Ranking NFL head coach vacancies, from best to worst

Only 14 teams in the NFL make the playoffs every year, and with the wild-card playoffs set to begin this weekend, there are 18 teams looking to better themselves as their respective offseason begin early. Going into the offseason, six NFL teams have a vacancy for their head coaching position, with the Chicago Bears being among them.

Of the six openings, three of them were created during the regular season with the Bears, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints firing their head coaches after poor performances. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots all made moves to fire their head coach after the regular season concluded, leaving six jobs available for the taking.

Based on their draft position, salary cap, and current roster, here's our rankings for the most attractive head coaching jobs, ranked best to worst.

1. Chicago Bears

• Draft capital: 10th overall pick, 4 selections in top 75

• Salary cap space: $80.14 million

There is plenty of talent on the Bears roster, but the systems in place were beyond horrible, which falls on both the coaches and players. Throughout the disappointing season, players were repeatedly calling for more accountability, a desire to be coached harder, and confidently believing that they were better than what their record showed. That might have all been true, but at the end of the day, the Bears won five games and have a lot of moves they have to make to further improve their roster.

The arrival of quarterback Caleb Williams as their potential franchise quarterback is what makes this situation most attractive. An opportunity to grow and develop a player who shined and broke records, while even having several poor performances himself, could benefit the next head coach. Being attached to the success of Williams will take the next coach to greater heights, and doing so in the NFL's most competitive division in 2024, the NFC North, could go a long way in reestablishing winning to this once proud franchise.

2. New England Patriots

• Draft capital: Fourth overall pick, 9 total selections

• Salary cap space: $123.88 million

For as much as the Bears took the top spot because of their young quarterback, the Patriots are the second-most attractive job because of their quarterback, as well. Drake Maye came along slowly his rookie season, and while his team did worse than the Bears, he was able to put together plenty of film on tape to suggest New England has their answer at quarterback.

After winning the final game of the season, and dropping out of their chance to have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Patriots made the decision to fire first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. The main reason for New England, who has a higher pick and more salary cap than Chicago to be second on this list, is there is much more needed on the roster than the Bears. The Patriots appear to have two young outstanding players in Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez, but now it's about building around both players on their respective side of the ball.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

• Draft capital: Fifth overall pick, 9 total selections

• Salary cap space: $35.90 million

The Jaguars are not far off from a talent level in their hopes to turn the franchise around. Led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne Jr. and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who thrived in his rookie season, the weapons are there in Jacksonville. The defense will be the biggest area of concern, as they look to get back on a winning track. But with a top-5 selection, and plenty of draft picks to move around, the Jaguars are set up nicely.

Besides the defense, Jacksonville will have to keep Lawrence on his feet, addressing his offensive line protection, but most importantly, he'll have to stay healthy. Turning around this franchise may not be as long-term as any of the others on this list.

4. New York Jets

• Draft capital: Seventh overall pick, 7 total selections

• Salary cap space: $28.81 million

The Jets are one of the more mysterious teams to have disappointed in 2024, firing head coach Robert Salah early in the season and watching things getting progressive worse throughout the rest of the year. The biggest question for the Jets is the quarterback position and whether or not Aaron Rodgers will return after being lost to injury his first year and a pretty disappointing season in terms of production in his second season. Could Rodgers want to go out like that or could he push to make one last season with the team? That's the question, as well as if the Jets even want him to return.

After Rodgers, a decision will have to be made on veteran wide receiver Davante Adams, Rodgers' running mate for most of his career. As soon as a decision is made on both Rodgers and Adams, the Jets will either have to shift their focus to replacing two of the very best players at their position, until they became aging veterans, or how to win with them next season.

5. Las Vegas Raiders

• Draft capital: Sixth overall pick, 7 total selections

• Salary cap space: $107.33 million

There's plenty of money to spend, but where to start when they spend it is the big question for Las Vegas. There is a quarterback question, a long-term stable running back, and wide receivers to put around Jakobi Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers. Selecting the rookie right end in the first round of last year's draft, Bowers set several records in his first year in the league. But for any type of success, the Raiders need a long-term answer at the quarterback position.

Just like on offense, their defense is led by one superstar, pass rusher Maxx Crosby. The Raiders have got to build around Bowers and Crosby moving forward, but they have a lot of holes on their roster. They currently are not set up to pursue one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, but it is going to be the most crucial position they have to answer going into next year.

6. New Orleans Saints

• Draft capital: Ninth overall pick, 8 total picks, potentially 6 in the Top 150

• Cap space: -$50.82 million

New Orleans' salary cap space situation is awful and it is going to come with a lot of tough decisions they'll have to make with some of their most talented and productive veterans. It feels like a double-edged sword, as the Saints will likely have to say goodbye to some well respected players, but they have the draft capital to build it all back sooner rather than later.

New Orleans will have a tough decision to make, but from the outside looking in, the best decision for them to make is to cut ties with their losses, work on clearing out plenty of their cap space, and most importantly, committing to a rebuild. Putting all their chips into a youth movement would mean it'll be a longer process than expected to rebuild the Saints. But their hands are going to be limited this offseason, and it'll be the biggest challenge awaiting the next head coach.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ranking NFL head coach vacancies, from best to worst