NFL
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Teams will soon receive recommendations from the NFL, which has staffers assigned to scouting the coordinator ranks for ideal candidates, and they’ll begin conducting their own searches.
Here are some of the hottest names expected to highlight the coaching market this offseason:
Josh McDaniels — Yes, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator is expected to again draw interest from teams despite backing out on the Colts last year after agreeing to terms with the team. He could probably wait for Bill Belichick to retire and take over the Patriots, but who knows when that will happen? Some rather appealing opportunities might be enough to lure McDaniels away this offseason.
Brian Flores — His official title is linebackers coach, but Flores essentially acts as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator and serves as the defensive playcaller in games. The 37-year-old draws praise from peers and players for his strong leadership and communication skills, and it’s believed it’s a matter of when, not if, he becomes a head coach.
Vic Fangio — The Bears made the right decision in retaining Fangio as defensive coordinator despite hiring Matt Nagy as coach last offseason. The 60year-old’s track record of success could land him his first head coaching job.
John DeFilippo — The offensive coordinator has done well for himself in his first season in Minnesota. He was great for Carson Wentz and Nick Foles as Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach and now has Kirk Cousins and the Vikings executing at a high level. Limited experience as a coordinator (he served the same role for the Browns in 2015) could give teams some degree of pause on the 40-year-old this time, though.
George Edwards — The 51-year-old joins Flores as one of the top minority candidates. His defenses have ranked among the top three in the NFL in each of his three seasons as coordinator.
Kris Richard — The 39-year-old — a third-round pick out of Southern California who played for the Seahawks, Dolphins, 49ers and Raiders — experienced success as Seattle’s defensive backs coach (2012-14) and defensive coordinator (2015-17) and is now further building a name for himself as the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator.
Matt LaFleur — Teams love finding the next bright, young offensive mind, and the 39-year-old Titans coordinator has done well in his first season as a primary play-caller. He learned under Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay and has displayed nice creativity in Tennessee. Teams could deem him in need of more seasoning, however.
Pete Carmichael — Sean Payton gets all of the praise for the Saints’ offensive dominance, but Carmichael has a significant role as offensive coordinator, and people around the league know it. He will likely draw interest this offseason as well.
The market very likely will feature some high-profile names, so if the Ravens do fire John Harbaugh and the Packers fire Mike McCarthy, other teams very well could pounce on the veteran coaches.
Some other interesting and perhaps non-conventional potential candidates include Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub and Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell.
There’s often a retread coach in the mix, so don’t be surprised if Jack Del Rio, Gus Bradley or Chuck Pagano interview for jobs. Teams haven’t really gleaned the college ranks for head coaches as of late, but former NFL coach Jim Harbaugh could field some interest, as could Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley.