Carolina Panthers interview Bengals OC Brian Callahan for head coaching job

The Carolina Panthers are now the latest NFL franchise to interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan for their open head coaching position.

According to a team release, Panthers leadership conducted a virtual interview with Callahan on Thursday morning, marking their eighth total interview amid their head coaching search. Here was that news as posted by Carolina:

“The Panthers completed their eighth interview Thursday afternoon, this time with Bengals offensive coordinator, Brian Callahan. This was a virtual interview, as in-person interviews are not allowed to begin until Monday (January 22).”

Though Callahan is not the offensive playcaller in Cincinnati — that job belongs to head coach Zac Taylor — he is a primary architect of one of the top offenses in the NFL over the last few seasons and played an integral role in developing quarterback Joe Burrow. He’s helped lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl and an AFC Championship in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022, but his job in 2023 was arguably as impressive.

With an injured Burrow to start the season, then a few healthy games from the franchise QB, followed by a season-ending injury that forced backup Jake Browning into the starting spot for half the year, the Bengals still produced as a top-15 offense in the NFL and were the first team out of the playoffs — all despite facing the toughest schedule of defenses in the entire league for 2023, according to PFF data.

The Bengals went 9-8 against the hardest schedule with like six of their games with a healthy starting quarterback pic.twitter.com/9qXENOrXNX

— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) January 8, 2024

There’s a reason Callahan has now been interviewed by four different teams, including the Chargers, Colts and Titans. As for who else the Carolina Panthers have interviewed, we know of at least seven other candidates who were officially interviewed for the position already.

You can find that list right here:

• Chris Tabor — Panthers Interim Coach
• Ejiro Evero — Panthers Defensive Coordinator
• Todd Monken — Ravens Offensive Coordinator
• Mike Macdonald — Ravens Defensive Coordinator
• Frank Smith — Dolphins Offensive Coordinator
• Raheem Morris — Rams Defensive Coordinator
• Dan Quinn — Cowboys Defensive Coordinator

Tabor is a long-time special teams coordinator who served that role for the last 13 seasons — including seven seasons with Cleveland, four with Chicago and then two with Carolina before he was promoted to interim head coach during the second season. Meanwhile, Ejiro Evero just completed his first season as Panthers DC after serving his first year as a defensive coordinator in Denver the year prior.

Otherwise, it’s quite a diverse mix of names on both sides of the ball contending for the Panthers job.