NFL coach, GM interview tracker, updates: Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer, leaving Saints as lone vacancy

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Sports

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The NFL playoffs continue on with just a small handful of teams still alive. Yet for a large number of franchises, it’s time to move into offseason mode. Realistically, some of them have already done so — especially those who have made changes at the head coach or general manager positions. And because it’s what we do here, we’re going to let you know exactly which jobs are open, and who might be up for them.

Rather than scouring the scattershot reports across social media, CBSSports.com has compiled all of those reports of interest in one place. Below, we will track all of the coordinator, head coach and general manager candidates and where they have been requested to interview.

Head coaches

Dallas Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer

On the eve of a contract set to expire, the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy decided to part ways. This snapped a five-season tenure for McCarthy in Dallas during which he went 49-34 during his 84 regular-season games. While the club reached heights of three-straight 12-5 seasons, postseason success alluded them, which is likely what Jerry Jones will be looking for in his next head coach. That’s partially why he opted to retain a piece of McCarthy’s coaching staff by promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to be his next head coach. The Cowboys already have Dak Prescott in place at quarterback along with wideout CeeDee Lamb as the franchise’s top skill-position player. Defensively, Dallas will look to retain star pass rusher Micah Parsons, so there are some intriguing building blocks for Schottenheimer to work with in 2025. The key will be keeping players healthy as numerous key Dallas

Here are the candidates the Cowboys interviewed/planned to interview:

Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator
Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator
Robert Saleh, former New York Jets head coach – HIRED AS 49ERS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Leslie Frazier, Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach

Las Vegas Raiders hire Pete Carroll

After missing out on some of the top young up-and-coming candidates, the Raiders are turning the page … to the past. They’re hiring the 73-year-old Pete Carroll, who will become the oldest coach ever to coach an NFL game when he takes the field with Las Vegas in Week 1 as a 74-year-old. (He’ll break the current record held by Romeo Crennel.)

Carroll is an old-school coach who will certainly help professionalize an organization in desperate need of stability, but it’s fair to question whether his schemes and philosophy are a fit for the modern NFL. It will be very important to watch for his coordinator hires — especially on offense, where he often needs to be dragged into the 21st century but even more often does not like it.

Interviewed

Pete Carroll, former Seahawks head coach
Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator – HIRED BY BEARS
Vance Joseph, Broncos defensive coordinator
Robert Saleh, former Jets head coach
Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator – HIRED BY JETS
Ron Rivera, former Panthers and Commanders head coach
Todd Monken, Ravens offensive coordinator
Steve Spagnuolo, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator

Liam Coen is finalizing a deal to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. Coen, who served as the Tampa Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator this season, pulled himself out of contention for the Jaguars job on Wednesday to stay with the NFC South champions. But things changed after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke. Jones reported Thursday that Jacksonville circled back with a new offer to Coen after the dismissal of Baalke.

Below are the candidates the Jaguars interviewed before making the final call:

Interviewed

Liam Coen, Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs defensive coordinator
Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator– HIRED BY BEARS
Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator – HIRED BY JETS
Patrick Graham, Raiders defensive coordinator
Robert Saleh, former Jets head coach
Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator
Kellen Moore, Eagles offensive coordinator
Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator
Todd Monken, Ravens offensive coordinator

After firing Matt Eberflus during the season, Chicago led one of the most wide-ranging coaching searches in the NFL. It ended Monday as the Bears landed arguably the top candidate on the market.

The Bears got their quarterback of the future when they selected Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Now, they have the man to steer the next few years of his career in Lions OC Ben Johnson. Johnson made a name for himself by putting his players in position to succeed, and the Bears desperately need for him to do exactly that with Williams, who had an up and down rookie year.

Here are the other candidates the Bears interviewed:

Completed

Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator
Anthony Weaver, Dolphins defensive coordinator
Drew Petzing, Cardinals offensive coordinator
Mike Vrabel, former Titans head coach – HIRED BY PATRIOTS
Mike Kafka, Giants offensive coordinator
Pete Carroll, former Seahawks head coach
Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator
Ron Rivera, former Panthers and Commanders head coach
Thomas Brown, Bears interim head coach
Mike McCarthy, former Cowboys head coach
Arthur Smith, Steelers offensive coordinator
David Shaw, former Stanford head coach and current Broncos senior personnel executive
Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator
Eddie George, Tennessee State head coach
Adam Stenavich, Packers offensive coordinator
Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator
Todd Monken, Ravens offensive coordinator
Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach
Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders offensive coordinator

The Pats won their final regular-season game, costing themselves the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in the process. Less than two hours after the game ended, they fired Jerod Mayo after just one season. He was Bill Belichick’s hand-picked successor, and it’s safe to say the experiment did not work out as planned.

