There will be 32 starting quarterback-head coach duos in the NFL for the 2024 season. Let's power rank them all!
There are still some teams across the NFL that have not named a starting QB for the 2024 season, so for those teams that do not clearly have a starting QB, we can include both QBs currently competing for the job. A ton of change has happened across the NFL this season between new head coaches and both rookie QBs and QBs in new places.
We ranked out all 32 head coach/quarterback duos for the coming season. Let’s dive into them!
NFL power rankings: Ranking the top head coach-quarterback duos for 2024
32. Dave Canales - Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
I just have no clue what the duo of Dave Canales and Bryce Young will bring in 2024. Canales is a rookie head coach, and Young is kind of a rookie QB, as his 2023 season should be seen as a wash given how dysfunctional everything was in Carolina. I believe we have to look at this duo as having both head coach and QB as rookies.
31. Jerod Mayo - Drake Maye/Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots
Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots have not officially named a starting QB, but either way, the duo is going to be among the worst in the NFL for 2024. Now yes, the Patriots are in a true rebuild, so we should not expect much from the team in 2024. I would guess that Drake Maye might end up doing enough to earn the starting job.
Drake Maye, as a prospect, compared similarly to Justin Herbert in the pre-draft process.
30. Antonio Pierce - Gardner Minshew/Aidan O'Connell, Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders have had a disaster of an offseason, and it’ll be capped off by the head coach/quarterback duo of Antonio Pierce and either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell. This duo heading into 2024 is going to put the Las Vegas Raiders on track to earn a top-3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
29. Brian Callahan - Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Brian Callahan is a rookie head coach who had previously coached for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Will Levis is a second-year QB who did not exactly show a ton in year one. The Titans have given Levis a good enough situation on offense for year two, but this duo here is clearly unproven, so there just isn’t a reason to rank them any higher.
28. Dan Quinn - Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Dan Quinn is now on his second head coaching job, having previously coached the Atlanta Falcons. The Washington Commanders took Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and while I was not a huge fan of that pick, the Commanders obviously saw enough to go with Daniels.
Quinn could be good enough to get the Commanders back on the right track, but I struggle to see how he is an upgrade over their previous head coach, Ron Rivera. And Daniels does not have a great personnel situation on offense for his rookie year.
27. Brian Daboll - Daniel Jones, New York Giants
I actually feel bad for Brian Daboll, who may have to deal with Daniel Jones and Drew Lock at QB in 2024. Daboll can clearly coach, but his GM, Joe Schoen, has done him zero favors. Daboll and Schoen are in their third year with the New York Giants, but there is no clear franchise QB situation in sight.
Daniel Jones is just flat-out bad, and neither Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito figure to be much better. This may be a long year for the Giants, who could end up picking in the top-5 when the 2025 NFL Draft rolls around. It’s just not a great situation for the G-Men.
26. Dennis Allen - Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Dennis Allen and Derek Carr is not going to be a winning duo for the New Orleans Saints. They went 9-8 together in 2023 but missed the playoffs, and I do not see a reason why they will be better in 2024. Frankly, the New Orleans Saints do need to rebuild, so that could mean parting with both Allen and Carr, who are low-ceiling, low-floor people in the NFL at this point.
25. Kevin O'Connell - Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings will not have rookie QB JJ McCarthy, as a torn meniscus will end his rookie season before it began, really. The Vikings were likely not going to be all that great in 2024, but it’s brutal that they won’t get a look at McCarthy during the regular season. Sam Darnold figures to get a bulk of the starts, but it’s clear now that Minnesota will look to 2025 to establish themselves in this new era without Kirk Cousins.
24. Mike Macdonald - Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Mike Macdonald and Geno Smith will not amount to much in 2024, but Macdonald might end up being a stud of a head coach. Smith is clearly not a long-term option for the Seattle Seahawks, who missed out on all six first-round QBs in 2024. I assume that Seattle will look to next offseason to try and bring in a potential franchise QB.
Being that the team has a below-average QB and a first-year head coach for 2024, the team’s ceiling is likely six or seven wins, at most.
23. Mike Tomlin - Russell Wilson/Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin has been a very good head coach his entire career, having won a Super Bowl in the 2008 NFL Season, going to another in 2010, and never having a losing record. However, his QB situation in 2024 is going to be Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, which is just bad. There is a reason why the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to get Wilson and Fields for as little as they did.
And even though Fields can make electric plays with his legs, neither he nor Wilson are franchise quarterbacks.
22. Matt Eberflus - Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Matt Eberflus now has no excuses. He’s got a very talented roster and a generational QB in Caleb Williams. I am not sure we are expecting a deep playoff run for the Chicago Bears in 2024, but a winning record is likely what it’s going to take for Eberflus to keep his job. His defense did end the 2023 NFL Season holding opponents to less than 20 points per game, but the offense is a huge question mark at this point in time.
