| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTAThe new GM in Atlanta is Ian Cunningham – although as Mike Florio explains, he won’t be “calling the shots”: The Falcons have filled out the top of their football operation. After hiring former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to serve as president of football operations and Kevin Stefanski to be the new head coach, the Falcons have hired Bears assistant G.M. Ian Cunningham as the new General Manager, per multiple reports. Cunningham also had been considered for the job Ryan filled. Hired by the Bears in 2022, Cunningham previously worked for the Eagles from 2017 through 2021. He spent the nine years before that with the Ravens. Earlier this month, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Ryan will be the primary decision maker in Atlanta. If accurate, it means that the Bears will not receive two third-round compensatory draft picks, pursuant to a Rooney Rule provision that promotes the development of minority candidates. It also means, if true, that the Bears could have blocked the move, since Cunningham won’t be a true G.M. Regardless, the Falcons have made the hire. And the Falcons now have a three-man power structure that will be charged with reversing a playoff drought that dates back to 2017, one year after the Falcons lost Super Bowl LI to the Patriots. The quarterback of those teams will now be calling the shots in the Atlanta front office. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSThe Rams have a new special teams coach. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: The Rams have hired Bubba Ventrone as their special teams coordinator, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports. The Rams fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn last month after a series of blunders by the unit in a 38-37 overtime loss to the Seahawks. Assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica finished the season as the interim coordinator, but the Rams muffed a punt in the NFC Championship Game. The Steelers also requested to interview Ventrone. Ventrone was the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for three seasons on Cleveland’s staff. He has also coached for the Colts and Patriots since concluding a playing career that saw him spend time with the 49ers, Browns and Patriots. Brock Vierra of SI.com is among those who find the hiring odd: Ventrone was ranked at the bottom of the league in DVOA over the past two seasons but has a history of solid Special Teams units when given the proper tools to succeed. During his time in Cleveland, his tenure was marred by various personnel issues, while his time in Indianapolis has been praised for their consistent play. It’s unclear at this time what the move means for interim Special Teams Coordinator Ben Kotwica and his assistant Matthew Harper. What Does This Move Mean?It’s not exactly a needle mover but that’s not Ventrone’s fault. Ever since the departures of the core that defined the Rams’ Special Teams during Sean McVay’s early years, the Rams have struggled to find consistency with the unit. At one point, when McVay retained Jeff Fisher’s players/ Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel, the Rams had three Pro Bowlers and a premier coach. Slowly that started to go away. While the Rams did navigate the departures of Greg Zuerlein and Johnny Hekker well, and managed to do enough after Fassel’s departure, there’s also a reason why they brought Jake McQuaide back after all these years to be the team’s long snapper. Ventrone is coming into a franchise that already has key pieces in place, such as kicker Harrison Mevis, who only missed one kick during his rookie year, having had a perfect performance in the postseason, including the game-winning field goal in Chicago, and punter Ethan Evans, who is under contract for one more season. The glaring issues are the same ones that affected Ventrone in Cleveland. A lack of investment into the players that are used on Special Teams led to a constant policy of retrofitting players into the units, leading to little consistency, causing glaring errors in the field of play. The 2025 season was lost due to Special Teams. The Rams lost the number one seed and home-field advantage due to Special Teams, and the unit had a critical meltdown in every single playoff game this postseason. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| TENNESSEEThe hiring of Robert Saleh is giving off the same kind of vibes, to the DB, that New England’s selection of Mike Vrabel did last year. Experienced OC on board, second year QB who didn’t embarrass himself as a rookie and the ability to immediately enhance the roster with picks and cash. All with a team that wasn’t horrible on defense in 2025. Saleh arrives in Nashville and says he will call the defensive plays, something he did not do with the Jets. Turron Davenport of ESPN.com: – Robert Saleh said Thursday that he will call the defensive plays for the Tennessee Titans, something he didn’t do in his first go-round as head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024. Saleh said not calling plays for the Jets is something he regrets because it didn’t allow him to feel the flow of the game and connect to the players as much as he wanted. New York was 20-36 in his time there. “Calling plays, for me, it’s not necessarily about control, but it’s about connecting with the players,” Saleh said at his introductory news conference. “When you are calling plays, you feel the strain that you’re putting on them with each call. You’re feeling the connection and what each one is going through. To call plays and maintain that connection, that feel for what the players are going through, is very important for my seat. It’s just one of the many things that’ll change throughout my time.” Finding a way to maximize quarterback Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 pick, will be one of Saleh’s most critical tasks. That’s why the defensive-minded coach hired former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll to be his offensive coordinator. Daboll has a history of working with successful quarterbacks such as Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Josh Allen and most recently Jaxson Dart. Saleh called Daboll the “perfect man to match up with Ward” and emphasized how Daboll’s scheme always will find run/pass conflicts in opposing defenses, then “attack the s— out of it.” Saleh didn’t have success with the Jets partly due to the team’s inability to develop Zach Wilson into a franchise quarterback after New York selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft. In retrospect, Saleh said he felt he didn’t do enough to support Wilson with a proper defense and a proper run game. Saleh referenced Brady’s first year with the New England Patriots as an example of how to bring along a quarterback. Brady had 413 pass attempts in 15 games that season, ending with the first of six Super Bowl-winning seasons. “He was backed by an elite defense with an unbelievable run game and a system that allowed him to just kind of move the sticks on third down, be great in two-minute, be efficient in the red zone and score points,” Saleh said. “The best way to develop a quarterback is to give him a team that doesn’t make him feel like he has to be Superman. But, I don’t want to put a straitjacket on him either.” Saleh and Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi will have over $100 million in cap space to spend on free agents next month, along with 10 draft picks, including the No. 4 selection. Saleh said he just recently talked to Ward for the first time, but Saleh seems to have an early grasp on what it will take for Ward to improve on his rookie season, when he had 3,169 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. “For Cam, it’s just helping him understand what’s most important in that moment and helping develop a mindset that he doesn’t have to be the hero,” Saleh said. “It’s OK to rely on your teammates.” |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOSo lets get this straight, former coach Sean McDermott was not enamored with the drafting of WR KEON COLEMAN, an underperformer in his two seasons, blaming scouting for the miscue. Owner Terry Pegula said it was “the coaches” who stood on the table for Beane, apparently swaying Beane, against his better judgment to elevate Coleman. This although Beane was caught on tape at the time extolling the clever selection of Coleman. And now McDermott and his poor evaluating coaches would be gone – except they hired the guy who stood on the table for Coleman to be head coach. Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com: – New Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady expressed his support for wide receiver Keon Coleman, stating that “Keon Coleman is going to be a Buffalo Bill.” “I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing that happened to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said Thursday, the day he was officially introduced for his new role. “I was one of the ones that stood on the table for Keon Coleman, and I believe in Keon Coleman.” Brady said that 2025 was a “learning year” for Coleman, adding that the Bills “had to put the team first in a lot of the elements.” “He’s going to continue to grow, but the elements that we saw in the draft process — the confidence that I have in him and his ability — and as long as he’s handling what he needs to do off the field, I have no doubt that he’s going to be successful on the field,” Brady said. Brady, who served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, said that Coleman’s best days are ahead of him and that they have a vision for him continuing to grow in the offense. Brady added that, as the coordinator, he stood on the table for every decision the team makes and that when it comes to players’ success with the team, they also need to make sure the system is as good as it can be. Brady’s support for Coleman, the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, comes in the wake of owner Terry Pegula’s comments last week after the firing of coach Sean McDermott. Pegula said the Bills’ coaching staff, not general manager Brandon Beane, “pushed to draft Keon” in 2024 and added that Beane was “being a team player and taking advice of his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player.” Coleman, 22, has had two inconsistent seasons with the Bills. The former Florida State star was disciplined by McDermott in November for being late to a meeting and was a healthy scratch for four games, also failing to eclipse 50 receiving yards in a game since the season opener. He was benched for a quarter of a game his rookie season due to off-field timing issues. By the end of the season, Coleman had slid down the depth chart and was Buffalo’s sixth wide receiver. Coleman had 38 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games this season. “Mr. Pegula can literally do whatever Mr. Pegula wants to do,” Brady said Thursday. “And part of the thing that I’ve loved about this is, look, the communication and airing your thoughts and your feelings, that’s what I want. That’s part of our culture. “… Keon Coleman is going to be on our football team, and I have no issues with, if there [are] elements that need to be cleaned up from that, those are conversations that we can have. But Keon knows how I feel about him; how much I love him and the faith that I still have in him.” Bills star quarterback Josh Allen also expressed his support for Coleman on Thursday, saying the receiver “will come back from [last week’s comments]. “I’m not going to give up on [Coleman],” Allen said. “He’s got too much ability, and I will not give up on him. We’re going to work tirelessly, him and me, and so will everybody else in this building, to make sure that whenever we step foot on the field, that we’re going to find ways to win football games. And he’s going to be part of that.” Beane, who was promoted to president of football operations last week, again expressed his support of Coleman and stated that he has talked to Coleman’s agent, Paul DeRousselle, a couple of times. Beane added that Coleman is “head down, ready to go, and that’s our plan moving forward.” |
| THIS AND THAT |
| MORE ON THE BELICHICK VOTEThe Hall of Fame voter from KC prioritized veteran players with expiring eligibility in not voting for Bill Belichick. Now, the Indianapolis voter says he picked Robert Kraft over Belichick on his ballot. Mike Florio: The number of known Hall of Fame voters who did not vote for Bill Belichick has doubled. From one to two. Mike Chappell of Fox59.com, who has the Indianapolis vote on the 50-person panel, has joined Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star in disclosing that he did not vote for Belichick. Unlike Gregorian, Chappell voted for Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Under the current rules, Belichick, Kraft, and three senior candidates (Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, L.C. Greenwood) were in the same five-person bucket. Each voter listed three of them on their ballots. Chappell included Kraft but not Belichick. Chappell cited Kraft’s “role in building the Patriots dynasty beginning in 1994 AND his undeniable role in helping negotiate the end of the 100-play-day work stoppage in 2011 — while his wife was gravely ill — that has resulted in long-standing labor peace.” Chappell also pointed out that Kraft has “also been involved behind the scenes in bolstering the NFL’s ever-increasing TV revenue.” As to Belichick, Chappell cited Spygate. He also said #Deflategate was mentioned during the discussion. (That’s a new wrinkle.) “There’s no erasing the stain of Spygate from his bio,” Chappell wrote. “This wasn’t alleged behavior. The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 — the maximum allowed — along with docking the Patriots $250,000 and a first-round draft pick for illegally videotaping New York Jets signals in 2007.” Chappell also said he’s not in favor of grouping senior players with coaches and contributors. Chappell voted for two players and Kraft. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Kraft and Belichick pulled votes from each other,” Chappell wrote. Chappell expressed confidence that Belichick will make it next year, admitting that his failure to vote “in no way insinuates Belichick isn’t Hall-of-Fame-worthy. (Chappel is right; it doesn’t “insinuate” it. His failure to give Belichick a Hall of Fame vote expressly says it.) Chappell also dubbed as “asinine” the theory that Belichick’s attitude toward reporters was a factor. But Chappell can’t know what prompted some to entertain Spygate as an impediment. For one or more voters, Spygate may have been a pretext for the conscious or subconscious bias regarding a coach who was, at times, a gratuitous jerk to reporters (and, at times, still is). The real problem here is the shift away from straight up-or-down voting for each finalist. The sooner the Hall of Fame gets back to that, the sooner situations like this won’t arise in the future. And, frankly, all 50 voters should refuse to participate in the voting process unless that happens. The current approach creates unintended results, and it makes all of the voters look bad — even the ones who voted for Belichick. We remind our readers that Deflategate was against the Colts, so perhaps that rubs Chappell the wrong way. We’re not sure what Florio means by an up-and-down vote. It’s always been a numbers game with regular Hall of Famers. Fifteen finalists, but only a certain number, historically five get in and the others wait. Warren Sapp got in his first year, while Michael Strahan had to wait. Those who run the Hall want a manageable and consistent number of enshrinees each year. And recently there was a thought it was too easy to get in, now it seems to have swung back to too hard. |
