Every January, 14 NFL teams get to take centre stage on the quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy while the other 18 are left to sit and watch.
However there is a way for half a dozen of the outsiders to still remain a part of the news cycle and that is by making a change in head coach.
So let’s give those teams the attention they so desperately want by working out which NFL head coaching vacancy is the most appealing.
This is not just a case of working out who is the most fun project to take over in Madden 2025 (Chicago), because there are a whole lot more factors to consider for these guys.
After all, there is a reason these jobs have come open and chances are most positions will come with at least one massive “yeah it’s good but…” caveat.
Before the comment section turns bitey, a lot of these ratings (out of five) are going to be purely subjective, so if you don’t like it… well that’s on you.
Given it’s an easy way to get some engagement while we are at it, let’s also try and marry up some candidates to the open jobs.
1: New England Patriots
2024 Head Coach: Jerod Mayo
2024 Record: 4-13
The Good: Drake Maye, cap space
The Bad: The rest of the roster
The Dealbreakers: Ownership, fans
RATING: 4/5
Admittedly this one is a bit redundant given New England has already made their call on their 2025 head coach, bringing back former linebacker Mike Vrabel to run the show.
He’s back!
Patriots Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel returns to New England as our 16th head coach. pic.twitter.com/a3r7IQNzvk
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 12, 2025
The first post-Belichick season was an utter disaster no matter which way you spin it with a talent deficient roster and inexperienced coaching staff looking utterly out of their depth.
One positive is that rookie quarterback Drake Maye showed signs he might be the guy for the next decade if developed properly.
However this is a fan base that got used to winning Super Bowls during the 2000’s and 2010’s and the patience for a long, drawn out rebuild will not be there even with their affinity for Vrabel.
Working in his favour though is that the team has a projected $120m in cap space thanks to some big misses in the draft.
If he can shore up the roster in free agency and add in some more talent through the draft, Vrabel looks like the best fit for this gig.
THE GUY – MIKE VRABEL
2: Chicago Bears
2024 Head Coach: Matt Eberflus (12 games) & Thomas Brown (Interim: 5 games)
2024 Record: 5-12
The Good: Caleb Williams, cash to burn
The Bad: An incredibly tough division
The Dealbreakers: Caleb Williams (maybe)
RATING: 4/5
The enigmatic second year quarterback is the best and worst thing going for the Chicago Bears as they search for the next head coach.
Every Caleb Williams passing touchdown in his rookie season pic.twitter.com/Y7acGlEYip
— Pitless (@pitlessball) January 7, 2025
Blessed with seemingly unlimited potential, Williams could be the guy to end the Bears’ 40 year Super Bowl drought, or his larger than life personality might prevent him from reaching those heights.
Which means this hire needs to be all about getting the best from Williams, and that is why Ben Johnson from Detroit is the most popular choice.
However another name with his own ties to the franchise might be the better option, Ron Rivera has been able to get the best out of a larger than life quarterback in Cam Newton.
In 2015, he saw the guy who nicknamed himself Superman bulldoze the entire league on the way to a 15-1 record, the MVP award and a trip to the Super Bowl.
2015 @CameronNewton was a •môôd• pic.twitter.com/zXJBru10mC
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) May 11, 2021
Not to mention, Rivera was a linebacker for the Bears when they won Super Bowl XX and the defensive coordinator for the team when they went to Super Bowl XLI.
Outside of Williams, there is a lot to like about the way the Bears roster is constructed, with some decent talent across the board.
The defence has plenty of talent to work with at all levels and the offence just screams potential.
Combine that with a reported $60m plus in cap space and this is the best of the remaining open jobs.
THE GUY – Ron Rivera
3: Dallas Cowboys
2024 Head Coach: Mike McCarthy
2024 Record: 7-10
The Good: A roster readymade to compete
The Bad: Super Bowl or bust expectations
The Dealbreakers: Jerry Jones the GM
RATING: 4/5
Maybe 12 months too late, the Dallas Cowboys are looking for a head coach after letting Mike McCarthy’s contract expire.
Just like in their negotiations with star players, the Cowboys are now paying for waiting until the last minute with the natural fit already employed by someone else.
Bill Belichick and owner/GM/supreme franchise overlord Jerry Jones have a long standing relationship, but the former Patriots coach is now in college at North Carolina.
Jerry Jones says Bill Belichick found him at a ski resort in the ’90s after he’d been fired from the Browns.
Belichick told Jones, “I can coach…don’t forget about me.”
Cowboys owner has “thought about that many times” since 🤯
(via @1053thefan | @brgridiron) pic.twitter.com/Urdu38MIh2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 20, 2019
For all of the jokes about the Cowboys though, this is actually a pretty decent job, if you can handle the incredibly overbearing ownership group.
They have the quarterback, they have a star receiver and a couple of excellent defensive pieces, they just need to fill out that middle class of the roster and shore up the offensive line.
Of course, with Jerry Jones now in his 80’s the guy is getting more and more desperate for one last Super Bowl title before announcing his ultimate retirement.
So with a roster that is probably not that far off competing and an impatient ownership, maybe it is the perfect landing spot for a 73-year-old head coach who might already be done trying to recruit an 18-year-old kid with a Tik Tok account to play right guard for him.
