How the 2024 NFL coaching carousel unfolded

The Colts have found their new defensive line coach.

Indianapolis is hiring Charlie Partridge, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. Partridge, a former head coach at Florida Atlantic, has spent the last seven seasons as the University of Pittsburgh’s defensive line coach. He’ll join Colts head coach Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley ahead of Steichen’s and Bradley’s second and third seasons in Indianapolis, respectively.

“My heart is heavy and full of gratitude for Pitt and Pittsburgh,” Partridge wrote in a social media post Monday. “I am honored to have the opportunity to be a DL coach in the NFL. It’s time and I’m excited to go coach football!!”

Partridge will replace Nate Ollie, who was the Colts defensive line coach the last two years but did not have his contract renewed this offseason. Ollie helped the Colts set an Indianapolis-era record with 51 sacks during the 2023 campaign.

It was a bit surprising that Ollie was not retained, but as the Colts look to build on their 9-8 finish in 2023, Partridge brings an impressive resume to Indianapolis. Pittsburgh finished top five in the country in sacks from 2019 to 2022 and ranked No. 1 in the nation with 46 sacks in 2020 and 44 sacks in 2022.

“When I hired him back in 2017, I had aspirations for the type of impact he would make for us,” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi said of Partridge in a statement. “True to form, Charlie surpassed even those expectations. … The National Football League is getting a great coach and an even greater man.”

FootballScoop was the first to report the news of Partridge’s hiring.

Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan is leaving the team and will join the staff of the Tennessee Titans under new head coach Brian Callahan, Bill's son.

The move was finalized Thursday evening, a league source confirmed. Cleveland.com was first to report the Callahan to Callahan move.

Although the Browns didn't directly address it, they were prepared for the potential of Bill Callahan wanting to join his son's staff — and ultimately had no issue in granting permission to do so. Bill Callahan had spent the last four years on Kevin Stefanski's staff and was considered both a trusted advisor to Stefanski and a key part of the offensive operation. Callahan is one of the league's most respected offensive line coaches.

He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) and the University of Nebraska (2004-07) in addition to serving as interim head coach in Washington in 2019 before joining the Browns. He'd also previously served as Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington.

Brian Callahan was hired by the Titans on Jan. 24. He'd been the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator since 2019.

Scott Peters has been the Browns' assistant offensive line coach under Callahan, and it's likely he'll be promoted. The Browns' policy has not been to formally announce their coaching staff changes until the staff is finalized, but last weekend they reached a deal with Ken Dorsey to become their new offensive coordinator. The Browns interviewed Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson last month for their then-vacant offensive coordinator job, but it's unclear if that interview was also part of preparing for a potential Callahan exit.

Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson spent the day with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday and meets with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next, per league sources. On Monday, Johnson will interview for the vacant New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator position, according to those sources.

Bill Belichick is a free agent for the first time this century. But no one seems interested.

Even after a legendary run with the New England Patriots that saw him earn the most Super Bowl titles of any coach in NFL history and a career record of 333-178 (counting the playoffs), teams looking for a new head coach appear to be passing on the 71-year-old Belichick.

Seven teams (not counting the Patriots) have had head-coaching openings this offseason. Only one seems to have seriously considered him. The Atlanta Falcons have been the only team to interview Belichick, but after two meetings with him, they went a different direction, opting Thursday for former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

The only two teams still looking for a coach have signaled they aren’t interested in Belichick. Both the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks are onto their second round of interviews with candidates, and neither met with Belichick the first time around.

Why has it gone this way? It was always going to take the right scenario. Belichick is expected to want more than $20 million per year, which is more than many owners want to pay a head coach. He’s also 29-38 since Tom Brady left New England. And he runs things differently than most after serving as both head coach and de facto general manager for so long with the Patriots. At a time when many owners are seeking collaboration, it’s understandable some would be reluctant to hand total power over to one man.

So it’s looking more and more like Belichick, who has been chasing Don Shula’s all-time wins record (he’s 15 shy of overtaking him), might not be an NFL coach in 2024 for the first time in 49 years. His wait for another head-coaching job — if he still wants one by then — could continue into 2025.

With that in mind, let’s have a little fun and imagine the teams and scenarios that could return Belichick to the head-coaching ranks next year.

Thursday’s news — defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is the Atlanta Falcons’ new head coach — drew mixed emotions from the Los Angeles Rams.

Coaches, including head coach Sean McVay, who hired Morris (one of his best friends) in 2021, players and executives are thrilled for Morris’ opportunity. At the same time, many I spoke with also expressed sadness to lose Morris, who helped the Rams win a Super Bowl and whose leadership in the building often put him in a co-head-coaching role of sorts alongside McVay.

The logistics come next. McVay will need to hire Morris’ replacement, and that coach will have a significant say on another vacancy on the defensive side — defensive line coach Eric Henderson left for USC earlier this month.

