Kevin Spain
The bin of discarded coaches is filled with guys who went back to coach the team they played for. The favorite son is always well-received, but often is quick to eventually be rejected.
There are successful ones, Don Shula who played and coached with the Baltimore Colts, Art Shell, who played and coached with the Raiders and Mike Ditka, who played and coached with the Chicago Bears.
There are three coaches now in the NFL who played for the team they’re coaching. How is that working out? One, we don’t know yet; two are doing pretty well. Let’s take a look.
Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots
Mayo was hired to replace the legendary Bill Belichick. Not always the best position to be in as a coach. You know the old saying that goes something like this: “You don’t want to be the guy who follows the legend, but the one who follows the guy who followed the guy after the legend.”
Mayo has coached inside linebackers for the Patriots since 2019. Not usually the kind of place you jump right into a head coaching job from. The NFL has been good at promoting offensive or defensive coordinators, but not position coaches.
If Mayo performs as well as John Harbaugh, who was a special teams coach and defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia Eagles before he got the head coaching job with the Baltimore Ravens, then it’ll go well in New England.
As a player, Mayo had 802 total tackles in 103 games. He had 536 solo tackles and 11 sacks. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008 and he made two Pro Bowls. He went to the playoffs seven times as a player, twice to the Super Bowl and was on one championship team.
Related: Best NFL Players Turned Head Coaches
Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Campbell got his first taste of being a head coach in 2015 when he replaced Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin after Week 4 of the season. The Dolphins went 5-7 under Campbell, but that wasn’t enough for him to get the nod as the permanent coach.
He got the job to coach his old team, the Detroit Lions, in 2021 and that didn’t go so well in the first season, at least on the scoreboard. The Lions finished 3-13, but there were some close games.
In 2022, things started to turn around and the Lions finished 9-8 and just missed the playoffs.
But Campbell has it rolling this year, with the Lions going into the playoffs with a 12-5 record. They have the No. 1 rushing offense and the No. 2 rushing defense in the league and are in the Top 5 in 12 categories.
As a player, Campbell played 19 games in three seasons at tight end for the Lions, catching 23 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns. In those three years, the lions were 10-38.
Related: Best undrafted players in NFL history
DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Ryans has been a coach for all of one season and he has led the Texans to a 10-7 record and to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Ryans has risen up the coaching ladder rather quickly. He had two years as a linebackers coach and two years as a defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers before coming to the Texans this season.
The 49ers made the NFC championship game in three of the four seasons Ryan was there and one Super Bowl.
He quickly turned around the Texans’ fortunes, getting them to 10-7 this season a year after they finished 3-13-1.
Ryans was drafted by the Texans in 2006 and played there six seasons, getting 636 total tackles, 479 assists and 8.5 sacks. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 and made two Pro Bowls.
