With the 2021 NFL season coming to an end, Black Monday is on the rise. The Dallas Cowboys are headed to the postseason in Year 2 under Mike McCarthy, but other teams could be looking to head in a new direction.
Who else is on the hot seat? Who will receive a pink slip? Follow along with CowboysSI.com for up to date information on who will be looking for a new coach moving into the new year.
JAN 24: AIKMAN, PAYTON AND TV The coaching carousel has in recent days included the name of Sean Payton.
To the Dallas Cowboys, as the head coach in place of the suddenly beleaguered Mike McCarthy?
Or to FOX Sports, in place of the desired-by-Amazon Troy Aikman?
Front Office Sports is reporting that FOX Sports is eyeing at New Orleans Saints coach Payton as the replacement for Aikman should the Hall of Fame take a job doing games for the new "Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon.
The Payton news comes on the heels of NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reporting that the Saints' iconic and long-time boss has not committed to returning to the team. And of course mixed into the rumor mill is another Cowboys connection beyond Aikman's legendary ties to Dallas, as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' unwillingness to announce his public support for McCarthy feeds the idea of him possibly flirting with hiring Payton, a former Cowboys assistant who maintains a close relationship with the Joneses.
JAN 24: QUINN IN NY, THEN DENVER The Dallas Cowboys wisely continue to brace for an eventual hiring of a new defensive coordinator to head coach Mike McCarthy's staff as the Denver Broncos continue to "zero in'' on a top contender to be their next head coach.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will be traveling to Denver for a second interview this week.
Quinn is, as one source has put it to us, "the hottest candidate in the cycle.'' He is in high demand around the NFL, having interviewed for multiple head-coaching vacancies. He is in the midst of a Monday visit with the New York Giants - the hometown team of the New Jersey-born 51-year-old.
Quinn is the former Atlanta Falcons head man who led that team to a Super Bowl berth. Before that, Quinn was a Super Bowl defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. He arrived in Dallas this season and oversaw a complete turnaround of the Cowboys defense, which became a top-notch play-making unit as part of Dallas' 12-5 playoff season.
Read more here. ... including the three top names who could replace Quinn.
JAN 20: DOLPHINS UP Miami is interviewing Cowboys assistants Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn today for its head-coach spot. Our profile of the two coordinators' strengths and weaknesses, in video style, here ...
QUINN
KELLEN
JAN 17: KELLEN, QUINN and FLUS Go here for the play-by-play of the Broncos' DFW visits with Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn ... and go to Jacksonville for the latest on an old pal, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, working his way to being a strong candidate for the Jaguars head coaching job. Eberflus will have a second interview with the Jaguars on Thursday. That will be his second visit, essentially meaning the 51-year-old Eberflus, a former Dallas assistant, is a finalist for that job.
By the way: Want deep background into why Flus left Dallas? It's here.
Also today, another old linebacker-related pal in the news as the Seahawks have fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. Norton spent the past four seasons as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, and of course was a standout Cowboys player in the early 1990's.
JAN 14: VIKINGS DESIRES Minnesota has added both Dallas coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore to its head coach interview request list. For Quinn? Well, that’s almost every team with a vacancy expressing interest in who we’re told is “the hottest candidate in the cycle.” For Kellen? There is buzz that he’s attracted to the Vikings. But Minnesota will end up with a lengthy interview list that includes names like Doug Pederson and Todd Bowles.
JAN 13 McCLAY TRUTHS - by Fish This is going to keep coming up, every offseason.
And someday, it might even come true.
But Will McClay's commitment to the Jones family is a rock-solid one, based on loyalty, but also on authority (without the title of "GM,'' as Will is a "vice president'') and, as I understand it, right now without quite the salary of a GM, too - though that changes almost every offseason when another team even flirts with trying to lure McClay from Dallas.
And it'll likely change again. In fact ... it just did. McClay has a new deal to stay at The Star.
He has security. He has family. He has money. He doesn't have to take the PR bullet for mistakes, as Jerry Jones takes those (along, of course, with the credit). He is more than just a former player and a former coach and a former scout and now an exec: McClay is "The Unifier,'' a unique conduit who deals seamlessly with the Jones, with the scouting department, with the coaching staff, and even with the locker room.
What he says to me on an almost annual basis, essentially in this exact words:
"'I'm very happy with my role with the Cowboys. It is a family and I want to be a part of building a string of successful championship teams. One of my goals is to be a part of something that helps Mr. Jones win a Super Bowl here really soon. I love it here. I love the organization and the things that we do."
My video from earlier this week - in advance of the sudden surge of gossip from New York - breaks it down in great detail. Get the gossip out of the way. Get the facts here.
And if the McClay/Jones bond ever changes? We'll let you know.
JAN 12 JAGS PROBLEM We are told that three of the "top candidates'' in this head-coach search cycle will decline offers to take the job with the Jaguars if that organization continues to retain general manager Trent Baalke.
Baalke has been involved in a series of controversies, many of them clashes inside his own building. There is a thought that Jacksonville ownership will come to this realization and make a change. But for now, Baalke's remains in place and is helping to conduct interviews.
But watch: There will end up being three interviews he is unable to get.
And no, we have not specifically been informed that the GM is the reason Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn - the "hottest'' of them all - has so-far declined a Jags invite. But it does make sense.
JAN 11 JUDGED The "Clown Show'' is over.
In a seeming reversal of plans, the New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge after just two seasons on the job. Judge, 40, went 10-23 in his two seasons while overseeing a program that made it all the more outrageous when he pinpointed Washington, an NFC East rival, as a "clown show organization.''
JAN 11 MORE QUINN The Bears have put in a request to interview Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their head coaching vacancy. Also on Chicago's list: fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores and former Dallas assistant Matt Eberflus, now the defensive coordinator in Indy. Eberflus, per NFL Network, is also scheduled for a Jags interview.
By the way, we've got NFL people who think the Broncos are zeroing in on Quinn as the head coach, with Denver GM George Paton interviewing guys like Luke Getsy of the Packers and Jerod Mayo of the Patriots to eventually settle in and serve as Quinn's coordinators in Denver.
And ... add the Dolphins to the list of teams that want to visit with Quinn ... a list that pretty soon is going to read, "All of 'em.''
JAN 10: GIANTS KEEPING JUDGE? New York coach Joe Judge's job is safe, reports Josina Anderson - this despite a record - and his quotes - that make him seem rather clownish.
If true? Washington, Dallas and Philadelphia folks are not displeased.
JAN 10: FLORES FINISHED WITH DOLPHINS In a shocker, the Miami Dolphins have fired head coach Brian Flores following a win over the New England Patriots Sunday. Miami finished the 2021 season with a 9-8 record after starting the year off 1-7.
Flores, 40, spent the last seasons at the helm for the Dolphins, posting a 24-25 record. Last season, Miami finished 10-6, but failed to make the playoffs. The Dolphins were expected to be large players this offseason in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, but perhaps the firing of Flores changes that.
JAN 10: BEARS START FRESH AT HEAD COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER
The Chicago Bears have fired both head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. The news was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Nagy, 43, won the NFL's Coach of the Year award after his first season in 2018, when he led the Bears to a 12-4 record and reached the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Following a hot start, he couldn't sustain that success over the ensuing three seasons.
Nagy finished his four-year run in Chicago with a 34-31 record. With three different quarterbacks in 2021, the Bears stumbled to a 6-11 record, finishing third in the NFC North.
Pace, 44, was hired as the Bears GM in 2015. He is perhaps best known for his infamous 2017 selection of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 selection over names like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
JAN 10: VIKINGS NIX TOP TWO NAMES The Minnesota Vikings have fired head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman following the 2021 season. The news was first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Zimmer, 65, served as the Vikings coach since 2014. During his eight-year run, Minnesota posted a 71-56-1 record, making the postseason three times with an appearance in the NFC Championship in 2018.
