Ranking NFL head coaching vacancies for 2025: Best and worst jobs

It’s a good time to be Ben Johnson. The Lions’ offensive coordinator is keeping Detroit’s offense thriving as Jared Goff & Co. head toward a Super Bowl. As he works out leak variations in which Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs pretend to fool defenders, Johnson may be thinking about the variety of head coaching jobs that are likely to come his way this offseason.

Of course, Johnson can only take one job. With three teams already firing their coaches and more likely expected after Week 18, not every franchise can land their dream candidate (and some teams may prefer someone else over the Detroit wunderkind). Which job should Johnson and his colleagues prefer? Which jobs would be most desirable? Least desirable?

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Let’s take a look at this very topic and go through the various actual and potential coaching positions in the NFL. While a surprise opening usually arises – like the Titans after 2022 and the Seahawks after last season – I tried to focus on opportunities with teams rumored to be considering a coaching change.

However, keep in mind that this is not an argument for any of these coaches to be fired. There are teams like the Dolphins and Titans where I think it would be foolish or premature to deviate from the existing option. This ranking makes the extremely aggressive assumption that these nine positions will all become available in the next few weeks.

I’ll start with the least appealing job and end with the most appealing, describing what might be exciting or disappointing about each job:

Jump to a team:
Bears | dolphins | Giants
Jaguars | Jets | Patriots
robber | Saints | Titans

Advantages: property, division
Disadvantages: Roster, salary cap

The Saints are about where the Raiders were in 2011, when they had to live with the worst international situation in the league in hopes of being competitive. This team had an excuse: They were trying to win another Super Bowl for Al Davis during the legendary owner’s lifetime, which was complicated by some of the key decisions Davis made, including hiring Hue Jackson as the new coach.

The Saints have neither that excuse nor really a reason to operate the way they have in recent years after Drew Brees and Sean Payton both left town. This season continued New Orleans’ slump, which followed the firing of longtime Payton assistant Pete Carmichael in the offseason and the firing of coach Dennis Allen in the middle of the year. Darren Rizzi has gone 3-3 as interim coach, but it’s important for this organization to accept that the glory days won’t return until a fresh start is achieved.