2025 NFL Head Coach Candidates: Trusting The Retreads?

Black Monday has come and gone leaving multiple NFL head coaching openings available. Currently, the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys are all looking for new head coaches, heading into the 2025 season. In this article we will look at the men they have interviewed, and give you our prediction for the most likely candidate to be hired by each team.

Some candidates are being interviewed by multiple teams this list includes Ben Johnson, Matt Nagy, Aaron Glenn, Brian Flores, Todd Monken, Mike Kafka, David Shaw, Kellen Moore, Joe Brady, Arthur Smith, Mike Vrabel, Steve Spagnulo, Anthony Weaver, Pete Carroll, Robert Saleh, Ron Rivera, Drew Petzing, and Vance Joesph. This is a unique list filled with up-and-coming coordinators, former NFL head coaches, and even a former college head coach.

Other names being looked at include Rex Ryan, Liam Cohen, Patrick Graham, Byron Leftwich, Pep Hamilton, Davis Webb, Matt Campbell, Mike Locksley, Thomas Brown, Jeff Ulbrich, Eddie George, Mike McCarthy, Josh McCown, Leslie Fraizer, and Bobby Slowik. As of right now with only 7 openings, 33 candidates have been documented via CBSSports.com. This series will be broken down into multiple parts, beginning with the retread Head Coaches.

Table of Contents

1 Retread Head Coaches
2 Coaches

Retread Head Coaches

Coaches

Rex Ryan

Let’s start with Rex Ryan. Ryan was the head coach for the Jets from 2009-2014 leading them to back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances with Mark Sanchez at quarterback via 9-7 and 11-5 records. This came in his first two seasons with the Jets, before his next 4 seasons amounted to a collective 26-38 record. This however included just 2 losing seasons. After being let go in 2014 he was hired by the rival Bills.

During his time with Buffalo, he put up a 15-16 record. His cumulative record stands at 61-66 with a 4-2 playoff record. He has just 2 winning seasons, 3 .500 seasons, and 3 losing seasons (he was fired at 7-8 in 2016). However, here is one star that could leave the Jets looking to take a stroll down memory lane: 52-108. This is their record since moving on from Rex Ryan. They have had just a single winning season in 10 tries and 3 different head coaches.

Is it enough to hire a coach who has been away from the game since 2016, and sports a sub-.500 record, and just 2 trips to the playoffs in 8 seasons as a head coach?

Ron Rivera

One theme that is shared by Ryan and Rivera is their ability to connect with players. Even during losing seasons, it seemed their players were still bought in and supporting their head coach. Some other themes that are shared include their two previous stints as a head coach, and a sub .500 record. The difference between Rivera’s record, and Ryan’s is Rivera sits just 1 game below .500, and led his teams to the playoffs 5 times.

While Ryan seemed at his best in the playoffs, Rivera seemed often overmatched. His playoff record is 3-5 and 2 of those wins came during a story book season that fell just short of a Super Bowl winning ending. Marred by a controversy of a strip sack that saw quarterback Cam Newton seemingly make a business decision choosing not to try and recover the ball, watching as the defense took possession and gave Denver all the momentum.

Since that game, Rivera has not won another playoff game in two trips. While he left Carolina with a winning record of 76-63-1, he did not find the same success in Washington. His only playoff trip with the Washington Football Team, came on the heels of a 7-9 season during a down year for the division. He would top that win total just one time in four years with Washington going 8-8-1 in 2022.

Rivera has been out of football for just one season, but is he the right coach for any of the openings?

Mike Vrabel

If Ryan and Rivera are considered player coaches, Vrabel is the exact opposite. A branch from the Belichick tree, Vrabel runs a tight ship and some players simply aren’t fans of that atmosphere, especially when it is not translating to the kind of success Belichick had in New England. Vrabel’s first head coaching job came in Tennessee with the Titans, where he racked up a 54-45 and a 2-3 playoff record that included a trip to the AFC Championship game and a loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

This included 4 winning seasons, but never culminated in winning the big game. He also ended his tenure with a 13-21 record his final two seasons after a hot start. Vrabel rose the coaching ranks fairly quickly. After retiring in 2010 he joined the staff with his Alma mater Ohio State for the 2011 season as their linebackers coach. He transitioned to defensive line coach for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

In 2014 he rejoined his former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel with the Houston Texans. Overseeing linebackers from 2014-2016. Crennel willingly stepped aside to allow Vrabel to call defensive plays which is exactly what he needed to receive legimate interest as a Head Coach. It turns out it only took 1 year.

