Minnesota Vikings Coaching Churn

The annual NFL coaching churn might be highlighted by the head coaches but there’s also an annual churn of coaches within each of the 32 teams. The Minnesota Vikings entered this offseason with one big coaching question. Will defensive coordinator Brian Flores finally get a much-deserved head coach opportunity? He interviewed for the head coach vacancies of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Foolishly, both teams hired another coach. Before those decisions were made, Flores and the Vikings agreed to a contract extension. It was fantastic news and made even more fantastic when the Ravens and Steelers made their respective head coach mistakes. 

Brian Flores remaining in Minnesota was the team’s biggest offseason coaching question but it wasn’t the only one. Before the season even ended, safeties coach Michael Hutchings departed to the college ranks for a defensive coordinator opportunity with Cal. He’s a rising coach with a bright future. He’s ready for this opportunity. As a Cal alumnus and fan, I was thrilled with the move. As a Vikings fan, it’s a significant loss for the team. There will be an expected change on the offensive line. Chris Kuper has been coaching the offensive line since Kevin O’Connell was hired as head coach in 2022. The offensive line has struggled under Kuper’s coaching. That’s nothing new as the Vikings offensive line has struggled for more than a decade. His contract wasn’t renewed. The Vikings are also looking for a new defensive backs coach. Daronte Jones has had an interesting run with the Vikings as he coached for both Mike Zimmer and O’Connell. In between, he was the defensive coordinator at LSU. Jones recently had his responsibilities bumped to pass game coordinator. He was probably the top internal defensive coordinator candidate if Flores departed for a head coach opportunity. You can’t keep these promising coaches secret. Jones had some defensive coordinator interviews last year. He had even more this year. On Monday, he got the defensive coordinator job for the Washington Commanders. He’s from the Baltimore area and attended Morgan State. He’s going home and it’s a much-deserved opportunity. The remaining coach question for the Vikings is on defensive line. Defensive line coach Marcus Dixon became a free agent after the season. He interviewed for the defensive coordinator job with the Dallas Cowboys. That job was eventually filled by Philadelphia Eagles pass game coordinator Christian Parker. That might boost the return of Dixon. He’s been a very effective defensive line coach. Late-round and no-round players like Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, and Elijah Williams have all emerged under Dixon’s coaching. The Vikings defense has been a team strength under Brian Flores. Daronte Jones, Michael Hutchings, and Marcus Dixon were a significant part of that. Jones and Hutchings have already been hired elsewhere. Dixon could still return. At best, the Vikings have two giant coaching vacancies on defense. 

After securing the return of Brian Flores, finding the right offensive line coach shoots to the top of the important decisions facing the Vikings. Assistant offensive line coach Keith Carter is certainly under consideration. Prior to coming to Minnesota last offseason, Carter was the offensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans (2018-22) and the offensive line coach/run game coordinator for the New York Jets (2023-24). That’s significant experience for an assistant offensive line coach. As for outside candidates, Frank Smith probably tops my wish list. He was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under Mike McDaniels. They ran some of the most effective and interesting run blocking schemes in the league. The Vikings could use some of that. If Carter remains with the Vikings, I like the potential of a Frank Smith-Keith Carter coaching team. Other than Smith, I wouldn’t mind if the Vikings could pry Hank Fraley from the Detroit Lions. He got his NFL coaching start with the Vikings about a decade ago. Maybe, he’d like a return. More realistically, the coaches from teams with effective run schemes like the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, pretty much any team with a coach from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree would a good place to start. 

I can keep it simple with the defensive coaches the Vikings need and might need. My top choice, actually only choice, to replace Daronte Jones in the secondary is Gerald Alexander. Most recently, he was the defensive backs coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I first became aware of Alexander as a coach when he was Cal’s defensive backs coach from 2017-19. That three-year run started a stream of Golden Bears defensive backs into the NFL. Alexander has a connection to Brian Flores. As the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Flores “stole” Alexander from Cal in 2020. The two moved on to the Steelers in 2022 after Flores was fired by the Dolphins. As for the defensive line, I’m hoping that Marcus Dixon returns. He’s made an impact in his two years in Minnesota. If Dixon departs, I wouldn’t mind a Karl Dunbar return. He was the Vikings defensive line coach from 2006-11. Those were some terrific defensive lines. He’s been with the Steelers since 2018. The Vikings could fill the two defensive coaching needs with coaches that became available when Mike Tomlin stepped away from coaching. 

