The biggest challenge facing each new NFL head coach

Eight new coaches will be roaming the sidelines in 2024.

I thought the NFL coaching cycle was over a couple of weeks ago, even before the Super Bowl. Then Kyle Shanahan turned defensive coordinator Steve Wilks into a scapegoat for the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs, so there is one major position that remains open.

All eight head coaching jobs in this cycle have already been filled, though. For once, this is a diverse group; three of the new coaches are Black and one is Latino. That gives the NFL a record-high nine coaches of color.  

This collection is also a mix of first-time coaches and former coaches who are getting a second chance on an NFL sideline. Some are poised to succeed right away, while others might have to deal with growing pains. All eight will have to overcome obstacles, however, because this is the NFL. Of course there will be obstacles!

On that note, I decided to look at the biggest challenge each new coach will face going into the 2024 season.

Atlanta Falcons: Raheem Morris

Raheem Morris returns to Atlanta after a successful three-year run as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. In 2020, Morris took over as interim head coach when the Falcons fired Dan Quinn after an 0-5 start. Under Morris’ direction, the Falcons went 4-7 but ended the season on a five-game losing streak. Still, Morris was a popular figure in Atlanta’s locker room, and even if his hiring was a bit of a surprise — Bill Belichick was seen as the favorite, at least from the outside — it was only a matter of time until Morris got another shot at a head coaching gig.

Biggest challenge: Finding a new quarterback 

Morris has held a variety of titles in his two decades as a coach, mostly on the defensive side of the ball, and he’s learned a lot in the process. But he has never had to directly coach the quarterback position. He won’t have to in his second stint with the Falcons, either; that duty falls to OC Zac Robinson and QBs coach T.J. Yates. Yet Morris will have a say in whoever they acquire this offseason, either via trade, free agency, or the draft — and the Falcons have to get it right.

Nothing has held them back more the last two seasons than uninspired play at the quarterback position. Well, that and Arthur Smith’s infuriating use (or lack thereof) of his arsenal of young offensive talent like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson. 

There’s no slam-dunk option for Atlanta out there. All the potentially available quarterbacks, such as Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Kirk Cousins, come with risks. There could also be an early run on quarterbacks in the draft, so the No. 8 pick, or even a trade up, wouldn’t guarantee the Falcons the prospect they want. 

Luckily for Morris, the Falcons don’t necessarily need a superstar at quarterback. His team is set up well outside that position and plays in a winnable division. Whether they go after a bridge QB or a younger guy with long-term potential, the Falcons just need improvement under center in 2024. Their next starter should be someone who elevates the players around him, makes good decisions, and doesn’t turn the ball over as often as Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke did. 

Carolina Panthers: Dave Canales

Last year, the Buccaneers hired Dave Canales as their new offensive coordinator, the first time he held that high of a position. Before that, Canales had spent more than a decade on the Seahawks’ coaching staff. Now, Canales is a first-time head coach. He’ll be paired with first-time general manager ​​Dan Moore, who is familiar with Canales from their time together in Seattle. 

Biggest challenge: Getting Bryce Young and the offense on track

If I’m being honest, the toughest part of Canales’ job will probably be dealing with team owner David Tepper, but the Panthers had so many problems on the field this past season that I’ll focus on that aspect. 

In last year’s draft, Carolina gave up a lot of capital — including what turned out to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft — to move up to the top spot and select Bryce Young. So far, that gamble has not paid off. Young was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL in 2023, by whatever metric you might prefer: his 33.4 QBR (30th among 32 qualified starters), 73.7 passer rating (32nd out of 32), -0.178 EPA per play (29th among 30 starters), and 38.8% success rate (29th out of 30). What made Young’s debut season look even more disappointing is how it compared to the guy taken with the No. 2 pick: C.J. Stroud just capped off one of the best rookie QB seasons ever. 

