Now that Super Bowl LIX is complete, the forthcoming hiring of Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore as New Orleans Saints Head Coach is inevitable. According to NFL rules, they could not announce their intentions to hire him until after his team’s season was officially complete. Although some coaching staffs are not complete, this will fill the last Head Coach opening, thus putting an end to the 2025 hiring cycle.
2025 Head Coach Hires
New England Patriots – Mike Vrabel, 54-45 record as Head Coach of the Tennessee Titans. 2021 Coach of the Year. 3-time Super Bowl Champion as a Patriots player.
Chicago Bears – Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator. Lions finished 5th, 5th, and 1st in points scored in Johnson’s 3 years as OC. 2024 Assistant Coach of the Year. Hired former Saints HC Dennis Allen as DC in Chicago.
Las Vegas Raiders – Pete Carroll, 170-120-1 as Head Coach of the Seahawks, Jets, and Patriots. Won the Super Bowl as HC of Seattle in 2013.
Dallas Cowboys – Brian Schottenheimer, long-time NFL assistant coach including working on the staffs of Marty Schottenheimer (father), Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher, Dick Vermeil, and most recently Mike McCarthy in Dallas. 14 seasons of experience as an NFL OC.
New York Jets – Aaron Glenn, 4 years as Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, which improved each season going from 31st in points allowed in 2021 to 7th in 2024. Glenn played corner for fifteen years in the NFL, including eight as a New York Jet.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Liam Coen had spent just one season as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which scored the 4th most points in 2024. He had previous experience coaching in college and as an assistant on the Rams staff under Sean McVay.
New Orleans Saints – Kellen Moore started his coaching career in Dallas in 2018 as QB coach, and eventually OC until he was let go and replaced by Brian Schottenheimer. Moore landed with the Los Angeles Chargers and eventually the Philadelphia Eagles where he found his greatest success as the OC of the 2nd best rushing offense in 2024 that included 2000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley.
2026 Head Coach Candidates
Each year there are a handful of names to keep an eye on as potential Head Coach candidates. They could be former coaches who are currently out of work, coordinators who are young and upcoming, veteran coordinators with or without HC experience, or even other assistants who are quickly on the rise. Below are some names to take note of before the 2025 NFL season.
Offensive Coordinators
Kliff Kingsbury – The former Arizona Cardinals HC and current Washington Commanders OC was one of the hottest names in the 2025 cycle and could be even hotter in 2026. With experience as an NFL HC and great success with Rookie of the Year, Jayden Daniels, he’s put himself in a position to be a top candidate in 2026.
Kingsbury may have landed an HC job in 2025, but he pulled his name from considerations until after the Commanders’ playoff run was over, which essentially eliminated him from HC contention in this year’s cycle.
Joe Brady – Since being named interim OC for the Buffalo Bills in 2023, then full-time OC in 2024, QB Josh Allen and the Bills offense have excelled to the point of Allen winning MVP in 2024. Brady has earned HC interviews, including being heavily considered for the Saints job, but ultimately has landed none.
Another big season for Josh Allen and the Bills offense in 2025 could be enough for him to be awarded an HC job in 2026.
Todd Monken – The former National Champion Georgia OC came back to the NFL in 2023 as Ravens OC leading Lamar Jackson to his 2nd NFL MVP award. Some argue that Jackson should have won MVP again in 2024, putting together the best statistical season of his career. On top of Jackson’s success, Monken’s 2024 Ravens offense produced a 1,921 rushing-yard season for Derrick Henry.
Jackson and Henry will both return for 2025, setting the Ravens’ offense up for another big season that should land Monken more interviews and potentially his first job as an NFL HC.
Grant Udinski – A young coach at age 29, Udinski has progressed through the coaching ranks quickly, starting as a graduate assistant for Baylor in 2019. He then coached under Matt Rhule in Carolina for 2 seasons before landing as assistant QB coach and offensive coordinator under 2024 Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell.
Udinski’s quick rise resulted in the OC job in Jacksonville for 2025, but it may be another short stay as he continues to climb the NFL ranks. Having received some credit for Sam Darnold‘s resurgence, a similar progression in Trevor Lawrence‘s game could turn some heads towards Udinski as the next “QB whisperer” and land him some HC interviews in 2026.
Defensive Coordinators
Brian Flores – On merit alone, Flores is as good a head coach candidate as any, although his suit against the NFL and conflicting reports on his tenure in Miami could be working against him.
But, as Defensive Coordinator for the Vikings, his defense was 9th best in points allowed and 1st in takeaways in 2024. Having spent 15 years under Bill Belichick, Flores is a tough coach who may take a different approach if he is given another chance to lead an organization.
Joe Whitt Jr. – The current Defensive Coordinator for the Washington Commanders has a long history as an assistant in the NFL including a Super Bowl ring in 2010 as Packers cornerbacks coach. He followed Dan Quinn over from Dallas in 2024 and called plays for the Commanders’ defense which improved throughout the 2024 season.
Whitt interviewed for the Jets job, which will put him on more team’s radar for 2025. More improvement from the Commanders’ defense could land this long-time NFL coach more interviews and ultimately a Head Coach position.
Jesse Minter – Minter has spent the majority of his 19-year coaching career in the college ranks but has plenty of NFL pedigree having spent time on the staffs of both Jim and John Harbaugh. Minter was a defensive assistant/defensive backs coach for the Ravens from 2017-2020, then returned to college and eventually became the Defensive Coordinator of the 2023 National Champion Michigan Wolverines.
In 2024, Minter followed Jim Harbaugh to Los Angeles to serve as defensive coordinator where his defense finished the season 1st in points allowed. Harbaugh recognizes what he has in Minter and that his time with him could be limited…
For Minter, it appears it’s just a matter of time before becomes an NFL head coach.
Head Coaches Out of Work
Bill Belichick – The 8-time Super Bowl champion is headed off to coach in college, meaning he will be coaching somewhere that isn’t the NFL for the first time since 1974. The second-most winningest coach in NFL history was only in serious consideration for one job during the 2024 hiring cycle, and seemingly none in 2025.
His contract and steady involvement in the NFL, even after taking the North Carolina job suggests he still has a desire to coach in the pros, despite nobody calling.
Belichick will surely be part of the conversation as the hiring cycle gets started after the 2025 season.
Mike McCarthy – With 174 career wins (13th all-time), McCarthy has expressed that he wants to continue coaching after being heavily considered by the Bears and Saints in the 2025 coaching cycle.
McCarthy was fired from the Cowboys after a 7-10 season, despite three straight 12-5 seasons before that. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott‘s best years were under the former Super Bowl champion Head Coach, which proves he can still maximize a quarterback’s talent. McCarthy should be a top candidate after the 2025 NFL season.