2024 NFL Coaching Carousel: Best Fits for Atlanta, Seattle and Washington

Bill Belichick, Dan Quinn and Mike Vrabel are still available. But either Ben Johnson, Bobby Slowik, Raheem Morris, Patrick Graham and Mike Macdonald could be the big winners when it's all said and done.

This is shaping up to be one of the great coaching carousels in recent memory. Jim Harbaugh jumped back into the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers after flirting with the league for three consecutive cycles, latching his star onto Justin Herbert’s coattails.

Bill Belichick is … still out there. New Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan was probably one of the most under-discussed candidates in recent memory that the league liked a lot more than the media (I’ll put the blame on myself because, even as late as December, I had Callahan behind some names such as Frank Smith and Lou Anarumo). And now we wait to see where Mike Vrabel lands, if Los Angeles Rams DC Raheem Morris could pull a major upset and, well, let’s just get into it.

Vrabel and Belichick are still in the running to get hired during this coaching cycle.   :: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports

But before we do, let’s consider how wild the past few weeks have been. The Dallas Cowboys effectively decided to keep Mike McCarthy but could lose defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, one of the central reasons why McCarthy’s Cowboys have been so successful. The Philadelphia Eagles just nabbed Vic Fangio, installing him as defensive coordinator, just a short drive from his hometown of Dunmore, Penn. Former Chargers coach Brandon Staley is out there, too. Could he end up with the Los Angeles Rams if Morris gets a job?

The New England Patriots sat out the interview process entirely, sticking to the man—Jerod Mayo—that they had been talking about promoting for a handful of years. There are teams taking massive swings for the fences, and there are teams doubling down on who they believe they already are.

Two quick bits of coaching minutiae (relatively speaking) that I think are worth mentioning:

• As we predicted, Dan Pitcher is the new offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. Keep an eye out for Pitcher, who we could be talking about a lot in the head coaching space soon.

• I think the best hire of the cycle so far has been Ryan Nielsen as the new DC of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nielsen comes from the Dennis Allen tree and was tremendous with the Atlanta Falcons last year despite the team’s 7–10 record. Jacksonville has a ton of talented pieces but has woefully underperformed.

Now, let’s get to what jobs still remain …

Carolina Panthers

Canales, who was impressive in his interviews with Carolina, was named their new head coach Thursday :: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

Update (Jan. 25, 12:26 p.m. ET): The Panthers have hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC Dave Canales as their next head coach. Some names to pay attention to as possible staffers include former Vikings head coach and Bills DC Leslie Frazier, as well as Tom Cable, the former Raiders head coach and offensive line guru. Read more about Canales here.

The 42-year-old longtime Seattle Seahawks assistant burst onto the coaching radar this year after injecting some life into the Tampa Bay offense.

The word seemed to be that the Panthers were going to be very deliberate with their coaching search and may be one of the final teams to actually make a hire. Owner David Tepper was in no hurry, which is not necessarily a detriment. 

Atlanta Falcons

Morris was an interim coach for the Falcons, and he has a formidable chance at getting a job :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

This is just me speculating, but the Falcons could have hired Bill Belichick already, and have not. Houston Texans OC Bobby Slowik is set to meet at owner Arthur Blank’s house. I know Blank wanted to host Brian Callahan at his house before the Titans effectively locked their facility doors to ensure Callahan wouldn’t leave (metaphorically, of course, because otherwise that would be kidnapping).

Something tells me Blank really wants a baked-in solution for his next quarterback. Could he be revealing as much with his actions? Slowik comes from the same Shanahan tree that brought Blank to his most recent Super Bowl.

The opinions on Belichick and Atlanta are all over the map. Like I said in December, my best guess is that he’s doing TV in 2023. But, I have talked to folks who still believe Belichick is the favorite, and folks who believe that his ship has sailed.

Morris is a fascinating candidate here given that Morris was an interim coach in Atlanta and spent a long time with that organization. I have heard there are folks in the building rooting for Morris to pull what we might be perceived as an upset and win this job outright. Someone else I spoke to about Morris thought he had a formidable chance at getting a job this year.

If this were election night, I’d still have Atlanta colored purple. It’s definitely a toss-up. 

Washington Commanders

Johnson has a chance to lock down the Commanders job Tuesday during his in-person interview :: Junfu Han/USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of Slowik, it sounds like there were some rave reviews from his interview with the Commanders, and Slowik shares a San Francisco 49ers connection with new Commanders GM Adam Peters. Their second interview was apparently a lengthy one.

That said, it feels like Johnson has a chance to lock this one down Tuesday during his in-person interview. Johnson has been, with little debate, viewed as the top offensive candidate who would be a first-time head coach. He has been linked to Washington for some time. It would seem he fits the ethos of what the new organization is putting together.

Seattle Seahawks

Evero was one of the hottest coaching candidates coming into this season :: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

As of right now, Seattle’s finalists are Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham, Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, Quinn, Giants OC Mike Kafka and Morris. However, Seattle could be late to the Johnson game for a second interview. They could be late to the Vrabel game and they could be late to the Macdonald game, too.

I would not be surprised if the Seahawks are the last team to make a hire. I also love the Seahawks’ candidate list. I had Evero as one of my “lock” candidates coming into this year, and have kept Graham on my list despite the fact he bounced from the Joe Judge Giants to the Josh McDaniels Patriots. Ask a player about Graham (which I did), and you’ll hear some praise absolutely different from any other coach.

I would also not be surprised if Quinn is not the coach of the Seahawks in 2024. Is he the betting favorite due to the obvious connections? Sure. But, as we wrote back at the beginning of the month when Pete Carroll retired, there have been some observers in the coaching market who have said not so fast.

Editors’ note, Jan. 25, 12:26 p.m. ET: This story has been updated as the Panthers hired Canales within a few hours of its publishing.