No one is giving up on Young yet, though, nor should they. Canales’ hiring is a clear sign that the Panthers still believe in Young. Just recently, Canales was the quarterbacks coach for two of Russell Wilson’s final productive seasons in Seattle (2018 and 2019), as well as Geno Smith’s Comeback Player of the Year campaign in 2022. As the Bucs’ OC, he was also instrumental in Baker Mayfield’s bounce-back 2023 season.

To be fair to Young, his struggles as a rookie were really a team effort, from poor coaching to a shoddy offensive line to a dearth of playmakers. So while Young might be Canales’ “project” that everyone talks about, the new head coach is really tasked with fixing the offense as a whole (which would also spur Young’s growth). 

Though he was only a coordinator for one season, Canales has shown he can adapt his scheme to his quarterback’s strengths and the rest of the offensive personnel. The Panthers will need to prioritize upgrading the OL and receiving corps. They don’t have a first-round pick this spring, but they do have two Day 2 picks (No. 33 and No. 65) and a decent amount of cap space to add more “dogs” to the roster this offseason.

Las Vegas Raiders: Antonio Pierce

The last time the Raiders had an opening, they declined to hire their successful interim head coach and instead went with Josh McDaniels. When McDaniels predictably crashed and burned, they found themselves with another vacancy. But this time, they decided to hire the interim coach who navigated them to a 5-4 record in the second half of the season. And no one was happier about Antonio Pierce sticking around than the players in the Vegas locker room. 

Biggest challenge: Sustained success

The Raiders were reinvigorated once Pierce took over. Their defense was especially relentless. They finished the season with the No. 8 defense per DVOA and came in at second in EPA per play under Pierce — when McDaniels was the coach, they ranked in the mid-20s in both categories. Most notably, they harassed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Christmas Day and scored two defensive touchdowns in an upset win. (It certainly didn’t seem like it at the time, but that ended up being Kansas City’s final loss of the season.)

That signature victory came a few weeks after the Raiders wasted a 14-0 lead over the Chiefs and lost by double digits. And it came one week after the Raiders’ historic 63-20 blowout over the Chargers in Brandon Staley’s final game as head coach. And that happened one week after the Raiders fell to the Vikings by a 1920s-esque score of 3-0. 

In other words, Vegas was wildly inconsistent, even after canning McDaniels. The offense was mostly to blame for that; fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell replaced an ineffective Jimmy Garoppolo and was sometimes overwhelmed (three INTs against the Dolphins), sometimes lights out (4:0 TD:INT ratio against the Chargers), and sometimes invisible (62 passing yards against the Chiefs in Week 16).

Pierce has brought in a new offensive coordinator and is open to all options at quarterback next season. That’s a good start for Pierce in his first full-time head coaching gig, but it’s still just a start for a team that will be trying to hang with the Chiefs on a regular basis.

Los Angeles Chargers: Jim Harbaugh

For years, Harbaugh has been the subject of NFL coaching rumors. Finally, after a decade away, he’s returning to the pros. The opening was right for him: Harbaugh finished his playing career with the Chargers and has coached in the state of California before (San Diego, Stanford, 49ers). The timing was right too because he just won his first ever championship (whether you believe it deserves an asterisk or not) and won’t have to deal with whatever the fallout will be from the Connor Stalions scandal at Michigan. 

Biggest challenge: Turning the Chargers into a consistent winner

Harbaugh has been a head coach at four different places in his career and left each one with a winning record. That includes a 44-19-1 record in his four seasons with the 49ers. 

The Chargers are coming off a losing season — their third in the last five years — but are a perennial “this year they can be a contender!” candidate, at least until the season starts and their bad luck takes over. They haven’t won the AFC West since 2009 or made it out of the Divisional Round since the 2007 season.

Though he’s been out of the NFL for a while, I don’t really have concerns about Harbaugh’s ability to coach at that level again. He proved at Michigan that he has kept up with the times, bringing in coaches with NFL experience and pro-style schemes. His DC the past two seasons, Jesse Minter, spent time on the Ravens’ coaching staff and will follow him to LA to resurrect the Chargers’ underperforming defense. (His DC before that is now the head coach of the Seahawks, but more on him later.)

