The head coaching cycle in the NFL officially came to a close yesterday and we have all head coaching positions filled across the NFL. There were seven openings between the Bears, Raiders, Patriots, Jaguars, Cowboys, Jets, and Saints.
Team | New head coach |
|---|---|
Chicago Bears | Ben Johnson |
New England Patriots | Mike Vrabel |
New Orleans Saints | Kellen Moore |
Dallas Cowboys | Brian Schottenheimer |
New York Jets | Aaron Glenn |
Las Vegas Raiders | Pete Carroll |
Jacksonville Jaguars | Liam Coen |
The Buffalo Bills haven’t been part of the head coaching cycle since they hired Sean McDermott back in 2017. Despite how you feel about McDermott and his inability to get past the Chiefs in the playoffs, he is the best coach the Bills have had since Marv Levy. While they have had to hire various coordinators, having the same head coach keeps a lot of continuity.
Typically, teams who hire a new coach are usually going through some kind of rebuild whether it’s small or large. For example, the Jets are on their fourth head coach since 2020 (Adam Gase, Robert Saleh, Jeff Ulbrich as an interim, and now Aaron Glenn). The Jets are a mess and they are starting from the ground up with a new regime and more than likely moving on from Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets, Saints, and Bears all fired their former head coaches in the middle of last season which caused chaos for them as the regular season started to close down. The other vacancies didn’t come up until after Week 18 was over.
Buffalo Bills set to take on three teams with new head coaches in 2025
When the Bills take the field in 2025, there will be five games where they are taking on a new head coach. Two of them are within the AFC East and one is in the NFC.
Aaron Glenn - New York Jets
First time head coach Aaron Glenn is now running the Jets. Glenn was drafted by Jets back in 1994 and was a three time Pro Bowl player with them. In addition to the Jets, Glenn played with the Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Saints in his career.
In 2021, Glenn was hired by Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions to be their defensive coordinator. He helped build a ferocious defense over the last two years which helped him land with the Jets. Glenn isn’t in the best situation whatsoever in New York, but we will see what he does with this struggling franchise.
Mike Vrabel - New England Patriots
After just one year with Jerod Mayo leading the way, the Patriots quickly moved on from Mayo and hired former Patriots player and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. Hiring Vrabel was a very smart move for the Patriots due to the fact that Vrabel knows how to build a tough culture.
He did with Tennessee from 2018-2023. In four of his six seasons with the Titans, Vrabel had winning records including 11+ wins in 2020 and 2021. He managed to bring the Titans to the AFC championship game in the 2019-2020 season but they fell to the Chiefs.
Vrabel was a Coach of the Year award winner in 2021 and can easily help turn around the Patriots who have a promising young quarterback in Drake Maye.
Kellen Moore - New Orleans Saints
The last head coaching job to be filled was the Saints and they opted to wait until after the Super Bowl and hire former Eagles’ offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. It was a matter of time before Moore earned himself a head coaching gig.
Moore was well-known for being the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys from 2019-2022. In 2023, he was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers before landing in Philadelphia last season. He has been a young bright minded coach who has had the pleasure of working with some of the best quarterbacks in the league. Now he will have to figure out who is quarterback will be in 2025 and beyond.
Will it be Derek Carr? Will he want to have another veteran? Or, do they go out and draft a quarterback? That will be Moore’s biggest quest as the next head coach for the Saints. If he is not able to find stability at the most important position in sports, it’s going to be a rough outing for Moore.