Barring something pretty surprising, the NFL head coach hiring cycle of 2022 has been completed. The New Orleans Saints became the eighth and final team to hire a new coach, promoting defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to replace the legendary Sean Payton in that role.
From Josh McDaniels landing a second NFL head coach gig in Sin City to the Houston Texans shockingly promoting Lovie Smith, these hirings ran the gamut.
Now that a quarter of the NFL has found new coaches, it’s time to rank them from best to worst. Check it out below.
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1. Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders
McDaniels, 45, has been a highly divisive figure in the past several NFL head coach cycles. That’s primarily due to the longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator backing out of the Indianapolis Colts job ahead of the 2018 season. It did not paint McDaniels in the best of lights. His questionable tenure with the Denver Broncos from 2009-10 (11-17 record) added another layer to that.
What we do know is that McDaniels deserved another head coach job. Here’s a dude that has led 12 top-10 offenses dating back to his initial campaign as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator back in 2006. Last season alone, he worked wonders with rookie quarterback Mac Jones. McDaniels is also building up a heck of a coaching staff in Vegas, including former New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
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2. Brian Daboll, New York Giants
First-year Giants general manager Joe Schoen got it right. Sure there’s some drama over New York’s interview process with the team being named in Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL. But from an on-field and coaching perspective, there’s little reason to believe that Daboll didn’t deserve an NFL head coach job.
- Buffalo Bills 2021 offensive rankings under Brian Daboll: 5th in yards, 3rd in points, 9th in passing, 7th in rushing
Daboll, 46, oversaw the improvement of Bills quarterback Josh Allen from major college project to MVP candidate. He has a history of working with the great Bill Belichick in New England and has been around the NFL coaching circles since back in 2000. There’s every reason to believe that he’ll change the environment in Jersey following the ill-fated two-year tenure of Joe Judge.
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3. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
Innovative. Brilliant. A genius on the offensive side of the ball. These are the terms that have been used to describe a still young 38-year-old Mike McDaniel for the better part of his coaching career. Promoted to the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator position ahead of last season, he did well to get the most out of a unit that was working under a limited Jimmy Garoppolo. McDaniels’ success as a run-game coordinator dating back to his first season under Kyle Shanahan back in 2017 adds another layer to this.
Mike McDaniels run-game ranks past five seasons: 21st, 13th, 2nd, 15th, 7th
Sure some will question a coach without play-calling experience being hired in this role. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. That can all be true while acknowledging that Shanahan’s coaching tree has led to a ton of success in the past. Just look at Sean McVay leading his Los Angeles Rams to yet another Super Bowl appearance. If McDaniel can make it work with Garoppolo, there’s no reason to believe he won’t excel in helping young Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa improve under center. If so, this will be a home-run hire.
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4. Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos
Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers. More Aaron Rodgers. It doesn’t take a genius to realize what Broncos general manager George Paton was thinking here. Hackett, 42, has been Rodgers’ offensive coordinator for the past three seasons — helping the quarterback win the NFL MVP award back in 2021. The two share a great relationship. It could very well lead to Rodgers joining Hackett in Mile High.
With that said, Hackett wasn’t simply hired due to his relationship with Rodgers. That would be foolish. We’re talking about a veteran coach who has led offenses with the Buffalo Bills (2013-14), Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-18) and the aforementioned Packers (2019-21). He has a ton of experience on that side of the ball, something that’s needed in Denver following defensive-minded head coach Vic Fangio’s struggles of the past three seasons. Oh, did we mention Aaron Rodgers?
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5. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars
Even a broken clock is right two times a day. This old saying could very well ring true for the Jaguars under embattled owner Shahid Khan and equally divisive general manager Trent Baalke. After a drama-filled coaching search and with the team having lost 29 of its past 32 games, Jacksonville actually made a good decision in hiring Pederson.
It’s not subjective to say Pederson is the most-qualified hiring of this NFL head coach cycle. The 54-year-old former NFL quarterback posted a 42-37-1 record in five seasons as the Eagles’ head coach (2016-20). That included leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl win over Tom Brady and his former Patriots squad following the 2017 season. Prior to being a head coach, Pederson worked with the likes of Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Alex Smith as an offensive assistant. He could very well be the man to help former No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence improve after a horrible rookie campaign.
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6. Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears
Pretty much every NFL pundit was pushing for the Bears to hire an offensive-minded head coach for young quarterback Justin Fields. If that wasn’t going to be the case, hiring an offensive coordinator with play-calling experience in the professional ranks had to be in the cards. Unfortunately for that narrative, Chicago brought on former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy.
Color us concerned here. Sure an offensive-minded head coach in Matt Nagy proved to be a failure in Chicago over the past few years. There’s also nothing that suggests a young quarterback can’t have success with a defensive head coach. Even then, hiring an individual who led one top-10 defense in his four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts should lead to some reservations.
7. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
We’re still not sure who is to blame for the Jim Harbaugh situation after he emerged as a top candidate to replace Mike Zimmer. There was apparently some concern that he wanted too much control in Minnesota. Either way, to go from a Super Bowl head coach to someone without any play-calling experience seems iffy for a Vikings squad coming off a down season.
Much like Kyle Shanahan, the Sean McVay coaching tree continues to grow. Perhaps, O’Connell will follow the lead of Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor in breaking off from that tree to become a great head coach. Unfortunately, we’re just not buying it. O’Connell’s past experience includes working under former Washington head coach Jay Gruden as an offensive coordinator. Before that? He was Washington’s quarterbacks coach and worked on something called “special projects” for the 49ers just over a half-decade ago. That’s fun!
8. Lovie Smith, Houston Texans
This isn’t to say Lovie Smith can’t be a good hire for the laughable Houston Texans. Rather, it’s all about the process of him being promoted from defensive coordinator to replace his former boss, David Culley, after just one season. It’s the same process that saw an individual with zero coaching experience in college or at the professional level, Josh McCown, become a finalist. The Texans are an absolute mess. Smith is years removed from being relevant as an NFL head coach.
In fact, the 63-year-old Smith last manned this role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 and 2015 — posting a combined 8-24 record. His last winning season at the professional or college level came with the Chicago Bears a dozen years ago. Prior to taking over as Houston’s defensive coordinator in 2021, Smith posted a 17-39 record as Illinois’ head coach from 2016-20.