| YOU BETDavid Purdum of ESPN.com on the expected betting haul coming for Super Bowl 60: Approximately $1.76 billion is expected to be bet on Super Bowl LX with U.S. sportsbooks, a nearly 27% year-over-year increase, according to the American Gaming Association. The projected figure, which the AGA said would be a record, includes only wagers with U.S. legal sportsbooks, which operate in 39 states and the District of Columbia. The AGA used publicly reported numbers from state gaming regulators to create its estimate, which is in line with others. Earlier this week, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), in partnership with gaming industry outlet Legal Sports Report, released an estimate of $1.71 billion to be wagered on the Super Bowl with U.S. sportsbooks. The SBA represents many of the largest online sportsbook operators in the U.S. Some analysts, however, believe the betting interest on the Super Bowl will drop this year. Jordan Bender, an equity research analyst at Citizens, estimates Super Bowl betting at U.S. sportsbooks will drop 2% year-over-year. “The decline in handle is driven by less of a story line this year with the Kansas City Chiefs/Philadelphia Eagles boasting key players like Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley and notable figures like Taylor Swift, while prediction markets, already seeing impressive volume on the game, are creating some pressure in the legal market,” Bender wrote in an analysis. This will be the second Super Bowl for Kalshi, a leading prediction market that, along with other operators, has risen to prominence. Prediction markets are federally regulated and allow customers to trade on the yes/no outcome of events, including sports, similar to stocks. More than $79 million was traded on the winner of the AFC Championship Game last week at Kalshi. Despite the increasing popularity of prediction markets, betting at U.S. sportsbooks remains strong. Bettors in New York, the largest sports betting market by volume, wagered a record $26.3 billion in 2025, a nearly 15% increase from 2024. Missouri launched its legal betting market last year and will add to the wagering in its first Super Bowl. “No single event brings fans together like the Super Bowl, and this record figure shows just how much Americans enjoy sports betting as part of the experience,” Bill Miller, AGA president and CEO, said in a news release. Fanatics Sportsbook announced its first Super Bowl ad will air during halftime this year. Last year, FanDuel was the only sportsbook to air an ad during the Super Bowl, and sports betting advertising spent across linear TV dropped approximately 7% year-over-year to $442.5 million in 2025, according to iSpot.tv, a firm that measures marketing impact. No ads for prediction market operators will be shown during the Super Bowl, as first reported by Front Office Sports and confirmed by ESPN. Wagers of $2 million and $1.2 million — both on the underdog New England Patriots — have already been reported by U.S. sportsbooks for this Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks were 4.5-point favorites on Thursday at DraftKings Sportsbook. There were no reported bets of $1 million or more on the last Super Bowl. |
| TOP 50 FREE AGENTSMatt Bowen of ESPN.com with his list of the top 50 free agents likely to hit the market: 1. Trey Hendrickson, Edge2025 team: Cincinnati Bengals | Age entering 2026 season: 31What he brings: Hendrickson is a relentless defender off the edge, with a deep toolbox of counters and a knack for making plays late in the down. In seven games this season, he had four sacks. His 17.5 sacks and 65 pressures in 2024 were league highs. Hendrickson would immediately upgrade just about any team’s defensive line. 2. George Pickens, WR2025 team: Dallas Cowboys | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: With 22 receptions of 20 or more yards in 2025 (fourth most in the league), Pickens has the explosive ability to flip the field. That skill will lead to big money in the open market if he isn’t franchise-tagged. Pickens also finished third in the NFL with 1,429 receiving yards. His ability to run routes at all three levels boosts his free agent profile even more. 3. Tyler Linderbaum, C2025 team: Baltimore Ravens | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Linderbaum has a tone-setting mentality on the interior of the front, using elite foot speed and body control to match pass rushers or climb to the second level in the run game. His pass block win rate of 97.2% tied for second among 31 qualifying centers this season. 4. Daniel Jones, QB2025 team: Indianapolis Colts | Age entering 2026 season: 29What he brings: An Achilles injury in Week 14 could delay Jones’ availability at the start of next season, but it’s clear he elevated his level of play and poise under coach Shane Steichen in Indianapolis. Jones’ 64.1 QBR ranked eighth in the league through Week 13, and he threw with a much stronger sense of timing. He fits in an offense that features a good run game, which allows him to operate as a facilitator. 5. Jaelan Phillips, Edge2025 team: Philadelphia Eagles | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: With his long 6-foot-5 frame, Phillips can play as both an edge setter and pocket disrupter. After being traded to the Eagles on Nov. 3, he had two sacks and 27 pressures in coordinator Vic Fangio’s system, flashing improved range to the ball. Over his five-year career, Phillips has accounted for 28 sacks and 150 pressures. 6. Alec Pierce, WR2025 team: Indianapolis Colts | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: A vertical stretch target at 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds, Pierce averaged a league-best 21.3 yards per catch in 2025. He also topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark and brought in six touchdowns. Pierce has the straight-line speed to lift the safeties, creating open coverage voids underneath for other targets. With more volume and an increased role, he has the skills to produce as a multilevel route runner. 7. Breece Hall, RB2025 team: New York Jets | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: He’s a fluid mover with good contact balance and the vision to find daylight, and he brings a dual-threat element to the backfield. Hall has 188 receptions in his career, while averaging 90 total yards per game. He also has 87 rushes of 10 or more yards over four seasons, serving as a three-down back who can rattle off a big play. 8. Rasheed Walker, OT2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Walker’s pass block win rate of 93.8% ranked 11th among 68 qualifying offensive tackles. His technique could still improve and he lacks a strong anchor, but he has the footwork and mobility to match the speed of edge rushers. At a premium position, Walker will see heavy interest in free agency. 9. Odafe Oweh, Edge2025 team: Los Angeles Chargers | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: An explosive pass rusher who gets off the ball in a hurry, Oweh can also flatten his path to maneuver around offensive tackles. After getting traded from the Ravens on Oct. 7, Oweh had 7.5 sacks and 27 pressures in Los Angeles. Plus, he recorded three sacks in the team’s wild-card loss to the Patriots. 10. Braden Smith, OT2025 team: Indianapolis Colts | Age entering 2026 season: 30What he brings: He is a big-bodied drive blocker at 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds, easily matching power in pass protection. Injuries have been a concern, as Smith has missed 17 games over his past three seasons. He started 13 games at right tackle for the Colts in 2025, and his pass block win rate jumped 7% from 2024. 11. John Franklin-Myers, DL2025 team: Denver Broncos | Age entering 2026 season: 29What he brings: Franklin-Myers lacks the lateral speed and bend to turn pressures into a bunch of sacks from edge alignments. But he’s an active inside rusher who can play as a defensive tackle or 5-technique with his 6-foot-4, 288-pound frame. He had 7.5 sacks and 23 pressures this season. 12. Alontae Taylor, CB2025 team: New Orleans Saints | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Taylor’s versatility and urgent play style show up on tape. He has the speed to cover receivers on the perimeter, but he can also play a disruptive role in the slot. In four seasons with the Saints, Taylor has 4 interceptions, 40 pass breakups and 7 sacks. 13. Quay Walker, LB2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Walker’s explosive traits create playmaking upside; he can cover ground as a run-and-hit defender. Plus, he diagnosed the run game at a quicker rate in 2025, averaging 4.9 tackles on designed rushes per game (11th highest). Overall, Walker had 2.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 4 pass breakups. 14. Riq Woolen, CB2025 team: Seattle Seahawks | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Woolen has 12 interceptions and 36 pass breakups so far in his four-year career. A lack of consistent eye discipline has prevented him from reaching his ceiling in coverage, but he has the physical traits and speed at 6-foot-4 to help a defense majoring in man coverage and two-deep zone. 15. Mike Evans, WR2025 team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Age entering 2026 season: 33What he brings: Injuries limited Evans to eight games this season, but he had topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark in 11 straight seasons entering 2025. He’s a classic boundary receiver, with 6-foot-5 size and great ball skills. Evans can still get loose in the red zone and produce as a No. 2 option. 16. Jaylen Watson, CB2025 team: Kansas City Chiefs | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Watson isn’t a high-end playmaker, but he has the length to challenge in press and the route awareness to play top-down on the ball in zone schemes. He has three career interceptions and 23 pass breakups. 17. Malik Willis, QB2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: With his dual-threat traits and positive signs of development in Green Bay, Willis is one of the top quarterbacks in free agency. In four appearances (one start) this season, Willis completed 85.7% of his throws, rushed for 123 yards and scored four touchdowns. He’ll be signed to start somewhere this March. 18. Travis Etienne Jr., RB2025 team: Jacksonville Jaguars | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Etienne looked more explosive in 2025, slashing through creases of daylight as a runner. His 26 rushes of 10 or more yards were tied for the 12th most in the NFL, and he’s more than capable as a receiver out of the backfield (36 catches in 2025). He had 116 total yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville’s wild-card loss to Buffalo. 19. Devin Lloyd, LB2025 team: Jacksonville Jaguars | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Lloyd’s on-the-ball production increases his value heading into free agency. He had five interceptions on the season, returning one for a touchdown. He’s a solid starter who flashed high-level ability this season. 20. Isaiah Likely, TE2025 team: Baltimore Ravens | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Likely’s alignment versatility gives offensive playcallers more flexibility, and he has the catch-and-run traits to produce on high-percentage throws. He should be viewed as a “move” tight end who can get favorable matchups in the passing game. He had 27 catches for 301 yards and a touchdown this season, which was down from his six scores in 2024. 21. Romeo Doubs, WR2025 team: Green Bay Packers | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Doubs has the route-running traits and foot quickness to uncover, and he is more than willing to work the middle of the field on in-breaking concepts. While the Packers missed Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft over parts of the season, Doubs averaged 13.2 yards per reception and caught five of his six touchdowns on red zone targets. In short, he’s a reliable pass catcher. 22. Khalil Mack, Edge2025 team: Los Angeles Chargers | Age entering 2026 season: 35What he brings: An elbow injury forced Mack to miss five games early in the season, yet he finished with 5.5 sacks and 28 pressures. He will need to be used more as a situational rusher at this stage of his career, but he is still a powerful defender who can create impact plays off the edge. 23. Kyle Pitts Sr., TE2025 team: Atlanta Falcons | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: Pitts plays the position like a wide receiver, and his numbers were up in 2025 (88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns). Though he needs to be more willing as an in-line blocker, teams are getting upside here in the pass game. And he has the tools to find favorable matchups from a variety of pre-snap alignments. 24. Kenneth Walker III, RB2025 team: Seattle Seahawks | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: Walker is a decisive runner who can press the edges with speed, find cutback lanes in zone schemes and provide big-play ability. His 33 rushes of 10 or more yards were the sixth most in the regular season, and he can be targeted on screens or swing routes out of the backfield. He has had at least 25 receptions in all four of his NFL seasons. 25. Bryan Cook, S2025 team: Kansas City Chiefs | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: A rangy safety with top-down speed, Cook fits in both split-field and single-high schemes. The 2022 second-round pick is the highest-ranked player at his position on this list. He had six pass breakups in 2025, playing 82.6% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps. 26. Rashid Shaheed, WR2025 team: Seattle Seahawks | Age entering 2026 season: 28What he brings: Shaheed can stretch defenses vertically, plus he can turn screens or underneath throws into chunk plays. He also provides an upgrade on special teams, making the Pro Bowl this season as a fearless kickoff returner with open-field speed. Shaheed has had 29 receptions of 20 or more yards in his four-year career. 27. K’Lavon Chaisson, Edge2025 team: New England Patriots | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Chaisson plays with an extra gear off the edge, using his vertical burst to get around offensive tackles. And he has the short-area speed to close on quarterbacks off stunts or inside loops. The former first-rounder had a career-best 7.5 sacks and 32 pressures this season, plus he added three more sacks in the team’s first three playoff games. 28. Jauan Jennings, WR2025 team: San Francisco 49ers | Age entering 2026 season: 29What he brings: At 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, Jennings is a consistent route runner who plays through contact and makes himself available to the quarterback on in-breaking targets. He caught 55 passes this season for an injury-riddled 49ers unit, scoring nine touchdowns. Jennings was even better in 2024, when he ranked 12th in ESPN’s receiver scores and had 975 receiving yards. 29. Javonte Williams, RB2025 team: Dallas Cowboys | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Williams looked more explosive on tape in 2025 than previous seasons. In Dallas, he showed short-area burst to dart through traffic, finishing with a career-high 1,201 yards. Williams had 26 carries of 10 or more yards, plus he averaged 2.6 yards after first contact. He should be viewed as a lead back who can also contribute to the passing game (35 receptions this season). 30. Boye Mafe, Edge2025 team: Seattle Seahawks | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Mafe has a quick first step, which allows him to attack the edges of offensive tackles. His effort level and pursuit from the backside also lead to second-reaction sacks. Mafe can still refine his pass-rushing plan, but the traits are there to produce in a system that schemes favorable matchups out of multiple fronts. Mafe had two sacks and 33 pressures this season. 31. Isaac Seumalo, G2025 team: Pittsburgh Steelers | Age entering 2026 season: 32What he brings: The 10-year veteran has the foot quickness to redirect defenders and the body control to wrestle back against power rushers. Seumalo’s 97.3% pass rush win rate ranked second among 65 qualifying guards this season, and his 76.9% run block win rate checked in at fourth. 32. Reed Blankenship, S2025 team: Philadelphia Eagles | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Blankenship can spin to the post, but he’s at his best in split-field alignments, matching the seams and playing top-down on the ball. With nine interceptions over his four years with the Eagles, Blankenship makes plays from depth, plus he is a solid alley defender versus the run game. 33. Zion Johnson, G2025 team: Los Angeles Chargers | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: A young and durable interior blocker with movement traits, Johnson fits in both zone and gap run schemes. He is just entering his prime playing years, with a 90.7% pass block win rate over his four-year career. 34. Greg Newsome II, CB2025 team: Jacksonville Jaguars | Age entering 2026 season: 26What he brings: Newsome has only four career interceptions, but he has created on-ball production with 33 pass breakups over five seasons. He has the tools to match in man coverage, but he’s at his best in zone schemes that allow him to play with backfield vision. Newsome was traded to the Jaguars from the Browns on Oct. 8. 35. Connor McGovern, C2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 28What he brings: A steady pass blocker in the middle of the front, McGovern has the mobility to climb and play in space versus linebackers. He had a 97.2% pass block win rate in 2025, which was tied for second among 31 qualifying centers. 36. David Edwards, G2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 29What he brings: Edwards played option quarterback and basketball in high school, and you can see the light feet to redirect in pass protection and effectively climb to the second level in his game. He has played his best football as a pro over the past couple of seasons, and his 95% pass block win rate in 2025 ranked 12th among 65 qualifying guards. 