The NFL preseason doesn’t tell us everything, but it does give us a glimpse into which teams might struggle and which ones are set up for success. I’m not talking about roster construction or winning and losing or Super Bowl chances; I’m talking about the teams that have new head coaches.
It’s daunting taking over a new team, especially going from a coordinator position, where you had less control and primarily focused on one side of the ball, to being a head coach of a team that desperately needs to turn things around. The early struggles for some of the new coaches in the NFL are highlighting which teams are building something and which teams should be worried. With seven new coaches leading teams, let’s look at which coaches are on the right track and which teams might have to hit the panic button.
The new NFL coaches we’re buying before the 2025 season even starts
Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots
It's no surprise that Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots are a team to watch this season. Everything since Vrabel has taken over for Jerod Mayo has been building toward a team moving out of the rebuilding phase and looking to take off in year two with Drake Maye. From jumping in to break up scuffles (and leaving bloody) to improving the team daily in practice, the Patriots are on the right track.
Dare I say, this might be the gold standard for new coaches and how they can turn things around in year one. I’ll slow down on the hyperbole, but it should be noted there’s a lot of confidence in what Vrabel is building and New England hasn’t played a game yet under his tutelage.
Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders
Pete Carroll came out of retirement to revive the Las Vegas Raiders after John Gruden and Josh McDaniels ran them into the ground and Antonio Pierce couldn’t right the ship. Now, there’s genuine excitement around the Raiders this season. They added Geno Smith, drafted Ashton Jeanty and brought back Brock Bowers to an offense that could be downright dangerous.
While their receiver room is still a little iffy and their defense isn’t elite, per se, the Raiders seem to be in a good spot with Carroll. Between the end of last season to now, there’s new life in the Sin City and Carroll has to have some credit in that too. It helps that he's one of the league's premier culture builders and brings years of championship experience to a locker room in need of it.
Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
One of the coordinators that helped build a behemoth in Detroit has landed his first head coaching job in the NFLm and Aaron Glenn has a lot to be excited about in year one. The only thing that could hold him back are the sky-high expectations, paired with a quarterback that hasn’t quite gotten his footing.
I’m still high on Glenn as of now because he walked into a great situation in New York. That’s a team that just needs a little TLC (tender, love and care) to get on track. Justin Fields is a wild card under center, but the rest of this roster is built to be solid.
Glenn is a defensive guy and taking over the Jets defense should be a big asset to him. As long as the offense stays afloat, Glenn should have a decent first season in New York. Again, it’s still early, but between the two coordinators the Lions lost this offseason, he’s in a much better position.
These NFL coaches may need to slam the panic button before the season’s even begun
Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears
I want Ben Johnson to succeed so bad. But the Bears offense continues to do anything but give fans confidence this year will be different. There’s a clip that surfaced around the X platform of Caleb Williams in a seemingly clean pocket and somehow still getting sacked. It wasn’t his offensive line's fault, it came down to his decision-making.
That’s something Johnson can’t afford to have. Given the amount of pressure on him to not only make the Bears competitive again but field one of the best offenses in the NFL, the early struggles with the offense are alarming.
Though the Bears won their preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, the offensive starters, including Williams, played basically two full quarters and had a miserable start to the game. They had 22 total yards of offense through the first two possessions of the game. That’s not conducive to success.
"Offensively, the first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far, and unfortunately that's what we got here tonight," Johnson said, per an ESPN story.
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
This has less to do with Brian Schottenheimer as a coach and more to do with the situation he’s in with Dallas. If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that being the coach under Jerry Jones is never a fun job to have. Add in contract disputes with the team’s best player, and Schottenheimer’s job got a lot harder before he even had a chance to fail.
The Cowboys have a roster worthy of being competitive in the postseason, but I just don’t have that faith in Schottenheimer to get the Cowboys there. Mike McCarthy had two playoff wins in three playoff appearances with Dallas and never reached an NFC championship game.
It’s going to take a lot for me to have faith in Schottenheimer and it starts with how he handles the pressure of possibly not having Micah Parsons to start the year.
Kellen Moore, New Orleans Saints
This was a good hire by the New Orleans Saints, though I think this relationship won’t last long. Kellen Moore has a terrible quarterback situation, which is a nightmare for any coach, let alone a new one. Until the quarterback problem gets solved, there won’t be much belief in Moore to turn things around in New Orleans.
To be fair, when he took the job, Derek Carr was the projected starter. His abrupt retirement put the Saints in a bind and left Moore with Spencer Rattler. That said, he played a role in Tyler Shough getting drafted. So if that flops, well that’s unfortunate for him to leave his coaching fate up to them two.
Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars
The jury is still out on if the Jacksonville Jaguars made the right hire here. Obviously it’s still very early, but the Jaguars are out of excuses. Doug Pederson flopped after taking the Jags to the playoffs and winning a playoff game his first season at the helm. When Shad Khan cleaned house this offseason, it sparked urgency.
Is Coen the right person to handle urgency? I don’t know. But I do know he has a solid enough team that there won’t be many excuses for a dud of a season. They gave up their first-round pick to draft Travis Hunter. They can’t afford to have a miserable 2025.