A wild hiring cycle is underway in the NFL.
That cycle kicked into overdrive over the past week, when both John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin joined the ranks of the unemployed. At the moment there are nine NFL head coaching jobs up for grabs, and names are added to the list of interview candidates every hour.
While the hot commodities this cycle are “offensive-minded coaches with play-calling experience,” that is not the archetype needed in every situation. Teams like the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, for example, could go in a different direction.
Here, we’re looking at 12 assistant coaches who could be ready to make the leap to the big job.
Klint Kubiak, Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
Klint Kubiak’s name has been rising to the top of lists like this one, given the work he did in San Francisco as the passing game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan and with Brock Purdy, and what he has done this past season as the offensive coordinator in Seattle.
With the recent emphasis on finding offensive-minded head coaches who also call plays, Kubiak finds himself one of the hotter coaching candidates this cycle. This could be the year he makes the leap.
Thomas Brown, passing-game coordinator, New England Patriots
After the Chicago Bears parted ways with Matt Eberflus midway through the 2024 season, they installed Thomas Brown as their interim head coach. It was the second promotion that season for Brown, who was bumped to to offensive coordinator after the team fired Shane Waldron, after beginning the year as the running backs coach.
While the team went 1-4 with Brown in the head role — leading Chicago to look elsewhere last hiring cycle — there were some who believed Brown as a leading candidate for that job.
This season he has served as the passing-game coordinator in New England, helping turn Drake Maye into an MVP candidate. And he was also a coach under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, including two years in an assistant head coach role.
Brown has already lined up an interview with the Arizona Cardinals, and more are likely to follow given New England’s success this season. Whether that head coaching job comes this cycle or next, it lies in his future.
Chris Shula, DC, Los Angeles Rams
Another fascinating name this hiring cycle is Chris Shula, the 39-year-old defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. Shula has been connected to several vacancies over the past few weeks as the Arizona Cardinals, the Baltimore Ravens, the Los Angeles Raiders, and the New York Giants have all submitted requests to interview the defensive coordinator.
Hiring Shula brings several benefits. First, the team gains access to the system he built in Los Angeles, one of the league’s more efficient defenses. You also gain access to the Sean McVay offensive system and coaching tree, as Shula has seen that system up close and personally during his time in Los Angeles, and could probably pull some assistants with him from Los Angeles.
Finally, you gain access to quite the rolodex.
Kelvin Sheppard, DC, Detroit Lions
On the one hand, it might be a year or two ahead of schedule for Kelvin Sheppard to step into a head coaching role. After Aaron Glenn’s departure to New York to take over as head coach of the Jets, the former linebacker stepped into the defensive coordinator role. While the Lions defense took a step back in a few different categories, Sheppard’s personality and energy could make him an ideal head coaching candidate, whether this cycle or down the future.
The Dolphins have already requested an interview with Sheppard, and other teams are expected to line up for potential interviews with him as well. Again, it might be early on Sheppard, but we have seen teams go early on a candidate if the fit is right.
Jesse Minter, DC, Los Angeles Chargers
Jesse Minter has been linked with every open job this cycle, and just completed interviews with the Titans and the Cardinals today.
That speaks to the idea that Minter is going to be a head coach sooner rather than later. His first stop in the NFL was as a defensive assistant under John Harbaugh in 2017, where he worked his way up to become the Ravens’ defensive backs coach. Then after a year as the defensive coordinator with Vanderbilt, Jim Harbaugh hired him to be the defensive coordinator in Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, Minter helped deliver a national title.
Minter followed John Harbaugh to Los Angeles, where he spent the past two seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator. While with the Chargers he built a strong defense, which has made him one of the hottest candidates this cycle.
Joe Brady, OC, Buffalo Bills
With the emphasis on offensive-minded head coaches, especially those with play-calling experience, Joe Brady’s name will again emerge as a candidate this hiring cycle.
Brady’s name has been linked to jobs before, as he interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars job last year and already has an interview lined up with the Baltimore Ravens this cycle. In fact, it seems like his name has been linked to jobs — and he has been a head coaching candidate — since his time at LSU when he helped Joe Burrow and company win a national title.
He has two years of play-calling experience with the Buffalo Bills, has a solid offensive philosophy rooted in Sean Payton’s scheme, and it might finally be time to see his name with the words “head coach” listed after it.
