And Then There Was Nine

About a month ago, I thought that this might be a light year in the annual coaching churn. It looked like there might be as few as four or five head coach vacancies. Nope. With yesterday’s news that Mike Tomlin was stepping away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, there are now nine head coach vacancies. That’s a lot. At least it’s a lot more than a saw coming. We’re one unhappy owner from reaching the recent high mark of 10 head coach vacancies in 2022. 

The Vacancies:

New York Giants

Fired: Brian Dabol

Tennessee Titans

Fired: Brian Callahan

Arizona Cardinals

Fired: Jonathan Gannon

Atlanta Falcons 

Fired: Raheem Morris

Baltimore Ravens

Fired: John Harbaugh

Cleveland Browns

Fired: Kevin Stefanski

Las Vegas Raiders

Fired: Pete Carroll

Miami Dolphins

Fired: Mike McDaniel

Pittsburgh Steelers

Stepped Down: Mike Tomlin

Seeing league staples John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin outside the head coach ranks doesn’t feel right. Harbaugh might not be on the outside for long. Tomlin will probably take a much-deserved break. I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows the Steelers coach he replaced, Bill Cowher, and makes it a permanent break. Tomlin is only 53. That’s five years younger than Mike Zimmer was when he was hired to coach the Minnesota Vikings in 2014. Cowher was only 49 when he stepped away from coaching. Permanently walking away a year removed from a Super Bowl win was probably a much easier thing for Cowher. Tomlin is 18 years removed from his one big win. And he has a big loss in between then and now. 

The Steelers have a fascinating head coach history. From 1933-68, the team had 16 head coaches. Pittsburgh was consistently one of the league’s worst teams. Everything changed in 1969. Since 1969, the Steelers have employed three head coaches. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin. That stability reflects success on the field. Each of the three head coaches won a Super Bowl. Noll won four (four in a six-year period). Cowher and Tomlin won one each. The remarkable success of those three coaches is the reason for the stability. It’s the sort of stability that might make the Steelers head coach job the most desirable of the nine vacancies.

Here’s a ranking of the most attractive head coach vacancies.

9. Miami Dolphins

8. Cleveland Browns

7. Las Vegas Raiders

6. Tennessee Titans

5. Arizona Cardinals

4. Atlanta Falcons

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

2. New York Giants

1. Baltimore Ravens

There are only 32 NFL head coach jobs. It’s a small fraternity and that makes every job attractive. That being said, there’s little else attractive about working for the owners of the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals. Before you even get to important details like roster, draft position, cap situation, etc., the owners of those teams make those jobs a challenge before a coach even gets to football work. The top four are easily the most attractive of the this year’s cycle. The Steelers job has only come open three times since 1969. The Ravens haven’t needed a new head coach in 18 years. With the impatience of today’s NFL owners, that’s incredible. Of the top four, the Ravens and Giants have the best personnel. It’s easy to separate the top four from the rest. 

The race for the nine available head coach jobs is on.