With the New Orleans Saints’ post-Super Bowl hire of Kellen Moore, the 2025 head coaching circuit has officially closed. While many have ranked each standalone coaching hire, we dive deeper into each newly hired head coach’s staff and what to expect moving forward.
The NFL is a year-to-year business. “Not For Long” is a sentiment that both players and coaches share each season. Over the last five seasons, there have been an average of close to seven head coach openings per year and usually about half the number of general manager openings. The 2025 hiring cycle proved to be no different, despite a surprise or two along the way.
With all the dust settled on the initial hiring fracas, it’s time to dive deeper into each coaching staff and their performance. NFL teams have started dipping further into the college ranks over the past few seasons, primarily due to the ever-evolving world of NIL. Pulling from the NCAA has given teams more creative ways to build their staff. Most of the teams on this list dipped into that pool somehow, but specific teams fished in that pond more than others.
For this ranking system, we examined the entire process. Obviously, teams will take the next few weeks to finish filling out their staff, but the primary pieces are in place, allowing us to better understand how each team will look. The heaviest weight of these “grades” will be on the head coach, but the support staff plays a more significant role than I had expected.
1. Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears)
OC: Declan Doyle (Denver Broncos)
DC: Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints)
ST: Richard Hightower (Retained)
Top Assistants: DB Al Harris (Dallas Cowboys), WR Antwaan Randle-El (Detroit Lions), OL Dan Roushar (Tulane), and RB Eric Bieniemy (UCLA).
Outside of The Patriots’ lightning-quick hire of Vrabel, the Bears were the first team that really kicked off the hiring spree. That, in large part, was thanks to a surprising Detroit Lions loss during the divisional round. Chicago hired Johnson without him stepping foot into Halas Hall. His suitors were clear from the start. Once New England acted on Vrabel, it was a three-team race. In the end, Johnson wanted to stay within the division, and the promise of quarterback Caleb Williams played a significant role in getting him to Chicago.
The team’s hiring committee, including general manager Ryan Poles, lauded Johnson for his detailed plan. So far, that has shown during the process of building out his coaching staff. Johnson acted quickly to lock down Harris and Randle-El. Shortly after, he locked down Allen as his veteran defensive coordinator and gave a shot to a young Sean Payton disciple at offensive coordinator. Doyle comes with some risk, but he won’t be calling plays, nor will he be the primary architect of the offense. More importantly, Johnson has insulated himself with a quality mix of top-tier assistants who have proven themselves at the NFL level and plenty of former players who will be hungry to prove their worth as coaches. Roushar might have been his second most crucial hire and will give the Bears a much-needed professional in the offensive line room.
In many ways, Johnson’s first staff has shown many of the same qualities as Dan Campbell’s did in Detroit. There’s a good mix of experience and youth. More importantly, most of this staff is known to be energetic and demanding. The Bears’ locker room needs that in the most desperate of ways. Doyle’s hire comes with the most risk, but there’s plenty of upside if it pans out. Outside of that, plenty of sure-things could blossom into head coaching candidates in the coming years. Fans should expect a much more aggressive approach on game day, but this staff has plenty of work to do (instilling a new culture) before September.
Grade: A
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images
2. Aaron Glenn (New York Jets)
OC: Tanner Engstrand (Detroit Lions)
DC: Steve Wilks (San Francisco 49ers)
ST: Chris Banjo (Denver Broncos)
Top Assistants: DB Chris Harris, PG Scott Turner, DL Eric Washington, and QB Charles London.
Like Johnson in Chicago, Glenn has put together quite the staff (so far) with the Jets. It should not be surprising that both former Lions assistants have employed similar strategies to build their first coaching staff. As speculated earlier, neither Glenn nor Johnson poached many Detroit staffers. While Johnson took Randle-El and J.T. Barrett, Glenn grabbed Engstrand and Steve Heiden after both were passed over for a promotion in Detroit.
Glenn has made it known from the start that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his former head coach and play more of a CEO role. That allowed him to nab Wilks as his defensive coordinator. Although the Jets have plenty to figure out this offseason, the well is deep with talent on the defensive side of the ball. The former Jets defensive back also recruited Banjo from Denver to take over his special teams unit.
