NFL head-coaching hires and interviews: Latest rumors on the Lions, Eagles, Dan Campbell, Eric Bieniemy and more

Seven days ago, when we told you everything we were hearing about potential NFL head-coaching hires, there were six open jobs. That became seven after the Philadelphia Eagles fired Doug Pederson. And after three teams made hires over the past week -- the Jacksonville Jaguars (Urban Meyer), New York Jets (Robert Saleh) and Atlanta Falcons (Arthur Smith) -- the list is down to four, with the Eagles Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers still looking for coaches.

Let's do another round of things we've heard about coaching searches, including one job that could be filled soon, why there's some frustration across the league and some of the coordinator movement that could happen:

How the Jaguars landed Meyer, and what's to come

People close to Meyer believe two central reasons drove him to Jacksonville: The quarterback and fatigue with the college game. Meyer was enamored with Trevor Lawrence -- the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft -- when he watched Clemson play Ohio State live in the 2019 College Football Playoff semifinal. Lawrence took down Meyer's former team with 366 total yards (107 rushing) and three touchdowns. Meyer was blown away by the performance. He also told people close to him that he was done with college coaching, which is complicated by transfer rules, name image and likeness changes, recruiting and COVID-19 complications. Combine those factors with Jacksonville's ample draft picks and cap space and Meyer knew he was walking into potential NFL success.

Meyer's first order of business is staffing. And there's a belief in league circles that interim general manager Trent Baalke will hang on. It's too early to make that determination, but Baalke is helping Meyer handle GM duties in the short term, including involvement with staff hiring. Scott Pioli and Ray Farmer were also linked to the job but it's unclear how far that goes.

We're also being told that veteran NFL coach Scott Linehan, last with LSU in 2020, has emerged as a prime candidate for offensive coordinator. He goes way back with Meyer, who will have several of his former college coaches on his staff. Charlie Strong is mulling an opportunity on the defensive staff. Texans interim defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who was a graduate assistant for Meyer at Florida in 2010, might become an assistant head coach/defensive line. And Chris Ash, Meyer's defensive coordinator at Ohio State, is likely to be Meyer's defensive backs coach.

The Lions' job could be wrapped up soon

The Lions indeed have zeroed in on Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell in their head-coaching search, as NFL Network reported. But there's one twist: One person involved in the search said the Lions conveyed they have two finalists. Perhaps Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady or former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who had a strong interview, are still in play. We're told it's "too soon" to deem Campbell the guy, in part because the team can't meet him in person until after New Orleans' playoff run. But this is trending Campbell's way.

And interestingly, if you go back a week, this wasn't the Campbell most people would have pegged for the Detroit job. The Lions were in conversations with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell before he decided to stay where he is. I don't know if this was specifically an issue for Matt Campbell, but I have been told that the uncertainty of the Matthew Stafford situation has had an effect on the way prospective candidates view the Detroit job. It's possible the team will look to trade Stafford this offseason and move on to an uncertain future at the QB position.

As for Dan Campbell, yes, I was told he impressed the Lions very much in his interview on Monday. Detroit will have to play the waiting game until the Saints get eliminated from the playoffs.

Is Bieniemy's only shot in Philly?

With three head-coaching jobs officially filled, there's a growing belief that Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who'd been thought to be the most obvious candidate to get a job this cycle, could be shut out again. It doesn't sound as if he's the guy in Detroit. We know Houston angered its franchise quarterback by not interviewing Bienemy during Kansas City's bye week. (The Texans now can't interview him until after the Chiefs' season ends.) It's possible he's in the mix for the Chargers job, but there's also a lot of buzz about Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for that job.

So that would leave the Eagles, and while the organization's strong relationship with former coach Andy Reid is likely to draw a strong recommendation, Philadelphia already is eyeing other candidates. Sources say Brady and Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley are both on the Eagles' list. And while many believe it might be too soon for those first-time offensive coordinators to ascend to head-coaching jobs, the Eagles are of the mind that it's better to grab a guy a year too early than a year too late if you believe in him.

One other note on the Eagles: Don't ignore the Lincoln Riley chatter. We have been told that team owner Jeffrey Lurie is a big fan of Riley's and remains very interested in trying to lure him away from Oklahoma into the pros. What we don't know is whether Riley is seriously interested.

Why things are trending to make the NFL look bad -- again

To the point about Bieniemy, there's growing frustration in coaching circles that Black coaches will be shut out of the head-coaching cycle altogether for the second straight year. Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has an outside chance in Philly and former Lions coach Jim Caldwell and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will be given a legitimate chance in Houston (Frazier's interview is Sunday). But doors are shutting. And Daboll will most likely occupy one of those final three spots. Bieniemy is not getting any leads that he's a finalist anywhere. The whole thing could prove messy.

This would be a bad look for the league after Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, spent basically the entire offseason promising improvement in this area. The general manager hires have reflected increased diversity, but so far Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, is the only minority candidate who has scored a head-coaching job in this cycle.

A few more things we heard this week

- We spoke to someone close to recently fired Eagles coach Doug Pederson who said it wouldn't surprise to see him take a year off and reengage for a head-coaching job in 2022. He'd still be open to opportunities this year if they arise but is comfortable waiting, too. After all, it was a loooong year in Philly. And the Eagles are still paying him.

- The Dolphins are taking a hard look at Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada. He has a real shot at the job. Canada spent several years in the college ranks -- he was the offensive coordinator at Maryland, LSU, Pittsburgh, NC State and Wisconsin, among other schools -- before landing in the NFL last year. (Note: As of Saturday afternoon, Canada was expected to stay with the Steelers and get promoted to offensive coordinator.)

- With Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith taking the Atlanta job, he's targeting Chicago Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone to be his offensive coordinator. Ragone was with Chicago for five years.

- Matt LaFleur has the Packers in the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons as a head coach after just one as a playcalling offensive coordinator in Tennessee. Sources say that LaFleur's brother, Mike, is likely to end up as Robert Saleh's offensive coordinator with the Jets. Mike is the 49ers' passing game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan, but as was the case with Matt when he worked under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, that's not a role that asks him to call plays. A chance to run his own offense under Saleh could set Mike on the same path his brother took to eventually becoming an NFL head coach.

- The 49ers had two coveted coordinators on offense in LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, who will have options. He's in the mix for Miami's offensive coordinator, and there's a belief Shanahan will give McDaniel the full OC title now that LaFleur is likely moving on.

- Inexperienced offensive coordinators getting head-coaching jobs can often mean luring a veteran defensive coordinator to come with them. That's what McVay did when he got the Rams job and hired Wade Phillips to run his defense. Phillips is still out there, and he actually tweeted Friday that he wanted to "retire from retirement." Another name I've heard is that of former Panthers and Texans coach Dom Capers, who spent this year as a senior defensive assistant on the Vikings' staff.