Assistant coaches say interviewing during the NFL playoffs isn’t a distraction
Only the coordinators who interviewed for head coaching jobs before playoff games know if those conversations with other teams were a distraction.
It won’t stop people from speculating about it.
The NFL’s hiring process became a hot topic after the Detroit Lions were knocked out of the playoffs. The Lions went 15-2 and earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed, but were eliminated by the Washington Commanders in the divisional round.
Some disgruntled Lions fans blamed offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for being more focused on interviews than their game plans.
Johnson accepted an offer to become Chicago’s new head coach on Monday, two days after the Commanders beat the Lions 45-31. He interviewed with the Bears, Patriots, Jaguars and Raiders during Detroit’s bye week.
Johnson’s offense racked up 521 yards and scored 31 points so it wouldn’t seem that he was too distracted to create an effective scheme for the game.
But Johnson made one big mistake. Down 10 with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, he called a trick play that ended with wide receiver Jameson Williams throwing an interception. Williams should’ve tucked the ball and run instead of throwing into coverage.
Fox broadcaster Tom Brady, who is a minority owner of the Raiders and was involved in interviewing Johnson, criticized the “gimmicky” play.
“Not a great time for a trick play,” Brady said.
Johnson’s trickery had some positive results, too.
Earlier in the game, Williams ran 61 yards for a touchdown on a double reverse. Also, running back David Montgomery completed a 20-yard shovel pass after taking a pitch from Jared Goff.
Glenn interviewed with the Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, Saints and Jets. He turned down an interview request from the Patriots, who hired Mike Vrabel.
His defense allowed 38 points and 481 yards to Washington. But the Lions were missing several key players and lost cornerback Amik Robertson in the first quarter.
Johnson and Glenn weren’t the only coordinators busy interviewing for head coaching jobs before a playoff game. They just happened to be on the wrong end of the biggest upset so far this postseason.
Meanwhile, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is waiting until after the season to take interviews so he can focus on the playoffs. Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. had his first interview with the Jets on Sunday.
Eagles OC Kellen Moore (Cowboys, Jaguars, Saints), Bills OC Joe Brady (Bears, Jaguars, Saints), Chiefs OC Matt Nagy (Jets) and Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo (Jets, Jaguars, Raiders) have also done interviews.
Per NFL rules, assistants on playoff teams could only do virtual interviews. The league adjusted its rules this year, limiting interviews to three hours for coaches still alive in the playoffs.
Several assistants prepare for potential interviews in the offseason so they wouldn’t have to start from scratch when they get a call.
“This go-around, I’ve been a lot more prepared for the types of questions that they’ve been asking,” Johnson said last week about his third hiring cycle.
“I’ve also changed my frame of mind a little bit, and instead of worrying solely about the offense and what we’re doing right here, I’ve been able to have offseasons and summers to think about, big-picture view, what a program would look like where I’m running it. And so, I think that way, I’m a lot more prepared for the questions that come my way and I’m much more comfortable answering them.”
Glenn also entered this cycle more prepared after interviewing with teams last year.
“I think those are things you always look at during the offseason, guys that you think that mesh well with you, that are compatible with how you think and how you want to operate,” Glenn said last week about assembling a potential staff.
“I think during the season you really don’t even mess with it at all because you’re so locked in to what you’re doing, and then once the interviews start, you start to come back to some of those things, some of those people that you talked to. You start to think about, ‘Is this a guy that I feel like I can win a Super Bowl with?’ And I always look at it that way.”
Eagles fans were concerned when Moore had three interviews, including one with the Cowboys two days before they faced the Rams. Then they weren’t happy with his play-calling in a 28-22 victory.
“It’s really the same process we normally take. Nothing changes in our preparation for a game,” Moore said. “You know, I missed a fourth-grade basketball game on Friday night; that’s about it. Other than that, it’s the same process.”
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