This story has been updated from a previous version.
The New England Patriots struck quickly during the NFL’s coach hiring cycle in 2025, hiring Mike Vrabel just a week after firing Jerod Mayo. Since then, things have stagnated despite the Dallas Cowboys job opening up.
The Bears are reportedly hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach after the Washington Commanders surprisingly eliminated the Lions. After Detroit’s exit, it was expected that Johnson and Aaron Glenn would quickly get head coaching opportunities, as they were considered two of the top coaching candidates available.
Who will fill the five remaining coaching vacancies in the NFL with Johnson set to be entrenched in Chicago? USA TODAY Sports reads the tea leaves and tries to predict how the coach hiring cycle will shake out.
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NFL coach landing spots for 2025
Dallas Cowboys: Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator
Deion Sanders got some buzz early in the Cowboys coaching search, but he isn’t likely to interview with the team. Moore already has, and his ties to the franchise and existing relationship with Jerry Jones could make him an ideal fit for this job.
Moore spent eight years in Dallas as a player and a coach. He was eventually elevated to offensive coordinator under Jason Garrett and Jones thought enough of Moore to keep him on Mike McCarthy’s staff when Dallas hired him in 2020. Moore helped guide the Cowboys to the league’s No. 1 offense in points and yards per game in 2021, so he could quickly rekindle that magic with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
Moore enjoyed a quality first season in Philadelphia, leading the Eagles to the sixth-best offensive EPA per play (0.1) and the league’s fourth-best rushing EPA per play (0.09). As such, the soon-to-be 36-year-old seems ready to make the leap and become Dallas’ youngest head coach since Tom Landry.
Las Vegas Raiders: Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator
Initially, we had Johnson penciled in as the option for the Raiders, as Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported there was ‘a lot of momentum building’ for the Lions offensive coordinator in Las Vegas. However, they lost to the Bears in the battle for Johnson’s services and will now have to pivot to another candidate.
It isn’t clear exactly which direction the Raiders will go. That said, their interest in Johnson highlights their desire to fix their offense, which finished bottom-six in both yards and points per game during the 2024 NFL season. That could make Monken a good fit for the Raiders.
Las Vegas has interviewed Monken, who has an impressive resume at both the college and professional levels. He led Southern Miss to a 9-5 season in his last season as head coach in 2015, helped get a Stetson Bennett-led Georgia squad to a national title as a coordinator for the Bulldogs and led the Ravens to back-to-back top-five scoring offenses in his two seasons since jumping back to the NFL.
Even better, Monken has helped Lamar Jackson blossom into one of the league’s best quarterbacks by building a quality vertical passing offense around him. Jackson seems likely to win his second consecutive MVP under Monken’s watch, so the Raiders may feel confident that the 58-year-old can get the most out of their next quarterback, whoever that may be.
New York Jets: Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator
Johnson might have been the bigger name among the Lions coordinators, but Glenn seems just as likely to land a head coaching job. He is ‘at the top of the list’ for both the Jets and Saints, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, so those represent his two most likely landing spots.
That said, Glenn has reportedly told people the Jets are his first choice for a coaching job, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. The 1994 first-round pick spent eight of his 15 NFL seasons playing for the Jets, so he might fancy a chance to turn around the moribund franchise.
Besides his connection to the team, Glenn might like to join the Jets because New York has an opening for a general manager. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Glenn has a ‘strong relationship’ with long-time Lions scout and current Jets GM candidate Lance Newmark, so the two could potentially team up in New York. The same opportunity would not exist in New Orleans.
Add in the Jets’ collection of talented defenders, like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, and Glenn could see an opportunity to work with more talent on the defensive side of the ball than he ever did in Detroit.
New Orleans Saints: Mike McCarthy, former Dallas Cowboys head coach
It may also make McCarthy one of New Orleans’ preferred options. The long-time NFL head coach spent five seasons as the Saints’ offensive coordinator at the turn of the century before beginning his coaching odyssey. McCarthy is looking for a third head coaching job, NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports New Orleans is expected to be ‘very interested’ in him.
McCarthy has a 174-112-2 record as a head coach over 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Cowboys. The Saints may view him as a steady hand to guide a cap-strapped team as it looks to rebuild for the first time in the post-Sean Payton era.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Liam Coen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator
The Jaguars seem due to take a chance on a young, offensive-minded head coach who could get the most out of Trevor Lawrence. Coen fits the bill and has interviewed with the team after an impressive first season with the Buccaneers.
Coen led Tampa Bay to top-five offense in EPA per play (0.12) last season and Baker Mayfield enjoyed his best season yet. He continued to build upon his work with Dave Canales, completing 71.4% of his passes for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Coen comes from Sean McVay’s coaching tree and has a motion-based offense that has transferred well across his stops at the NFL and college level. An anonymous NFL executive said Coen was ‘outstanding’ in his interview with the Jaguars, according to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sports Illustrated, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Buccaneers coordinator parlay his great season into a head coaching gig.
