Ravens Request To Interview Chiefs’ Joe Cullen For DC
The more things change the more they seem to stay the same. After the Ravens hired a former staffer to their head coaching role, they’re now seeking to interview another former staffer for their defensive coordinator role. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team requested to interview Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen for their open defensive coordinator position. 
Cullen is very familiar with the franchise in Baltimore; he spent five seasons as the team’s defensive line coach before landing his first NFL defensive coordinator job. Immediately following the end of his playing career as a star nose guard at UMass, Cullen began his coaching career in 1990, working with the Minutemen’s running backs for a year before taking on oversight of their defensive line.
He then became a bit of an NCAA journeyman, spending time as a defensive line coach at Richmond, LSU, Memphis, and Indiana and earning short-lived promotions to defensive coordinator for the Spiders and Hoosiers. He only served three non-consecutive seasons as Richmond’s defensive coordinator and a single year as coordinator at Indiana. After that lone year with the Hoosiers, he rebounded as a defensive assistant at Illinois before accepting his first NFL coaching position.
Cullen’s NFL start came with the Lions in 2006. When the staff was let go after becoming the first team to go 0-16 in 2008, he rebounded by coaching d-line for a year at Idaho State before returning to the ranks of the NFL. Upon his return, he coached d-lines at Jacksonville for three years, Cleveland for a year, and Tampa Bay for two years before landing in Baltimore.
Cullen’s stint with the Ravens was the longest-tenured job he’s held in his career. He started in Baltimore with a young defensive line featuring Brandon Williams, Timmy Jernigan, Michael Pierce, Brent Urban, and Lawrence Guy, and by his last year with the team in 2020, he was working with Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, and Nnamdi Madubuike. Over that span of time, the Ravens never finished outside the top 10 defenses in points allowed and only once finished outside the top 10 in total yards allowed.
His success with the Ravens led to his first defensive coordinator opportunity in the NFL, but unfortunately, that opportunity came under Urban Meyer. Following Meyer’s early exit from Duval, Cullen returned to position coaching and has been in Kansas City ever since, working with one of the league’s most dominant defensive lineman over the years in Chris Jones.
Cullen’s time in Baltimore coincided with new head coach Jesse Minter‘s four-year stay as a Ravens defensive coach. Cullen’s history as a defensive coordinator hasn’t ever extended past even two years, but with Minter likely to still be a heavy influence on that side of the ball, Cullen’s role as coordinator may be a bit more manageable for him than it has been in the past. The Ravens moved on from long-time head coach John Harbaugh, but in searching for the coaches to reestablish the team’s defensive identity, Baltimore has looked to some familiar faces.
Cullen becomes the first name mentioned for the defensive coordinator position in Baltimore. The Ravens’ coordinator of the last two years, Zach Orr, is technically still under contract with the team, but after needing a perfect back half of the season just to finish as a top 10 defensive in his first year as DC and finishing 18th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed this year, he’s not expected to be retained. He was requested to interview today with the Chargers for the DC position that opened with Baltimore’s hiring of Minter.
Falcons Request GM Interview With Mike Bradway
The Falcons have named a fifth candidate in the running for their open general manager position. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Bradway has been requested to interview for the job in Atlanta.
Bradway joins Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl, Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Texans assistant GM James Liipfert, and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams as candidates to replace Terry Fontenot as general manager. All five names came in over the past two days, hot on the heels of the team’s hiring of Kevin Stefanski to fill their open head coaching position.
Despite Bradway owning nearly 20 years of NFL front office experience, a move to Atlanta would match Bradway with only his third NFL franchise. Much like many others in the Chiefs’ building, Bradway’s only NFL ties are to Kansas City and Philadelphia. The son of former Jets general manager Terry Bradway, Mike began his NFL front office career with a 10-year stint with the Eagles. In 2018, Bradway reunited with several who made the move to Kansas City about six years prior, when head coach Andy Reid departed from Philadelphia and landed the same job with the Chiefs.
