The Titans’ job search will include the coach who guided the early years of Dak Prescott’s career.
As reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett will interview for the head-coaching vacancy in Tennessee on Friday.
Garrett, who was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams with the Cowboys in the 1990s, coached the Cowboys from 2011 through 2019, after becoming the interim head coach during the 2010 season.
He had a regular-season record of 85-67 in the regular season, with three playoff appearances. His postseason record was 2-3.
Garrett won the NFL’s coach of the year award in 2016, the year that started with veteran quarterback Tony Romo being unavailable due to a back injury, opening the door for Prescott, a fourth-round rookie, to lead the team to a 13-3 record.
Garrett then worked as offensive coordinator for the Giants in 2020 and 2021. He joined NBC Sports in 2022, where he’s stuck sitting next to me every Sunday during football season.
Which would explain his desire to find a new job.
Personally, I’d hate to see Garrett go. I’ve learned a lot from him over the past four years. But coaches coach, and his work with Prescott speaks for itself. The Titans need someone to help get the most out of Cam Ward, the first overall pick in the 2025 draft.
John Harbaugh has landed on the coaching market. And the betting markets have quickly responded.
Harbaugh is the instant favorite to become the new coach of the Giants, with odds of +150. The prior favorite, former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, is +175.
Harbaugh is also 8-1 to become the coach of the Titans, 10-1 to become the coach of the Browns, +650 to coach the Falcons, and +450 to coach the Raiders.
It would be awkward, to say the least, for Harbaugh to land with the Raiders, given that the Ravens are widely believed to have instigated the #Deflategate scandal of 2015, by telling the Colts that the Patriots (and quarterback Tom Brady) were using deflated footballs.
Regardless, the Ravens decided to make a change after 18 years with Harbaugh. The question for Harbaugh is whether to take a job now or to wait a year, monitoring all developments for the best opportunity in 2027.
Few think Harbaugh won’t continue to coach. The only question is where, and when, he’ll continue a career that could end with a bronze bust in Canton.
With six head-coaching openings in the NFL, and possibly more, Bill Belichick’s name will be mentioned publicly for one or more of the jobs. Whether he’s privately considered for any of them remains to be seen.
Appearing on the Let’s Go! podcast, Belichick was asked by host Jim Gray whether Belichick is interested in returning to the NFL.
“Nothing’s changed,” Belichick said. “I’m where I was a month ago. I’m here at North Carolina. I really appreciate the love and support that we’ve gotten from the community down here, from the school, from Chancellor Roberts, the ADs, Bubba Cunningham, Steve Newmark, working with Mike Lombardi and our staff here. We’re building a good program and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed in.”
It wasn’t a “no.” But it’s not relevant until someone wants to talk to him.
Since being fired two years ago, he has had one interview, with the Falcons. The Falcons are looking again, with a clean slate (for now) in the front office.
Would owner Arthur Blank want to give Belichick another look, periodic trolling by Jordon Hudson notwithstanding? While it’s unclear where his coaching skills currently reside (e.g., would Belichick put a defensive coach in charge of the offense?), we’re confident that Belichick wouldn’t have given $100 million guaranteed to Kirk Cousins before using a top-10 pick on Michael Penix Jr. if he’d been the Atlanta coach in 2024.
Belichick is currently on the board for five existing vacancies: +4000 for the Giants, +8000 for the Titans, +4000 for the Browns, +1200 for the Falcons, and +1600 for the Raiders. (DraftKings doesn’t have odds for the Cardinals’ job, for some reason.)
A team will first need to be interested in Belichick. And he’d need to be interested in the team. (Belichick expressed to Gray disdain for teams that use search firms, which could make the search firm running the Falcons’ search less inclined to seek him out.)
Last year, when it became clear to Belichick that he wouldn’t get a job in the 2025 cycle, he went to North Carolina. Lombardi thereafter questioned whether there are any good jobs in the NFL, while also explaining that he and Belichick prefer working in college football.
Most of the jobs that come open are open for a reason. Still, if Belichick wants to catch Don Shula for the all-time wins record, no number of victories at UNC will matter.
Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is able to interview with teams looking for a head coach this week because Denver has a first-round bye and it looks like he’ll be taking full advantage of that opportunity.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Joseph is expected to interview with the Raiders, Cardinals, Giants, and Titans in the coming days.
Joseph has previous head coaching experience — he was 11-21 with the Broncos in 2017 and 2018 — and previous experience with the Cardinals. Joseph ran Arizona’s defense under Kliff Kingsbury from 2019-2022 and returned to Denver after Kingsbury was fired following the 2022 season.
All interviews at this point will be held virtually. If a team wants a second, in-person interview with Joseph, they will have to wait until the Broncos are eliminated or until the break between the conference title games and the Super Bowl.
The head coaching interview schedule for the Titans is filling up.
NFL Media reports that they are set to speak with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy about their vacancy on Thursday. They have also scheduled interviews with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, and former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.
Nagy worked with Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi when Borgonzi was in the Chiefs’ organization and he had a four-year run as the Bears’ head coach in between stints as the coordinator in Kansas City.
This week’s interview with Nagy will be held virtually and a second, in-person interview could take place later in the month.
