With Pete Carroll headed to Raiders and Liam Coen to Jaguars, 2 coaching openings remain

Pete Carroll is set to return to the sideline as a head coach following a one-year hiatus and Liam Coen is ready for his first shot at running an NFL team.

The Las Vegas Raiders are negotiating a deal to hire Carroll to be their new head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been finalized.

The 73-year-old Carroll returns to the sideline after leading Seattle to two NFC championships and the franchise’s only Super Bowl title during a 14-year stretch that ended following the 2023 season.

Coen was hired by Jacksonville two days after the Jaguars fired general manager Trent Baalke to clear the path for Coen to leave his job as offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay.

With Aaron Glenn having been hired by the New York Jets, Ben Johnson heading to Chicago and Mike Vrabel already in New England, only two head coaching vacancies remain.

The Saints and Cowboys are still in the hunt.

Here’s a look at the final two searches:

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys interviewed offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer this week and he appears to be the top internal choice. But Dallas has also talked with several candidates from outside the organization to replace Mike McCarthy.

Deion Sanders and owner Jerry Jones have talked about the position but the close friends haven’t had a formal discussion. Eleven-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, who played 16 of his 17 seasons in Dallas, was mentioned as a candidate but also hasn’t received an interview.

The Cowboys interviewed Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who played for the team and then served as Dak Prescott’s play-caller for four seasons. Dallas also interviewed former Jets coach Robert Saleh and former Vikings coach Leslie Frazier.

This will be the ninth head coach for Jones since he purchased the team in 1989 and fired the legendary Tom Landry, who coached the Cowboys for 29 years from the team’s inception.

Jones hired Jimmy Johnson away from Miami and they won a pair of Super Bowls together. He brought in former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer six years after he last coached and they won the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl 29 years ago with a team Johnson assembled.

Of the next six coaches, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips and McCarthy had previously been head coaches in the NFL. Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and Jason Garrett had been coordinators.

New Orleans Saints

Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver and Giants OC Mike Kafka are getting second interviews with the Saints.

Interim coach Darren Rizzi, who went 3-5 following Dennis Allen’s firing, was among the candidates already interviewed along with Joe Brady, Moore and former Stanford coach David Shaw.

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury is on the team’s list but he’s waiting until after the season. The Saints also are interested in McCarthy.

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AP Pro Football Writers Mark Long and Schuyler Dixon contributed.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl