By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The NFL regular season is over and we are going into the second round of the playoffs.

Several coaches have been fired or resigned to create coaching vacancies.

Let’s take a look around the league and see what franchises need a new coach and which is the best job.

Los Angeles Chargers: On paper this team should be able to at least advance to the second round of the playoffs. They have a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert but he does have injury issues. They also have Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen, Derwin James, Austin Ekeler, Khalil Mack and Mike Williams.

They did make it to the playoffs in 2022. They played Jacksonville in the Wild Card round and had a 27-0 lead before the Jaguars came back to win. That seemed to linger into this season and they were 5-9 before coach Brandon Staley was fired on December 15. I think this is the best landing spot for a coach that can make a quick turnaround.

Carolina: They fired first year head coach Frank Reich in November after a 1-10 start.

The Panthers have rookie quarterback Bryce Young. Young’s 5.5 yards per pass attempt in 2023 ranked as the fourth-worst in NFL history with a minimum of 500 pass attempts. He also ranked last in the NFL in passer rating (73.7).

Carolina finished the season with the league’s worst record, 2-15, and the league’s worst scoring offense with 13.9 points per game.

Carolina has had four head coaches in their first 23 seasons. Under owner David Tepper they have had 6 different head coaches in 6 seasons. This franchise is a dumpster fire. This is the worst opening so it will be an uphill battle for whoever takes this position.

Las Vegas: They fired Mike McDaniels on Halloween after starting 3-5. He was 9-16 in his two seasons in Vegas.

The Raiders went 5-4 under interim head coach Antonio Pierce and finished the season 8-9. They allowed 15.9 points per game from week 9-18, which was the fewest in the NFL.

They have some good players on both sides of the ball like All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby and running back Josh Jacobs. They need a quarterback though.

Tennessee: Mike Vrabel is gone after 6 seasons in Nashville and a 54-45 record. He had four winning seasons and three playoff appearances. They were 13-21 in the last two seasons.

They traded away star receiver AJ Brown to Philadelphia during the 2022 NFL Draft. I think the GM should be held more accountable for their questionable roster moves than the head coach.

I don’t think running back Derrick Henry will return for the 2024 season. They also have issues at quarterback. They did draft Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft and he was 3-6 in his 9 starts.

Atlanta: Arthur Smith was fired after three 7-10 seasons. The offense has tight end Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson.

Smith was resistant to featuring them but they are very talented players. They also need a dependable quarterback.

The Falcons averaged 19.6 ppg, which was the ninth-worst scoring offense.

Washington: Ron Rivera was fired after going 4-13 in 2023. They have the No. 2 pick in the draft so they should get a franchise QB.

Seattle: Pete Carroll has moved to an advisor role after 14 years coaching the Seahawks. They were 9-8 this season and they have a solid team.