Less than 24 hours following the New England Patriots’ final game of the season, the historic franchise parted ways with their head coach Jerod Mayo. The 2024-2025 season was Mayo’s first season as a head coach, and he will now have to look for a job elsewhere. A week later, they went out and got their new leader. On January 12, the Patriots hired former Patriots player, and former NFL head coach, Mike Vrabel. Vrabel coached for the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023, and most recently was the coaches and players consultant for the Cleveland Browns. Vrabel is looking to bring back the Patriots dynasty and get the team back on a winning track.
As of January 24, the Las Vegas Raiders have a new man at the helm. After firing coach Antonio Pierce, Vegas brought in a former Super Bowl winning coach, Pete Carroll. With the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Raiders are in full rebuild form and are hoping for Carroll to bring home the Lombardi in the near future. With a career head coaching record of (170-120-1) Carroll is most definitely the man for the job in Vegas.
The Chicago Bears made a splash by bringing in a coach from a division rival. They hired Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson on January 20, following the Lions playoff loss to the Commanders. Johnson was a finalist for the Assistant Coach of the year award for the 24-25 season. Chicago will bring him in to help shape their bright future, and turn their franchise quarterback, Caleb Williams, into one of the league’s top gunslingers. According to Fox Sports 2024 Offensive Rankings, Johnson led the Lions offense to be the second highest rated in the league, as well as first in offensive touchdowns on the year. With this move brings in many opinions from the Midwest, being a massive NFC North rivalry. West high junior, and Lions superfan Colin Lesyshen says, “It’s horrible losing Ben Johnson, because he was a main key for the success of our offense, and it will be difficult to replicate that without him. But I believe in John Morton to get us to where we need to be.” On the other side of the rivalry, another West High junior and Longtime Bears fan, Jacob Melcher says, “Johnson is an offensive mastermind, and I believe he can help take Caleb Williams and our offense to the next level.”
The man that took care of the defensive side of the ball for Detroit, Aaron Glenn, is taking his talents to New York, to coach for the Jets. Glenn led a beat up Lions defense to have the fifth ranked rush defense in the entire league. They were also the best of the best for red-zone defense, according to Fox Sports 2024 Defensive Rankings. After the recent news that Quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t be back, many fans around the league are wondering what they will do to replace him. As the future of the Jets unfolds, Glenn looks to reestablish a dominant defense, as well as bringing winning back to the organization.
As for the two most recent hires, the Cowboys promoted their offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. There was speculation about Deion Sanders being brought in, but they ended up staying put with their own coaches.
The Jaguars hired Adam Coen, former Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator. Jacksonville hopes that Coen can turn star quarterback Trevor Lawrence into their own “Baker Mayfield” type of player.
The Saints head coaching position was finally filled following the Eagles super bowl win. The Saints signed the Eagles Offensive Coordinator, Kellen Moore to be their new man in charge. According to overthecap.com, the Saints sit at the lowest cap room in the league, with negative 47 million dollars. It is safe to say that they have a lot to overcome, and they hope that hiring Moore is a stepping stone to new horizons in the Crescent City.
