You want to interview my coach, when!? NFL coaches whose teams have performed well during the regular 16-game season are often in high demand from teams who haven’t performed well. Everyone from head coaches to offensive and defensive coordinators may be sought after by teams suffering from sub-par seasons. And, those teams that are perennial losers are the most aggressive seekers of new coaching talent.
NFL teams feel pressure to find coaches early in the year
However, because of the vagaries of the "calendar," the interview process is often squeezed into a few weeks following the regular season, and before the end of the last Playoff Game or Super Bowl.
There are rules governing when a coach of one team can interview for a job with another. For instance, no coaching interviews can take place before the end of the regular season. And, permission must be asked of the original team for an assistant, under contract, to interview with another NFL team for a lateral move. However, some of these rules seem counterintuitive and not conducive to achieving the ultimate organization and team goal of winning the Super Bowl! Counterintuitive to a fan like myself translates to common sense. It seems to me that if my team makes the playoffs, which can be a rare occurrence for some franchises, and certainly not guaranteed for any NFL teams, I do not want my assistant coaches distracted by interview opportunities for head coaching jobs with another NFL team in between playoff games or in a worst case scenario, before the Super Bowl itself!
Coaches under pressure to interview when they are asked
Yes, that’s right. According to SBNation, the NFL rules say that teams looking for talent can request, and almost always receive, permission to interview an assistant coach for a vertical move, say a head coaching job, during playoff season! The available time frames are: During a bye week at the start of the playoffs, after a Wild Card win, but before the divisional round game, and even after the conference game leading up to the Super Bowl, but not after the team has arrived in the Super Bowl city.
Job interviewing ahead of your biggest performance makes no sense
I get it, on the calendar this looks very efficient, but come on! Have you ever interviewed for a new job, a promotion, and one that could double your salary and change your living standards to boot? This isn’t like running errands on your day off. It isn’t like going to the dry cleaners and getting your shirts and suits and checking that off your list.
If you were a coordinator in the NFL and your team is in the playoffs, and you are asked to interview for a head coaching position you are going to want to prepare, mentally, physically and emotionally! Well, from where is that preparation time extracted? I’ll tell you where it comes from. It comes from the energy you should be putting into your current team so that they have the best chance possible to win the next game.
Common sense tells us that the incestuous business that is professional coaching should "get with it" and prevent coaches from preparing for new jobs, through interviews with new teams until their current team’s season is over. After all, in the immortal words of Seals & Crofts, "weeee, may never pass this way again."