NFL Rumors: Latest Pre-Playoff Buzz Surrounding 2021 Coaching Vacancies

The two AFC South teams in the market for new head coaches have taken different approaches to filling their respective vacancies so far. 

The Houston Texans' latest move was to look internally at a candidate who achieved plenty of success with Deshaun Watson.

However, the Texans are the one franchise to not interview the top offensive mind on the coaching market in Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have met with Bieniemy, but they may have a loftier target in mind to replace Doug Marrone. 

Jacksonville reportedly met with former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, and if a deal is done between the two parties, it could be the most intriguing move made on the coaching market. 

Latest Pre-Playoff Coaching Buzz

Texans Met With Tim Kelly

Houston reportedly interviewed an internal candidate on Friday.

According to NFL Network's Michael Silver, the Texans met with offensive coordinator Tim Kelly. The MMQB's Albert Breer detailed that Kelly has a big supporter in Watson.

Kelly has served in a variety of roles inside the Houston organization since 2014. He spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator and was also the quarterbacks coach for the 2020 season. 

Watson led the league with a career-high 4,823 passing yards, and he had career bests in completion percentage and touchdown passes. 

Watson's success under Kelly could help the 34-year-old's candidacy in a process that should heat up now that the Texans have hired a general manager in Nick Caserio. 

However, the Texans may not be doing all of the due diligence on the best offensive minds since they are the only one of the six teams with a head coaching vacancy that has not called Bieniemy.

Breer reported on Wednesday that Watson "advocated" for Bieniemy, and even Patrick Mahomes put in a "strong word" for his offensive coordinator, but as of Friday, no interview has been set up. 

Even if the Texans do not land Bieniemy, it would make sense for them to at least interview him since they should look for an offensive mind to pair with Watson for the long term.

Jaguars Talked With Urban Meyer

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Jaguars planned to talk with Meyer on Friday. 

Meyer is the one college football coach attracting attention on the coaching carousel. He held four different collegiate jobs, but the last two are the ones he is most known for. 

The 56-year-old, who currently works as an analyst for Fox, won three national championships. He won twice with Florida, and the third came with Ohio State. 

If the two parties join forces, it may be the most intriguing coaching change of the offseason, especially with Trevor Lawrence expected to come to Jacksonville in the draft. 

Meyer did not work with a quarterback of Lawrence's high quality in his national championship seasons. Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones were solid college quarterbacks, but none of them had an extended run of starting seasons in the NFL. 

If anything, a potential move for Meyer would bring more eyeballs to the franchise, and it would be one of the most intriguing sides to watch with a new head coach and quarterback coming from the collegiate ranks.

However, Meyer needs to be cautious about how much success he can achieve at the professional level. For example, Steve Spurrier was a Hall of Fame college coach, but he only went 12-20 in his two seasons in Washington.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference