The Atlanta Falcons completed an interview with former Ravens coach John Harbaugh for its vacant head coach position on Monday, his first formal interview since his firing Jan. 6 after 18 seasons in Baltimore.
Later Monday evening, the Falcons also announced they had interviewed former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel for the position.
There reportedly has been widespread interest in Harbaugh, who led the Ravens to 12 postseason appearances and a Super Bowl XLVII victory at the end of the 2012 season.
Harbaugh, 63, ranks 12th for most wins by a head coach in NFL history with 193 including the postseason.
Harbaugh told Fox Sports in an interview over the weekend that he would take some time to narrow his options before beginning interviews.
He set the likely number of teams he will interview at three or four, with the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans being reported as other jobs that stand out to him.
Harbaugh’s agent told ESPN that he had received calls from seven teams — including the Miami Dolphins, who had not yet fired their head coach — about Harbaugh’s availability within 45 minutes of news of his firing breaking.
Sports Illustrated reported Monday that Harbaugh had preliminary calls with the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Dolphins, Giants and Titans to listen to teams’ pitches and decide who to interview with.
As for McDaniel, he hit the open market last week when the Dolphins fired him following a 7-10 season.
McDaniel, 42, went 35-33 in four seasons in charge of Miami, with a pair of wild-card playoff losses in his first two years. Prior to that, McDaniel was the offensive coordinator and run game coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan.
McDaniel previously interviewed with the Browns for their coaching vacancy, and reports said he would interview for the top coaching positions with the Ravens and Titans later this week, as well as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator job.
Atlanta (8-9) finished in a three-way tie atop the NFC South this season. Falcons owner Arthur Blank elected to fire head coach Raheem Morris after two seasons and GM Terry Fontenot after five seasons despite the team winning its final four games this season after it had been eliminated from the postseason.
Former Falcons MVP quarterback Matt Ryan was hired as the team’s new president of football on Saturday.
Atlanta has also completed head coach interviews with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and defensive coordinator Aden Durde and former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
–Field Level Media
