5 NFL Coordinators Destined to Become Head Coaches In 2025

It’s no secret that the NFL has been dominating the landscape of sports across the United States for some time now. The increased revenue that the league is generating is creating more wealth for team owners who are already extremely wealthy at this point in their lives.

It seems that the owners are growing more impatient with each new year that passes, and are not afraid to fire coaches within the first few years of their contracts. This process creates massive head coaching turnover each and every offseason, since the owners are easily able to pay out the contracts of fired coaches.

Let’s take a look at the recent head coaching turnover in the NFL over the span of four years.

Finding the right guy to be at the helm of your franchise is one of the most difficult feats to accomplish in this league.

Each franchise is constantly searching to find the next Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan.

Let’s take a look at five coordinators that are designed to become head coaches during the next hiring cycle.

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1 Ben Johnson – Detroit Lions Offensive Coordinator

Johnson passed up multiple head coaching opportunities to remain in Detroit.

The Detroit Lions are riding a ton of momentum into the 2024 NFL season, after finishing 13-4 and winning the NFC North title for the first time since the division was created in 2002. The Lions are fresh off of a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, a game in which they were leading 24-7 at halftime.

The Lions relied heavily on their productive offense in 2023, an offense that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon after offensive coordinator Ben Johnson decided to turn down multiple head coaching offers to stay with the team in 2024.

Johnson was viewed as the top offensive playcaller during the previous head coaching cycle, which is why it was so shocking when he decided to pass on multiple head coaching opportunities.

He interviewed with multiple teams, and appeared to be the top coaching candidate for the Washington Commanders. But he decided to pull his name from consideration for the job, leading the Commanders to hire Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn instead.

Teams are constantly looking to find the next Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay, and Johnson seems like the perfect candidate to become the next brilliant head coach/playcaller in the NFL.

2 Bobby Slowik – Houston Texans Offensive Coordinator

The young play caller played a huge role in the development of C.J. Stroud.

Bobby Slowik took the league by storm during his first season as the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. Slowik was hired to be the next playcaller in Houston after gaining some valuable knowledge and experience under Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers for six seasons.

Perhaps Slwoik’s most important notch on his resume thus far is the performance of quarterback C.J. Stroud during his rookie season with the Texans. He has helped mold Stroud into a refined pocket passer who had one of the most impressive rookie quarterback seasons of recent memory.

The Texans’ offense won’t be slowing down anytime soon after the team traded for star pass catcher Stefon Diggs, creating one of the best receiving trios in the league, along with Nico Collins and Tank Dell. The team also added Joe Mixon via trade with the Cincinnati Bengals to give Slowik some much-needed support in the running game.

With the Texans’ offense set up to improve vastly in 2024, it is pretty much a lock that Slowik will capitalize on a head coaching opportunity during the next hiring cycle.

3 Aaron Glenn – Detroit Lions Defensive Coordinator

Glenn was the driving force behind a revamped defense in Detroit.

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn found his head coaching stock rising at a rapid rate in the latter part of the 2023 NFL season. Glenn has been the driving force behind the turnaround of Detroit’s defense, which allowed the third most points per game in the entire league during the previous 2022 season (25.1).

The Lions secondary has been the team’s primary concern, as their passing defense ranked 27th in the league last season. In the draft, the team spent their first two draft picks on cornerbacks, adding Alabama’s Terrion Arnold and Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Plus, they added sneaky-good slot cornerback Amik Robertson on a two-year, $9.5 million deal.

They also added veteran Carlton Davis who will bring some much-needed experience to a young Lions secondary. The run defense and pass rush will continue to be the strength of Glenn’s unit in 2024. If he can generate some improved play on the backend, Glenn will likely fill a head coaching vacancy for a franchise looking to rebuild the defensive side of the ball.

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4 Kellen Moore – Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator

Moore’s offensive weapons in Philly are setting him up for success

Kellen Moore has been one of the more polarizing coaching candidates in the NFL over the course of his career as an offensive playcaller. Moore got his coaching career started on the right foot in Dallas, where he spent five seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator. He was booted by Mike McCarthy at the conclusion of the 2022 season, and then proceeded to take the same position with the Los Angles Chargers in 2023.

The Chargers’ offense ranked around the middle of the pack in 2023. Part of that was due to star quarterback Justin Herbert suffering a season-ending injury in Week 14 that caused him to miss the rest of the regular season.

Moore has interviewed for multiple head coaching opportunities over the past three hiring cycles and is currently the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He looks to be set up for success with the amount of offensive weapons at his disposal, such as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and the newly acquired Saquon Barkley.

The Eagles are expected to have a dominant season on the offensive side of the ball, leading to Moore finally accepting a head coaching job during the next hiring cycle.

5 Lou Anarumo – Cincinatti Bengals Defensive Coordinator

Anarumo’s defense is set to have a bounce back season after a rough 2023 campaign

The Bengals finished the regular season with a 9-8 record, which came as a disappointment compared to their previous two seasons in which they made the Super Bowl in 2021, and the AFC Championship game in 2022. During those two deep playoff runs, Lou Anarumo had his defense performing at a high level.

However, 2023 was a different story as his unit ranked 31st in the league in total yards allowed per game. (374.6)

His proven track record of league experience, getting the most out of younger players, and having his defenses ready to play come January will eventually come to fruition and earn him a head coaching job.

Anarumo has had interviews for head coaching positions previously and was a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals job before the organization decided on Jonathan Gannon instead.

He will most likely be on the shortlist for several teams looking for a new defensive-minded head coach this offseason.

All statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise stated.

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