NFL coaching carousel recap: Patriots, Seahawks among teams to make coaching changes

New England moved quickly to hire a replacement after parting with Bill Belichick on Thursday.

Eight NFL teams have made head-coaching changes this offseason. So far, only one vacancy — the New England Patriots — has already been filled.

Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay sticking with Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys received some good news Friday when vice president of player personnel Will McClay informed the franchise that he will not be interviewing for any other NFL general manager positions.

“I talked to a couple of people, but I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time,” McClay told DallasCowboys.com. “I am committed to being here. The commitment I made to my son and the organization. I’m going to roll with it. I have another year left on my contract.”

McClay has been a major factor in the team’s roster building, particularly in the draft. Since taking over the Cowboys’ draft, Dallas has selected standouts like RG Zack Martin, QB Dak Prescott, DE/LB Micah Parsons, WR CeeDee Lamb, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, CB Trevon Diggs, CB DaRon Bland and LG Tyler Smith.

“It’s something that comes up every year because obviously he’s a guy who does an amazing job for us,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “Obviously we think the world of Will. Always want him to be a Cowboy, but everything is always a work in progress.

“We’d love for Will to be here as long as we can keep him here.”

McClay is unlikely to be named the Cowboys’ general manager as long as owner and GM Jerry Jones is running the team. Stephen Jones was asked about that possibility Friday.

“I’m not into titles or anything like that,” he responded. “I’ve never been a title guy. We’re just going to keep doing what we do, it’s working.”

McClay had reportedly drawn interest from the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders.

“He’s very important to our operation, without a doubt,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “The most important thing you want as an organization when you know things are right is to build off the consistency. Very happy for Will personally, because I know the amount of work he puts into this. But this is obviously great for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Why Antonio Pierce’s Raiders case is different from Rich Bisaccia’s

Two years ago, the Las Vegas Raiders’ interim coach had the players’ support and waited for owner Mark Davis to go through the interview process before filling the full-time position.

“We went to the playoffs, and we all left the locker room that day thinking that he was going to get it,” one player said last week.

Well, we all know now that Rich Bisaccia did not get the job, with Davis instead opting to hire the duo of Josh McDaniels as head coach and Dave Ziegler as general manager. That obviously was a mistake, and here we are again, with Davis deciding whether he should rubber stamp interim coach Antonio Pierce after a 5-4 finish that was better than the record indicates.

The dozen players who remain from the 2021 roster are even louder in their support for Pierce, especially star players Maxx Crosby and Josh Jacobs. Crosby is even trying to get it trending on social media.

So, this raises the obvious question:

Why would Davis pick Pierce when he didn’t go with Bisaccia?

The difference starts with Jon Gruden and ends with Davis’ desire to return to the winning days and style of his late father, Al. The word “culture” is grossly overused in football circles these days, but the Raiders of the 1970s and ’80s had their own unique identity and customs.

Tafur: Why Antonio Pierce’s case to drop the interim tag is different from Rich Bisaccia’s

Commanders head-coaching candidates could boost case in playoffs

The Washington Commanders added another member to their head coach search committee. With seven candidates in the playoff bracket — and perhaps others yet to be revealed — having Adam Peters on board is ideal timing.

Peters has yet to sign a contract, but the soon-to-be former San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager agreed to terms to become the Commanders’ next general manager on Friday. Now, the personnel executive who came up the ranks scouting for Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots and the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos will have a significant say in Washington’s next coach.

“Thorough but rapid process” is how managing partner Josh Harris described his approach to these searches when the week began. As the first proper football week of the Harris era showed, he was not lying.

“I want to get the best talent here and then hold them accountable and work with them. What that person wants to do or not do is really important in our decision process,” Harris said at his Monday news conference. “Doesn’t mean that you are not involved in (the coaching search), but it means that, to a large extent, you’re relying on that person to bring a series of candidates to the table.”

Other than meeting with Harris and other search committee members in person, any remaining pivot points will come during the playoffs. Twelve of the 14 teams play Saturday through Monday. The top seeds in each conference, Baltimore and San Francisco, kick off the following week.

These games won’t represent the full scope of any evaluation, but making a solid final impression won’t hurt. The playoffs also put these coordinators and assistants in pressure-packed situations. Final choices are not always about game plans and play calling. Washington isn’t only searching for an offensive mind to mentor a rookie quarterback or a defensive leader. It wants a leader of men.

Here’s a look at what Commanders fans should ponder as they consider who should be the next head coach.

Mishandling of Mac Jones, QB position led to Bill Belichick’s demise

Bill Belichick’s failure to develop Mac Jones, both in mishandling him individually and in his inability to build an offensive environment conducive to a quarterback’s success, was the undoing of his tenure with the New England Patriots.

And Belichick’s string of decisions along the way — from the 2021 NFL Draft through Jones’ downfall and benching — was a microcosm of the coach’s chance to end his watch over the NFL’s greatest dynasty on his terms. The totality of his 24-season run in New England was unprecedented and might never be repeated, but his quarterback-related decisions over the past few years led to Thursday’s split.

Belichick’s struggles to build a playoff-worthy roster peaked with his mishandling of Jones, but there were related examples of missteps that had woven their way into the fabric of a team that had become largely uncompetitive with a 12-22 record over the past two seasons.

Lions OC Ben Johnson has the Commanders’ interest

While Washington is going to attack this search for a head coach with openness and flexibility, the Commanders are targeting Detroit’s Ben Johnson as their top choice, league sources said. Carolina is also hoping to land Johnson.

Inside a franchise-altering 25 hours for the Patriots

FOXBORO, Mass. — Robert Kraft took a long pause. He was standing in the massive auditorium at Gillette Stadium two hours after saying goodbye to the most successful head coach in NFL history in what he stressed was a “mutual parting.” Now, here he was contemplating how to answer a question about whether he had any reservations in the final moments before deciding to split with Bill Belichick.

He took a deep breath.

“That’s a good question,” Kraft said. “This is a results business, and certain things in life, it’s instinctual.”

So, no, there were no second thoughts or decisions made on a whim. Kraft hatched a plan for how this day would go — whenever it came. And it went largely as planned.

That’s how, over a franchise-altering 25 hours, the New England Patriots went from splitting with Belichick to making Jerod Mayo the 15th coach in team history.

This story, pieced together after speaking to several league sources who spoke under condition of anonymity, details how the Patriots moved so quickly from one coach to the next and why Kraft and his son Jonathan believe so wholeheartedly in Mayo that they didn’t deem a coaching search necessary.

Continue reading.

The Los Angeles Chargers are scheduled to interview Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham on Sunday for their general manager opening, according to a league source.

There is interest on both sides, and the Chargers now have a legitimate shot of landing one the