The Jets have interviewed a ninth candidate for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
The team announced that they have completed a virtual interview with Brian Duker. Duker spent the last two seasons as the Dolphins’ secondary coach/defensive pass game coordinator.
Duker was a member of the Lions’ staff for the previous three seasons as a defensive backs coach, safeties coach, and defensive assistant. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was the Lions’ defensive coordinator during those years.
The Jets have also announced interviews with Mathieu Araujo, Ephraim Banda, DeMarcus Covington, Daronte Jones, Jim Leonhard, Wink Martindale, Chris Harris and Jim O’Neil for the defensive coordinator position. Jones is going to be the Commanders’ defensive coordinator, so he is out of the running for the post.
Tuesday brought word that the Jets have also dismissed offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, so they’ll now have multiple searches underway for key spots on Glenn’s staff.
Dolphins Clips
Former NFL defensive end Dion Jordan, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, had become an assistant coach at the college level. He has now become the head coach of the program for which he had been working as assistant head coach.
With fellow former NFL player Randy Starks moving on to USF as assistant defensive line coach, Jordan becomes the head coach at Division III Eureka College in Illinois.
Last year, Jordan explained that he uses his own mistakes to help guide young players.
“Ain’t nobody else’s fault,” Jordan said at the time. “And look, I watch these kids now and I realize what I was messing up.”
Suspended multiple times for violation of the substance-abuse policy (which previously had far sharper teeth than it now does), Jordan ultimately played in 63 regular-season games through 2020, with five career starts. He finished his NFL career with 13.5 sacks.
Still only 35, Jordan has plenty more years to coach. And there’s plenty he can do to touch the lives of the young men who will be playing for him.
The Chargers have made it official: Mike McDaniel is their new offensive coordinator.
While McDaniel has been expected to become Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator since the middle of last week, the team had yet to confirm the news as McDaniel was still up for head coaching jobs.
But after withdrawing from consideration for Buffalo’s job, it became clear that McDaniel was going to put pen to paper with the Chargers.
McDaniel, 42, had been head coach of the Dolphins, accumulating a 35-33 regular-season record with an 0-2 postseason record before he was fired earlier this month.
While Miami finished at No. 1 in yards and No. 2 in points scored in 2023, the club fell to No. 26 and No. 25 in those same categories in 2025.
After working with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 draft in Tua Tagovailoa, McDaniel will now call plays for the No. 6 overall pick of that same draft, Justin Herbert.
The Falcons have hired a special teams coordinator.
Atlanta announced on Monday that Craig Aukerman has joined the franchise in the role.
Auckerman, 49, held the same role with the Dolphins in 2025. He was Tennessee’s special teams coordinator from 2018-2023 after working as the club’s assistant special teams coach in 2017.
Before that, he was the Chargers’ special teams coordinator in 2016.
The Falcons have now retained Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator and added Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator for head coach Kevin Stefanski’s first staff with the club.
The Eagles have spoken to another candidate for their offensive coordinator vacancy.
According to a report from NFL Media, Philadelphia has interviewed Frank Smith for the position.
Smith, 44, spent the last four seasons with the Dolphins as their offensive coordinator. He did not call plays, with former head coach Mike McDaniel handling that responsibility.
Smith has also spent time with the Saints, Bears, Raiders, and Chargers in his time coaching in the league since 2010.
Reports have indicated that the Giants would like to have Todd Monken join John Harbaugh’s staff as their offensive coordinator, but he is still in the running for the Browns’ head coaching job and the team is meeting with other candidates.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Giants interviewed Robert Prince for the job on Friday. Prince spent the 2025 season as the Dolphins’ wide receivers coach.
Prince has also coached wide receivers for the Cowboys, Texans, Lions, and Seahawks. He’s never been a coordinator at the NFL level, but did have that role at Boise State.
There was word this week that Harbaugh will retain two members of last year’s Giants staff. Monken is one of several of his Ravens assistants that are expected to be in mix for jobs with Harbaugh’s new club.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose scheme helped Minnesota have the No. 3 defense in the league in 2025, apparently won’t be leaving.
Signed to a new contract, subject to a head-coaching opportunity, the recent filling of the Ravens and Steelers jobs means that — barring an unexpected development — Flores will be back with the Vikings in 2026.
Flores had been interviewed by both Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The Ravens hired Jesse Minter, and the Steelers (who loved Flores during his time there in 2022) will be hiring Mike McCarthy.
It’s still possible that Flores will emerge as a candidate for one of the remaining vacancies, with the Raiders, Bills, Cardinals, and Browns. But he has not yet been interviewed for any of those jobs.
Beyond his lawsuit against the NFL and four teams (Dolphins, Giants, Broncos, and Texans), which legally should not be a factor but let’s not be naive, there are questions about Flores’s time with the Dolphins and his time with the Vikings. Recently, former Minnesota assistant Mike Pettine said just enough to confirm the existence of a red flag.
And so it appears Flores will be back with the Vikings, for a fourth season. There’s no doubt that coach Kevin O’Connell thinks highly of Flores. Enough to overcome any friction that may have occurred within the coaching staff.
The scheme works. In 2025, it worked almost well enough to overcome a bottom-five offense to get to the postseason. If the Minnesota offense can improve just a little bit in 2026, the Vikings will continue their trend of making it to the playoffs, roughly every other year.
Bobby Slowik interviewed with the Eagles for their offensive coordinator vacancy this week, but he won’t be joining Nick Sirianni’s staff.
Slowik will be staying in Miami instead. According to multiple reports, the Dolphins are hiring Slowik as their offensive coordinator.
It’s the second coordinator hire that new head coach Jeff Hafley has made since getting the job. They are also hiring Chris Tabor as their special teams coordinator.
Slowik spent the 2025 season as the Dolphins’ senior passing game coordinator. He was the Texans’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024.
Slowik worked with quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Quinn Ewers during the 2025 season, but Hafley and new General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan have not shared their quarterback plans for 2026 yet.
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.
Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver completed his head coaching interview with the Bills on Saturday, the team announced.
Weaver had second interviews with the Steelers and the Ravens, though Baltimore hired Jesse Minter as its new head coach. He remains in the mix in Pittsburgh.
Weaver has served as the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. He previously was the Bills’ defensive line coach in 2013.
Weaver has also worked for the Jets (2012), Browns (2014-15), Texans (2016-20) and Ravens (2021-23). He was the defensive coordinator for the Texans in 2020.
The Bills also have Commanders running backs coach/run game coordinator Anthony Lynn, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski as candidates to replace Sean McDermott.
