The Cardinals' coaching search continued Monday, with the long-awaited interview with Brian Flores taking place and multiple reports that the team will finally interview Sean Payton later this week.
The Flores interview is one of the more intriguing of the lineup being vetted by owner Michael Bidwill and new general manager Monti Ossenfort. Ossenfort has history with Flores, with the two having worked together a number of years with the Patriots, and Bidwill already had a chance to interview Flores once before, during the cycle in 2018 when the Cardinals eventually hired Steve Wilks.
The permission to interview Payton was reported two weeks ago. But it wasn't until Monday that the news leaked that Payton and the Cardinals' braintrust will finally meet.
Fox's Jay Glazer reported over the weekend 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans was supposed to have a virtual interview on Saturday, but cancelled that (and one with the Colts) after conducting two others that day. It's unknown if Ryans will reschedule, although any coaches still in the playoffs now cannot be interviewed until Jan. 30.
Based on reports over the last couple of weeks, the Cardinals had interviewed five candidates previously:
- Vance Joseph
- Ejiro Evero
- Frank Reich
- Aaron Glenn
- Dan Quinn