After six seasons in Tennessee he was fired, and the Titans hired Brian Calahan. Vrabel was then hired as a senior consultant with the Cleveland Browns. His contract expired at the end of the season allowing him to begin interviewing right away. Vrabel is expected to be the favorite in New England.

Update: After interviewing with multiple teams Vrabel chose to sign a multi-year agreement with the New England Patriots. Returning to a team that he once won multiple Super Bowls with as a player. This move comes after plenty of criticism directed at the organization for dismissing Jerod Mayo after just one season, and interviewing two minority candidates neither of which had coached in the NFL in any capacity since 2022.

Vance Joesph

Vance Joesph is another coach who rose through the ranks fairly slowly at first, but once he received experience as a defensive coordinator it took just one season before being hired as a Head Coach. After a brief playing career that actually began in New York with the Jets, and ended in the Arena Football League with the Orlando Predators, he began coaching.

Beginning his coaching career at his Alma mater, Colorado University, he began as a graduate assistant. Spending two seasons in this role, he was promoted to defensive backs coach in 2002. He would spend the next fourteen seasons coaching defensive backs in college and the NFL. After Sixteen years of coaching he received his first opportunity to call defensive plays with the Miami Dolphins in 2016.

By 2017 he was hired as the Head Coach by the Denver Broncos. His stint with the Broncos did not go as hoped lasting just two seasons compiling a 11-21 record finishing 4th and 3rd in the AFC West respectively. He was then fired by the Broncos.

Joesph comes from a football family, his brothers both played football, and now all three have joined the coaching ranks. Coaching is a way of life for his family and being fired was not going to change that. After being let go by Denver he landed as the Defensive Coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals. He stayed for three seasons under Kliff Kingsbury. When Kingsbury was fired, the Cardinals cleaned house.

This move actually led him back to the Broncos as their Defensive Coordinator under Sean Payton. In his first season his unit finished 29th in yards allowed with 370.8 yards per game, and 44 touchdowns. Everything changed in 2024. The teams saw a dramatic improvement allowing just 317.1 yards per game and only 32 touchdowns. They would allow a full 53.7 yards per game, and 12 touchdowns less on the season finishing 7th overall. The Broncos did however struggle with the Bills offense in their Wildcard loss.

Arthur Smith

Another former head coach on this list, Smith is the least experienced of the bunch. Sending a total of 8 seasons outside of the Titans organization including 4 seasons before being hired, and now 4 since leaving Smith rose the ranks and made a name for himself in Tennessee.

Initially spending his first season in 2006 out of college as a graduate assistant with North Carolina, he was hired by the Washington Redskins in 2007 spending two seasons as a defensive quality control coach. He was out of football in 2009, before returning as a defensive intern and administrative assistant with Ole Miss in 2010.

By 2011 he was hired by the Titans under first time head coach, and another man who slowly rose the ranks in Tennessee, Mike Munchak. Beginning as a Defensive Quality Control Coach, it wasn’t long until he switched to offense. This began his rise, by Munchak’s last season in Tennessee in 2013, Smith was promoted to Offensive Line Coach. The following season Ken Whisenhunt was hired a long-time NFL tight end and later tight end coach, Smith shifted to assisting with tight ends.

This marked the second head coach that utilized Smith in a position they cut their teeth overseeing. Whisenhunt lasted just two seasons, both of which Smith was the assistant tight ends coach. In 2016 the Titans promoted Mike Mularkey another former tight end, who had overseen their tight ends working closely with Smith.

This would mark the third straight head coach that saw fit for Smith to oversee their former position as he was promoted to Tight Ends Coach. Smith would outlast yet another Head Coach as Mularkey was let go following the 2017 season. In 2018 Mike Vrabel was hired and retained Smith as his tight end coach for his first season. In a way continuing his trend of overseeing positions his head coach once played as Vrabel moonlighted as a tight end during his NFL career. In 2019 Smith was promoted to offensive coordinator under Vrabel.

In 2019 the Titans brought in quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who at first was intended to be a veteran mentor to Marcus Mariota but it was not long before the mentor took over as the starter. Tannehill went on to set a career high in completion rate, as well as touchdown to interception ratio, and QB rating. The following season the success continued as Tannehill had a career high in wins, touchdown passes, 4th quarter comebacks, and game winning drives. He also set a career low in interception percentage, had the second most rushing yards of his career, and set career high with 7 rushing touchdowns.