The Vikings coaching staff could be further raided by the 10 new head coaches around the league, as well as the 21 teams that didn’t need head coaches. Every year brings a coaching churn for all 32 teams. The Vikings thankfully cleared their biggest hurdle by retaining Brian Flores. Now, they have to find new position coaches. 

WTF!

Yesterday, news leaked that Bill Belichick didn’t hit the number of votes required to be a first-ballot entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One of the greatest coaches in the history of football, any sport really, didn’t do enough to satisfy, at least, 11 voters. WTF! The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 looked to be a loaded one. Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald are considered first ballot locks. Bill Belichick was supposed to be an even greater lock. The most Super Bowl wins. The most playoff wins. The third-most regular season wins. For five decades, Belichick had an unprecedented impact on the NFL. If there was ever a coaching resume for first-ballot induction, Bill Belichick had it. How did this happen? How could it happen? Few things seem real these days.

Mike Sando writes for the Athletic and is a Pro Football Hall of Fame voter. He took a swing at explaining how this idiocy might’ve happened. For the record, Sando voted for Belichick and saw his induction as a slam-dunk. First of all, Sando explained the two-year old rules the voters are supposed to follow. Coach finalist (Bill Belichick), Contributor finalist (Robert Kraft), and the three Senior finalists (Roger Craig, Ken Anderson, and L.C. Greenwood) are grouped together at this stage. The five finalists are competing for 1-3 spots. The 50 voters each pick three of the five. Between 1-3 make it to Canton. 40+ votes are needed. If three finalists hit 40, three are inducted. If the votes are distributed amongst the finalists such that no finalist hits 40 votes, the top vote-getter is the only one inducted. Those are the rules that were implemented in 2025. It was one of the reasons, the four-member 2025 Class was so small. 

Sando went on to explain some of the potential ways Bill Belichick might get fewer than 40 votes even when 40+ of the voters think he’s a Hall of Famer. Sando actually could’ve stopped here. If 40+ voters think he’s a Hall of Famer, we wouldn’t be doing this. Anyway, in Sando’s words:

Let’s say 4-5 voters who were strong advocates for specific senior players figured Belichick was going to make it regardless, so they funneled votes to competing candidates in hopes of boosting them over the 40-vote threshold.

Let’s say a few voters prioritized senior players on the thinking that Belichick will be back in the room next year, while the players on the ballot this year might disappear into the senior pool forever. 

Let’s say a few voters found Spygate/cheating disqualifying. 

Let’s say a few voters protested new rules making coaches eligible one year after retiring instead of five. 

Whatever the case, I would see this as a repudiation of the new voting rules implemented for 2025, not of Belichick or any candidate not making it. 

There will be changes to the process, I predict. 

I appreciate Mike Sando’s honesty and explanation. I also think that it’s all bullshit. All of the above examples show the voters either playing voting games or making some sort of protest. The voters are tasked with judging the best in the history of the game. Bill Belichick was one of the very best coaches football, any sport, has ever seen. Arguably, he was the best coach professional football has ever seen. Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, and Bill Walsh might be the only other coaches in the argument. Only one won’t be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Brown was even inducted before he was done coaching. The waiting period was waived to get Lombardi in the year after his death. You only get one chance at being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Because of voter games, Belichick missed his one chance.

The Cheating?

