Ranking 2024 NFL head-coaching vacancies: Seahawks surge to top, with Panthers

The 2023 NFL season flew by but the 2024 NFL offseason is off to a slow start, with the possibility of some big names holding up coaching movement. Until freshly minted national champion Jim Harbaugh and six-time Super Bowl champ Bill Belichick figure out their situations, we could be in a bit of a holding pattern. 

As such, we currently have seven openings in the NFL, a surprisingly small number for just a few days after the regular season ended. 

Things will probably change and we’ll see more jobs open up, but for now we can only rank what’s available. There are two distinct classes as well, with four teams slotting into the top tier, all very, very close with each other and one more job way down at the bottom. 

Let’s rank and discuss. Send your complaints, suggestions and angry words to me on Twitter/X @WillBrinson.

With the surprising Pete Carroll news — the longtime coach is out as head coach and transitioning to an advisory role in Seattle — the Seahawks job leapfrogs the Commanders gig for me. This is a 9-8 team with a ton of talent on the roster and a chance to be a playoff/Super Bowl contender with just a few moves. 

Quarterback is a long-term “problem” technically, depending on what the current crop of free agent (or employed?!) coaches thinks about Geno Smith and Drew Lock. But the Seahawks used the Russell Wilson trade to completely retool their organization and restock with talent on both sides of the ball.

John Schneider is as good a GM as it comes in the NFL. There are young pieces on the offensive line and a sick trio of wide receivers in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet round out a really stacked offense. Defensively, there’s plenty there, too, especially with the way young guys like Devon Witherspoon and Boye Mafe developed this year.

The biggest downside might be the obvious coaching candidate for the gig: Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Quinn took the Falcons to the Super Bowl in his first run as a head coach. Atlanta hired him because of his work as Carroll’s defensive coordinator. He’s crushed it in Dallas and has been patient waiting for his next opportunity. He would make the transition in Seattle borderline seamless. Both Mike Vrabel and, dare I say, Bill Belichick would be fascinating candidates for this gig if they were interested as well. 

For nearly 25 years, Dan Snyder made the Washington job a disastrous one. He would attract big name candidates, because coaching in Washington was a BIG DEAL. This was one of the biggest franchises in the NFL for several decades and Snyder made it almost untouchable. Enter Josh Harris, who has done a great job simply by doing the opposite of Dan Snyder. To wit: Harris didn’t fire Ron Rivera during his first season as owner and handled the entire situation with aplomb. Then he nabs Bob Myers and Rick Spielman to…