Since the 2018 season, the Vikings have failed to win the NFC North. Zimmer has posted a 33-31-1 record with only two winning seasons. Minnesota finished 8-9 in 2021 despite high expectations following last year's NFL free agency and the NFL draft.
Spielman, 59, was hired as the team's GM back in 2012. Prior to his tenure as the head of the front office, Spielman served as Minnesota's Vice president of player personnel from 2006-11.
What's next for Zimmer? A Cowboys connection looms.
JAN 9: MO' PROBLEM? Kellen Moore is just 33, but he's considered quite accomplished already as the Cowboys offensive coordinator. Dan Quinn, at 51, is the Dallas defensive coordinator and is more been-there/done-that.
Maybe that's why Quinn, as reported on the Saturday national ESPN telecast, spent time giving Moore some interview pointers before Kellen's Friday ZOOM visit with the Jaguars. (In other words, it's not like Quinn, who will soon be doing interviews himself, needed guidance from Kellen.
But one NFL source - who is a fan of Moore's - cites to CowboysSI.com a problem with Kellen's candidacy.
"Teams are going to see him as 'young,' and maybe 'too young,'' the source said. "They are therefore going to want to see Kellen 'command a room.' And besides the fact that 'commanding a room' isn't Kellen's strength - how is he going to 'command a room' on ZOOM?''
JAN 9: TEXANS AND McDANIELS? TexansDaily.com sources have indicated that the Houston organization is leaning toward retaining head coach David Culley. But at the same time, an NFL source has told us to keep an eye on Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Texans should the club's deep examination of the work of Culley lead to a change. Full story here.
JAN 9: BRONCOS FINISHED WITH FANGIO The Denver Broncos are parting ways with Vic Fangio following three seasons. The Broncos finished 7-10 in 2021 with a 28-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Fangio, 63, has been regarded as a top-tier defensive coordinator during the past two decades before being hired in 2019. Taking over for Vance Joseph, Fangio finished with a 19-30 record. Denver's best season under his direction was back in 2019 with a 7-9 record.
"This morning, George and I informed Vic of the decision to part ways with him as head coach of the Denver Broncos," President and CEO Joe Ellis said in a statement. "For the last three seasons, Vic put his heart and soul into coaching the Broncos. I want to thank Coach Fangio for giving his maximum effort to our organization since the day he was hired.
The firing of Fangio now makes Denver the third open position this offseason. Both the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars have begun their searches after the resignation of Jon Gruden and firing of Urban Meyer.
The Jags search, by the way, will include a visit with former Texans boss Bill OBrien. (See below.)
Fangio will be one of the more sought-after coordinators this offseason after his success with the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and other teams.
JAN 8: RHULE'S REIGN CONTINUES
The Carolina Panthers will retain Matt Rhule as head coach for the 2022 season. In two years with the Queen City franchise, Rhule has posted a 10-22 heading into Sunday's season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rhule's first job this offseason will be to find the Panthers' next offensive coordinator. The team fired Joe Brady during its bye week. Brady, who is best known for his time with Joe Burrow during the 2019 national championship season run with LSU, never wanted to commit to the run game, which was deemed a problem by Rhule.
Panthers owner David Tepper gave Rhule a seven-year, $62 million contract following the firing of Ron Rivera. In addition, Tepper committed to paying $6 million to buy out Rhule's deal at Baylor.
JAN 8: QUINN IN? NFL sources tell CowboysSI.com that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will be a "top candidate'' in Denver as Fangio moves on. That full story here.
JAN 7: BOB BACK? Sources tell us that the Jaguars are serious about including Bill O'Brien in their search for a new head coach to replace the disgraced Urban Meyer. O'Brien is the offensive coordinator at Alabama, with the title game on Monday night, and will interview with the Jags following that game. More info here.
JAN 7: KELLEN VISITS Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore conducted a two-hour Zoom interview on Friday while in Philadelphia for the Jags job. Sources tell us Bucs coordinator Byron Leftwich might have the inside track there. Story here.
More must-reads: