Ranking NFL head coach opening by desirability

For NFL head coaches, unemployment is an unfortunate fact of life.

Some of the game's greatest players have been forced out of their positions or found it difficult to return to the head coaching ranks after changing jobs. After all, Bill Belichick was unable to find a job last offseason and is now heading to Chapel Hill as the University of North Carolina's new head coach.

Therefore, you may want to be selective when choosing a head coaching opportunity. Sure, opportunities don't come every cycle, but some are better than others.

There are currently five head coaching opportunities in the NFL. Let's rank them in order of desirability.

5. New Orleans Saints

The biggest blow to the Saints is the salary cap mess. Whoever takes over this team will be placed in a position to inherit a lotnot much good. At quarterback, Spencer Rattler is clearly not it. That means you have to have at least some faith in Derek Carr. Alvin Kamara is talented, but he's not getting any younger. None other than Chris Olave is good enough to hang a hat on.

The saving grace is the defense, especially the defensive line. Much better than reputation and solid foundation here with Brian Brees, but Chase Young is set to become a free agent and that means some tough decisions have to be made I will.

The chickens come home to the roost of the Saints, who live on borrowed time in defiance of the salary cap. Currently, it is already projected to exceed that cap by $72 million in 2025. That means a lot of difficult decisions need to be made to move this team forward. But ultimately, the coach who takes over the Saints will inherit a 5-12 with better leadership and at least enough pieces to win games.

I can't say that about every team on this list.

4. New York Jets

To whoever decides to lead the Jets, I wish them luck.

The Jets completely revamped the franchise to appease Aaron Rodgers and build the team around him, but it didn't work out. Right now, they're an empty team with a few really good players, but they're a mess from top to bottom.

New York is looking to draft No. 7 from a shallow QB pool. They won't find a decent quarterback in this draft class, and there's no one in the organization who can step up. That likely means they'll have to find someone in free agency, which could result in a Kirk Cousins-led team at least in 2025.

Add to that the inconsistency of the front office and you have a bad combination. The Jets are supposed to have a new general manager to pair with the coach, but Woody Johnson is a horrible owner who makes changes on a whim without understanding football at all.

New York is also expected to have around $19 million in cap space, which isn't enough space to actually act as a free agent and rebuild the roster. Fundamentally, any incoming coach understands that he needs to work on what he has little by little and improve it little by little, and take his time to build this franchise without getting fired first. You have to hope that you can get enough rope.

That's a scary task for a promising coach, and whoever the Jets end up hiring is unlikely to be a game-changer because the situation is so bad.

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3. Jacksonville Jaguars

So there's a little bit of good and a little bit of bad when it comes to the Jaguars' head coaching job. The good thing is, the Jaguars have quite a bit of talent on their roster! Despite a down year that ended with injuries, QB Trevor Lawrence has been very good, rookie WR Brian Thomas Jr. has been sensational, and the defense has two cornerstones in Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. I think they have a pass rusher and a quality starting corner. Tyson Campbell. And although Florida has no state tax, Shad Khan's owners are generous with their negligence.

The downside is that he will have to work with Trent Baalke, a known coach killer. Baalke remains the GM despite signing some really bad free agent contracts. Baalke has been known to throw coaches under the bus to protect his own head when the ax comes down on him, but in the hypothetical that that doesn't work in Jacksonville, Baalke probably has the upper hand on you. It will be there. Additionally, owner Shad Khan seems to have only Baalke in mind when it comes to football decisions, leading to a bit of a power play situation.

Great job, except for the huge elephant in the room. But if you're willing to work on the Baalke project, more power to you.

Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images

2. New England Patriots

First, there is the downside of accounting.

The Patriots' roster needs a complete overhaul. We can start on the offensive side of the ball, but the offensive line needs to be rebuilt, the wide receivers remain questionable, and Drake Maye isn't exactly the franchise quarterback Patriots fans are hoping for. It seems, but nothing is certain.

Defensively, Christian Gonzalez is a legitimate CB1 — and Patriots fans are disappointed that their dreams of pairing him with Travis Hunter Jr. for the foreseeable future ended in Week 18. Maybe–I have some other pieces in place, but I need your help here as well.

You're also stepping into a situation where the last head coach only had one year to succeed.

Now, positive. It certainly looks like they got a quarterback, but this solves a big problem facing other teams on this list. You have the No. 4 overall pick and a league-high $131.6 million in cap space.

New England may have to pay a premium to attract free agents to Foxboro, but they can certainly afford it.

Yes, there is work to be done, but the resources are in place.

Same goes for QB.

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

1. Chicago Bears

The Bears are a lot But it's hard to imagine being in a better situation during this coaching cycle. Basically, anyone who gives Caleb Williams any protection and freedom to work will be attacked.

Williams' first season wasn't exactly great, but there were some very promising signs. He didn't turn the ball over too much and was good at creating out of structure. If someone can develop him further in terms of recognizing real and imagined pressure, he'll be a much better quarterback. Someone who can win a lot in the NFL.

The biggest problem right now is the offensive line, which is a disaster in Chicago. Many of the team's investments haven't paid off, so protections will need to be completely reworked for Caleb's second season. Thankfully, the organization has $60 million in protected cap space, making it easy to find players to help in free agency.

The Bears defense is much better than many people think. They were 13th in the NFL in points allowed, and Montez Sweat and Garvon Dexter were a pretty solid pass-rush duo that should have been better. Combined with standout corner Jaylon Johnson, all the pieces are here to take a big step forward.

That's a very interesting package for a head coach. The only downside is that he's paired with lame duck GM Ryan Pauls, who needs immediate results to save his job. Still, the Bears are in the driver's seat to becoming the best team for their coach to land, and there's plenty of reason to believe they can be even better in 2025.