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The NFL coaching search has been proceeding at a maddening pace. Though no one has been officially hired yet, teams are doing their due dilligence and rapidly flipping through their candidate list to find their new leader. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shockingly fired Lovie Smith on Wednesday night, there are seven head coaching vacancies. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has been linked to four of those jobs. Here's a quick recap of all the of the rumors and news regarding Austin.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns confirmed they interviewed Austin for the head coaching job on Wednesday. Adam Gase was also interviewed on Wednesday, and the Browns have a handful of other candidates, including Doug Marrone, Hue Jackson and potentially even Chip Kelly. You can view all of the Browns candidates here.
With the large quantity of candidates here, Austin seems like a bit of a long-shot in Cleveland. Still, he was only the second confirmed interview, so the Browns were apparently eager to hear from him.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins were the first team to interview Austin, meeting with him on Tuesday. Miami has already met with Mike Shanahan and are apparently very interested in Adam Gase. Other candidates that have been linked to the Dolphins include Dan Campbell, Hue Jackson and Anthony Lynn.
Miami's interest in Austin is a bit unclear. One report has Austin as the front-runner for the Miami job, while Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press thinks the exact opposite:
He's a super long shot in Miami. Not sure what the situation is in Cleveland. ... Signs point to him coming back https://t.co/fiajXdxAlL
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) January 7, 2016
For what it's worth, the odds on favorite for the job is Shanahan.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were one of the first teams linked to Austin, but have not officially announced an interview request. At this point, reports have only indicated the Eagles' interest in the defensive coordinator.
The Eagles seem to have focused their search around Adam Gase, who has already been interviewed by the team and may be lined up for a second interview shortly. Austin doesn't appear to be a serious candidate in Philadelphia yet.
New York Giants
The Giants emerged as a candidate in the Teryl Austin race late on Wednesday. With Tom Coughlin announcing his retirement on Monday, the Giants are a bit behind in the head coach search.
Austin will reportedly be interviewing for the job in New York on Thursday, joining Adam Gase, Doug Marrone and Sean McDermott as leading external candidates for the position.
Since the Giants' interest is still very new, it's hard to gauge how serious their intentions are. At this point, Austin does not appear to be the front-runner in New York, especially since their search appears to be surrounding internal candidates.
Overall, while Austin has been making the rounds in the NFL, there aren't any signs that he has made a huge impression with any of the four teams listed above. With exception to the lone report listing Austin as the leading candidate in Miami, Austin's hiring does not appear imminent.