Bradway’s first role with the Chiefs in 2018 was assistant director of personnel. Two years later, he was promoted into a joint assistant director of player personnel role with current Bears GM Ryan Poles, who had already served a year in the position. In 2021, both got promotions with Bradway being named director of player personnel and Poles being named executive director. When Poles departed for Chicago, Bradway earned another title bump up to senior director, serving in that role for three seasons before finally landing in his current role.
With Bradway getting his first general manager interest in the league today, he advances one step closer to following in his father’s footsteps towards landing a full GM position. Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Falcons will begin interviewing candidates tomorrow, starting with Liipfert and Weidl over Zoom and continuing with more virtual interviews throughout the week, likely with the intention to move to in-person interviews next week.
Jeff Hafley Emerging As Dolphins’ HC Frontrunner
JANUARY 18: Jackson adds in a follow-up report that it is a real possibility Miami does not allow Hafley to leave the building without a contract in hand following his Monday interview. An agent for another candidate tells Jackson that Hafley is the team’s top choice.
In addition to Graham and Hafley, the ‘Fins will have an in-person meeting with Kelvin Sheppard on Monday. The Graham and Sheppard summmits would satisfy the Rooney Rule and thereby make the Dolphins eligible to hire Hafley.
JANUARY 17, 10:05pm: A representative for one of the other candidates connected to the Dolphins’ vacancy told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald he believes the job is Hafley’s to lose at this point. With at least many of the seven remaining HC vacancies likely to be filled in the coming days, this situation will be worth watching closely.
2:08pm: Coming quick off the heels of news that he is being brought in for the second round of the Dolphins‘ interview process, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has “emerged as a frontrunner” for the head coaching job in Miami. No decisions have been made on either side, but Hafley seems to have the early favor of the Dolphins’ search committee. 
Miami and Hafley are still moving forward with their interview processes, as usual, though. This isn’t John Harbaugh cancelling meetings after one in-person interview with the Giants just yet.
The Dolphins have first-round interviews still on the schedule for this weekend and are in the process of setting up more second-round interviews beyond Hafley. It seems, as they’re wrapping up the first round of interviews with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Sunday and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham on Monday, Hafley will be kicking off the first of multiple in-person, second interviews. Dianna Russini of The Athletic has noted that they’re attempting to get former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in for his in-person on Wednesday.
We also aren’t aware if the feelings are mutual for Hafley, though; Miami isn’t the only team to have moved him on to the next stage of the interview process, and according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Hafley is expected to be a finalist everywhere he’s interviewed. Pelissero notes that the Titans, Falcons, Raiders, and Cardinals have also requested second interviews for Hafley, and he’s in the process of completing another initial interview today with the Steelers.
In fact, Hafley is scheduled to come to Miami on Monday, and he already has his visit to Tennessee scheduled for the Tuesday, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. The Dolphins are certainly trying to get out ahead of what appears to be a lot of interest in Hafley by scheduling him early and pronouncing their interest very publicly. We’ll see if that tactic earns them any points with Hafley or if it turns on the pressure in his pursuit.
For the other candidates set to interview with Miami, it’s certainly discouraging, assuming Hafley prefers the Dolphins. It’s hard enough to overcome Hafley’s Green Bay ties to Miami’s new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan but adding in his proclamation from the media as an early frontrunner makes it necessary to hope Hafley prefers to be elsewhere. In fact, strangely, the rumor of Hafley being the frontrunner first was leaked by Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, whose source was an agent of one of the several other candidates for the job. After seeing the rumor confirmed by Pelissero this afternoon, seekers of the Miami job will be hoping the Dolphins don’t get their guy.
The only certainty anywhere comes out of Green Bay where Mike Garafolo reports the Packers have begun researching defensive coordinator candidates. While it’s still extremely up in the air where Hafley lands, it’s quite certain that he won’t be coming back to Green Bay. As Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post points out, Broncos defensive pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Jim Leonhard once turned down the Packers’ defensive coordinator position under Matt LaFleur thinking he’d be at Wisconsin long-term. Having since moved on from the Badgers, one would think Leonhard’s name would come up in Green Bay relatively soon.
