2025 NFL Head Coaching Candidates – Offensive Coordinators

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.

Up and Coming Offensive Coordinators

Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator

Johnson looks to be gaining steam as the Head Coach of the Chicago Bears for the 2025 season. Johnson is an experienced coach that has been climbing the ranks since the 2009 season when he joined Boston College as a graduate assistant. He would spend just three seasons with BC before makign the jump to the NFL level in 2012.

His first NFL opportunity came with Joe Philbin who was the Miami Dolphins Head Coach from 2012 to 2015. This would pair him with two future Head Coaches Dan Campbell and Zac Taylor who were both on the staff at this time. During this stretch Johnson went from Offensive Assistant to Assistant QB Coach, to Tight Ends Coach. He would remain with the Dolphins for three more seasons after Philbin was fired under Adam Gase. During his time with Gase he would assist with Wide Receivers before taking over as the Wide Receivers coach in 2018.

After 2018 he would join the Detroit Lions for the first time under Matt Patricia. In 2019 he was an Offensive Quality Control Coach before he took over as the Tight Ends Coach. In 2021 Dan Campbell was hired to replace Patricia, having previous experience with Johnson, he kept him on staff as the Tight Ends coach in 2021. He also added Passing Game Coordinator duties. In 2022 he was promoted to the Offensive Coordinator position.

During his time as a position coach he would serve with Offensive Coordinators like Mike Sherman, Bill Lazor, Clyde Christensen, Dowell Loggains, Darrell Bevell, and Anthony Lynn. His style of calling plays was born from seeing so many different styles of calling plays throughout the years, that it is a very unique style that has catered to the players he has on the roster which helped him find immediate success after replacing Anthony Lynn.

Johnson is being discussed as the favorite of the rival Chicago Bears. With the Lions losing to the Washington Commanders, Johnson could be hired as soon as Sunday when they complete their interview with Eddie George. Johnson could perceivably pull staff members from multiple teams across the league, but the Lions could stand to have some major attrition heading into 2025.

Although the good news, is they could already have their next offensive coordinator on staff in Tanner Engstrand who has experience serving in this role at the college level, and in the XFL. He has followed a very similar path to Johnson to get where he is today as well.

Update: According to Adam Schefter and others, Ben Johnson is finalizing a deal with the Chicago Bears. He is also expected to hire Dennis Allen as his defensive coordinator.

https://twitter.com/TDJsports/status/1885545761942688167

Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator

Liam Coen was once upon a time a quarterback for University of Massachusetts from 2004-2008. He later went on to play one season of indoor football with the now defunct AFL’s Alabama Vipers in 2010 before retiring and focusing on a coaching career.

His first jobs came at the college level first coaching quarterbacks with Brown in 2010. He would spend one year with University of Rhode Island in 2011 as their Passing Game Coordinator and QB Coach before returning to Brown in the same role he previously held for two more seasons.

In 2014 he returned to his alma mater UMass as the Passing Game Coordinator, and QB Coach. He stayed in this role for two seasons under Head Coach Mark Whipple who had been the Head Coach for UMass from 1998-2003 just before Coen joined the school. He also had spent time with Brown similar to Coen.

Coen was hired as the offensive coordinator for University of Maine a position he held for two seasons overlapping with current FB/DT Patrick Ricard now with the Baltimore Ravens. After the 2017 season He was brought in by the Los Angeles Rams working under Sean McVay for the first time assisting with wide receivers and quarterbacks for the next three seasons.

In 2021 he was hired by Kentucky as their Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach. He lasted just one season with the team after it was announced that Kentucky would be hit with suspensions for players being paid for jobs they never performed, something that doesn’t seem surprising by today’s standards but at the time was illegal. During that 2021 season he coached Lynn Bowden Jr., Brendan Bates, Josh Ali, Luke Fortner, Darrian Kinnard, WanDale Robinson, and Will Levis.

