The coaching carousel is still going round, with the Patriots being first off the board with the hiring of Mike Vrabel on Sunday. The Jets, Bears, Raiders, Saints and Jaguars are still interviewing candidates, while Mike McCarthy is out as the Cowboys’ head coach. Team owner Jerry Jones isn’t wasting time finding his replacement, either. By Monday night, he had reportedly spoken with Colorado coach Deion Sanders about the position. And the Cowboys are scheduled to interview former Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Eagles coordinator Kellen Moore Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein confirmed.

    Follow along with Yahoo Sports as we track the latest coaching news and look toward the divisional round.

    Speaking of playoffs …

    NFL wild-card Sunday ended with a bang — or rather, a doink — as the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became the only wild-card team over the weekend to win on the road.

    Technically the Los Angeles Rams were the home team in their relocated Arizona game, and they handily beat the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

    So the Rams, Texans, Ravens, Bills and Eagles all advanced to the divisional round, ending the seasons of the Chargers, Steelers, Broncos, Packers and Vikings, respectively.

    Here’s a look at this weekend’s divisional-round matchups:

    Saturday, Jan. 18

    Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans: 4:30 p.m. ET

    Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders: 8 p.m. ET

    Sunday, Jan. 19

    Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 3 p.m. ET

    Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens: 6 p.m. ET

    Live45 updates

    • Building an upset case for all 4 divisional round underdogs

      One of the greatest sports weekends of the year is here to get us going in 2025. The NFL divisional round features teams with either a playoff win under their belt (for the first time in two decades for the Commanders) or are coming off a well-earned bye week as the No. 1 seed.

      While the divisional round is surely going to feature the league’s best going at it and emptying their respective playbooks, three of the games feature bigger spreads than we commonly get divisional weekend; the Houston Texans are 8.5-point underdogs, while the Commanders are 9-point underdogs and the Rams 6.

      For this week’s Football 301 Playbook, I’m going to preview each divisional round matchup — but with the angle of how an upset could happen for the underdogs (plus the Buffalo Bills, who are currently 1-point home dogs to the Baltimore Ravens).

      Read the full breakdown here.

    • Important context for the Cowboys’ coaching search

      On Jan. 17, 2006, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones lost.

      They didn’t lose a playoff game; their Bill Parcells-coached team had won just nine games that season and failed to advance to the playoffs.

      Instead, the Cowboys lost their assistant head coach and passing game coordinator when the New Orleans Saints reached a deal to hire Sean Payton as head coach.

      At the moment, Dallas still had a Hall of Fame head coach in Parcells in the building. Letting a masterful offensive mind out the door was disappointing but not devastating. But as the years elapsed, and Payton developed the Saints into one of the winningest teams in football and a Super Bowl champion, Jones never forgot the one that got away.

      Keep that in mind when assessing the Cowboys’ search for their next head coach.

      Read more here.

    • Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury delays head coach interviews until playoff run is finished

      Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury wants to focus on his team’s divisional playoff matchup versus the Lions on Saturday. As a result, any team that wants to interview him for a head coaching vacancy will have to wait.

      The Bears and Saints have requested permission to interview Kingsbury. And the Jaguars may also make a request, according to Pro Football Talk.

      However, Kingsbury is still being paid by the Cardinals, who fired him after the 2023 season with four years remaining on his contract. So jumping to another head coaching job isn’t urgent from a financial standpoint.

    • Ravens OC Todd Monken will reportedly interview with Jaguars and Bears in the coming days for head coach vacancy

      Ahead of Baltimore’s divisional round matchup against the Buffalo Bills this weekend, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is getting in a few head coach interviews. Monken will reportedly interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night and the Chicago Bears on Friday, per Albert Breer.

    • Zay Flowers misses Ravens practice (again) with knee injury

      For the second day in a row, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers did not practice on Thursday. Per multiple reports, Flowers was the only Raven who did not hit the practice field on Thursday.

      Flowers, who suffered a knee injury in Week 18, missed out on Baltimore’s Wild Card win over the Steelers, and looks poised to miss out on the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills this weekend. Playing without their Pro Bowl receiver will a tough blow for the Ravens, who have to travel to play a red-hot Buffalo team away.

    • Eagles OC Kellen Moore to speak to Cowboys

      Moore is in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles, and has familiarity with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys after playing there for three seasons and then serving as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2018-2022.

      Moore has been requested to be interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints.

    • Busy weekend coming up for Brian Flores

    • Jets to interview Texans’ OC Bobby Slowik on Thursday

      The Texans are currently preparing for Saturday’s Divisional Round game against the Kansas City Chiefs, so Slowik’s interview will be done virtually.

      The Jets have already spoke to Aaron Glenn, Matt Nagy, Rex Ryan, Ron Rivera, and Steve Spagnuolo, among others so far in their search for a new head coach.

