Tracking the NFL Coaching Cycle: Forecasting 2025's Big Hires

The NFL has SIX head coach vacancies as of Thursday Afternoon. As interviews take place and frontrunners take shape, who is going to land the most coveted jobs?

It’s the middle of January, which means a few things — playoff football, tampering AND the head coaching carousel (plus some GM vacancies). Some of these hiring processes are coming to a close so I’m going to take a crack at who each team will hire based on what I’m hearing.

First, who are the top guys out there?

Top Candidates:

• Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator: Johnson is THE guy. Every team is asking to interview him. The Jets didn’t request to interview him, but it’s because he wasn’t interested. He has the leverage here..

• Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator: Glenn should be a top-three candidate everywhere. The Lions are the seventh-ranked defense when it comes to points allowed, but it’s his character that attracts. He’s ready to be a head coach.

• Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator: Flores has head coaching experience, and while his previous stint ended poorly, many say he turned the experience into a positive. Oh, and did I mention he was putting teams in a blender all season?

• Mike McCarthy, former Dallas Cowboys head coach: The McCarthy era in Dallas didn’t end the way that all parties envisioned, but don’t forget that with Dak Prescott healthy, the Cowboys were at the forefront of the league’s premier regular season performers.

• Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator: He has the head coaching experience with the Arizona Cardinals and has turned the Commanders offense into one of the league’s best. This year might not be the year for him to get hired, but he’s getting the interviews.

• Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator: Does it help when you have Josh Allen? Absolutely.. but Joe Brady has done a fantastic job in Buffalo. The Bills are one of the best offenses in the league and Brady is an integral part of it as the play-caller.

• Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator: Coen is one of my favorite under-the-radar candidates in this job cycle. He has a real shot at getting one of the lesser-coveted jobs.

• Pete Carroll, former Seattle Seahawks head coach: Age might be a concern, but if Bill Belichick, 72, can coach college kids at North Carolina, Pete Carroll will be just fine in the NFL. It wasn’t working in Seattle which is why they parted ways, but his resume is unlike any other these candidates. He’s going to get real looks.

• Kellen Moore, Eagles offensive coordinator: There’s a specific team with a specific head coach vacancy. Maybe a team that he’s coached at previously… and (backup) quarterbacked there…

• Deion Sanders, Colorado head coach: Sanders had “real interest” in the Las Vegas Raiders job opening, but they weren’t interested. There’s reportedly mutual interest in Dallas, but I don’t expect him to get a job in the NFL. Not in this cycle. Look for a Prime-Boulder extension.

Chicago Bears: Mike McCarthy

Interviewed: Thomas Brown, Pete Carroll, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, Mike Kafka, Drew Petzing, Ron Rivera, David Shaw, Arthur Smith, Mike Vrabel, Anthony Weaver, Mike McCarthy.

Scheduled: Brian Flores.

Ben Johnson was an early frontrunner, but he’s picking up steam elsewhere. Johnson would be my first pick, but I’m hearing reportedly more interested in a role where he can choose his general manager.

Enough of Johnson… McCarthy is a proven winner who has coached some really great quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. Caleb Williams will be his next.

While the parting of ways with Dallas is unexpected, it doesn’t reflect on him. It reflects on the Cowboys as an organization.

That being said, Caleb Williams has said that he wants an offensive minded head coach and he’s going to get one in McCarthy. One that has also coached in the NFC North at a high level.

Dallas Cowboys: Kellen Moore

Interviews: Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier, Kellen Moore.

Interest: Deion Sanders, Jason Witten.

Moore, who was with the Cowboys for multiple seasons as the offensive coordinator under Mike McCarthy, is the early favorite to take this position.

Early reports suggested Deion Sanders might be the favorite, but that appears speculative at this point. Jerry Jones loves Kellen Moore— hence why he’s hired here.

His tenure in Los Angeles didn’t work out very well, but he’s redeemed himself with Philadelphia this season. Moore is going to do some good things with Dak Prescott and co.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Liam Coen

Requested Interviews: Brian Flores, Joe Brady, Liam Coen, Aaron Glenn, Patrick Graham, Ben Johnson, Todd Monken, Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh, Steve Spagnuolo.

Jacksonville, though they have the luxury of a franchise quarterback under contract for a long time, is one of the lesser-coveted jobs and Liam Coen is the man for the job.

The Jaguars have had a run of older coaches (Urban Meyer, Doug Peterson); it’s time for a new generation in Jacksonville.

Coen has led the other Florida team, the Buccaneers, to a prolific offense. As the lead coach he’s going to do the same with Tampa Bay.

Las Vegas Raiders: Ben Johnson

Interviews: Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Steve Spagnuolo, Todd Monken, Pete Carroll, Robert Saleh, Vance Joseph.

H-O-M-E R-U-N.

Ben Johnson is simply a home run hire for the Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson is THE guy in the coaching search, as I described earlier.

The scheme, the creativity, and everything Johnson brings are otherworldly. I mean, he ran a play a few weeks ago where he sent Penei Sewell in motion to fake an end-around. He ran a fake-fumble play action that resulted in Jared Goff throwing a touchdown pass.

The creativity, the resume, everything about Ben Johnson is there. It’s his turn to be a head coach.

One thing that does attract Johnson to the Raiders — the ability to have a say in general manager. Las Vegas cleaned house after parting ways with Antonio Pierce, also firing general manager Tom Telesco. It is unclear who that general manager will be.

New Orleans Saints: Aaron Glenn

Interviews: Darren Rizzi, Anthony Weaver, Mike Kafka, Aaron Glenn, Kellen Moore, Joe Brady, Kliff Kingsbury, Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson.

The Saints need some major re-tooling organizationally… a culture shift — and Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job.

He’s going to have a lot of say in roster decisions and general manager Mickey Loomis even said in a press conference that the new head coach will have a say in the quarterback, suggesting that the Derek Carr-Saints marriage could nearing an end.

Aaron Glenn is defensive minded so he’s going to need to court a good offensive coordinator prospect to get the offense right.

New York Jets: Brian Flores

Interviews: Joe Brady, Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, Brian Griese, Vance Joseph, Josh McCown, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Rex Ryan, Bobby Slowik, Arthur Smith, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich, Mike Vrabel, Darren Rizzi, Mike Locksley, Joe Whitt Jr., Jeff Hafley.

For me, Brian Flores is a package deal with another big piece of the Jets search in looking for a head coach and a general manager. That general manager — Ryan Grigson.

Both Grigson and the Jets are interested in a pairing, two sources close to the situation have told me. Grigson, a former Colts general manager, is with the Vikings and has been instrumental in Minnesota’s success.

But alas, Flores gets his second crack at a head coaching vacancy in the Big Apple. With more eyes on him than ever, he’s going to out-scheme other teams and showcase one of the league’s top defenses.