In 2022 he left for the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator position. This again lasted just one season, before a return to Kentucky in the same role he previously left. During this year he oversaw the development of future NFL players Devin Leary, Re’Mahn Davis, and Jeremy Flax.

Finally in 2024 he ends up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During this season he coached Baker Mayfield to by far the best season of his career. Mayfield set career highs in completions, attempts, passing yards, yards per attempt, passing touchdowns, QB rating, and rushing yards.

Now Coen is getting interviews as an NFL Head Coach, 15 years after retiring as a player, and beginning his coaching career. With only two years of NFL Coordinator experience, and having never served as a Head Coach, Coen is still a very unproven commodity at this time. I don’t believe Coen will ultimately be hired as a Head Coach in 2025, but it won’t take long before he is given that chance.

Update: Liam Coen initially pulled his name from consideration for the Jaguars job and opted to sign a contract extension with Tampa Bay. However Jacksonville opted to part ways with their General Manager, and Coen decided to revisit the opening with the Jaguars. Ultimately the team offered him “Ben Johnson” money and input on their next General Manager. Coen has informed the Buccaneers he will be leaving to accept the job.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1882844769824416199?s=46

Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator

Todd Monken is the current offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens who just lost to the Buffalo Bills in a 27-25 battle of two of the top teams in the AFC. This is one scenario where the play caller for the Ravens may however be absolved from blame as he called a pass play that left Mark Andrews wide open on the goal line. Whether you believe the pass was late, or the drop was on Andrews, one thing seems certain, Monken did his job and called the right play, at the right time to put his team in position to win the game.

Monken has been coaching since 1988 seeing time in many roles, but his specialty seems to be wide receivers as he has spent 20 years coaching the position. Many of those years have come while holding other titles such as Passing Game Coordinator or Offensive Coordinator. He has 13 years experience as an Offensive Coordinator, and another 5 as Passing Game Coordinator.

He also was the Head Coach at Southern Mississippi from 2013-2015, taking the reins of the program after serving as the wide receiver coach for the Jaguars. With Southern Mississippi he did not have the most fruitful run ending his tenure with a 13-25 record in the regular season and an 0-1 record in bowl games. He left on a high note going 9-5 in his third season before accepting the role of Offensive Coordinator under Dirk Koetter in Tampa Bay.

After three seasons Koetter and his staff were fired, although this proved to be one of the most productive stretches of Jameis Winston’s career so far. This included setting a career high in passing yards, touchdowns, and completion rate before the Bucs moved on to Bruce Arians and company. Seeing what he had accomplished in Tampa, Cleveland hired Monken as their Offensive Coordinator for the 2019 season under Freddie Kitchens.

While the 2019 season did not provide the same success in the passing game, it did show Monken’s ability to adapt to his roster. Gifted with Nick Chubb as his running back, he leaned into the run game and coached Chubb to his first 1,000+ yard season as he collected 1,494 rushing yards. This still stands as the second most rushing yards Chubb has produced in his career, and that’s considering his high came in 2022 with 1,525 yards in a 17 game season. Chubb also has not topped his all purpose yards from that season since. Falling 8 yards shy in 2022 given his usage in the passing game falling since Monken left.

Despite his relative lack of success in limiting turnovers with Baker Mayfield, he did produce two 1,000 yard receivers in Odell Beckham Jr., and Jarvis Landry. After the 2019 season, Monken went on to join Georgia as their Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach working directly with Stetson Bennett, and JT Daniels from 2020-2022.

During this stretch he also worked with future NFL draft picks like Zamir White, George Pickens, James Cook, Kenny McIntosh, Jermaine Burton, Tre McKitty, John FitzPatrick, and Darnell Washington. During this time He also was a part of two national championship teams.

Monken then was hired by the Baltimore Ravens in 2023 after they moved on from Greg Roman. During the 2023 season he showcased why he is in high regard for his offensive schemes, and play-calling prowess. Lamar Jackson already an MVP-level player set a career-high for completion rate with 67.2%, and yards per attempt with 8.0.