During the 2019 season Tannehill made his first Pro-Bowl, won Comeback Player of the Year and led the league in QBR. The league took notice of Smith’s work in what was deemed as a reclamation project. He was hired as the Atlanta Falcons Head Coach the following season. The thought was if he produced a Pro Bowl season with Tannehill, what could he do with an established veteran like Matt Ryan. Unfortunately this marriage was not as fruitful and ended up producing a 11-17-1 record in the two seasons they worked together. With former Titans QB Marcus Mariota also seeing time as a starter.

In 2022, the Falcons had selected a player they hoped could be the future at the position and they handed the reigns to him in 2023. This of course was Desmond Ridder. For the third season in a row the Falcons finished 7-10 and Smith was subsequently fired. He landed with the Steelers where he built a playoff caliber offense with two cast-offs at quarterback in Russell Wilson, and Justin Fields. Helping the Steelers win 10 games. Ultimately they lost in the wildcard round to division rival Baltimore. I expect Smith to return to Pittsburgh in 2025.

Matt Nagy

Matt Nagy was the predecessor to Matt Eberflus in Chicago. A branch from the Andy Reid coaching tree the long-time former arena football quarterback began his coaching career at the high school level way back in 2001. Athough his coaching career technically began before his arena football playing career did, Nagy would actually spend several years playing and coaching in the same season.

During the 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2009 seasons he coached and played or attempted to play. Nagy actually played, coached high school and interned with the Eagles in 2008, and in 2009 he attempted to do the same thing as a quarterback for the Eagles. The league blocked this move officially stating he was still under contract with the AFL, although the league did not play in 2009.

He was later hired to a full-time coaching position. He spent three seasons with the Eagles before Reid was fired by the Eagles and hired by the Chiefs. He would follow Reid to the Chiefs where he was hired as the Quarterbacks coach. Three seasons later he was promoted to Offensive Coordinator where he spent just two seasons before being hired by Chicago.

In his first season with Chicago he led the team to a 12-4 record before losing in the playoffs. He would put up back-to-back 8-8 records. In his final season with the Bears he fell to a 6-11 record, before being fired by the Bears. He would then be re-hired by the Chiefs. He has spent the last 2 seasons winning Super Bowls with the Chiefs.

In 2024 he helped the Chiefs into a position to try and become the first team in NFL history to make it to another Super Bowl after back-to-back wins. Nagy will be interviewing with the Jets, and Saints. Nagy strikes me as a great fit for both openings, and I would not be surprised if either team pulls the trigger on hiring him. If I had to guess, he is bound for the Big Apple in 2025.

Steve Spagnulo

Coach “Spags” has had one of the more interesting careers in recent memory earning a reputation as a defensive mastermind by helping the Giants and Chiefs win a combined four Super Bowls as their defensive coordinator. However his run of appearing in Championship games began many years before his first Super Bowl victory.

In his first stint as a coach in Massachusetts he was fortunate to join a program known for winning. He would be a part of back-to-back conference championships. In 1983 as an intern with the Redskins he was a part of his first Super Bowl but fell short of victory. After a brief stint at Lafayette he was hired by Connecticut being named conference champion in 1989.

In 1998 with the Frankfurt Galaxy he would participate in the World Bowl as the Defensive Coordinator. In 1999 he joined the Eagles and a year later was part of a four-year stretch that saw the team compete in 4 straight NFC Championship games but make the Super Bowl only once. Three years after losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl with the Eagles he defeated them with the Giants.

He would be hired by the Rams as their head coach a year later compiling a collective 10-38 record over three seasons before being fired, joining the New Orleans Saints as the replacement for Gregg Williams during the Bountygate suspension season. He would spend two seasons in Baltimore before returning as DC with the Giants where he finished his 3rd season as the interim Head Coach with a 1-3 record.

In 2019 he began a run with the Chiefs that saw them appear in four of the next five Super Bowls winning three of them. In 2024, the Chiefs are again the favorite to make it back to the Super Bowl after securing the top seed in the AFC. They could do something no other team has done if they make the Super Bowl by making it to the game after back-to-back wins. It would also mark their fifth trip in six seasons. It would also mark Spagnulo’s 8th trip to the Super Bowl if they make it back.

