Who Won and Who Lost during the 2024 NFL Coaching Cycle

Who Won and Who Lost during the 2024 NFL Coaching Cycle

The 2024 head-coaching merry-go-round has finally stopped. The Washington Commanders are going to hire Dan Quinn as their new head coach. Here are three things we’ve learned about the hiring process.

First, the new head coaches were one of the most diverse groups the league has ever seen. Four of eight openings were filled by people of color.

Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons, Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots, Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Dave Canales of the Carolina Panthers are some of these players.

Second, the places teams sought to get trainers were not out of the ordinary. Two hires came from within the company (Pierce and Mayo).

So that’s not an insignificant matter in a league where there have been big problems with diversity at the top of the head coaching trees.

At least three of them were “retread” former NFL head coaches. However, Harbaugh is the “star” hire of this cycle.

Three of the hires were “hot” coordinators: Canales, Mike Macdonald of the Seattle Seahawks, and Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans.

The third thing we gained from this rotation, on the other hand, could be the most important fact going into 2025.

There will likely be more experienced and qualified head coaches than ever before in the league’s history.

Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Mike Vrabel, and Brian Flores are just a few of the experienced and up-and-coming coaches who have led and built successful programs.

Two highly sought-after offensive coordinators could have more than one job offer before the season is over.

It took the whole month of January and the first morning of February, but the NFL finally has a head coach for every open position.

Next season, somebody new will be in charge of a quarter of the league. That much turnover will mean that each team will have a different long-term experience.

It’s clear why these three have been put together. The work that Belichick and Carroll did for the Patriots of New England as well as the Seattle Seahawks is well known in the football world. Vrabel’s firing from the Tennessee Titans was the most surprising of the three firings.

Belichick has been in charge of the Patriots for 24 years, Carroll for 14, and Vrabel for just six years with the Tennessee Titans. Vrabel is only 48 years old.

Even worse is that none of these three experienced and defensive-minded candidates were hired, even though five of the eight new players this year are from the defensive end of the ball.

Before the end of the season, there was at least a lot of talk about the Patriots leaving Belichick.

A month ago, no one would have thought that Carroll and Vrabel would be looking for work somewhere else. At least Carroll got a job as an advisor to the Seahawks.

The last team that hired a head coach may have picked the worst person for the job. Dan Quinn, who used to be the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, was hired by Washington to replace Ron Rivera as well as lead what’s looks like another rebuild.

Quinn has already failed as a head coach once, when he was working for the Atlanta Falcons. After a 0-5 start to the 2020 season, he was fired. This kept his overall record in 43-32 from falling to.500 or worse.

Quinn got that job because he had been a defensive coordinator to stay the Seattle Seahawks before. He also did the same thing to get a job as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.