Finishing with his second highest passing yards per game, as well as his second highest QBR to that point. Lamar would win his second League MVP. However Monken drew critcism by putting the game in Lamar’s hands and shying away from the run in the AFC Championship Game against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Heading into 2024 the expectations were high for everyone on the Ravens organization, especially with the addition of Derrick Henry to an already league-leading rushing attack. Despite this in his second season under Monken, Jackson took his passing game to new heights. He set career-highs for completions, attempts, passing yards, passing touchdowns, yards per attempt, and QBR.

He produced his second highest touchdown percentage, second highest yards per carry, and second least interceptions. All of this while Derrick Henry finished second in the league in rushing yards, and tied a career high for touchdowns scored.

What may have been his most impressive work was watching as both Zay Flowers, and Rashod Bateman set career highs in receiving yards even though a player they acquried to try and help open up the defense for them in, Diontae Johnson, proved to be a bigger headache than he was an impact. Monken certainly deserves recognition for his efforts in Baltimore, but one has to wonder if he will be able to duplicate this with a roster that likely will not have they type of elite talent he has worked with in Cleveland, Georgia, and Baltimore since 2019.

Update: Todd Monken has signed a contract extension to remain with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025.

https://twitter.com/_Big_D_410/status/1883927928167346272

Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator

Brady is one of the more interesting cases for the up-and-coming coordinators in 2025. If you are looking for an offensive minded head coach who is still fairly young, but has been coaching for over 20 years, Brady may be your guy. Having spent time coaching defense and offense, he has a unique background that could prove to be a great start of a successful head coaching career.

As a former wide receiver for William & Mary, Brady was not very productive and knew that his best bet was to jump into coaching following his playing career. He immediately joined the coaching staff at his alma mater overseeing linebackers for two seasons. In 2015 he moved on to assume the position of graduate assistant with Penn State where he again stuck for two seasons absorbing all he could from James Franklin another offensive minded head coach.

Following two years under his tutelage, he then moved on to an offensive assistant position with the New Orleans Saints moving from one Offensive Mastermind at Head Coach to another in Sean Payton where he would spend two more seasons. After two years in Louisiana with the Saints, he jumped over to LSU serving as the Passing Game Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach for the 2019 season. Working with the likes of Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Thaddeus Moss, Clyde Edwards-Hellaire and more in producing over 5,000 yards and 60 touchdowns through the air.

After this mind-blowingly productive season, many teams poached coaches from this staff hoping to catch lightning in a bottle before it was too late. One of those teams, the Carolina Panthers hired Joe Brady as their Offensive Coordinator for the 2020 season. This meant Brady would again work under an offensive-minded head coach in Matt Rhule.

The 2020 and 2021 seasons did not produce the level of success either man had found at the college level just years before, and this led to the pair seperating after two seasons that amounted to 10-23 record, and ultimately this just meant Brady found a steady home before the wheels fell off in Carolina as Rhule lasted just 5 more games before being fired less than halfway through his 7 year contract.

Joining the Bills in 2022 is when Brady really began his ascension to where we see him today as a potential head coach. Pairing him with Josh Allen was a career building move, as he lasted as the QB coach for just 27 games before being promoted to interim Offensive Coordinator and later removing the Interim tag. Ken Dorsey was fired after a 5-5 start in 2023. With Brady taking over, the offense saw a near immediate turnaround and the Bills finished the season 11-6 and in the playoffs once again. The Bills have missed the playoffs just once since Josh Allen was drafted, forming some very high expectations in Buffalo.

Brady not only showed a vast improvement over Dorsey, but he also won over Josh Allen, who jokingly has made comments inferring that he does not want other teams to hire Brady away, and would prefer to continue working with him long into the future. To Brady’s credit, Allen was already a near complete player when he arrived, but in 2024, they took his game to new heights with many fans beleiving he should be the 2024 NFL MVP, despite a statistical drop off in the passing game, Allen was used as a runner with more success than in recent memory.

During the last 25 games under Brady, Josh Allen has rushed for 1,021 yards and 25 touchdowns. The Bills are 22-6 in those games with 3 losses by 3 points or less in that time. Brady deserves recognition for what he has accomplished with the Bills offense, and if I had a dream scenario for his landing spot, it would be the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They offer a quarterback in Trevor Lawrence who can do many of the same things Josh Allen is capable of, and is in need of a career resurgence to get the Jaguars back on track. They already have pieces in place at quarterback, wide receiver, running back and tight end. If the team can rebuild the offensive line, Brady could find immediate success in 2025.

Update: It appears Joe Brady has pulled his name from consideration for the remaining openings and will look to remain with the Bills in 2025 and beyond. Brady should continue to be a hot name for future openings as long as he has Josh Allen, and James Cook to work with. There is a chance that the Bills offense actually improves if they can continue to build the group of pass catchers around Allen.

https://twitter.com/TheHonestNFL/status/1878820783444668914

Mike Kafka, New York Giants Offensive Coordinator

Mike Kafka is a former backup quarterback in the NFL who spent time with seven different franchises. The most notable his time with the team who selected him in the 4th round, the Philadelphia Eagles under Andy Reid. Retiring after the 2015 season he jumped into coaching with his Alma mater Northwestern.

Just one season later he rejoined the coach that drafted him in 2017 with the Kansas City Chiefs. Assuming the role of Offensive Quality Control Coach, he spent just one season in this role before being promoted to Quarterbacks Coach in 2018.

Overseeing the development of a player most now regard as the best quarterback in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes. Spending the next four seasons as the Chiefs QB Coach he added Passing Game Coordinator to his duties in 2020. A title he held until 2022.

In 2022 he joined the New York Giants alongside Brian Daboll best known for his time in Buffalo as their Offensive Coordinator where he had earned Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020. During their first season in New York it appeared as if the Giants had found the right formula for success, something that had eluded them for years up to this point.

After two years of Daniel Jones looking like he was destined to be a draft bust, Daboll and Kafka crafted an offense that led him to career-highs in completions, attempts, passing yards, completion rate, yards per attempt, QB Rating, carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, but most importantly 4th quarter comebacks, and game winning drives. He also had a career low 5 interceptions.

While Jones ultimately came back to earth in a disastrous manner before being released midway through 2024, Kafka’s star has only continued to rise. After that great run in 2022, he returned as OC in 2023 before adding Assistant Head Coach to his duties in 2024. Despite the fall of Jones as the starting quarterback, Kafka seems to remain unfazed and held in high regard for openings across the league. Interviewing for head coaching positions as the Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach of a team that has won 9 total games since the 9-7-1 run in 2022 that put him on the map.

While Kafka hasn’t had the success he had hoped away from Kansas City, teams seem to believe any branch off of the Andy Reid tree is a good one as we have watched Kafka, Matt Nagy, and Steve Spagnulo all receive interviews this season. Ironically the most notable snub on that list is Reid’s right hand man, Dave Toub who has not received any interest for openings for several years despite an impressive resume.

This feels like a mistake by teams, but alas it seems they are more intent on hiring young coordinators who oversee offense or defense than they are decorated special teams coordinators. Maybe they should take a closer look at the success in Baltimore by one of Reid’s former Special Teams Coordinators in Philly.

https://twitter.com/mikekafka3/status/1813751362284581192

Drew Petzing, Arizona Cardinals Offensive Coordinator

Drew Petzing has had a very interesting career path up to this point. The one-time Volunteer Student Assistant at Harvard spent four years coaching at the college level including stints at Boston College, and Yale. His first NFL stint came in 2013 when he was just 25 years old serving as an intern with the Browns.