Many of the long-time critics of Bill Belichick are apparently giddy with this ridiculous situation. Most of the critics have been critics out of jealousy. It’s common to see people jealous of those with success, especially unprecedented success. It’s true that the Patriots dominance was occasionally clouded by scandals. There were Spygates I and II. There was Deflategate. Although that last one was more on Tom Brady than Belichick. Is that going to keep Brady from being a first ballot Hall of Famer? Who knows? Anyway, the Patriots were accused and punished for videotaping opponents coaching signals during a game against the New York Jets in 2007. The Patriots were accused of videotaping something that nearly everyone in the stadium and many watching on television can see with their own eyes. Coaching signals! During a game! Former Dallas Cowboys coach and Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson has been outspoken in his support of Belichick. He said that many teams, including his, have videotaped opponents coaching signals. He even said that Howard Mudd gave him the idea. Mudd would go to work with Belichick critics Bill Polian and Tony Dungy in Indianapolis. Johnson also said that he didn’t get much from the effort. Deflategate? Come on! That’s a non-starter. It was a horseshit charge and an even worse investigation. Common sense and the scientific method tells you that you don’t start with a desired outcome and work out an investigation that meets that outcome. That’s what the NFL did. It didn’t work but the league still manufactured a crime and crafted a punishment. 

Pro Football Hall of Famer Al Davis often said that if you aren’t cheating you aren’t trying. The NFL has a long history of cheating. The NFL has shown an equally long history to forgive/forget. George Halas spent his entire career as coach and owner of the Chicago Bears working and bending the rules to his benefit. He was in the 1963 inaugural Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Curly Lambeau got the Green Bay Packers kicked out of the league for cheating during the team’s first year in the league. He was in the 1963 inaugural Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. NFL stewards Halas, Lambeau, Joe Carr, Bert Bell, Tim Mara, Art Rooney, and George Preston Marshall oversaw the banishment of blacks from their league for 15 years. All but Rooney were in the 1963 inaugural Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rooney made it to Canton in the second Class. Marshall was such an unrepentant racist that he named his team the Redskins and kept blacks off his teams until the federal government forced a change in 1962. For 30 of his 33 years as the team’s owner, Marshall kept the Redskins lilly white. That sort of racism wasn’t enough to keep him out of that inaugural Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Who knows what prompted at least 11 voters to not vote for Bill Belichick. I’ve long had issues with some of the Hall of Famer voters. All of those issues are with the way they’ve handled the league’s history, in particular the league’s long-ago history. Some of the voters have publicly stated that they’ve shut the door on any candidates that played/coached/contributed before their lifetime. Excuse me. The Pro Football Hall of Fame honors the league’s past. All of it. The voters that can’t do that shouldn’t have a vote. Now, some of the voters are showing that they can’t handle the league’s recent history. Bill Belichick’s last Super Bowl win was just seven years ago. 

Bill Belichick is a first ballot Hall of Famer in every way imaginable except the one that actually counts. The results of the voting are supposed to be a secret until the new Hall of Famers are introduced at NFL Honors. Even the voters don’t know. That’s why all the voters that spoke out yesterday were stunned by the news that leaked. I believe that this ridiculous news was leaked yesterday so that everyone wouldn’t be stunned by it next week. The shock probably won’t wear off over the next week but now it won’t overshadow (as much) the show of NFL Honors. The news of the night might now be a bit more about the new Hall of Famers than the one that isn’t. 

Good For Sam Darnold

Minnesota Vikings fans and pundits are losing their minds over Sam Darnold playing in a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. It’s been 50 years since the Vikings were last in the Super Bowl. That was a time in which they were often in the big game. They went three times in four years, four times in eight years. Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, and Super Bowl XI. All four trips ended in a loss. As a young Vikings fan, I came to expect Super Bowl trips. As an older Vikings fan, it’s been 50 years of seeing them fall short. It’s no surprise that Vikings fans and pundits are a little sensitive. Seeing Darnold in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks has them thinking about what might’ve been. 