With all the winning he has done, Spagnulo could find himself a candidate every season he remains in Kansas City. His unit’s performance in the Divisional Round against Houston did him a favor. He should use his leverage when making his next move. He has already flamed out in two stops, does he really want to do it a third time and potentially remove himself from any further consideration as a Head Coach?

Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll is the most experienced head coaches on this list. Spending the 1994 season as the head coach of the New York Jets, Carroll got his first experience as a head coach before being hired by New England 3 years later. After 3 seasons with the Patriots and 2 seasons away from the game, Carroll was hired by USC which began a 23 season stretch as the head coach of the Trojans and Seahawks.

With a total 4 stints and 27 years as a head coach you couldn’t ask for a more versed coach than Carroll. The question is, does he make sense for any of the current teams interested in him? Dating back to 1957 the Bears have hired just one coach with previous NFL experience in John Fox. If they are looking for a departure from the norm hiring Carroll would be the right man for the job. He has proven he can build a winner given the patience to do so, and he has also shown he can build a winner.

With New England, Carroll never had a losing season winning 10 games his first season, 9 his second, and 8 his final year. Prior to his arrival at USC they had one season with more than 6 wins in their last 5 seasons. Carroll arrives and goes 6-6 his first season before rattling off a run of 7 straight seasons with no less than 11 wins. His final season with USC he won 9 games before jumping into the NFL with Seattle.

With Seattle it took him two seasons to build a winning culture, although even at 7-9 he made the playoffs in his first season. After two years at 7-9 he would win 9 or more games for 11 of the next 12 seasons. As it stands, Carroll has a cumulative record of 278 wins and 150 losses. With 19 of his 27 seasons ending with a playoff trip.

Carroll so far has been requested for an interview by the Bears and Raiders. I am honestly surpised that the Jaguars, or Saints did not contact him, and I could see the Cowboys having some interest in bringing him in as well. I am honestly surprised that the Jets haven’t added them to their marathon run of interviews as well.

He was never given a chance to build his team in New York his last stint with the team, and now looking back, it almost seems like a missed opportunity for the Jets at the time. I believe Carroll will end up getting the Bears job this offseason, UNLESS they hire Ben Johnson banking on his ability to develop Caleb Williams. Hiring Carroll would come with the caveat that he has to hit a home run at offensive coordinator and lay out a clear cut plan for getting them back in the playoffs sooner rather than later.

Brian Flores

Let’s be honest, it is a borderline criminal offense that Brian Flores has not been a head coach again in the NFL since his stint with Miami. He will interview with the Jets, Jaguars, and Bears. I am surprised he has not surfaced as a candidate for the Raiders as of yet given his ties to Tom Brady, and I could see him receiving interest from the Cowboys as well.

His run with Miami began with a rough start at 5-11, and ended with two winning seasons in which the team collected 19 wins to just 14 losses. However if you ask Flores, part of the reason he has not been hired to this point is he was used by multiple NFL teams to fufill their Rooney Rule obligations and not considered a legitimate candidate by the Giants, Broncos, or Texans. He also alleged in that lawsuit that Miami offered him $100,000 per game to lose games in order to get a better draft pick in 2021, and that he was pressured to tamper with Tom Brady to try and get him to Miami.

Let’s call it like it is, this lawsuit not only removed him from contention with the Broncos, Giants, and Texans for any future consideration, it also prevented many teams from looking his way knowing that Flores would and could at any moment blow the whistle on any misgivings during his tenure with a team. To the credit of the Steelers, and Vikings that did not stop them from bringing him in as an assistant coach and defensive coordiantor respectively. Many Steelers fans actually wish Pittsburgh would fire Mike Tomlin, and bring Flores back as their Head Coach.

As much as I hate to say it, I could see this hiring cycle come and go without Flores being hired, but that doesn’t mean it will not be a mutual decision between him and a team deciding he is not the right fit. I hope I am wrong but I just don’t see any of these current openings he is intervieiwing for as the right fit for Flores, but if the Cowboys or Raiders come into the mix that could change quick.

I believe he could be a great fit for the Cowboys who will want to win immediately knowing they are just one season removed from a playoff trip under Mike McCarthy, and I believe Flores could be the right coach to bring them back to their winning ways, but one has to wonder if he can put up with the oversight of Jerry Jones, although this season should indicate, Jones is not the type of owner to try and lose games, for what that is worth to Flores.

