Five NFL teams enter Week 17 fully intending to have different head coaches next season, according to NFL sources -- Oakland, the New York Jets, San Francisco, Atlanta and Chicago -- with most of those teams already well into the background process of vetting and determining potential hires.
Several of those firings are likely to be announced by Sunday night, and by Monday afternoon all five will almost assuredly be going through the process (the 49ers situation with Jim Harbaugh could potentially linger a bit, given the poor relations that have built up there and some complications with Harbaugh’s contract). Already, several candidates are emerging in the various scenarios as team officials reach out to others close to those individuals to learn more about them, and, inevitably, several teams will be vying for the same coach in numerous instances.
The Raiders intend to try to land Harbaugh and owner Mark Davis is committed to spending big to land him, even though Harbaugh has told friends that he plans to take the University of Michigan job. Michigan has been courting Harbaugh and is hopeful of landing him early this week.
If Davis cannot land Harbaugh, sources said Denver defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is thought of highly in that building and the former Jaguars coach is expected to get the opportunity to interview there. The Raiders also intend to ask for permission to interview Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Furthermore, while Davis continues to support the idea that Reggie McKenzie remain his general manager, sources said, though that situation could become much more fluid should be get deep in talks with a big fish like Harbaugh who would most likely want a say in hiring the personnel staff. Eagles personnel executive Tom Gamble is one person Harbaugh is high on for a potential personnel role with him, league sources said.
Ownership of the Jets and Falcons are also eager to make a splash, sources said, with the A-list of former coaches like Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher remaining in broadcasting, the options to truly do that are limited.
The Falcons would have to make the playoffs and likely win multiple games to keep owner Arthur Blank from making a change at head coach, according to what he has told others around the league. General manager Thomas Dimitroff’s future is hanging in the balance as well, pending the outcome of a coaching search. Should Atlanta lose to Carolina today and not reach the postseason, some close to Blank believe he would start with a clean slate in both coaching and the front office.
The Falcons have interest in New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, sources said, as well as Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and would also want to interview Bowles. Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, having an outstanding campaign in his first year running an NFL defense, is also gaining increasing traction in Atlanta and they are expected to put in a quick request to interview him as well.
There is a growing thought around the league that Rex Ryan ends up in Atlanta as well -- with Blank wanting a personality he can sell and market as he tries to sell PSLs to a new stadiums -- although I continue to hear the allure of a broadcasting job is very real for him. Ryan interviewed for the Falcons job in 2009 and, sources said, did well overall with the process and left a good impression on Blank, though some involved in the process would be less inclined to endorse Ryan.
The Jets are parting with Ryan, and, league sources said, general manager John Idzik as well, with owner Woody Johnson already bringing in consultants to help with that process. Former NFL general manager Charley Casserly is among them -- he is very high on Bowles -- and Mora is also viewed as a very strong candidate within that organization, sources said. On the GM side, Houston scouting director Mike Maccagnan has long ties to Casserly, while the team is also expected to interview Minnesota assistant general manager George Paton, Browns assistant general manager Morocco Brown, Houston director of pro personnel Brian Gaine among others.
The 49ers intend to interview some of the brighter young offensive minds in the pro game -- like McDaniels and Gase -- sources said, and the York family also has a very strong affinity for UCLA coach Jim Mora, a former NFL head coach who spent significant time as a 49ers assistant and has a strong relationship with acting owner Jed York. If the 49ers do not find an outside, offensive-minded candidate willing to take on their current defensive staff as part of the 2015 coaching regime, it remains possible their top internal candidates, defensive line coach Jim Tomsula or Vic Fangio will get the job. Tomsula has interviewed for head coaching jobs before and served as the 49ers interim head coach in the past. He is viewed internally as a very viable candidate to replace Harbaugh.
The Bears would like to land an established head coach if possible, sources said, after hiring a long line of first-time head coaches, though Bowles -- whose only experience as a pro head coach is of the interim variety -- is thought of highly there. The Bears have explored Harbaugh, a former Bears quarterback, through backchannels as well and are indeed interested in him, though the $8 million-a-year salary he will command (with another roughly $4 million per year for the rest of his staff) is expected to be out of the Bears bounds, along with the amount of organizational control he would require (which would likely mean firing longtime team president Ted Phillips).
If the organization decides that it's imperative to try to make things work with quarterback Jay Cutler, and their options to do otherwise will be limited, then Mike Shanahan will quickly emerge. Shanahan has very strong interest to work with Cutler again, sources said, after originally drafting him in Denver, and his price tag is expected to drop significantly from the $7 million he was making per year in Washington. Former Shanahan assistant Gary Kubiak, who had a long run as the head coach in Houston, would be another option, as he currently serves as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator (Baltimore is loathe to lose him).
Among those currently NFL coordinators, Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich, Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur are also likely to be sought after by other teams for interviews, while this does not seem to be a year where college coaches are expected to play a heavy role in the process. The 49ers and Raiders would have interest in Stanford’s David Shaw, though most assume he is staying where he is, and Mora is thriving and enjoying at UCLA, though his previous NFL success enhances is appeal to clubs.
