Report: Cardinals seek second interviews with Munchak, DeFilippo
Jan 16, 2018, 9:03 AM | Updated: 2:01 pm
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
With the Steelers’ season over following an AFC Divisional Round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Pittsburgh offensive line coach Mike Munchak will meet with the Arizona Cardinals for a second time to discuss their head coaching vacancy, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport adds that Arizona is filing its second round of interview requests on Tuesday.
In addition to Munchak, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo is expected to receive a second interview, but not until his team’s postseason run ends.
This is expected to be the second 2nd interview for the #AZCardinals. https://t.co/v7YkE2xx9Y
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2018
DeFilippo and Munchak already interviewed with the Cardinals.
More on #AZCardinals and Mike Munchak, a top candidate: #Titans wanted to keep him after 2013 assuming he'd make staff changes. He refused & was fired. But he held that place together … Would he bring OC Todd Haley along with him? Haley is a free agent now.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 16, 2018
Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and Munchak were among the expected finalists for the Cardinals’ head coaching vacancy, reported 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Mike Jurecki.
Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was also in the conversation, but Rapoport reported Monday that he was lined up to accept the New York Giants’ head coaching job.
Wilks, who interviewed for several NFL head coaching positions over the past week, is also garnering interest from the Tennessee Titans, reported Jason La Canfora on Monday. Tennessee entered the coaching carousel late after it fired coach Mike Mularkey to follow up its playoff loss to the New England Patriots over the weekend.
A nine-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers, Munchak has been Pittsburgh’s offensive line coach since 2014. The 57-year-old had one head coaching gig in the NFL with the Titans, where he compiled a 22-26 record with the team from 2011-2013.
The Titans did not reach the postseason in any of those seasons.
Prior to his head coaching job, Munchak was Tennessee’s offensive line coach from 1997-2010, spanning the team’s transition from the Oilers to the Titans. He was also an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the same franchise from 1994-96 when it was in Houston.
Munchak entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his playing career in 2001.
DeFilippo, 39 , would fit in Arizona as it grooms a quarterback of the future. He has been employed as a quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders (2007-08, 2012-14), New York Jets (2009), San Jose State Aztecs (2010-11) and Cleveland Browns (2015) before joining the Eagles in 2016. He interviewed with the Chicago Bears and impressed, according to Fowler, before they hired Matt Nagy as head coach.
The Cardinals are the only team that have reportedly been interested in Munchak. They have interviewed nine known coaching candidates.
