It’s not as easy as the Patriots made it look. No, that’s not a reference to winning six Super Bowls in 18 years. It’s about conducting a coaching search, especially this offseason when an abnormally high number of proven winners are available.
The Patriots simply handed the reins from Bill Belichick to contracted coach-in-waiting Jerod Mayo , while Belichick is trying the Falcons on for size and waiting to see if the Cowboys will have a vacancy. Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel all can be selective in taking interviews as the hot coordinators of the year line up multiple opportunities. Seven teams still are in the beginning stages of a thorough process — holding virtual interviews — and two NFC East powers might soon join them after stunning wild-card playoff collapses.
The Steelers could’ve been a 10th team in the market — and a desirable landing spot because of the job’s unparalleled stability — but Mike Tomlin told his players Tuesday that he intends to return in 2024 , NFL Network reported. In-person interviews begin Monday, when the searches will be sped up with only four teams remaining in the playoffs. Teams must hold in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates before making a hire under the Rooney Rule.
Here is The Post’s analysis of each job’s strengths and weaknesses, the candidates getting interviews (asterisk represents an interview request not yet fulfilled) and a pick for each job after conferring with a few NFL sources: Interview list: Ravens DC Mike Macdonald, Bengals OC Brian Callahan, 49ers DC Steve Wilks, Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, Ravens assistant head coach/DL coach Anthony Weaver, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Lions DC Aaron Glenn , Rams DC Raheem Morris , Lions OC Ben Johnson , Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce . The skinny: Owner Arthur Blank, 81, pulled the plug on a long-term build to win now while the NFC South lacks a Super Bowl contender. He is seen as a player-friendly but not meddlesome owner, leaving football operations to GM Terry Fontenot.
One year after foolishly not making an offer to franchise-tagged quarterback Lamar Jackson to stick with a Taylor Heinicke-Desmond Ridder rotation, the Falcons are the likeliest trade partner for the Bears when they deal either Justin Fields or the No. 1 pick in the draft. One of the NFL’s best offensive lines and three offensive playmakers drafted with top-10 picks are in place.
Prediction: Belichick. Interview list: Interim head coach Chris Tabor, Evero, Macdonald, Callahan , Morris , Ravens OC Todd Monken, Ben Johnson , Eagles OC Brian Johnson , Buccaneers OC Dave Canales , Texans OC Bobby Slowik , Cowboys DC Dan Quinn , Dolphins OC Frank Smith . | The skinny: The cliché says “there are only 32 of these jobs, so don’t turn one down.
” But this is one to avoid. Hot-tempered owner David Tepper pulled a quick trigger on Matt Rhule with $34 million left on his contract and then fired Frank Reich before his first season was up. The competition is great for Ben Johnson, who figures to be No.
1 on the list. The Panthers have holes everywhere and limited resources to fill them because of their all-in trade to draft quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick.
Young struggled mightily as a rookie. Prediction: Smith. Interview list: Quinn , Evero , Morris , Smith , Slowik , Giants OC Mike Kafka , Raiders DC Patrick Graham*.
The skinny: It has felt like Quinn’s job to lose since the moment Pete Carroll was cast aside . Quinn won a Super Bowl as Carroll’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and later led the Falcons back to the big game. GM Jon Schneider is a smart drafter and an aggressive trader — spottier track record — so the Seahawks sit in no-man’s land as a playoff contender far away from a championship contender.
The NFC West is a gauntlet, especially with no long-term answer at quarterback to feed a dynamic trio of receivers. If Carroll indeed remains on as an adviser, as advertised, that’s a tricky looking-over-the-shoulder dynamic to navigate. Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel could join the list soon.
Prediction: Quinn. Interview list: Interim head coach Giff Smith, OC Kellen Moore, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, former Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier, Callahan, Macdonald, Wilks, Monken, Graham, Glenn , Ben Johnson , Quinn , Morris . The skinny: Is this a win-now job or a rebuild? Either way, one choice stands out as best for either situation.
