Two teams - the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders are still searching for a new head coach to get them back into the dance.
We'll focus on the potential candidates for the Arizona Cardinals and the odds associated with each coach.
ARI Cardinals Next Permanent Head Coach Odds - Jan. 13
Mike LaFleur | -600 |
Vance Joseph | +500 |
Anthony Weaver | +1600 |
Raheem Morris | +2200 |
Chris Shula | +2800 |
Klint Kubiak | +4000 |
Sean McDermott | +4000 |
Thomas Brown | +7500 |
Matt Nagy | +10000 |
After three seasons as the Cardinals head coach, Jonathan Gannon was fired. He went 15-36 in those three seasons.
Gannon had some bad luck in his tenure including multiple long-term injuries to quarterback Kyler Murray, but a disappointing record this year plus a punch to the stomach at running back Emari Demercado led to his demise.
The Cardinals are in a precarious position - is Murray part of the future? Will Marvin Harrison Jr. live up to his draft hype? Is there any talent to build around on defense?
The prospective head coach will have to juggle all those question marks. Cutting Murray this offseason would cost the Cardinals nearly $100 million as the rest of his contract is guaranteed until the conclusion of the 2027 season. Jacoby Brissett performed well in Murray's place, but it's hard to believe that the 33-year-old will be part of their future.
The Denver Broncos took a record-setting $85 million dead cap hit after cutting Russell Wilson, but they have managed to be a playoff team in each of the two year's that they have been required to pay Wilson, so it's possible.
It's not all bad in Arizona, however. Trey McBride is a top-three tight end (at least), wide receiver Michael Wilson finished his season strongly to finish with over 1,000 yards, and Paris Johnson Jr. is a stalwart at tackle.
The defense certainly isn't impressive, but Denzel Burke and Will Johnson had nice rookie seasons at corner, and maybe one of Baron Browning, BJ Ojulari, Darius Robinson, or Jordan Burch could turn into something coming off the edge.
They have the all their draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, including the No. 3 overall pick where they have the opportunity to take the best defender available. Also, despite the Murray contract, Arizona still ranks No. 12 in open cap space coming into this offseason per Spotrac.
At -600, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is a huge favorite to become the next head coach of the Cardinals.
It's hard to tell how much of a say he had in the Rams offensive success this season considering Sean McVay calls their plays, but the LaFleur's are connected to the brilliant Shanahan offensive tree, and there's no doubt he knows plenty about offense.
Of course, Mike's brother, Matt, is the head coach with the Green Bay Packers where he's had plenty of success - which could make Mike enticing for teams.
Vance Joseph (+500) is the second-favorite to return to the Cardinals, this time in a head coaching role. Joseph had the courage to accept the Broncos' defensive coordinator job after he was fired from the same team in 2018 as the head coach, so there's no doubt that he'd be willing to go back to the place where he was the DC from 2019-2022.
The Broncos defense has been a top-three unit and coaches have shown that they perform much better in their second chance as the head man.
At +4000, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak could steer the offensive ship in the right direction and rejuvenate Murray's career. It's always nice having an offensive mind at head coach as they can't be scooped up by other teams like the offensive coordinator can, though it looks like Kubiak may be headed to the Raiders.
Former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris (+2200) is looking for another stint as a head coach, while Rams DC Chris Shula (+2800), Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver (+1600), former Bills head coach Sean McDermott (+4000), Patriots passing-game coordinator Thomas Brown (+7500), and former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy round out the top-ten favorites.
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