Los Angeles will have to keep an eye on its offense, too. Quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson is one candidate to join Morris as his offensive coordinator in Atlanta among other candidates for that job, a league source said. Internal possibilities to replace Robinson, who has been interviewing for various offensive coordinator jobs across the NFL over the last two weeks, could include pass game coordinator Jake Peetz, tight ends coach Nick Caley (if he doesn’t get an offensive coordinator job and McVay wants to move him from his previous position) or offensive assistant K.J. Black. External candidates could include Atlanta’s Dave Ragone, if he doesn’t stay on Morris’ staff and instead becomes a “free agent.” McVay and Ragone know each other well from their time together in Washington.

Here are 12 possible internal and external candidates to replace Morris.

Former Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry will interview for jobs on the defensive staffs for both the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears, per league sources. Philly is up first.

Dave Canales did not interview with any of the other seven teams with head-coaching vacancies this hiring cycle (the New England Patriots didn’t interview anyone before naming coach-in-waiting Jerod Mayo). Despite Canales’ background in Seattle, the Seahawks never talked to him after Carroll stepped down.

But the Panthers needed someone to get quarterback Bryce Young turned around, and it became increasingly clear they weren’t going to land Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Canales’ track record with struggling quarterbacks is encouraging. Geno Smith won the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 when Canales was the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach and the Bucs’ Baker Mayfield is a finalist for the award this year.

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CINCINNATI — Dan Pitcher sat next to head coach Zac Taylor on the stage of the Bengals’ press conference room Thursday while being announced as offensive coordinator.

After weeks — and years — of weighing options, interviews and career paths, he tapped on the table and recognized the thought that never left.

“You sit back and do the cost-benefit analysis of all these potential options, I’ll just keep coming back to it,” Pitcher said. “The leader in the clubhouse was right here. You sort through all those things and in the back of my mind I’m hoping I’m sitting in front of you right now answering this question.”

He happily would have recalibrated to try and pull the Patriots, Saints or Raiders out of the offensive muck if any of those interview opportunities he earned recently morphed into an offensive coordinator gig.

For him, though, they would all be lacking one overwhelming component.

“This feels like home to me,” he said.

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Bill Belichick is currently viewed as a long shot for the Commanders and Seahawks coaching vacancies, league sources said. It’d take a change of direction for something to happen with either team.

There are layers to the hiring in Atlanta. Arthur Blank was targeting the greatest coach of all time from the start.

He was then open to listening to others' ideas. Some internal persuasion, impressive interviews, and here we are.

Bill Belichick is unemployed. Raheem Morris gets his shot.

Jalen Ramsey is a fan of the Raheem Morris hire.

The Falcons' extremely thorough search ends with Raheem Morris. Good hire, in my opinion.

Wonder if he brings Zac Robinson with him. A lot of similarities to DeMeco Ryans taking Bobby Slowik, who also had a PFF background and passing-game coordinator title.

The Atlanta Falcons plan to hire Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as the team’s head coach, according to team sources.

Atlanta seemed like a destination for former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick after he interviewed for the job. But the Falcons are bringing Morris back to the division he previously served in as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 2009 to 2011 and on Atlanta’s staff from 2015 to 2020.

The Falcons fired Arthur Smith right after the 2023 season ended, when the team finished 7-10.

Morris, 47, doesn’t bring a great resume to the process. He was 17-31 in three seasons with the Buccaneers, which is worse than the record that got Smith fired (21-30), and he was 4-7 as the Falcons interim head coach after Dan Quinn was fired in 2020.

What Morris does have is some experience, a glowing recommendation from his current boss (Rams coach Sean McVay) and a positive relationship with many people still around Atlanta’s organization.

As such, he’s a balance between someone like Belichick, who spent 24 years as the head coach of the Patriots, and the other candidates who got two interviews with the Falcons — Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

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While the Panthers interviewed several candidates from defensive backgrounds, the sense in league circles was that owner David Tepper was going to hire an offensive-minded coach to work with Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick who endured a rocky rookie season. Ben Johnson was believed to be Tepper’s first choice, but the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is expected to end up in Washington. So the Panthers pivoted to Canales, the 42-year-old who did a nice job with Baker Mayfield this season scheming against pressure and blitz packages. That should be helpful for Young, who was sacked 62 times in 2023 — more than any other rookie but David Carr (76).

In a hiring cycle when several established coaches — and one future Hall of Famer — were available, the Panthers hired a coach who has called plays for one season. But Dave Canales has impressed the last two seasons by resurrecting quarterbacks Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. He also has a strong connection to Dan Morgan, who was promoted to general manager/president of football operations Monday. The two were together for eight seasons in Seattle, and that background certainly helped Canales distinguish himself from the 10 other candidates.