Report: NFL tables rule allowing HCs to be hired before their season ends

Among the rules discussed as part of this week's league meetings is a change that would have a significant impact on the winter hiring cycle.

NFL owners ended up tabling a change that, with permission, would allow new head coaches to be hired before the end of their original club's season, a source told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

The clear logic behind such a regulation makes the further delay somewhat surprising but, as Florio adds, the rule is eventually still expected to be put into place.

Assistants on playoff teams are typically the most sought-after candidates when head coaching searches are conducted in January, so any change in this regard would likely be a direct response to that situation.

Rather than potentially having to wait through over a month of postseason play, as the San Francisco 49ers did before hiring Kyle Shanahan away from the Atlanta Falcons this year, a new rule would allow the moves to be arranged beforehand.

The freedom to make the move official earlier can help hiring teams in a number of ways: Along with the certainty of having the next head coach in place, a new hire who's promptly received their title can start piecing together a staff before the top assistants have been scooped up.

Rules approved by way of ownership votes this week include a ban on leaping over the snapper to block a kick and an adjustment to the replay review system that gives the final decision to the league's vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino.