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Steve Wilks, Nick Caley, Scott Turner Among Potential Aaron Glenn Jets Targets

January 21st, 2025 at 1:14pm CST by Adam La Rose

Aaron Glenn is set to take part in his second Jets head coaching interview today, and he represents the team’s top target. A deal could be reached at any time as a result, and a few interesting names have emerged with respect to coaches who could find themselves on a Glenn-led staff.

On the defensive side of the ball, SNY’s Connor Hughes notes that Steve Wilks will be a name to watch. Wilks will be a potential defensive coordinator candidate for New York in the event Glenn is hired as head coach. The latter is currently the Lions’ DC, but there is of course no guarantee he would continue calling plays if he were to take on the Jets’ head coaching position.

Wilks has a coaching background dating back to 1995, and he has been on an NFL sideline for all but three seasons since 2005. The 55-year-old has been a full-time head coach on one occasion in addition to a pair of defensive coordinator gigs at the pro level. The most recent of those was in 2023 with the 49ers, a position Wilks took after he did not receive the Panthers’ full-time HC gig . San Francisco moved on from him after last year’s Super Bowl, and he was out of coaching for this season.

With respect to potential offensive coordinators, Hughes reports Glenn has been in contact with at least two candidates. Nick Caley is one of them; the soon-to-be 42-year-old is currently in place on the Rams’ staff. Caley spent eight years with the Patriots, with much of that time coming as the team’s tight ends coach. He continued in that role last year upon arrival in Los Angeles, but this season he took on the additional title of pass game coordinator.

Caley does not have experience as an offensive coordinator, but Scott Turner does. The latter is the other name Glenn has been in contact with, per Hughes. Turner took over as interim OC for the Raiders after Luke Getsy‘s midseason firing, and he has not been connected to any NFL coordinator vacancies in the time following head coach Antonio Pierce‘s dismissal. Turner is, however, a candidate to join Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina staff.

It remains to be seen (for the time being, at least) if Glenn will indeed be hired by the Jets. If that does take place, though, it will be interesting to see if the candidates he has been in contact with will wind up following him to New York.

Bears Hire Ben Johnson As HC

January 20th, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

No second interviews are coming for Ben Johnson, after all. The coveted coordinator has made his choice, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting the Bears are expected to reach an agreement with the three-year Lions play-caller. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.

Although Johnson had stepped away as the Panthers’ preferred candidate in 2023 and then informed the Commanders late in last year’s process he was out, the Bears will land the coach who had been viewed by many as this year’s biggest fish. This represents one of the more significant developments in modern Bears history, as they had been connected to the rival coordinator for months.

As of Sunday, the Jaguars and Raiders were still in pursuit. Johnson had spoken to Tom Brady for hours during a Zoom meeting, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports, but the Las Vegas setup had a notable hole the Chicago gig does not. The Bears used the Bryce Young trade to acquire the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, giving them Caleb Williams access. They have now secured a coach to develop the well-regarded prospect. The Raiders have yet to identify a quarterback, with Brady tasked with helping the organization land one. Las Vegas also dropped to the No. 6 pick thanks to two late-season wins, which may well have been a factor in this now-Brady-led HC search.

The Jaguars’ setup is not in line with what Johnson preferred, Russini adds, helping to eliminate them. Jacksonville made the unexpected move to keep Trent Baalke as GM after firing Doug Pederson. Baalke’s polarizing presence was believed to have turned off some coaching candidates, and it appears Johnson was one of them. The Jags were believed to be open to moving Baalke to a different position in the organization depending on their HC hire, as they prepared an aggressive Johnson push, but that may not have been enough to satisfy a coordinator with options.

The Bears may be zeroing in on a defensive coordinator as well. As Russini reported, both Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo had engaged in discussions about potentially joining Johnson wherever he landed. Johnson is expected to choose Allen, and Anarumo just committed to be the Colts’ DC. Allen has indeed emerged as a prime candidate to follow Johnson to Chicago, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Allen was in charge of the Saints’ defense from 2016-24, before being fired during his third season as head coach. Though, the ex-Sean Payton assistant — Aaron Glenn‘s boss in New Orleans — played the lead role in turning the Saints’ defense around during Drew Brees‘ final seasons.