The Chargers must decide if the championship window has closed on an underachieving star-laden roster and what to do with Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (all have salary-cap hits of at least $32 million). The Chargers simultaneously are running a GM search, so who is making the final call on the coach? Owner Dean Spanos typically doesn’t spend on big-name coaches, but the AFC West is full of them. The trump card, however, is a chance to work with Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert, 25, through at least 2029.
Prediction: Harbaugh. Interview list: Ben Johnson , Glenn , Morris , Weaver , Macdonald , Quinn , Slowik*. The skinny: Pencil in a young offensive innovator here.
It’s the logical way to go when the Commanders are all-but-certain to draft a franchise quarterback No. 2 overall. New owner Josh Harris has a track record of giving coaches at least three-plus years — which qualifies as patience nowadays — in his NBA- and NHL-owned franchises.
He won’t be hesitant to dip into a league-high $75. 3 million in cap space, according to overthecap. com.
New GM Adam Peters comes from the 49ers, where he was exposed to the magic of many bright young assistants influenced by head coach Kyle Shanhan. Slowik, whose career began as a Washington assistant, is next in that line. Prediction: Slowik.
Interview list: Callahan, Pierce, MacDonald, Kafka, Glenn , Ben Johnson , Quinn , Slowik , Brian Johnson , Panthers OC Thomas Brown . The skinny: Owner Amy Adams Strunk has fired two people — GM Jon Robinson during the 2022 season and head coach Mike Vrabel last week — who mostly were successful, in her attempt to elevate to another level. GM Ran Carthon could be fighting with the Commanders’ Peters for a lot of the same candidates because of their shared background as 49ers colleagues.
The highly in-demand Johnson’s promotion to Lions offensive coordinator in the middle of the 2022 season coincided with Jared Goff’s renaissance. The Titans have $71 million in salary-cap space but no real offensive identity after parting ways with Derrick Henry. Is 2023 second-round pick Will Levis a franchise quarterback? Prediction: Ben Johnson.
Interview list: Frazier. The skinny: The Raiders’ initial focus has been on finding a GM. It has left them behind the curve on keeping their own interim coach as Pierce (5-4 record) goes on other interviews .
Owner Mark Davis made a mistake not hiring his last successful interim head coach, Rich Bisaccia, in 2022, but he can’t just let Harbaugh walk to the Chargers without gauging interest, right? Defensive star Maxx Crosby reportedly could request a trade if anyone other than Pierce is hired. All-Pro receiver Davante Adams could be dealt, too. No franchise quarterback is an issue.
The Raiders need to get this hire right to establish a fan base in Las Vegas. Prediction: Pierce. Head coach: Mike McCarthy The skinny: Like Blank, Jerry Jones is another 81-year-old owner who feels like he is fighting Father Time to return the Cowboys to their glory days.
He needs a coach with the same urgency . The much-speculated choice is Belichick, but who will have final say on the roster when Jones, Belichick and a couple other big egos huddle up? The balanced roster — No. 1 scoring offense and No.
5 scoring defense — is coming off three straight 12-win seasons because of executive Will McClay’s outstanding drafting record. So, what coach can push it over the top in the postseason? A Super Bowl-winner who is surprised to be out of a job right now. Prediction: Carroll.
Head coach: Nick Sirianni The skinny: The same Sirianni behaviors — yelling at rival fans and taunting opposing players — that seemed authentically Philadelphia in good times seemed clownish when he was unable to stop his team from collapsing (1-6 down the stretch) and his locker room from imploding. The expectations on any successor will be enormous one season removed from an NFC Championship. Jason Kelce is the first of the “Core Four” to retire, the defense needs a complete makeover and quarterback Jalen Hurts is regressing.
More than anything, the team needs structure and accountability. Prediction: Vrabel. .
From: nypost
URL: https://nypost.com/2024/01/16/sports/nfl-coaching-carousel-updates-predictions-for-every-teams-vacancy/
