Jaguars narrowing down list of head coaching candidates

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ search for a head coach continues. After meeting with several candidates for the position over the last couple of weeks, the Jags are going to soon start the second round of interviews. Also, it seems like they’ve scratched one option off their list.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports the Jaguars are going to conduct a second interview with Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Moreover, insider Mike Garapolo appeared on NFL Now and says he’s not “getting that vibe” that Alabama offensive line coach and former Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien is will be Jacksonville’s option.

Eberflus is coming off his fourth season as Indy’s defensive coordinator. His unit has ranked in the top ten in points allowed in three of the last four years. It’s also been top ten in take away every year since he took over. On the other hand, O’Brien became Alabama’s offensive line coach after getting fired by the Texans four games into the 2020 season. During his eight-year tenure, Houston made the playoffs four times and won the AFC South the same number of times.

The Jaguars aren’t rushing their head coaching search.

Eberflus is one of two defensive coordinators that met with the Jags in their first round of interviews, the other one being Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As of this writing, there are no indications Eberflus is the favorite to land the job. He just happens not to be busy since the Colts were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 18, you might recall that game. The Dallas Cowboys have also been knocked out of the postseason by the San Francisco 49ers, so the Jags can request permission to meet with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as soon as they please.

Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, two of the candidates on the Jags’ list, are also available since they aren’t currently employed by an NFL team, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Jags arrange a second meeting if they are interested in their services. As soon as others are free to interview, Jacksonville can schedule another sitdown.

Ebeflus’ second interview was the first one to be announced but it won’t be the last one. Make sure to bookmark this page or B&T’s head coaching tracker (with updates) to stay up to date with all things related to the Jaguars’ head coaching search. Also, click here’s for a ranking of all the candidates for the position.