One of the offseason’s confounding issues is why coaches like Brian Billick and Jim Fassel can’t land head-coaching jobs — and why they’re even struggling to get interviews.

Billick’s work and accomplishments are well-documented. In his 18 NFL years, his teams went to the playoffs 13 times. He won a Super Bowl with Baltimore. Just as impressive, five of Billick’s assistants in Baltimore — Marvin Lewis, Mike Smith, Mike Singletary, Jack Del Rio and Mike Nolan — went on to become head coaches in one of the least talked about but most impressive head-coaching trees.

With those credentials, Billick should get more than just the calls he received from the Jets and Lions.

Fassel also has struggled to find work. Washington bypassed him twice — once to hire Joe Gibbs, then again to hire Jim Zorn. St. Louis interviewed him this year but went with Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Now Fassel is trying to land work in a league that has been flipped on its head, choosing to hire young head coaches such as 32-year-old Josh McDaniels, 32-year-old Raheem Morris, 37-year-old Eric Mangini and 42-year-old Jim Schwartz. Fassel is 59, and some believe there’s an age bias against a coach who once took the New York Giants to the Super Bowl to play Billick’s Ravens.

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