The Arizona Cardinals aren’t wasting any time getting requests in for head coaching interviews. The issue is that several names on their short list are guys who are currently employed on playoff teams. The NFL has very strigent rules regarding when other clubs can schedule interviews for candidates of head coaching openings.
The league wants teams to focus on winning a Super Bowl ring instead of their coaching staff getting another job the following season. This is not like college football, where head coaches just up and leave right before the playoffs begin (looking at you Lane Kiffin).
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The Cardinals have reached out to four coaches, all employed in the NFL and each one a team coordinator. The team has extended interview requests to the following four candidates:
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 03: Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh of the San Francisco 49ers reacts during the first quarter of a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) Getty Images
Seattle Seahawks: OC Klint Kubiak
San Francisco 49ers: DC Robert Saleh
Miami Dolphins: DC Anthony Weaver
Denver Broncos: DC Vance Joseph
New England Patriots: passing game coordinator Thomas Brown
There is an incentive to hire either Saleh or Kubiak in that it would affect a division rival. Since the Broncos and Seahawks have a first-round bye, both can be interviewed this week.
Kubiak, age 38, is in his first season as the OC in Seattle. He was the OC in New Orleans in 2024 and has worked for six NFL teams, with his first coaching job in 2010 at Texas A&M. His offensive attack is West Coast and a hybrid of Kyle Shanahan’s of the 49ers and Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. His father, Gary Kubiak, had been the head coach of both the Broncos and the Houston Texans after a lengthy career as a quarterback backing up John Elway.
Saleh, age 46, began his coaching career in 2002 in the college ranks. He joined the Texans in 2005 as a defensive intern. He was then hired by the Seahawks in 2011 as the defensive quality control coach for three seasons and then on to Jacksonville as the LB coach from 2014-2016. For 2017, the 49ers named him their DC which was a job he held for four years. The New York Jets then tabbed him for their head coach in 2021, and he was fired during the 2024 season. He was taken in by the Green Bay Packers for the remainder of the year before getting his DC job back with San Fran. Saleh has a ring from Super Bowl XLVIII.
Weaver, age 45, is a former defensive end with the Baltimore Ravens and Texans from 2002-2008 after a stellar college career at Notre Dame, and was drafted in Round 2. Two years after hanging up his cleats, he began as a graduate assistant at Florida in 2010, then was hired as an LB coach at North Texas. He then held various defensive coaching jobs with six NFL clubs. In 2024, Miami hired him as its DC.
Joseph, age 53, is a hot commodity because his Denver defense is ranked in the Top-3 annually. He was a defensive back with the Jets in 1995, then had stints with two NFL clubs, one NFL Europe team, and finished his playing career with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He began as a coach in college until the 49ers hired him as the assistant defensive backs coach in 2006. He then coached for the Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, Dolphins, Broncos, Cardinals, and Denver again. While with Arizona, he was the DC under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Joseph was part of the 1990 Colorado Buffaloes National Championship squad.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – DECEMBER 01: New England Patriots tight ends / passing game coordinator Thomas Brown during a game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants on December 1, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Brown, age 39, was taken in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons as a running back. He then played for the Cleveland Browns for two seasons before being hired by the University of Georgia as their strength and conditioning coach. He remained in college football for eight seasons before the Rams tabbed him for the open RB coach position. The Patriots are his fourth NFL club. Last season, he was named interim head coach of the Chicago Bears. He has a Super Bowl ring from the Rams’ victory over the Bengals after the 2021 season.
In-person interviews can’t begin until January 19, so all meetings with NFL clubs must be done virtually. The Cardinals have a short window to interview both Kubiak and Joseph this week due to their first-round byes. The Dolphins are not involved in the playoffs, so Arizona can talk with Weaver at any time.