The Miami Dolphins have hired Adam Gase, which removes one vacancy. Gase already interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, and was reportedly on the New York Giants list of potential interview candidates. The Dolphins formally announced the hiring this morning.
The remaining openings include the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are all competing for a pool of candidates, but there is one name that connects the 49ers with one other team: Hue Jackson. The 49ers and Browns appear to be the only teams to request an interview with Jackson, with both interviews set for Sunday after the Bengals wild card round game. I believe the Browns get the first interview, based on earlier reports, but we'll see what happens on Sunday.
The Browns fired Mike Pettine shortly after their season finale. They interviewed Gase, as well as Teryl Austin and Doug Marrone. They have the interviewed scheduled with Hue Jackson, and also scheduled to interview Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, and Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson. It sounds like they also have permission to interview Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, but there is no news on whether or not an interview has been scheduled.
It sounds like the Browns were going to bring in Gase for another interview, but the Dolphins pounced. It is not clear who their new favorite is. We can't base it on timing because the Jackson interview could not happen until the Bengals finished their game. I imagine information will leak later on Sunday as Jackson's interviews wrap up.
Today is an interesting day as we wait to see what happens with the Bengals playoff status. If they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, the wait is going to drag on. If the Bengals lose, this could resolve itself fairly quickly. Go Steelers!