The Bills and 49ers do not have head coaches at the moment. But they both have defensive coordinators under contract, and they’re squatting on their contractual rights.
With a defensive coordinator vacancy in Washington, the Bills have declined a request to interview defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Likewise, the 49ers have declined to allow defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to interview.
Although teams can’t keep an assistant coach from leaving for a head-coaching job even if he’s under contract, they can keep an assistant from leaving for another job as an assistant. And that’s what both the Bills and the 49ers have decided to do, as they may want to keep Schwartz and Fangio in 2015.
After getting spurned in an attempt to interview Schwartz and Fangio, Washington is considering Wade Phillips, Ed Donatell and Joe Barry as defensive coordinator candidates.