Chargers: Jim Harbaugh
After an incredibly disappointing two-year stint under Brandon Staley, the Los Angeles Chargers have hired former University of Michigan head coach and National Champion Jim Harbaugh. A certified winner, Harbaugh has seen success at all levels including a Super Bowl appearance with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. A creative play caller and top-tier program builder, Harbaugh is the perfect choice for what has been an underwhelming Chargers team in the past few years. With a revamped defense and Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert managing Harbaugh’s signature run-heavy offense, the Chargers could be in a contending position in the very near future.
Seattle Seahawks: Mike MacDonald
With just one year as a NFL defensive coordinator, Mike MacDonald was able to snag the Seattle head coaching job after Pete Caroll’s exit. While the Raven’s were upset in the AFC Championship, MacDonald’s Baltimore unit held eventual Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs to zero points in the second half of the contest. This was par for the course in 2023, as the Ravens finished with one of the top defenses in the league. This premier performance was enough to earn MacDonald a head coaching job in 2024. A young and brilliant coordinator, MacDonald is an excellent choice to take over a talented but underperforming Seahawks team. He will have big shoes to fill given the success the organization has been accustomed to under legendary head coach Pete Caroll, but MacDonald has the brains and the talent to bring Seattle back to contending status.
Atlanta Falcons: Raheem Morris
While Raheem Morris had an unsuccessful head coaching stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15 years ago, he has spent the past decade and a half working his way back through the ranks, most recently serving as the defensive coordinator during the LA Rams’ Super Bowl winning season. With more experience under his belt and a more defined defensive style, Morris is an excellent choice for an Atlanta team that struggled with creativity and player optimization last year. Primed with a solid young defense and immense talent on the offensive side of the ball in the form of Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London, the Falcons are very close to taking over a weak NFC South Division. If Morris can come in, build a culture, and fully optimize the team’s talent on both sides of the ball, Atlanta could be a playoff team within the next two years.
Carolina Panthers: Dave Canales
In 2022, Canales was promoted by the Seattle Seahawks to the role of Quarterbacks Coach. There, he and OC Shane Waldron transformed veteran QB Geno Smith—who was on the verge of exiting the league—into a pro bowler. This was enough to earn him the OC job in Tampa Bay where he again turned struggling QB Baker Mayfield into a Pro Bowl player and led them to an improbable playoff berth. Now, with a reputation of reviving QB careers, Canales will bring his talents to the Panthers who are desperate for a positive return on investment on former number one overall pick Bryce Young. Finishing with a league-worst record at 2-15, Carolina will need a complete overhaul and it starts with getting the young quarterback help and putting him in a position to succeed. There’s a long road ahead for the Panthers but Canales is young, talented, and has proven he can create something out of nothing on the offensive side of the ball. He will need to build a talented staff to balance out his offensive and QB centric mind, but Canales and the Panthers are headed in the right direction.
Tennessee Titans: Brian Callahan
While Callahan was probably the most under the radar hire this cycle, there is good reason to believe he could turn this Tennessee team around in the coming years. In four years as the Cincinnati Bengals OC, Callahan consistently churned out top offenses year in and year out. There have been questions as to how much he contributed to these units, considering they were led by a stacked roster consisting of Joe Burrow, Ja’Mar Chase, Joe Mixon, and Tee Higgins. However, Callahan’s offense has shown tremendous growth and adaptability in the past two seasons. After a dominant long ball offense in 2021, the unit successfully transitioned to a quick pass and run focused offense after defenses began to adjust to their deep threats. Then in 2023, the team was able to shift to a more under-center approach. Even when Burrow went down with a season-ending injury, Callahan was able to run a successful offense through backup Jake Browning. Adaptability has been the name of Callahan’s game the last three years which fits perfectly into Tennessee’s recipe for success. During their recent years of playoff success, the Titans have thrived off of maximizing talent. Callahan seems to be the perfect hire to rejuvenate this philosophy.
New England Patriots: Jerod Mayo
The Belichick era has come to a close after 23 years and New England has selected Jerod Mayo as his predecessor. History tells us not to trust head coaches from the Belichick tree. There is a long list of monumental failures coming out of New England including hires that have set franchises back years. Mayo also only has four years of NFL coaching experience, all as an inside linebackers coach. On the surface, this looks like an extremely suspect hire. However, there is reason to believe Mayo could be an anomaly in the Belichick lineage. For starters, he is young. At just 38 years old Mayo is the second youngest head coach in the league. He also has plenty of experience inside the Patriots system. With seven years of service as a linebacker for the team and four years as a coach, Mayo should be well versed in the “Patriot Way.” Despite his relative inexperience as a coach, he has also seen success with linebackers Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, and Marte Mapu improving year by year. There are certainly some red flags in this hire, but if Mayo can inject some youth into the traditional “Patriot Way,” there is no reason he can’t break the mold and lead New England to success in the future.
Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn
After three years of an aggressively mediocre Ron Rivera-run team, the Washington Commanders brought in a new owner and were set to get their franchise back on track with an exciting new head coaching hire. Instead, they signed another defensive minded retread in Dan Quinn. While Quinn has certainly seen more success in his career than Rivera, it’s hard not to feel uninspired by this move. In his last head coaching stint, Quinn led the Atlanta Falcons to a 46-44 record over five years. However, he did make a Super Bowl appearance with the team and came very close to winning before Tom Brady and the Patriot’s historic 28-3 comeback. After being released in 2020, Quinn took a demotion and moved to Dallas to be the Cowboys defensive coordinator. Here he thrived, consistently producing top defenses and turning around a unit that was historically bad prior to his hiring. He has also been noted as an excellent culture builder and team motivator, something Washington has lacked for almost 20 years. The key to Quinn’s success will be building a talented staff and acquiring the right players for his style of defense. While he has gotten more creative over the years, Quinn subscribes to a simple rush-four, single high philosophy. This strategy works well but relies on talent and guys that can execute, especially on the edge and at corner. Looking at Washington’s defensive unit they are severely lacking in talent, especially at those two positions. Quinn is certainly a step up in terms of competence compared to past Washington head coaches and there is a clear path to success, but it will take a lot of work from all sides.
Las Vegas Raiders: Antonio Pierce
Antonio Pierce may be the hardest hire to judge from this cycle. After Josh McDaniels’ mid-season firing, Pierce stepped in as interim head coach for the remainder of the season and saw immediate success. Under McDaniels, the Raiders were a struggling team who stumbled into a 3-5 record. Pierce then took the same roster and finished the season 5-4 including a blowout win against the Kansas City Chiefs. He also brought greater morale to the locker room, with positive reports coming out of postgame every week and an obvious boost of energy from players on the field. The problem is it is difficult to tell if Pierce will be able to develop into a franchise leader. He only has two years of experience as an NFL coach, both as the Raiders’ linebackers coach, meaning he has zero experience as a play caller. His inexperience in the league will also make it difficult for him to build a well-touted staff, which he will most likely need to support him as he navigates his first years as a real head coach. It’s clear that the players love him, but Pierce’s resume is severely lacking and he will have to put in a lot of hard work to hone his skills as a head coach.
