We've made it through another Black Monday in the NFL. Already, there are six coaching openings, and there are a few we’re keeping an eye on. It was an eventful day, and it’s an interesting year for coaching openings. There’s no Ben Johnson this season, and with NIL running rampant, we might see more teams delve into college for their next head coach. Let’s take a look at which is the best available job, and who might be next on the call list.
7. Las Vegas Raiders
Previous Head Coach: Pete Carroll
Next Head Coach: Deion Sanders
Yes, we did make the same prediction last year, but clearly, this would have worked out a lot better than what the Raiders got with Pete Carroll. The Raiders fired Antonio Pearce last season only to hire Carroll, who was coming off a very strange end to his tenure in Seattle. Carroll didn’t do much to help the Raiders win, hired Chip Kelly, who was a disaster as offensive coordinator. He brought in Geno Smith as his quarterback, and he was one of the worst in the league, leading all quarterbacks in interceptions with 17 in just 15 games.
It’s no surprise that Carroll got fired. It just didn’t work, and the Raiders have to start over. Luckily, the Raiders got the assignment and “won” the first-overall pick. They are getting the quarterback of the future, whether it’s Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore Jr. That should make them really desirable for a coaching candidate, right? Add that they have $110 million in projected cap space, but all the bad teams have an insane amount of space.
The issues with the Raiders are twofold: they have no good talent to build around the number-one overall pick, and their best talent (Maxx Crosby) might demand a trade this offseason after how Carroll messed things up.
What’s one guy who can get Crosby and the rest of the league excited to stick in Vegas? Deion Sanders. Yes, obviously, the team that has his son has a head coaching opportunity, but that doesn’t feel like the right fit. Sanders can come to a team in Vegas that needs a foundational rebuild. Sanders did that in Colorado, and it came with better results than he came in with. Honestly, Mark Davis would take that right now.
6. Cleveland Browns
Previous Head Coach: Kevin Stefanski
Next Head Coach: Mike McCarthy
The Cleveland Browns are in their own bad situation, and they basically let Kevin Stefanski out of his misery. He’s a really good coach in a really bad fit. The Browns have a few pieces, especially Myles Garrett, who just broke the sack record and will look to build off that season. The issue with the Browns is how many questions they need to answer. It starts at the quarterback position, where Deshaun Watson still has a black cloud over everything the Browns do. Shedeur Sanders was fine as a rookie, but they still have him and Dillon Gabriel in the room, with neither showing they should be “the” guy just yet. They can both grow into it, but there’s no guarantee there.
There really just isn’t nearly enough talent on this roster. And we don’t see them bringing in someone who is going to do a full-scale rebuild. We see the Browns' owners trying to do this on the fly, which is why they are going to prioritize someone with head coaching experience. There are rumors that Mike McCarthy is trying to get back into the coaching game, and he makes too much sense for Jimmy Haslem.
To be frank, we don’t think this will work. However, we think this is where the Browns are going to land. The disaster that is the New York Jets will scare them away from someone like Vance Joseph, and they will target championship experience to get them out of this hole.
5. Arizona Cardinals
Previous Head Coach: Jonathan Gannon
Next Head Coach: Klink Kubiak
Jonathan Gannon always felt like a strange hire in Arizona, but it seemed like the former Eagles defensive coordinator was ready to prove us all wrong after initial success. However, after just 15 wins in three seasons and ending this season with nine straight losses, the writing was on the wall. The Cardinals will be trying to find another coach to lead them into their next era.
The Cardinals, like the other three teams at the end of this list, have questions starting with the quarterback position. Kyler Murray is probably out the door this offseason, but he won’t have much value. At least, he won’t have “starting quarterback” value. Jacoby Brissett was already as a fill-in, but he won’t be starting next season. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardinals tried to trade up for a top-two pick in the NFL Draft.
However, for now, they hold the third-overall pick, which means they aren’t getting the top quarterback they need. This is going to be a situation where they tear this down to the studs. We could even see them trade some of their top stars and start from scratch, like Trey McBride and possibly Marvin Harrison Jr.
This is why a name like Klint Kubiak makes sense. He’s incredibly young (38 years old), but he has experience in multiple organizations. The son of offensive mastermind Gary Kubiak, he has already been an offensive coordinator for three teams (Vikings, Saints, and Seahawks). He’s always seems to get rehired by teams, with the Vikings and Broncos both bringing him back in elevated roles. Now, the Cardinals can let the team grow around him, similar to what the Saints are doing with Kellen Moore.
