The NFL coaching cycle is getting in full swing as eight franchises are searching for new leaders, and a ninth could be on the way.
The New England Patriots became the eighth team to signal change on Thursday morning with the mutual parting of ways between the franchise and Bill Belichick. Seven others have made similar moves at various points.
As we survey the coaching landscape, we’ve tried to identify who we feel are the best candidates for the eight vacant jobs at the moment in the NFL.
While we’re not sure how all of these will materialize, we’re curious if some of them will indeed follow through with our guesses.
Our bonus team is included as well with a candidate you might not expect. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Atlanta Falcons: Former Patriots HC Bill Belichick
The Falcons are in a very strange place, set with a promising roster ready to compete and an aging owner ready to win in Arthur Blank but without a quarterback or clear path forward as to how to maximize the team’s talent.
Firing Arthur Smith signals that Atlanta wants instant success, and if this really is the path forward for the Falcons, Bill Belichick is your probably best option at the moment.
It’s a gamble to be sure, but Belichick raises the floor of this team and likely sniffs out some of its 2023 struggles to close out games. The Falcons have a very easy path to the division next year in a weak NFC South, and you wonder if Belichick could give Atlanta the same spark that Tom Brady gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2020.
It would be less of an effect since quarterbacks impact the game more than coaches do, but Belichick would be a safe hire that would, at the very least, field a competitive team in Atlanta every week. Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels got 10 wins out of Mac Jones in 2021; if he can coax McDaniels to Atlanta, there is your blueprint for success.
If you’re Blank, why not just roll the dice on Belichick for a couple of seasons and see how he does? If he’s willing to give up personnel control so that general manager Terry Fontenot can keep up his stellar track record with free agency, it could work, even if it’s as much a risk as anything else.
This team is in the gutter with six-straight losing seasons. Unless you feel convicted about one of the offensive coordinators out there being the next Kyle Shanahan, you might as well go with the coach who handed you your worst loss in your franchise’s history and hope he can make up for it with a Lombardi before he retires.
Carolina Panthers: Dolphins OC Frank Smith
The Panthers would be incredibly wise to follow in the footsteps of the Miami Dolphins and bring in offensive coordinator Frank Smith to lead its franchise.
Once he arrived to Miami, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel turned a struggling former Alabama quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa and turned him into a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback.
Carolina desperately needs someone like Smith who has been a part of a very particular quarterback rehabilitation process, and he could be key to unlocking Bryce Young’s potential as the Panthers’ de-facto starter.
If the team could keep Ejiro Evero as its defensive coordinator, an offense run by Smith that uses the Shanahan/McDaniel offense could work very well for a franchise that has absolutely hit the rocks under owner David Tepper.
Las Vegas Raiders: Interim HC Antonio Pierce
Pierce has earned the Raiders job after a 5-4 finish with a team that looked dead in the water as of October.
While team owner Mark Davis might want a splashy hire to further bring in new fans in Las Vegas, Pierce has plenty of support in the locker room and proved during his interim stint that he can pull together a team and get results.
If the team can change up its offensive coaching staff and find a good quarterback of the future, Pierce and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham have that side of the ball humming along quite nicely.
We get Davis wanting a big fish, but he shouldn’t overthink this one. Promote Pierce to the main job and find the right play caller and signal caller for the offense, and watch yourself become a sleeper in the AFC next year.
Los Angeles Chargers: Lions OC Ben Johnson
The Chargers need an offensive mastermind to help reinvigorate that side of the ball, one led by one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.
Johnson’s work in Detroit has been striking since he took over calling the plays, as he’s gotten excellent production out of quarterback Jared Goff and made the most out of his deep roster of offensive weapons.
The Lions’ offense is one of the most potent in the league, and the Chargers need to find their version of Sean McVay. Johnson has the potential to be that type of coach if everything goes right. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s worth a try.
We get the allure of a Jim Harbaugh, but having a promising young coach to grow with Herbert feels like the best-possible outcome, particularly when you think about the talent on defense and how most defensive coordinators could get production there.
Johnson to the Chargers feels like a slam dunk and could really give Los Angeles fans another pro team to vie for their consideration.
New England Patriots: Former Titans HC Mike Vrabel
The Tennessee Titans firing Mike Vrabel felt like a mistake the moment it happened, but it could be New England’s gain.
Vrabel feels like an easy shoo-in to take the Patriots job that Bill Belichick held for 24 years, someone who understands the franchise as well as anyone and would instantly get support from players and fans in Foxboro.
Vrabel could bring along former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to run the offense like he did with the Titans, and perhaps Vrabel would promote Jerod Mayo to a defensive coordinator role to keep him in the building.
Mayo feels like another worthy candidate for this job and has been tapped as Belichick’s successor for some time. However, Vrabel stole Tom Brady’s last game as a Patriot from New England with a Titans playoff upset win back in 2020, and we have a feeling that looms in owner Robert Kraft’s memory.
Vrabel heading back to New England feels like a distinct possibility right now, and it might be the best path forward for one of the NFL’s most storied franchises to bring a team great back home to succeed Belichick.
Seattle Seahawks: Cowboys DC Dan Quinn
After spending a few years as Seattle’s defensive coordinator during its Legion of Boom heydays, Quinn could return home a hero if he succeeds Pete Carroll as the Seahawks’ next head coach.
Quinn did a fantastic job in his first couple of seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before the offensive play calling and roster started to crumble. However, the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator could retain Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and keep that side of the ball intact.
That would allow Quinn to focus on the bigger picture part of the job, which he did quite well once he got to Atlanta in 2015.
Quinn knows the culture in Seattle, and his defensive scheme made some huge adjustments once it reached Dallas. This could be the perfect plan for the Seahawks to bring back a familiar face who has coached in a Super Bowl before (well, y’know, the 28-3 one).
Tennessee Titans: Texans OC Bobby Slowik
The Titans have to reckon with the fact that the Houston Texans are about to be a thorn in their side for the next decade-plus with quarterback C.J. Stroud on the sideline. They might as well go get his offensive coordinator while they’re at it.
Stroud’s excellent rookie season has Houston believing, but Slowik has emerged as a hot head coaching candidate as NFL teams try to find the next Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel to lead their offenses.
Slowik and Titans general manager Ran Carthon worked together with the San Francisco 49ers, so there would be instant familiarity there. Plus, Slowik could take what he learned while coaching Stroud and apply it to young Titans quarterback Will Levis.
Maximizing the 2023 second-round pick’s potential has to be a priority for Tennessee going forward, and Slowik has a season of proven progress there.
The Titans firing Mike Vrabel felt strange, but replacing him with a bright offensive mind like Slowik could pay off in a big way. Plus, it’d make a division rival instantly weaker, which is always a plus.
Washington Commanders: Vikings DC Brian Flores
While the Commanders might be interested in finding an offensive-minded coach after a couple of years with Ron Rivera, they should give Flores a serious chance at the job.
Flores’ work with the Miami Dolphins in his three-year stint was supremely underrated, getting 10 and 9 wins out of that roster in 2020 and 2021 was highly commendable, especially considering the early struggles of Tagovailoa in his career.
Miami has watched the Patriots clobber them consistently for the past couple of decades, and getting one of the few excellent branches of the Bill Belichick coaching tree sounds awfully appealing to us.
Flores could keep offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on staff if the latter doesn’t land a head coaching job, too, which would keep the growth going for that offense. Washington looks primed to land a top quarterback in the draft, and Bieniemy has experience with developing Patrick Mahomes.
However, Flores brings with him proven experience as a head coach and a bright coaching future that was wrongly cut short in Miami. Flores has done a strong job with the Minnesota Vikings as their defensive coordinator this past season, which makes his candidacy stronger.
A combo of Flores and Bieniemy, plus a quarterback like Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, could really give the Commanders the kind of competitive edge they’ve not had in years.
Bonus... Dallas Cowboys: Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh
If the Cowboys don’t make it to the NFC Championship game this year, it is very possible Jerry Jones will move on from coach Mike McCarthy.
If he does, it would not shock us in the slightest if he just threw caution to the wind and made a play for Harbaugh if he’s still available by the time Dallas exits the playoffs.
The Cowboys are a Super Bowl-or-bust franchise right now, and Harbaugh is fresh off winning a national championship at Michigan and went to a Super Bowl with the 49ers a decade ago.
If the Jones family can stomach Harbaugh’s obtuse personality and cede a bit of control over the roster, they might make that trade for the vision of Dallas winning the big one. McCarthy is still in his job and may still be there by this fall, but if you fire him, you go big.
Harbaugh fits the bill, as would Belichick if the Falcons go in another direction. Something about Harbaugh going to Dallas just feels right.
