I'd like Gregg Williams to get the job but I don't mind Snyder interviewing as many people as possible... knowing that down the road he'll probably be hiring another head coach, rather than promoting Gregg Williams out-right.

It seems like Snyder is also waiting to interview assistant coaches of the 8 remaining teams, this could include New England Offensive Coordinator and perhaps Jim Caldwell of Indianapolis.

Even if he's inclined to go with Williams, I still like him taking some time to interview coaches... hey though, maybe a GM would be nice?!

i gregg williams had some sort of contract clause involving the HC position after gibbs? am i misremembering?

So if he got the job woud he keep Williams, who he replaced as defensive coordinator in Tennesse? Or would Wiliams go back to the Titans?

This is all very confusing. . .

2
i think g williams gets $1M bonus if he's not hired to be HC, plus whatever buyout is required in his contract.

After speaking to a Redskins official Tuesday morning, ESPN's Chris Mortensen said that contrary to earlier media reports, Williams does not have a clause in his contract that would pay him a bonus if he isn't named head coach.

(source linked in my name)

NO!!!!

I wanted SF to hire him next season.

Damn, Schwartz is younger than I thought. Had no idea. As a Colts fan I'd love to see him get a head coaching job in the NFC. He's a damn good DC and I think, despite Fisher's relative youth, it's time for his defensive-minded coaching tree to start blooming.

Rob Morris down? Well, I guess that broken leg he suffered at mid-season would make that the easiest position for him. Not sure where he puts the crutches.

I think Raheem Brock might not have enough sand in the bag to hold the NT position either. The Colts and maybe the Tampa Two might lack the size necessary to get the kind of push up the middle that your proposing.

So is Gregg Williams a terrible coach now? Did I miss something? Do the players hate playing for Gregg Williams? Why bother with this whole mess when you have TWO perfectly good candidates already on the staff in Williams and Al Saunders? Is this Tennessee guy worth the discontinuity the switch would cause?

Goddamnit. Maybe it is Williams' fault we let Antonio Pierce and Ryan Clark go, but at least we have LaRon Landry now. But it's a coaching miracle the Redskins made the playoffs this year. Changing coaches now would be as stupid as signing Mark Carrier, Deion Sanders, and Brandon Lloyd. I hate you, Dan Snyder. Ugh.

I'd still give Gregg Williams an advantage. This is the first time Snyder has conducted a real coaching search. I think he really does want to get experience interviewing coaches, I fully expect them to bring in 4 or 5 other candidates. I also expect them to interview Gregg Williams and think its his job to lose with a bad interview.

Maybe I'm too optimistic about the owner... but let's review.
Hire #1: Marty Schottenheimer on January 3. Snyder courted Parcells, Spurrier, and Butch Davis.
Hire #2: Steve Spurrier, immediately after firing Schottenheimer.
Hire #3: Joe Gibbs, January 7.

This week seems like the longest time that Snyder has gone without a coach. Hopefully he'll take a bit more time. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I just don't see this as being Snyder's typical MO.

Or by next Monday he'll have convinced Cohwer to come out of retirement by making it rain benjamins.

Re 1:
Josh McDaniels, the Pats OC, has already said that he's not interested in interviewing for any head coaching jobs this year.

Penrose,
No idea what Snyder is doing besides speculation... I'd think he'd at least want Williams to compete and interview other candidates to compare and contrast with at the very least.

It just feels like the right way to do this is not immediately give the HC position to Saunders and Williams, but at least make them earn it by wowing Snyder in interviews.

The Titans defense this year was the most cheap-shot, dirty play defense I have ever seen. It is obvious, when an entire defense plays with such poor sportsmanship and actively attempts to injure the other team that it is coached into them. This guy shouldn't be getting a job. He should be getting banned.

I'd basically given up on any real success for the Redskins under the Snyder regime, but I think Schwartz would be a shrewd hire. It would be the most (first?) forward-looking thing Snyder's done.

Washington is making a major mistake if it doesn't hire Williams. He knows the personnel, and he's earned the spot.

Gregg Williams was a bad HC when he was in Buffalo, and there's no reason to give him a new HC job.

i've heard schwartz is a fan of moneyball and thinks it could work in football. God knows the redskins need some one there who is a fan of using less of the salary cap. maybe snyder is thinking this too.

Christina,

Technically, Josh McDaniels said that he isn't interested in interviewing for any HC positions WHILE THE PATRIOTS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS. To my knowledge, his statement didn't rule out the idea of taking a promotion to HC AFTER the playoffs are over...

So is Gregg Williams a terrible coach now?

I was never a fan of him when he was in Buffalo. But certainly there are cases of coaches being much better their second time around (see Belichick, Bill). So he probably deserves another shot. But, based on his background, I'm sure there are people out there that do think he's a terrible coach. Certainly, he's not a slam-dunk better than someone like Schwartz...

How come no one goes for the Colts coordinators?

Re:#19

I don't think Peyton Manning has enough time to play for the Colts and coach another team.

The Colts offensive coordinator, Tom Moore, would have a job in a second if he were ten years younger, but he's 65...old for a first head coaching gig.

I imagine Ron Meeks doesn't get much credit, since it's Dungy running the defensive side of the ball.

I think he really does want to get experience interviewing coaches,

How hilariously bad a hiring process is it to interview a guy and then decide whom to hire as your head coach? I always laugh hysterically at reports that say, "Joe Goodtalker just absolutely blew us away in the interview, so we had to hire him immediately."

I've done a ton of hiring in my career and done all I can over the years to get better at it, but I'll tell you that hiring is a total crapshoot (that is, any hiring above the entry level, when all your looking for is smarts and work ethic).

If I were hiring a head coach, I'd do a lot of interviewing of his players, of his peer coaches and then I'd spend a ton of time with him in film study and then I'd ask him to give me and a small group a pregame and halftime pep talk, etc.. In short, I'd do a ton of situational role play where we'd try to simulate some of things a coach has to do.

Correlation b/t interviewing skills and head coaching ability is probably pretty close to zero.

Ditto on #16. Williams was horrendous as a HC and doesn't (to me) project with any sort of sunny optimism as a second-chancer.

I'm assuming since Snyder overpaid for assistants that a buyout of Williams won't be standing in anyone's way.

Is Schwartz still keen on bringing in Mike Leach to run the offense?

Response to #13

Did you see the Patriots this season?? Talk about cheap shot defenses, Vince Wilfork should have been suspended twice: Taking out JP Losman's knee and trying to poke Brandon Jacob's eye out... The bottom line is that this guys has led a top defense in Tennessee... Jeff Fisher is and excellent head coach, one of the best in the game, if this guy has learned from him, he is probably going to be a good head coach himself. I'm hoping for Bill Cowher in Washington, with Russ Grimm as option #2, Williams #3 and then possibly Schwartz as #4. Time will tell how this thing plays out, but what the Skins REALLY need is a GM so ditto to response Number 1 at the top!

why is this an EP? Oh, bc Schwartz is quoted on the back of PFP 2007? I see.

As a long-time Skins fan, I have to say their biggest problem since Gibbs has not been free agency (they have gotten value overall with a couple of glaring exceptions--they slightly overpaid for ARE, and Archuleta was a bust) but their trades. The pick for Portis was unnecessary (and they overvalued him) and the too-high pick for Brunell for starters. Brandon Lloyd for a 3rd and 4th rather than just a 4th was terrible, and the Duckett trade was even worse. If you give the Skins the three or four first day picks that those trades gave away needlessly, they might have been a true contender for the right to get slain by the Pats or Colts.

So if Schwartz understands all that--and the fact that Tennessee has basically built two strong teams under Fisher and his Moneyball credentials indicate he might, then I'm all for his hire--if he keeps Al Saunders.

But I think Williams gets the job, and I think he deserves another shot. Beyond that, after a team has gone through what they did with Sean Taylor, it would be very divisive to bring in an outsider.

So probably the best thing that could happen is that Dan gets religion from Jim Schwartz, and then hire Williams, who has learned from his Bills experience, and becomes a great coach.

Re 22:

I think interviewing for a head coaching job is a lot more involved. I believe they present their plans for how they feel the team should move forward, give player evaluations, etc.

#26:

Is it really that new to you that coaching rumors are linked as EPs? Happens this way every January, and FO's never shied away from saying it has favorites, hence regular derision of Deshaun Foster and Chris Chambers and mentioning here or there of Rock Cartwright or Schwartz. So FO's excited one of its favorites might get a head coaching job. It's not like they're the AP, expected not to play favorites. Where's the problem?