    • Jags interview Liam Coen

      The Jaguars announced late on Wednesday night that they have completed an interview with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen for their top job.

      Coen spent this past season with the Bucs, and was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2022. He held the same position at Kentucky in both 2021 and 2023.

    • Report: Cowboys request to speak with Seahawks assistant Leslie Frazier

      From ESPN’s Todd Archer on the Cowboys’ head coaching search:

    • Mike McCarthy’s interview is complete

      The Bears’ interview with Mike McCarthy is officially over. McCarthy flew to the Chicagoland area meet the Bears on Wednesday, just two days after he split with the Dallas Cowboys. It was the team’s second in-person interview.

    • Ravens bring back WR Diontae Johnson on waivers

      Diontae Johnson has been claimed on waivers by the Baltimore Ravens one day after he parted ways with the Houston Texans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

      Johnson joined the Texans on Dec. 26 after being waived by the Ravens. He played one regular season game and one playoff game for Houston, recording three receptions for 24 yards in those two games.

      “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. “We are onto the Chiefs.”

      Why would the Ravens bring Johnson back, especially if he’s ineligible to play again this season? Johnson cannot technically join Baltimore until after the Super Bowl and since he’s an unrestricted free agent this offseason he can potentially earn the Ravens an extra draft pick in 2026 if he signs with another team through the NFL’s compensatory pick formula.

      Read more here.

      HOUSTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 25: Wide receiver Diontae Johnson #18 of the Houston Texans stands on the sidelines during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)HOUSTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 25: Wide receiver Diontae Johnson #18 of the Houston Texans stands on the sidelines during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

      HOUSTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 25: Wide receiver Diontae Johnson #18 of the Houston Texans stands on the sidelines during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

    • Does Bill Belichick’s recent hire at UNC end the return to NFL talk?

    • Zay Flowers did not practice with the Ravens on Wednesday, signaling questionable status

      The Baltimore Ravens might be without a major player this weekend as they face the Buffalo Bills, with receiver Zay Flowers missing practice again this week. Flowers, who has been out since suffering a knee injury in Week 18, reportedly did not practice on Wednesday, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec.

      Although the chances of Flowers playing on Sunday had been somewhat slim, his absence on Wednesday is not a great sign for his potential return. If Flowers is healthy by this weekend, it will be a major boost for the Ravens when they travel to Buffalo; if not, Baltimore may have to adjust without their leading receiver, just like it did in the team’s win over the Steelers last weekend.

    • Eagles ban fan who verbally assaulted female Packers fan in viral video

      The Philadelphia Eagles have reportedly banned the fan whose verbal assault of a female Packers fan went viral last weekend, per multiple reports.

      The Packers fan and her fiancé, who posted the video on social media, told NBC Philadelphia that the interaction with the Eagles fan had started off relatively playful but that his comments got increasingly worse. The Eagles won the game 22-10 and advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs.

      The fan has been reportedly banned from future Eagles games, while the Philadelphia organization will send Packers merchandise to the fan as an apology for the incident. The consulting firm where the fan worked, BCT Partners, posted a social media statement on Tuesday saying that they had fired him from his job.

    • Bears interviewing Mike McCarthy in person on Wednesday

      Mike McCarthy will be the Bears’ second in-person interview, and it seems they’re rolling out the red carpet for the former Cowboys coach, per ESPN.

    • Cowboys will interview Robert Saleh for Mike McCarthy’s old job

      Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh is drawing quite a bit of interest from teams with vacant head coach jobs. The latest team? The Cowboys, who parted ways with Mike McCarthy on Monday.

      Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein reported that the Cowboys will be interviewing Saleh soon, though no time has been set just yet. The Raiders and Jaguars also reportedly have interest in Saleh.

    • Jared Goff is impressed with Jayden Daniels’ rookie season

      This weekend, the Detroit Lions will take on the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round. Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been scoping out the competition — Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels — and has been impressed by what he’s seen this year.

      When asked about the Commanders’ rookie quarterback in a press conference on Tuesday, Goff said that he found Daniels’ success in his rookie year “extremely impressive.”

      “Very impressive for anyone that young to do what he’s doing,” Goff said. “(It) doesn’t look like he is a rookie, it doesn’t look like he feels like a rookie. It feels like he understands the moment and is comfortable in it, and our job on defense is to try to make him uncomfortable. It’s been a challenge for a lot of teams this year, but I’m excited to see what they do.”

    • Matt LaFleur “concerned” about Romeo Doubs suffering his second concussion

      Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs suffered a head injury during Green Bay’s wild card loss this weekend — his second concussion this season, just weeks after returning to the field.

      During a postseason press conference on Tuesday, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that he was “concerned” about Doubs’ health moving forward.

      “I’m concerned, absolutely,” LaFleur told reporters. “But I haven’t talked to our medical people. I haven’t sat down with them about whether there’s long-term concern, but anytime a guy gets two concussions, I can’t help but be concerned by that.”

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