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2017 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker

January 9th, 2017 at 6:42pm CST by Zachary Links

While at least six NFL teams are making head coaching changes this offseason, the number of clubs replacing offensive and/or defensive coordinators figures to be much higher than that. In addition to all those teams hiring new head coaches, who may want to bring in their own assistants, several clubs also figure to make changes on one side of the ball or the other after getting disappointing results in 2016. And, of course, the teams whose coordinators landed head coaching jobs will need to replace them.

With reports circulating on potential candidates, interview requests, and actual meetings, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the latest updates on teams hiring new offensive and/or defensive coordinators. This post, which will be updated daily, can be found under the “PFR Features” menu on the right-hand side of the site.

Updated 2-13-17 (2:30pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Kyle Shanahan)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Anthony Lynn)

Denver Broncos (Out: Rick Dennison)

Houston Texans (HC Bill O’Brien will call plays, replacing George Godsey)

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Nathaniel Hackett, interim offensive coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
  • Chip Kelly, former head coach (49ers): Interviewed

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Rob Boras)

New York Jets (Out: Chan Gailey)

Oakland Raiders (Hired/Promoted: Todd Downing, replacing Bill Musgrave)

Washington Redskins (Hired/Promoted: Matt Cavanaugh, replacing Sean McVay)

Defensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Richard Smith)

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers (Hired/Promoted Steve Wilks, replacing Sean McDermott)

Cleveland Browns (Hired: Gregg Williams, replacing Ray Horton)

Denver Broncos (Out: Wade Phillips)

  • Joe Woods, defensive backs coach (Broncos): Hired
  • Reggie Herring, linebackers coach (Broncos): To be interviewed

Houston Texans (Hired/Promoted Mike Vrabel, replacing Romeo Crennel, who was named assistant head coach)

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: John Pagano)

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Gregg Williams)

  • Wade Phillips, defensive coordinator (Broncos): Hired

Miami Dolphins (Hired/Promoted: Matt Burke, replacing Vance Joseph)

San Francisco 49ers (Hired: Robert Saleh, Out: Jim O’Neil)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Signed Mike Smith to extension; Smith withdrew name from Chargers’ HC search)

Washington Redskins (Out: Joe Barry)

Rams, Chargers To Interview Teryl Austin

January 8th, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

SUNDAY, 8:45pm: The Chargers will interview Austin on Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 8:05am: Now that the Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs, Austin will interview with the Rams and Chargers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It is not yet clear when those interviews will take place.

TUESDAY, 5:36pm: Two teams with head coaching vacancies, the Rams and Chargers, have requested interviews with Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links). Austin, who’s preparing for the Lions’ wild-card game against the Seahawks on Saturday, will likely meet with the Rams and Chargers at the end of this week, per Rapoport.

Teryl Austin (vertical)

The Rams and Chargers are the first clubs this offseason to court Austin, who has been a popular head coaching candidate over the past couple years. The well-regarded 51-year-old interviewed with four teams last winter, but he ended up staying in Detroit for his third season atop its defense. The results weren’t particularly impressive, though, as the Lions’ defense finished 13th in scoring, 18th in yardage and dead last in DVOA.

Austin is already the 10th known candidate whom the Rams at least hope to interview, as PFR’s head coaching search tracker indicates. The Chargers, who could join the Rams in Los Angeles next season, have Austin, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub on their target list thus far.

Latest On Chargers' HC Search

January 5th, 2017 at 6:04pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
  • Chargers: Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith interviewed with the Bolts on Thursday, becoming the first candidate to do so, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The aforementioned Sean McDermott will follow him Friday, relays Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. The club has also requested permission to interview Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, according to Rapoport (Twitter links here).

Latest On Futures Of Raiders, Chargers

January 4th, 2017 at 8:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Raiders have long been preparing to file for Las Vegas relocation after the season, but owner Mark Davis’ relationship with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has hit rough patches along the way. Adelson, who could commit $650MM to a $1.9 billion stadium in Las Vegas, threatened to bail out in October. That preceded a December report stating he and Davis had continued to encounter difficulties in their talks.

Las Vegas Raiders (featured)

It now appears the two sides are on the right track, though, as they’ve “made significant progress” in negotiations, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Raiders previously cleared a major relocation hurdle in October when Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Legislature signed off on a record $750MM in public money toward a stadium. If Adelson follows through on his commitment, the Raiders would take care of the rest and put forth $500MM.

With Adelson on board, the Raiders would still have to file for relocation, which they could do this month, and receive at least 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners to head from Oakland to Las Vegas by next season. The voting process would likely take place in March, Cole reported in October.

