Bruce Arians did great work in 2012 as the Colts’ interim coach while head coach Chuck Pagano missed most of the season while undergoing chemotherapy. So it’s no surprise that Arians is now considered a strong candidate to become a head coach on a permanent basis.
The Eagles announced on Friday that they have been granted permission to interview Arians. That interview is expected to take place next week, regardless of whether the Colts win or lose against the Ravens on Sunday. Assistant coaches whose teams win in the wild card round of the playoffs are permitted to have head-coaching interviews during the week before the divisional round of the playoffs.
Another assistant coach whose team is playing on Sunday, Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, is in the same boat: The Eagles have received permission to interview Bradley and plan to do so next week, regardless of whether the Seahawks win or lose against the Redskins.
Several reports have said that the Eagles’ top candidate is Oregon coach Chip Kelly. The fact that the Eagles are planning multiple interviews for next week suggests that they aren’t expecting to hire Kelly quickly -- or that they want Kelly to know that he can’t string them along indefinitely.