It’s halfway through January, and there are currently six head coach openings in the NFL. There has already been one hire — the Patriots brought in Mike Vrabel to replace Jerod Mayo — but the Cowboys, Raiders, Jaguars, Bears, Saints and Jets are all still looking for new coaches. With a week’s worth of initial interviews in the books for the coaching carousel, it’s time to make some predictions. Who will be these teams’ next head coaches?

Of course, we don’t know for sure what will happen, and there are always a few surprise moves. But after a few weeks’ worth of calls and texts with people involved in these situations around the NFL, we have some clues as to how each team might be leaning. And because all we’re trying to do is predict, clues are good enough for now.

So here is our list of hiring predictions, as we find landing spots for top candidates. Check back in a few weeks to see how we did. (Or maybe don’t … if we get them all right, we’ll be sure to make sure you know about it.) Let’s start with Chicago and proceed alphabetically team by team.

Jump to a opening:
CHI | DAL | JAX | LV | NO | NYJ

Former coach: Matt Eberflus was fired after Week 13 of this season, his third year with the team (14-32 record). Thomas Brown was interim head coach for the final five games.

My prediction for the next Bears coach: Brian Flores, current Vikings defensive coordinator

There is a lot of guesswork here. The Bears’ list of candidates is massive, and Flores still hasn’t been allowed to interview with Chicago because Minnesota made the playoffs. But this is the name that comes up the most when I ask people around the NFL to make a prediction. Flores led the No. 5 scoring defense (19.5 points allowed per game), and the Vikings finished tied for fourth in sacks with 49.

There are hurdles for Flores — who appears to be a strong candidate for the Jets job, as well — to clear before any team can hire him. That’s especially true in Chicago; there will be questions about his past relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Miami as the Bears evaluate him as a candidate to shepherd Caleb Williams‘ development. But by all accounts, it sounds like Flores has made a very different impression on people in Minnesota than he did in Miami. He has been public about the reasons things went wrong for him with the Dolphins and what he has learned from that situation that would make things different at his next stop.

One more relevant note here: Flores and Bears GM Ryan Poles both went to Boston College, so there’s a connection there.

Other known candidates: Pete Carroll, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Mike Kafka, David Shaw, Anthony Weaver, Drew Petzing, Arthur Smith, Matt Campbell, Ron Rivera, Kliff Kingsbury, Joe Brady, Todd Monken, Thomas Brown, Marcus Freeman and Mike McCarthy

Former coach: Mike McCarthy’s contract with the team expired last week, and the Cowboys announced Monday that they would not be bringing McCarthy back after five years as their head coach (50-38 record). Dallas had an exclusive negotiating window through Monday night.

My prediction for the next Cowboys coach: Kellen Moore, current Eagles offensive coordinator

The Cowboys are obviously still extremely early in their process, and we have no idea how extensive their interview list will be once they get rolling. But Moore — who played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2017 (including two years as Dak Prescott‘s backup quarterback), then spent a year as the team’s quarterbacks coach and then four more as the offensive coordinator — has an obvious connection to the organization and its current QB. He has interviewed for head coach jobs in recent years and is on some teams’ interview lists in this cycle, as well.

The Cowboys’ offense averaged 18.9 points per game this season, 25th in the NFL. Moore’s offense in Philadelphia was sixth at 26.7 points per game.

Many around the league expect Jerry Jones to check in on some college coaches, with names such as USC’s Lincoln Riley, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and even Colorado’s Deion Sanders being speculated. And Jones could also lean toward someone with previous NFL head coaching experience, given that he believes his team is always in win-now mode. But Moore makes a ton of sense at this very early stage.

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Other known candidates: Deion Sanders

Former coach: Doug Pederson was fired following his third season as the Jaguars’ coach (22-29 record).

My prediction for the next Jaguars coach: Joe Brady, current Bills offensive coordinator

A week ago, there was a lot of thinking around the league that this could be the spot for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson — and of course, it very well still could. But the Jaguars’ decision to move on from Pederson and keep GM Trent Baalke has raised some red flags for potential head coach candidates who are hoping to start with a fully clean slate. And it means Johnson could be looking at other situations where he and a new GM would come in together.

Brady has rebuilt the Bills’ offense into a bully and has Buffalo positioned for a potential Super Bowl run. Only the Lions score more than his Bills offense (29.5 points per game). And Brady has had NFL teams’ attention in several recent head coach cycles.

