Report: Panthers' Joe Brady Receives HC Interview Request from Chargers, More

Joe Brady's coaching stock continues to soar.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator was the subject of at least one interview request from a team as part of its head coaching search. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers have requested to speak with him.

Brady just wrapped up his first season with Carolina.

Prior to 2019, the 31-year-old wasn't widely known to football fans. Then LSU won a national championship with a high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Brady, who had been the Tigers' passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, was credited with helping guide Burrow's breakout.

Christian McCaffrey was limited to three games, so it's difficult to accurately grade Brady on the performance of Carolina's offense in 2020. Football Outsiders ranked the Panthers 17th in offensive efficiency, and their 349.5 yards per game were good for 21st.

Brady's age may have disqualified him from most NFL coaching searches in previous eras, but Sean McVay broke that door down when he took the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl when he was just 33. McVay was the same age as Brady during his first season in L.A. in 2017.

Given how quickly Brady's profile has grown, some teams may be concerned this is their best chance to land him before he gets scooped up elsewhere.

The Falcons have gone three straight years without qualifying the playoffs, but they can't really execute a rebuild or even endure another transitional year since Matt Ryan turns 36 in May. Julio Jones, who turns 32 in February, isn't getting any younger, either.

The Texans aren't working against Father Time to the same extent since Deshaun Watson is only 25. Still, there will be a level of urgency in Houston after winning only four games in 2020.

Justin Herbert exceeded expectations as a rookie, throwing for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns, the latter of which was a record for a first-year quarterback. Los Angeles seems to have its heir apparent to Philip Rivers.

In all three cases, you have teams with entrenched quarterbacks looking to make a big jump in 2021, and the performance of those quarterbacks will be pivotal toward achieving those aims.