SEATTLE — After an extensive round of first interviews, the Seahawks reportedly have not whittled down their final list of candidates to replace Pete Carroll as head coach much.
Seattle is setting up second interviews with at least five candidates, the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Sunday citing league sources.
Carolina Panthers Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero, Las Vegas Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, New York Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka, Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris and Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn all will be getting second interviews, per Pelissero.
Evero has a unique backstory, having been born in England and never playing a regular-season down of football at the professional level. He has worked his way up through the coaching ranks from the University of California, Davis to running the Panthers' defense in 2023. Despite the team's 2-15 record, Evero's Carolina defense ranked tied for 15th in Pro Football Focus' year-end grades.
The Seahawks are not the only team interested in Evero, as both the Panthers and Atlanta Falcons plan to conduct a second interview with the 43-year-old coach.
Graham also interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancy and has drawn some strong interest due to the Raiders' strong defense over the latter half of the 2023 season. If he does not get offered a head coaching role from another NFL team, reports indicate the Raiders would like to keep him on staff under new head coach Antonio Pierce.
Kafka first interviewed with the Seahawks on Friday, according to The Seattle Times' Bob Condotta. He has spoken with the Seahawks before, having interviewed for the offensive coordinator vacancy back in 2021 that eventually went to Shane Waldron. Kafka also spoke with the Tennessee Titans about their opening as head coach. The Giants averaged just 15.6 points per game in 2023 (30th out of 32 NFL teams).
Morris will be having second interviews for head coaching positions with Atlanta, Carolina and the Washington Commanders as well as the Seahawks this upcoming week. Les Snead, Morris' current general manager with the Rams, led off a recent press conference with a three-minute monologue about why he feels Morris is worthy of being an NFL head coach.
Quinn was the first name mentioned as a replacement for Carroll given his two previous stints on the Seahawks' coaching staff and his relative success in his first head coaching role with the Falcons. However, Quinn has become a somewhat unpopular choice among many Seahawks fans given the Cowboys' deflating playoff loss in which Quinn's defense surrendered 41 points at home.
The Titans and Commanders also will be holding second interviews with Quinn for their respective head coaching vacancies this week, per NFL Network reports. Quinn did lead the Falcons to an appearance in a Super Bowl and helped Matt Ryan win an NFL MVP.
Pelissero mentioned that other names could be included in the coming days for second interviews. Mike Vrabel's name has yet to be attached to any concrete report about an interview with the Seahawks, despite several reports that there is mutual interest. The former Titans head coach has interviewed with a few teams around the league.
Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik was a late addition to the Seahawks' first round of interviews, meeting with the team on Sunday. He could be added to the second interview group in the next day or two.
With so many candidates still in the running, don't be surprised if a new head coach isn't named by the Seahawks in the next week.
