Steelers Will Face Three Teams with New Head Coaches in 2025

The only head coaching vacancy left in the NFL is the New Orleans Saints position. The Steelers will face three teams with new head coaches in 2025 — the New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel, Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson and New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn.

Vrabel is a former Patriots All-Pro and member of the team’s Hall of Fame. Vrabel also interviewed for the New York Jets vacant head coach position, but New England always seemed like the designation, especially with Jerrod Mayo being let go after only one season.

An Akron, Ohio native, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Vrabel in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played 51 games for the team, recording 56 tackles, four tackles for loss and seven sacks. Vrabel signed with the Patriots in 2001 after spending his first four seasons with the Steelers and won three Super Bowls in New England.

Vrabel was unexpectedly fired as the head coach of the Titans after the 2023 season, and was left out of the NFL coaching carousel this offseason. Vrabel spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns in an advisory role on their coaching staff. Vrabel’s role with Cleveland was much in the same way that the Steelers used former NFL head coach Brian Flores two seasons ago.

The Patriots were the first team to fill their head coach vacancy in this year’s head coach carousel. The Steelers play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in 2025. The Steelers also face the Bears and Jets on the road.

Johnson will be a first-time NFL head coach. The 38-year-old was with the Lions since 2019, moving up from quality control coach to tight ends coach, to pass game coordinator and then to offensive coordinator, the post he’s held since 2022. Johnson turned down head coach opportunities last offseason before accepting the Bears job this year.

Glenn, 52, played for the Jets from 1994-2001, and worked for the team as a scout from 2012-13. Glenn worked his way up into head coach conversations after excelling as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator from 2021-2024.

Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reports that Glenn is considering hiring Todd Haley to join his staff in some capacity.

“While it’s unclear exactly what role Todd Haley would have with the Jets, sources say Aaron Glenn and him have had very positive dialogue about Haley joining Glenn’s staff in New York. Glenn feels it’s important to have veteran, experienced offensive minds in the building,” Schultz wrote on X.