With the Jacksonville Jaguars (Urban Meyer), New York Jets (Robert Saleh), Atlanta Falcons (Arthur Smith) and Detroit Lions (Dan Campbell) each wrapping up their coaching searches this week, just three NFL openings remain — the Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans.
That number could soon shrink to two, as the Chargers appear poised to make Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll their next head coach. He would be replacing Anthony Lynn (another Buffalo alum), who amassed 33 wins (.516 winning percentage) and a single playoff appearance over his four-year tenure in Los Angeles.
Though an official announcement will have to wait until Buffalo is eliminated from the postseason, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter characterizes Daboll as the “favorite” to land the Chargers’ vacant head coaching seat, while Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register agrees Daboll has emerged as the clear “front-runner” to succeed Lynn in Los Angeles.
The Bills are getting set to play the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night in the AFC Divisional Round at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park.
Daboll, who has held his current position with Buffalo since 2018, has rubbed shoulders with some of the most-respected coaches in football, including Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. The 45-year-old held various responsibilities over his two stints in New England (defensive assistant, wide receivers coach and tight ends coach) and served as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Crimson Tide during Alabama’s title run in 2017.
Daboll, who also interviewed for the Jets’ job before they settled on former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, has ties to Chargers general manager Tom Telesco. Daboll and Telesco were former classmates at Saint Francis High School in suburban Buffalo.
Other candidates for the Chargers’ head coaching job includes Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Neither have prior head coaching experience.
In particular, Daboll has been lauded for his work with quarterback Josh Allen, elevating the third-year quarterback to All-Pro status. In Los Angeles, Daboll would be tasked with mentoring quarterback Justin Herbert, who set multiple rookie records in his rookie 2020 campaign.
Among internal options for the Bills to replace Daboll as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey and wide receivers coach Chad Hall would be the logical candidates.
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The Bills offensive coordinator cannot officially take the job until his 2020 season is over in Buffalo