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The coaching carousel is spinning, and we’re keeping up with it. The Panthers hired former Colts boss Frank Reich, which leaves openings still in Denver, Indianapolis, Houston and Arizona. Some notes as we head into the fourth week of the hiring cycle …
• With the Broncos circling back with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Walton-Penner group starts to throw its financial weight around to get someone. Greg Penner reportedly traveled to Ann Arbor to meet with Harbaugh last week concerning the franchise’s head coach vacancy, despite the Wolverines coach stating firmly that he would remain with the program on Jan. 16.
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• Losing out on Vic Fangio, I think, will open up the defensive coordinator picture for Reich in Carolina. On offense, I think it’s a little clearer—my sense is a run at Eagles QBs coach Brian Johnson is probably coming. Johnson, for what it’s worth, would’ve been Steve Wilks’s OC if Wilks had been hired by the Panthers.
• The Niners losing to the Eagles frees up DeMeco Ryans to take a job, and the Broncos and Texans have him at the top of their lists. It looks like this is trending toward Ryans returning to Houston, where he played his first six seasons in the NFL. Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon has been the other coach to watch in Houston.
• The Colts are planning to travel to Philly at some point this week to interview OC Shane Steichen—it’ll be his second interview with Indianapolis, and first in person.
• As important as the Bill O’Brien hire is for New England, filling the offensive line coach job might be just as big. That spot, for most of two decades under Bill Belichick, was a bedrock with Dante Scarnecchia. Since? Well, the Patriots’ next line coach will be their fourth in as many seasons. Oregon run-game coordinator Adrian Klemm and Bills assistant OL coach Ryan Wendell are among the contenders for the spot.
• Joe Judge is locked in for 2023 in New England. Things are murkier with Matt Patricia and tight ends coach Nick Caley, whose contracts have expired. I think each will have the chance to return. The question is what the roles will be.
• Word has been that Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and departing OC Kellen Moore weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on things down the stretch of this year, which explains why a move that seemed to come out of nowhere happened. Brian Schottenheimer gives McCarthy an in-house option with which to replace Moore.
• The Rams are another team looking for a line coach, and I think they’ll take their time to try to find the right guy. I’d mentioned Browns OL coach Bill Callahan a few weeks back as a potential candidate, but he’s signed an extension and seems to be set to stay in Cleveland.
• It’s wild that the Bengals are in position to bring their entire staff back.
• If Eric Bieniemy leaves the Chiefs to call plays elsewhere after the season—and the Commanders have been sniffing around on him for a while—I’d think the Chiefs would quickly promote quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy (who is also a candidate for the Titans’ OC job that I believe will go to Tim Kelly). The former Bears coach is well respected in Kansas City to the point where I think he’ll be a very real consideration to succeed Reid down the line.
