Falcons’ Shanahan says he’s not thinking about head coach opportunities

Assistant coaches whose teams have byes can interview that week, but then are off limits until their team is eliminated from the playoffs. If their team advances to the Super Bowl, they can talk to other teams in the week after the conference championship game.

Shanahan conducted interviews on Friday and Saturday.

“That was easy,” Shanahan said. “The easiest part is when you get the bye week and you get that extra time off … . I just dedicated the two off days to the interviews. I got to do three of them and really haven’t done one thing in that area or talked to anyone in that area since Saturday afternoon.”

Shanahan said he’s not concerned about when he next will have the opportunity to speak to other teams “because it’s not an option for me, anyways. We are totally locked into the game this week and there is zero else on our mind.”

Shanahan has never been a head coach, but his work this with the Falcons this season had made him an attractive head-coaching candidate. After lackluster results in his first season, the Falcons set a franchise record for points this season while earning the NFC’s No. 2 seed.

The Falcons set the franchise record for points in a season during the first quarter of the 14th game. Quarterback Matt Ryan broke his own team mark for passing yards and is an NFL MVP candidate. And Ryan is among four Falcons offensive players selected to the Pro Bowl along with running back Devonta Freeman, wide receiver Julio Jones and center Alex Mack.

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