Grading all 8 NFL head coaching hires
The head coaching carousel has stopped, as all eight vacancies are now filled. Let's grade each franchise's decision.
It's a welcome-back moment for Morris, who served as the Atlanta Falcons' interim head coach in 2020. We didn't account for his 4-7 record from that time in our grade, though. Instead, we considered the praise he's received from players such as Jalen Ramsey and coaches like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
He comes with previous head coaching experience and possesses the chops to elevate the Falcons' defense, which has been average at best recently. Morris also seems to be assembling a great sideline staff, luring Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson to be the offensive coordinator.
Morris' track record doesn't incite excitement, as he's only had a winning campaign in one of his three years as a full-time head coach. But that was over a decade ago, and there's plenty here that suggests his second time around will be different.
Canales takes over a Carolina Panthers team that finished with the NFL's worst record in 2023. Getting the most out of Bryce Young, last year's No. 1 draft pick, has to be his top priority - and his experience suggests he can. As the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Canales coached the best campaign of Baker Mayfield's career in 2023. That came one season after he helped Geno Smith win Comeback Player of the Year as the Seattle Seahawks' quarterbacks coach. The 42-year-old also worked with Russell Wilson during some of his best campaigns.
Still, Canales' limited leadership experience prevents us from giving him a better grade. He's only called plays for one season at the NFL level despite coaching in the league since 2010.
The Las Vegas Raiders removed the interim tag from Antonio Pierce's title after he led the team to a 5-4 record following Josh McDaniels' dismissal. The Raiders rallied around Pierce, with multiple players expressing a desire for the team to retain him as leader. There were even reports that Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby would request a trade if the club went in a different direction.
Despite those endorsements, expectations should still be tempered. The 45-year-old has only been coaching in the NFL since 2022, and the Raiders are taking a risk by believing that the 2023 run was a sign of things to come rather than a flash in the pan. Las Vegas gambling on Pierce over proven commodities like Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel is a high-risk, high-reward swing.
The Los Angeles Chargers' decision to hire Harbaugh feels like a home run. L.A. desperately needed to learn how to win after missing the postseason in four of the last five seasons. And Harbaugh's resume speaks for itself: he's got a Super Bowl run and a national championship at the college level under his belt. He wins wherever he goes.
The only uncertainty around Harbaugh's hiring comes down to who he picks as his offensive coordinator. While Harbaugh's a proven commodity, he's never worked with a quarterback of Herbert's caliber. If he nails his coordinator pick, Los Angeles should start playing up to expectations.
Bill Belichick is gone, but it feels like 'The Patriots Way' is still alive with Mayo's promotion. Maybe that's not a bad thing. After all, Mayo learned from the best of the best and should be hungry to create his own identity as a sideline boss.
However, the choice begs a big question: If the Patriots moved on from Belichick because they felt the product had gotten stale, why would they hire someone from within? But, thanks to the sour end to the Belichick era, Mayo shouldn't feel much pressure to succeed his former boss.
Macdonald moves to Seattle after serving as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens for the past two seasons. Baltimore rode the NFL's top-ranked scoring defense this season to the AFC's No. 1 seed while leading the league in takeaways and finishing sixth in yards allowed. Macdonald's unit excelled in 2022 as well, ranking among the top nine in points allowed, yards allowed, and takeaways.
Hiring someone who's consistently slowed down high-powered offenses could prove beneficial for the Seahawks. It also allows them to maintain a similar identity to the one they had for 14 years under Pete Carroll - but with the youngest coach in the league instead of the oldest.
There are still some reasons for pause, though. Macdonald's age and the fact that he's worked almost exclusively for the Ravens raise questions. But we believe Macdonald has what it takes to be an elite head coach.
The Titans going from Mike Vrabel to Brian Callahan might not be the flashiest move, but it could ultimately be an upgrade. Vrabel is known for his leadership qualities, but he's also developed a reputation for creating stagnant, unpleasant-to-watch offenses. That's where Callahan comes in.
Callahan has been the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator for the last five seasons, working with Joe Burrow for four of them. Burrow was fully healthy for two of those campaigns, and the Bengals finished seventh in points scored and have a Super Bowl appearance and two conference title games to show for it. Callahan's expertise makes him the perfect mentor for Will Levis, who showed flashes of brilliance but fought inconsistency during his rookie year.
The 39-year-old has no head coaching experience, so there's no guarantee he can manage an entire roster. But, if the Titans wanted an offensive reform after spending a second-round pick on Levis, they got as good a candidate as any.
During Quinn's time as a defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks, his units consistently ranked near the top of the league in yards allowed, scoring defense, and takeaways, among other categories. They also finished among the top five in both yards and points three times, including a pair of seasons in which the Legion of Boom led both categories.
However, during his first stint as head coach, Quinn failed to replicate this success. The Falcons ranked in the bottom half of most defensive categories during all but one of his five full seasons with the team. The 53-year-old was fired after his 0-5 opening record in 2020 on the heels of back-to-back 7-9 finishes.
But if he can coax out above-average production from a defense that ranked last in both yards and points allowed in 2023, find a good offensive coordinator to handle that side of the ball, and hit on the No. 2 pick in the draft, Washington could turn things around.
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