The NFL will have nine new head coaches for the 2022 season. With the Texans and Saints finding their men on Monday, there are no more vacancies.
The Bears, Broncos, Dolphins, Giants and Vikings all have rookies taking over on the sidelines full-time. The Raiders are rolling with someone who hasn't been a head coach in more than a decade. The Jaguars are going with a recent Super Bowl winner.
Bringing up the rear, Houston and New Orleans landed on defensive-minded previous head coaches, too. Looking at all the moves as a whole, here's an early rating of the hires, from best to worst:
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Ranking the NFL's new head coaches
1. Kevin O'Connell, Vikings (age: 36)
Minnesota had some great timing in hiring the Rams' offensive coordinator to replace Mike Zimmer. With O'Connell's team playing in Super Bowl 56 against the Zac Taylor-led Bengals, there's evidence that tapping into the Sean McVay coaching tree can produce big-time results. O'Connell, a former quarterback, also was with the Patriots as a player under Bill Belichick.
O'Connell has the pedigree and he's also got the reputation of being smart and detail-oriented. The Vikings needed a bold spark for new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell can push them toward contending in the NFC North on the level of the Packers, led by another former Rams offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur.
2. Matt Eberflus, Bears (age: 51)
It was surprising that Eberflus, the former Colts defensive coordinator, had to wait to get a head-coaching job a year after Nick Sirianni, their former offensive coordinator under Frank Reich. Sirianni got Philadelphia into the playoffs as a rookie and Eberflus has that upside in Chicago.
Eberflus, taking over from offensive-minded Matt Nagy, can get the Bears' defense back on track with its many good personnel pieces. He also was wise to make Luke Getsy, fresh from QB-coaching Aaron Rodgers for LaFleur, the play-caller for second-year franchise passer Justin Fields. Chicago is playing a bit of a copycat game like division rival Minnesota is, but it makes sense. They also have a bridge to the Chiefs' massive success with new GM Ryan Poles.
3. Brian Daboll, Giants (age: 46)
Daboll comes over from being the Bills' offensive coordinator and acing things with Josh Allen and also will be tied to new GM who came from Buffalo, Joe Schoen. They both have an initial big decision at QB, whether they think Daniel Jones can raise his level of play to anywhere close to Allen's.
Daboll has experience working with Belichick and Nick Saban. He will take the team in a more progressive direction than Joe Judge and Jason Garrett. He also gets a tie to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in making Mike Kafka the new offensive coordinator. It also makes sense to think about bringing back defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, given his side was the strength and foundation of the team in 2021.
4. Nathaniel Hackett, Broncos (age: 42)
The hiring of Hackett and new offensive coordinator Justin Outten straight from the LaFleur's Packers' staff to replace defensive-minded Vic Fangio and Pat Shurmur screams of the team wanting to making a play for Rodgers. The Broncos also are set to get Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero, another top McVay assistant, as their new defensive coordinator..
Whether Denver lands Rodgers or attaches to a franchise rookie first-round QB, this is a good young pivot in the braintrust to complement second-year GM George Paton. There's not too much separation between the Vikings nailing it with O'Connell and the Broncos faring well with Hackett.
5. Dennis Allen, Saints (age: 49)
The Saints have had a great defensive run with Allen since he took over as the defensive coordinator under Sean Payton in 2015. He came to mind as an intriguing hire as soon as Payton decided to step away from the team.
New Orleans seemed close to finally giving Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy his long-awaited promotion outside of Kansas City. But according to reports, despite some strong interviews with others, the Saints circled back to Allen as the primary choice. They were likely looking for some continuity from Payton with a tricky offseason ahead.
The good news is Allen deserved a second shot after his three-year tenure with the Raiders ended in 2014. The bad news is the move sounds "safe" vs. truly inspired.
6. Doug Pederson, Jaguars (age: 54)
So much for the Jaguars bringing back former QB Byron Leftwich, the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, to coach the team. Jacksonville is hoping Pederson, who led the Eagles to victory in Super Bowl 52, will bring his championship vibes after the disastrous hiring of Urban Meyer.
Pederson, before his one-season break from the NFL, struggled without key members of his coaching staff from 2017. Philadelphia went from elite to mediocre in a hurry. The Jaguars will count on him to help the team become more functional, organized and respected, while Pederson has a chance with redemption with Trevor Lawrence. But it's hard to think it will work out as well as Andy Reid's post-Eagles stint with the Chiefs.
7. Mike McDaniel, Dolphins (age: 38)
The Dolphins were ticketed for a low ranking on the list by the simple fact they should haven't fired Brian Flores, who was making good progress despite some roster limitations the past two seasons. McDaniel, the former 49ers offensive coordinator, got a job earlier than expected. The biggest reason for the hire is attaching him with third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ahead of a make-or-break season.
The defense, which sparked the big turnaround in 2021, takes a hit without Flores' influence. The offense needs to address plenty away from Tagovailoa and rising second-year wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Miami made a massive change despite two consecutive winning seasons with Flores. The pressure should be on MeDaniel to deliver in a hurry for Stephen Ross. The Yale product would have been smarter to land with a more appealing post-San Francisco franchise.
8. Lovie Smith, Texans (age: 63)
The Texans followed the Saints in promoting their defensive coordinator. Smith was an NFL head coach for a dozen consecutive seasons from 2004-2015, going from a decade with the Bears to a couple years with the Buccaneers. Before returning to the pro game with the Texans last season, he spent five seasons leading Illinois.
Smith, who once took Chicago to the Super Bowl, is a venerable play-caller and well-liked by his players. But given the one and done with David Culley, he may be stuck with another organization in disarray. He will be charged with creating a winner coming out of a massive rebuild. It's strange after being so quick to dismiss Culley and and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, Houston officials would make this in-house pivot. Smith has his work cut out for him to make this feel more like the highs in Chicago than the lows in Tampa Bay.
9. Josh McDaniels, Raiders (age: 45)
The Raiders seemed to start the Jim Harbaugh rumors, before he decided to go back to Michigan. There were players and others within the organization who thought special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, who guided Las Vegas to the playoffs post Jon Gruden's dismissal, should have had his interim tag removed.
McDaniels has been in play to return for a while as the Patriots' offensive coordinator. It's hard to believe his unsuccessful two-year stint with the Broncos tied to Tim Tebow ended in 2010. But the weird Colts non-hiring situation that prompted that team to go with Reich instead is fresh, from only four years ago.
Las Vegas is trying to become New England West with McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler, formerly Belichick's director of player personnel for the Patriots. It seems a bit forced, much like paying Gruden a ton to come back and also pulling Mike Mayock out of strong television work. The Raiders are also the team that bombed with Lane Kiffin in the recent past.
While the Vikings, Bears, Giants and Broncos were in tune with the kind of coach the teams needed after shortcomings of the previous regimes, the Raiders feel like they're going down a bumpy recycled road again.