He was then hired as an offensive assistant with the Vikings a role he filled for two seasons under Norv Turner. This same staff had future Head Coaches Kevin Stefanski, Jonathan Gannon, and Kirby Wilson (USFL) as well as future coordinators Klint Kubiak, George Stewart, Ryan Ficken, Scott Turner, Andre Patterson, and Adam Zimmer, and even former coordinators in Jerry Gray, Robb Akey, and Jeff Davidson. Petzing was surrounded by some of the best and brightest position coaches the Vikings could have hired at the time.

He would spend the next six seasons assisting with wide receivers, and quarterbacks before following Kevin Stefanski to Cleveland as his Tight Ends Coach a position that Stefanski cut his teeth overseeing before becoming a coordinator in late 2018. In 2022 he would shift to coaching the quarterbacks in his final season with the Browns.

In 2023 he would follow another former colleague to his first head coaching gig. This time Jonathan Gannon was hired by the Arizona Cardinals after losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Petzing was immediately hired as his first offensive coordinator. Tasked with getting the most out of Kyler Murray and company Petzing had a challenge on his hands.

After starting the season without Murray, Petzing was asked to design an offense that was “quarterback proof” as he was forced to start “Rocketman” Joshua Dobbs a journeyman quarterback while Murray recovered from injury. The Cardinals would end up starting 3 different quarterbacks in 17 games compiling a respectable 64% completion rate on 555 passing attempts, 3,144 passing yards, 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions considering the circumstances.

He also coached James Connor to his first 1,000 rushing yard season which has since become a trend for the veteran running back under Petzing’s watch.

Update: It appears the jobs Petzing interviewed for have been filled, and at this time he will have to hope he is still a candidate in the future. He will likely need to find a way to build a more successful offense in 2025.

https://twitter.com/AZCardinalsBall/status/1884756694242148794

Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator

Kellen Moore is another former NFL quarterback. Spending time with the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, he opted to retire somewhat early in his career and join the coaching staff of the Cowboys immediately after. Since then he has climbed the ladder from quarterback coach to offensive coordinator, to potential head coach. With interviews for the openings in Dallas and New Orleans, Moore is picking up steam as a future head coach whether that is in 2025 or later remains to be seen.

At just 36 years old, Moore is younger than many quarterbacks still playing to this day. After graduating from Boise State in 2011, he was signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent. He would spend six seasons in the NFL split evenly between Detroit and Dallas. The timing of his retirement coincided with the retirement of his Quarterback Coach with Dallas in Wade Wilson.

Leaving an opening Dallas needed to fill, they hired Wilson’s former protege. An interesting move as most players at least begin as assistant position coaches, or overseeing quality control before overseeing a position themselves. Dallas however had immense faith in Moore. Granted this came with the caveat that he was working alongside Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan who had at times operated as an Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach.

Moore had actually worked directly with Linehan for his first two seasons in Detroit, and his entire time in Dallas before his retirement so there may not have been a better suited player to take on this role at that time. If it surprised people to see him serve as a quarterbacks coach in 2018, it would downright leave them flabbergasted in 2019.

In 2019 just 390 days after his retirement as a player, Moore was promoted to Offensive Coordinator replacing Scott Linehan. All of this felt eerily similar to Jason Garrett’s rise from backup quarterback to offensive coordinator albeit slightly expedited. Garrett was serving as the Head Coach as this occurred so it’s not entirely surprising he helped facilitate this transition for Moore.

Moore would stick with the Cowboys for four seasons in this role before a playoff loss following the 2022 season led to his departure. During his time in Dallas Dak Prescott had two of the best seasons of his career as well as his first 4,000 yard seasons. Setting career-highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and average yards per attempt. He also helped develop CeeDee Lamb into the Cowboys top wideout, and oversaw two of Ezekiel Elliott’s four 1,000 yard seasons.