4. Tennessee Titans
Previous Head Coach: Brian Callahan
Next Head Coach: Dabo Swinney
There are always some insane shocks during the NFL coaching carousel, and this might be the biggest this decade. Dabo Swinney has expressed his frustration with the direction of college football with the focus on NIL and pay-for-play instead of old-fashioned recruiting. Clemson hasn’t been nearly as good since the implementation of paid players, and Swinney has seen major losses in the transfer portal since those rules were instilled, as well.
Swinney also celebrated the return of former offensive coordinator Chad Morris. He was the head coach at SMU and Arkansas, and he spent the last few years following his son. Now, he might be signing up for a head coaching gig without knowing it.
The issue here is getting Swinney to walk away from an insane amount of money. He signed a 10-year deal worth more than $110 million just a few years ago. He won’t make that off the bat in the NFL, but the Titans might be willing to pay him close to what he was getting in terms of annual salary.
Swinney wouldn’t have to move very far to make the role work. He could always go back to college football, since he’s just 56 years old (which is no longer old in terms of coaches). However, this is an interesting opportunity to coach a talent like Cam Ward and build a great offense that works on the next level.
3. New York Giants
Previous Head Coach: Brian Daboll
Next Head Coach: Kevin Stefanski
Kevin Stefanski won’t be out of a job for very long. We wouldn’t be surprised if he got interviews with all six of these teams. He’s an excellent coach who got sunk by an awful trade. The New York Giants are an exciting opportunity. They have a young quarterback in Jaxson Dart who just needs to learn how to stay healthy. Cam Skattebo might be great at running back if he stops trying to knock guys out with his head. The defensive line has elite talent, and Malik Nabers has “best wide receiver” potential.
With Stefanski at the helm, the Giants could see a New England Patriots-like turnaround next season. They have so many pieces in place, both young and old, that make this the right place to go moving forward.
There’s one thing that’s keeping this from being the top place to be. The Giants still have Joe Schoen as their general manager. He has not done a good job putting together a great “team.” He has incredible talent, but it hasn’t connected. We’ve seen this in every sport, and often, those situations can continue to sink teams.
However, maybe hiring the right coach is all Schoen needs to look like a genius. We saw this in Tampa with Jason Licht. Then, he hired Bruce Arians and signed Tom Brady. Now, six years later, he’s still there. We could see a similar situation in New Jersey.
2. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Head Coach: Raheem Morris
Next Head Coach: Mike LaFleur
Speaking of talent, there might not be more offensive talent than what the Atlanta Falcons are working with. Bijan Robinson is, at worst, a top-three running back in football. Drake London is a top wide receiver. Kyle Pitts has us bought in, again. They also just put their chips on the table to get defensive talents Jalon Walker and James Pierce Jr. This is a very talented team in a division that has a chance to be dominated for a decade.
In their last hiring cycle, the Falcons were choosing between Raheem Morris and some big-name candidates like Bill Belichick. They obviously made the wrong choice since a year later, we’re talking about a change, but they probably avoided a much bigger disaster. However, we don’t see them making the same type of mistake.
The Falcons will go after the offensive coach who will get creative with the gameplan. Mike LaFleur has been doing that with the Los Angeles Rams, especially this season when he likely helped Matthew Stafford win MVP. If he can get Michael Penix to even close to the heights we’ve seen from Stafford, he’ll be in Atlanta for a long time.
The Falcons have a chance to build a quality team, but this coaching hire is one of the most important decisions they’ve made this century. Can they secure their future and get LaFleur in-house for the long haul?
1. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Head Coach: John Harbaugh
Next Head Coach: Joe Brady
Kyle Boller was the quarterback of an offense led by Willis McGahee and Derrick Mason. The 2007 Ravens suffered a nine-game losing streak before ending their year with a win against the Steelers. This ended the Brian Billick era, and they announced the hiring of John Harbaugh. He was the Eagles defensive backs coach, making this a huge leap of faith by Ravens management.
Eighteen years later, the Ravens are back on the coaching market. They announced that John Harbaugh was let go from his position after missing the playoffs. This did two things: it makes the Ravens the number-one target for the top coaches in the league, and it makes Harbaugh by far the best coaching candidate in the league.
For the Ravens, this is a complete wild card, and we see them taking another leap of faith on a guy who can build around Lamar Jackson. In comes Joe Brady, leaving the Buffalo Bills and taking his scheme and style to Charm City. He did incredible things with Josh Allen while also putting him in a position to stay healthy. The Ravens will make this a priority.
As far as Harbaugh goes, his ideal spot isn’t open yet. With him available, teams will consider firing their head coach to hire the 63 year old. Stay tuned for his next landing spot.