Literally the moment the Patriots made it official with Mike Vrabel, the Cowboys head coach position opens up with Mike McCarthy out.

Across the NFL, teams eliminated from Super Bowl contention are turning their focus toward a long offseason of coaching changes and contract negotiations.

Here’s how we rank the top New Orleans Saints head coach candidates after the New York Jets hired Aaron Glenn, one of their top choices:

Plus, the Cowboys were on-brand in their handling of Mike McCarthy, and thoughts about future contracts for Sam Darnold and Brock Purdy.

For some of those teams, that will involve finding new head coaches and/or General Managers. Three teams fired their head coaches during the season and two more have been dispatched as of 9 a.m. ET on January 6.

Mike Vrabel made a triumphant return to New England as head coach of the Patriots on Monday. A former linebacker and Super Bowl champion under Bill Belichick, Vrabel said he felt the move back to Foxborough, Mass., was right "in his soul." Vrabel previously coached the Tennessee Titans and spent last season as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Vrabel might be the best candidate for what Michael Irvin believes the Cowboys need. Discipline. Vrabel is a no-nonsense type of coach who played for Bill Belichick in New England for the bulk of his career. Vrabel had success in Tennessee as head coach with four consecutive winning seasons and an AFC title game appearance.

There are four head coaching vacancies remaining: The Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and the New Orleans Saints. That leaves four head coaching candidates to get hired for 2025. Let's take a look at the best ones.

Mike Vrabel is in New England. Mike McCarthy is out in Dallas. The NFL coaching carousel is spinning slowly. The Jets, Saints and Bears got a head start in their searches because they fired coaches during the season. The Jaguars and Raiders joined the hunt ...

McCarthy joined the team in 2020 as the successor ... immediately after the last game of the season. New England named Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, effectively replacing one former ...

Minute-by-minute, story-by-story, we will report on what's going on here inside The Star and around the NFL in our Cowboys Coaching Carousel.