He was then hired by the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2023 season as their Offensive Coordinator. Working with Justin Herbert didn’t go as planned for Moore and ended in the staff being fired. This would leave Moore available to join the Philadelphia Eagles to work with another top ten quarterback talent in the league. He was also gifted with Saquon Barkley who went on to have a career year rushing for over 2,000 yards and nearly breaking the rushing record for before being benched for their 17th game to prevent injury.

The Eagles have gone on to appear in the Super Bowl on the back of Saquon Barkley producing 477 yards in a 3 game stretch touches.

Update: Kellen Moore has seemingly emerged as the top candidate for the New Orleans opening, however reports are that he is reluctant to accept the position due to the quarterback situation. The Saints may be forced to retain Derek Carr’s massive contract, or release/trade him and look to start a player on a rookie contract which could be Spencer Rattler or a 2025 draft pick.

https://twitter.com/JustEaglesStuff/status/1885392443371053171

Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans Offensive Coordinator

I hate to inject too much of my opinion into this breakdown but Slowik getting an interview after the season Houston had on offense in 2024 is bizarre. The Texans watched this season as injuries, and ineffectiveness plagued their offense and cause a sharp drop off in 2024 after a promising season in 2023 despite the addition of Stefan Diggs and Joe Mixon.

Slowik’s rise has been swift. Initially breaking into the NFL in 2011 he spent the next five seasons assisting the Washington and San Francisco defenses. It wasn’t until 2019 that he moved over to assisting the offense with San Francisco. Once he traded in his defensive playbook for an offensive one, it seems his career trajectory completely changed.

After just two years as an offensive assistant he was promoted to Offensive Pass Game Specialist in 2021. In 2022 it was Passing Game Coordinator. By 2023 he was hired by the Houston Texans as Offensive Coordinator.

The son of long time Defensive Coordinator Bob Slowik currently still coaching is now calling defensive plays for the Calgary Stampeders. His mother also coached track and field for many years. Slowik was always bound to end up in coaching one way or another. Ironically offense was always going to make him feel more at home when coaching given his background as a college wide receiver for Michigan Tech.

Despite a defensive upbringing it was the offensive side that has gotten the younger Slowik into the position of potentially being a Head Coach in the near future. It’s Slowik’s work in San Francisco that positioned him to be an Offensive Coordinator, and he would be considered a branch of the Kyle Shanahan tree if hired somewhere.

Looking back, many will point to the development of Brock Purdy and try and give credit to Slowik or Brian Griese (also getting interest as a head coach), but I have to wonder if we give these men credit for the success of Purdy shouldn’t they also be forced to take credit for the failures of Trey Lance?

Purdy came out of Iowa State having thrown over 1,400 passes. He had a near 3 to 1 career touchdown to interception ratio, and peaked his senior year completing over 71% of his passes. This came while working under Matt Campbell a long time Offensive Line Coach who spent many years calling plays as an Offensive Coordinator or helping craft offenses as a Run Game Coordinator.

Meanwhile Trey Lance left college with just 318 passing attempts and threw 30 touchdowns to 1 interception. While his touchdown to interception numbers were impressive, the fact that he threw 318 passes over three seasons in college showed he was going to be the bigger project of the two players. The 49ers staff failed to harness his raw talent, and just over two seasons later gave up on a player they drafted 3rd overall.

I see Purdy as a more polished product coming out of college, a guy who threw nearly 5 times as many passes as Lance in college. Are we really discounting the failures in favor of the success of one player so far? Don’t get me wrong Stroud had a great rookie year, but it was the offensive staff and front office that failed to make adjustments. Terrible offensive line play, bad play-calling to assist a 2nd year quarterback who was struggling amidst more pressure than he’s faced throughout his entire career. While also knowing full well that his pass catchers were banged up and they were starting borderline practice squad players for much of the season.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that you need to get the ball out of his hands faster. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that there are route combinations to scheme receivers open for quick passes, and it also doesn’t take a genius to turn on the tape and realize you have made multiple mistakes across the offensive line including shuffling players to positions they don’t play as well at.

Update: After interviewing for the Head Coaching role with the Jets, and being passed over, Bobby Slowik was fired by the Houston Texans. Just a year after leading CJ Stroud to one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory the Texans will be moving on at Offensive Coordinator.

https://twitter.com/mysportsupdate/status/1882855578109972623?s=46

Adam Stenavich, Green Bay Packers Offensive Coordinator

Stenavich is a Michigan Alum who once played Offensive Tackle for five seasons in the NFL and NFL Europe. Spending time with the Panthers, Packers, Amsterdam Admirals, Cowboys and Texans before retiring to join the coaching ranks with Michigan. He served as a Strength and Conditioning Intern, and Graduate Assistant for 3 years before moving on to Northern Arizona for his first position coaching job.

Northern Arizona hired Stenavich to oversee offensive line, and he lasted one season in that role before transitioning to San Jose State the following season. After two seasons with San Jose State he was hired by an NFL team for the first time in his coaching career.

Joining the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, he worked with Kyle Shanahan, of course then also Mike McDaniel, Mike LaFleur, and Robert Saleh who all went on to be Hesd Coaches, as well as Rich Scangarello, Bobby Slowik, Michael Clay, Jeff Hafley, all of which went on to be coordinators. A star-studded staff. The front office staff was also full of up and coming executives including Adam Peters and Ran Carthon both who went on to be General Managers.

After two seasons as the Assistant Offensive Line Coach with the 49ers Stenavich would end up beginning his climb up the coaching ladder. In 2019 Matt LaFleur was hired by the Green Bay Packers as their Head Coach and he tapped many coaches with ties to Kyle Shanahan given their time together in Houston, Washington, and Atlanta. Stenavich had actually spent time with both men during his time in Houston as a Texans’ player.

Stenavich was hired as the Offensive Line Coach for the Packers. During his first two seasons the Packers allowed 57 sacks. Including 36 in year one before allowing just 21 in year two. After the impressive performance in 2020, Stenavich was given Run Game Coordinator duties. After taking over the Run Game the running backs would produce 1,900 rushing yards, and 13 touchdowns.

Following his only season in that role he took over the Offensive Coordinator position in 2022, just three years after joining Green Bay. In his first season as Offensive Coordinator for the Packers he oversaw an offense that ran the ball heavily with Aj Dillon and Aaron Jones. These two players combined for 399 carries for 1,891 yards and 9 touchdowns. Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan had break out seasons as the Packers leaned into bigger, more physical pass catchers. This also happened to be the last season Aaron Rodgers played for the Packers.

In 2023 Stenavich oversaw the beginning of the Jordan Love era. In his first season as a starter Love topped 4,100 passing yards, and 32 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions in 17 games. The offense suffered some injuries at running back and saw players like Patrick Taylor, and Emmanuel Wilson, become more involved. We also saw Jayden Reed showcase how many ways he could be utilized as he led the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He had 86 total touches for 1,006 yards with 10 touchdowns and a 2 point conversion. He also showed a tendency to use multiple tight ends, and an ability to scheme many players into the offense.

In 2024 after acquiring Josh Jacobs the run game really took off for the Packers as the unit produced 2,496 total yards and 23 touchdowns. Five different players rushed for at least 135 yards. Jordan Love suffered an injury missing two games but still managed to accumulate 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Malik Willis started 2 games and played his best football as an NFL quarterback. Completing over 74% of his passes for 550 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, adding 138 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. The offense finished with only 22 total sacks allowed.

Stenavich may not get hired this cycle but he is a coach who I could see continuing to build his reputation until he winds up hired by a team looking for a Head Coach.

