Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll had no shortage of head coaching interest, and will almost certainly be in demand next year as well, but is staying with the Buffalo for 2021, sources said. That is due at least in part to the quirks of the NFL's hiring rules, and the Bills' long playoff run.
The Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson over a week after the regular season concluded, missing out on the window to conduct initial interviews with assistant coaches involved in the Wild Card round. Daboll was a prominent name on the team's list, sources said, but they were unable to secure an interview because the Bills denied them permission to speak to Daboll last week, sources said, as is their right under 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 a formal request form.
The Bills did grant permission to the Texans to interview defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier last Sunday following their victory over Baltimore in the Divisional Round, as the Texans had submitted that request days ahead of the game giving Buffalo ample time to schedule it around their playoff planning schedule. Owners can make exceptions for certain interviews to take place outside of the normal governing regulations. The Chiefs also granted permission for offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to interview with the Texans last week, which they could have blocked had they desired.
The Eagles continued their process last week and came away very impressed by Colts assistant Nick Sirianni, who is very close to former Eagles coach Frank Reich; Reich is held in very high regard by the Philadelphia brass for his prior work with Carson Wentz. Philadelphia's nine-person search committee opted to offer the job to Sirianni last week making him the team's head coach. They would have had to wait until after the Bills faced the Chiefs to attempt to speak to Daboll during a period that would normally be reserved for second interviews.
Sources said the Eagles remained unsure if they could have definitely interviewed Daboll had the Bills advanced to the Super Bowl, given that it wouldn't be a second interview. The Bills conveyed to the Eagles that Daboll would be granted permission to speak to them "when the season was over," sources said. With head coach Sean McDermott a former defensive coordinator with expertise on that side of the ball, the Eagles search committee understood why Frazier might be granted permission to interview and Daboll was not.
There is one head coaching opening remaining, in Houston, and Daboll is not a candidate for that at this time, sources said. He was on the original list of candidates prior to the hiring of general manager Nick Caserio, sources said, but that search went in a different direction once work of quarterback Deshaun Watson's discontent with the process became a national news story, which has continued to dominate the NFL headlines. The Texans are expected to request a second interview with Frazier after the conclusion of the Bills game today.
