While the report is being called informal, Harris says, “the interest is legitimate enough to be reported.” It was reported earlier today that the Cowboys could hire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as its next head coach as early as Thursday, but this latest bit of news on Carroll comes hours after that report. Carroll was thought to have a chance to land the Bears’ head coaching gig before they went out and poached Ben Johnson from the Lions, and there have also been rumors that the Raiders are considering Carroll as their “backup option” after they also lost out on Johnson. Now, the Cowboys could emerge as the third team with serious interest in Carroll, although it sounds like this courting is in its earliest stages. Carroll would have a multitude of offensive weapons at his disposal should he wind up in Dallas, but will have his work cut out for him to fix a defense that ranked 31st in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed last season.

Ertz is dealing with a rib injury, but Wednesday’s DNP was to allow him to rest said injury — as was the case last week. The veteran tight end isn’t at risk of missing Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Eagles and will have some upside as a DFS value against his former team.

With the Raiders GM vacancy now filled by former Buccaneers’ assistant GM John Spytek, the team can shift all of its focus to hiring a head coach. Carroll, 73, has been on a handful of teams’ coaching radars this offseason, and it was reported earlier this week by The Athletic’s Tashan Reed that he is “believed to be” the “backup” option to fill their head coaching vacancy. With former Lions OC turned Bears HC Ben Johnson the presumed top choice at the time, Carroll could now slide into the pole position for the Raiders job. Palmer cites Carroll’s familiarity with Tom Brady as something that could give him an inside edge on the job, while also highlighting Carroll’s track record as a proven winner. With one Super Bowl title under his belt and two Super Bowl appearances during his 14-year tenure with the Seahawks, it’s easy to see why he would be an attractive hire for a franchise in desperate need of wins and stability at head coach.

Hurts could be seen dressed for practice and with his helmet in hand. The Eagles’ QB1 was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday and will likely carry a similar designation on Thursday. Hurts isn’t expected to do too much in practice as he deals with a knee injury he suffered in Sunday’s win over the Rams, but there’s little reason to be concerned about his availability for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at this time.

Goedert’s ankle injury sidelined him for Wednesday’s practice, but the veteran tight end will be back on the field in some capacity on Thursday. Goedert’s injury appears to be a minor issue. He did not seem limited by it in last week’s win over the Rams, and should be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Commanders, barring any setback.

Anybody on contract watch in hopes of Belichick returning to the NFL may now resign from their post. While anything remains possible, Belichick signing his contract with the program puts multiple speculations to rest over whether or not he would be required to pay a $10 million buyout should he take an NFL head coaching job any time between now and June 1. Belichick seemed most closely “linked” to the Cowboys after they opted to not renew Mike McCarthy’s coach last week, but Belichick never had an official sit down with the team. Belichick appears ready to full dive into the college coaching ranks, as he continues to hit the recruiting trail for the Tar Heels after agreeing to become their head coach back in mid-December.

The betting markets appear to have known all along. Just days after it was reported that Schottenheimer was the odds-on favorite to land the Cowboys’ head coaching job, despite having never been interviewed beforehand, the current OC appears primed to turn head coach at any moment. Schottenheimer is the son of former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose 200 career wins are good for eighth-most on the all-time wins list. Brian Schottenheimer, who first joined the NFL ranks as a QBs coach in 2001 has never held a head coaching position, and has underwhelmed at his last few stops as an offensive coordinator while with the Rams (2012-2014), Seahawks (2018-2020), and Jaguars (2021). He didn’t call offensive plays for the Cowboys in either of his two seasons as their offensive coordinator. Schottenheimer’s name didn’t emerge in the coaching conversations until people began linking him with the Cowboys. Now, it appears as if he’ll be the successor to Mike McCarthy barring an unforeseen change in plans.

The Jaguars will need to wait until the Eagles are either eliminated from postseason contention or have a bye week before the Super Bowl before they can speak with Moore. The Eagles’ OC has been a hot commodity on the coaching market and is still rumored to be in the mix for both the Saints and Cowboys head coaching vacancies, with both of those teams free to make an offer at any time. Moore’s Eagles are a win away from returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. Should they defeat the Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship game, the Jaguars would only be permitted to do a virtual interview with Moore, which could also throw a wrench into the hiring process. We’ll see where things go from here but owner Shad Khan is clearly trying to exhaust all options for the team’s next head coach after going through two in four seasons.

Washington was hired by the Bears before the 2024 season and is officially one-and-done with the team. His dismissal can be partially blamed on the overturn at head coach, as Ben Johnson appears ready to bring on his own group of guys as he preps for his first run as a head coach. Washington didn’t begin calling plays for the Bears defense until Week 14. In his short stint as defensive coordinator, his team allowed 26.0 points per game and three games of 30-plus points. They also ranked 27th in EPA per play and 30th in success rate over that span. A veteran defensive line coach who joined the NFL ranks in 2008, Washington should have a decent market for work now that he’s available.

The good news is that the Jags can now attract the top head coaching candidates of this hiring cycle. They’re all gone? Oh. Jags owner Shad Khan initially chose to retain Baalke and fire head coach Doug Pederson after another failed season. He later expressed some flexbility on retaining Baalke if it prevented the team from landing a new head coach. Despite Baalke being an obvious deterent for potential hires, Khan held strong and kept Baalke in town, only to watch both Lions coordinators take jobs elsewhere and Bucs OC Liam Coen turn down Jacksonville to stay in Tampa Bay. These decisions made the message to Khan undeniable. Baalke had to go. Now the Jags get to pair their next head coach annd general manager together, hopefully building some cohesion within the building. Baalke’s run in Jacksonville ends with a 25-43 record plus an iconic playoff win over the Chargers two years ago.