The 2025-2026 NFL coaching carousel has been one for the ages. Nine teams (as of January 17th) have lost their head coaches in some form or fashion. That's a lot for any year. Some teams have turning over yet another coach that didn't work out while two teams are having to replace their head coach for the first time in nearly two decades. Those two teams -- the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers -- are known for not having much turnover at that job. That's a testament to not only their patience, but their ability to find and hire the right guy when they do have an opening.
That got me thinking: what teams seem to go through this seemingly every couple of seasons? Who are the anti-patient teams? So I decided to just go back to the beginning of the Super Bowl era (1966) just as a starting point. Since that year, there have been a few expansion teams added which may skew some of the results a bit, but you can still see what franchises carry more stability and which ones run through coaches. Nearly every team has some coaches with short stints and most have found at least one that stayed quite a while. But once you look at this list and study the names you can really tell who has issues in their hiring practices.
Below is all 32 teams in order from least to most as far as number of head coaches. Teams with an asterisk (*) are franchises who were added after the Super Bowl era began (1966). These totals do not include interim head coaches at all since they aren't typically an actual hiring. So let's take a look:
GREAT JOB IN HIRING
RAVENS (4)*: Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick, John Harbaugh, vacant: The Ravens have only been around since 1996, so having just four head coaches is remarkable. Billick went nine seasons at the helm before Harbaugh took over for 18 years. As you will see, five of the six franchises added after the merger will populate this part of the list, mainly due to the lack of history.
STEELERS (5): Bill Austin, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, vacant: The reason we are having this conversation is just how good the Steelers are at hiring and keeping coaches. In the past 56 seasons, the Steelers have had just 9 losing seasons. That's insanity in professional football, which is built on parity. While most reporting talks about how Pittsburgh has had just three head coaches since 1969 (when Noll was hired), Austin was the Steelers head coach for the previous three seasons, which was part of an awful era of football in the Steel City.
EXPANSION TEAMS
TEXANS (6)*: Dom Capers, Gary Kubiak, Bill O'Brien, David Culley, Lovie Smith, DeMeco Ryan: This should tell you how wild the Steelers' coaching list is when the Texans (who started play in 2002) has had six coaches to Pittsburgh's five. Culley and Smith only lasted one season each in his job. Kubiak's (near) eight season run is the most while O'Brien and Ryan as the lone coaches with winning records. From 2020 to 2023 the Texans had five coaches who coached at least 12 games for the team, including Romeo Crennel as an interim head coach.
PANTHERS (7)*: Dom Capers, George Seifert, John Fox, Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, Frank Reich, Dan Canales: The Panthers entered the league in 1995, so they've only been around for half of the Super Bowl era. But you can see a big difference in the approach founder Jerry Richardson had toward his coaches than current owner David Tepper has. Richardson had four coaches over the first 25 years of the franchise and never fired a coach mid-season. Tepper has hired three head coaches over the last six seasons and fired two before the season ended. The one he didn't is current head coach Canales. He fired Rhule five games into his third season and Reich just 12 games into his only season. Meanwhile Fox and Rivera each got nine years (and each got to a Super Bowl)
JAGUARS (8)*: Tom Coughlin, Jack Del Rio, Mike Mularkey, Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone, Urban Meyer, Doug Pedersen, Liam Coen: At first it looked like the Jaguars would be a franchise like the Steelers or Ravens since Coughlin (8) and Del Rio (9) locked down the first 17 years on the franchise's existence. Since then it has been a mess. Mularkey lasted one season. Meyer lasted just 13 games. Marrone's four-plus seasons is the most stability they've had since Del Rio's firing.
SEAHAWKS (8)*: Jack Patera, Chuck Knox, Tom Flores, Dennis Erickson, Mike Holmgren, Jim L. Mora, Pete Carroll, Ben Macdonald: Seattle tends to keep coaches around for quite a while. Aside from some exceptions (Mora), Patera, Knox, Holmgren and Carroll were all around for at least 7 seasons, with Holmgren there for 10 and Carroll for 14.
