NFL Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding Top 2021 Head Coach Candidates

The six NFL teams that have had head coaching openings for the last week continue to do their due diligence on prospective candidates. 

The Houston Texans reportedly interviewed two more coaches, while the Detroit Lions brought in an offensive-minded coach for their latest meeting. 

Some of the openings could be affected by the parting of ways between the Philadelphia Eagles and Doug Pederson, which gave the NFL seven open spots on the coaching carousel.

But with the Philadelphia search in its infant stages, it is not clear if the candidates interviewed for the other six jobs will also be in the mix for the NFC East position. 

Latest Head Coaching Buzz

Houston Interviews 2 Candidates

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported on Monday that the Texans would talk with Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. 

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Houston is "expected to interview" Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach David Culley as well. 

Of the two new candidates, Frazier is the only one that carries previous head coaching experience from his time with the Minnesota Vikings. 

The 61-year-old went 21-32-1 during his four-year stint in the NFC North. He was the interim coach in 2010 when Brad Childress was let go and he earned the permanent job for the 2011 season. 

Frazier has been in Buffalo for the last four seasons, and he also holds the title of assistant head coach to Sean McDermott. 

Buffalo's defense ranked in the middle of the pack in yardage concession and held six opponents under 20 points in the regular season. 

Culley has a lengthy coaching resume in the NFL and has been with the Ravens for the last two seasons as wide receivers coach and assistant head coach. The 65-year-old was an assistant on Andy Reid's staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2012 and spent time in Kansas City and Buffalo before landing in Baltimore. 

The one drawback against Culley is that he has not been an offensive coordinator during his decades-long tenure as an NFL assistant. 

Houston may be more inclined to land an offensive coordinator to work with Deshaun Watson to contend once again in the AFC South. If the Texans go with a defensive mind, like Frazier, that coach would need to have a plan to bring in a strong offensive mind to further develop Watson as one of the league's top passers. 

Any coach will have a difficult task on their hands with Houston's defense since it conceded the third-most total yards in the NFL this season.

Dan Campbell Interviews with Lions

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, New Orleans Saints tight ends coach/assistant head coach Dan Campbell met with the Lions on Monday. 

Campbell has never been a coordinator in the NFL, but he does have 12 games of experience as an interim head coach with the Miami Dolphins. The former NFL tight end took over on an interim basis for the fired Joe Philbin in 2015 and recorded a 5-7 mark with Miami.

Since then, Campbell has been on staff with the Saints in his current position and has not moved up the coaching ranks to a coordinator position. 

The 44-year-old is an intriguing candidate because he does have head coaching experience and has spent the last few years learning under Sean Payton. 

An interview with the Lions makes sense since Campbell played there for three seasons toward the end of his career. Campbell did not overlap with quarterback Matthew Stafford. He left the franchise one year before Stafford was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009. 

Detroit may be inclined to go with an offensive mind to work with Stafford in the final stages of his career, but it also needs to make a significant improvement on defense. 

Matt Patricia, a defensive coordinator before taking the Lions job, did not improve the team on that side of the ball. Detroit allowed the most total yards in the NFL in 2020.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.