37. Nahshon Wright, CB2025 team: Chicago Bears | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: A long, linear cornerback at 6-foot-4, 199 pounds, Wright had a career-best five interceptions in 2025. He took one back for a touchdown and also broke up seven passes. Though Wright lacks high-end recovery speed, his length, play instincts and production will increase his value for a defense that needs help in man coverage and Cover 2. 38. Joey Bosa, Edge2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 31What he brings: Bosa has played in at least 14 games over the past two seasons after injuries limited him to a total of 13 games from 2022 to 2023. Averaging 36.3 snaps per game for the Bills, he had 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 42 pressures. Bosa should be viewed as a situational rusher who can still win with speed-to-power. His effort level also leads to production late in the play. 39. Chig Okonkwo, TE2025 team: Tennessee Titans | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: At 6-foot-3, 238 pounds, Okonkwo can be schemed as a motion/movement player in the pass game. In addition to running seam and corner routes, Okonkwo gets loose on screens, crossers and unders. He caught 56 passes for 560 yards and two touchdowns this season, with 61.8% of his total receiving production coming after the catch. Elusive in space, he is a matchup piece for the right playcaller. 40. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR2025 team: New York Giants | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: A 5-foot-8, 185-pound slot receiver with the short-area speed to uncover, Robinson displayed more vertical ability this season for the Giants. He produced a career-best 14 receptions of 20 or more yards for New York, which was without Malik Nabers for much of the season. With at least 92 receptions in each of his past two seasons, Robinson is a volume target who can work multiple levels between the numbers. 41. Kam Curl, S2025 team: Los Angeles Rams | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: A durable defender who has played in at least 16 games over his past three seasons, Curl can limit vertical throws in the deep areas of the field. He’s also a strong tackler in the run front, finishing with a career-high 122 tackles this season (along with two interceptions and two sacks). 42. Joel Bitonio, G2025 team: Cleveland Browns | Age entering 2026 season: 34What he brings: The 12-year pro has started 178 NFL games. He’s a savvy technician who had a 96.4% pass block win rate in 2025 (third best among 65 qualifying guards), while allowing only two sacks. If Bitonio opts to return for a 13th season, he would provide both consistent play and a veteran voice to any offensive line room. 43. Cade Mays, C2025 team: Carolina Panthers | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: Mays has some athletic limitations, but his 6-foot-6 length and power put him in a position to win in pass protection. And he can displace defenders in the run game. Mays had a 94.3% pass block win rate this season, which ranked 20th out of 31 qualifying centers. 44. Jaquan Brisker, S2025 team: Chicago Bears | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: A downhill safety who creates disruption near the line of scrimmage, Brisker played in all 17 games this season after missing 12 in 2024 with a concussion. He’s an alley filler who can blitz, plus he can play over the top in the deep half. In four seasons with the Bears, Brisker has had four interceptions, seven sacks and 14 pass breakups. 45. Leo Chenal, LB2025 team: Kansas City Chiefs | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: Chenal brings some versatility to any game plan as a defender who can play off-the-ball, insert into the front or even line up as a stand-up defensive tackle. Chenal is good at tracking the ball in the run game from the second level. In four seasons, he has recorded 193 total tackles, seven sacks and 28 pressures. 46. Rico Dowdle, RB2025 team: Carolina Panthers | Age entering 2026 season: 28What he brings: Dowdle rushed for 1,076 yards this past season, and he had 26 carries of 10 or more yards. An explosive runner, he can work the edges or get vertical with the ball in zone schemes. And he gets up to top speed quickly. Dowdle also had 39 receptions for the Panthers this season, tying a career high. 47. Coby Bryant, S2025 team: Seattle Seahawks | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: An interchangeable safety with the vision to get a jump on the ball from depth, Bryant had four interceptions this season and a total of seven over his past two. A good fit as a deep half defender in a zone scheme, Bryant can also spin down to patrol the edges as a cutoff defender. There’s some urgency to his game. Bryant has 7 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 5 passes broken up over his past two seasons. 48. Nakobe Dean, LB2025 team: Philadelphia Eagles | Age entering 2026 season: 25What he brings: Dean bounced back from a knee injury in the 2024 playoffs to produce 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 55 total tackles in 10 games in 2025. He’s the best blitzing linebacker in the league, arriving angry versus running backs in pass protection. And he has the pursuit speed to track the ball on the edges. 49. Kenneth Gainwell, RB2025 team: Pittsburgh Steelers | Age entering 2026 season: 27What he brings: A change-of-pace runner, Gainwell caught a career-high 73 passes this season and was vital on third downs for Pittsburgh. He produces on backfield releases and can even draw positive matchups when flexed from the formation. Gainwell would fit a backfield rotation that caters to his dual-threat traits. 50. Alex Anzalone, LB2025 team: Detroit Lions | Age entering 2026 season: 31What he brings: A nine-year veteran, Anzalone is quick to key the run game and can be schemed a blitzer. In coverage, Anzalone has the lateral quickness and eye discipline to match running backs in the pass game. He had 2.5 sacks and eight pass breakups in Detroit last season. Just missed: Jalen Thompson, S Dallas Goedert, TE Devin Bush, LB Kevin Byard III, S Kwity Paye, Edge |
| GRADING RECENT COACHING HIRESBill Barnwell of ESPN.com ranks the 37 coaching hires between 2021 and 2025 – from Dan Campbell to Urban Meyer. Below is much edited, the whole thing is here: For the 10 NFL teams that either hired or are about to hire a new head coach this offseason, Super Bowl LX is the blueprint for how quickly things can change if they make the right calls. The Seahawks hired Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and reached the Super Bowl in the 38-year-old’s second season at the helm. The Patriots did them one better, as Mike Vrabel has taken his old team to the Super Bowl in his first year on the job in New England. Macdonald and Vrabel are two of the 37 full-time head coaches hired over the past five years, not including the eight hired so far this month and the handful of interim coaches who didn’t earn full-time jobs. I want to sort through those hires. Which coaching hires worked out best? Which ones were disasters? Was it better to hire offensive wizards, as many teams prefer, or go against the grain to hire defensive-minded coaches? Vrabel and Macdonald both come from that side of the football, but are they the exceptions to the rule? So I’m going one through 37 and ranking those coaching hires. Performance and playoff success obviously matter most, but I’m also trying to look for evidence of the impact these guys have had as coaches. Do they do a good job of managing fourth downs and late-game situations? Have players who were already on the roster improved after their arrival? Have free agents added from other teams excelled after joining the lineup? And do their draft picks routinely exceed expectations? Where the team succeeds also matters. For coaches with an offensive background, I’m going to give more credit if the team is thriving by virtue of that side of the ball, as opposed to being carried by the defense (such as Matt Nagy during his debut season with the Bears). And, of course, being great on both sides of the ball is a big positive. Some of these coaches also have only one season under their belts, and we’ve seen coaches such as Nagy and Adam Gase put together playoff campaigns in their debut seasons before quickly falling off. I tried to use some context to get a sense of how sustainable their early success might be moving forward. I also leaned toward rewarding coaches who have proven they’re up to the task for an extended period of time, which might be why my top two hires are the only two coaches left from the class of 2021. 1. Dan Campbell, Detroit LionsSeasons: FiveRecord: 48-36-1 (.571)It’s worth noting just how low the Lions were before Campbell arrived. Detroit had gone 14-33-1 under Matt Patricia and interim coach Darrell Bevell. It hadn’t won a playoff game since 1991. One of the first things new general manager Brad Holmes did was trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams for two first-round picks and Jared Goff, who was essentially a salary dump from an organization that had completely lost faith in the 2016 first overall pick. The only significant player from the roster Campbell inherited who is still on the team in 2025 is offensive tackle Taylor Decker. This has been a complete rebuild in Detroit. It took a year and a half of frustrating losses, but Campbell turned the Lions into one of the league’s model organizations.. Put it this way: If you had to predict a single hire from the past five years to still be in his current job 15 years from now, whom would you pick? My choice would be Campbell, who has become the face of the franchise in Detroit. 2. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia EaglesSeasons: FiveRecord: 59-26 (.694)Sirianni is by far the most difficult coach to rank on this list. His résumé is comfortably the best of any coach over the past five years. He took over a 4-11-1 team and immediately coached it to the playoffs, where it has been each of the past five seasons. The Bills are the only other team to make it to the playoffs every year over that span. Sirianni has made two Super Bowls and won one. No other coach on this list has won a Super Bowl, although that will change two weeks from now. And yet, it’s simultaneously true that there are Eagles fans who don’t believe Sirianni is even a good coach, let alone a great one There’s no arguing that the highs under Sirianni have been spectacular. But the lows have been wildly frustrating, including a defense that forgot how to play football in 2023 and an offense that hopelessly banged its head against the wall for most of the 2025 season. Sirianni has to own both. But his floor is nine wins and a playoff appearance (2021 season), and his ceiling has been the Lombardi Trophy (2024). 3. Mike Macdonald, Seattle SeahawksSeasons: TwoRecord: 24-10 (.706)Seahawks fans who spent years seeing their defenses tormented by Kyle Shanahan’s offenses must be so happy to watch Macdonald’s unit do its thing. Just as he did as a coordinator in Baltimore, Macdonald has built one of the league’s best defenses in two years in Seattle– – –It’s impossible to know how much Macdonald figured into the decision to hire offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and essentially swap Geno Smith for Sam Darnold at quarterback this offseason. But after deploying a frustrating offense in Year 1 of the Macdonald era, the Seahawks have gotten enough on that side of the ball to make the Super Bowl this season. The only hole I can poke in Macdonald’s coaching is his habit of being too conservative on fourth down. 4. Mike Vrabel, New England PatriotsSeasons: OneRecord: 14-3 (.824)One season, one Super Bowl appearance. Seems pretty good to me. Vrabel has unquestionably benefited from a massive offseason of free agent additions and one of the easiest schedules in modern football history, but he has been able to quickly stamp his imprint on a Patriots team that lacked an identity before his arrival. Players on both sides of the ball who were on the team a year ago or signed in free agency have played better in New England this season, a testament to both Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has done excellent work molding quarterback Drake Maye into an MVP candidate. Vrabel’s game management has helped the Patriots hold on to their many leads this season. And while the defense didn’t rate out well by advanced metrics during the regular season, it has been absolutely dominant so far in the playoffs. 5. DeMeco Ryans, Houston TexansSeasons: ThreeRecord: 32-19 (.628)yans took over a Texans team that had won three or four games in each of the three seasons before his arrival. It has won 10 or more games in each of his first three years at the helm, adding a playoff victory in each of those campaigns for good measure. Ryans has been one of the league’s most conservative coaches on fourth down, which has been a liability at times, but you can understand why given the Texans’ struggles running the football. Houston added quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. to its roster after Ryans’ arrival, which helped quite a bit. But Ryans has also built the league’s best defense. As much as that’s constructed around stars such Anderson and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke have made players at all levels better — including draftees Kamari Lassiter and Jalen Pitre, notable free agents Danielle Hunter and Azeez Al-Shaair, and lesser-known players such as Tommy Togiai. If the Texans could just fix the offensive infrastructure around Stroud, they would be Super Bowl contenders. 6. Sean Payton, Denver BroncosSeasons: ThreeRecord: 32-19 (.628)While Payton and Broncos fans might be ruing their loss in the AFC Championship Game, there’s no doubting that the Broncos have made major strides since trading a first-round pick to hire Payton in 2023. The longtime Saints coach has improved Denver’s record by an average of three wins each season, leading to a division title in 2025. Payton wasn’t able to turn Russell Wilson around, but he has managed to build a solid offense around an inconsistent young quarterback in Bo Nix, creating open receivers on a weekly basis. I could see a case for putting Payton even higher, but I’d refer back to the factors in the introduction. The Broncos are 15th in EPA per play on offense over the past two years, which is very reasonable given their personnel. They’re second over that same time frame on defense, which is coordinator Vance Joseph’s purview. Payton hired Joseph, and the head coach obviously has some say on that side of the ball, but if we’re going to credit coaches for how their focuses influence their teams’ success, it shifts Payton down just a tiny bit. 7. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota VikingsSeasons: FourRecord: 43-25 (.632)There’s no doubting that O’Connell is a good coach, having put together 13- and 14-win seasons over his first four years in Minnesota, but we can poke a few holes in that record. One is the Vikings’ performance in close games. They are 25-12 in one-score games over that span, and while O’Connell does a solid job of managing late-game scenarios, the wild fluctuations in their record in those games from year to year suggest their record in close games is more a product of randomness than a sustainable skill.– – –The driving force for the Vikings over the past three years has instead been their defense. If this were a list of best coordinator hires over the past five seasons, Minnesota’s Brian Flores might be at the very top. 8. Ben Johnson, Chicago BearsSeasons: OneRecord: 11-6 (.647)The prodigy. Bears fans treated Johnson like a superstar addition when they landed the Lions’ offensive coordinator as their next head coach, and so far, he has generally lived up to the hype. 9. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles ChargersSeasons: TwoRecord: 22-12 (.647)Hire Jim Harbaugh … win football games. The former NFL quarterback has won everywhere he has coached, and he instantly turned around a Chargers team that had collapsed to 5-12 the season before his arrival, with Los Angeles jumping to 11-6 in each of Harbaugh’s first two seasons. His ability to sustain the offense and keep the team afloat without starting tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater for most of the 2025 season was quietly valuable; there aren’t many teams that could have survived with replacement-level tackle play for most of a season. 10. Dan Quinn, Washington CommandersSeasons: TwoRecord: 17-17 (.500) What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Quinn was fresh off a trip to the NFC Championship Game, having won as many playoff games in his first season with the Commanders as the franchise had claimed over the prior 30 years. Jayden Daniels’ fantastic rookie campaign played a significant role, but Quinn nailed his fourth-down decision-making to help the offense blossom, and the former Falcons coach got the most out of the many veterans added to his roster by GM Adam Peters. Things have changed. Daniels struggled through an injury-hit 2025, but Quinn’s defense completely collapsed in Year 2. – – –Quinn deserves more time to prove that 2025 was an anomaly, but Falcons fans will point out that their former coach peaked early in his Atlanta tenure and never reached those heights again. 