Thus far, Glenn has been focused on building the defensive side of the ball, considering that’s where most of their roster’s talent resides. Engstrand is somewhat unknown, but he was well-thought-of in Detroit. Instead of resting on hope, the Jets added a pair of quality veteran offensive assistants with Turner and London. Both are respected and should help smooth the transition for a first-time offensive play-caller. All in all, this stuff is coming together nicely. The more proven coaches reside on the defensive side of the ball, but there’s plenty to like on offense, too. This rebuild might take a few years, but the Jets have the right man leading the charge.
Grade: A
Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
3a. Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots)
OC: Josh McDaniels (Las Vegas Raiders)
DC: Terrell Williams (Detroit Lions)
ST: Jeremy Springer (Retained)
Top Assistants: OL Doug Marrone, WR Todd Downing, PG Thomas Brown, and RB Tony Dews.
The Patriots were the first team to strike on the head coaching circuit for the second straight season. Last year, they quickly promoted Jarod Mayo without interviewing anyone. This year, they promptly blew through a few virtual interviews, satisfied the Rooney Rule, and locked down Vrabel in a few days. Since then, the veteran head coach has spent most of his time filling out his staff.
McDaniels seemed like the most prominent name as offensive coordinator tied to Vrabel, and New England will now hope that he can regain the magic he had over two stints with Tom Brady. That’s the key hire in this entire process for my money. Williams comes over from Detroit after successful stints with multiple NFL teams, most recently in Tennessee with Vrabel and 2024 with the Lions. Springer was retained as the special teams coordinator, which became a common trend.
The entire focus should be on quarterback Drake Maye and the offense. In a conference with Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and C.J. Stroud, quarterback play and a high-powered offense will be necessary. So far, Vrabel has added Marrone, Downing, Brown, and Dews to his offensive staff. While all four are respected, none are considered top candidates in their respective roles.
Defensively, Vrabel has added a younger staff with plenty of ties to their shared time in Tennessee with the Titans. Time will tell how each coach is tasked, but it feels like a relatively underwhelming staff at name value on paper. The good news is that Vrabel is known for developing coaches, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots are at the beginning stages of a rebuild in a tough division. This group might take some time to gel, but so far, this is precisely the type of staff many expect from Vrabel.
Grade: B+
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
3b. Pete Carroll (Las Vegas Raiders)
OC: Chip Kelly (Ohio State)
DC: Patrick Graham (Retained)
ST: Tom McMahon (Retained)
Top Assistants: QB Greg Olson, DL Rob Leonard, OL Brennan Carroll, and AHC Marvin Lewis.
After striking out on Johnson early in the process, the Raiders decided to recalibrate their search and opt for a proven veteran with 13 winning seasons to his name. At 73 years old, Carroll becomes the oldest coach in the NFL by a wide margin. Despite the high number, his energy level and passion for the game are still at an All-Time high.
The Raiders head coach spot has become quite the revolving in recent memory. Since 2010, they’ve named eight full-time head coaches, including Carroll. If anything, a respected presence and professional coaching staff are a much-needed starting point for this franchise. A lot of that credit can go to new minority owner Tom Brady.
Everyone knew that if Carroll received another shot at head coach, he would put together a quality staff. So far, that has remained true. Las Vegas paid Kelly $6 million yearly to get him away from Ohio State. They also gave Graham a raise and were able to keep him from going to Jacksonville. Like most teams on this list, they also retained their special teams coordinator for additional continuity.
Carroll’s staff is still far from finished, but so far, he’s brought respected veterans over, such as Olson and Lewis, while also retaining some quality names from the previous regime. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they are in a tough division. The AFC West fielded three playoff teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, who have made three straight Super Bowls. It’ll be a long climb back to the top, but it’s also great to see Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton, Andy Reid, and Carroll all in the same division.
Grade: B+
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
5. Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars)
OC: Grant Udinski (Minnesota Vikings)
DC: Anthony Campanile (Green Bay Packers)
ST: Heath Farwell (Retained)
Top Assistants: TE Rich Angulo, DL Matt Edwards, QB Spencer Whipple, and PGC Shane Waldron.
Coen has been an interesting story to follow over his last six or so years as a coach. He’s bounced around between the NFL and college and never stayed anywhere longer than two years. Widely considered to be a Sean McVay disciple, Coen’s journey to landing his first head coaching job was chronicled by multiple media outlets. After initially interviewing for the Jaguars job, he opted to stay in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers would make him the highest-paid coordinator in league history. All he had to do was sign the contract. Instead, Jacksonville fired embattled general manager Trent Baalke, and Coen went radio silent. Two days later, reports started to surface that he was negotiating a deal to become the head coach in the building in Jacksonville.