Sam Darnold had a fine season with the Vikings in 2024. It rejuvenated a career that was teetering on the edge of the “bust” bin. Darnold likely signed a deal with the Vikings knowing that the team was targeting a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was going to get an opportunity to start but that it was probably going to be for only one season. The Vikings selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the tenth pick. The plan was to not rush McCarthy. He’d probably sit for a year behind Darnold and assume the starting job in 2025. Nice plan. It’s the sort of plan that could be a good thing for a young quarterback. It didn’t quite go as planned as McCarthy suffered a knee injury in his first preseason game. The rookie was forced to rehab the injury rather than practice. It also meant that 2024 was unquestionably Darnold’s season. Overall, he had a productive season as he guided the Vikings to an outstanding 14-3 regular season record. The biggest flaw to the season, perhaps the only flaw, was an inability to get past NFC heavyweights Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. The three regular season losses and the playoff loss were to those two teams. In the most important games of the season, Darnold was terrible. He was ineffective in the Week 18, division-clincher against the Lions. He was ineffective in the Wild Card playoff loss to the Rams. Those two games likely convinced the Vikings that they needed a quarterback that gave the team a higher ceiling. I agreed with that decision then. Even with Darnold and the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, I agree with the decision now. Teams don’t get “do-overs.” They make decisions and must live with them. It works that way for fans as well. This is J.J. McCarthy’s team. I believe in him and I believe in the direction of the Vikings. 

I’m happy for Sam Darnold. I’m not happy about the Seahawks being in the Super Bowl because I don’t like the team or their fans. If the Vikings had re-signed Darnold, they would not be in the Super Bowl. The Vikings biggest problem this season weren’t with the quarterback. Behind a wildly inconsistent offensive line, no quarterback would’ve been consistently productive for the Vikings. Darnold probably would’ve ended up like Carson Wentz (on injured reserve) or like J.J. McCarthy (in and out of the lineup due to injuries). It’s funny that I’m seeing similar storylines with my college team as I’m seeing with the Vikings. As a Cal alumnus and fan, it was tough to see Fernando Mendoza bolt for Indiana just weeks after a thrilling comeback win against Stanford. Instead of playing out his eligibility with the Golden Bears, Mendoza won the Heisman and a national championship with the Hoosiers. He’s the likely #1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. I’m happy for Mendoza. He never would’ve accomplished any of that at Cal. Sound familiar? There’s no guarantee that McCarthy develops into the franchise, Super Bowl-winning quarterback that he was drafted to be. I believe that he will but there are no guarantees. There’s no guarantee that Darnold would’ve done for the Vikings what he’s done for the Seahawks. Getting to the Super Bowl, let alone winning it, is often more about timing than talent. Darnold just happened to get a shot with a solid team during a year in which the league was wide open. Any of the 14 teams that made the playoffs this year had a shot. Normally, that isn’t the case. There’s usually only two or three teams in each conference that have a legitimate shot. Hell, if they could’ve managed only one more win, I think a healthy Vikings team could’ve beaten the Seahawks, Rams, or any of the other five NFC playoff teams. The Vikings defense dominated Darnold and the Seahawks offense when they played during the regular season. If the Vikings could’ve done anything on offense that day, a win over a punch-less Seattle that day could’ve been the one that got them in the playoffs. Then, who knows? 2025 was a rough season for the Vikings. They were still only 0.5 wins from a shot in the playoffs. 

Anyway, it’s possible to be happy for Sam Darnold and not have it reflect in any way on what the Vikings did or didn’t do last offseason. 

The Annual NFL Head Coaching Churn Continues

For some reason, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to hire Mike McCarthy to be the team’s next head coach. Of all of the coaches that interviewed for one of the 10 head coach vacancies, I had McCarthy with Philip Rivers as the least promising. The only reason I grouped Rivers with McCarthy is because I don’t think Rivers has the required time to devote to coaching. Too damn many kids. I just don’t get the love for McCarthy. I wasn’t surprised that the Dallas Cowboys gave him a shot. Jerry Jones is a fool. The Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969. Chuck Noll (23 years), Bill Cowher (15 years), and Mike Tomlin (19 years). Noll won four Super Bowls. Cowher went to two and won one. Tomlin went to two and won one. 57 years. Three coaches. 6 Super Bowls. It’s been a remarkable run. Three coaches in 57 years. With McCarthy now holding the keys, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers see three coaches over five years. Tomlin last year. McCarthy for, at most, three years, and whoever they hire after they fire McCarthy. I just don’t get it. The best thing about the Steelers hiring McCarthy is that it probably assures that Brian Flores remains in Minnesota as the Vikings defensive coordinator. Flores deserves another head coach opportunity. In this head coach churn, he interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens hired Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. The Steelers, for mysterious reasons, hired McCarthy. Unless one of the four remaining teams with a vacancy suddenly deviates from their current coach searching course, Flores is staying in Minnesota. That’s a very good thing for Minnesota. 

