The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing. Nine teams have parted ways with their head coach. For 3 of these teams, the search for a replacement is already over. Here’s a breakdown of the new head honchos for those teams:

• The Giants hired Brian Daboll, the former OC of the Buffalo Bills. Is Daboll a byproduct of Josh Allen’s greatness, or can he replicate that success and help salvage Daniel Jones’ career?
• Despite the fact that the Raiders weathered all sorts of turbulent events during their season by making the playoffs under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, the Raiders decided against giving him their full-time head coaching job. Instead, the Raiders have lured Patriots OC Josh McDaniels away from Coach Belichick. McDaniels posted a record of 11-17 during his time as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
• The Chicago Bears have hired Matt Eberflus, the former DC of the Indianapolis Colts. Why would they hire another Matt after how horrible the last one turned out to be?

For the remaining 6 teams, the head coaching search is underway. Who will be the chosen one who will be tasked with restoring hope to these struggling franchises and their loyal fanbases?

The MVP Blog will be analyzing the situation of each team looking for a new head coach, and we will be ranking the 9 head coaching openings (former openings included) from 1-9 (1 being the most appealing job, and 9 being the least) along the way.

Let’s get started.

Chicago Bears

Ben: The Chicago Bears cleaned house recently, firing their GM and head coach in one swift move. Personally, I don’t think that Justin Fields is special. I think he has the potential to be an above average quarterback, but that’s about it. Whatever the case, the Chicago Bears are a bad team, but at least they’re a young team. They boast a staunch defensive unit with lots of talent on that side of the ball, but the expected departure of WR Allen Robinson strips the Bears’ prospective offense for next season of a key contributor. This is especially concerning considering that they don’t have many weapons to begin with. This will be a difficult job for Matt Eberflus, but at least the foundational pieces for a rebuild are there.

Rank: 6 of 9

Ryan: The Chicago Bears have Justin Fields. I don’t care about anything else, to be quite honest. David Montgomery, Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, and Roquan Smith are all young studs who are 24 years of age or younger. But I do not care about any of that. I care about the franchise QB, Justin Fields. He struggled as a rookie. 2-8 in 10 starts. 59% completion percentage. 7 TDs to 10 INTs. But the kid is a leader, and he is tough as nails. The 2020 CFP semifinal game was all the proof I needed that this kid is going to be a great NFL QB. In the first quarter, he took a shot to the side while sliding. Broken ribs. He was in obvious pain. Did he complain? No. He went back into the game and played through the pain. 385 yards and 6 TDs later, Justin Fields and OSU had humiliated a very good Clemson football team. I am sold on the Bears’ young QB. It’s normal for rookie signal callers to struggle. Also, Matt Nagy is a moron. Justin Fields is going to have a big 22/23 season. Just watch.

Rank: 4 of 9

Denver Broncos

Ben: In the 2021/22 season, the Broncos were a painfully mediocre squad with a painfully mediocre QB room. Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock are not the guys you want to see your football team trot out to take snaps on Sundays. However, the rest of the squad is full of youth and immense talent. Their defense is already one of the best units in the NFL, and the potential of Bradley Chubb and rookie standout Patrick Surtain II are obvious every time they step on the gridiron. Jerry Jeudy is a work in progress (the offense as a whole needs some upgrades in the weapons department), but there is a competitive, playoff caliber squad that lies beneath the surface of this team.

Rank: 3 of 9

Ryan: In my humble opinion, the Denver Broncos are a star quarterback away from the Super Bowl. No offense to Teddy Bridgewater, but I stand by that statement. The Denver Broncos defense allowed only 18.9 points per game in 2021, the third best mark in the NFL. But they went 7-10. The offense just wasn’t good enough. Justin Simmons (5 INT) and rookie Patrick Surtain II (4 INT) led a very good secondary that allowed just 215 passing yards per game. Offensively, Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams led a solid rushing attack. In his rookie campaign, Williams had 900 rushing yards and 4 scores, adding 300 yards and 3 more scores in the passing game. The kid is a stud and is going to be a fixture in the Denver backfield for a long time to come. Their receiving core is very raw but also very talented. Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Noah Fant are all under 26 years old. Throw Tim Patrick into the mix as well, and the talent is in place for this offense to put up points, but they need a quarterback badly. This team can win immediately with the right QB and the right head coach.

Rank: 1 of 9

Miami Dolphins

Ben: The Miami Dolphins are an absolute dumpster fire. The NFL’s SeaWorld in more ways than just the team name. The firing of head coach Brian Flores was a shambolic decision which made it clear to everyone that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and GM Chris Grier care more about their petty politics and organizational control than winning football games. Tua is not the guy and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves. While on paper the Dolphins are a solid QB away from playoff contention, it’s clear that beneath the surface, this is an organization in complete turmoil. Nobody should want this job.

Rank: 8 of 9

Ryan: Brian Flores’ firing made no sense. Flores took over a 7-9 team and a franchise that was incredibly mediocre. In year two, he brought them to the playoffs with a rookie QB in Tua Tagovailoa starting 9 of the last 10. It’s been rumored that he was fired because of not seeing eye-to-eye with the front office about the future at QB. Flores reportedly wanted the team to trade for DeShaun Watson. The front office wants to stick with Tua. I’m with the front office on this one. Tua hasn’t lit the world on fire by any means, but he is 13-8 as a starter, with 27 TDS to 15 INTs, without any resemblance of a running game, especially in 2021. A running game takes so much pressure off the QB. It’s vital for any QB, but especially young ones. He needs help in the backfield. Rookie Jaylen Waddle looked like an absolute star in 2021. 104 receptions, 1000+ yards, 6 TDs. Pretty dang good for a rookie.

On the other side of the ball, rookie edge rusher Jaelen Phillips racked up 8.5 sacks. And CB Xavien Howard is as good as they come out wide. With a franchise QB, a young stud WR, a good young pass rusher, and an all-pro CB, I am very interested in this job.

Rank: 5 of 9

New York Giants

Ben: The New York Giants are a complete mess. Head Coach Joe Judge and his unimpressive southern accent have been booted to the curb in favor of Brian Daboll, who had been Buffalo’s OC for 4 seasons. In those 4 seasons, the Bills went from laughing stock to Super Bowl contender. Let’s get one thing straight though; the Bills’ success is not a product of Brian Daboll’s offensive playcalling. The Bills are great because of Josh Allen. Josh Allen’s development is a result of his growth into the fearless leader of a talented offense, not Brian Daboll. Allen already had the talent, he just needed to count on himself to make plays and be surrounded by teammates who would put their full trust in him. From my perspective, Daboll is a wildly inconsistent coach. There is no doubt that his offensive schemes can be the work of a genius, such as during the Bills’ 47-17 victory over New England in the Wild Card round. However, Josh Allen was forced to bail out Daboll’s occasionally wasteful playcalling more often than you’d think, which was especially evident in the Bills’ losses against the Jaguars, Buccaneers, and the Chiefs in the playoffs. Regardless, I don’t think Daniel Jones is a franchise quarterback, and I’m not sold on whether Brian Daboll is capable of being an NFL head coach. The one saving grace here is that his first season as head coach will likely be a test drive, seeing which guys he sees as future pieces for the G-Men and seeing which guys (likely Daniel Jones) he thinks need to be replaced.

Rank: 9 of 9

Ryan: I don’t think this job is as bad as people make it out to be. And I don’t think all hope is lost for Daniel Jones. In his three years, he has had an incompetent coach in Joe Judge, a very bad offensive line, and basically no running game to help him out, especially the last 2 seasons. Daniel Jones is a good athlete. And I think he is at his best when he gets out of the pocket and is a threat to run. I’d like to see the Giants move him around a little bit more and let him use his legs. Jones’ rookie season was by far his most productive, due in large fact because he had a healthy Saquon Barkley that scared defenses to death. Barkley played in 13 games this season, but he isn’t the same guy that we saw through his first two seasons. Hopefully one more offseason will help him return to form.

2nd year LB Tae Crowder, 2nd year safety Xavier McKinney, and rookie edge rusher Azeez Ojulari are a young defensive core for the Giants to build around. I’m not running through a wall to get this job, but I am also not running away from it either. I think the Giants can become a very solid team. If Barkley can return to form in 2022, look for Jones to take a step forward and become much more comfortable in the last year of his rookie contract.

Rank: 6 of 9

Jacksonville Jaguars

Ben: Everyone who is already calling Trevor Lawrence a bust needs to remember a few things about rookie QBs in the NFL and the Jaguars themselves:

1. Rookie QBs on bad teams rarely perform well (i.e. Josh Allen)
2. Rookie QBs with horrible head coaches rarely perform well (i.e. Urban Meyer)
3. The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the most horribly mismanaged franchises in football. Nearly everything associated with the Jags has some sort of negative connotation surrounding it. Not even Trevor Lawrence is safe from this effect, and it’s not his fault.

The Jaguars have talent on both sides of the ball on paper in the form of James Robinson, Josh Allen (the joke isn’t funny anymore, guys), and Shaquill Griffin. The right head coach might just be able to unlock the potential of this team, and who knows what Trevor Lawrence can do under a coach who isn’t a selfish, lying, cheating scumbag.

Rank: 4 of 9

Ryan: Much like the Bears, Trevor Lawrence is all I need. Yeah, he struggled as a rookie on a dysfunctional team with a head coach who lost the locker room. A rookie QB is never going to thrive in that environment, I don’t care how talented he may be. I’ll buy all the Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields stock that you’re willing to sell. These two kids are studs. And a bad rookie season doesn’t change that. Trevor needs help in the run game. I’m sorry, but James Robinson isn’t the answer. Thankfully, help is on the way in the form of Lawrence’s college teammate, Travis Etienne. Etienne suffered a season-ending foot injury during the 2021 preseason, but I believe that Etienne is a stud. He will improve the Jaguars offense in 2022. He will at the very least make Lawrence more comfortable within that offense. Much like Fields, I think T-Law will take a big step forward in 2022. He’s got way too much talent not to.

Rank: 3 of 9

Las Vegas Raiders

Ben: The Las Vegas Raiders are the weirdest team in football. They are the adopted son of Sin City, and boy do they like to sin. The character issues that have come to light from the Raiders locker room during the past season alone is nothing short of incredibly concerning. God knows what’s going on under the hood of that organization. However, despite all of this, the Raiders were able to make the playoffs, and Sid from Toy Story lookalike Derek Carr had a career year. Their once-porous defense is steadily improving behind the fantastic play of Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue. They are one of the few teams left in the NFL with a star RB in the form of Josh Jacobs. The only knock on this job opening is the aforementioned organizational concerns and the fact that they play in one of the league’s toughest divisions. Whoever gets this job is getting a solid squad with room for improvement and probably a boatload of money, too.

Rank: 2 of 9

Ryan: Yes. They went 10-7. Yes. They made the playoffs. I don’t really care. I don’t want this job. Derek Carr is a good QB. He is much better than people give him credit for, but he is not a great QB. He’s going to be 31 next year. Josh Jacobs is incredibly mediocre. Kenyan Drake has an $8.25 million cap hit in 2022 to be a backup running back. Darren Waller is a stud, but he’s coming off an injury ridden season and will be 30 next year. Hunter Renfrow is the bright spot of this offense. The former Clemson walk-on had 1000+ yards and 9 TDs in 2021. The defense is a solid group. It’s not amazing. It’s not terrible. Maxx Crosby though? He’s a stud. I don’t know what to make of this team. They are good enough to make the playoffs. They aren’t bad enough to get a high draft pick. They aren’t talented enough to be a serious Super Bowl contender. They aren’t young enough to make that next step. They are just kind of stuck in mediocrity. I’ll pass.

Rank: 7 of 9

New Orleans Saints

Ben: Yes, I know, this ranking is going to ruffle some feathers. First things first, I genuinely think that Jameis Winston can be a franchise quarterback if he is able to return from his ACL injury in the same form which he displayed at the start of the season. And as injury prone as superstar RB Alvin Kamara is, I think that the Saints’ offense can be lethal if they are able to get a head coach who can maximize the potential of the talent they have on that side of the ball. While many are ready to write off the Saints from future playoff contention, I don’t think they’re quite dead yet. New Orleans is a salvageable squad. It’s a low risk, high reward job opening in a weak division. If whoever takes this job isn’t able to save this seemingly sinking ship, no one will fault them for it. If they are, they’ll look like a genius.

Rank: 5 of 9

Ryan: No franchise QB. Mr. 30/30 is not a franchise QB. I’m sorry. An injury-prone 26-year-old RB in Alvin Kamara. Very little WR help. The best WR on the team hasn’t played in a year and a half and doesn’t want to be in NOLA anymore. The defense is okay, but the offense is a mess. Just let me say this: Sean Payton resigning wasn’t a coincidence. He looked at the current roster and saw that the Saints don’t have a future. It was time for him to enjoy retirement.