DOING REALLY GOOD
VIKINGS (10): Norm Van Brocklin, Bud Grant, Les Steckel, Jerry Burns, Dennis Green, Mike Tice, Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier, Mike Zimmer, Kevin O'Connell: The Vikings really don't slam coaches so soon. Aside from Steckel (he was fired after one season and Grant took back over), every one of these coaches got four years on the job. Would is surprise you to know that Zimmer was in Minnesota for eight years? Childress was there for five? Or Green was there for 10? The Vikings list stability and tend to be more lenient with their head coaches.
COWBOYS (10): Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy, Brian Schottenheimer: Once upon a time, the Cowboys were known for having Tom Landry as their only head coach for first 29 years of their existence. Then Jerry Jones bought the franchise, fired Landry and hired Johnson. Johnson was outstanding, but drama brought his time in Dallas to an end after five seasons. From there it was basically four or five seasons for every coach ... with the exception of Garrett's 10 seasons.
BENGALS (10)*: Paul Brown, Bill Johnson, Homer Rice, Forrest Gregg, Sam Wyche, Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, Dick LeBeau, Marvin Lewis, Zac Taylor: The Bengals have been one of lower end franchises in the NFL, but they aren't really ones to constantly replace coaches. Founded in 1968, the Bengals have only had ten head coaches in 58 years is remarkable. That is buoyed by Marvin Lewis' 16 year stretch from 2003-2018. Even David Shula ... who went 19-52 ... lasted five seasons in Cincinnati.
PACKERS (11): Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, Lindy Infante, Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman, Mike McCarthy, Matt LaFleur: The interesting fact of this list is that only Lombardi's last two seasons begin this run. Only Bengtson (3) and Rhodes (1) didn't get at least four years on the job. McCarthy coached 13 seasons with the Packers; Starr got nine, Holmgren went seven, Sherman got six and LaFleur just finished his 7th.
CHIEFS (12): Hank Stram, Paul Wiggin, Marv Levy, John Mackovic, Frank Gansz, Marty Schottenheimer, Gunther Cunningham, Dick Vermeil, Herm Edwards, Todd Haley, Romeo Crennel, Andy Reid: Kansas City typically does well getting the right guy. Stram was the franchise's original head coach and lasted 15 seasons. Andy Reid is the current head coach and he just finished his 13th season. In the 1990s was Schottenheimer, who ran the team for 10 seasons. There have been a lot of short careers in between those three (six coaches lasted three or less seasons) and there were some dudes between Schottenheimer and Reid (except for Vermeil).
DOLPHINS (12): George Wilson, Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, Dave Wannstedt, Nick Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin, Adam Gase, Brian Flores, Mike McDonald, vacant: Of course, Shula's 26 seasons as the head coach of the Dolphins makes up the bulk of the Miami history. Cameron's disastrous 1-15 season sort of cancels that out. It's funny that you have names like Shula, Johnson and Saban on this list next to guys who really struggled to get things going.
BATTING ABOUT AVERAGE
EAGLES (13): Joe Kuharich, Jerry Williams, Ed Khayat, Mike McCormack, Dick Vermeil, Marion Campbell, Buddy Ryan, Rick Kotite, Ray Rhodes, Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pedersen, Nick Sirianni: Reid's 14 seasons in Philly sets the bar with the Eagles. Despite the legend of Buddy Ryan, he was only there for five seasons due to his inability to win in the playoffs. Since the turn of the century, only Kelly was ousted after a short tenure.
BUCCANEERS (13)*: John McKay, Leeman Bennett, Ray Perkins, Richard Williamson, Sam Wyche, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith, Dirk Koetter, Bruce Arians, Todd Bowles: The Bucs entered the league in 1976 so they've had a shorter existence than many on this list. Tampa's coaches really are divided into hit or miss. McKay, Dungy and Gruden each lasted at least six seasons (McKay coached the first nine years of the franchise's history). Since Gruden was fired after the 2008 season, Tampa has gone through six head coaches over the next 16 seasons. Bowles is by far the longest tenured, entering his fifth season next year. Smith and Schiano got just two years while Morris, Koetter and Arians (who retired) got three.
