With Week 18 kicking off, the coaching carousel is spinning and here’s the latest on what we know …
• Things have gotten awfully quiet over the past couple of weeks on the New England Patriots’ future, with those inside the building expressing less confidence that the Kraft family will simply stay the course in 2025 after pairing Jerod Mayo with Eliot Wolf a year ago.
The Krafts are sympathetic to Mayo’s situation. He was elevated a year or two before they intended to have him succeed Bill Belichick. The roster he inherited was a mess—one that Belichick himself could only squeeze four wins from in 2023. Mayo’s predecessor’s presence hung over the Patriots’ operation, with Belichick’s media commentary, and his old relationships in the building, still lingering.
And while the team has played hard for the most part for Mayo, questions have emerged about his ability to tactically manage the staff, and build a program—because the hope was that, by now, even if the roster prevented wins from coming, the vision would be clear.
Whether the Krafts can still see that vision coming out of the season will probably go a long way in determining what’s next. I’d say that, at the very least, if Mayo and Wolf stay, some staff changes will be coming.
• Speaking of staff changes, one went down in Cleveland on Sunday morning, with Kevin Stefanski letting go of first-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and line coach Andy Dickerson.
The Browns’ offense was a disaster this year, as the staff struggled to meld their different backgrounds to build a coherent scheme. So, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Stefanski returned to the Gary Kubiak-influenced offense he ran from 2020 to ’23. And if the Patriots move on from their OC, Alex Van Pelt, it might make sense to bring him back to Cleveland in some capacity. Not only was Van Pelt the coordinator for a ’23 team that won with four different quarterbacks, but he was also seen as a unifier on that staff.
• Uncertainty continues to linger for the New York Giants. As we’ve said before, owner John Mara is expected to judge GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll separately. Going into the past couple weeks, he wanted to see and hear their plans to emerge from this two-year mess.
If Daboll sticks, I’d expect staff changes. There is some buzz that Mike Kafka could take the bullet, with the head coach potentially moving the offense back to his roots.
If Daboll’s gone, former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel would be a looming presence. Mara certainly could see some Bill Parcells qualities in the former linebacker. And the guy we’ve pointed to as Vrabel’s likely GM pick, former Titans exec Ryan Cowden, is already in-house with the Giants, as is his defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen.
That said, Vrabel should have interest from just about everyone. The Las Vegas Raiders are one team he’s consistently been connected to. He was a Patriot, of course. And before Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys resurgence, there was a belief in league circles that Vrabel could wind up in Dallas, too. Bottom line, he’ll have options.
• One other offensive coordinator who could get the gate is Seattle Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb.
Grubb was well-respected, and much-studied, by NFL folks in his past couple of years as the University of Washington’s OC. But his scheme has been lacking in the run game and has put Geno Smith in too many straight drop-back situations. Which, with the Seahawks line’s issues, have turned Smith into a sitting duck too often.
Another team to watch could be the Houston Texans, with C.J. Stroud’s sophomore slump frustrating a lot of folks, including Stroud himself. Whether OC Bobby Slowik has had enough answers to what defenses have thrown at the Texans this year is a question. So, a good young coach with a potential future as a head coach will have to lay out a plan for DeMeco Ryans.
• Questions about where the Indianapolis Colts go from here continue to percolate.
I still think Shane Steichen is good there, but likely will have to make some changes. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley could be the one who pays the price for a tough year.
• On that side of the ball, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a mutual parting between the Carolina Panthers and DC Ejiro Evero (but I don’t know that it’s necessarily likely). The Panthers are dead last in total defense, scoring defense and run defense, a year after the team held Evero to his contract amid a lot of outside interest. If teams come knocking again …
• Another name to watch as a potential DC candidate would be Las Vegas’ Patrick Graham, whose Raiders contract is expiring. Any of the Belichick-connected coaches out there could certainly look at bringing the well-respected Graham aboard.
• The New York Jets’ committee—made up of owners Woody and Christopher Johnson, team president Hymie Elhai, and consultants Rick Spielman and Mike Tannenbaum—will be based out of Palm Beach this week. I’d expect they’ll look at both GM and coaching candidates, with Rex Ryan already set (he’s heading there Tuesday).
• Finally, while we’re on expiring contracts, it’s worth noting that virtually the entire Dallas staff is up after this season. Where things go with McCarthy, who I’d expect to have interest from the New Orleans Saints (and maybe the Jets, too), will determine how things go with all the other guys working there.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Coaching Carousel 2025: What We’re Hearing on the Eve of Black Monday.