Ranking The Coaching Vacancies 

By: Mike Rifkin

There are currently eight teams in the NFL that have a head coaching vacancy. The Broncos, Jaguars, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Bears, Vikings and Texans all have openings and there are pros and cons to all of these teams. Let’s rank all the vacancies from worst to best.

8) Texans: The Texans fired head coach David Culley after one season. Culley actually did better than a lot of people would have imagined winning four games for the Texans. The story in Houston will continue to be what happens to quarterback Deshaun Watson who didn’t play for the team this season due a legal situation where Watson was accused of 22 sexual assaults and misconducts. Prior to the allegations Watson did tell the Texans he did want to be traded. Rookie Davis Mills did show some promise. It is going to take some time for the Texans to be competitive in the AFC. 

7) Giants. The Giants fired head coach Joe Judge after two abysmal seasons. General manager Dave Gettleman retired after four seasons. Gettleman has put the Giants in a tough spot based on contracts he handed out the Giants have no cap space this offseason. Over the past five seasons the Giants are tied for the worst record in the NFL.  I want it to be noted that I believe there is a lot of talent on this roster especially on offense with receivers Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and Darius Slayton. The major question the Giants have to answer is Daniel Jones, the quarterback of the future. The team has until May 3rd to decide if they are picking up his fifth year option. I would NOT pick up the option. Don’t allow a new general manager and new coach to inherit the same quarterback. 

6) Jaguars. Hand up I want to put them higher on the list but can’t. Urban Meyer was fired for being a clueless idiot and doing things real coaches don’t do. But this is a job I really like because whoever becomes the coach inherits Trevor Lawrence who struggled as a rookie but has a ton of upside. Another reason I would put this job higher is there is no expectation of winning right away so a first time coach may get an opportunity to build the team the way they want. 

5) Bears: Head coach Matt Nagy was fired by the team after four seasons and two playoff appearances. If someone takes the Bears job they inherit Justin Fields who showed some glimpses in his rookie season. David Montgomery when healthy is a very good running back. Plus a defense that is still very talented led by Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn who broke the season record for sacks in a season. The Bears will also have 34 million dollars in cap space this offseason. But the biggest thing for me is there is a chance the Bears will not have to play against Aaron Rodgers if he were to leave Green Bay this offseason.

4) Dolphins. The most shocking fire came from Miami where after three seasons Brian Flores was relieved of his duties. Flores was 24-25 in three seasons and his team showed a lot of fight. Whoever gets the gig has to answer one question: Is Tua Tagovailoa their quarterback? Defense is elite, they really need to get some offensive playmakers and work the offensive line. The Dolphins have around 68 million dollars in cap space which right now is tops in the NFL. 

3) Raiders: Made the playoffs this season. Derek Carr is a very underappreciated quarterback, Josh Jacobs is a solid running back. Need to continue to develop the offensive line but the biggest negative is the division where they play Mahomes and Herbert twice a season. The Raiders have about 39 million dollars in cap space this offseason.

2) Vikings: Mike Zimmer was fired after eight seasons as the Vikings coach. He had a record of 72-56-1 and a 2-3 postseason record. An explosive offense of Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen should be appealing to any coaching candidate. Like the Bears if Aaron Rodgers leaves Green Bay the door is wide open for the Vikings to control the AFC North

1. Broncos: Vic Fangio was fired after three seasons going 19-30 in those seasons. Denver has a lot of talent on offense with Jerry Jeudy, Cortland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Noah Fant. Javonte Williams had a good rookie season. Their defense allowed the third fewest points at 18.9 points per game. Defense also was 8th in yards allowed giving up 326.1 yards per game. Denver has been missing a quarterback since Peyton Manning retired and landing a big head coach could sway a major quarterback into playing for the Broncos.