Seahawks Head Coach Interview Tracker

Due to his close relationship with general manager John Schneider dating back to 2010, Quinn unsurprisingly emerged as the early favorite after news broke of Carroll being ousted as coach. Bringing him on board would undoubtedly be a popular pick with players. But the Seahawks will have competition for his services, as the Chargers, Commanders, Panthers, and Titans also reportedly have requested for interviews with him. Per Albert Breer of SI.com, he will meet with the Seahawks on Thursday, while the Panthers have scheduled to speak with him on Wednesday.

Frank Smith, Dolphins Offensive Coordinator

Offering a far different background than most of the sought after candidates in this year's coaching cycle, Smith cut his teeth as an assistant offensive line coach with the Saints, who finished with the third-fewest sacks in the NFL during five seasons with the organization. After serving as a tight end coach for the Bears and Raiders in separate tours, he took over as the Chargers run game coordinator and offensive line coach in 2021, coaching a unit that gave up the sixth-fewest sacks in the league that year.

Smith took his talents to Miami as part of coach Mike McDaniel's staff starting in 2022 and played a vital role in the Dolphins offensive resurgence. Taking advantage of his run game and offensive line background, the team improved to sixth in rushing yards and first in rushing touchdowns in 2023 under his watch. Teams will have questions about his play calling background after McDaniel handled those duties the past two years, but his track record of success developing quality offensive lines will be appealing to teams such as the Seahawks, who NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported had requested for an interview.

Ejiro Evero, Panthers Defensive Coordinator

One of the hottest young coaches on the market, Evero's lone season in Carolina proved to be a mixed bag. On one hand, the Panthers finished 29th in scoring defense, yielding 24.5 points per game. But a terrible offense significantly factored into that number and the unit ranked fourth in total yardage allowed, indicating they were far better than scoring numbers suggested. Only two years ago, the Broncos ranked seventh in yards allowed and 14th in scoring defense with him as the defensive coordinator, showing plenty of promise in his first season as a play caller.

Formerly serving as a defensive pass game coordinator for the Rams when they won the Super Bowl in 2021, Evero already has kicked off his interview circuit, interviewing with the Panthers for their vacancy as well as the Falcons. With the Seahawks eyeing him as a potential option to spruce up their struggling defense in a return to the NFC West, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the team has an interview scheduled with the 43-year old assistant on Wednesday.

Raheem Morris, Rams Defensive Coordinator

On only one occasion as a head coach or defensive coordinator - the 2010 Buccaneers - has one of Morris' teams finished in the top 10 in scoring defense, which could lead to some hesitation from teams about his candidacy. Even in the Rams' Super Bowl year in 2021, the team finished in the middle of the pack with a 15th ranked scoring defense. But he deserves major kudos for what he accomplished in Los Angeles this season after the team lost a number of stars and replaced them with unproven youngsters, steering them to a 19th overall ranking in scoring defense.

Now 47 years old, Morris hasn't been a head coach for more than a decade when he held the title in Tampa Bay. But his experience working under Quinn and Rams coach Sean McVay should bolster his chances of receiving a second opportunity. Looking into the prospects of stealing from a division rival with the goal of improving one of the NFL's worst defenses, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks requested an interview with him for their head coaching vacancy and he's expected to meet with them via Zoom this week along with the Panthers and Commanders.

Mike Kafka, Giants Offensive Coordinator

Though Kafka most recently served as the play caller for New York the past two seasons on Brian Daboll's staff, his name has been on the radar as a head coaching candidate in large part due to his previous stint as quarterback coach and passing game coordinator in Kansas City, where he oversaw Patrick Mahomes development into a superstar early in his NFL career. While the 2023 season wound up being a disaster for the Giants offense with three different quarterbacks taking snaps, the team did make the playoffs one year earlier behind an improved Daniel Jones and finished 16th in scoring offense, which now looks even better considering circumstances.

Only 36 years old, Kafka has already interviewed with the Titans for their vacancy to replace Mike Vrabel and per Schefter, the Seahawks have placed a request to interview him. Given his past experience working as a quarterback coach under one of the best coaches in the league in Reid, the organization likely is intrigued by that background to potentially to pair him with Geno Smith and/or an incoming rookie signal caller.

Patrick Graham, Raiders Defensive Coordinator

A disciple from Bill Belichick's coaching tree in New England, Graham worked his way up the coaching ladder serving multiple roles for the Patriots, including linebacker and defensive line coach. Joining the Dolphins on Brian Flores' staff in 2019, he endured a difficult first season as a defensive coordinator with the team finishing dead last in scoring defense. However, his second opportunity went somewhat better with the Giants, who finished ninth in scoring defense in 2020 before regressing the following season. After the Raiders struggled on defense in his first season as coordinator in 2022, the team improved dramatically this season, allowing fewer than 20 points in six of their final nine games after Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach.

Spending brief stints as a coordinator with three different teams, Graham has had inconsistent results. However, he's been lauded for his football acumen and leadership skills, which would serve him well as a first-time head coach. After interviewing with the Chargers for their vacancy, per Pelissero, the Seahawks have requested an interview with him as a potential successor to Carroll.