Davis Webb, QB coach, Denver Broncos
Davis Webb’s name has been flying up lists like these since the moment he hung up his cleats. When he was cut by the New York Giants after the 2022 preseason, it was written then that he was going to find a spot on a sideline with a clipboard sooner rather than later.
In early 2023 he started exploring coaching options more, and signed on as the quarterbacks coach with Sean Payton in Denver. After two years in that role, he was promoted this past season to the team’s offensive pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach. What might work most in his favor is that he has earned the title of “QB whisperer,” which carries weight in NFL circles.
And that is not coming from a washed up D3 QB, but people like Kliff Kingsbury, who told Sports Illustrated that “If I had a son playing quarterback, I’d want him to play for Davis Webb.” Sam Ehlinger turned down a spot with the Indianapolis Colts to continue his development under Webb in Denver.
With quarterback development a flashpoint in the NFL, it seems Webb will get a head coaching job sooner rather than later.
Mike LaFleur, OC, Los Angeles Rams
With ties to Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and of course Matt LaFleur, it seems that Mike LaFleur will be a head coach at some point soon.
He also brings with him a background as a play-caller, having spent two years doing that for the New York Jets. However, those two seasons with Zach Wilson did not produce the kind of benefits that make LaFleur a sure thing, and while he’s had a chance to learn more under McVay the past few years, the stint in New York is certainly a question mark.
Still, with the emphasis on offensive-minded head coaching candidates with play-calling experience, LaFleur’s name stands out.
Nathan Scheelhaase, Passing game specialist, Los Angeles Rams
Davis Webb is not the only former quarterback on this list moving up through the coaching ranks.
After his playing days at the University of Illinois were over, Nathan Scheelhaase started out at the school as the Director of Football Operations. He slowly worked his way up the staff at Illinois, before moving to Iowa State as a running backs coach. By 2023, He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Cyclones, before making the leap to the NFL in 2024 as an offensive assistant and passing game specialist under Sean McVay.
This past season, he served as the team’s pass game coordinator.
But three teams have already reached out for interviews: Baltimore, Miami, and Las Vegas. Pittsburgh joined that list yesterday. More could follow. While he does not have play-calling experience on his resume, he does have something else:
Helping veteran Matthew Stafford craft an All-Pro season, and perhaps an MVP campaign.
That counts for something too.
Anthony Weaver, DC, Miami Dolphins
Ok, enough with the offensive-minded candidates.
Let’s talk about a few defensive coordinators that could make the leap.
We’ll start with Anthony Weaver, who joined the coaching ranks shortly after his own playing days came to an end. After starting out in college, Weaver rose up NFL sidelines, with a stint in Houston as a defensive coordinator before some time in Baltimore, and finally Miami the past two years as a defensive coordinator.
His trademark is his communication skills, and he has been linked with jobs in the past. Weaver met with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders after the 2023 season, and with the Chicago Bears after the 2024 season. He was also a finalist when the Commanders hired Dan Quinn.
Weaver already interviewed with Baltimore and Atlanta, and those are two spots where he could be an ideal candidate.
Jeff Hafley, DC, Green Bay Packers
We have been focused on assistant coaches only, but are we cheating here with Jeff Hafley?
After all, Hafley does have head coaching experience, having spent four years on the sidelines in Chestnut Hill as the head coach at Boston College. But after that stint he returned to the NFL, taking over as the defensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers.
His trademark is on the defensive side of the ball, and in particular, the secondary. He’s made many stops along the way, both in college and in the NFL, as a defensive backs coach. Teams that do not need the “offensive-minded play-caller” archetype, like the Baltimore Ravens, might find Hafley the ideal candidate.
Anthony Campanile, DC, Jacksonville Jaguars
One last name to keep in mind, and again we might be a year early on this one, is Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
While other resumes on this list started in the collegiate ranks or even in the NFL, Campanile’s coaching journey began on Friday nights, as he started out at Fair Lawn High School in New Jersey as an assistant coach, before heading to Don Bosco Prep for five seasons, three as the defensive coordinator and then two as the offensive coordinator.
His alma mater, Rutgers, was next as he began as an assistant in 2012. Stops at Boston College and Michigan followed, before his first NFL gig in 2019 as a linebackers coach with Miami.
This has been his first season as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, but the Dolphins have requested an interview with their former assistant. It might be a year ahead of schedule, but given his previous stint in Miami, he could be ahead of schedule.
