Lions' Teryl Austin among top minority head coach candidates, foundation chair says
The architect of the Detroit Lions defense that just shut down Drew Brees and the Saints' offense in New Orleans is on the short list of prospective head coaching candidates compiled by the organization that promotes diversity and equality in hiring for top NFL jobs.
John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is among the foundation’s top candidates this year, along with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, Arizona Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin and Minnesota Vikings DC George Edwards.
The foundation’s annual December meeting with NFL officials to discuss this year’s hiring process is scheduled in a couple weeks, Wooten said. Under the so-called Rooney Rule, NFL teams are required to interview at least one minority candidate before filling head coach and top personnel openings.
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Austin, 51, also was high on the foundation’s list last year, and he interviewed in January for vacancies with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans. The Lions’ recent improvement on defense – evidenced Sunday by Brees’ first home game without a TD pass since 2009 in a 28-13 upset of the Saints – can’t hurt his cause.
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Lynn, 47, interviewed in January with the Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers and now has experience as a coordinator, having taken over for Greg Roman with the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 this year. Goodwin interviewed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ opening in January. But the only minority candidate hired in the last cycle was Hue Jackson with the Browns, keeping the number at just five minority head coaches out of 32 jobs because the Bucs fired Lovie Smith.
Goodwin and Edwards, 49, work under head coaches who call the plays for their units. But they come highly recommended by Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, respectively, according to Wooten, the longtime Dallas Cowboys executive who compares their situations to Dan Reeves’ work in the 1970s under hall of fame coach Tom Landry.
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With Zimmer ailing, Edwards called the Vikings’ defensive plays in Thursday’s 17-15 loss to the high-powered Dallas Cowboys, who posted their lowest point total of the season despite Minnesota’s struggles on special teams and offense.
The foundation’s short list for general manager candidates includes New York Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, Oakland Raiders director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, former Detroit Lions GM Martin Mayhew (now the Giants’ director of football operations/special projects) and Philadelphia Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown, Wooten said.
No head coaches or GMs have been fired yet this season – a shift from 2015, when two head coaches (Joe Philbin in Miami and Ken Whisenhunt in Tennessee) were fired by the season’s midpoint and Mayhew was ousted in Detroit in November.
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.
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