Eagles' OC Search: Competition Is Fierce, Urgency Picking Up

If the Eagles are interested in Brian Daboll or Mike McDaniel as many believe, it won't be easy to get a deal done. Contingencies are in play.

Aug 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard watches the action against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles may want to stay calm and measured in their offensive coordinator search. However, that might not be a realistic path with the urgency picking up outside of Philadelphia in the wake of a 10th head coach being fired.

On Monday morning, Buffalo moved on from long-time mentor Sean McDermott after another playoff disappointment in a divisional round loss at Denver.

On the surface, McDermott, a former Eagles’ defensive coordinator, hitting the market is not all that relevant to what’s going on in Philadelphia but there is a Butterfly Effect.

Peel back the onion a bit, and the immediate reaction is that the Bills will look to the offensive side of the football next to better take advantage of the remaining shelf life of superstar quarterback Josh Allen.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini immediately reported that Buffalo could be interested in a reunion with Brian Daboll, who made his head-coaching bones with Allen in Buffalo before getting the big chair with the New York Giants.

Many around the NFL believe Daboll is a top target for the Eagles, so you can see how quickly things can shift dramatically.

Contrary to popular belief, the Eagles don’t leak, but perception in the league is that Daboll and former Miami coach Mike McDaniel would be the top two choices for Philadelphia to be its next OC.

McDaniel is doing a layered tour, interviewing both for head-coaching jobs and OC gigs. On Monday, the wiz kid met with Tom Brady and the Las Vegas brass about the Raiders’ top job.

There was some good news on the McDaniel front when the Detroit Lions hired ex-Arizona offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to be their new offensive chief on Monday. 

Because of their skill-position talent, Detroit was one of the more coveted jobs for the high-profield OC candidates.

However, if McDaniel doesn’t get a head-coaching job moving forward , many believe Tampa Bay would be his top spot for its location, the talent on hand and a potential heir apparent path after current head coach Todd Bowles.

The New Faces

Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Eagles, meanwhile, added 2025 Bucs OC Josh Grizzard to their interview lost Monday, along with former Houston OC Bobby Slowik to the wish list after he spent the past year under McDaniel in Miami.

Those two names have the feel of contingencies for the Eagles.

To date Philadelphia has had confirmed interviews with former Atlanta OC Zac Robinson, former Giants OC and interim coach Mike Kafka, Indianapolis OC Jim Bob Cooter, and Grizzard.

The Eagles want to talk with Daboll, who's getting significant interest from the LA Chargers as an OC, McDaniel, Slowik and LSU OC Charlie Weis Jr.

On the head-coaching front, one team moved on Martin Luther King Day with the Dolphins settling on former Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach.

That was of little surprise after Miami brought in former Packers exec Jon-Eric Sullivan to be its new General Manager on Jan. 9.

That's the third head-coaching decision made after the Giants tabbed former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the Atlanta Falcons went with ex-Browns coach Kevin Stefanski.

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