Proposed rule change would delay coach hirings until after Super Bowl

[Billy Buffalo]

Getty Images

NFL teams may have to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire coaches, if a proposed rule change goes into effect.

The Bills have submitted a proposal to the league office that would prevent hirings of new coaches until after the Super Bowl, according to Albert Breer of SI.com.

The proposal would also bar interviews for front-office and coaching positions until after the conference championship games.

If the rule change were adopted, it would shift the coach hiring cycle by a few weeks, and it would be advantageous to assistant coaches on playoff teams, who currently have a limited window of time to interview and can’t take a new job until their team’s postseason run is over.

Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is an example of an assistant who might have received a head-coaching offer this year if coaches couldn’t be hired until after the Super Bowl.

Some teams may oppose this rule change on the theory that teams with new coaches are already crunched for time in the offseason, and delaying hirings until after the Super Bowl would only make it harder to assemble a full staff and get to work on the offseason.

Such proposals are voted on by the 32 teams at the offseason league meeting.