10 potential first-time NFL head coaching candidates

“Black Monday” has come and gone in the NFL, and there are now six head coaching vacancies across the league. In the coming weeks, the Eagles, Giants, Titans, 49ers, Browns and Dolphins will all find themselves with new head coaches. Some of these teams will hire candidates with head coaching experience in the NFL, but at least several of them will not.

Every year, a few teams roll the dice and choose to hire a football coach with no head coaching experience in the NFL. Sometimes it works out brilliantly (Bruce Arians, Ron Rivera), while other times it’s a disaster (Mike Pettine, Jim Tomsula). Here are 10 potential first-time NFL head coaches.

1) Doug Pederson

The Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson is already the leading candidate to land the Eagles' head coaching job, according to multiple reports. And why not? Pederson has been successfully calling the plays for a Chiefs offense that lost its best player, Jamaal Charles, for the season in Week 5. Now having won 10 games in a row, Pederson has gotten a Chiefs offense, led by a less than awe-inspiring quarterback in Alex Smith, to do enough week in and week out to win football games.

Pederson, 47, played over 10 years in the NFL, primarily as the backup quarterback to Brett Favre in Green Bay. After being hired as the Chiefs' quarterbacks coach in 2011, he was promoted to offensive coordinator by Andy Reid in 2013. All indications point to Pederson becoming a head coach in the NFL sooner than later.

2) Sean McDermott

Also linked to the Eagles' head coaching vacancy, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has helped turn the Panthers defense into one of the NFL’s most feared units. The Carolina D finished with the best turnover differential in the NFL (+20) and finished sixth in both total sacks and total defense. Clearly, McDermott knows how to coach NFL players and turn what they do in practice into production on Sundays.

McDermott began his coaching career in the NFL at the age of 27 with the Eagles in 2001. Now, 15 years later, having proved he is one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, the 41-year-old McDermott could very well be headed back to Philly as head coach.

3) Matt Patricia

Expect to hear the name of Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia quite often over the next few weeks. A “Belichick guy,” Patricia has been on the Pats coaching staff since 2005 and has been their defensive coordinator since 2012. Patricia has demonstrated that he has a sophisticated understanding of how to defend both the pass and run in the NFL, and has also been able to develop unheralded players (Malcolm Butler, Rob Ninkovich, Jonathan Freeny) into key contributors on defense.

Just a day after firing coach Mike Pettine, the Cleveland Browns requested and were granted permission by the Patriots to interview Patricia for their head coaching vacancy. Having learned from the best, and won a Super Bowl, the Browns would be wise not let Patricia leave the room until he agrees to become their new head coach. He is a potential star head coach in the making.

4) Adam Gase

Adam Gase was a hot name last season, and it was somewhat of a surprise that the former Broncos offensive coordinator didn’t land a head coaching gig. Instead, Gase joined John Fox in Chicago with the Bears and proceeded to turn Jay Cutler into a pretty decent quarterback. As their play caller, the Bears exceeded expectations on offense this season.

Gase, 37, already has interviews lined up with the Eagles, Browns and Dolphins, and the 49ers have expressed interest as well. Still, it felt a bit odd that Gase didn’t nab a head coaching gig last year when he was such a hot item. It will be interesting to see if this year brings a different result for him.

5) David Shaw

Is there any question Stanford head coach David Shaw could coach in the NFL? No. The football world loves this guy, and why shouldn’t it? Since taking over for Jim Harbaugh in 2011, Shaw has led the Cardinal to a 54-14 record and two Rose Bowl victories. He has also been named PAC-12 Coach of the Year three out of the last four years.

A former assistant coach in the NFL with the Eagles, Raiders and Ravens, Shaw will certainly draw interest from NFL teams in the coming weeks. The problem is that no one seems to believe Shaw is willing to leave what he has going at Stanford for a job in the NFL. That being said, if Shaw has a change of heart, he could easily land a head coaching gig in the NFL.

6) Dirk Koetter

The former head coach of Boise State and Arizona State, Dirk Koetter has been an offensive coordinator in the NFL since 2007. Spending this past season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Koetter seemed to get the most out of rookie quarterback Jameis Winston and helped running back Doug Martin revive his career. The Bucs ranked fifth in total offense and were a massively improved unit under Koetter’s tutelage.

With well over 20 years of coaching experience in both college and the pros, Koetter is one the most experienced coaches never to be a head coach in the NFL. He is expected to interview with the Eagles, but he has gone on record saying he is content with his current situation in Tampa. It may be difficult for a team to lure Koetter away from the Bucs.

7) Ben McAdoo

With the resignation of coach Tom Coughlin, the Giants have already scheduled an interview with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. McAdoo is a relative newcomer to the NFL coaching scene. After spending several years with the Packers, he was hired prior to the 2014 season as the Giants' new offensive coordinator. Under his watch, the New York offense has shown improvement, finishing eighth best this season in total offense.

Still, at just 38 years old and with only two years of coaching in a high-leverage coaching position, hiring McAdoo as head coach would be a risky move for any team. He will likely get his shot to become a head coach a some point in the future, just probably not in the near future.

8) Kirk Ferentz

Head coach of the University of Iowa since 1999, if there was ever a time Kirk Ferentz were to land a head coaching gig in the NFL, it would be now. Ferentz just led the Hawkeyes to a nearly undefeated season, culminating with an appearance in the Rose Bowl. A four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Ferentz has gone 139-108 as head coach of Iowa.

Ferentz’s name is usually floated around NFL circles at some point in every offseason. He has drawn plenty of head coaching interest over the past few years but has chosen to remain at Iowa. Still, Ferentz’s stock has never been higher, and at 60 years old, Ferentz will likely not have a better chance to take control of an NFL team than now.

9) Teryl Austin

The Detroit Lions are hardly an NFL franchise that fans admire — however, they do happen to have a pretty decent defensive coordinator on their coaching staff in Teryl Austin. Austin, who also has experience coaching in college, became the Lions' D coordinator in 2014 and has shown himself to be capable of getting the most out of less than elite talent. He is the rare type of coach whom both players and fellow coaches seem to love and respect.

Austin will interview for the Browns', Eagles' and Dolphins' head coaching jobs this week, and the Titans, 49ers and Giants would be wise to throw their names in the hat as well. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has already gone on record saying it would be a major loss for the team if Austin were to move on. Knowing the Lions' luck, expect Austin to be head coach somewhere next season.

10) Duce Staley

Although it felt like a tacit attempt by the Eagles to satisfy the “Rooney Rule,” the first person they interviewed for their head coaching position after Chip Kelly was fired was running backs coach Duce Staley. Staley played 10 years in the NFL, including seven seasons with Eagles. He is a beloved figure in Philadelphia and appears to be trending in the right direction in the coaching world.

Still, it’s rare that a position coach makes the jump straight to head coach; Jim Tomsula and Rod Marinelli made that jump, but both of their head coaching tenures turned out to be disasters. With that in mind, don’t expect Staley to be a head coach in the NFL when the 2016 season commences. But for 2017? Hey, you never know.