Black Monday 2025: Ranking every NFL head coach opening (so far)

robert zeglinski

Tue, 7 Jan 2025, 4:01 pm·3-min read

Dec 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis looks on during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

(To the tune of Andy Williams' It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year)

It's the most chaotic time of the yearrrrrr!

With Black Monday in the NFL upon us, the league is in full-on turnover mode at the start of the 2025 calendar year. As rebuilding teams assess their previous coaching failures, they are now perusing prospective head coaching candidates to help turn their organizations around. (Ignore various squads, like the Dallas Cowboys, seemingly and weirdly keeping everything in place.)

Below is a ranking of the best NFL coach openings so far. It considers ownership strength, salary cap space and offseason assets, foundational talent, and whether there's an exciting quarterback to build around. Let's dive in and start the new pro football year off right.

6. Las Vegas Raiders

Nov 29, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis takes the field prior to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Raiders fired Antonio Pierce nearly a full day after letting him talk to the media to muse about Las Vegas' future. They have no reasonable path to a quarterback of the future in this year's NFL Draft, might have permanently alienated superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby with Pierce's ouster, and otherwise have one of pro football's worst rosters. The next coach that owner Mark Davis hires for his team will be his seventh in 13 years. There is NOTHING appealing about this job to anyone who actually enjoys coaching in the NFL.

5. New York Jets

Dec 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; New York Jets owner Woody Johnson walks onto the field prior to the game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-881067 ORIG FILE ID: 20241208_JFV_bv1_004.JPG

The Jets are coming off a period where they sold their soul for a washed-up, egotistical Aaron Rodgers while owner Woody Johnson consulted his sons for trade advice, which they got from the video game Madden. This job is radioactive and takes place in one of the NFL's most toxic cultures from the top down. Anyone who takes it will almost certainly be seeking new employment again within three years. There's not a doubt in my mind.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

Dec 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan watches the game against the New York Jets at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Jaguars' head coach vacancy WAS enticing ... until owner Shad Khan decided to retain incumbent incompetent general manager Trent Baalke. In four seasons on the job, Baalke has two four-win campaigns. They are arguably just as directionless as when Baalke made the inconceivable decision to give Urban Meyer the keys to Trevor Lawrence. By keeping Baalke, it's not entirely clear Khan wants to win, and as such, any hot head coaching candidate should stay far, far away from Jacksonville.

3. New Orleans Saints

Dec 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Saints defeated the Cardinals 48-41. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints don't have a ton going for them under long-time general Mickey Loomis. Schrodinger's quarterback, Derek Carr, is still under contract for at least two more years, though New Orleans can more comfortably move on after 2025. The overall depth chart is mostly barren of franchise-caliber young talent, even if players like Chris Olave and Kool-Aid McKinstry present a promising future on both sides of the ball. Still, by the NFL's standards, this job is pretty solid. If someone comes in with a confident vision, I wouldn't be surprised to see a relevant contending Saints team again within a few years.

2. Chicago Bears

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 06: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears reacts against the Carolina Panthers during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on October 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776151391 ORIG FILE ID: 2177139261

There are a lot of questions about the Bears' opening that give me pause. In 14 years under owner George McCaskey's leadership, Chicago has just one winning season. From hiring practices and organizational hierarchy to basic offensive and defensive principles, the Bears seem committed to doing everything backward by modern NFL standards, without fail. Even still, the Bears currently have over $81 million in salary cap space, burgeoning talent in place in all three phases, and perhaps the most attractive malleable quarterback prospect in pro football in Caleb Williams. With the right coach, Chicago is an NFC superpower. We'll see how the dust settles.

1. New England Patriots

This is a no-brainer move. The Krafts have their faults, but they are by far the most trustworthy ownership group from a football perspective of anyone else on this list. The Patriots also have a ton of salary cap space and another promising, potentially special young quarterback to build around in Drake Maye. Whoever takes the New England job can rest assured knowing the goal is to win and to win the right way. Everything else is secondary.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Black Monday 2025: Ranking every NFL head coach opening (so far)