced that he is walking away from football. Days later, the Ravens aren’t so sure that they can’t get him to change his mind. 
[RELATED: Steve Smith Announces Retirement]
“I haven’t given up hope that Steve Smith is going to come walking in here in September,” owner Steve Bisciotti said. “We’ll see about that character. I wouldn’t count him out.”
Smith, meanwhile, shrugged off Bisciotti’s comments.
“Man, I’m retired,” Smith told Fox Sports 1. “I sent that paperwork to Roger Goodell January 2.”
At 37, Smith was the NFL’s oldest receiver, but he was still quite productive. He hauled in 70 catches (third on the team), 799 yards receiving (second), and five touchdown catches (first). By the same token, Smith has been thinking about retirement for at least the last year and he is looking to spend more time with his family. Bisciotti & Co. will try, but it sounds like Smith will stick to his plan.
49ers To Interview Terry McDonough
On Friday, the 49ers will interview Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough for their general manager vacancy, sources tell Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. McDonough is now the ninth known candidate presently in the mix for the position, as shown in PFR’s 49ers GM Search Tracker. 
[RELATED: PFR’s 49ers GM Search Tracker]
The Niners have already interviewed Green Bay’s Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst, Minnesota’s George Paton, Carolina’s Brandon Beane, Indianapolis’ Jimmy Raye III, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. Seattle co-directors of player personnel Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner are also slated to be interviewed.
McDonough has spent four seasons with the Cardinals. For the last three seasons, he has been in charge of the college and pro personnel departments while assisting with the negotiations of player contracts. All in all, he has 25 years of NFL scouting on his resume.
Raiders To Promote Todd Downing To OC
Bill Musgrave is out in Oakland but the Raiders won’t be going out of house to look at candidates. Quarterbacks coach Todd Downing is being promoted to OC, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. 
[RELATED: Raiders Part Ways With OC Bill Musgrave]
Downing was a “hot” coach and had been contacted about “four or five jobs” around the league, a source tells Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Ultimately, the Raiders had to make a choice and they opted to bump up Dowling and let Musgrave’s contract lapse.
Downing, 36, first broke into the NFL coaching ranks as a low-level assistant with the Vikings in 2003. Since then, he steadily moved up the ladder with stops in St. Louis, Detroit, and Buffalo before landing in Oakland. Downing got some good football out of Matthew Stafford when he was the Lions’ QB coach and the league has taken notice of what Downing has been able to do recently with Derek Carr.
Given that the Raiders acted quickly to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy, only one club — the Jets — is currently looking for a new offensive play-caller on offense. Follow all the latest coordinator news by bookmarking PFR’s Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker.