Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is set for another chance to make an impression on Atlanta’s brass.
Slowik will have an in-person interview with the Falcons on Thursday for their head coaching vacancy, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
Slowik, 36, had an in-person second interview with the Commanders on Tuesday. He’s also drawn interest from the Panthers and Seahawks.
The Texans finished No. 12 in total yards and No. 13 in points scored in Slowik’s first year as OC, calling plays for the likely offensive rookie of the year, C.J. Stroud. Stroud completed 64 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions as a rookie.
The Falcons also have requested or scheduled second interviews with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The team previously had a second interview with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
One of the greatest coaches of all time remains available, to any team that wants to hire him. More than 12 days since he officially left the Patriots, he has still been interviewed by only one team.
As recently explained here, other teams are considering whether to pursue him. At least one currently has a head-coaching vacancy; at least one currently does not.
The lack of widespread interest in Belichick is surprising on the surface, given his incredible success and his lingering reputation for being an excellent coach when it comes to preparing a team and coaching it during a game. However, plenty of fans are ambivalent about the prospect of embracing a coach who hasn’t had much success since losing quarterback Tom Brady.
Belichick’s authority continues to be a question mark. In Atlanta, he’d ostensibly report to CEO Rich McKay. Belichick might not be interested in doing that.
Some also believe, as previously noted, that Belichick has little interest in coaching a team in a major media market. As one source explained it over the weekend, that comes from a desire to avoid the dynamic of reporters aggressively trying to develop #sources at any and all levels of the organization. The fewer the number of reporters covering a team, the less Belichick has to worry about reporters cozying up to people he otherwise needs to trust to zip it.
Still, beyond the Falcons, zip is the key word. It’s amazing to think that a coach like Belichick is available and only one team has interviewed him.
We’ll see if it changes. Five vacancies exist. And, in theory, more could still emerge.
The Panthers referred to a front-office “restructuring” when naming Dan Morgan as the new president of football operations/General Manager on Monday. Morgan will head the “personnel operation.”
Joe Person of TheAthletic.com reports the Panthers want to pair Morgan with an executive with a salary cap and contracts background to serve as a buffer between owner David Tepper and Morgan.
That person won’t be front office executive Samir Suleiman, who no longer is with the team, David Newton of ESPN reports.
Tepper is targeting Chiefs vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis, according to Person. Tilis interviewed for the Panthers’ G.M. job three years ago before Scott Fitterer was hired.
The team will have to comply with the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one external minority and/or female candidate for senior-level positions.
Tilis has spent 14 seasons with the Chiefs, three in his current role. He also has worked as director of football administration (2017-20) and director of salary cap and football operations analytics (2014-16) after originally joining the club in 2010 as a salary cap/contract analyst.
Tilis was the lead negotiator on Patrick Mahomes’ contract.
The Panthers have hired Dan Morgan as their new General Manager and they are making more changes to their football operations staff as well.
A team spokesperson confirmed with David Newton of ESPN.com that vice president of football administration Samir Suleiman is no longer with the team. Suleiman was promoted from director of player negotiations and salary cap manager to that position in 2022.
Suleiman continued to have a hand in negotiations and cap management in his new role. He also had an expanded role in other areas of the financial side of the operation in Carolina.
There could be more changes to come as Morgan and the Panthers try to chart a better course than the one they’ve been on in recent years.
This year, the hiring process has moved more slowly than usual, thanks to a new rule that delays in-person interviews with coaches under contract elsewhere until the divisional round has come and gone. Once the window for in-person interviews opened, the Titans shifted into overdrive.
The decision to hire Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan came on the same day the Titans interviewed both Callahan and Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown in person, the first day that such interviews could happen.
The interview of Brown, coupled with the prior interview of former Stanford coach David Shaw, satisfied the Rooney Rule requirement of two in-person interviews with minority candidates.
In all, the Titans interviewed 10 candidates at least once. Nine were interviewed virtually and one (Shaw) was interviewed in-person only. On Monday, Brown and Callahan got in-person interviews — and Callahan got the job.