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy

Cleveland Browns: ?

Las Vegas Raiders: ?

Arizona Cardinals: ?

Buffalo Bills: ?

Mike McCarthy? Seriously? Art Rooney II is making coaching decisions more like his grandfather than his father. Art Rooney picked 16 head coaches. Dan Rooney picked three.

Anyway, here’s a guess at the four remaining head coach vacancies.

Cleveland Browns: Jim Schwartz

Las Vegas Raiders: Matt Nagy

Arizona Cardinals: Klint Kubiak

Buffalo Bills: Brian Daboll

Since they brought him in for an interview, I’ve paired the Browns with Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. He’s a coach on a rapid rise and I think that he’s going to get a head coach job soon. It probably won’t be this year as he’s withdrawn his name from the consideration for the Browns job. He’s reportedly still in the running for the Bills job but a return to the Jaguars for one more year of coordinating is more likely. 

It looks like another year of snowy white coaching hires. 

Flea Flicker Conference Championship Predictions

The NFL is down to a final four teams. Before the season, I’m not sure any of these teams were expected to be one step from Super Bowl LX. Maybe the Rams. That’s why they play the regular season and have a playoff tournament. Here are guesses at the NFC and AFC Championship games.

New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos

Pick: Patriots

The last time the Patriots and Broncos played for an AFC Championship, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were the quarterbacks. Manning won that game for the Broncos. I think Drake Maye leads the Patriots to a win in this game. 

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

Pick: Rams

While I think they are a fine team heading in the right direction, I don’t want to see the Seahawks in another Super Bowl. Three is enough for a fan base that finally realized they had a team around 2004. The Rams winning Super Bowl LVI and now challenging for Super Bowl LX has revealed to everyone that Matthew Stafford is a great quarterback. He was a great quarterback before he arrived in Los Angeles. It’s just that the Detroit Lions were terrible so no one knew that he was great. Or cared that he was great. I like Stafford to find a way to get the Rams past the Seahawks. 

A Couple Minnesota Vikings Mock Drafts

The 2026 NFL Draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. There will be dozens, hundreds, thousands of Minnesota Vikings mock drafts between now and then. Many of those will be found here. After a five-game win streak to end the 2025 season, the Vikings are slated to pick 18th in the first round. For the entire draft, they currently have eight picks. A third-round Compensatory pick will be added to that total. A fifth- or sixth-rounder might also be added. 

Minnesota Vikings Draft Picks

First round

Second round

Third round

Third round (Compensatory Pick)

Fifth round (from Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Howell)

Sixth round (from Indianapolis Colts for Mekhi Blackmon)

Seventh round

Seventh round (form Houston Texans for Cam Akers)

Seventh round (from Carolina Panthers for Adam Thielen)

Nine picks. A fifth- or sixth-round Compensatory pick could bump it to 10.

At this moment, I see the following positions as the most significant needs of the Vikings.

Cornerback 

Defensive Line

Safety

Running Back depth

Receiver depth

Linebacker depth

Mock drafts between now and April will repeatedly focus on those positions. 

Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft 1

1. Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

2. Dillon Thieneman, S Oregon

3. Emmett Johnson, RB, Nebraska

3. Brian Parker, C, Duke

5. Aiden Fisher, LB, Indiana

6. Cole Wisniewski, S, Texas Tech

7. Noah Thomas, WR, Georgia

7. Zane Durant, DL, Penn State

7. Luke Altmyer, QB, Illinois

I like the top of this draft. I especially like adding Avieon Terrell and Dillon Thieneman to the Vikings secondary. My issue with this mock draft is not addressing the defensive line until the seventh round. While I really like Emmett Johnson, defensive line might be a better target in the third round.

Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft 2

1. Caleb Banks, DL, Florida

2. D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana

3. Jake Slaughter, C, Florida

3. Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State

5. Mike Washington Jr., RB, Arkansas

6. Cole Wisniewski, S, Texas Tech

7. Eli Heidenreich, FB, Navy

7. Lake McRee, TE, USC

7. Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota St.

