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Bill Barnwell, ESPN Staff Writer
The NFL’s coaching carousel is coming. We’ve already seen the Panthers and Raiders fire their coaches over the past few weeks, and as the end of the regular season approaches, it’s safe to say there will be more openings by the end of January. Nobody likes to see coaches get fired, but it’s a part of the business. Every head coach has been the assistant waiting for an opportunity to open up.
Every year around this time, I like to write a piece analyzing the various jobs that could come available and how they might appeal to potential head-coaching candidates as they sort through options. It’s important to note that I’m not suggesting these teams should or will fire their coaches, but simply that there’s a meaningful amount of smoke around those opportunities.
What’s staggering about this season is how many jobs I had to consider. There are 10 teams on this list, four of which come from a single division. One of those teams will make the playoffs, so I don’t expect all four coaches to be fired, but there are different scenarios in which each of those teams could justify moving on.
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This 10-team list even leaves some rumors aside. It doesn’t include Mike Vrabel, who is enduring a second disappointing season in Tennessee. It also doesn’t include Sean McDermott, who has had a frustrating year in Buffalo and was under fire last week for comments he made about 9/11 in a training camp talk to his team in 2019. Both coaches won in Week 14. I won’t even countenance the complaints about Mike Tomlin, whose Steelers haven’t been able to keep up their early-season magic spell of winning while being outgained by the competition.
One reason I can’t take those concerns seriously? There are 10 teams on this list that might credibly make a change this offseason, and there aren’t 10 good candidates out there for those jobs. There would be a frenzy if Vrabel, McDermott or Tomlin became available. In a league in which every team owner wants the exciting, young offensive coach, Ben Johnson (Detroit) and Bobby Slowik (Houston) are going to need personal assistants to field all their calls.
Keep in mind that a lot can change in a season. This time last year, the most desirable job on the market looked like the opportunity in Carolina, which had nearly made it to the postseason, had an exciting young core and eventually got in position to land a quarterback with the No. 1 pick. Let’s rank those 10 potential openings, starting with the worst and working our way toward the best. Guess where we’re starting this year:
Jump to a potential open job:
ATL | CAR | CHI | LAC | LV
NE | NO | NYJ | TB | WSH