HC Rumor Mill ’25

• Colorado coach Deion Sanders and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have discussed that opening. No interview is scheduled, but The Athletic reported there is mutual interest in keeping a dialogue open. The former Cowboys All-Pro told ESPN yesterday that talking with Jones was “intriguing,” but that he loves Colorado.

• Maryland’s Mike Locksley interviewed with the Jets on Friday. The 55-year-old just finished his sixth season with the Terrapins, where he is 33-41 with three bowl wins. Previously, he spent three seasons at Alabama, being named the nation’s top assistant in 2018 as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator. He has never coached in the NFL.

• Iowa State’s Matt Campbell has interviewed with the Bears. He is the winningest coach in school history, with a 64-51 record since 2016. Before that, he led Toledo to three nine-win seasons. He’s also never coached in the NFL, but the 45-year-old has the ultimate resume-booster: a Pop-Tarts Bowl win.

• The Bears want to interview Notre Dame’s Freeman, NFL Network reported on Sunday, but it’s unclear if the 39-year-old has any interest. He has the Fighting Irish playing for a national championship in just his third season. A former Ohio State linebacker (prepare to hear that detail on Monday night), he was a fifth-round pick by the Bears in 2009, but a return to Chicago seems unlikely.

• Former USC title-winner Pete Carroll is interviewing with the Bears and Raiders. Now 73, the former Seahawks HC is one of just three coaches to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. (In Dallas, Sanders played for one of them, Barry Switzer, who’d been hired to replace the other, Jimmy Johnson.)