After firing Jerod Mayo on Sunday, the New England Patriots will have to look for a new head coach for a second year in a row. This time, however, the hiring process will look different.
Whereas Mayo was contractually guaranteed to succeed long-time Patriots coach Bill Belichick last offseason, no such agreement appears to be in place right now. This means that the organization will conduct a traditional coaching search for the first time in quite a while.
Who the Patriots will bring in remains to be seen. There are a few intriguing candidates to keep an eye on, however.
The Head Coaches
These coaches have NFL head coaching experience.
Mike Vrabel
Few coaches will drive as much attention this offseason as former Patriots linebacker and Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. After coordinating Houston’s defense in 2017, Vrabel was hired as Tennessee’s head man in 2018.
He led the Titans to a pair of 9-7 seasons in his first two years with the team, taking them to the playoffs in 2019 where they upset the Patriots and Ravens on the road en route to an AFC Championship Game appearance. The Titans then improved to 11-5 and 12-5 in his next two seasons, taking the AFC’s top seed in 2021. However, Vrabel failed to win a playoff game in either season, falling at home both times. After a pair of losing seasons, Vrabel was ousted after 2023. He spent 2024 as a consultant with the Browns.
As a player, Vrabel spent eight seasons in New England and won three Super Bowls. He forced a fumble of quarterback Jake Delhomme in Super Bowl XXXVIII that set up the game’s first score.
Brian Flores
Flores spent his first 15 years in the NFL with the Patriots, first as a scouting assistant in 2004 before switching over to the coaching side in 2008. He coached the team’s safeties in the Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks and took over with the linebackers for the victories over Atlanta and Los Angeles. He took over play calling duties in 2018 after the departure of Matt Patricia following the 2017 season.
Following the Super Bowl LIII win, Flores was hired in Miami as the head coach of the Dolphins. He ended his first season by knocking the Patriots out of a first-round bye with an upset win in Foxboro. Flores posted winning records in 2020 and 2021, but slow starts kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs. With no playoff appearances through three seasons and questionable management of young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, he was fired.
The veteran defensive coach was hired as a defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. After finishing 28th in points allowed in 2022, the team improved to 13th last year and 4th this year under his leadership. His defenses have become known for their complex blitzes. While most teams send four pass-rushers, Flores will send anything but that number. Sometimes he will send three, sometimes he will send as many as eight, and it’ll be up to the offense to decipher which it will be.
Arthur Smith
A long-time Titans assistant, Smith was kept on the staff when Mike Vrabel arrived as a tight ends coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019 after the departure of Matt LaFleur.
After coaching the Titans to a top-five offense in 2020, Smith was hired as head coach of the Falcons. He lasted three seasons with the team, finishing each one at 7-10 as the team struggled to find a quarterback before being fired after the 2023 season.
Arthur Smith was hired as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. Under his leadership, Smith has led Pittsburgh to an offense that ranks in the top half of the league with Russell Wilson as a starter.
The Coordinators
These coaches are currently coordinators for NFL teams.
Ben Johnson
Detroit’s offensive coordinator may be the most sought-after coach on the market this cycle. The 38-year-old was a walk-on quarterback at North Carolina, and he got into coaching at Boston College after graduating in 2008. He spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, working as an offensive assistant with the quarterbacks, tight ends, and receivers, before leaving for Detroit in 2019.
After Matt Patricia was fired, Dan Campbell promoted him to coach tight ends. Two seasons later, he was promoted again to offensive coordinator. He’s been in that role in the three seasons since. In all three years, the Lions have placed in the top five in both yards and points. Campbell has designed an elite offense around quarterback Jared Goff, turning him into an effective and efficient weapon. His offense has routinely found creative ways to use playmakers, including his offensive linemen.
Aaron Glenn
Glenn is the other coordinator in Detroit. He took over their defense in 2021, coaching up a unit lacking for talent until they broke into the top ten in points allowed this season.
His background is with defensive backs, coaching them with the Browns and Saints after playing in the NFL as a corner for 15 seasons.
Liam Coen
Coen has been an under-the-radar name for a few cycles, but leading a top-five offense in Tampa Bay this season has elevated his status on the market.
A disciple of Sean McVay, Coen has alternated time between the Los Angeles Rams and Kentucky Wildcats since 2018. Prior to that, the Rhode Island native hung around New England. After playing at UMass, he had stints with his alma mater and Brown, URI, and Maine.
Todd Monken
Monken is a veteran on this list, starting his coaching career in 1989 with Grand Valley State. After many stints throughout college and the NFL, he broke out as the offensive coordinator with Georgia’s 2021 national championship season. He landed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, coaching Lamar Jackson to an MVP season in his first year and another MVP-caliber season this year.
Jesse Minter
Minter is a young up-and-comer. The Chargers’ defensive coordinator has spent time with the Harbaughs learning their defense, starting with the Ravens from 2017 to 2020 before heading to Michigan for 2022. His complicated defensive schemes helped win Michigan a national title in 2023, and they’ve elevated Los Angeles’s defense to the top unit in points allowed this season.
Adam Stenavich
Stenavich has a background as an offensive line coach, coaching Northern Arizona and San Jose State’s units before breaking into the NFL with the 49ers in 2017. He was hired by the Packers in 2019 as their offensive line coach by Matt LaFleur, where he’s spent his time since.
Stenavich was elevated to run game coordinator in 2021 and then offensive coordinator in 2022. While he does not call the plays, he has overseen the development of Jordan Love in Green Bay.
Joe Brady
Joe Brady burst onto the scene in 2019 as LSU’s pass game coordinator for Joe Burrow’s legendary national championship run with Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
Since then, he spent two years as Carolina’s offensive coordinator before joining Josh Allen in Buffalo. Brady was hired as the quarterbacks coach in Buffalo after being fired in Carolina, and he was elevated to offensive coordinator midway through 2023 after the firing of Ken Dorsey.
The College Coaches
These coaches are currently head coaches in college.
Dan Lanning
Dan Lanning bounced around as a defensive coach before sticking at Georgia and becoming their defensive coordinator in 2019. Lanning would coach Georgia’s defense to a national championship before taking over as Oregon head coach in 2022.
Oregon has gone 35-6 in three seasons with him as a head coach, including an undefeated regular season this year with a Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Lanning is a big culture guy who may not want to leave the college ranks.
Marcus Freeman
Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame team will suit up for a chance to go to the National Championship this week. The young head coach has instilled a toughness in the Fighting Irish, leading them to the second best defense in the country.
In three years as Notre Dame’s head coach, he has a 32-9 record with improvement in every season.
Steve Sarkisian
Like with Freeman, Sarkisian’s Texas team will play for a national title game appearance this week. His Longhorns rank 4th in points allowed, and his offensive schemes have created opportunities for quarterback Quinn Ewers all season long.
Texas is his third tenure as a head coach. Sarkisian spent time with Washington and USC before taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. He would spend the next few seasons with Alabama and the Atlanta Falcons, working as an offensive coordinator in both places before getting the job at Texas in 2021. The Longhorns have won their conference in back to back seasons under his leadership, winning the Big 12 in 2023 and the SEC in 2024.
