Top 5 Head Coach Openings: Atlanta Falcons the top destination

Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders cornerback Keith McGill (39) celebrates after a touchdown in front of cornerback D.J. Hayden (25) and strong safety Brandian Ross (29) in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

“Black Monday” is over. We’ve seen five head coaches fired (or “mutually part ways” with a team”) so far, and usually there’s one surprise firing. Mike Smith, Marc Trestman, Rex Ryan, and Jim Harbaugh have been relieved of their duties as NFL head coaches, and Oakland is looking for a head coach after firing Dennis Allen four weeks into the season.

Some of these head coach openings are appealing; some aren’t. A great coach can probably turn the top three clubs on this list into winning football teams, as they are loaded with talent.

5. Oakland Raiders

Oakland outweighs the New York Jets for the fifth spot. While the Jets won four games and Oakland only won three, Oakland looks more promising for a new coach. While this seems somewhat trivial, Oakland’s market is much smaller than New York’s, so there won’t be much media pressure on whoever takes the coaching job. Oakland has a franchise quarterback in place in Derek Carr, while Geno Smith is unproven.

The Raiders, as is the case seemingly every offseason, have a ton of cap space and hopefully the new head coach will pressure the front office into making more impactful signings than the team did last year (they didn’t even re-sign Jared Veldheer; Justin Tuck and James Jones were the only impactful signings). There’s much work to be done to even get this team to around seven wins, but Oakland is a better destination than New York.

Next: Chicago