Just three teams are left without a head coach after one more team reportedly filled their vacancy on Thursday.
Per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, Liam Coen has informed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he plans to take the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching gig. Coen was the Bucs’ offensive coordinator during the 2024 season.
Now, only the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders are without head coaches. Here are a few of the top options to fill those vacancies.
Dallas Cowboys
- Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer
- Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore
- Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh
New Orleans Saints
- Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
- New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi
- Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver
Las Vegas Raiders
- Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
- Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken
- Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
Dallas Cowboys
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- Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer
- Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore
- Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh
A handful of names have emerged as favorites to become the Cowboys’ next head coach, but Brian Schottenheimer is seemingly the frontrunner at this point.
Schottenheimer, who has been Dallas’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons and has been on staff since 2022, helped lead one of the best offenses in the NFL in 2023. The Cowboys offense wasn’t quite as successful this year, but that can be partially attributed to quarterback Dak Prescott missing most of the season.
Per Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports, Schottenheimer could be named Dallas’ coach as soon as this week.
“Look for the Cowboys to cross the finish line on hiring Brian Schottenheimer no later than Friday, possibly today,” Hill reported Thursday.
While it seems like Schottenheimer and the Cowboys are very close to reaching a deal, Kellen Moore would likely be the next choice if something doesn’t work out. Moore played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2017 and has spent the past few years establishing himself as one of the best offensive coordinators in the league.
He’s currently preparing to lead the Eagles in the NFC Championship game this Sunday.
If the Cowboys can’t land either Schottenheimer or Moore, former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh will likely be in the mix. Dallas interviewed the defensive-minded Saleh last week following Mike McCarthy’s departure.
New Orleans Saints
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- Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
- New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi
- Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver
Mike McCarthy wasn’t the Super Bowl-caliber head coach the Dallas Cowboys expected him to be, but he has a track record of consistently winning wherever he’s coached. He’s reached the playoffs 12 times during his stints with the Green Bay Packers and Cowboys and has a record of 185-123-2.
If the Saints can give McCarthy a decent roster, he could lead them back to the playoffs after years of struggle. McCarthy will interview with New Orleans next week, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The familiar name in the Saints’ coaching search is interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
Though Rizzi has no head coaching experience in the NFL besides his eight games as interim in 2024, he’s been in the league since 2009 and has been with New Orleans since 2019.
It’s also worth noting that Rizzi is star running back Alvin Kamara’s pick for head coach:
Anthony Weaver has also never been a head coach, but he has more than a decade of experience in the NFL and a track record of success. In his one season as the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator, he took the team from 22nd in scoring defense in 2023 to 10th this season.
Weaver interviewed with the Saints on Thursday, per Schefter.
Las Vegas Raiders
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- Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
- Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken
- Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
What Pete Carroll lacks in youth, he makes up for in experience, and that could be what the Las Vegas Raiders need at this point.
Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the 73-year-old Carroll is the top option in Las Vegas right now. Anyone who has watched football over the last two decades knows that Carroll is one of the greats, as he won a pair of national titles with USC and led the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls and won one of them.
If the Raiders want to get out of the offensive slump they’ve been in over the past few years, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken could be the person for the job.
Monken cut his teeth in the collegiate ranks for years before getting his first NFL gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016. Since then, he’s been an offensive coordinator for the Bucs, Cleveland Browns and Ravens. He also had a three-year stint with Georgia and helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles.
It’s also worth noting that Monken was Georgia’s offensive coordinator when Brock Bowers, the Raiders star rookie tight end, was with the Bulldogs, so he’d have a familiar face in Las Vegas.
It’s been years since Steve Spagnuolo has been an NFL head coach as his last stint was with the St. Louis Rams from 2009 to 2011. Since then, Spagnuolo has gained more experience and established himself as one of the best defensive minds in the league, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to three championships and potentially another this year.
While hiring Spagnuolo might mean leaning into the defensive side of things, he could be a solid option for the Raiders if they can draw him away from their divisional rival.