NFL Coaching Turnover & How Offensive Staffs Are Built Out

The NFL season is a full-on juggernaut compared to other sports. Despite now technically being in “off-season” mode, it still dominates the news cycle.

Think of where we currently are in time and the slow build of excitement for the upcoming season:

• Late Feb-March: NFL Combine & Free Agency
• April: NFL Draft
• May: Post Draft Hysteria & OTAs
• June-July: Training Camps
• August: Preseason Football
• September-January: Giddyup!

Unfortunately, the NFL coaching hiring cycle occurs in perhaps the most inopportune time for fan engagement. The season has ended and 75% of the teams are kicking and screaming about all the ways things went wrong. While a new coaching staff might bring a small amount of optimism as you sift through their pressers chock full of “taking it one day at a time” and “we got a great group of guys”, it is easy to miss what goes on every single year.

Let’s zoom out, see what meaningful data we can glean from this annual cycle, and then highlight how offensive staffs are brought together.

For more on Coaching Changes, check out this Tuesday’s Fantasy Footballers podcast for a discussion on seven new head coaches and 15 new offensive coordinators heading into 2025.

The Coaching Roulette

Every year. This happens every year and yet it can be impossible to fully grasp the dominoes that are knocked down when a coaching staff turns over. Take the Super Bowl Champion Eagles. You win and immediately the next day the offensive staff is pillaged.

Goodbye Kellen Moore. So long Doug Nussmeier.

Despite all his success, Nick Sirianni becomes the first head coach since the 1970 merger to have four different offensive coordinators  in a four-season span for one team (excluding interims). Philadelphia is still trying to clear the confetti of their victory parade!

Beyond the people in charge changing name plates, consider their spouses, their children, their friends, their housing, and the meaningful friendships and relationships that suddenly are uprooted. Why not start out this article humanizing real people with real situations?

Consider Jacksonville’s new meme king: Liam Coen.

For better-or-worse, he has now changed coaching locales 8(!) times in the last decade. Most famously, he spent a five year stint going from the Los Angeles Rams (2018-2020) to the University of Kentucky (2021), back to the Rams (2022) and then serendipitously, back to Kentucky before heading south for Florida.

Coen is just the latest example of coaches moving from assistants, to passing game coordinators, successful OCs, and then the big time as a head coach. You know about the biggest names (Shanahan, McVay, LaFleur, McDaniel, etc.) but there are a myriad of other changes year-to-year that might go unnoticed.

Consider the last eight off-season hiring cycles and the turnover of head coaches and offensive coordinators:

A couple of statistics worth considering that highlights the short-term nature of offensive staffs:

• Over the last nine years, NFL teams hired 60 different head coaches. Only 27 have had play calling experience including four newcomers this year: Ben Johnson, Brian Schottenheimer, Liam Coen, and Kellen Moore.
• Of the 32 NFL teams, only 14 of the OCs (44%) employed for 2025 will be play-callers.
• 21 of the current OCs (66%) have been on the job with their respective teams fewer than two years.
• The longest-tenured OCs (Adam Stenavich, Frank Smith, Wes Phillips, & Mike Kafka) have been in that position with their respective teams for just 3(!) years.

The NFL’s clear attempt to find the next Sean McVay is no secret and the public at large is obsessed with the McVay effect. Plucking members of his coaching tree is common practice but betting on younger coaches is not just good in theory; the math says younger coaches perform better in Year 1 than their aged peers across the board. Using PFR’s Simple Rating System since 2014, the winning percentages and offensive SRS numbers are better than their elder counterparts in their 1st years with a team as head coach.

Comparing three different age “buckets” is only one way to distinguish these coaching candidates. Younger candidates might carry a degree of uncertainty being unproven but at some point, every HC was an unproven commodity. As Loki once said, “I consider experience… experience.”

Offensive Coaching Staffs: 2025

While not every single coaching staff is completely filled out or built the same, perhaps the best way to get a lay of the land is behold all 32 teams. From HC to OC to passing/run game coordinator, these are the names that should be on your radar moving forward.

Here is an updated list* of where things stand as of this publishing for the offensive side of the ball for these positions.

*This table was created based on roles listed on official team websites.

This is much more of a collaborative effort than we often realize as teams have a myriad of different positions for offensive coaching.

• Head Coach
• Offensive Coordinator
• Passing Game Coordinator
• Running Game Coordinator
• Positional Coaches (QB, RB, WR, TE, OL)
• Offensive Assistants
• Quality Control
• Game Management

How Offensive Staffs Are Built Out

We tend to compartmentalize roles and responsibility and blame when watching football. Tune into any Monday AM radio around the country and you’ll find talking heads scapegoating a coach or play-caller following a loss.

While the specific duties can vary depending on the team’s structure and head coach’s philosophy, keep in mind the collaborative effort that is (hopefully) fostered in these work environments. Playbooks are built out much like how a contractor administrates, delegates certain jobs, and executes with a number of skilled workers involved.

Consider the following areas of collaboration for an offensive staff:

Film Work–  With players recovering, Mondays and Tuesdays are usually spent reviewing film (thanks quality control!) to create actionable adjustments for that week’s opponent while fine tuning and whittling down the playbook.

Play Design & Strategy– Developing plays, including route concepts, blocking schemes, formations, and adjustments to each opponent tailored to exploit defensive weaknesses. They analyze opponents’ defensive schemes (e.g., coverages like Cover 2, Cover 3, or man-to-man) to create effective counters. While off-season gives time for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, the wealth of knowledge in the NFL and the databases on file allow for quickly accessing every iteration of plays. I highly recommend this Ringer article (The Evolution of the NFL Play Calling Network) for a deeper dive on the future of play-calling in the NFL if the subject interests you.

Coordination with Position Coaches– They cooperate with other positional coaches (QB, RB, WR, TE, OL) to ensure all players involved in the passing and running game are aligned on timing, route running, and assignments. For normal weeks, “install meetings” are often on Wednesday as the coaches present the game plan and playbook for the upcoming opponent. Practices on Wednesday and Thursday are devoted to implementing that week’s game plan.

Game Planning– During the week leading up to a game, coaches contribute to the overall offensive game plan often referred to as “scripted plays” or play sequences referring to the first couple of drives in a game. Situational packages such as 3rd down and goal-line are often divided out among the offensive staff. Fridays are often utilized for red zone or 2-minute drill scenarios.

In-Game Adjustments– On game day, the staff can may provide real-time input to the offensive coordinator or head coach about adjustments to the passing strategy based on how the defense is responding. Ultimately, it is the play-caller who has the final say.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Hotness Known as the “Game Coordinator”

The term “passing” or “run game coordinator” is relatively new to the history of the NFL and, much like your own office politics, it likely was created to keep everyone happy. If there are multiple people on staff deserving of the OC position, “passing game coordinator” is an easy way to give a title promotion while still retaining their services. “Running game coordinator” is a great way to tell an offensive line coach he isn’t forgotten.

The first mention I could find of “passing game coordinator” (per Google’s Ngram Viewer) is 1980 with the first two coaches I found with the official title being in 1988: Ted Marchibroda with the Eagles and Jon Gruden at Southeast Missouri State. However, the “running game coordinator” position pre-dates the passing game coordinator with the Lions’ Joe Bugel listed as the team’s “offensive run game coordinator” in the 1976 season. I’m still on a wild goose chase trying to find the first mention available in print.

What do those positions do compared to the others?

Passing Game Coordinator

Running Game Coordinator

Much like the passing game coordinator, this typically works under the offensive coordinator, focusing on the ground attack. For many teams, this role works in conjunction with the offensive line so you will see teams like the 49ers (Chris Forester) and Lions (Hank Fraley) double up here in duties. The Dolphins are poster children for this as both head coach Mike McDaniel and OC Frank Smith were previously employed as run game coordinators.

Positional Coaches

Here is an list of the current positional coaches employed for 2025. There are a lot of names to consider including former coordinators (hey Eric Bieniemy, Darrell Bevell, Anthony Lynn & Greg Olson!), former all-Pro WRs (Keenan McCardell, Reggie Wayne, Rob Moore), and guys you remember from college (J.T. Barrett, Autry Denson, Tee Martin) at some point. Historically, positional coaches get a promotion when passing or running game coordinator is added to their duties or they eventually step into some assistant OC role.

Offensive Assistants/Quality Control

Ah, we’ve come to the ground floor! Some of the best and brightest were once guys you saw on a coaching staff list and said “that guy looks like he sells life insurance!”

Sean McVay’s 1st job in the NFL was an “offensive assistant” for the 2008 Buccaneers under Jon Gruden. Nick Sirianni was once a quality control coach with the Chiefs way back in 2009, the short-lived Todd Haley era. Shane Steichen was a defensive assistant with the San Diego Chargers (2011-2012) before eventually moving his way up the ranks to become Philip Rivers QB coach and eventually Justin Herbert‘s OC.

These do-it-all assistants can have duties that range from all of the following:

Some of the most intriguing titles in this data and analytics area come from some of the most successful teams in the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens– Daniel Stern- Director of Football Strategy, Ben Davis- Coaching Research Engineer, Connor Gorny- Applied Sports Scientist, Noah Riley- Football Analyst

Kansas City Chiefs– Mike Frazier- Statistical Analysis Coordinator, Marc Richards- Football Research Analyst

San Francisco 49ers– August Mangin- Game Management Specialist, Max Molz- Coaching Operations Assistant

The Athletic recently released an excellent article (NFL 50 under 40: Young coaches ascending, along with other league difference-makers) if you want a deeper dive into some of the names of coaches and assistants moving up in the league.

Takeaways

1. The NFL is changing… more than you realize.

2. A year from now, half of the OCs in the league will be in different positions.

3. Coaches that move up faster are younger, offensive-minded and help coordinate the passing game.

4. A thorough understanding of what a coaches responsibility and duties are gives us insight into who could receive promotions a year from now.

5. Humanizing coaches and their situations is a step NFL fans (and fantasy football enthusiasts) can begin to take.