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The NFL hiring cycle is nearing its conclusion, with five of the seven openings filled.
With only the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints still in the market, here’s our ranking in inverse order of the head-coaching hires this offseason.
5. Pete Carroll (Las Vegas Raiders)
Pros: Culture builder; successful track recordCons: Short-sighted, uncertain timeline
The Raiders have long lacked a winning culture, which will change with Carroll. He has won wherever he’s gone, and we’d be shocked if the Raiders didn’t improve in the win column in 2025.
The problem is, this isn’t the 2010 NFC West. Carroll led the Seahawks to a division title in his first season as head coach with a 7-9 record. He didn’t have his first winning season in Seattle until his third season.
Hiring Carroll in 2025 is a bet on him to spark an immediate turnaround, which will be tough. The AFC West is one of the league’s toughest divisions, with three 2024 playoff teams. Each has a head coach with an impressive resume. Combined, Carroll, Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers), Sean Payton (Denver Broncos) and Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) have won nine conference championships and five Super Bowls, and they hold a .626 regular-season winning percentage (668-396-3).
Carroll, 73, will be the oldest coach in NFL history when the 2025 season kicks off. By the time the Raiders turn around, he might be nearing the end of his four-year contract and ready to retire for good. (Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he agreed to a three-year deal with a fourth-year team option.)
4. Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Pros: Got rid of general manager Trent Baalke, 2024 successCons: Limited sample size, scattered job history
The best thing Coen did was reject Jacksonville’s initial advances. After declaring his intentions to return to Tampa Bay in 2025 as Bucs offensive coordinator, Jaguars owner Shad Khan had an epiphany and fired underperforming GM Trent Baalke. The front-office structure might be a mess, but it’s still in a better place than just 48 hours ago.
Coen had his most success in 2024 with the Bucs, who finished the regular season No. 3 in total offense and No. 4 in scoring. He got his start in the NFL with the Rams as an assistant wide receivers coach (2018-19) after cutting his teeth in the FCS ranks. He never stays in one place for long, which could make some nervous.
Coen began his coaching career in 2010 at Brown as quarterbacks coach, joined Rhode Island the following season and returned to Brown for 2012-13. More recently, he went back and forth between the Los Angeles Rams and Kentucky, where he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021 and 2023.
3. Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears)
Pros: Offensive play-calling wizard; aggressive, analytics-driven approachCons: Will abilities translate?
The Bears are putting all of their eggs in Johnson’s basket. The highly sought former Lions offensive coordinator (2022-24) has arguably the toughest job of all 2025 coaching hires: make the Chicago offense functional.
They’re the only NFL franchise without a 4,000-yard passer, and they’ve also gone six consecutive seasons without fielding a top-10 offense. Johnson’s ingenuity and aggressiveness should help reverse the Bears’ fortunes.
He has developed a reputation as a brilliant play-designer, including Jared Goff’s stumble pass against the Bears and the running back toss-turned-shovel pass against the Commanders.
