With head-coaching candidates, labels often matter more than the ingredients.
If fans, team executives or owners want an offensive “expert,” falling for one capable of concocting exotic route concepts that have the game film-obsessed swooning, they’ll look until they think they found one. Whether that person is a culture builder and cool under pressure is often secondary.
Advertisement
There’s a grunty subset who, perhaps knowing star quarterbacks aren’t always readily available for acquisition, want a tough-as-nails coach able to create a high floor by interjecting passion into a defense. Can the coach thread that respect and emotional needle with modern athletes? How about meshing with a talented offensive play caller not once but perhaps multiple times should said talented play caller get poached for a head-coaching job with another team?
We might soon find out if Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris has a solid lean either way. Ron Rivera lived a life over his four seasons as head coach, dealing with numerous off-the-field matters along with his football and front-office duties. The trend went south in Year 4. The Commanders are 4-12 entering Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, and staff changes are expected after this disappointing campaign.
If a replacement is coming, former New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller doesn’t see the side of the ball they come from as the main issue.
“I don’t think the head coach must be on the offensive side,” said Mueller, now an NFL analyst for The Athletic, “but I do think it’s much easier to manage a game when you’re the play caller on one side or the other. I think some coaches who view themselves as CEOs lose touch and become just a clock manager.”
Teams cannot begin interviewing coaches in person until Jan. 22. Washington could have a new general manager or front-office lead in place sooner rather than later to help or direct a head-coaching search. Whatever happens, here’s a look at 13 possible candidates based on league-wide expectations and conversations with various sources.
Spoiler: One name not on the list is Bill Belichick. If arguably the greatest coach in NFL history is available, you think about it. I don’t see Harris starting his tenure with a 71-year-old who will likely retire long before a new stadium is built. He isn’t at the forefront of the analytics movement and likely wants significant personnel control when recent results have been less than stellar. Adding Belichick might require a trade to boot.
GO DEEPER
Commanders GM search: What league sources think of the top and overlooked candidates
Ben Johnson, OC, Lions
The belle of the ball. Teams coveting a play-calling and game-planning dynamo in this hiring cycle only have eyes on the 37-year-old who entered the coaching ranks in 2009 and arrived in the NFL with the 2012 Dolphins. Johnson transformed the Detroit Lions’ offense into one of the league’s most potent, ranking fifth in scoring this season (26.9 points per game) and eighth in expected points added (0.05) since his promotion to coordinator before the 2022 season. He’s helped quarterback Jared Goff regain his previous form, weaponized wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and had two 2023 rookies, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta, blow past any learning curve.
Advertisement
Now, calling the best plays doesn’t mean he will impress as a head coach. Based on what the league has seen, folks are more than willing to take that risk. In a head-to-head comparison between the Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers, who fired head coach Brandon Staley last month, would Johnson prefer to implement his vision within Washington’s relatively blank slate or work with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert?
Dan Quinn, DC, Cowboys
The former Atlanta Falcons head coach led that team to the Super Bowl in 2016. That’s an attention grabber. Yes, it’s the infamous 28-3 blown lead against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and his overall record (43-42) in five-plus seasons defines pedestrian. People, hopefully, learn from their experiences for the better, and Quinn has remained a sought-after candidate in the subsequent years. He was the secondary coach for the “Legion of Boom” during the Seattle Seahawks’ back-to-back Super Bowl appearances that resulted in taking home the Lombardi Trophy during the 2013 season.
Quinn has transformed the Cowboys’ defense into a formidable foe, ranking No. 1 in EPA per play dating to 2021, per TruMedia. He’s interviewed for several jobs in recent years but keeps returning to Dallas. Unless there’s another playoff failure that leads to Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy losing his job, Quinn will need to leave Jerry’s World if he’s ready to try head coaching again.
Raheem Morris, DC, Rams
Morris has a strong case if there’s a compelling need to state a big three among the coaching candidates. No coordinator has made more with less this season than the man whose first head-coaching gig came as a 33-year-old with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Aaron Donald is not having his typically outrageous season, and much of the remaining personnel is composed of young players and random parts. Yet the defense has stepped up significantly during the Los Angeles Rams’ current 6-1 stretch over their last seven games that thrust them back into the playoff race. Some people have wondered when Morris, 47, would garner another full-time head-coaching chance. This seems like the year.
Dave Canales, OC, Buccaneers
Where will teams seeking an offensive mind turn should they miss out on Johnson or balk at the sticker price? That’s a real topic, and over the last month, teams might have an answer in the first-year NFL play caller. Canales joined the Buccaneers this season after working in Seattle as a quarterbacks coach for Russell Wilson and helping resurrect Geno Smith’s career. Now, he’s doing the same for Baker Mayfield. Tampa Bay has led the league in estimated points per pass attempt (0.37) since Week 12.
Advertisement
One year as coordinator is a bit light on the resume, but the play-calling and quarterback-teacher combo has league sources taking a more extended look. Pairing Canales with Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek would be interesting.
Lou Anarumo, DC, Bengals
Multiple league sources mentioned the 57-year-old football lifer in discussions about head-coaching candidates. Not to be considered, but to get one of the jobs. Anarumo wasn’t given the golden ticket to reach this point. He garnered national attention when his creative and daring schemes slowed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense in the 2021 AFC Championship Game. Having that inventive mindset to battle Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott twice annually seems good.
Mike Macdonald, DC, Ravens
Watching what’s happening up I-95, it’s easy to tell Macdonald’s work with the Baltimore Ravens’ stingy defense is impressive. But my colleague Jeff Zrebiec has the daily up-close view, so I asked what he thinks of the coaching riser:
“The 36-year-old has quickly risen since John Harbaugh hired him as a coaching intern in 2014. He spent six seasons as a defensive assistant in Baltimore before Jim Harbaugh hired him as his defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2021. He returned to the NFL after earning high marks for his adaptability and creativity in formulating game plans to limit some of the league’s best offenses. Macdonald is directing a Ravens defense that could become the first in NFL history to lead the league in points allowed per game, sacks and takeaways.”
Hiring Ravens player personnel director Joe Hortiz or another executive with Baltimore ties (Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, for example) as general manager could push Macdonald’s candidacy toward the top of the list. It’s the same for Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
GO DEEPER
Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald's status is on the rise
Brian Callahan, OC, Bengals
Cincinnati’s season was cooked when Joe Burrow’s wrist injury landed the quarterback on injured reserve. The 5-5 Bengals lost their next game with Jake Browning under center. Considering Browning had played zero NFL games before 2023, it seemed reasonable to imagine additional losses piling up. Except, the Bengals won their next three games with Browning averaging 317.7 passing yards and throwing five touchdowns. The good times eventually ended, but Browning and coaching led that surge.
Credit to head coach and play caller Zac Taylor, but Callahan’s work garnered more attention. Not that folks were sleeping on the son of offensive line expert and former Washington assistant/interim head coach Bill Callahan. The younger Callahan interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts last year, and expectations are that more will come in 2024.
Advertisement
Bobby Slowik, OC, Texans
Slowik is another rising play caller. It’s one thing to consider someone who spent six seasons on Kyle Shanahan’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers — after three years as a defensive assistant in Washington — as the offense’s passing game coordinator, but Slowik, whose father, Bob, is a former NFL defensive coordinator, is calling his shots in Houston and helping heralded rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud light up defenses.
Some wonder whether the 36-year-old with a low-key personality is ready to lead as a head coach, but the resume should give organizations reasons to consider taking a chance. 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters worked with Slowik in San Francisco from 2017 to 2022.
Steve Wilks, DC, 49ers
His first time as an NFL head coach lasted one season in Arizona, but an interim opportunity in 2022 with the Carolina Panthers reminded organizations that the long-time assistant and coordinator can lead. San Francisco hired Wilks, 54, to run its talented defense, and the results have been as hoped. The 49ers rank second in points allowed per game (17.3), seventh in yards surrendered (306.8) and sixth in pressures per pass rush.
Jim Harbaugh, HC, University of Michigan
This list isn’t composed of coach-centric-type candidates unless Johnson or Quinn apply leverage should a bidding war for their services emerge. Now, the exception. Jim Harbaugh is a proven winner at the college and professional levels. Is he quirky? Oh, yeah. A tough hang? Perhaps for some. Would he want the final say on personnel? That seems logical, considering he’s got quite the fallback option. I’m not sure the fit works with Washington, but landing Harbaugh would be quite the coup for a new owner, assuming the former quarterback is willing to take on a possible rebuild.
Mike Vrabel, HC, Titans
Those “Mike Tomlin’s job is in jeopardy” rumors have quieted. That’s not the same for a head coach who’s been to the AFC Championship Game more recently than the Pittsburgh Steelers’ leading man. Tennessee went 41-24 in Vrabel’s first four years, with an AFC title game appearance during the 2019 season. Since then, he’s 12-21 entering Week 18. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s effectiveness faded, and power back Derrick Henry is no longer the same bulldozing force. Did Vrabel’s mojo disappear as well? Attitude and coaching played significant roles in those initial seasons, enough to put the three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker with the Patriots on an interview list if the Titans make a change.
Eric Bieniemy, OC, Commanders
Everyone knows 15 teams interviewed the former Chiefs offensive coordinator 16 times without a head-coaching offer. That he landed in Washington under the circumstances shows the nonexistent opportunities out there. Bieniemy’s time with the Commanders doesn’t seem like a game changer.
But he did call plays full time, unlike in Kansas City. In some public corners, the Chiefs’ recent offensive struggles have been attributed somewhat to losing their enforcer. That Jacoby Brissett led five touchdown drives in five possessions gave the offense a needed control group to pair with the Sam Howell roller-coaster experiment. If Howell isn’t QB1, the case for keeping him in the same system disappears. Hiring a GM who wants Bieniemy on staff is how he gets a second season.
Advertisement
Thomas Brown, OC, Panthers
Ignore the current team for a moment. If you want the next branch from the Sean McVay coaching tree, here’s your guy. Brown was the Rams’ assistant head coach and tight ends coach before landing with Carolina. As you might have observed, the Panthers’ situation is messy for reasons beyond the 37-year-old who called plays for a few games this season. Brown’s work with Bryce Young showed gains in recent weeks. He interviewed with Rivera for Washington’s offensive coordinator opening last year.
Thinking he will ascend to the top job this year might be premature. Factor in his leadership qualities and big-game experience (the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl run), and perhaps a forward-thinking franchise jumps the line before such a hire becomes obvious.
Others: Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, Lions DC Aaron Glenn, Raiders DC Patrick Graham, Browns DC Jim Schwartz, Dolphins OC Frank Smith, Seahawks OC Shane Waldron.
(Top photo of Mike Macdonald: Todd Olszewski / Getty Images)
