More

    Thursday’s NFL News and Rumors: David Culley fired, Minnesota Vikings make history, Miami Dolphins widen their search

    In today's NFL news and rumors, organizations that have fired their head coach and/or general manager inch closer to making a hire.

    Thursday’s NFL News and Rumors: David Culley fired, Minnesota Vikings make history, Miami Dolphins widen their search

    We’re four days into the NFL offseason and not a single head coach or general manager hiring has been made. And it’s entirely possible one won’t be this week — many of the best candidates have playoff games to worry about first. Here’s a look at all the NFL news and rumors.

    NFL News and Rumors Today

    Eight head coaches have been fired this cycle: Matt Nagy, Vic Fangio, Mike Zimmer, Jon Gruden, Urban Meyer, Brian Flores, Joe Judge, and David Culley. The Vikings, Bears, and Giants are also looking for general managers in addition to coaches.

    Chicago Bears

    Fired: Matt Nagy (HC), Ryan Pace (GM)

    Scheduled/requested HC interviews:

    • Todd Bowles
      Buccaneers defensive coordinator
    • Brian Daboll
      Bills offensive coordinator
    • Matt Eberflus
      Colts defensive coordinator
    • Brian Flores
      Former Dolphins head coach
    • Leslie Frazier
      Bills defensive coordinator
    • Nathaniel Hackett
      Packers offensive coordinator
      Saturday, January 15
    • Byron Leftwich
      Buccaneers offensive coordinator
    • Doug Pederson
      Former Eagles head coach
    • Dan Quinn
      Cowboys defensive coordinator

    Scheduled/requested GM interviews:

    • Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
      Browns vice president of football operations
    • Morocco Brown
      Colts director of college scouting
    • Ran Carthon
      49ers director of player personnel
    • Glenn Cook
      Browns vice president of player personnel
    • Ed Dodds
      Colts assistant general manager
    • Jeff Ireland
      Saints assistant general manager
    • Omar Khan
      Steelers vice president of football and business administration
    • Joe Schoen
      Bills assistant general manager
    • Eliot Wolf
      Patriots director of scouting 

    The latest: The bye week is no weekend off for Hackett. In addition to preparing for the Divisional Round of the playoffs, he’s meeting with teams about what could be his next job. The Bears get their time with him Saturday.

    Denver Broncos

    Fired: Vic Fangio (HC)

    Scheduled/requested interviews:

    • Eric Bieniemy 
      Chiefs offensive coordinator
    • Brian Callahan
      Bengals offensive coordinator
    • Jonathan Gannon
      Eagles defensive coordinator
    • Luke Getsy
      Packers QB coach/passing game coordinator
      Saturday, January 15
    • Aaron Glenn
      Lions defensive coordinator
      Thursday, January 13
    • Nathaniel Hackett 
      Packers offensive coordinator
      Thursday, January 13
    • Jerod Mayo
      Patriots LB coach
    • Kellen Moore
      Cowboys offensive coordinator
    • Kevin O’Connell
      Rams offensive coordinator
    • Dan Quinn
      Cowboys defensive coordinator

    The latest: The Broncos on Thursday will meet with Glenn, who has been in or around the NFL since 1994 — first as a Pro Bowl cornerback and then as a defensive assistant. Prior to running the Lions’ defense, he coached defensive backs for the Browns and Saints.

    Houston Texans

    Fired: David Culley (and Offensive Coordinator Tim Kelly)

    Scheduled/requested interviews: N/A

    The latest: After taking the time to review the situation in Houston, the Texans have moved on from David Culley. According to a report by Ian Rapoport, one of the reasons Culley was fired was due to his reluctance to change his offensive staff. After ranking 32nd in the league offensively, the Texans wanted change, and Culley resisted that.

    On December 30, PFN’s NFL Insider and Chief Draft Analyst Tony Pauline reported that Josh McDaniels could be in line for the Texans’ job if the team were to move on from Culley. Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk 790 reports that the Texans are targeting former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores as their top candidate at this time.

    ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Patriots LB coach Jerod Mayo is expected to emerge as a leading candidate for the job. PFN Analyst Adam Beasley mentioned Mayo as a potential head coach candidate to take over for Culley.

    Regardless of who becomes the next head coach, CBS Sports reporter Jonathan Jones reports that Pep Hamilton is likely to be the next offensive coordinator.

