NFL coaching rumors: Latest news on Eagles assistants

Nick Sirianni still might be in jeopardy of losing a coordinator … or two.

While the Philadelphia Eagles are focused on winning a championship, other teams are focused on potentially hiring members of Nick Sirianni’s coaching staff. Let’s take a look at the latest news on the Birds’ assistants.

JONATHAN GANNON

A recent report indicates that DeMeco Ryans might be the favorite to land the Houston Texans job.

There was previously buzz that Gannon could be the front-runner for that job. He might not be out of the mix in Houston considering that the Denver Broncos seemingly have strong interest in Ryans as well.

But if the Broncos can’t land Ryans, perhaps they’d want to go with Gannon. NFL insider Ian Rapoport said to “keep an eye” on the Eagles’ defensive coordinator for that opening.

RapSheet also said that the Arizona Cardinals “have interest” in Gannon.

If I’m not mistaken, the Broncos and Cardinals cannot interview Gannon until after the Eagles’ season ends. They would’ve been able to conduct a second interview with him during the bye week ahead of the Super Bowl had they previously talked to him during Philly’s Wild Card round bye.

On that note …

SHANE STEICHEN

The Eagles’ offensive coordinator interviewed with three teams earlier this month: the Carolina Panthers, the Houston Texans, and the Indianapolis Colts.

The Panthers hired Frank Reich. The Texans don’t seem to have their attention focused elsewhere.

The Colts, though, are reportedly set to meet with Steichen for a second interview. NFL insider Adam Schefter says he is “on the short list of candidates getting further consideration for their HC job.”

There’s currently no indication that Steichen is an obvious favorite since Indy is looking at a number of different candidates. There’s even buzz that they might just remove the interim label from Jeff Saturday.

If the Colts go with a non-Steichen option, it looks like he’ll be returning to Philly.

BRIAN JOHNSON

Earlier this week, we wrote about how the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach is “getting a lot of buzz for these offensive coordinator jobs.”

That hype is not slowing down.

Check out the following from from Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports:

As the Eagles head into Sunday’s game one step from the Super Bowl, Johnson has risen to be several potential head coaches’ pick for their offensive coordinator. According to multiple sources, at least three head-coaching candidates have tabbed Johnson as their would-be OC. […] Interestingly, a source told CBS Sports that one of the five teams in need of a head coach asked a veteran coaching candidate whether he’d be willing to bring on Johnson in an assistant head coach capacity. The idea being that the franchise would then be turned over to Johnson when he was deemed ready.

Johnson isn’t necessarily a lock to be a goner, however.

Whether Johnson leaves Philadelphia is another question entirely, though. Johnson hasn’t taken any interviews as of yet, and sources believe he’s waiting to see whether current Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen gets a head-coaching job. If that happens, it’s believed that Johnson would be the top candidate to replace Steichen as OC in Philly.

The Eagles would likely like to retain Johnson but they might not be able to do so if Steichen returns.

KEVIN PATULLO

The Eagles’ passing game coordinator also appears to be a top OC candidate.

There’s buzz about Reich bringing Patullo to the Panthers after previously working together in Indy.