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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Three candidates for the Arizona Cardinals' vacant head coaching job will be working in this weekend’s NFC and AFC championship games. New England Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game, and Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will face the Minnesota Vikings with the NFC’s birth in Super Bowl XLII on the line. Of the other candidates still in the playoffs who thje Cardinals interviewed, Vikings offensive coordinator Mike Shurmur has been linked to the New York Giants' job and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has been connected to the Detroit Lions' job. Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher, Atlanta Falcons special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks are all immediately available to be hired. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak declined a second interview with Arizona earlier this week. Only after those games are over, win or lose, can the Cardinals request a second interview with any of them, if Arizona so chooses. The soonest the Cardinals can request a second interview with them is Sunday night and can have the meeting as soon as Monday. Cardinals president Michael Bidwill has said publicly that he wants candidates to visit the team’s facilities in Tempe, Arizona. However, if the coach Arizona wants to hire wins Sunday, the Cardinals can’t officially hire him until after the Super Bowl. If they lose, the hire could come at any time. Here’s a look at the three candidates who could receive a second-interview from the Cardinals next week: John DeFilippo: He’s been the Eagles quarterbacks coach for the last two seasons and has had a role in grooming both starter Carson Wentz and the Eagles’ current backup, Nate Sudfeld. DeFilippo’s work with Sudfeld may be overlooked, but consider this: The Eagles made sure to promote Sudfeld to the active roster after the Indianapolis Colts tried to sign him off Philadelphia’s practice squad in late October. Now, with Wentz out, the Eagles felt comfortable enough with Sudfeld, whose only playing time this season came in the final three quarters of their Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys, to keep him as Nick Foles' backup after Wentz went down and into the playoffs instead of signing a veteran for that role. Brian Flores: The 36-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, has worked and coached for just one organization in his entire 14-year career: the Patriots. He’s ascended from a scouting assistant to a special teams assistant to the safeties coach to his current role of linebackers coach, which he’s held since 2016. While Flores may not have a coordinator’s title on his resume, he does have three Super Bowl rings. Jim Schwartz: The 51-year-old is in his second season as the Eagles’ coordinator and his impact on their defense is noticeable. Philadelphia has gone from 13th in yards allowed per game to fourth this season. The Eagles were also ranked first in rushing yards allowed her game while finishing in the top 10 in 12 major defensive categories in 2017. Schwartz has head coaching experience with the Lions from 2009-13. He inherited a team that went 0-16 in 2008 and coached them to the playoffs three seasons later. His head coaching record in Detroit was 29-50.
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