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SAN JOSE — And we’re off, at Super Bowl LX …
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The facts are the facts. The NFL had a record nine minority head coaches in 2024 (Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles, DeMeco Ryans, Raheem Morris, Jerod Mayo and Antonio Pierce—plus Dave Canales (Hispanic), Robert Saleh (Lebanese) and Mike McDaniel (multiracial). That number dropped to seven in 2025. With the latest hiring cycle now complete, it’s now at five. And as for the specific number of Black head coaches, the figure has dropped over that same period from seven to five to three (Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles, Jets’ Aaron Glenn and Texans’ DeMeco Ryans). Over the past two cycles, only one of 17 hires was Black, and the league went 0-for-10 this year.
This also happened to be the year that the NFL decided to stop doing the Accelerator Program, a networking/professional development program for minority coaches and personnel men.
So what’s next? Well, while canceling the Accelerator (they can call it a postponement, but let’s refer to it for what it has effectively been) the year the bottom fell out on the league’s diversity efforts is a bad look, I do think the league office has had good intentions. I don’t think commissioner Roger Goodell or anyone else is part of some sinister plan to get this result. In fact, I think the notion of that is a little out there.
But could the league be treading lightly on DEI topics, given the current administration’s stance on them, and that the NFL needed approval from the Justice Department to push through the ESPN merger? There has been, at least, a lot of speculation on that.
Either way, the momentum the league had a couple years ago has clearly been halted.
And it’s worth looking at the backgrounds of the three remaining Black coaches and five minority coaches for some reasoning here. Ryans, Bowles and Glenn all have defensive backgrounds, as does Tennessee’s Saleh. Carolina’s Canales, who is Hispanic, is the only offensive coach of the five.
As it stands right now, and there are a few open spots left, there are just two Black offensive coordinators—new hires Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs) and Mike McDaniel (Chargers)—and just one Black play-caller (McDaniel).
So it’s an issue at the top, and also a grassroots problem.
How it gets fixed, I don’t know. But I’m certain it’s going to be a big topic until another hiring cycle gets revved up.
Arizona Cardinals
The hire of Mike LaFleur in Arizona opens up the Rams’ offensive coordinator job. That one isn’t a play-calling gig, but it is a pipeline towards becoming an NFL head coach.
All four guys who’ve held that title under Sean McVay—Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell, Liam Coen and Mike LaFleur—have become head coaches. Two of the four have made the playoffs multiple times as head coaches, a third just got to the playoffs in his first year, and the fourth is the younger LaFleur, who has yet to coach a game as a head coach.
That’s a good track record, and lends the question of who’s next. Pass-game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase is one name that’s certainly in the running. But I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone lands the job—he’s been a coordinator before (under Arthur Smith in Atlanta) and is right there as a consideration for McVay.
Gus Bradley
Mike LaFleur and his old buddy Robert Saleh (the two were together with the Jets, and while LaFleur was let go, that wasn’t really Saleh’s doing) were battling over Gus Bradley for about 24 hours—and Bradley chose to go to Tennessee with Saleh, despite a richer financial offer and the opportunity to call plays in Arizona.
Bradley’s relationship with Saleh is why. Saleh views Bradley as one of his most important mentors, having learned under him in Seattle on Pete Carroll’s staff, before Bradley brought Saleh with him to Jacksonville after getting his shot there to be a head coach. That the two are reuniting is a nice stroke of luck for Saleh, since Bradley was likely to become Kyle Shanahan’s DC in San Francisco (replacing Saleh) had Raheem Morris not been available.
(And as an aside, the Morris/Shanahan tie is another strong relationship.)
So where does LaFleur turn now? He could try and take Aubrey Pleasant off the Rams staff he just left, though I think that may be less likely. One name of interest is Texans secondary coach Dino Vasso, a young rising name who came up under Jim Schwartz.
Tennessee Titans
Saleh’s staff, by the way, is loaded with experience, which is much different than the first staff he put together with the Jets. All three of his coordinators—Bradley, Brian Daboll and John Fassel—have long track records as play-callers, and all three have been head coaches (though Fassel’s run was on an interim basis).
The thought there is that it should help Saleh get his program off the ground quickly.
Cleveland Browns
Speaking of Schwartz, the Browns are still trying to get him to stay under new coach Todd Monken. For those who missed it last week: Schwartz remains under contract, but told people during Cleveland’s coaching search that the only way he’d stay would be as head coach. He wasn’t pleased, as you might imagine, when he didn’t get the job, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Browns can rope him back in.
If Cleveland loses him, linebackers coach Jason Tarver would certainly be a consideration, as a guy who has an existing relationship with Monken. If the Browns go outside the building, another Houston assistant—pass-game coordinator Cory Undlin—would be a name to watch. He and Monken were together in Jacksonville in 2009 and ’10.
As for Schwartz, if he’s not back in Cleveland, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Klint Kubiak make a run at landing him, once he coaches his last game as Seahawks OC on Sunday.
Las Vegas Raiders
One interesting element, to me at least, in the Raiders’ expected hire of Kubiak is the relationship GM John Spytek has with Kubiak’s dad, Gary. Spytek and Gary won a Super Bowl in their only year working together, 2015, and the coach and personnel man have seen their bond grow since, with Spytek counseling Kubiak over the years.
Now, Gary and Klint Kubiak are two different people. But there are enough similarities there to see where the son’s demeanor would work for what Spytek is trying to build the same way his dad’s did for the Broncos a decade ago.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos’ promotion of Davis Webb to OC now colors Webb’s decision to pull his name from the Raiders’ search, and Denver’s decision to fire OC Joe Lombardi—Webb will get the experience of being a coordinator, and Sean Payton gets to keep one of his best coaches.
Also interesting was the promotion of young assistant Logan Kilgore into the role of quarterbacks coach, where he’ll become a name to watch.
Roger Goodell
Just a note on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s press conference: It was interesting to hear his handling of four owners being named in the Epstein files. At first, he said the league wasn’t yet at the point where they’d talk about personal conduct policy sanctions for the owners’ names. But then, when I asked if he’s concerned how this all reflects on the league, he answered, “Sure. But that’s why we have a personal conduct policy.”
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