There were 10 head-coaching openings this offseason, which ties a record for the most in NFL history.
The last time it happened was in 2022. Let’s look at the coaching hires in that cycle:
Chicago Bears, Matt Eberflus:
The former defensive coordinator lasted less than three seasons in Chicago. He struggled with game management and went 14-32 in his role. The Bears found instant improvement in 2025 when they hired Ben Johnson to replace Eberflus.
Denver Broncos, Nathaniel Hackett:
This was a Pete Carroll-like disaster. He went just 4-11 in less than a full season in Denver. Hackett will likely never sniff another head-coaching job again. Like the Bears, the Broncos made the right call the next time by hiring Sean Payton.
Houston Texans, Lovie Smith:
This was another rough hire. He went 3-13-1 in one season in Houston. The good news was that the Texans got it right the next year in the form of DeMeco Ryans
Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Pederson:
On paper, Pederson was a good rebound from the Urban Meyer disaster in Duval County. Pederson had recently won a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and frankly, I thought the Raiders should have tried to hire in during this cycle. Pederson went to the playoffs once and had two winning season in Jacksonville, but he was fired after an injury-plagued 2024 season. Continuing a trend here, though, is the Jaguars seemed to get it right by hiring Liam Coen as Pederson’s replacement.
Las Vegas Raiders, Josh McDaniels:
Mark Davis thought he was getting a coaching star. He was wrong. McDaniels ended up being the same lousy head coach in Las Vegas as he was more than a decade earlier in Denver. He made the same mistakes and ended up not even lasting two seasons, going 9-16 with the Raiders. McDaniels is a stellar offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. He should never leave that role. Meanwhile, the Raiders buck a trend by not nailing the next hire as Antonio Pierce went one and done in his season as the full-time coach.
Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel:
McDaniel lasted four seasons, which was quite a tenure for coaches hired in this season. He went 35-33 with the Dolphins and he was 0-2 in the postseason. He wasn’t a bad hire. The Dolphins are hoping for better success, though, with new coach Jeff Hafley, who was formerly the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Minnesota Vikings, Kevin O’Connell:
Look, a coach from this hiring cycle who is actually still with his team. O’Connell has had dealt with some issues at quarterback, but he is clearly a good coach and he has had some nice moments. He is 43-25 as the Vikings’ coach. Minnesota should be very happy with him.
New Orleans Saints, Dennis Allen:
The former Raiders coach replaced Payton and went 18-25 in less than three full seasons in New Orleans. The good news for Allen was that he did better with the Saints than with the Raiders as he went 8-28 in less than three seasons in Oakland last decade. Allen is a good defensive coordinator, not so much as a head coach. The Saints are hoping Kellan Moore will have better success.
New York Giants, Brian Daboll:
Daboll lasted less than four seasons, going 20-40-1 with the Giants. Now, New York is pumped, moving forward with John Harbaugh,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Todd Bowles:
Bowles joins O’Connell as the only coaches still employed from this hiring cycle. He’s done pretty well as he is 35-33 in the regular season and 1-3 in the playoffs.
Conclusion:
The teams from this hiring cycle most hope for better overall success from this group. It’s interesting that most of the teams did better with their replacement from this class. It may show the larger the hiring class, there more risk for failure there is. We’ll see what happens from the 2026 class.