Baalke’s Jacksonville presence may not be too dissimilar to how Chicago’s power structure looks now. Candidates were curious about what role third-year president Kevin Warren would play. While Warren had said GM Ryan Poles was running what turned out to be an expansive search — featuring nearly 20 confirmed candidates — the team president was believed to be closely involved in football operations. Advertised as an exec who would primarily stay on the business side, Warren has been instead heavily involved in football matters.

This setup still did enough for Johnson, who will work with Poles in attempting to restore the Bears as a power in a strong division. It should also be noted (h/t Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager) Poles and Johnson were each Boston College graduate assistants in the late 2000s. Poles served on the football staff in 2008 after his playing career ended, while Johnson was at BC from 2009-10.

Dan Campbell said earlier today he did not expect either Johnson or Glenn to return. Glenn remains a candidate with several HC-needy teams, but Johnson has loomed as Detroit’s more coveted option. His decision to back out of the Commanders’ job came as reps from the NFC East club were en route to Detroit for interviews with he and Glenn. Rather than hire Glenn, Washington chose Dan Quinn.

The latter’s team just eliminated Johnson’s from the playoffs, freeing the Bears up to make their preferred hire now rather than wait at least another week. Had the Lions held seed and advanced to Super Bowl LIX, the Bears would have needed to wait until after the mid-February event to make their hire.

The Lions’ shortcoming will benefit the Bears, who have not been able to firmly establish themselves as a contender since at least the mid-2000s. And that defense-powered operation only stayed afloat on that level for two seasons. The Bears have not made three straight playoff berths since Mike Ditka‘s tenure more than 30 years ago. The offensive minds the Bears have hired in the recent past (Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy) have not been able to move the needle, Nagy’s two playoff berths notwithstanding. Johnson, however, checks in as a candidate on a higher plane by comparison to those two HCs or really any coach the Bears have hired in recent history.

Although the Lions did not book three straight playoff berths during Johnson’s tenure, they may well be on their way to that. Detroit’s hotshot OC, promoted from a post as tight ends coach after being hired by Matt Patricia, played a central role in the long-downtrodden organization’s climb. The innovative play-caller drove Detroit to two fifth-place offensive rankings and this season’s top mark in terms of scoring. The Lions ranked in the top four in yardage in each of Johnson’s three seasons calling plays.

Johnson, 38, restored Jared Goff as an upper-crust quarterback, doing so after the Lions had acquired the five-year Rams starter as the throw-in piece in the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade. Goff guided Detroit to last year’s AFC championship game and a 15-2 record this season. Johnson was seen as the architect of that resurgence.

Whereas Trestman was given Jay Cutler and Nagy mostly Mitchell Trubisky, Johnson will be tasked with developing Williams. It looks like he chose a Williams partnership over seeing what Brady could come up with in Vegas or working with Trevor Lawrence — and a $55MM-per-year contract — in Jacksonville. Williams ranked 28th in QBR this season, one in which the Bears had Thomas Brown move to three positions — pass-game coordinator, OC and interim HC — during a disjointed campaign marred by a 10-game losing streak. Williams showed a Justin Fields-like penchant for taking sacks, leading the NFL with 68. But the former Heisman winner also showed flashes that attracted candidates; he is signed through at least 2026 on a rookie contract.

This Johnson hire will be the Bears’ aim to maximize their Williams investment, and the team having D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze signed long term undoubtedly helped woo the picky HC candidate. The Raiders and Jags will need to pivot to other options, while the Bears stand to immediately become more interesting in a division in which they finished five games behind the third-place Packers. Johnson will get to work at attempting to reel in his former employer and a Vikings team that just went 14-3.

Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is how the long-running Chicago HC search wrapped up:

Pete Carroll Moving Into Frontrunner Position For Raiders’ HC Job?

January 20th, 2025 at 11:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Ben Johnson choosing to team with Caleb Williams in Chicago, his other two suitors will need backup plans. While Liam Coen has been closely tied to the Jags, the Raiders may have a more experienced option in mind.

Pete Carroll was among the many candidates to meet with the Bears, but the former Super Bowl-winning HC also interviewed for the Raiders’ job. As Johnson is Chicago-bound, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed indicates Carroll looks to have moved into frontrunner position in Las Vegas. This marks the second mention of Carroll being a true candidate in Las Vegas.

The Raiders are using the Korn Ferry search firm’s Jed Hughes to help them identify their next coach, and Reed points out Hughes helped guide Carroll to the Seahawks in 2010. This connection is certainly interesting, and a Carroll HC appointment would both make him the rare fourth-chance NFL HC and represent a stark difference from the direction the Raiders were prepared to go with Johnson.

Although Tom Brady spoke with Johnson extensively over Zoom and had eyed the Lions’ OC for a while, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz indicates the team was never considered the frontrunner for the hotshot play-caller. The Bears were viewed as the early favorites, and the team stuck the landing with the picky candidate. Johnson’s decision will certainly affect the Raiders, who joined the Jaguars in appearing to have him atop their candidate list.

Carroll turned 73 in September. As this space has regularly reminded, no team has hired a head coach older than 66 (Bruce Arians, 2019). Those reminders generally pertained to Bill Belichick, who will turn 73 in April. But Belichick is now at North Carolina. Although a few rumors — including one involving the Raiders — have mentioned some uneasiness on the Tar Heels’ part, Belichick is believed to be committed to trying his hand in the ACC. Although Arians is the oldest full-time HC ever hired, Carroll joins Romeo Crennel, George Halas and Marv Levy as coaches to man the sideline at 72. Of course, Carroll would become the oldest HC in league history if the Raiders hire him. No one has coached a game at 73 previously.

It would certainly be interesting, then, if Carroll became the oldest HC ever hired after Belichick punted on another HC carousel stay. Carroll spent 14 seasons as Seahawks HC but was Belichick’s Patriots predecessor (1997-99) as well. He began his head coaching run as a one-and-done Jets leader in 1994. (Brady was a rookie in 2000 and did not overlap with Carroll in New England.) To be on the radar for a job 30 years later represents remarkable staying power for the two-time Super Bowl coach.

Following the Johnson-Bears agreement, here is how the Raiders’ HC search looks:

Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order

January 19th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Two weekends of playoff football have come and gone, providing us with 10 more draft slots cemented into position as NFL teams continue to be eliminated from the playoffs. The top 18 picks were already divvied up at the conclusion of the regular season to the teams who failed to make the playoffs, while picks 19-28 have been determined over the past two weeks.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order has been determined by the inverted 2024 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. The playoff squads are being slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular-season record.

The league’s Super Wild Card weekend resulted in the elimination of Chargers, Steelers, Broncos, Packers, Buccaneers, and Vikings after their respective losses. Tampa Bay benefitted from the three-way tie in record with Denver and Pittsburgh, just as the Chargers did over the Packers.

The divisional round of the playoffs resulted in the elimination of the Texans, Rams, Ravens, and Lions. This time, Houston held the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, gifting it higher draft priority.

We are still at a place that, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.

Here is how the draft order looks following two weeks of playoff football:

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-14)
  2. Cleveland Browns (3-14)
  3. New York Giants (3-14)
  4. New England Patriots (4-13)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
  7. New York Jets (5-12)
  8. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
  9. New Orleans Saints (5-12)
  10. Chicago Bears (5-12)
  11. San Francisco (6-11)
  12. Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
  13. Miami Dolphins (8-9)
  14. Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
  15. Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
  16. Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
  17. Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
  18. Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
  20. Denver Broncos (10-7)
  21. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
  22. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
  23. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
  24. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
  25. Houston Texans (10-7)
  26. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
  27. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
  28. Detroit Lions (15-2)
  29. Washington Commanders (12-5)
  30. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
  31. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
  32. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)

Todd Monken Interviews Go Well; Previous HC Experience Helping

January 19th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Ely Allen

Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is currently calling one of the most important games of his coaching career, something he spent almost all week preparing for. Unfortunately, he had to spend any free time he had interviewing for what could be the biggest jobs of his career. Despite the distraction of the playoffs, Monken has done well in his interviews, thanks, in part, to his previous experience as a head coach at the collegiate level, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Firstly, Monken commiserated with fans, lamenting that he was being forced to split his attention between two outstanding opportunities: the chance to continue competing for a Super Bowl and the chance to coach an NFL team for the first time in his career. Still, he understood the necessity of the situation while the NFL presumably seeks a solution to the conflict.

The plus is that the Ravens’ performance in the playoffs acts as a sort of supplement to his interviews, giving NFL teams a real-life example of what his coaching and leadership can lead to. As long as the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson continue to put up impressive performances against the league’s best, Monken will continue to improve his chances at landing an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.

As much as his current performance is factoring in, the teams interviewing him have been looking into his past, as well. Monken has extensive experience as an offensive coordinator for three different universities and three different NFL teams, but he also has three years of experience as the head coach at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Monken took over a Southern Miss program in 2013 that had just fired Ellis Johnson following an 0-12 season. With an offensive nucleus of Nick Mullens at quarterback and Ito Smith and Jalen Richard at running back, Monken gradually turned the Golden Eagles around. A 1-11 debut improved to a 3-9 second year at his post before, ultimately, Monken had the team in the conference championship game with a 9-3 regular season record. As impressive as Monken’s recent experience as a coordinator is, his record turning around a winless team in college as a head coach is perhaps just as impressive.

Monken participated in two interviews this week. His first interview was with the Jaguars, who are currently considering him and 10 other candidates for the position. All of those candidates are former coordinators in the league, while four of the candidates have former head coaching experience in the NFL, as well.

His second interview was with the Bears who have no shortage of candidates. Chicago has interviewed 17 candidates so far and have plans to interview three more; they had two other candidates who turned down requests to interview. The candidates include former NFL head coaches (Pete Carroll, Brian Flores, Kliff Kingsbury, Mike McCarthy, Ron Rivera, and Arthur Smith), NFL coordinators (Joe Brady, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, Mike Kafka, Drew Petzing, and Adam Stenavich), and current and former college head coaches (Matt Campbell, Marcus Freeman, Eddie George, and David Shaw), so Monken’s litany of experience gets a bit drowned out in comparison to the other candidates for the Bears’ job.

Monken currently has a lot on his plate in the NFL playoffs. He also has an interview planned with the Raiders. When he’s done padding his résumé this postseason, it will boast his playoff experience as a coordinator. Just as valuable will be his experience turning a winless college team into a winner as a college head coach.

Raiders To Interview Lance Newmark For GM Position

January 19th, 2025 at 9:04am CST by Rory Parks

The Raiders will interview Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark for their GM post today, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It was reported just a few days ago that Newmark had a “leg up” on the competition for the Las Vegas job even though the club had not yet formally requested an interview as of the date of that report.

The timing of the interview could be telling. Newmark spent 26 years as a Lions scout/executive before leaving for Washington last year, and as Schefter notes, he has a strong relationship with Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (both of whom have already interviewed virtually with the Raiders). Since the Lions lost to the Commanders in last night’s divisional round bout, both Johnson and Glenn are free to have sit-down interviews with any team, a development that could set off a chain reaction of coaching hires around the league.

The Bears and Jaguars reportedly remain in the Johnson sweepstakes, though there have been increased rumblings connecting the coveted OC to the Raiders. Schefter’s ESPN colleague, Jeremy Fowler, reiterates that the prospect of a Newmark-Johnson tandem in Las Vegas has been gaining traction in league circles. That is particularly true since Johnson has made plain his desire for “alignment” with whatever GM he works with, a desire that may have made Tom Telesco a one-and-done GM with the Raiders.

Newmark has already met with the Jets about their vacant GM post – he interviewed for the same position back in 2019 before Gang Green hired Joe Douglas – and while he lost out on the Lions’ most recent GM search to Brad Holmes, he remained in Detroit as the team’s senior director of player personnel before being poached by the new Washington regime. The success that the Lions have had over the past several seasons and the success that the Commanders have enjoyed this year have obviously boosted Newmark’s credentials.

Courtesy of our GM search tracker, here is the current status of the Raiders’ pursuits:

Raiders May Be Homing In On QB Shedeur Sanders

January 18th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Ely Allen

The Raiders did themselves a bit of a disservice by winning a couple of games down the stretch of the regular season and ruining their opportunity to own the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft as a result. Despite the theoretical misstep, Las Vegas may still be in a good position to land their preferred option in April.

As the influence of minority-owner Tom Brady continues to permeate throughout the Raiders organization, there seems to be an indication that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders could be the object of focus for the team’s scouting department leading into the draft. According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, Brady has “a great amount of respect for Sanders’ focus on preparation, his ability to learn and adapt, his accuracy and determination in the pocket, and his toughness to take hits and still be resilient.”

We continue to see reports from scouts that the top two passers in this year’s draft class, Miami’s Cam Ward and Sanders, wouldn’t have surpassed the top three passers in 2024 (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye). According to Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, some have even claimed that J.J. McCarthy would be the QB1 in this class, which is hard to believe when comparing the statistics of the three. Apparently, McCarthy’s winning of a championship with Michigan is valued highly enough to overcome a severe difference in production.

Despite these claims and despite Sanders seemingly being ranked as QB2 behind Ward at the moment, the desperate need for quarterbacks in the NFL still makes it seem like Sanders may not make it to the Raiders at No. 6 overall. Three of the five teams in the first five picks of the draft (Titans, Browns, Giants) have also been connected to passers with quarterback being identified as a position of need. Still, there’s reportedly belief in draft circles that, as the evaluation process continues, Sanders has a chance to slip out of the top five picks.

Should that be the case, it would play perfectly into the hands of Las Vegas. There’s some hope that whoever is hired as general manager, as well as head coach, would be permitted some input on the decision of who is selected in the first round. If Brady and majority-owner Mark Davis have their way, though, the Colorado-product may be headed to the Raiders.

Raiders To Conduct Second GM Interviews With Brandon Brown, Chad Alexander

January 18th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

A pair of finalists have emerged for the Raiders’ general manager position. More in-person interviews could be coming soon, but for now two are on tap.

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown has a second interview lined up with the Raiders, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. His second meeting with the team will take place Monday. On that same day, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds Chargers AGM Chad Alexander will conduct a second interview with Vegas’ search committee.

Earlier this week, it was learned both staffers had received an interview request from the Raiders. Brown and Alexander each took part in a virtual interview, and their success in that capacity has kept them in contention to land the position. Neither have been an NFL general manager before, but Brown is no stranger to interest in that regard while Alexander is a veteran of several front offices.

Brown’s NFL tenure began in 2012 with the Jets, but much of his tenure in the league came with the Eagles. He held the title of director of pro scouting as well as pro personnel director before making the intra-divisional move to the Giants. New York will keep GM Joe Schoen for at least one more year, but if he were to be replaced Brown would represent a feasible in-house option to take over. Depending on how his in-person interview goes, though, Brown could elect to make his general manager debut in Vegas.

Alexander spent 20 seasons with the Ravens in several capacities. He has served with familiar faces since departing Baltimore, having worked under Joe Douglas with the Jets and, for 2024, Joe Hortiz with the Chargers. Alexander will look to join Douglas and Hortiz as staffers who parlayed their time in Baltimore into GM gigs elsewhere.

