NFL Coaching Matchmaker: A perfect option for every team in need of a new coach

There are already three head coaching vacancies and there are sure to be more. It is estimated that there will be at least five job vacancies by Black Monday on January 6. Some in the NFL think the number could be as high as seven or eight.

And while the coaching carousel hasn’t officially started spinning yet, even teams considering a change have surely compiled a list of potential replacements.

And if history is any indication, most of them will be wrong.

But there is a right choice, a smart choice, for every NFL team potentially looking for a new head coach (and no, it’s not Bill Belichick, at least not anymore). The right person who can change your destiny, solve your problems and fit in perfectly is really there.

Therefore, NFL owners and general managers would do well to pay attention to this list and save themselves years of hassle. Because here are the coaches every NFL team with a vacancy, and even those with a potential vacancy, should hire when the coaching carousel starts spinning:

New York Jets

The perfect combination: Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel.

The Jets are sure to look at all the big names and draw interest from almost everywhere. Rex Ryan, his former coach, has already started begging for the job. Curiously, the name of another former coach, Eric Mangini, was also leaked. And they’ll try with top assistants, like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but this job doesn’t make much sense for him or them.

What they so desperately cry out for is leadership and experience. And while they might be happy with a former head coach like Matt Nagy, the real prize is Vrabel. Not only did he have a mostly successful tenure in Tennessee (54-45 record, three playoff berths in six seasons), but he brings more toughness and credibility than any coach on the market. The Jets have a talented team that is very underperforming and poorly coached, and their window to win is getting closer.

The Jets still need a viable quarterback, but if they find one, Vrabel can solve their other problems in Year 1.

chicago bears

The perfect combination: Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator

He’ll cost a fortune, but the Bears will have to pay because he’s a brilliant offensive mind, had a great history with the Lions and surely learned a lot about leadership working for the inspirational Dan Campbell. The leadership part is important, but what the Bears need more than anything is someone who can turn rookie Caleb Williams into a franchise quarterback. The talent is there. They need to make sure the training is there too.

If they can’t hire Johnson, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury would be a good fallback option. But they have to try to win the Johnson sweepstakes. And honestly, if Johnson doesn’t take a job this time (especially with a franchise like the Bears, with a quarterback like Williams) he might just not want to sit in the big NFL chair.

New Orleans Saints

The perfect combination: Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

They probably need to think a little outside the box and move away from Sean Payton’s former assistants. But Glenn is actually much more than that. His ties to New Orleans, as a former player (briefly) and coach, are important. And not only was he a successful assistant for the Saints, but he also proved his worth in Detroit, under former Saints assistant Dan Campbell.

And honestly, the Saints have some rebuilding to do, so why wouldn’t they want someone to be part of the incredibly successful rebuilding project in Detroit? They’ll also likely look at Vrabel and maybe even Joe Brady, former LSU passing game coordinator and current Bills offensive coordinator. But Glenn has the necessary experience and everyone who knows him praises his leadership and toughness.

Yes, it’s another branch of the Payton tree. But maybe that’s not so bad.

jacksonville jaguars

The perfect combination: Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken

They were expected to dive deep into the pursuit of Bill Belichick if (or almost certainly when) Doug Pederson was fired. This is not a surprise as owner Shahid Khan is prone to big changes. But he’s not likely to return to the college ranks again after the Urban Meyer fiasco, and unless Mike McCarthy or Kevin Stefanski are fired, there aren’t many big-name coaches on the market.

He’ll try Mike Vrabel, but he’d actually be better off going a lesser-known route. Monken has been offensive gold everywhere he has coached, including in Tampa when Jameis Winston was his quarterback. The Jags’ offense has weapons. It just takes someone to get quarterback Trevor Lawrence back on track. Monken has the ability and experience to do it.

It wouldn’t be the sexiest hire Khan has ever made. But who cares, as long as he wins?

Las Vegas Raiders

The perfect combination: Bill O’Brien, head coach of Boston College

With Tom Brady as co-owner expected to have a major influence on the direction of this lost franchise, everyone assumes he will pursue his own version of the “Patriot Way.” Obviously, that won’t be Belichick (who probably wasn’t a starter anyway before taking the UNC job). The most likely candidate is Vrabel, who is listed as the highest name on their list.

But as bad as the Jets are, they’re much closer to winning than the Raiders, which is why the smart bet is for Vrabel to head East. And if that happens, Brady and owner Marc Davis should try to lure O’Brien away from the college ranks. Brady knows him well as he was New England’s quarterbacks coach (2009-10) and offensive coordinator (2011). He also had a successful six-plus year career as coach of the Houston Texans (52-48 record, four trips to the playoffs).

The biggest obstacle is that he just finished his first season at Boston College. But if Brady calls, it might be hard for him to say “No.”

New York Giants

The perfect combination: Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores

Brian Daboll wasn’t a completely unanimous pick within the Giants organization when general manager Joe Schoen hired him in 2022. There was plenty of internal support for Brian Flores, who came in second. The Giants loved his coaching ability, his leadership and just about everything about him.

Yes, she has since filed a racial discrimination complaint against the NFL and the Giants, among others, alleging that her interview with him was a “sham” just so she could comply with the Rooney Rule. But people drop and/or settle all the time and move on with their lives. And if the Giants fire Daboll – which seems increasingly likely – that’s what both sides should do here.

Because Flores deserves another chance at the head coaching job. And the Giants need someone with his toughness, leadership and experience. The Dolphins made a mistake by letting him return in 2021. The Giants shouldn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s the kind of coach they need to stabilize their faltering program and begin to turn it around.

dallas cowboys

The perfect combination: Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

First of all, they shouldn’t fire Mike McCarthy, not after he went 36-15 the previous three years. Secondly, if they do, they should look for an experienced trainer. The Cowboys are not a place to let someone learn on the job.

Their other priority has to be their offense, because they have many of the key pieces, including the franchise quarterback. They’ll need someone who can make everything work as well or maybe a little better than McCarthy. That makes Kingsbury a perfect fit, given his success with Kyler Murray in Arizona and Jayden Daniels in Washington. Imagine what you can do with a quarterback you don’t need to build around.

Also, don’t forget your ties to Texas. He was born and raised in the Lone Star State, played at Texas Tech, broke into the coaching ranks at the University of Houston, then Texas A&M, and then was a successful head coach at his alma mater. That will make it a pretty easy sell for owner Jerry Jones.

Cincinnati Bengals

The perfect combination: Joe Brady, Bills offensive coordinator

This pairing makes too much sense, as Brady has a short but illustrious history with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. They were together at LSU in 2019 when Brady was the offensive coordinator who helped Burrow become a Heisman Trophy winner, a national champion and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Brady is only 35 years old, but so was Zac Taylor when the Bengals hired him. That also paid immediate dividends with a trip to the Super Bowl in their first full season together. But the flower is no longer on that rose, Burrow seems frustrated and Taylor can’t seem to win even though he has one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL and two electric receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Brady could inject the kind of enthusiasm, offensive creativity and energy that Burrow needs and that Taylor once had.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.