The Jacksonville Jaguars are interviewing former Las Vegas Raiders coach Rich Bisaccia on Monday but botched the timing to talk with Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, ESPN reported.
Bisaccia, who started the season as the special teams coordinator in Las Vegas, took over as interim head coach after the October resignation of Jon Gruden. The 61-year-old led the Raiders to a 7-5 finish to the regular season and the playoffs amid some high-profile distractions but lost out on the permanent job to Josh McDaniels, whom the Raiders reportedly are set to hire.
The Jaguars reportedly had three finalists for their head coach opening but two of those — Matt Eberflus and Nathaniel Hackett — accepted other offers last week. That left Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich as the leading candidate to replace Urban Meyer, who was fired after posting a 2-11 record and committing a series of off-field missteps.
However, the Jaguars interviewed ex-Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio last week and tried to get an interview with O’Connell, but missed the deadline to request an interview in the initial period, per the report.
Now, the Jaguars have to wait until after the Super Bowl to interview O’Connell. Meanwhile, O’Connell is a finalist for the Minnesota opening, with the Vikings interviewing him a second time during the initial period.
The Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13.
–Field Level Media