I addressed defensive line in the first round this time. I prefer corner with that pick but Caleb Banks would be an outstanding addition to the Vikings defensive line. D’Angelo Ponds is probably my favorite corner in this draft. The only problem with Ponds, and the only reason he’s not a projected top-10 pick, is his 5’9” height. The Vikings need an outside corner. He has the skills to play there. His height is the only question. The difference between 5’9” and 5’11” is only 2 inches. It might as well be a foot to NFL talent evaluators. This mock draft is really growing on me. It has a Navy fullback. 

Until the next one. 

Annual Head Coach Churn Continues

The annual head coach churn continues, five of the 10 teams with a head coach vacancy have now found their coach. The Baltimore Ravens announced former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as their new head coach. It follows the Ravens pattern of hiring rising coordinators. In 1999, they hired Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick. He led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win. In 2008, the Ravens hired Philadelphia Eagles special teams coordinator. He led the Ravens to a Super Bowl win. Now’s Jesse Minter’s turn. It’s a return to Baltimore as he joined the Ravens in 2017 as a defensive assistant. In 2019, he was promoted to assistant defensive backs coach. He finished his time on Harbaugh’s staff in 2020 as the defensive backs coach. 

Unless another team shocks the league with a late firing, half of the teams in the annual head coaching churn have found their coach.

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

Pittsburgh Steelers: ?

Cleveland Browns: ?

Las Vegas Raiders: ?

Arizona Cardinals: ?

Buffalo Bills: ?

Here are some guesses at the hires for the remaining vacancies:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Chris Shula

Cleveland Browns: Grant Udinski

Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak

Arizona Cardinals: Matt Nagy

Buffalo Bills: Brian Daboll

Current Interview Requests for the remaining vacancies:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ejiro Evero - Panthers DC

Brian Flores - Vikings DC

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Klay Kubiak - 49ers OC

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhaase - Rams passing game coordinator 

Chris Shula - Rams DC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Anthony Weaver is the only candidate to have a second interview scheduled. Chris Shula probably joins him after the Rams play in the NFC Championship game. 

Cleveland Browns 

Todd Monken - Ravens OC

Aden Durde - Seahawks DC

Dan Pitcher - Bengals OC

Tommy Rees - Browns OC

Jim Schwartz - Browns DC

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhasse - Rams passing game coordinator

Grant Udinski - Jaguars OC

It appears the finalists for the Browns job are Todd Monken, Nate Scheelhasse, Jim Schwartz, and Grant Udinski. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Klay Kubiak - 49ers OC

Davis Webb - Broncos QB coach

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Jesse Minter - Chargers DC

Nate Scheelhasse - Rams passing game coordinator

Joe Brady - Buffalo Bills OC

Ejiro Evero - Carolina Panthers DC

Mike LaFleur - Los Angeles Rams OC

Mike McDaniel - former Miami Dolphins head coach

Chris Shula - Los Angeles Rams DC

Kevin Stefanski - former Cleveland Browns head coach

The Raiders interviewed both Kubiaks. I’m guessing that Klint is closer to a head coach opportunity than Klay. At this point, Ejiro Evero is the only candidate to get a second interview. I’m guessing that playoff commitments are keeping Klint Kubiak, Chris Shula, Mike LaFleur from that second interview. 

Arizona Cardinals

Vance Joseph - Broncos DC

Robert Saleh - 49ers DC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

Klint Kubiak - Seahawks OC

Thomas Brown - Patriots passing game coordinator 

Matt Nagy - Chiefs OC

Raheem Morris - former Falcons head coach

Jeff Hafley - Packers DC

Arthur Smith - Steelers OC

Anthony Campanile - Jaguars DC

Joe Brady - Bills OC

Anthony Campanile is the only candidate with a second interview scheduled. 

Buffalo Bills

Lou Anarumo - Colts DC

Joe Brady - Bills OC

Brain Daboll - former Giants head coach

Mike McDaniel - former Dolphins head coach

Anthony Lynn - Commanders run game coordinator

Grant Udinski - Jaguars OC

Anthony Weaver - Dolphins DC

This just feels like it’s heading to Brian Daboll.