Top Remaining NFL HC Candidates for Raiders, Bills, More After Mike McCarthy to Steelers

A big name was reportedly taken off the list of available candidates Saturday, as the Pittsburgh Steelers are "working towards a deal" to hire former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as their next head coach, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

With the Steelers filling their vacancy, it leaves the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals as the only teams with a head coaching vacancy.

The head coaching interviews conducted by the Bills, Raiders, Browns and Cardinals thus far are as follows:

Buffalo Bills

• Joe Brady
• Brian Daboll
• Lou Anarumo
• Philip Rivers
• Anthony Weaver

Las Vegas Raiders

• Mike McDaniel
• Joe Brady
• Klay Kubiak
• Chris Shula
• Nate Scheelhaase
• Mike LaFleur
• Ejiro Evero
• Matt Nagy
• Davis Webb
• Vance Joseph
• Klint Kubiak

Cleveland Browns

• Grant Udinski
• Todd Monken
• Jim Schwartz
• Nate Scheelhaase
• Mike McDaniel
• Aden Durde
• Dan Pitcher
• Tommy Rees

Arizona Cardinals

• Anthony Campanile
• Joe Brady
• Thomas Brown
• Matt Burke
• Vance Joseph
• Klint Kubiak
• Mike LaFleur
• Raheem Morris
• Matt Nagy
• Chris Shula
• Arthur Smith
• Anthony Weaver

Of the four remaining vacancies, there is little doubt that the Bills offer the best situation due to their recent success and the presence of superstar quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen.

The Bills surprised many when they fired Sean McDermott following a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos in overtime of the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.

McDermott went 98-50 in nine seasons with the Bills, leading them to the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons. However, they were never able to get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl.

Of the candidates interviewed by Buffalo thus far, Daboll stands out as perhaps the best option. Before spending four seasons as head coach of the New York Giants, Daboll was the Bills' offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021.

Daboll is known to have a strong relationship with Allen, and the Bills ranked in the top five in both total offense and scoring offense with him calling plays in 2020 and 2021.

Per Pelissero, the Bills also requested an interview with Udinski, who is the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator. He could be a strong choice given his success with quarterback Trevor Lawrence this season.

The Raiders are in line to potentially select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which suggests minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek may want a head coach with an offensive background.

Klint Kubiak, who has worked wonders with quarterback Sam Darnold as offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, could be the ideal candidate to work with a young signal-caller like Mendoza.

The Raiders cannot conduct another interview with Kubiak until the Seahawks' playoff run is over, though.

Another strong option is McDaniel, who is fresh off four seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Miami missed the playoffs the past two seasons, but McDaniel made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons and guided quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to the best performances of his career.

The Browns may have to go with a defensive-minded head coach since they have no clear path to a quality starting quarterback in the near future.

Schwartz makes a ton of sense having been the Browns' defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. Cleveland led the NFL in total defense in 2023 and ranked fourth this season under Schwartz.

He also has head coaching experience, having served as the Detroit Lions' head coach from 2009 to 2013. While he only went 29-51, he did lead Detroit to the playoffs in 2011.

If not Schwartz, it may behoove the Browns to take a chance on a young, unproven coach like Udinski or the Los Angeles Rams' passing game coordinator in Scheelhaase.

The Cardinals may have to take a similar path to the Browns, as they look to be moving on from veteran quarterback Kyler Murray and likely aren't picking high enough to secure a franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft.

Joseph was the Cardinals' defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022 before taking that job with the Denver Broncos. He also has previous head coaching experience, going 11-21 with the Broncos from 2017 to 2018.

Denver ranked second in the NFL in total defense and third in scoring defense this season, and Joseph could potentially make the Cards competitive in 2026 even without a high-end quarterback.

Staying with the defensive theme, Weaver stands out as an alternative option. He has been a defensive coordinator with the Houston Texans and Dolphins, and he was also an assistant head coach with the Baltimore Ravens.