A sleeper here could be Robert Saleh, whose interview with the team will happen Tuesday. Saleh, who was fired as the Jets’ head coach early in the 2024 season, spent three seasons as the Jaguars’ linebackers coach on Gus Bradley’s staff from 2014 to 2016.

Other known candidates: Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Robert Saleh, Steve Spagnuolo, Kellen Moore, Liam Coen, Patrick Graham, Todd Monken and Brian Flores

Former coach: Antonio Pierce was fired last week after one full season as the team’s head coach (plus half of the previous season as the interim coach). He was 9-17 in those two seasons.

My prediction for the next Raiders coach: Ben Johnson, current Lions offensive coordinator

This definitely would not have been the spot people picked for Johnson when this process started. But I have been told new minority owner Tom Brady has been making a personal appeal to Johnson and trying to sell him on coming to Las Vegas to build a program together with a new GM. (The Raiders also fired GM Tom Telesco last week after only one season.)

There are major questions about who will play quarterback for the Raiders in the short and long term. But if team owner Mark Davis wants Brady to have an influence here, and Johnson is the guy Brady wants, then he and his incoming GM would likely have a long runway to build that program around whatever the QB solution ends up being. Las Vegas’ 4.8 yards per play ranked 28th in the NFL this season, while Johnson’s offense in Detroit was third at 6.2.

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If the Raiders can’t get Johnson, I’d keep an eye on former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as other possible candidates.

Other known candidates: Aaron Glenn, Pete Carroll, Steve Spagnuolo, Todd Monken and Robert Saleh

Former coach: Dennis Allen was fired nine games into his third season as the team’s head coach (18-25 record). Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi finished the season as the interim coach.

My prediction for the next Saints coach: Aaron Glenn, current Lions defensive coordinator

Here’s one that most of the people I’ve been talking to seem to agree on. Glenn is expected to land one of the open head coaching jobs this cycle, and he has connections with the Saints and Jets. He played the final season of his playing career for the Saints in 2008 and was the team’s defensive backs coach from 2016 to 2020 before following Dan Campbell to Detroit and becoming the Lions’ defensive coordinator. He also played for the Jets from 1994 to 2001, and his post-playing career in the NFL started in their scouting department in 2012.

I don’t know which job Glenn would pick if it came down to a choice between the Saints and Jets. But based on everything I have heard, I expect the Saints — whose process seems less expansive so far than the Jets’ process — to make a strong push for Glenn and probably land him.

Despite numerous injuries to the unit, the Lions’ defense finished eighth in defensive efficiency this season under Glenn; the Saints were 27th.

Other known candidates: Mike Kafka, David Shaw, Kellen Moore, Joe Brady, Darren Rizzi, Kliff Kingsbury and Anthony Weaver

Former coach: Robert Saleh was fired five games into his fourth season as the team’s head coach (20-36 record). Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich finished out the season as the interim coach.

My prediction for the next Jets coach: Arthur Smith, current Steelers offensive coordinator

I could certainly see the Jets ending up with Aaron Glenn or Brian Flores, but I’ve already predicted those guys to land elsewhere. Smith was a candidate of interest to Jets owner Woody Johnson back in 2021, when the team hired Saleh. But at the time, Johnson was serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom and was not directly involved in the search. The Jets also considered bringing in Smith and adding him to their offensive staff last year before the Steelers hired him as their coordinator.

In the past, Johnson has been known to lock in a bit on his personal favorites. Remember, he lost out to the Dolphins on Adam Gase in 2016, then hired Gase three years later after the Dolphins fired him.

The Jets’ search is sprawling. They’re also interviewing GM candidates, and they’re asking them about potential head coaches. (They are also asking head coach candidates about potential GMs.) So there’s a ton still to be figured out here. But with limited information about who might be the front-runner at this point, I’ll take Smith. For most of this season, he found a way to make some pretty effective chicken salad out of a not-great QB situation in Pittsburgh.

Other known candidates: Aaron Glenn, Steve Spagnuolo, Matt Nagy, Rex Ryan, Ron Rivera, Mike Locksley, Darren Rizzi, Jeff Ulbrich, Joe Brady, Josh McCown, Brian Flores, Brian Griese, Vance Joseph and Bobby Slowik