Recent days have seen Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson heavily linked to the Raiders’ head coaching position, a potential hire which would come as something of a surprise given the team’s quarterback situation. Drafting a passer would be a logical step this offseason, with Shedeur Sanders being a name to watch closely on that front. In any case, finding a long-term answer under center will be a central priority for Vegas once a general manager hire is made.

Via PFR’s GM search tracker, here is an updated look at the Raiders’ situation:

  • Chad Alexander, assistant general manager (Chargers): Interviewed; to conduct second interview 1/20
  • Brandon Brown, assistant general manager (Giants): Interviewed; to conduct second interview 1/20
  • Lance Newmark, assistant general manager (Commanders): Potential frontrunner?
  • John Spytek, assistant general manager (Buccaneers): To interview
  • Jon-Eric Sullivan, director of player personnel (Packers): Interview requested
  • Sheldon White, director of pro scouting (Steelers): Interview requested

2025 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

January 17th, 2025 at 10:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Last year, half the league changed up at offensive and defensive coordinator. We are still a bit away from the floodgates opening on the OC and DC markets, due to many HC jobs remaining open, but here is an early look at the coordinator openings and the candidates in the mix to fill them. When other teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 1-21-25 (10:15am CT)

Offensive coordinators

Cleveland Browns (out: Ken Dorsey)

New England Patriots (out: Alex Van Pelt)

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (out: Ryan Grubb)

Defensive coordinators

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Jimmy Lake)

Cincinnati Bengals (Out: Lou Anarumo)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Gus Bradley)

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers (Out: Nick Sorensen)

Raiders To Interview Ron Rivera For HC Job

January 17th, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already meeting with the Bears and Jets during this HC interview cycle, Ron Rivera will conduct a meeting with another HC-needy franchise. The Raiders are meeting with the former Panthers and Commanders HC, SI.com’s Albert Breer reports. The interview will take place today.

Rivera spent this season out of football, marking his first away from the game since 1996, but is interested in continuing his career. While an assistant job could certainly also be a gateway for the experienced coach to jump back in, he is now involved in three teams’ HC searches.

The Raiders appear to have identified a clear frontrunner, in Lions OC Ben Johnson, but the coveted candidate is also still interested in the Jaguars’ position. Although Las Vegas may well be preparing a big offer to a rather picky candidate, Jacksonville has a setup that already includes a franchise-caliber quarterback — in Trevor Lawrence — and in a much weaker division compared to where the Raiders stand.

A weak division was responsible for Rivera’s only playoff berth in Washington, with a Dak Prescott season-ending injury clearing the road for a 7-9 team to book a playoff berth. While Rivera kept Washington’s operation afloat in 2021 and ’22, the Commanders bottomed out in 2023 by going 4-13 and losing their final eight games. Ownership appearing to overrule Rivera and Co. on a Montez Sweat trade did not help, and the Commanders made a curious decision — considering how hot Rivera’s seat was — to center their 2023 plan around Sam Howell.

Now 63, Rivera is certainly on the older end among this year’s HC candidates. The Raiders have, however, met with Pete Carroll, who is now 73. Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo, 65, also interviewed for this position. With Johnson also still on the Bears’ radar, backup plans may need to emerge for the teams that do not land the hotshot Detroit assistant. Rivera would be one, though third-chance HCs are not overly common in recent NFL history. Rivera did better work with the Panthers during a nine-season tenure, guiding the team to its second Super Bowl and booking three more playoff berths — one involving a 7-8-1 2014 squad — during his tenure.

It is certainly possible Mark Davis‘ quick-trigger firings involving Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce will impact this Raiders search, Tom Brady‘s involvement notwithstanding; no Silver and Black HC has lasted more than four seasons since Art Shell‘s first tenure. Rivera was still an NFL player during most of that stint, and at his age now, being the candidate to buck the modern Raiders trend with a long-term stay would be unlikely. It will still be interesting to see if Rivera can secure a third opportunity in Vegas, Chicago or New York.

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