Redskins May Target Colts Assistants

The Washington Redskins are expected to attempt to interview Indianapolis assistant coaches Ron Meeks and Jim Caldwell this week now that the Colts have been eliminated from the playoffs, while NFL sources continue to maintain that Redskins assistant Gregg Williams is the front-runner for the job.

Williams, the team's assistant head coach-defense for the past four years, spent Saturday at owner Daniel Snyder's house, league sources said, and was scheduled to formally interview for the job today, with formal sessions often lasting upwards of 12 hours.

Williams was the third person to interview for the position, and his meeting could be rescheduled based on the ability of Meeks and Caldwell to get to Washington.

Meeks, Indianapolis's defensive coordinator, and Caldwell, who oversees the Colts' offense and quarterbacks, are seen as future head coaches, and both declined to comment on any outside interest after the loss yesterday to San Diego at the RCA Dome. Both are top candidates to replace Colts Coach Tony Dungy should he retire, and they are among the five men on Washington's list of candidates to succeed Joe Gibbs, who resigned Tuesday.

The Redskins have yet to interview a minority candidate who would fulfill the NFL's Rooney Rule, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, but Meeks and Caldwell, who has interviewed for several coaching vacancies this offseason, would meet that stipulation.

The Redskins are looking to move swiftly in this process, according to a source close to Jim Schwartz, the Tennessee Titans' defensive coordinator who interviewed for the position. That source said that Snyder spent the initial interview trying to get a feel for the candidate's personality and attitude, seeing if they could coexist, and said he expected the process would likely include multiple interviews for the top choice.

Numerous NFL sources have expressed their belief throughout the week that Williams was the leading candidate. One team source said that Williams was the only coach on the current staff to have interaction with ownership last week beyond the staff meeting in which Gibbs announced his retirement.

Staff writer Mark Maske contributed to this report from Indianapolis.