Where do NFL head coaches come from?

In a discussion in the MHR staff chatroom I asked the question about how many NFL head coaches were NOT previously NFL OCs, DCs or HCs before they got their NFL HC jobs. I was unable to find a good answer (and neither was Laurie) so I decided to do the research. What you are about to see is the listing of NFL HC by franchise by year with a designation about the highest NFL position that each HC had in the NFL prior to their NFL HC job.

I’m only going to deal with this century.You are more than welcome to extend this to the 90s and prior if you wish. HCs whose tenure extends from one time block into another will only have their highest position listed after their first year in their new HC job. Note that Vance Joseph was only a coordinator in the NFL for one season, but that is not uncommon.

2000-2005

This century began with a bunch of guys as HC who had not been NFL coordinators prior to their HC gigs: Tom Coughlin, Dennis Green, Andy Reid, Mike Riley, Steve Spurrier and Steve Mariucci. Coughlin, Green, and Reid were/are all successful long-term HCs in the NFL. Mike Riley had no coaching experience prior to taking the Chargers HC job. Mariucci was given a shot as a HC because he was the QB guru in SF. Spurrier had been wildly successful in college, but that did not translate to the NFL. It’s also interesting to note that two of the first time NFL HC’s during this era had only spent one year as a DC or OC prior to their ascension to HC jobs: Jack Del Rio and Mike Martz.

2006-2010

We only had hhree first-time HCs who had not been NFL OCs or DCs prior during this time period: Lane Kiffin, Jim Zorn and Tom Cable. Lane Kiffin had one year as the defensive quality control person in Jacksonville as his only NFL coaching experience. Kiffin lasted two years with the Faiders. Zorn lasted two seasons with WAS and Cable lasted two seasons in Joakland. There were two guys who got HC gigs after only spending one year as a coordinator in the NFL during this time-frame: Eric Mangini (one year as DC in NE) and Mike Tomlin (one year as DC in MIN).

2011-2016

This time-frame saw four guys get first-time HC jobs without OC or DC experience in the NFL. Mike Munchak in TEN (had been an OL coach), Greg Schiano in TB (had been an DB coach in the NFL), Chip Kelly in PHI (had NO NFL coaching experience) and Jim Tomsula in SF (he had been the DL coach in SF). Muchak was the most successful of these four and he only lasted three years as the HC in TEN.

Three men got their first HC job after one year as a coordinator in the NFL during this time period. Chuck Pagano in IND (one year as DC for the Giants - 2011), Dennis Allen (one year as the DC in DEN - 2011) and Bill O’Brien (one year as OC in NE - 2011). 2011 was a strange year in many ways in the NFL.

Conclusions

The vast majority of NFL HCs were either a DC, OC, HC or assistant head coach (AHC) prior to their HC jobs. Those who had no NFL coaching experience prior to taking an NFL HC gig all failed miserably. There are some successes among the guys who weren’t an OC, DC, AHC or HC in the NFL prior to getting their HC gig, but there are also plenty of failures.