NFL considering pushing back in-person head coach interviews until after divisional round

The NFL is weighing whether to again push back in-person interviews for head coaching candidates at the end of the season, and sources say club owners are expected to vote on a proposal at next week’s league meetings in New York.

The league has for years tried to slow the process of head coach hirings. This proposal, according to sources, would prohibit teams from conducting an in-person interview with a coach employed with another club until after the divisional round weekend of the playoffs.

Teams with a head coaching vacancy would still be able to conduct interviews virtually with candidates under contract. Teams could also interview candidates in person who are not employed by another team. Lastly, teams can also conduct in-person interviews with in-house candidates.

Following the 2021 season, the NFL pushed the in-person interviews from the conclusion of the regular season to after wild card weekend. Should this proposal pass, it will push it out one more week.

These rules apply only to the head coaching interviews and do not impact any team’s search for a general manager.

Many team owners, general managers and coaching candidates themselves have long bemoaned the interview process taking place during the postseason. The thinking goes that it takes qualified coaching candidates away from their current role in helping their team win a playoff game. The process can also be rushed, thus leading to a less thorough process that could result in a smaller, less-diverse pool of candidates being interviewed.

It’s unclear whether this proposal will get the necessary votes from ownership to pass at the league meetings, which will be in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. But there is certainly support around the league historically for pushing the process.

Last year the league revealed to ownership that teams had spent a collective $800 million over the course of five years to pay fired coaches and executives.

Five teams hired new head coaches last offseason. The Carolina Panthers were the first team to hire a new head coach last offseason when they tabbed Frank Reich 18 days after their final regular-season game.