The Winnipeg Jets will soon begin the process of interviewing candidates to serve as head coach next season, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said during his year end press conference on Monday.

Cheveldayoff did not rule out the return of interim head coach Dave Lowry, who will be granted an interview during the process.

"I met with the coaches. I informed them that we're going to be conducting a full-scale interview process for a new head coach," said Cheveldayoff. "So I met with each of them individually, I met with Dave and told him that as well, and said to him if he wanted to be part of that formal search that he had earned that opportunity. We will grant him a formal interview process in that regard."

Cheveldayoff also said that the team doesn't have a set timeline for its coaching search as it goes through the process to complete exit interviews with coaches and players. However, the Jets' GM did not rule out having to wait until after the playoffs, as some candidates might be assistant coaches with playoff teams.

"We’re going to get through the exit process here today. Just about the exit meetings we were having with the players, just to put closure to some of those situations. And then we’ll look at the different possibilities [for coaches]," said Cheveldayoff. "It’s hard sometimes to put a timeframe on it because some guys you might want to interview might be in the assistant coaches side in organizations that run deep in the playoffs.

"We’ll turn our attention to that in short order. I’m not sure exactly when we’ll begin that process, but start compiling names and situations to deal with."

Lowry took over as interim head coach on Dec. 17 after Paul Maurice resigned. Under Lowry, the Jets went 39-32-11 as they missed the postseason for the first time since 2016-17, finishing eight points out of a playoff spot.

The 56-year-old joined the Jets as an assistant coach in November 2020 after being head coach of the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. He was also previously an assistant with the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings.