ClutchPoints
With Kellen Moore landing in New Orleans, the NFL coaching-hire circuit is complete for the 2025 season. Pete Carroll to the Raiders also fit the mold. And now it’s time to make a prediction and rank the seven 2025 NFL head-coaching hires.
This kind of ranking is difficult because there are behind-the-scenes issues that may impact the amount of success a coach can have right off the bat. Then again, sometimes a head coach ignores those issues and wins anyway. See Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn for a 2024 example.
But let’s take a look at how things rank with coaching hires in the middle of February.
Remember, this ranking is based on how these coaches will fare mainly in 2025. And also how steady they will look moving toward the 2026 season.
One thing Johnson will have to overcome is the front office. But Johnson is the spot-on hire for a team that has Caleb Williams as the franchise quarterback.
Williams needs plenty of work to improve upon his rookie season. It’s not that he played poorly all the time. But he is supposed to be elite. And for him to reach that level, Johnson is the right guy to lead him. Any coach that can get what Johnson got out of Jared Goff is good for a quarterback with the talent of Williams.
The pairing of Johnson and Williams is the only reason he is ranked No. 1 in this article. It doesn’t mean he won’t do well at other aspects of the job, but he has a chance to hit the ground running because of Williams.
Plus, the Bears have a chance to significantly weaken the Lions. Unless Detroit gets fortunate and hires an offensive coordinator almost as good as Johnson, the Lions’ offense will suffer. And that gives the Bears a better chance.
First-year prediction: 11-6
OK, OK. How could Schottenheimer be this high on the list. It’s simple. He has more inherit advantages than anybody on this list. The only guy close is Ben Johnson.
So the truth of the matter is Schottenheimer could be a poor NFL head coach, and he will still win games. Dallas has Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and others. It would be hard not to win quite a few games unless the team is hit by the same degree of injuries the 2024 squad suffered.
Of course, when it matters most, that’s when Schottenheimer may be in trouble. Time will tell. He’s an unknown at this point, but he’s old enough to succeed. And he comes from a coaching lineage. It’s not the bottom-basement awful hire many NFL “experts” are making it out to be.
First-year prediction: 10-7
Before scoffing at Carroll being No. 2 on this list, understand the level...
