Before the AFC Championship Game got underway on Sunday, there was a report that Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb was expected to have a second interview with the Raiders for their head coaching job this week.
That report also indicated that the Bills have interest in interviewing Webb, but the timing of a conversation was contingent on the result of their game against the Patriots. The Bills did not fire Sean McDermott until last week, which meant they did not have a virtual first-round interview with Webb and would have to wait to speak with him until after the Super Bowl if Denver beat New England.
The Patriots won 10-7 on Sunday and that means Webb is now free to interview with any interested teams and could be hired at any time. Per multiple reports, Webb is expected to speak with both the Bills and the Raiders on Monday.
The same is true for Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, and offensive pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase in the wake of their loss to the Seahawks. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has also interviewed for head coaching vacancies and he can have second meetings this week, but no team can hire him until after Super Bowl LX.
The Cardinals and Browns join the Bills and Raiders as teams still looking for head coaches.
When the Bills fired coach Sean McDermott, he informed his staff that he plans to keep coaching.
If he does, it’s looking like it won’t happen in 2026.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, it’s “likely” that McDermott will take a year off.
There had been no groundswell from the teams that have vacancies, once McDermott entered the fray. Neither the Dolphins nor the Titans pressed pause on their impending hires for a shot at McDermott. And there were no reports of a Harbaugh-style land rush for McDermott.
McDermott, in nine seasons with the Bills, went to the playoffs eight times — including seven in a row. Even if the assessment of Bills owner Terry Pegula regarding the reason for the team hitting the “proverbial playoff wall” was accurate (i.e., that it was coaching and not talent), plenty of the teams looking for coaches have hit the “proverbial can’t-get-to-the-playoffs” wall.
The Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, Titans, and Dolphins are all teams that should love to make it to the playoffs every year, without getting to a Super Bowl.
Of course, McDermott has had access to one of the best quarterbacks in the game. That said, McDermott’s first playoff trip in Buffalo, which ended an 18-year drought for the franchise, happened with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.
It’s still better for McDermott to wait than to take a bad job. And, like every year, most of the jobs are open not because the team is a juggernaut.
Arthur Smith is headed to the college level.
According to multiple reports, Smith is finalizing a deal to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
Smith, 42, had received interest from the Cardinals and Titans for their dad coaching vacancies this month. He was also up for at least one offensive coordinator role in the league.
But Smith instead will head to the college level, where he’ll work under head coach Ryan Day. Smith joins another former NFL head coach on staff, as Matt Patricia is the program’s current defensive coordinator.
Smith had spent most of his career with Tennessee before becoming Atlanta’s head coach in 2021. The Falcons went 7-10 in each of Smith’s three seasons.
This is not Smith’s first college coaching job, as he began his career as a graduate assistant for North Carolina before heading to Ole Missin 2010 as a defensive intern/administrative assistant.
Anthony Weaver is set for another interview with the Cardinals.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals will have Weaver in for a second head coaching interview. Weaver, who has spent the last two seasons as the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator, also interviewed with the Bills on Saturday.
Weaver also had second interviews with the Ravens and Steelers, but is out of the running for those AFC North jobs as the Ravens hired Jesse Minter and the Steelers agreed to terms with Mike McCarthy.
The Bills, Cardinals, Browns, and Raiders are the only teams currently without head coaches in place for the 2026 season.
Another day, another serious candidate for the Browns’ head-coaching job opts not to proceed with a second interview.
Earlier this week, former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel canceled his second interview with the Browns. Now, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has canceled his second interview.
Here’s the full tweet from Cabot: “Jesse Minter is not interviewing for the Browns HC job today as scheduled, likely because he feels like he has other HC opportunities that are more certain.”
Of the jobs still open, Minter has been interviewed by the Cardinals, Raiders, and Ravens. Some believe he’ll become the next head coach of the Ravens.
The 42-year-old Minter has spent the past two years in L.A. He spent the two prior years as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. He has four years of NFL experience, from 2017 through 2020 with the Ravens, serving as defensive backs coach in his final season there.