    Jacksonville Jaguars

    Fired: Urban Meyer (HC)

    Scheduled/requested interviews:

    • Darrell Bevell
      Jaguars interim head coach
      Tuesday, January 11
    • Todd Bowles
      Buccaneers defensive coordinator
      Friday, January 3 (Jan 7 has also been reported)
    • Jim Caldwell
      Former Colts and Lions head coach
      Tuesday, January 4
    • Matt Eberflus
      Colts defensive coordinator
    • Nathaniel Hackett
      Packers offensive coordinator
      Week of January 10
    • Byron Leftwich
      Buccaneers offensive coordinator
      Friday, January 7
    • Kellen Moore
      Cowboys offensive coordinator
      Friday, January 7
    • Bill O’Brien
      Alabama offensive coordinator
      Thursday, January 13
    • Doug Pederson
      Former Eagles head coach
      Thursday, December 30
    • Dan Quinn
      Cowboys defensive coordinator
      After Cowboys’ regular season

    The latest: There’s a real chance that this is the day Shad Khan and Trent Baalke interview their next head coach. Bill O’Brien seems to be the front-runner to replace Urban Meyer. He is said to have Baalke’s support. If O’Brien can also convince Khan, don’t be surprised if a hire is announced soon.

    Las Vegas Raiders

    Resigned: Jon Gruden (HC)

    Scheduled/requested interviews: N/A

    The latest: Is the future University of Michigan football program at the mercy of the Raiders-Bengals playoff game?

    Las Vegas is said to have interest in potentially hiring Jim Harbaugh as Jon Gruden’s replacement. Still, it would be an awful look to replace interim coach Rich Bisaccia who got the Raiders to the playoffs.

    Miami Dolphins

    Fired: Brian Flores (HC)

    Scheduled/requested interviews:

    • Brian Daboll
      Bills offensive coordinator
    • Leslie Frazier
      Bills defensive coordinator
    • Vance Joseph
      Cardinals defensive coordinator
    • Mike McDaniel
      49ers offensive Coordinator
    • Kellen Moore
      Cowboys offensive coordinator
    • Dan Quinn
      Cowboys defensive coordinator

    The latest: The Miami Dolphins’ names keep trickling in. A late addition Wednesday night: Frazier, who has spent the past five seasons as Buffalo’s DC and assistant head coach. He checks an important box for Stephen Ross — experience. Frazier was the Vikings’ interim coach in 2010 and impressed enough to get the job permanently. He went 21-32-1 in 3+ seasons in that role, including a playoff loss in 2012.

    Minnesota Vikings

    Fired: Mike Zimmer (HC), Rick Spielman (GM)

    Scheduled/requested HC interviews:

    • None announced

    Scheduled/requested GM interviews:

    • Brandon Brown
      Eagles director of player personnel
    • John Spytek
      Buccaneers vice president of player personnel
    • Catherine Raîche
      Eagles vice president of football operations

    The latest: The Vikings’ preliminary list has a historic name. Catherine Raîche is believed to be the first woman ever requested for a GM interview in NFL history. Raîche has been with the Eagles since 2019, first as a football operations coordinator before taking over her current role. Prior to that, she worked for teams in both the CFL and XFL.

    New York Giants

    Fired/retired: Joe Judge (HC), Dave Gettleman (GM)

    Scheduled/requested interviews:

    • Kevin Abrams
      Giants assistant general manager
    • Ran Carthon
      49ers director of pro personnel 
    • Ryan Cowden
      Titans vice president of player personnel
    • Quentin Harris
      Cardinals vice president of player personnel
      Thursday, January 13
    • Joe Hortiz
      Ravens director of player personnel
    • Monti Ossenfort
      Titans director of player personnel
    • Adam Peters
      49ers assistant general manager
    • Ryan Poles
      Chiefs executive director of player personnel
      Thursday, January 13
    • Joe Schoen
      Bills assistant general manager
      Wednesday, January 12
    • Adrian Wilson
      Cardinals vice president of pro personnel
      Wednesday, January 12

    The latest: The big controversy/debate that emerged from John Mara’s news conference Wednesday was his defense of his brother, Chris, who will continue as the team’s senior vice president of player personnel. Mara grew testy at times when he insisted that family members did not have “undue influence” over personnel decisions. “Chris is a very skilled evaluator, but he does not have any authority here other than the fact that I will go to him on occasion and ask him about players,” Mara said. Left unsaid? Any GM candidate interested in the job knows that keeping Chris Mara is part of the deal. Meanwhile, the Giants announced they had completed an interview with Harris Thursday.

    Seattle Seahawks

    Fired: N/A

    Scheduled/requested interviews: N/A

    The latest: We can probably close the book on Pete Carroll speculation. He doesn’t want to retire. And Seahawks owner Jody Allen is showing no eagerness to fire him. Expect another year of the Carroll-John Schneider partnership.

    Listen to the PFN Dolphins Podcast

    Listen to the PFN Dolphins Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Dolphins Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.  Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Dolphins Podcast on our NFL YouTube channel.

    Adam Beasley is Pro Football Network’s Director of Original Content and Brand Development. You can read all of Adam’s work here and follow him on Twitter: @AdamHBeasley.

    FEATURED