Harbaugh, a former quarterback himself, should be able to get the most out of Justin Herbert, who has been a good, but not quite elite QB in his first four seasons. He’ll also need to build a strong running game to implement the offense he wants and to take pressure off of Herbert. 

In theory, Harbaugh should be able to turn the Chargers into a tough team. But can he make them a legitimate threat in the AFC West and beyond? Many others before him have failed.

New England Patriots: Jerod Mayo

Before this past season, I always imagined that Bill Belichick would leave the Patriots on his own terms. That’s not how his tenure in New England ended, however, even if both Belichick and Robert Kraft said the decision was mutual. Kraft stayed in-house to replace the coach who delivered him six Super Bowl titles; he promoted Jerod Mayo, a former Patriots player who had spent the last five seasons as the inside linebackers coach.

Biggest challenge: Making this *his* team

Mayo had been considered the coach-in-waiting as early as a year ago, so it’s not a surprise that the Patriots chose him as Belichick’s successor. While that gives them a certain amount of continuity, it also puts Mayo in an unenviable situation. Not only will he have to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest coaches ever, but there’s the risk that this will still feel like Belichick’s team. Mayo has never been a head coach before and may not have a formal GM either.

There are two areas where Mayo can make his mark, and the first is nearly complete. The Patriots have announced most of their coaching staff, with Mayo bringing in some new faces (like OC Alex Van Pelt) and keeping others around (like DL coach-turned-DC DeMarcus Covington and safeties coach Brian Belichick, son of Bill). The second is what he decides to do about the quarterback position. The Pats hold the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, which could land them Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. They could also sign a veteran quarterback in free agency, and either draft an elite weapon like Marvin Harrison Jr. or trade back in the draft and add a more developmental prospect later. 

Mayo’s expertise is on the defensive side of the ball, and that unit is in good shape. But how he approaches the offense, and QB most of all, this offseason will go a long way toward setting himself apart from Belichick.

Seattle Seahawks: Mike Macdonald

Somewhat similar to the situation in New England, Seattle made the unexpected decision to say goodbye to the only coach who has brought the franchise a Super Bowl. The team wants to keep Pete Carroll around in an advisory role, but the details are still fuzzy on that. Beyond Carroll’s up-in-the-air position with the franchise, the Seahawks won’t have much that connects his era to the one coming next. New head coach Mike Macdonald is half Carroll’s age and has spent his entire NFL career until now with the Ravens. 

Biggest challenge: Replacing a legend

In Carroll’s 14 seasons with the Seahawks, they won five NFC West titles, made two Super Bowls, and missed the playoffs just four times. That leaves Macdonald with big shoes to fill, even if two of those postseason-less years happened in the last three seasons. He’s been tasked with turning a low-tier playoff-caliber team into one that can compete, not just with the 49ers and Rams in the NFC West, but also with whatever opponents it might encounter in the postseason. 

General manager John Schneider has said he doesn’t expect the Seahawks to regress in their first season under a first-time head coach. To help with his transition, Macdonald made the smart choice to tap veteran coach Leslie Frazier, whom he worked with in Baltimore for a season, to be his assistant head coach. 

Considering both Macdonald’s and Frazier’s defensive bonafides, I don’t doubt they can resurrect Seattle’s defense and perhaps eventually establish a new version of the Legion of Boom. However, the offense will be a bit of a question mark. Macdonald elected to hire Ryan Grubb, who has spent his entire coaching career at the college level, as his OC. And like others on this list, it’s worth watching what they do at quarterback. Will they keep Geno Smith and Drew Lock again, and focus on other areas (like OL or DT) that need improvement? Will they draft a quarterback in the first round?

Whatever they decide will shape their trajectory in 2024, at the very least. I don’t know that the Seahawks need to make the playoffs in year one of the Macdonald era, but it would show that Schenider’s optimism was warranted — and that Seattle picked the right time to move on from Carroll. 