SAINTS (13)*: Tom Fears, JD Roberts, John North, Hank Stram, Dick Nolan, Bum Phillips, Jim Mora, Mike Ditka, Jim Haslett, Sean Payton, Dennis Allen, Kellen Moore: This list needs a lot of explaining. For starters, the Saints get an asterisk since they technically began play in the season after Super Bowl I. Also, there is a halftime of sorts during the Payton era as he was suspended for the 2012 season and Joe Vitt (who was suspended for the first six games of that same season) and Aaron Kromer took over that year. Since they were listed as interim coaches, they don't qualify for my list. There are also the names on this list. Phillips is better known for his Oilers career. Ditka is a Bears legend. Mora may be more known for his "playoffs" rant with the Colts. Mora is the main name here -- after Payton -- as his 11 years with the Saints brought the downtrodden franchise their first ever taste of success. He brought the franchise to its first winning season ever, first playoffs and first division title. Haslett brought them their first playoff win. Fun fact: When Bum Phillips retired from the Saints mid-season in 1985, his son Wade took over for the rest of the season.
RAMS (13): George Allen, Tommy Prothro, Chuck Knox, Ray Malavasi, John Robinson, Rich Brooks, Dick Vermeil, Mike Martz, Scott Linehan, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Fisher, Sean McVay: This is a nice range of coaches. The Los Angeles eras of the Rams have been more stable than the St. Louis time. Vermeil would bring the Greatest Show on Turf to the franchise but retired after just three seasons and a Super Bowl championship. After that came a string of short term fixes before Fisher's five years and the move back to SoCal. McVay will be the Rams' longest tenured coach in franchise history next season.
PATRIOTS (14): Mike Holovak, Clive Rush, John Mazur, Chuck Fairbanks, Ron Erhardt, Ron Meyer, Raymond Berry, Rod Rust, Dick MacPherson, Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick, Jerod Mayo, Mike Vrabel: The Patriots have had quite an interesting coaching tree with a run that included Parcells, Carroll and Belichick. Belichick's 387 games coached is by far the most in the franchise but ... like the Dolphins ... the average time a coach has his job in New England was chopped by Mayo's one season.
BRONCOS (14): Mac Speedie, Lou Saban, John Ralston, Red Miller, Dan Reeves, Wade Phillips, Mike Shanahan, Josh McDaniels, John Fox, Gary Kubiak, Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio, Nathaniel Hackett, Sean Payton: Denver has been known for their hits and some misses. Reeves, Shanahan and Kubiak had great careers with the Broncos, though Kubiak only spent two years with the team (winning a Super Bowl). Between Kubiak and Payton was a string of bad hires: Joseph and Fangio lasted two and three seasons, respectively, while Hackett didn't even finish one.
BEARS (14): George Halas, Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron, Jack Pardee, Neill Armstrong, Mike Ditka, Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, Matt Eberflus, Ben Johnson: Halas was a legend and his fourth and final stint as a head coach bled into the Super Bowl era. Of course there is Mike Ditka's 11 years of service and Smith's 9 seasons in Chicago. Outside of that is a long list of guys who didn't last very long. Five coaches have lasted no more than three seasons ... and Ben Johnson will be entering his second season next year.
FALCONS (15): Norb Hecker, Norm Van Brocklin, Marion Campbell, Leeman Bennett, Dan Henning, Jerry Glanville, June Jones, Dan Reeves, Jim L. Mora, Bobby Petrino, Mike Smith, Dan Quinn, Arthur Smith, Raheem Morris, vacant: This is a very interesting list. No coach has more than 7 years on the job in Atlanta ... but Van Brocklin, Reeves and Mike Smith all reached that mark. Campbell had six seasons over two stints (Bennett and Quinn also lasted six years). But it has been a quick hook the last few hires. Arthur Smith got fired after three seasons and Morris got just two years.
