Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has not been short of interest in the head coach and will almost certainly be in demand next year, but remains with the Buffalo for 2021, sources said. This is due at least in part to the quirks of the NFL hiring rules and the Bills’ long playoff streak.
The Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson more than a week after the regular season ended, missing the window to conduct initial interviews with assistant coaches involved in the Wild Card round. Daboll was an important name on the team’s roster, sources said, but they were unable to secure an interview because Bills denied them permission to speak to Daboll during the week. last, sources said, as did their right in the process. The Eagles reached out to a Bills official very late last week, seeking to set up an interview with Daboll on short notice, but did not submit an official request form.
The Bills allowed the Texans to interview defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier last Sunday after their victory over Baltimore in the divisional round, as the Texans submitted the request days before the game, giving Buffalo ample time to plan it around. of their playoff planning schedule. . The owners can make exceptions so that certain maintenance takes place outside the normal regulations in force. The chiefs also allowed offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to speak with the Texans last week, which they could have blocked had they wanted.
The Eagles continued their process last week and came away very impressed with Colts assistant Nick Sirianni, who is very close to former Eagles coach Frank Reich; Reich is held in the highest regard by the Philadelphia brass for his previous work with Carson Wentz. The nine-person Philadelphia search committee chose to offer the job to Sirianni last week, making him the team’s head coach. They should have waited until Bills had faced the Chiefs in an attempt to speak to Daboll during a period that would normally be reserved for the second talks.
Sources said the Eagles were unsure whether they could have interviewed Daboll if the Bills had been brought forward to the Super Bowl, given that it would not be a second interview. The Bills told the Eagles that Daboll would be allowed to speak to them “when the season is over,” sources said. With head coach Sean McDermott, a former defensive coordinator with expertise on that side of the ball, the Eagles search committee figured out why Frazier might be allowed to interview and Daboll was not.
There remains a head coach opening, in Houston, and Daboll is not a candidate for that at the moment, sources said. He was on the original slate before GM Nick Caserio was hired, sources say, but that search went in a different direction once quarterback Deshaun Watson’s dissatisfaction with the process turned national reporting, which continued to dominate. the NFL headlines. The Texans are expected to request a second interview with Frazier following the conclusion of the Bills game today.
