The coaching carousel can start spinning faster today.
A new rule adopted for the 2024 hiring cycle prohibited in-person interviews of coaching candidates under contract with other teams until the conclusion of the divisional round of the playoffs. The divisional round is over; as of today, in-person interviews can happen with any candidates currently under contract with other teams.
Before today, teams were permitted to interview on an in-person basis only those candidates who are not currently connected to an NFL team, like Bill Belichick. Virtual interviews of assistant coaches were permitted; Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had four of them between Friday and Saturday.
In-person interviews can’t happen this week for coordinators whose teams are still in the playoffs (Chiefs, Ravens, Lions, 49ers). As of next week, coaches from the teams that lose on Sunday are fair game. Coaches from the winners can be interviewed in person only by teams that previously interviewed them virtually.
The new rule has slowed down the process generally, which is a good thing. Of eight openings, two are filled. The Patriots elevated Jerod Mayo under a pre-existing contractual succession plan that circumvented a traditional search. The Raiders hired Antonio Pierce after conducted a pair of in-person interviews with minority candidates who were available to be interviewed in person, as required by the Rooney Rule.
Some would say it should be delayed even longer. Some would say no interviews should happen until after the Super Bowl.
Those who would say that would be right. It’s not fair to the teams still in the playoffs and the candidates to dilute their attention by having them prepare for and conduct virtual interviews while otherwise getting ready for a playoff game.
It puts guys like Johnson in an awkward spot where they have to word-salad their way through questions as to how they can prepare for and submit to job interviews while otherwise working to get their current teams ready to play. For example, Johnson said last week that his family, not his current job, suffered from the time spent interviewing for four potential new jobs.
What else could he say?
He couldn’t say the truth. The truth is that he should have been spending every waking moment getting ready for Tampa Bay, self-scouting his own offense for tendencies and tells, scouting the Buccaneers defense for tendencies and tells, and coming up with way to take his own tendencies and tells and do something unexpected in those situations.
The truth is that, for Johnson, the ship is coming in. For his family, the next job becomes far more important than the current one.
Coaches shouldn’t be expected to navigate those competing agendas and loyalties. They should be allowed to focus on getting the current job done before ever giving a moment of thought to the next job.
Maybe it will eventually happen. The good news is that the NFL is moving that way. The best news would be getting there.
