Dec 27, 2024 - 16:03
By espn.com

Ranking NFL head coach openings for 2025: Best, worst jobs - ESPN

It's a good time to be Ben Johnson. The Lions' offensive coordinator has the Detroit offense thriving as Jared Goff & Co. push toward a Super Bowl. In between drawing up leak variations in which Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs pretend to slip to fool defenders, Johnson might be giving some thought to the variety of head coaching jobs likely to be thrown his way this offseason.

Of course, Johnson can take only one job. With three teams having already fired their coaches and more presumably expected after Week 18, not every franchise can land its preferred candidate (and some teams might prefer somebody else to the Detroit wunderkind). Which job should Johnson and his peers prefer? Which jobs would be most desirable? Least desirable?

Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show'

Let's take a look at that very topic and run through the various actual and potential coaching openings across the NFL. Though there's usually a surprise opening that pops up — like the Titans after 2022 and the Seahawks after last season — I've tried to focus on opportunities with teams that have been rumored to be considering a coaching change.

Keep in mind, though, this isn't an argument in favor of any of these particular coaches being fired. There are teams such as the Dolphins and Titans, where I'd argue it would be foolish or premature to move on from the existing option. These rankings are taking the extremely aggressive assumption that these nine jobs will all come open over the next couple of weeks.

I'll start with the least appealing job and finish with the most appealing one and describe what might be exciting or underwhelming about each:

Pros: Ownership, division
C