The problem for head-coaching candidates in practically every offseason is the group of available jobs is usually bad. There’s a reason those teams fired their coaches.

But there are also many examples of teams making the right hire and turning around quickly, whether it was DeMeco Ryans a few years ago with the Houston Texans, Liam Coen for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mike Vrabel with the New England Patriots, Ben Johnson joining the Chicago Bears this past offseason or many other examples. Just about any situation can be turned around with the right hire at coach, along with some key personnel moves.

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On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were reportedly closing in on a deal with former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy to succeed Mike Tomlin, taking one of the league’s top openings off the market.

Over the course of this hiring cycle, the New York Giants secured John Harbaugh and the Atlanta Falcons got Kevin Stefanski. The Buffalo Bills entered the mix by firing Sean McDermott on Monday, the same day the Miami Dolphins reached an agreement to hire Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach. As Monday bled into Tuesday, the Tennessee Titans were finalizing an agreement to hire San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh as their head coach. Then, on Thursday, the Ravens hired Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Baltimore was the top job on this list when it hired Minter.

That leaves these openings, ranked in order of least to most attractive:

4. Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals lost 14 of their last 15 games. Injuries impacted their season, but not that much. It was simply a bad football team. And what’s the main selling point? General manager Monti Ossenfort will stay, and in this era of GMs and coaches coming in a package deal, that might not be a positive. Kyler Murray’s time with Arizona seems to be over, and even if he returns, that’s not a great thing either. There’s no quarterback, the team’s best player is a tight end, the defense was bottom six in points and yards allowed, and the franchise has just one playoff appearance (a one-and-done loss) since the 2015 season. Maybe the possibility of drafting a quarterback third overall will be appealing, but it’s not like this is a great quarterback class. Arizona has been a dead-end job for many years, and there’s not much reason to believe that will change soon.

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3. Cleveland Browns

You don’t think candidates will realize that the Browns just fired a two-time NFL Coach of the Year in Kevin Stefanski, who was stuck with Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and a rotating cast of other quarterbacks? Acquiring Watson was probably the worst trade in NFL history, and the GM who was on the job when it was made, Andrew Berry, remains. Jimmy Haslam has a horrendous track record as a team owner. The hope for the Browns is a strong 2025 rookie class that had immediate contributors throughout. But it’s hard to ignore the Browns’ history.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are a flailing organization. They hired the oldest coach in NFL history and traded for a 35-year-old quarterback last offseason just to go 3-14. There never seems to be any plan. The search for Pete Carroll’s replacement will be led by general manager John Spytek and limited owner Tom Brady, the latter of which was a great quarterback but has no track record of helping lead a coaching search. But he’s a big name, which is what team owner Mark Davis likes. The one selling point to the new coach would be having the first overall draft pick and a choice of quarterbacks to start fresh with. Brock Bowers is a great talent, Ashton Jeanty should be a good running back with a little help, and Maxx Crosby is either a fantastic defensive star or a prime trade piece. There are some things to like, but it’s the Raiders. Everyone knows how bad this franchise has been for decades.

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1. Buffalo Bills

The Bills job is good and also comes with a lot of immediate pressure that many of these other jobs don’t have. Josh Allen will be 30 years old next season and clearly the organization is feeling the heat to get to a Super Bowl with him. That’s why they fired Sean McDermott despite seven straight playoff appearances. There will be no adjustment period for the new coach. He’ll be expected to make a Super Bowl right away or it will be considered a failure. That’s tough. Also, it’s a roster that is flawed around Allen. Yet, the opportunity to coach a player like Allen in his prime doesn’t come along often. That makes it a big job, even with the immediate heat involved with whoever is hired.