The Vikings filed their first batch of interview requests for head coaching candidates on Saturday, asking to speak with seven NFL assistants who are currently coaching in the playoffs.
The team has requested interviews with Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell, Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Since the Packers have a first-round bye, Hackett is eligible to speak with teams through the end of this weekend. He is expected to be the Vikings' first interview, speaking with the team on Sunday.
The other six coaches on the list are all with teams that are playing this weekend, and are able to interview for other jobs after the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles, Buccaneers, Cowboys and 49ers play on Sunday; the Rams play on Monday night.
Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf said last week the team would hire a general manager first, and have that person help pick the next head coach. But since all seven of those coaches are expected to garner interest for multiple interviews, with eight of the NFL's 32 teams looking for head coaches, the Vikings' batch of requests could help them get on candidates' schedules before they fill up.
Minnesota is expected to begin interviewing general manager candidates this weekend, with Titans player personnel director Monti Ossenfort going first on Sunday before Tennessee — the AFC's No. 1 seed — begins preparations for its first playoff game next weekend.
Several of the names on the Vikings' coaching list should be familiar: Bowles was set for a second interview with the team in 2014 before finishing as the runner-up to Mike Zimmer and eventually taking the Jets' head coaching job in 2015. The Vikings also talked to Quinn in that interview cycle, and Gannon spent the 2014-17 seasons with the Vikings as an assistant defensive backs coach.
Candidates like former Eagles coach Doug Pederson are also expected to attract the Vikings' interest, though a source said the team had not contacted Pederson about an interview as of Saturday morning.