Leslie Fraizer

A two-time Super Bowl winner, Fraizer us a former defensive back who spent just five seasons in the NFL before retiring into coaching. He was hired as the first Head Coach of Trinity International in 1988 spending 9 seasons with the school. He won two NIIC titles before moving on to Illinois as their DB Coach. Spending just 3 more seasons at the college level, he was hired by his first NFL team in 1999.

He was with the Eagles for four seasons making it to three NFC Championship games and helped develop a stifling secondary. This led him to his first defensive coordinator position in Cincinnati in 2003. This lasted just two seasons before he joined the Colts. By year two he had his first Assistant Head Coaching Position. In 2007 he landed with the Vikings as their Defensive Coordinator. He added Assistant Head Coach to his title in 2008, and by the end of 2010 he was named the Interim Head Coach. Taking over a 3-7 team he led them to a 3-3 record finishing 6-10.

This helped him earn his first NFL Head Coaching Position where he compiled an 18-29-1 record over the next three seasons. He was let go after a 5-10-1 record during the 2013 season. Since then he has spent time with the Buccaneers, Ravens, Bills, and Seahawks including 8 more seasons as a defensive coordinator, 4 as a head coach, and 1 as a secondary coach. Frazier makes some sense for Dallas given his previous experience, although he has not been a very hot candidate since his time with Minnesota. We shall see if that changes. I do not see a situation where Frazier is hired by a team as a Head Coach in 2025.

Kliff Kingsbury

Kliff Kingsbury is a former quarterback who spent time in the NFL, NFL Europe, and CFL. He retired right into college coaching in 2008 and quickly rose the ranks. After initally joining Houston as an Offensive Quality Control Coach in 2008, by 2011 he was already serving as Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach.

This rise continued as he jumped over to Texas A&M where he served as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach for the 2012 season. This stay lasted just one season before he was hired as the head coach for his alma mater for Texas Tech in 2013. Just six seasons after retiring from the CFL and joining the coaching ranks he was already a Head Coach at the college level.

In six seasons with Texas Tech he managed just two winning seasons, accumulating a 35-40 record before it was announced following the 2018 season he would not be retained for the 2019 season. That’s when a bizarre series of events occurred. He first was hired by USC as the Offensive Coordinator, before resigning a month later to pursue NFL opportunites.

The Arizona Cardinals opted to hire Kliff Kingsbury at 40 years old after a failed run with Texas Tech. When he arrived the Cardinals retained the first overall pick a year after selecting Josh Rosen 10th overall in 2018. Despite having Rosen on the roster, Kingsbury decided to trade Rosen away and draft Kyler Murray changing course for the Cardinals organization for years.

It appeared that the Cardinals slowly were building toward something great. After initially opening with a 5-10-1 record in 2019, they followed it with an 8-8 record in 2020, and in 2021 he had his best season as a Head Coach at any level when the Cardinals finished 11-6 losing in the Wild Card Round to their rival Los Angeles Rams. After the 2022 season Arizona doubled-down on their Kliff and Kyler experiment. Signing Kingsbury to a 6-year contract extension, and Murray to a 5-year contract extension.

The following season the Cardinals bottomed out at 4-13, their worst record under Kingsbury. Just months after signing Kingsbury to a 6-year extension, they fired Kingsbury. Left without a job in the NFL, Kingsbury went on to work with USC, the team he once spurned for the Cardinals years ago. This arrangement only lasted one season as he oversaw the final college season of another young quarterback Caleb Williams.

Heading into 2024 Dan Quinn tabbed him as his offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders knowing that the team would ultimately be drafting a young quarterback of their own, although it was unlikely they would be able draft his former protege. Instead Washington selected Jayden Daniels, who went on to have a Rookie of the Year caliber season, and went on to win multiple playoff games. Now Kingsbury gets an opportunity to potentially rejoin his former quarterback in Chicago despite sporting a 65-77 record as a Head Coach on top of a 1-3 record in playoffs or bowl games. Can he rebound in his next opportunity?

That next opportunity may not be in 2025. I do not currently see a perfect fit for Kingsbury among the openings available, especially if rumors that Ben Johnson is the favorite in Chicago are true. Kingsbury has already stated it would be hard to part with Jayden Daniels after all their success in 2024 winning a pair of playoff games already will likely only make that decision even more tough for Kingsbury who could do himself a favor by sticking it out in Washington and waiting for the perfect fit.

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