THE GUY – Bill Belichick
4: Las Vegas Raiders
2024 Head Coach: Antonio Pierce
2024 Record: 4-13
The Good: A clean slate
The Bad: Not much talent on the roster, the need for a quarterback
The Dealbreakers: Will the new owners give the coach time?
RATING: 3/5
It has been a year of change in Las Vegas, with a new minority ownership group lead by Tom Brady now a part of the team.
By all accounts the seven time Super Bowl champion will be playing a big role in this coaching hire and determining the long-term future of the roster.
Whether or not he is any good at it remains to be seen, but for the time being it certainly brings an air of credibility to the process.
That also makes the Raiders players for the top candidates, especially Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson who will likely have his pick of the jobs.
However expecting instant results from this new staff might be asking a bit much considering the dire state the roster is in.
There are a couple of building blocks in place in Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers, but they need a lot of help, especially at the quarterback position.
Unfortunately for them, there is no real instant solution at the position available this offseason which puts more pressure on whoever does take the job to find alternative solutions.
However with almost $100m in cap space to spend, the Raiders could be players in free agency and a couple of shrewd signings would make them instantly more dangerous to deal with.
THE GUY – Ben Johnson
5: Jacksonville Jaguars
2024 Head Coach: Doug Pederson
2024 Record: 4-13
The Good: Trevor Lawrence
The Bad: It’s Jacksonville
The Dealbreakers: It’s Jacksonville
RATING: 2/5
Two years ago, all we could talk about was how well equipped the Jaguars were to become a force in the AFC and since then it’s been nothing short of a disaster.
Injuries have been a major hinderance, especially with Trevor Lawrence, but they should have been better than a 4-13 team last season.
Now Doug Pederson has been cleared out and the new coach has to get the best out of this offence.
The pieces are there beyond the quarterback, especially in receiver Brian Thomas who had a phenomenal rookie campaign.
It all points towards another offensively minded coach getting the nod as they try to chase down the Houston Texans in their division.
Adding to the team is going to be a major struggle though, because outside of the tax breaks in Florida, there is not a lot to do sell Jacksonville as a place to move.
Plus there are concerns over the involvement of ownership with Shad Kahn’s son running the team’s analytics department, suggesting an over-reliance on data rather than information.
It’s not the worst job by any means, but it’s probably not one that any aspiring head coach is actively hoping for as their first choice.
THE GUY – Liam Coen
6: New York Jets
2024 Head Coach: Robert Saleh (5 games) & Jeff Ulbrich (Interim: 12 games)
2024 Record: 5-12
The Good: The chance to live in New York?
The Bad: The completely unfounded expectations
The Dealbreakers: The Owner
RATING: 1/5
Prior to Week 1, there were some (thankfully nobody in the Neds office) thinking the Jets were a legitimate Super Bowl team.
This was despite the fact they were counting on a kind of wacky 40-something quarterback coming off a torn achilles and a handful of young but unproven potential stars.
Well the expected happened and the Jets remained the Jets, with a highly disappointing season done and dusted by early October when Saleh became the first coach fired.
This roster has all sorts of questions, not least of which surrounds the quarterback position and how they are going to move on from Aaron Rodgers and change up the rest of the roster.
Guys like Garrett Wilson and Sauce Garder are due for big money extensions but neither lived up to the hype in 2024 and Wilson at least has spoken about asking for a trade.
Then there’s the big red flag, owner Woody Johnson who has been the subject of scorn and ridicule for some of his decisions but insists on being a central figure despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
Woody Johnson talks about the Jets' 2024 season: pic.twitter.com/NdoFa2AbW9
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) January 6, 2025
Whoever takes this job is going to have to have the fortitude to calmly put Johnson (and his kids) back in place to be able to run the team their way.
THE GUY – Aaron Glenn
7: New Orleans Saints
2024 Head Coach: Dennis Allen (7 games) & Darren Rizzi (Interim: 10 games)
2024 Record: 5-12
The Good: A couple of defensive players
The Bad: Most of their good players are older
The Dealbreakers: Horrendous cap management
RATING: 0/5
There is no sugar coating this one, the Saints are in a bad spot heading into 2025 and there does not appear to be a quick fix on offer.
In the latter part of the 2010’s, they did all they could to try and muster up one more Super Bowl run with Drew Brees and Sean Payton, going close but not close enough.
However those single-season band-aid fixes always meant the next year would be somewhat hamstrung using the credit-card “we’ll just pay for it later” approach.
Now they are left with a financial mess that needs one, if not two seasons to be fixed and a roster that desperately needs a clearout.
Let’s run through their top six players by 2025 cap hit and their ages: Derek Carr (34), Cameron Jordan (36), Taysom Hill (35), Erik McCoy (28), Demario Davis (36) and Ryan Ramczyk (34).
Running back, Alvin Kamara is their best offensive player, counts for just over $10m on the cap (with a $25m hit if cut) and he is getting on at age 30.
Depending on which site you go by, the Saints are somewhere between $50m and $62m over the 2025 cap and there are no quick fixes available.
Good luck to whoever does it, they are going to be set up to fail.
THE GUY – Does it really matter?