Titans Setting Up Second HC Interviews For Three Candidates
With Mike McCarthy visiting today, Jonathan Gannon arriving in Nashville tomorrow, and Robert Saleh interviewing tomorrow virtually, the Titans are wrapping up their first round of head coaching interviews. Tennessee is moving on to the second round of their process, scheduling interviews with Kevin Stefanski, Matt Nagy, and Jeff Hafley, per Titans insider Paul Kuharsky. 
There’s a bit of concern that Stefanski may not end up making his appointment. The former Browns head coach is scheduled to arrive in Nashville tomorrow, but he’s spending today conducting his second interview with the Falcons. Reports today have indicated that Stefanski is the “top candidate” in Atlanta, and since the team has met the interviewing requirements of the Rooney Rule, there’s nothing stopping them from offering him a contract today.
If news comes out over the next several hours that Stefanski is staying in Atlanta, it would be the second time Tennessee will have been stood up for a second, in-person head coaching interview. The team’s first brush with that type of misfortune came when John Harbaugh cancelled the Titans’ in-person meeting in Baltimore after spending the day before with the Giants and ultimately accepting New York’s offer.
There’s a chance the same issue could arise in Hafley’s situation, as well. The Dolphins boldly pronounced the Packers defensive coordinator as their frontrunner today ahead of his Monday second interview in Miami. Hafley’s Green Bay ties to new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan could have Hafley desiring a reunion with his former coworker. The Titans have Hafley’s second interview schedule for the following day, so there’s a non-zero chance Tennessee could see the same situation play out three times with three coaches coming off the board after prior-day visits with three other teams.
Both candidates have reason to hear out multiple offers, though. Like Harbaugh, Hafley is currently considered to be a favorite with any team that has interviewed him. Stefanski also has his fair share of suitors, so if the Falcons and Dolphins don’t seem to be going all-out like the Giants did for Harbaugh, it would probably behoove Hafley and Stefanski to allow other teams to throw out competing offers.
With all this in mind, the Titans may want to schedule Nagy’s second interview as soon as possible. The Chiefs offensive coordinator doesn’t have any second interviews scheduled elsewhere, so at the moment, he would be the least likely candidate to accept another team’s offer the day before his second interview with the Titans. Nagy only interviewed for the Jets job last year, so his four interviews and his advancement to the second round of interviews in Tennessee this year show him moving in a positive direction as he continues to work his way back from his four-year stint as a head coach in Chicago.
As the Titans move into the next phase of their hiring process, team owner Amy Adams Strunk will be getting involved. Throughout the initial interviews, general manager Mike Borgonzi has led a four-person committee thus far. The decision will still be left to Borgonzi, but Adams Strunk will have final approval of his choice. They’ll just have to hope that they get opportunities with Stefanski, Hafley, and Nagy so that their decisions don’t become limited as a result of other teams eliminating their options.
Kevin Stefanski Considered ‘Top Candidate’ For Falcons HC
Head coaching searches are starting to come into focus this weekend. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is considered the “top candidate” for the open Falcons job. He’s set to conduct his second interview with Atlanta today and some sources believe they may attempt to pull the trigger. 
The reason this could be a possibility is because, as Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS reported this morning, the Falcons are Rooney Rule compliant, so if they truly believe Stefanski is the man for them in his second interview today, they are able to hire him. The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams interviewing new head coaches or general managers to interview at least two minority candidates. The interviews must be in-person to satisfy the Rooney Rule, but Atlanta has publicly disclosed which of its interviews were virtual or in-person. Based on Jones’ report, at least two of their minority candidates must have conducted their first interview in person.
Aside from the second interview that John Harbaugh cancelled in favor of accepting the Giants’ head coaching position, no other candidate has been scheduled for a second interview in Atlanta, except for Stefanski. Stefanski, though, still has plenty of interest from other teams hoping he stays available after today’s meeting. Per Dianna Russini of The Athletic, he’s scheduled to head to Tennessee tomorrow following today’s interview, and the Dolphins and Ravens are both working to bring him in for second, in-person interviews on Wednesday, as well.
An indicator Stefanski may be likely to take Atlanta up on a potential offer was reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who claimed that the 43-year-old coach had done research on the potential aspect of working with current Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Team owner Arthur Blank has reportedly expressed a desire to hold on to Ulbrich, who he believes would immediately become a top DC candidate if put on the free agent market. The Cowboys requested to interview him for their open position a little over a week ago, but Blank denied their request. If Stefanski and Ulbrich seem like a good fit, the Falcons may be well on their way to filling out their staff for the 2026 NFL season.
Lots of eyes will be on reports coming out of Atlanta over the next several hours as it looks like the coaching dominos may be starting to fall. An agreement today would mark the closing of the second head coach opening in this cycle, after the Harbaugh deal was made official earlier today.
Chargers To Interview Mike McDaniel For OC Position
Since he was fired by the Dolphins just over a week ago, Mike McDaniel has been offered a litany of opportunities to move on in some form or fashion. Some teams (Titans, Falcons, Browns, and Ravens) have expressed interest in him as a potential head coach again, while some teams (Lions, Eagles, and Buccaneers) still have head coaches in place and are interested in him returning to a potential offensive coordinator job. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Chargers can be added to the latter group of teams as they are set to interview McDaniel to potentially replace Greg Roman. 
It’s been a busy week for McDaniel. Following his dismissal in Miami, he kicked off his week with his head coaching interviews with Atlanta and Cleveland. On Tuesday, he interviewed with the Lions for their offensive coordinator job, following that up with head coaching interviews with Tennessee on Wednesday and Baltimore on Thursday. Today, McDaniel returned to the coordinator interest, interviewing with Tampa Bay. Nothing’s been announced as scheduled for McDaniel this weekend, so perhaps he’s just enjoying a couple days off, but Rapoport expects his interview with Los Angeles to take place “early next week.”
Since firing Roman, the Chargers have looked at a number of names to fill his shoes. They first looked internally, granting an interview to passing game coordinator Marcus Brady of Montreal Alouettes fame. He has arrayed experience with both young and veteran talent, and his familiarity with Herbert could be a strong place to start with the likely journey to a new offensive scheme. Their second internal candidate was quarterbacks coach Shane Day. Day held the passing game coordinator title for two seasons in 2021-22 but was fired after the team blew a 27-point lead in Herbert’s first playoff game. He returned this year, much to the joy of the team’s star quarterback.
Mostly recently, the team interviewed former Titans head coach Brian Callahan for the open position. Callahan’s experience with young quarterbacks is a bit of a mixed bag. He helped kickstart what has been a strong start to Joe Burrow‘s career in Cincinnati, but in Tennessee, he struggled to get much out of offenses led by Will Levis and Cam Ward. In an attempt to save his job this year, he ceded play-calling duties after an 0-3 start to the Titans’ season, but he was relieved of his head coaching duties, too, after only three more games.
McDaniel only had one season of coordinator experience with the 49ers, and he didn’t call plays as the OC, but he was the Dolphins’ primary play-caller throughout his four-year run with the team. His arrival in Miami seemed to unlock Tua Tagovailoa in his third season as the offense improved from 25th in total yards and 22nd in scoring to sixth in total yards and 11th in scoring in McDaniel’s first year with the team. In Year 2, the Dolphins led the league in total yards and finished as the second highest-scoring offense. Injuries would limit the team over his last two seasons in Miami, but it’s clear why McDaniel is such a respected name in offensive coaching circles.
Pairing McDaniel with Herbert, young running back Omarion Hampton, a versatile receiving corps, and eventually, two extremely talented, recovered offensive tackles could make for a dangerous unit. In order to land him, though, the Dolphins will need to hope the right head coaching opportunities don’t come his way and that he’ll prefer to work for them. There’s a long way to go in this process but bringing McDaniel in certainly makes the team’s OC search more interesting.
Raiders Schedule Interviews With Joe Brady, Klay Kubiak
The Raiders continue to move forward with their first round of head coaching interviews, scheduling time this Sunday for Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. After the team finishes interviewing the Rams’ coordinators today, they will have conducted 10 head coaching interviews, making Brady and Kubiak the 11th and 12th interviewees of their extensive search. 
Brady has been a bit busier than Kubiak so far in this year’s coaching cycle. Including Las Vegas, Brady has been tied to five of the nine open coaching positions since Black Monday, though he hasn’t interviewed anywhere yet. He had been tied to the Giants job that has now gone to John Harbaugh, pending signed agreements, and the Dolphins requested an interview. He has his first interviews also scheduled for Sunday, when he will somehow fit in time with the Falcons and Ravens, in addition to Vegas.
Brady’s rise has been fairly meteoric from his humble beginnings. A Miami-area-native, Brady somehow found himself playing college wide receiver in Virginia at William & Mary, only catching three balls in four years. Following his graduation, he remained with his alma mater to coach the linebackers, staying two seasons before taking up a graduate assistant role for two years at Penn State. Following his time with the Nittany Lions, Brady made his NFL coaching debut as an offensive assistant for the Saints.
After two years in that role, Brady made his way up I-10 to Baton Rouge, where his role as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach helped Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and the rest of the 2019 LSU Tigers win their first national championship in 12 years. His single-year success with the Tigers led to his first offensive coordinator opportunity at any level when he landed with the Panthers. Though he showed promise early in his first season as a coordinator, landing five head coaching interviews in its wake, regression in Year 2 led a desperate Matt Rhule to fire his offensive coordinator midseason.
Brady rebounded by landing a job as the quarterbacks coach in Buffalo, eventually stepping up into a role as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, following the dismissal of Ken Dorsey. The Brady/Josh Allen offense has proven to be incredibly successful. Last year, a balanced attack helped Allen win his first MVP award. This past season, a middling passing attack was bolstered by the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense. Brady had gotten a bit of head coaching interest after his first year as OC in Buffalo, interviewing with the Bears and Jaguars and planning to interview with the Saints and Jets before they named their head coaching hires.
Kubiak’s rise has been meteoric in its own right. The same year Brady went from playing college ball to coaching it, Kubiak went from English master’s graduate to high school offensive coordinator. He would eventually be promoted to high school head coach, before making his NFL debut — following in the footsteps of his father and two brothers — as a defensive quality control coach for the 49ers in 2021. Since then, Kubiak has gradually worked his way up the ranks in San Francisco, becoming assistant quarterbacks coach the next year, offensive passing game specialist in 2024, and offensive coordinator for this season.
That Kubiak is getting head coaching interest after only his first year of coordinator experience at the NFL-level is impressive, but given the number of candidates in the field, his first offseason in the head coaching cycle is likely to end like Brady’s did. The Steelers were the first team to bring Kubiak’s name into the cycle with an interview request. Nothing has been announced as scheduled for Pittsburgh, though, so unless they get him in before Sunday, Vegas will be hosting Kubiak’s first interview.
Here’s a look at how the Raiders’ search is shaping up so far:
- Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Bills): To interview 1/18
- Ejiro Evero, defensive coordinator (Panthers): Interviewed 1/14
- Brian Flores, defensive coordinator (Vikings): Mentioned as candidate
- Jeff Hafley, defensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1/15
- John Harbaugh, former head coach (Ravens): Contacted
- Vance Joseph, defensive coordinator (Broncos): Interviewed 1/8
- Klay Kubiak, offensive coordinator (49ers): To interview 1/18
- Klint Kubiak, offensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/9
- Mike LaFleur, offensive coordinator (Rams): To interview 1/16
- Jesse Minter, defensive coordinator (Chargers): Interviewed 1/14
- Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator (Chiefs): Interviewed 1/8
- Nate Scheelhaase, pass game coordinator (Rams): To interview 1/16
- Chris Shula, defensive coordinator (Rams): Interview requested
- Kevin Stefanski, former head coach (Browns): Interviewed 1/8
- Davis Webb, quarterbacks coach (Broncos): Interviewed 1/7
Ravens, Raiders Request HC Interviews With Rams’ Nathan Scheelhaase
After reports emerged early this morning that the Browns had requested to interview Rams pass game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase, we got news that two other teams followed suit. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Ravens and Raiders have also requested to meet with Scheelhaase about their open head coaching vacancies. 
