High voltage contactor EMC circuit
High Voltage contactors need to switch as fast as mechanically possible to reducing the harmful effects of arc currents on the contact surfaces at extreme temperatures ~ 6000’K.
When a simple relay or inductor is clamped by a reverse diode, the same coil current travels thru the diode with the reverse voltage.  When such clamping occurs the force on the coil persists and the decay time can be estimated by the L/R=T . Thus a low R conducting diode will force the relay to open slowly, exactly what you don’t want for a HV contactor.
Your figures A &amp; B are identical because series elements are swappable.
However the addition of a Zener will dissipate more power in the diode, yet it will switch much faster. Because dI/dt=V/L the Zener voltage allows some drop in current  due to the rise in voltage. Yet it is not very much voltage and power can be a problem for Zeners unless bulky.
Another solution is to allow much higher switching voltages by using an RC snubber to absorb the energy stored in the coil and increase the V=I*R transient across the switch within its allowable safe operating area (SOA). This gives the contactor or power relay the best possible solution for switching the contacts open and quenching the arc.
Then next possible solution to prevent damage is to use a large power snubber for flaming contactors to divert the arc energy to an external RC dummy load.
The specifics require you to define the actual VA being switched and inductive energy stored.