As it turns out, the Patriots are turning to another one of their former linebackers to lead the team, as the franchise announced on Sunday that they had hired Mike Vrabel to be their 16th head coach.

Here are the candidates the Patriots interviewed:

Completed

Mike Vrabel, former Titans head coach and Patriots linebacker
Pep Hamilton, longtime NFL assistant coach
Byron Leftwich, former Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator– HIRED BY BEARS

The Jets have compiled a huge list of candidates to replace fired head coach Robert Saleh. After many interviews and meetings, New York has found its next leader in Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports.

Below are all the candidates the Jets interviewed/planned to interview:

Interviewed

Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator
Matt Nagy, Chiefs offensive coordinator
Ron Rivera, former Panthers and Commanders head coach
Rex Ryan, former Jets and Bills head coach
Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs defensive coordinator
Mike Locksley, Maryland head coach
Darren Rizzi, Saints interim head coach
Jeff Ulbrich, Jets interim head coach – HIRED AS FALCONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Vance Joseph, Broncos defensive coordinator
Bobby Slowik, Texans offensive coordinator
Arthur Smith, Steelers offensive coordinator
Jeff Hafley, Packers defensive coordinator
Josh McCown, Vikings quarterbacks coach
Joe Whitt Jr., Commanders defensive coordinator
Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator
Mike Vrabel, former Titans head coach – HIRED BY PATRIOTS

New Orleans fired Dennis Allen in early November, after the team’s seventh consecutive loss. Former special teams coach Darren Rizzi has been acting as the interim head coach, and the team has actually gone 3-4 with Rizzi at the helm. The Saints, as usual, have a lot of work to do to get cap compliant this offseason, and it seems like they might finally be entering rebuilding mode.

Here are the candidates the Saints are interviewing/have interviewed so far:

Interviewed

Mike McCarthy, former Dallas Cowboys head coach
Kellen Moore, Eagles offensive coordinator
Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator
Darren Rizzi, Saints interim head coach
Mike Kafka Giants offensive coordinator
Anthony Weaver, Dolphins defensive coordinator
Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator – HIRED BY JETS

General managers

Las Vegas Raiders hire John Spyek

The Raiders found their new general manager as they are hiring Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek to replace the recently fired Tom Telesco.

Interviwed

John Spytek, Buccaneers assistant general manager
Jon-Eric Sullivan, Packers VP of Player Personnel
Brandon Brown, Giants assistant GM
Chad Alexander, Chargers assistant general manager
Lance Newmark, Commanders assistant GM

Tennesse Titans hire Mike Borgonzi

The Titans, who finished the season 3-14, parted ways with general manager Ran Carthon and replaced him with Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi. The team is keeping head coach Brian Callahan, but will begin their search for a new GM, led by president of football operations Chad Brinker. Carthon spent two seasons at the position, with Tennessee going 9-25 during that time. Borgonzi will now be tasked with making the right call on what the Titans do with the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Completed

Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs assistant general manager
Thomas Dimitroff, former Falcons general manager
Reggie McKenzie, former Raiders general manager
Matt Berry, Seahawks senior director of player personnel
Ed Dodds, Colts assistant general manager
Ian Cunningham, Bears assistant general manager
Terrance Gray, Bills director of player personnel
Jon-Eric Sullivan, Packers vice president of player personnel
Catherine Hickman, Browns assistant general manager and vice president of football operations
Terrance Gray, Bills director of player personnel
John Spytek, Buccaneers assistant general manager – HIRED BY RAIDERS

Jacksonville Jaguars, GM

The Jaguars parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday. Jacksonville went 25-43 in Baalke’s four seasons as general manager with one playoff appearance in 2022 when the team reached the AFC divisional round. The franchise will begin its search to find Baalke’s replacement.