Although the logistics of Coen landing with the Jaguars will be a story told for years to come, what’s done is done now. Surprisingly, Jacksonville was the first of the seven teams to officially announce their coaching staff. Ultimately, this was close to the best-case scenario for both sides, considering where things were trending a few days before the hire was announced. Now, the organization finds themselves in a scramble. They have been filling out their coaching staff and got a late start on their general manager search. Despite Coen’s multiple stops, he’s proving not to have overly strong connections across the league when it comes to filling out his coaching staff.
Unlike the other first-time head coaches on this list, Coen is not leaning on experience at the coordinator positions. Campanile comes with plenty of defensive credentials but has never been a coordinator. His claim to fame has been his work against the opposition’s run game. Udinski is 29 and has just five years of experience at the NFL level. None of which has been anything more than an assistant to an assistant. The decision feels similar to Johnson’s in Chicago. Farwell is the lone experienced coordinator on this staff. So far, Coen hasn’t leaned too hard into veteran coaches but has brought on names like Angulo, but for the most part, this is a young coaching staff that will be stepping into more advanced roles, which obviously brings a risk of its own to the equation.
Grade: B-
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
6. Brian Schottenheimer (Dallas Cowboys)
OC: Klayton Adams (Arizona Cardinals)
DC: Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears)
ST: Nick Sorensen (San Francisco 49ers)
Top Assistants: OL Conor Riley, TE Lunda Wells, LB Dave Borganzi, and WR Junior Adams.
The final two coaches on this list enter two of the most challenging “no win” situations. In a twisted sort of fate, the offensive coordinator in Dallas takes over for Mike McCarthy, while the coach who was fired by McCarthy takes over in New Orleans. For Dallas, their entire process was flawed from the start. They had a week-and-a-half exclusive negotiation window with McCarthy to get a deal done. Despite most reports expecting that to be the case, a new contract was never agreed to, and the Cowboys missed their window to interview some of the top candidates on the market.
At one point, it appeared that Kellen Moore had the inside track to the job. Then, out of seemingly thin air, Schottenheimer became the leading candidate. The entire process made no logical sense, and it’s fair to wonder if owner Jerry Jones simply didn’t want to pay a new head coach big money. Despite the late start and flawed process, Schottenheimer has done an impressive job putting together his first staff. He was able to lure Adams from Arizona, get a proven defensive mind in Eberflus, and a creative way to fill their special teams opening with Sorensen.
Dallas also retained their top-flight tight end coach and poached Adams from Oregon while leaning on Eberflus to fill out his defensive staff with proven assistants. Landing Riley to coach the offensive line, with Adams already on the staff, is also a big move. Foster comes over from New Orleans after spending time with Alvin Kamara. Even if Schottenheimer wasn’t a top name and the process was flawed, he has done an excellent job piecing together this coaching staff. We’ll have to see how that translates in the division with two of the conference’s best teams residing in the NFC East.
Grade: C-
Photo by Michael DeMocker/Getty Images
7. Kellen Moore (New Orleans Saints)
OC: Doug Nussmeier (Rumored top candidate)
DC: Brandon Staley or George Edwards (Rumored top candidates)
ST: (None rumored yet)
Top Assistants: OL Brendan Nugent and WR Keith Williams (retained)
New Orleans’ process was equally as confounding as Dallas’, except for different reasons. While the Cowboys botched the process from the start, the Saints had months of preparation after firing Allen midway through last season. Instead of asking themselves the tough questions and getting an accurate gauge for how attractive their opening would be, they went in over their skis and were left as the last team standing. Sure, Moore might be the right hire and bring them out of their funk. The issue is that their roster is average at best, aging in key areas, and their cap situation has been borderline criminal for the past decade. The ceiling for this team (as currently constructed) is right around the .500 mark.
It’s likely to be a tough few-year stretch in New Orleans but that doesn’t mean that Moore can’t build out a quality staff. Because the hire happened so late in the process, we’ll have to operate mainly based on rumors for the time being. Staley would be a good addition at defensive coordinator. Nugent spent six years in New Orleans and was most recently the assistant offensive line coach in Seattle. Williams is well-respected and has done a nice job of developing players in the past.
We’ll have to see how the rest of the coaching staff shakes out, but it can be tough for a first-time head coach to fill out a staff. Especially when they start the process two weeks after everyone else.
Grade: D+