11. Liam Coen, Jacksonville JaguarsSeasons: OneRecord: 13-4 (.765)It was a successful first season for Coen with the Jaguars, but it was also a strange one. The Jaguars repeatedly struggled with unnecessary pre-snap penalties. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had extremely rough stretches before playing like an MVP candidate to finish the regular season. Rookie Travis Hunter, the team’s most notable addition during an aggressive offseason, barely made an impact as a receiver before getting injured. Jacksonville’s top playmakers by the end of the season were receivers Jakobi Meyers (who was struggling to make an impact in Las Vegas) and Parker Washington (who had been marginalized and buried on the depth chart by the moves Jacksonville made during the offseason). Coen deserves credit for getting more out of players he inherited from the prior regime, including Lawrence, Washington and running back Travis Etienne Jr. The Jags built an improved run game as the season wore on, although Coen simply didn’t run the ball enough in their playoff loss to the Bills. Jaguars fans should be excited about Coen and what he might do in Year 2, but a fair amount of the credit for Jacksonville’s turnaround should go to defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. 12. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay BuccaneersSeasons: FourRecord: 35-33 (.515)Taking over for the retired Bruce Arians after winning a Super Bowl as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator, Bowles has kept the Bucs atop the NFC South for most of his tenure. – – –After the Bucs blew a 6-2 start to this season and missed the playoffs, though, Bowles has understandably faced some criticism. Tampa Bay fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard after one season, meaning Mayfield will have his fourth coordinator in four years with the Bucs. Bowles’ defenses have also struggled to live up to what they were doing while he was focusing exclusively on that side of the ball, as Tampa Bay has ranked 11th, 16th, 18th and most recently 16th in EPA per snap. I still think Bowles is a good coach, and he has improved his late-game decision-making after being too conservative earlier in his tenure, but 2026 seems like a make-or-break year for his future in Tampa. 13. Mike McDaniel, Miami DolphinsSeasons: FourRecord: 35-33 (.515)We can’t fault what McDaniel did with the Dolphins’ offense. – – –The results just weren’t where they needed to be, sometimes as a product of bad timing. Tagovailoa missed the end of the 2022 season because of an injury, and when backup Teddy Bridgewater went down shortly thereafter, the Dolphins had to start third-stringer Skylar Thompson in the postseason. In 2023, a late-season collapse cost the Dolphins the AFC East and sent them to frigid conditions in Kansas City in the wild-card round. McDaniel struggled to find the right balance on defense, and it seemed telling that the organization basically fired Vic Fangio after one year in town, leaving the veteran assistant to go to Philadelphia and win a Super Bowl. McDaniel did enough to eventually earn a second head-coaching opportunity elsewhere, though he’ll take 2026 to recharge his batteries as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. 14. Robert Saleh, New York JetsSeasons: Four (fired before end of fourth season)Record: 20-36 (.357)There’s no doubting what Saleh did for the Jets’ defense. Taking over one of the league’s worst units before his arrival in 2021, Saleh turned the Jets into an elite defense in two years– – –And yet, it’s tough to really put Saleh higher given the quarterback fiascoes in New York. Saleh likely stuck with Zach Wilson too long in 2022, even given that the alternatives were Mike White and Joe Flacco. The ill-fated decision to get into the Aaron Rodgers business was likely above Saleh’s pay grade, but the coach wasn’t able to talk the Jets out of the decision or minimize Rodgers’ impact on the rest of the roster and the coaching staff. Saleh never posted a winning record in New York, but he was much better than the guy before him (Adam Gase), and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich and Glenn haven’t been anywhere near as effective as Saleh since the latter’s departure. 15. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville JaguarsSeasons: ThreeRecord: 22-29 (.431)Pederson was already beloved in Jacksonville solely by virtue of not being Urban Meyer, so when he helped lead the Jaguars to a playoff berth and a comeback victory over the Chargers in the wild-card round after the 2022 season, he might have been, at that moment, the most popular coach in franchise history. Through November 2023, Pederson was 17-11 as the Jags coach. But with Trevor Lawrence injured and ineffective for most of Pederson’s remaining tenure, the coach went 5-18 over the rest of his time in Jacksonville, as a stagnant offense led to his departure after three years. 16. Shane Steichen, Indianapolis ColtsSeasons: ThreeRecord: 25-26 (.490)After two difficult seasons with Anthony Richardson Sr. at quarterback, Steichen was able to turn the Colts into the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams for half a season with Daniel Jones. After a 7-1 start, though, turnovers, bad luck and Jones’ season-ending torn Achilles sank the Colts, who fell all the way out of the playoffs and didn’t even finish with a winning record. Steichen has built fun, logical offenses for Jones and Richardson over the past few seasons, and the run game has revitalized Jonathan Taylor’s career after the star back battled ankle issues. Still, the former Eagles assistant has gone either 8-9 or 9-8 in each of his first three campaigns as a head coach, and that sort of consistent averageness makes him a perfect fit in the middle of this list. He has essentially been a league-average hire. 17. Brian Daboll, New York GiantsSeasons: Four (fired before end of fourth season)Record: 20-40-1 (.328)Was Daboll a victim of his own early success? The former Bills coordinator unexpectedly took the Giants to the playoffs and even won a wild-card game over an average Vikings team in Year 1 of his tenure, with Daniel Jones having what was to that point his best season as a pro. You know what happened next: The Giants signed Jones to an extension, didn’t commit to star running back Saquon Barkley and saw both excel after leaving New York. Daboll went 11-33 after his great season, but nobody else below him on this list won a playoff game. 18. Dave Canales, Carolina PanthersSeasons: TwoRecord: 13-21 (.383)Taking over what had been a disaster in Carolina, Canales has gotten a lot of things right. He made the unpopular decision to bench quarterback Bryce Young two games into the 2024 season, a move that turned out to be the best thing for the QB. Young was better after returning to the lineup. The Panthers’ offense has improved over the past two years, and Canales oversaw upset victories over the Rams and Packers, helping the team to a division title this season. (His Panthers also came within a drop of beating the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in 2024.)– – –I believe Canales has the Panthers heading in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of work for the former Bucs coordinator to do in Carolina. 19. Brandon Staley, Los Angeles ChargersSeasons: Three (fired before end of third season)Record: 24-24 (.500)Staley’s legacy as a head coach is complicated. The former Rams assistant was criticized for his decision-making on fourth down. I’m not sure I agree with that critique; if anything, Staley grew too conservative as his time as Chargers coach went on after starting his run as one of the most aggressive coaches in the league — and the perception that he blew that fateful Raiders-Chargers game in Week 18 of 2022 was mostly untrue. Staley managed an even record over two-plus seasons in Los Angeles, and he also took the Chargers to a playoff game, something a handful of the coaches ahead of him can’t say. At the same time, he was brought in on the strength of his defensive work, and his defenses weren’t any good. – – –Staley comes in just ahead of his current boss in New Orleans … 20. Kellen Moore, New Orleans SaintsSeasons: OneRecord: 6-11 (.353)Nobody is going to the Hall of Fame for a six-win season, but Moore has gotten off to a promising start in New Orleans. 21. Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas CowboysSeasons: OneRecord: 7-9-1 (.441)Schottenheimer’s ascension didn’t exactly thrill Cowboys fans when he was promoted to replace Mike McCarthy in Dallas last offseason, but the 52-year-old was inoffensive in his first season as head coach. 22. Arthur Smith, Atlanta FalconsSeasons: ThreeRecord: 21-30 (.412)Fantasy managers were infuriated by Smith’s seeming desire to build the offense around the likes of Jonnu Smith and Cordarrelle Patterson as opposed to top-10 picks Drake London and Bijan Robinson, but his offense was more creative and progressive than the box scores might have suggested. The Falcons had a fun, diverse rushing attack and leaned into the bigger personnel groupings that teams such as the Rams thrived with this season. 23. Dennis Allen, New Orleans SaintsSeasons: Three (fired before end of third season)Record: 18-25 (.419)Promoted from defensive coordinator to replace the “retired” Sean Payton, Allen quickly earned the ire of Saints fans with lofty expectations. 24. Raheem Morris, Atlanta FalconsSeasons: TwoRecord: 16-18 (.471)If you’ve been on social media over the past few days, you’ve probably seen the screenshots from the Falcons’ last hiring process, when they interviewed Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel before hiring Morris as their head coach. Morris didn’t take the Falcons to the Super Bowl, and an Atlanta defense that ranked 15th in points allowed per drive before Morris’ arrival ranked 28th and 15th over the two ensuing seasons by the same metric. I thought the Falcons would have given Morris another year, especially because his team finished with the same record as the Panthers, who won the NFC South on a tiebreaker. Atlanta’s biggest issue has been at quarterback, where it invested so much in Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. and hasn’t gotten much of a return. If that was Morris’ idea, he needed to go. I suspect those decisions fell more on the shoulders of GM Terry Fontenot, though, and I’d hesitate to blame the defensive-focused Morris too much for bad decisions at QB. But both were fired earlier this month. 25. Matt Eberflus, Chicago BearsSeasons: Three (fired before end of third season)Record: 14-32 (.304)There was a good defense in there for half a season! Eberflus’ charges were excellent in the second half of 2023, as the Bears were third in EPA per play and fifth in success rate. Otherwise? They were a mess 26. Jonathan Gannon, Arizona CardinalsSeasons: ThreeRecord: 15-36 (.294)Hired after his Eagles defense racked up 69 sacks and made it to the Super Bowl, Gannon wasn’t able to get the same results in Arizona. The Cardinals toyed with some fun simulated pressures and were film nerd darlings at times, but Gannon never got the personnel right. 27. Jerod Mayo, New England PatriotsSeasons: OneRecord: 4-13 (.235)It’s never fun to be the guy who replaces the guy. Just as Cam Newton ended up being the short-term replacement for Tom Brady and lasted one season as the starting quarterback in New England, Mayo was one-and-done after taking over for Bill Belichick. Even with Drake Maye at quarterback, Mayo’s offense repeatedly battled mental mistakes and couldn’t protect the rookie. More surprisingly, Mayo took over a defense that was among the best in football during the second half of Belichick’s final season and couldn’t get the same results. 28. Brian Callahan, Tennessee TitansSeasons: Two (fired before end of second season)Record: 4-19 (.173)It’s not Callahan’s fault that the Titans fired Mike Vrabel to hire the former Bengals assistant as their head coach, but that move looks like organizational incompetence with the benefit of hindsight. 29. Aaron Glenn, New York JetsSeasons: OneRecord: 3-14 (.176)A former Jets cornerback, Glenn was hired to restore a defense that fell off after Robert Saleh was fired. The front office promptly traded Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner, the team’s two best players, at the trade deadline (admittedly for massive hauls). Glenn’s defense completely collapsed afterward, sleepwalking through the final few games of the season, while his handling of Justin Fields and the quarterback situation left much to be desired. I’m giving Glenn some grace, given that the Jets essentially waved the white flag at the deadline, but the early returns aren’t promising for the first-time head coach. 30. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas RaidersSeasons: TwoRecord: 9-17 (.346)Promoted to the interim head coach role in the middle of the 2023 season, Pierce was able to restore some element of swagger in the Las Vegas locker room and delivered a surprising run of victories, including a 63-21 blowout win over the Chargers and a 20-14 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs. That was enough to earn the former Giants linebacker the full-time role, but Pierce’s game management wasn’t up to modern NFL standards. And with Patrick Graham running the defense, Pierce wasn’t really bringing much to the table. 31. Pete Carroll, Las Vegas RaidersSeasons: OneRecord: 3-14 (.177)I was optimistic that Carroll’s experience would make him an upgrade over Pierce. I was wrong. Despite beating the eventual AFC champion Patriots in the opener, Carroll’s Raiders were hopeless for most of the season, especially when star tight end Brock Bowers and left tackle Kolton Miller were out of the lineup. 32. Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas RaidersSeasons: Two (fired before end of second season)Record: 9-16 (.360)Three straight Raiders coaches! McDaniels finished with a better winning percentage than Carroll or Pierce, but we should keep in mind that he took over a Raiders team that was coming off a playoff berth in the AFC 33. Lovie Smith, Houston TexansSeasons: OneRecord: 3-13-1 (.206)An experienced coach with the Bears and Buccaneers, it looked like Smith’s time as an NFL head coach had come to an end after he was fired by Illinois. Smith joined the Texans as a defensive coordinator, and the following year, he was promoted to head coach. The Texans were in the middle of a rebuild, having just traded Deshaun Watson, and there weren’t high expectations for Smith in his third head coaching opportunity on the pro level. 34. David Culley, Houston TexansSeasons: OneRecord: 4-13 (.236)Smith took over in Houston from Culley, who might have been the most out-of-nowhere hire on this list. 35. Nathaniel Hackett, Denver BroncosSeasons: One (fired before end of first season)Record: 4-11 (.267)The 2022 season might as well be an eternity ago. The Broncos decided to take a major swing during the offseason by trading for Russell Wilson and hiring Hackett to take over for Vic Fangio as their head coach. Things fell apart quickly, as Hackett butchered a late-game scenario to help cost the Broncos a win in the season opener against Wilson’s former employers, the Seahawks. Hackett couldn’t handle the game management element of the job and given that the Wilson-led offense finished last in points scored, it probably wasn’t a surprise that the Broncos fired Hackett before the end of his first year with the organization. 36. Frank Reich, Carolina PanthersSeasons: One (fired before end of first season)Record: 1-10 (.090) A respected coach for most of his tenure in Indianapolis before the bottom fell out in his final season, Reich was seen as a reliable, experienced pair of hands for first pick Bryce Young when the Panthers hired him in 2023. Instead of getting the Reich who had gone 37-28 with four starting quarterbacks over his first four years in Indianapolis, though, the Panthers got the one who oversaw a desperate, flailing offense the prior year. The combination of Reich and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown never really coalesced, as the Panthers struggled to find an offensive identity. By the end of the year, Young’s footwork and confidence were shot. 37. Urban Meyer, Jacksonville JaguarsSeasons: One (fired before end of first season)Record: 2-11 (.154)Truly mismatched with the NFL universe, Meyer was completely disconnected from reality, including reports that he wasn’t familiar with Rams star Aaron Donald– – –Your high school coach might have done a better job. |