21. Shane Steichen - Anthony Richardon, Indianapolis Colts
Shane Steichen did quite the job in 2023 with Gardner Minshew taking most of the snaps at quarterback. However, are we thinking too highly of Anthony Richardson? I mean, he showed some good things during his short rookie season, but he’s just as unproven as a rookie QB, so this duo can’t be ranked high until they prove otherwise.
20. Sean Payton - Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Sean Payton is a Super Bowl-winning head coach who has never won fewer than seven games in a season, and he now has a QB in Bo Nix who fits his offense quite well, so I could see this duo launching up these rankings in a couple of months. The Broncos won eight games last year and were in the playoff hunt, which shows just how good of a head coach Sean Payton still is.
And I would not be shocked to see Bo Nix playing a lot better than people think in year one. Who cares if he was the sixth QB taken in the 2024 NFL Draft?
19. Todd Bowles - Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield did help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win nine games and capture the NFC South division in the 2023 NFL Season. They also won a playoff game together, but I do not see a super high ceiling with them. What they accomplished in 2023 seems to be their absolute ceiling, and I do not see them replicating it in 2024.
However, Bowles and Mayfield can keep the team respectable.
18. Nick Sirianni - Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Perhaps the most overrated head coach and overrated QB in the NFL, Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts are both in interesting situations, as Hurts himself has had one above-average season in for years, and Sirianni’s early success seemed to be more due to his former coordinators in Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen than anything else.
We’ll see if the Eagles can put together a respectable season in 2024, but their backs are clearly against the wall.
17. Kevin Stefanski - Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Kevin Stefanksi is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, which is something to note. He’s won over 55% of his games as the Cleveland Browns head coach, but his own standing in this ranking takes a hit due to Deshaun Watson, who has looked quite bad during his two short seasons with the Browns.
If Watson can regain his Houston Texans self, the Browns will be in business, and the duo of Stefanski and Watson would shoot up by the end of the coming season.
16. Robert Saleh - Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Robert Saleh, if nothing else, knows how to field a top defense. But it’s unclear at this point what type of Aaron Rodgers the New York Jets will get. The last time he played a full season was in 2022, which was his last year with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers finished with a passer rating in the low-90s, so he was not super efficient.
If Rodgers can get back to his 2020 and 2021 self, when he won two MVPs in a row, the Jets are going to be a hugely dangerous team, and could actually turn out to be the most complete team in the NFL in 2024.
15. Jonathan Gannon - Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Jonathan Gannon and Kyler Murray are going to shock people in the 2024 NFL Season. The Arizona Cardinals won just four games in 2023, but it was perhaps the best four-win team in NFL history. The Cardinals issues are not close to coaching or quarterbacking, as their overall roster talent is just horrid. GM Monti Ossenfort has done a nice job thus far in bringing in more talent, and he may need another strong offseason before the Cardinals feel complete.
I have predicted that Arizona wins eight games in 2024, but they’re about a year away from being able to sniff the playoffs again.
14. Jim Harbaugh - Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh had a good bit of success during his first head coaching stint in the NFL, but that ended 10 years ago, so Harbaugh is going to have to re-establish himself in the league. Justin Herbert is a good QB, but he’s far from elite like many think. Still, though, this feels like a high-floor type of duo that can at least get the Los Angeles Chargers back on the right track.
I am not sure they can ever win a Super Bowl together, and the Chargers roster is quite bad heading into the 2024 NFL Season, so it might be a few seasons before they reach whatever ceiling they have together.
13. Raheem Morris - Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Raheem Morris is 21-38 as a head coach in the NFL, but he does come with a ton of experience and is from the Shanahan/McVay free. The Atlanta Falcons went 7-10 in each of the last three seasons under former head coach Arthur Smith, and during that time, GM Terry Fontenot did a decent job at improving the roster, and with them signing Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Falcons are actually a complete team for the most part.
The ceiling is there being that Cousins is their QB, but a 10-win season and an NFC South title is something that could put the franchise back on the right track. They aren’t going to win a Super Bowl as long as Cousins is on the team.
12. Doug Pederson - Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Have we forgotten that Doug Pederson has won a Super Bowl? The Jacksonville Jaguars went 9-8 in his first season back in 2022, and the Jags even won a playoff game that year. A brutal end to their 2023 season again had them finish 9-8, but even though it was the same record, 2023 felt like a regression year.
If Pederson and QB Trevor Lawrence can get close to their respective ceilings in the 2024 NFL Season, we could be talking about the Jaguars being an elite team. The AFC South could be one of the best divisions in football in 2024 if Lawrence, Pederson, and the rest of the Jags can build on the last two seasons.
11. Mike McDaniel - Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa are one of the newer duos in the NFL, and the Miami Dolphins seem to be trending in the right direction with McDaniel and Tua. The big concern still remains about whether or not they can win in cold weather, so that remains to be seen if they can. The high-flying offense of the Dolphins has been among the best in the NFL over the last two seasons, so this duo is surely among the best in the NFL.
Mike McDaniel comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, so he is bound to have more success in the NFL.
10. Mike McCarthy - Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Over the last three seasons together, the Dallas Cowboys have gone 31-14 together, with Dak Prescott throwing 96 touchdowns against just 34 interceptions. There are the obvious concerns about the Dallas Cowboys when the playoffs come, as neither Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott seem to be built for the postseason, but if nothing else, they are able to get into the playoffs quite easily.
Both McCarthy and Prescott are in the last years of their respective deals, so there could be some huge change on the horizon if the Cowboys do not come through in the 2024 NFL Season. This is still a top-10 duo in the NFL, nonetheless
9. Sean McDermott - Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
One of the more interesting duos in the NFL, I do not believe this duo will be able to bring a championship to Buffalo. Sean McDermott is a good head coach, but is consistently bounced out of the postseason, indicating he has reached a ceiling as a HC in the NFL, and Josh Allen is just too turnover-prone for my liking. They’re still among the better or best a their jobs in the NFL, and the Bills can continue winning games with the McDermott/Allen duo, but there are too many questions for me to think they can get to the top.
8. Matt LaFleur - Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love looked like a lost cause the first chunk of the 2023 NFL Season, but all of a sudden, something changed. Love ended his first year starting in the NFL on a tear and might be a legitimate MVP candidate in 2024. It’s also established that Matt LaFleur himself is an excellent head coach, and with this duo being quite young, and with Love signed for the long-term, the Packers may have nowhere to go but up.
7. DeMeco Ryans - CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud is the next great duo in the NFL. They’re a Super Bowl team and put the entire league on notice in 2023. CJ Stroud is already a top-4 QB, and Ryans himself may be a top-10 head coach at the moment. What’s not to like about this duo? Broadly, the Texans roster is also locked and loaded.
They went all-in this offseason, trading for RB Joe Mixon and WR Stefon Diggs. They also signed stud pass rusher Danielle Hunter to form a lethal duo up front with Will Anderson Jr.
6. Dan Campbell - Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Dan Campbell and Jared Goff have truly revived the Detroit Lions franchise, and I am predicting that the Lions represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in 2024. They won 12 games in 2023, winning the NFC North and making an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Brad Holmes again added more talent the defense, so you figure that the Lions may finally have enough to make a Super Bowl run.
5. John Harbaugh - Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
I do not believe the duo of John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson will ever win a Super Bowl, but they’ve won a ton of games together and routinely get into the postseason, so there’s that. Jackson has won two NFL MVP awards and is already the best dual-threat QB of all-time, but is Harbaugh the right man to continue to lead this Baltimore Ravens team?
4. Zac Taylor - Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
To me, this duo is way more Joe Burrow than Zac Taylor, but they have enjoyed a ton of success together, making the Super Bowl in the 2021 NFL Season. The issue here is that Burrow has suffered two season-ending injuries, so there have to be some valid concerns about whether Burrow is injury prone or not.
Can the Bengals right the ship a bit in 2024 and make another deep playoff run?
3. Kyle Shanahan - Brock Purdy, San Francsico 49ers
In their first two seasons together, Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy have helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in 2022 and the Super Bowl in 2023. At some point, you'd think that this duo could do enough one year to win the Super Bowl. Losing it in overtime in 2023 had to be extremely heartbreaking, but both Shanahan and Purdy are still quite early on in their respective careers.
2. Sean McVay - Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
The duo of Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford won the Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 NFL Season, and they brokeout a bit in 2023, finishing 10-7. The Los Angeles Rams may now all of a sudden have another wide open Super Bowl window, but with Stafford now entering his age-36 season, there might not be a lot of time left for him.
Can the McVay/Stafford duo bring home another championship?
1. Andy Reid - Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
The only correct choice here, as this duo is already all-time. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have been able to win three of the last five Super Bowls, and I'm not sure either plans on slowing down. It did take Andy Reid quite a while in his head coaching tenure to finally win the big game, but now he's got three.
Mahomes would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he were to retire tomorrow. This duo has only lost three times in the postseason. Two of those losses game against Tom Brady. Can this duo win their third-straight Super Bowl in 2024?