After the Detroit Lions’ elimination by the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round, rumors swirled around coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. Both are now available to be hired immediately, potentially triggering a significant chain reaction in the NFL coaching carousel.
With the NFC and AFC Championship Games just days away, there are currently six NFL head-coaching vacancies. The Dallas Cowboys, who began their coaching search last week, are expected to be the last team to make a hire.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars are deep into their coaching searches, having moved to the second round of interviews and narrowing down their candidate pools. Announcements of hirings could be imminent.
On Sunday’s SportsCenter, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter stated that “most, if not all” of the NFL coaching vacancies could be filled by the end of the week. He attributed this rapid movement to the Lions’ early exit, which accelerated the coaching hiring process.
While coordinators from teams still in the playoffs, such as Philadelphia’s Kellen Moore, Washington’s Kliff Kingsbury, Buffalo’s Joe Brady, and Kansas City’s coaches, are not yet eligible for hire, those from eliminated teams, like Glenn and Johnson, are fair game. Moore and Kingsbury are particularly on the Cowboys’ radar.
Glenn’s potential destinations could be the Jets or the Saints, both of which have ties to him from his playing days (Jets) and coaching career (Saints). Whichever team doesn’t land him will likely have a backup plan.
The Raiders and Bears are both vying for Johnson’s services, and he is now free to meet with both teams before making his decision. If Johnson is hired by either, it would fill one more vacancy.
The Jaguars are also pursuing Johnson, but Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, is reportedly a strong candidate for their job as well. If Johnson chooses Chicago or Las Vegas, Jacksonville could quickly pivot to hire Coen. In any case, the coaching carousel is expected to move swiftly this week, opening up opportunities for first-time head coaches to poach assistants from other teams for coordinator roles.
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