Tennessee Titans: Brian Callahan

Mike Vrabel lost both his power struggle in Tennessee and his job, just two years after taking home the NFL Coach of the Year Award (the first in the franchise’s history). But after two straight losing seasons, the Titans were a bit of an odd man out in the AFC South. In 2022, the Jaguars were the upstart team that beat expectations, with a young hotshot quarterback leading them to a playoff win. In 2023, it was the Texans, and could have been the Colts if Anthony Richardson hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury in early October. The Titans hope that can be them in 2024 under new coach Brian Callahan, who spent the last five seasons as the Bengals’ OC.

Biggest challenge: Making the Titans fun to watch

Fun is a subjective word and that applies to football, too. Maybe you enjoyed watching Vrabel’s brand of bruising, if soporific football. Personally, the last time I probably associated the word “fun” with the Titans was back when they had Eddie George and Steve McNair. Still, I think most of us can agree that under Vrabel, the Titans weren’t exactly electrifying. 

How can Callahan change that? First, by developing Will Levis, who has a howitzer for an arm but had an up-and-down rookie season. Fortunately for Levis, Callahan has earned a reputation as a QB guru after working with the likes of Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, and Joe Burrow throughout his career. Callahan even helped coach impressive seasons out of Derek Carr and Jake Browning. 

Second, Callahan has to target new playmakers to give Levis a better supporting cast, especially when Derrick Henry is set to hit free agency and DeAndre Hopkins is nearing his 32nd birthday (running back Tyjae Spears is at least off to a promising start). Third, Callahan needs to prioritize upgrading the offensive line, which he already kinda has done by hiring his dad, respected OL coach Bill Callahan.

That’s still a lot to ask of a first-time head coach. I don’t know if Callahan can “fix” Tennessee’s offense in his debut season or if this rebuild will take a while. But if everything goes as planned, the offense should be more watchable. And, coupled with Dennard Wilson’s “attacking” defense, so should the Titans as a whole.

Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn

New ownership could not save the Commanders from a disastrous 2023 season. Despite winning their first two games, they finished the season on an eight-game losing streak to fall to 4-13. Ron Rivera’s tenure in Washington also came to a close after four years, one playoff appearance, and zero winning seasons. Once the idea of hiring Ben Johnson fell apart for whatever reason, the Commanders eventually settled on Dan Quinn, who gets his second opportunity to be head coach.

Biggest challenge: Building a winning culture

In the last 15 years, the Commanders have had only two winning seasons (2012, 2015). It’s been even longer since they’ve managed a playoff victory (2005). That’s despite playing in the NFC East, which hasn’t always been a tough division (though it has been recently). They’ve cycled through quarterbacks and coaches, and will once again enter the season with a new one of each. 

In Quinn’s first head coaching job in Atlanta, he finished .500 or above in his first three seasons and almost won a Super Bowl before the wheels fell off. He also had Kyle Shanahan as his OC for his first couple of seasons and Matt Ryan as his quarterback the entire time. In Washington, he’ll have Kliff Kingsbury as his OC (eh) and, most likely, a rookie at QB (whoever is their choice at No. 2). 

In 2023, the Commanders finished near the bottom of the NFL in every major defensive category. On paper, Quinn is the perfect candidate to turn that unit around. He was an excellent defensive coordinator for both the Seahawks and Cowboys, and he poached Joe Whitt Jr. from Dallas to become his new DC. Then again, the Falcons’ defense was mostly pretty bad when Quinn was in Atlanta. 

What Quinn has going for him is leadership and likability. Those assets can help change a team’s culture, and that in turn can lead to winning. I think the Commanders players will respond to Quinn’s coaching in ways that they didn’t always do for previous head coaches. If they can draft a promising quarterback and use some of their considerable cap space on shoring up the offensive line, then the wins should follow. And maybe Quinn can prove that he was the right man for the job, even if he was the Commanders’ third choice.