Poll: Cowboys Voted Best NFL HC Vacancy Ahead of Jaguars, Patriots, Bears, More

Adam WellsJanuary 11, 2025

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Even though the Dallas Cowboys don’t technically have a vacancy at head coach yet, the job is viewed as the best available among the teams with an opening this offseason.

In a survey of five assistant coaches around the NFL conducted by The Athletic’s Jeff Howe asking them to name the most attractive opening at head coach, the Cowboys received the most support with four first-place votes and one fourth-place vote.

“The roster built to win now,” one former head coach said about the appeal of the Dallas job.

It was a close race for second with the Jacksonville Jaguars finishing with 27 points, slightly ahead of the New England Patriots (26) and Chicago Bears (22).

There’s still uncertainty about what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is going to do about the position. Mike McCarthy’s contract expires on Tuesday, but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted the two sides remain open to a new deal and were expected to open talks on Friday.

The Chicago Bears tried to secure an interview with McCarthy for their head-coaching vacancy, but the Cowboys denied their request.

One thing that does stand out about these voting results, albeit from a small sample size of voters, is Jones’ authority as both owner and general manager in Dallas doesn’t appear to be an obstacle for interested candidates.

The Jaguars finishing ahead of the Patriots is somewhat surprising because Trent Baalke is still the general manager, but the ranking seems to speak of how much belief there remains in Trevor Lawrence.

“Good landing spot,” one executive told Howe of the Jacksonville job. “(Lawrence’s) contract is definitely not ideal, but you have something to work with. While the QB hasn’t met expectations, there is still upside, but it’s definitely lower than what we all thought coming out (of the 2021 NFL Draft). This job vs. a job with no QB in place is a no-brainer.”

Even though the Patriots seem to have the ideal starting point with an extremely talented quarterback in Drake Maye on a rookie deal, there has been some instability in the franchise in the post-Tom Brady era.

New England will go into next season with its third head coach in three years. The decision to fire Jerod Mayo one year after it was revealed he was set up as the coach-in-waiting following Bill Belichick, while justifiable based on his performance, doesn’t make anyone with the organization look good.

The bottom of the poll features a tie between the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets with eight points each. The Raiders could be improving their standing across the league thanks to the presence of Brady as part of the ownership group.

Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Brady is giving the Raiders an edge as far as being attractive to candidates who might otherwise have passed on the job.

Dianna Russini @DMRussiniThe Tom Brady factor in Las Vegas has given the Raiders an edge in attracting candidates they typically wouldn’t land. His influence is a key draw, which is why coaches like Ben Johnson agreed to meet with them.

There’s still no evidence that Brady is actually going to be good at helping to assemble a roster and hire a coach and general manager, so the Raiders’ standing across the NFL has the most potential upside going forward if he proves to be effective in the role.

It’s difficult to find new things to say about how dysfunctional the Jets have been given all of the stories that have come out over the past year. The peak moment came last month in a detailed story by Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Michael Silver about all of the ways in which no one seems to have any idea what’s going on or who is in charge.

The Jets have some good talent on the roster, highlighted by Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, but the hierarchy of power within the organization would seem to make it hard for a coach to trust they will be able to succeed.