As the intense 18-week-long NFL season and playoffs come to a close, we have seen numerous teams go through trials and tribulations with their team’s play and coaching staff decisions. With some of the suffering from these “bottom of the barrel” teams comes some optimism as the offseason is in full swing.
Head coach opportunities have opened up for numerous teams that are looking to get a fresh start to their franchises this upcoming 2025-2026 NFL season. Recent head coach vacancies have been released right after the start of Wild Card weekend and have unfolded and have mainly been filled as the Super Bowl just occurred this past weekend.
The New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, and even the Dallas Cowboys have let go of their former head coaches, looking for some new talent to fix their teams. All of these spots have been filled in just under 4 weeks since their 18-week-long season ended.
Two days after the New England Patriots released former head coach and player Jerod Mayo, the team’s owner, Robert Kraft, announced the hiring of former Patriot and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as their new franchise head coach. Although this decision came out fast and before the playoffs were even close to over, fans were more than elated when hearing the news, and he was arguably the best head coach option on the list. It is safe to say that New England got their guy!
As for the Chicago Bears, their decision came briskly after a short interview with the Lions’ offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson. After the Lions’ Divisional round playoff loss, the Bears scooped up their guy in dreams of having a powerful offense for Caleb Williams to excel under.
The New York Jets were also able to find their “franchise guy” in Aaron Glenn, former Lions defensive coordinator, after the questionable departure of Robert Salah. Salah was fired on October 8th, 2024, after an underwhelming past 3 seasons with the Jets, barely having any major success, and leading them to playoff failure. With the addition of Glenn and Vrabel to these two AFC East teams, this division just gained a huge amount of competitiveness.
The Las Vegas Raiders took their new coach out of retirement in an attempt to bring them to their glory days. Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is back and is ready to take over the Raiders. Although the hire may be a surprise for some, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Mark Davis, knew that hiring a championship veteran would be the only way to get them out of this pothole.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made a notable hire on January 24th that brought in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator, Liam Coen, into the spotlight. With juggling head coaches for the past 5 years since the firing of Doug Marrone in 2020, the Jaguars needed this new boost in their front office.
After a long season for the New Orleans Saints, 5-12 was not enough for owner and CEO Gayle Benson. Since the departure of Sean Payton in 2021, the Saints have reportedly found their “franchise saver.”. Former NFL quarterback Kellen Moore was given the position at the beginning of February after his win in the Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator. At only 36, Moore brings a new sense of leadership to the locker room, as he is the youngest one on this list and has coached for greatness so far. Hopefully this hire will help change the Saints’ franchise for the better.
Lastly, the Dallas Cowboys have released longtime head coach Mike McCarthy. Although he had not led the Cowboys to a championship, his release was questionable, as he had led them to numerous winning seasons. The Cowboys signed Brian Schottenheimer to help bring “America’s team” back to their winning ways.
With all of these hires comes a big sense of optimism. Players are going through a new scheme and leadership, which could change the way that they play for better or for worse, and this also means that certain players could be shipped off to new teams. All fans can do is hope!