Update: After being passed over for the Head Coaching positions he was interviewed for, he has since been interviewed for multiple Offensive Coordinator openings outside of Green Bay. This includes Seattle, and Houston.

https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1885506570831753239

Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys Offensive Coordinator

Brian Schottenheimer was a coach who was not on anyone’s radar as a Head Coaching candidate entering this offseason. However, after the Cowboys opted to part ways with Mike McCarthy things changed, and he would be one of a short list of interviews for the Dallas Cowboys. Brian is the son of long-time NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer a coach who has developed an impressive coaching tree that has touched nearly every team in the NFL.

This list now includes his own son after they worked together in Kansas City, Washington, and San Diego. Brian’s uncle Kurt is also a former NFL coach as well. A former collegiate quarterback, Brian Schottenheimer has been coaching since the 1997 season. He graduated from college and immediately joined the coaching ranks of the NFL, a rarity in the modern era, but this was during the height of his father’s coaching career, and many other coaches were trying to capture lightning in a bottle.

Hired by Dick Vermeil who had once coached the Patriots while his father was still playing in the NFL, he served as an Assistant for 1 season before being hired by his father with the Chiefs in the same role. After his father left Kansas City, Brian would join the collegiate coaching ranks first with Syracuse as a wide receivers coach, and then in USC as their tight ends coach.

By 2001 his father was a Head Coach once again this time with the Washington Redskins, he would again hire his son. This time the younger Schottenheimer would coach the position he once played. This stint lasted just one season as the staff despite an 8-8 record including winning 7 straight games to finish out the season.

The following season the San Diego Chargers hired Marty as their Head Coach. His first season ended with another 8-8 record. His second season ended with a 4-12 record but it changed the fortunes of the franchise for the foreseeable future. During the 2004 NFL Draft, the Giants and Chargers agreed to a trade that would alter the trajectory of both franchises for many years.

After Eli Manning made it clear he would not play for the Chargers, the two teams agreed to a trade that would see the Chargers select Manning, and immediately trade him to the Giants in exchange for Phillip Rivers and multiple draft picks. With this scenario Brian oversaw the first two seasons of Rivers’ career as his quarterback coach.

In 2006 Schottenheimer was hired as the Offensive Coordinator of the Jets by rookie Head Coach Eric Mangini. Despite Mangini being let go after just three seasons, Schottenheimer was retained by Rex Ryan the new Head Coach. During his six seasons with the Jets, they would see just one losing season, and finishing 8-8 once. This included working with rookie Joe Flacco and helping lead his team to back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances. After 6 seasons with the Jets he left for the same role with the St. Louis Rams in 2012.

During this three year stint he worked with oft-injured Sam Bradford and could never seem to get the offense going after being forced to start back-up quarterbacks year after year. After the 2014 season he joined Georgia for the 2015 season coaching Nick Chubb for one year before being let go when the Bulldogs made a Head Coaching change. This prompted Schottenheimer to return to the NFL level, this time as a quarterbacks coach for the Colts. He would only serve in this role for two seasons before he was again an Offensive Coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks where he stayed for 3 seasons working with Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson.

After the 2020 season Schottenheimer was let go, and ended up in Jacksonville with Urban Meyer who lasted just one season in the NFL. This finally led Schottenheimer to the Dallas Cowboys where he initially served as a coaching analyst before being promoted to Offensive Coordinator after the departure of Kellen Moore. After back-to-back 12-5 seasons under McCarthy, the Cowboys suffered a litany of injuries and fell to a 7-10 record in 2024. This help prompted a change at the Head Coaching position.

Update: Brian Schottenheimer was named as the Head Coach for the Dallas Cowboys in a surprise move. Having never served as a Head Coach, Schottenheimer was not initially expected to be a serious candidate, and many believed Kellen Moore could be the target for the team. After interviewing just four candidates including Moore, Schottenheimer, Robert Saleh, and Leslie Frazier, the Cowboys promoted from within. Schottenheimer has already begun to build a star studded staff, that may even include former Cowboy Tashard Choice.

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