The Jacksonville Jaguars are wasting no time lining up candidates to interview for their vacant head coaching position. Steve Reed of the Associated Press is reporting that the Jaguars have requested permission to interview Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
Sources say the Jacksonville Jaguars have contacted the Panthers about interviewing Rob Chudzinski.
— Steve Reed (@SteveReed_AP) January 2, 2012
The Panthers do not have to worry about a playoff game, so it's possible Chudzinski could interview as soon as sometime this week. While the Jaguars officially requested permission, teams have to allow assistant coaches to interview for head coaching positions, but the coach may decline the interview.
One interesting thing about Chudzinski is, he will know quite a bit about what he's getting into with quarterback Blaine Gabbert. The Panthers reportedly did extensive work on Gabbert pre-draft and essentially boiled down their pick to Gabbert or Newton, ultimately going Newton. Chudzinski was the offensive coordinator from some of the best Miami Hurricane's football teams from 2001-2003 and has time as both an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach in the NFL. He served as the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2004 and in San Diego in 2005-2006, and in 2009-2010. In 2007-2008, Chudzinski was the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, a season that saw Derek Anderson throw for over 3,500 yards with 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions