The NFL coaching carousel kicked off Monday, with seven teams — the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans — searching for new head coaches.
As franchises look to fill their vacant coaching positions, here’s a breakdown of the NFL’s formal interview process and the rules that dictate how and when teams can contact candidates.
Initial interview rules and timeline
(Jeremy Guerin / The Athletic)
NFL teams got the green light to start scheduling initial interviews with coaching candidates on Monday, Jan. 5. But there’s a major caveat: Until the divisional round of the playoffs is completed, all of those meetings must be held virtually. These guidelines do not apply to candidates who aren’t currently employed by NFL franchises.
A coach whose team has already been eliminated from the postseason cannot participate in virtual interviews until three days after their team’s Week 18 season finale. A coach whose team is in the playoffs but received a wild-card bye can also begin participating in virtual interviews three days after their Week 18 game, but all such meetings must be completed before the wild-card games conclude.
A coach whose team is playing in the wild-card round can participate in initial interviews three days after their team’s wild-card matchup. Likewise, these meetings must take place before the end of the divisional round. Once the divisional round concludes, teams can begin holding in-person interviews, but only with candidates whose seasons have already ended.
Teams cannot schedule initial interviews with candidates employed by AFC or NFC Championship participants until the end of the employer team’s season, and the employer teams cannot voluntarily grant permission to their coaches to participate in interviews.
During the bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, franchises can schedule virtual or in-person interviews with coaches competing in the Super Bowl. Teams conducting these interviews must notify the candidates’ employer teams. Once Super Bowl week begins, interested teams must wait until the day after the Super Bowl to resume any contact with these candidates.
The Rooney Rule
NFL franchises must also follow the Rooney Rule in their hiring processes for head coach, general manager and executive positions. In coaching searches, teams must hold an in-person interview with at least two external candidates who are minorities and/or women. Virtual interviews do not qualify under the Rooney Rule.
Introduced in 2003 and named after Art Rooney, the former Pittsburgh Steelers owner and chairman of the NFL’s Workplace Diversity Committee, the rule was established to increase diversity among team leadership.