It’s honestly surprising to see Scheelhaase getting head coaching interest so soon. The 35-year-old coach only entered the NFL ranks of coaching last year and hasn’t even landed an offensive coordinator gig yet at this level. Scheelhaase spent nine years coaching in the NCAA, starting at his alma mater, where he played quarterback for the Fighting Illini. After three seasons in Champaign, Scheelhaase found his way to Iowa State under then-head coach Matt Campbell. He eventually worked his way up to offensive coordinator in Ames, serving in the position for one year before finding his first gig in the NFL.
Scheelhaase has been a fast-rising name for years in the NFL. In fact, before he had even served as offensive coordinator at Iowa State, Scheelhaase interviewed for the same job with the Eagles shortly after getting promoted in 2023. In 2024, he joined Sean McVay‘s staff in Los Angeles as an offensive assistant/passing game specialist, and following his first year in the league, he landed offensive coordinator interviews in Jacksonville and Tampa Bay and was even seen as a favorite for the Jaguars’ position before ultimately announcing that he would stay with the Rams.
Now, though he’s only been an offensive coordinator at the NCAA level and didn’t even call plays in his time with that role at Iowa State, Scheelhaase has seemingly skipped a level, bypassing coordinator jobs to receive interest in potentially becoming a head coach. Including the Browns, all three teams interested in Scheelhaase have more experienced candidates with former head coaching experience and, at the very least, coordinator experience. Both the Raiders and Ravens, though, have had one of their recent head coaches come in without such experience.
When John Harbaugh was hired in Baltimore, he was coming off a year as the Eagles defensive backs coach after having spent the first nine years of his NFL career as the team’s special teams coordinator. While former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce technically started as an interim replacement for Josh McDaniels, Vegas named him their full-time head coach in 2024 despite Pierce only have two seasons of NFL coaching experience as the team’s linebackers coach. Because both franchises have shown a receptive nature towards coaches without heaps of experience, Scheelhaase may have a chance to break through in each team’s race.
Follow along with this year’s head coaching cycle with PFR’s 2026 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker. You’ll be able to follow Scheelhaase’s progress with the three teams who have expressed interest so far and any other teams that may follow. If Scheelhaase is unable to make any real headway on head coaching gigs, he’ll almost certainly be a popular name in the offensive coordinator hiring cycle.
Falcons, Raiders Request To Interview Panthers’ Ejiro Evero For HC
Hours after we learned of his preseason extension, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero received requests to interview for head coach positions with the Raiders (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and Falcons (per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero). Evero has received some head coaching interest in two of the past three offseasons, but this is the first we’ve seen of his name in this year’s cycle. 
In 2023, Evero’s defense being a lone bright spot in Denver led to him receiving his first head coaching interest, securing interviews for all five vacancies in Arizona, Carolina, Denver, Houston, and Indianapolis. He conducted second interviews with the Texans and Colts and was even rumored to be a finalist for the Cardinals’ job, but ultimately, he accepted a new defensive coordinator position under Frank Reich in Carolina.
The following coaching cycle, continued defensive coaching success with the Panthers kept Evero’s name in the running for a number of open head coaching jobs. Of the eight vacancies in 2024, Evero interviewed for three of them. All three teams (Falcons, Panthers, and Seahawks) brought him back to conduct a second interview, but once again, he returned to his coordinator gig with the Panthers, this time for new head coach Dave Canales.
After featuring so prominently in the previous two coaching cycles, it was surprising to see the 2025 cycle come and go without hearing Evero’s name. This may have been a result of Evero’s defense in Carolina suffering some lows that we hadn’t seen in the coach’s recent tenure as coordinator. In 2024, the Panthers finished dead last in total defense, scoring defense, and rushing defense while finishing 23rd in pass defense. While not outstanding in 2025, the Panthers defense rebounded strongly and Evero is once again being recognized with head coaching interest.
