Who’s next? Ten NFL assistants who could be coveted as head coaches

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

It’s that time of year again.

The NFL’s annual purge of underperforming head coaches has already begun. Josh McDaniels was fired by the Raiders four weeks ago, Frank Reich was dismissed by the Panthers on Monday, and a half-dozen or so more coaches are in jeopardy as the season wraps up.

And with that, it’s a good time to look at the league’s future, and the promising assistant coaches who will be coveted by teams looking for new leaders to turn around their franchises. This year’s rookie hires are already making major splashes, led by Houston’s DeMeco Ryans, with Indianapolis’ Shane Steichen exceeding expectations as well.

So we offer up a list of 10 current assistants most likely to be in the mix for interviews and hires in the upcoming cycle. It’s a mix of young and old, offense and defense, names you’ve barely heard of and veterans who have been head coaches before.

Eric Bieniemy, 54, Commanders OC

Perennially overlooked as Chiefs offensive coordinator under Andy Reid, Bieniemy left for Washington this year and has managed to generate a top-10 passing offense with young QB Sam Howell, who’s on pace for 4,730 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, but also 18 interceptions. The Commanders are languishing at 4-8 and Bieniemy’s own head coach could be getting fired, so he’s not likely a strong candidate.

Brian Callahan, 39, Bengals OC

He has led Cincinnati’s offense throughout Joe Burrow’s run there, but the QB’s injuries this season precipitated an inevitable dropoff. The Bengals are currently 23rd in scoring and 27th in yards, with the worst run game in the league. Extended playoff runs might have worked against Callahan’s candidacy in past seasons, but that won’t be a problem this year. If a team liked Cincinnati’s prolific offense in 2021-22 and has offensive talent, it’s just a question of how well he could find success independent of Zac Taylor.

Brian Flores, 42, Vikings DC

Flores’…


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Publish date : 2023-11-28 20:13:03

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