New York Jets expand their search for a general manager

In their search for a new general manager, the New York Jets have interviewed San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble, New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross and current Jets assistant GM Scott Cohen.

The Jets were interested in, but missed out on Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel David Caldwell, who became the Jacksonville Jaguars' general manager, and Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations Tom Telesco, who was named the general manager of the San Diego Chargers on Wednesday. The Jets were also interested in former Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert, who cancelled a scheduled interview.

Missing out on Caldwell and Telesco has resulted in the Jets expanding their search and interviews have been scheduled with Pittsburgh Steelers director of football & business administration Omar Khan, Seattle Seahawks vice president of football administration John Idzik, Miami Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine and former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. The Jets are reportedly interested in Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye, as well.

Those interviews are scheduled to take place over the next few days and, of that group, the candidate with the most uphill battle may be Angelo as NFL teams have been reluctant to hire personnel executives with previous experience as a GM. In the current NFL, Bruce Allen of the Washington Redskins is the only executive with a title including "general manager" who has held that same title with another franchise.

Khan has managed the Steelers' salary cap and contract negotiations and is reportedly the executive that former Steelers head coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher would select for a GM position should he re-enter the coaching profession. Khan was a candidate for GM openings with the Seahawks in 2010 and St. Louis Rams in 2012.

Idzik has a similar background to Khan, handling the contract negotiations for the Seahawks since 2007. Idzik previously worked in the personnel department with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has reportedly drawn interest from the Cleveland Browns for their general manager position. Gaine played for and then worked for the Jets and Dallas Cowboys before joining the Dolphins organization in 2008. Gaine interviewed for the Rams' general manager position in 2012 and was promoted to his current position of assistant GM last summer.

Here's a look at the other coaching and general manager openings:

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have already interviewed current defensive coordinator Ray Horton and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. There was a great deal of confusion on Wednesday over whether or not the Cardinals had interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, with Steelers' brass confirming that an interview was taking place, while Haley's agent denied that was the case to our good friend Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The Cardinals are also scheduled to interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Mike Zimmer on Thursday.

Chicago Bears: The Bears have a list of over a dozen head coaching candidates for GM Phil Emery to interview and make a decision on. Most of those coaches who have been interviewed or will interview with the Bears have offensive backgrounds, including Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, who will meet with the Bears on Friday in Houston.

Other candidates are Mike Sullivan (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Mike McCoy (Broncos), Pete Carmichael (New Orleans Saints), Tom Clements (Green Bay Packers), Darrell Bevell (Seattle Seahawks), Bruce Arians (Colts), and Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman. Four of the candidates on the Bears' list are special teams coordinators, including current Bears coordinator Dave Toub. Other names are Joe DeCamillis (Dallas Cowboys), Keith Armstrong (Falcons) and Mike Priefer of the Minnesota Vikings. Hall of Fame Bears linebackers Mike Singletary, who is currently the assistant head coach/linebackers coach of the Vikings, is also a candidate.

Cleveland Browns: The Browns were busy interviewing head coaching candidates on Wednesday, meeting with Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski and Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Cleveland has already interviewed Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, former Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman. In the upcoming days, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner will interview Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

Kansas City Chiefs: Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Dorsey has been rumored to be the favorite for the position, but the longtime Packers executive is not the only candidate. The Chiefs have also interviewed Ray Farmer, the team's current director of player personnel. 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble and former Browns GM Tom Heckert are also in the mix for the Chiefs' GM job.

Philadelphia Eagles: A new name emerged in the Eagles' search for a new head coach. According to multiple reports, including this one by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles interviewed Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. This isn't the first college coach the Eagles have looked at to replace Andy Reid. In fact, the Fighting Irish coach is not even the first college coach named Kelly that the Eagles are interested in. Philadelphia was the lone NFL finalist for Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, who opted to remain in college. Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien also chose college (and a substantial pay raise) to remain in school.

The Eagles are not putting all their coaching eggs in one basket, compiling an extensive list of current NFL coordinators and former NFL head coaches to interview. Already interviewed include former NFL head coach and current Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, Falcons special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. Interviews were requested or scheduled with Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

San Diego Chargers: Now that the Chargers have named Tom Telesco their general manager, the focus can shift to their search for a new head coach. Telesco's ties to the Colts have increased the rumblings that Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is a favorite for the job. Other candidates may include former Bears head coach Lovie Smith, who has expressed interest to remain in a head coaching position, and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who played with Telesco at John Carroll University, is another possibility.