The Falcons have already interviewed four candidates, splitting philosophies evenly with two offensive-minded candidates and two defensive-minded candidates. The team has requested interviews with three other candidates and, including Evero, all four are defensive-minded. It’s interesting to see Atlanta bring Evero in for an interview. His defense swept the Falcons in the regular season, including a 30-0 shutout in Charlotte.
The Raiders have interviewed five candidates for their head coaching job at this point in time, and all but one were offensive-minded coaches. They also have an interview planned with another offensive-minded candidate, but they’ve put out requests to interview two defensive-minded coaches, in addition to Evero.
Follow along with Pro Football Rumors’ 2026 NFL Head Coaching Tracker to see the latest on each candidate’s prospects and each team’s candidates.
Rams OC Mike LaFleur To Interview This Week With Raiders, Cardinals
While his older brother threatens to make headlines of his own in this year’s coaching cycle, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur deserves his own flowers as he is set to interview this week for head coaching positions with both the Cardinals and Raiders, according to ESPN’s Peter Schrager. It had been rumored in the last few days, but these will be the first head coaching opportunities made available to the 38-year-old coordinator in his young career. 
A former quarterback, LaFleur didn’t see the same level of success as his brother, Matt, playing his college ball at Division-III Elmhurst University. He switched to safety for his final year as a player then became an offensive assistant for his alma mater in his first coaching gig. His next job came at Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana as quarterbacks coach for a year and, eventually, offensive coordinator. He spent a year in 2013 at Davidson as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks & wide receivers coach, his first taste of coordinator duties.
In 2014, LaFleur made his NFL coaching debut as an offensive intern with the Browns. The next year, he followed his brother to Atlanta, serving as an offensive assistant while Matt coached quarterbacks. When Matt earned his first offensive coordinator job in Los Angeles in 2017, Mike found his way to San Francisco where he was awarded the position of passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach. He dropped wide receivers from his duties two years later then, in 2021, followed Robert Saleh from the 49ers to New York to serve below Saleh as the Jets’ offensive coordinator.
Despite working with a cast of characters that featured Zach Wilson at quarterback, Michael Carter, Tevin Coleman, and Ty Johnson at running back, and Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, Keelan Cole, Jamison Crowder, and Braxton Berrios at wide receiver, LaFleur took an offense that had finished last in the NFL in total offense and 31st in passing offense and saw the unit improve to 26th in total offense and 20th in passing offense in his first season. Adding rookies Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, LaFleur’s second year saw the offense finish 25th in total offense and 15th in passing offense.
LaFleur then got the opportunity to follow in his brother’s footsteps as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2023. He inherited a talented roster that had experienced injuries in 2022 but quickly returned the offense to success with second-year running back Kyren Williams adding a rushing element the team’s newly balanced unit. Wide receiver injuries limited the offense’s effectiveness last year, but LaFleur and the Rams rebounded this year to field the NFL’s top total offense, top scoring offense, top passing offense, and seventh-best rushing offense.
The Raiders are looking to replace Pete Carroll after a one-and-done season with the team. Under Carroll and two different offensive coordinators, Las Vegas finished dead last in the NFL in total offense, scoring offense, and rushing offense while finishing 28th in passing offense. The offense is centered around key young pieces like running back Ashton Jeanty, wide receiver Tre Tucker, and tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, and will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which some assume may be used to draft Indiana’s Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders would be looking for LaFleur to bring an offensive punch to match what was a decent defense this past year, though it may be losing Maxx Crosby in the future.
The Cardinals are replacing Jonathan Gannon after his three years with the team yielded a 15-36 regular season record. Arizona may be looking to make changes at quarterback this offseason, but the offense rosters one of the league’s best tight ends in record-setter Trey McBride and a strong pair of receivers in Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. The team should also return running back James Conner after his 2025 season-ending injury. Unlike the Raiders, it was the Cardinals’ defense that struggled through most of the season and would need to see major improvements under a new coaching staff.
Now that the seal is broken, LaFleur may start getting calls from other openings around the league. The two teams that have contacted him have already interviewed several candidates that LaFleur will need to outshine; not to mention that may become more difficult if his brother joins the fray. For now, LaFleur can look forward to entering new territory as he prepares for his first head coaching interviews.