Rank: 8 of 9

Houston Texans

Ben: The Houston Texans are the Miami Dolphins with lower expectations and a better quarterback. They lack draft capital due to the ineptitude of their owner and front office. They are a pretty horrible football team, and they’d be lower on this list if the Giants and the Dolphins weren’t both relatively bigger messes.

Rank: 7 of 9

Ryan: Keep me away from Houston, thank you. They have traded their two best players, DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt, the past two years. They hired David Culley in January of 2021. Culley had absolutely nothing to work with. He was forced to start rookie 3rd rounder Davis Mills at QB 11 times this season. They went 4-13 and then proceeded to fire Culley for seemingly no reason. What were the expectations for him? How can you fire the guy after one season? I don’t care who is on the roster, for this reason alone, I wouldn’t want to come anywhere near this job.

Rank: 9 of 9

Minnesota Vikings

Ben: This is a pretty obvious choice for the top spot on my list, and Vikings fans can rejoice, since this is the only thing they’ve won in quite some time. On a more serious note, I’m not exactly sold on Kirk Cousins as the franchise quarterback in Minnesota. Regardless, there is no doubt that the Vikings have to go all in if Aaron Rodgers has truly had his last dance in Green Bay. They have way too much talent not to. Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are about as lethal a WR duo as they come. Dalvin Cook is still a star RB when healthy. Even with their wild inconsistency this past season under mediocre head coach Mike Zimmer, they still finished with an 8-9 record, and that feels like the floor of this roster’s potential. If the Vikings are able to hire a competent head coach, have a productive draft/offseason, and improve things on the defensive side of the ball, there is no reason for them not to compete (and win) the NFC North division title in 2022. Just please, for the love of all things holy, do not take Jim Harbaugh away from us. He’s all we have left in Ann Arbor.

Rank: 1 of 9

Ryan: The new coach is getting blessed with talent. The pieces are in place for this team to win immediately. The biggest decision that the new coach along with the new GM, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, will have to make is what to do with Kirk Cousins. Kirk is on the last year of his contract, a contract that holds a $45 million cap hit in 2022. Trading Kirk this offseason has long been rumored by Minnesota media and is what the majority of the fanbase is in favor of. I, however, am not of that opinion. Kirk Cousins very quietly put together a tremendous 2021 season. 4,200 yards, 66% completion percentage, 33 TDs to only 7 INTs. And that is with the teams #2 WR, Adam Thielen, missing 4 games and playing very limitedly in about 4 others. Kirk Cousins is not the issue. If the Vikings trade him, what’s the alternative. I don’t think there is a franchise QB in this draft. Go after Aaron Rodgers? Maybe.

The biggest piece that the new coach will have is Justin Jefferson. Justin Jefferson, after having just completed his second season, is already a top-5 WR in the NFL. His 3,016 receiving yards in 2 seasons is an NFL record. He’s also scored 17 times in those 2 seasons. The sky is the limit for JJ. 2nd year WR KJ Osborn also showed potential this past season, racking up nearly 700 yards and 7 scores. Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison form one of the best RB duos in the NFL. The biggest problem with these 2 is injuries. Can Cook actually stay on the field? On the defensive side, 27-year-old Danielle Hunter is the star. Injuries have limited him to only 7 games the past two seasons, but he is in for a huge bounce back year in 2022. He has 60.5 sacks in 85 career games. Add in veterans like Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith, the Vikings have star power at all 3 levels of this defense. The pieces are certainly in place for the new coach to make the playoffs in year #1.

Rank: 2 of 9

For your convenience (and for those of you who like to scroll without actually reading), here is a recap of how each of us ranked the head coaching job openings:

Ben

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Las Vegas Raiders
3. Denver Broncos
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Chicago Bears
7. Houston Texans
8. Miami Dolphins
9. New York Giants

Ryan

1. Denver Broncos
2. Minnesota Vikings
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Chicago Bears
5. Miami Dolphins
6. New York Giants
7. Las Vegas Raiders
8. New Orleans Saints
9. Houston Texans

Which jobs would you take? Which list is better? Comment down below and let us know!

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Authors: Ben Pawlak and Ryan Macdonald

Published: 1/31/22 at 6pm EST

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Sources/Works Cited:

Google Images, Google, https://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en.

Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com – Pro Football Statistics and History. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/. 22 January 2022.

StatMuse, https://www.statmuse.com/.