Six NFL teams began looking for new head coaches Monday.
Some jobs are more appealing than others from coaching candidates' perspectives. Insight from coaches, execs and other league insiders placed the six openings in the following order:
1. Detroit Lions
The Lions are the only team on the list with a healthy proven quarterback in his prime who is coming off multiple solid seasons. Matthew Stafford ranks sixth in Total QBR (63.6) over the past two seasons and has 53 touchdowns with 20 picks over that span. He turns 30 in February and is signed through 2022.
Detroit also has a highly talented pass-rusher in Ezekiel Ansah (12.5 sacks), a 27-year-old Pro Bowl corner in Darius Slay and two 1,000-yard receivers in Golden Tate and Marvin Jones Jr., plus promising 6-foot-4 rookie wideout Kenny Golladay.
"I would love to coach Stafford," a veteran head coach said.
General manager Bob Quinn is unproven, but he's also making his first head-coaching hire, which means he'll be highly invested in the next head coach. This is also a relatively young team (24th-oldest starters in 2017, not counting quarterbacks).
Though previous coach Jim Caldwell was fired after successive winning seasons, ownership has typically shown patience. Ownership also has stayed out of football management, holding monthly meetings instead of meddling in day-to-day decisions.
"Detroit is first on my list because of the quarterback, and the Fords are generally stable and they stay out of football," one of the insiders said.
On the downside, Green Bay and Minnesota provide formidable roadblocks to winning the NFC North division, and Stafford wasn't nearly as efficient without current offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, whom Stafford has lobbied the Lions to retain under the next head coach.
2. Oakland Raiders
The next coach (presumably Jon Gruden) must endure a lame-duck season in Oakland before the team relocates to Las Vegas.
While no one points to Mark Davis as the ideal sports owner, Davis is probably underrated. He did land the stadium deal in Nevada, and he has seen the Raiders upgrade their talent in recent years. He gave Jack Del Rio a contract extension prematurely -- any coach would have to appreciate that -- and fired Del Rio only when he finally coaxed Gruden into the fold after years of trying.
There is star power on the roster with blue-chip young talent at quarterback (Derek Carr), wide receiver (Amari Cooper) and outside pass-rusher (Khalil Mack). Talent outweighed production this season, creating an inviting opportunity for a new coach.
"Gruden wants to go there to coach Derek Carr, and they have Khalil Mack and that huge offensive line," an insider said. "They are going to get a new stadium and have no [state] taxes [in Nevada] -- the whole thing."
3. Indianapolis Colts
Multiple insiders said they would have had the Colts in the No. 1 spot before the season, but circumstances have changed.
Any coaching candidate must find out what he can about Andrew Luck's ailing shoulder, because if Luck cannot return to form, this job becomes less appealing. Insiders fear a worst-case scenario under which Luck's January 2017 shoulder surgery was botched, he'll require another operation and he might never regain previous form.
With Luck in the fold and with a second-year GM (Chris Ballard) who was highly sought for years before accepting the Indy job, this could be a good opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a rebuild. However, Luck cannot throw a pass today; he has not played in a game for more than a year; he recently sought medical alternatives in the Netherlands; and he told reporters upon his return that his "gut feeling" was that he would not require another surgery. That doesn't sound promising.
"Indy is No. 1 for me if Luck is going to be 100 percent because it's so hard to find a QB and he has won in the playoffs," an insider said. "If not, Indy drops to just above Chicago for me."
Luck's status is not known, which is why the Colts fall somewhere near the middle.
4. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have averaged 9.9 wins per season while ranking seventh in win percentage and never firing a coach since Steve Keim moved into the GM role before the 2013 season. Pass-rusher Chandler Jones, cornerback Patrick Peterson and running back David Johnson give the Cardinals' next coach three blue-chip difference-makers in their primes.
That is all positive, as is a defense that ranked fifth in ESPN's efficiency metric this past season, eight spots higher than any other defense from a team without a head coach.
On the downside, the Cardinals' efforts to maximize their five-year run under retiring coach Bruce Arians have created challenges for the immediate future. Arizona's next coach will join a team with the NFL's oldest roster, no long-term quarterback solution and a first-round pick that is only 15th overall -- not early enough in the round to feel great about finding Carson Palmer's successor.
"The QB situation is in flux, and an overhaul could be in the works," an insider said.
5. New York Giants
The Giants would typically rank higher on a list of desirable landing spots. Ownership has been stable. There is a clearly defined power structure, with coaching separate from personnel. But there are issues to work through.
Eli Manning turns 37 this week, and the end could be near for him. Working out a contract extension for Odell Beckham Jr. could be dicey with a new GM looking to establish himself (when Dave Gettleman was with Carolina, he dumped high-profile cornerback Josh Norman following a contract impasse). The Eli Apple situation is another one that could be combustible for a new coach.
"The Giants have a weird locker room right now," one insider said.
Holding the second overall choice in the draft could arm the Giants' next coach with a franchise quarterback if Gettleman thinks there's one worth selecting that early.
"A quarterback is the hardest thing to find," another insider said. "Eli [Manning] is a bridge to ... what? The defense has talent. Can the front stay formidable with JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] aging and hurt?"
6. Chicago Bears
The Bears are excited about 2017 first-round quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, but what is he? One insider called him an unknown mound of clay -- a player to be molded with care, but one whose final form remains a mystery. Chicago also lacks the offensive weaponry on the perimeter that distinguishes the Lions, Raiders and Giants.
The Bears do hold the eighth overall choice in the draft, and their defense ranked 13th in efficiency last season (Denver was the only other team with a losing record that ranked among the top 13 teams in that category).
Fourth-year GM Ryan Pace received a contract extension this week, which could hint at stability, but he and departing coach John Fox share the same 14-34 record to this point in the rebuild. What happens if there's more tough sledding in the short term while Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit dominate the NFC North? The Bears' next coach could find himself inheriting a new GM in a couple of years, is what.