Like the Raiders, the Chargers could leave their current home this offseason, but owner Dean Spanos hasn’t shown much eagerness to depart San Diego. The league’s finance and stadium committees will meet Jan. 11 to discuss the Chargers’ future, per the Associated Press, which could mean the team will hold off on announcing its 2017 plans this week, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Chargers are facing a Jan. 15 deadline to choose whether to join the Rams in Los Angeles, but they could land an extension that would enable them to postpone the decision, a source told Acee.

To this point, neither the Raiders nor Chargers have come close to finding stadium solutions in their current cities. Oakland, with the help of ex-Raider Ronnie Lott, has a $1.3 billion stadium proposal on the table, but the franchise doesn’t view it as economically viable. San Diego – both the city and county – and San Diego State are willing to put up $375MM toward a facility for the Chargers, who would contribute $350MM and receive another $300MM from the league. However, the Chargers contend that joint effort would still fall anywhere from $100MM to $175MM short of what it would cost to build a stadium, notes Acee.

Coaching Rumors: Lynn, 49ers, McDaniels

January 4th, 2017 at 10:40am CST by Zachary Links

The latest news on the league’s coaching vacancies:

  • For a complete rundown of every interview scheduled for the teams in search of a new coach, check out PFR’s 2017 NFL Head Coaching Tracker.
  • Anthony Lynn‘s interview with the 49ers will take place today (Wednesday), according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
  • Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will interview with the Rams, Jaguars, and 49ers all on the same day, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe writes. McDaniels will huddle up with all three teams on Saturday in separate rooms at a hotel near Gilette Stadium. Those three teams will be permitted to interview McDaniels again in the week after the AFC title game, if the Pats make it to the Super Bowl.
  • The Chargers won’t force assistants on a new head coach, but they value their offensive staff, Rapoport tweets. There’s a good chance offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and his fellow offensive coaches stay put.
  • The Broncos are expected to talk to Lynn at some point and will interview Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph as soon as the rules allow, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin is scheduled to meet with the Rams on Thursday and the Bills on Saturday, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub will interview with the Broncos on Friday and then he has the Chargers on Sunday, Rapoport tweets.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/3/17

January 3rd, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters.

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

  • OT Isaiah Battle

Minnesota Vikings

San Diego Chargers

Tennessee Titans

  • OLB Reshard Cliett
  • TE Tim Semisch

Latest On Chargers’ Head Coaching Search

January 3rd, 2017 at 7:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Chargers’ list of candidates to take over for fired head coach Mike McCoy continues to grow. Former Falcons head coach and current Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith is likely to interview with the Chargers, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Meanwhile, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub will meet with the Bolts this week, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, and FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager adds that San Diego has asked Carolina’s permission to interview defensive coordinator Sean McDermott (all Twitter links)

Mike Smith

The Chargers now have five potential successors to McCoy – and no offensive coordinators – on their radar, as PFR’s head coaching search tracker shows, though Smith is the only one with previous experience.

The 57-year-old was at the helm with the Falcons from 2008-14 in a stint that began swimmingly but ended poorly. Atlanta started Smith’s tenure with five straight above-.500 seasons, four of which resulted in double-digit-win campaigns and playoff berths, and then went a combined 10-22 during his final two years on the job. All told, the Falcons posted a 66-46 regular-season record and a disappointing 1-4 playoff mark under Smith. Of the other five teams in need of head coaches, only the Jaguars have shown interest in Smith to this point.

Toub, who’s on a bye with the AFC West champion Chiefs, will also meet with the Broncos this week, relays Biggs. McDermott has a Wednesday interview set up with the Bills.

Coaching Rumors: Rams, Chargers, Patricia

January 3rd, 2017 at 1:18pm CST by Zachary Links

We have six head coaching vacancies and it’s not easy to keep track of every candidate and development in each search. That’s why Pro Football Rumors rolled out the 2017 NFL Head Coaching Tracker this week. Bookmark the page and keep up with every bit of news out of Los Angeles, Buffalo, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, and Jacksonville.

Here’s the latest coaching news from around the league:

  • The Rams‘ interview with Panthers assistant head coach Steve Wilks will take place today (Tuesday), a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This marks the Rams’ first coach interview of this cycle.
  • The Chargers have requested to interview Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Broncos, he adds, are expected to do the same. Special teams coordinators are not often considered for head coaching jobs, but we have seen a few serve as interim head coaches. In the past, Toub has been an advocate for special teams coaches to get a chance at running the show.
  • Matt Patricia‘s interviews with the Rams and Chargers will go down this weekend, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Patricia, the defensive coordinator for the Patriots, must get his interviews out of the way before the Pats’ first playoff game.

2017 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 2nd, 2017 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Several NFL teams are currently hunting for a new head coach, and amidst reports about interview requests and potential candidates, it’s easy to lose track of the latest updates in the shuffle. So we’ll use this space – which will be updated until every team has hired a new head coach – to keep track of the most recent news and rumors. It can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features.”

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-17 (10:22am CT)

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

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