Grading every NFL head coaching hire: The Bears get their man

As ever, the NFL waited for no man, so following disappointing seasons across the league, numerous teams decided to move on from their head coaches. Now, with most positions getting filled, we are going to rate the hirings so far. It's not a perfect science, of course, but let's take a look anyway.

It's almost impossible to know which head coaches will succeed in the NFL. Sometimes it's those that you least expect that end up with the most success. We are trying to base these grades on the franchise's process and how we think the next few seasons will go. It's a projection, but one we will try to contextualize.

The Saints job is the only one of the seven openings still unfilled, but according to Jimmy Kempski for Philly Voice, current Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is “the leader in the club house.” Moore has a track record of successful offenses in the NFL, but this would be his fourth job in four years, which is a little worrying. It feels a little uninspired.

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We just don't get this one. The Cowboys have decided to stay in-house and hire former OC Brian Schottenheimer to take over the reins as head coach. It's a strange decision given Dallas just moved on from Schottenheimer's boss, Mike McCarthy, and Schottenheimer didn't call plays in his role. Who knows, maybe it works, but like many things with the Cowboys, we just don't understand it.

Liam Coen took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense from 17th in EPA/Play in 2023, to fifth in 2024, per SumerSports. The personnel is mostly the same, which suggests Coen knows what he's doing. The Jags have some talented players on their offense, so why not read into it by hiring one of the brightest offensive minds in football. We like this one a lot.

Maybe the Raiders are just looking for Pete Carroll to be the adult in the room after nearly two decades of constant hiring and firing. There is no doubting Carroll's summary, but at age 73, it's maybe not a hiring with a view to the future. The Raiders need a full rebuild of their roster, so perhaps Carroll's insight will be useful in that regard.

Frank Schwab for Yahoo Sports put it well when writing about this hire, “The Jets didn't deserve to hire this good,” adding, “The Jets are remarkably awful, starting with their owner.” He's not wrong, so this could prove to be a challenge even for a coach as good as Glenn. If it doesn't work out, we think we'll know why, and it won't be on the head coach.

We have seen a lot of praise for the Vrabel hiring, and there's no doubting he is a talented head coach. However, we would have liked to see the Pats move on from the Brady/Belichick era by hiring someone with no connections to the organization. Vrabel could well succeed, he's done it before, we just can't help but feel some fresh perspectives could have helped.

The Bears went all in, plying the hottest head coaching candidate in the league away from their divisional rivals. Johnson has led some of the best offenses in recent times in Detroit in recent years, and heads to Chicago, where Caleb Williams et al. will be eagerly awaiting his arrival. The Bears need upgrades across the roster, but Johnson should get them competing straight away.

For those fans of the teams mentioned, let us know in the comments how you feel about the head coaching hires!

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