GIANTS (15): Allie Sherman, Alex Webster, Bill Arnsparger, John McVay, Ray Perkins, Bill Parcells, Ray Handley, Dan Reeves, Jim Fassel, Tom Coughlin, Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, Brian Daboll, John Harbaugh: Obviously Parcells and Coughlin were the longest tenured Giants head coaches in the Super Bowl era. Fassel was sneakily there 7 years, but a lot of the coaches have been gone after two or three seasons, including three straight head coaches that followed Coughlin. Daboll was in New York three and a half seasons, which seems like a long career with the G-men. Hopefully Harbaugh will change that trend.
COLTS (15): Don Shula, Don McCafferty, Howard Schnellenberger, Ted Marchibroda, Mike McCormack, Frank Kush, Rod Dowhower, Ron Meyer, Lindy Infante, Jim Mora, Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, Chuck Pagano, Frank Reich, Shane Steichen: There are some big names on this list. Of course it starts with Shula, with McCafferty and Dungy bringing Super Bowl championships to the Colts. Marchibroda had two stints with the Colts -- one in Baltimore and one in Indianapolis. And Schnellenberger, who is best known for his college exploits at Miami. We also got Mora's "playoffs" rant on the ledger.
49ERS (15): Jack Christiansen, Dick Nolan, Monte Clark, Ken Meyer, Pete McCulley, Bill Walsh, George Seifert, Steve Mariucci, Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly, Kyle Shanahan: There is no bigger ceiling and floor than the Niners. Clark and Meyer lasted for just one season, then Meyer was fired in the middle of his only season. Then comes Walsh (10) and Seifert (8) who ushered in one of the great dynasties in NFL history and all of their six Super Bowl titles. Then back to short terms: Erickson (2), Nolan (4), Singletary (3), Harbaugh (4), Tomsula (1) and Kelly (1). Currently Shanahan is in his 9th season in San Francisco ... which brings in stability and the second best era of success in the Super Bowl era.
COMMANDERS (15): Otto Graham, Vince Lombardi, Bill Austin, George Allen, Jack Pardee, Joe Gibbs, Richie Pettibone, Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Jim Zorn, Mike Shanahan, Jay Gruden, Ron Rivera, Dan Quinn: There may be no more interesting list than the Commanders/Redskins. There are a lot of high profile names on this list, with Gibbs' 17 seasons over two stints being the biggest name. Well, technically, Lombardi is the biggest name but he passed away after just one season in DC. There is Allen's legendary 7-year run, Shanahan's turbulent 4-year run with a ridiculous assistant coaching staff, and Steve Spurrier's disastrous two seasons. Including Lombardi, there have been four coaches who lasted just one season.
A LITTLE TOO MUCH
CHARGERS (16): Sid Gillman, Charlie Waller, Harland Svare, Tommy Prothro, Don Coryell, Al Saunders, Dan Henning, Bobby Ross, Kevin Gilbride, Mike Riley, Marty Schottenheimer, Norv Turner, Mike McCoy, Anthony Lynn, Brandon Staley, Jim Harbaugh: The Chargers have never really had that one guy for an awful long time. Gillman and Coryell did have long careers with the San Diego Chargers while Ross, Schottenheimer and Turner were there for around five years. Some feel they stick with their failures a bit longer than most (see: Staley) but it can be commended that they aren't usually too quick to move off their head coaches. Well, except for Marty after a 14-2 season.
LIONS (16): Harry Gilmer, Joe Schmidt, Don McCafferty, Rick Forzano, Tommy Hudspeth, Monte Clark, Darryl Rogers, Wayne Fontes, Bobby Ross, Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Jim Schwartz, Jim Caldwell, Matt Patricia, Dan Campbell: There is a long list of guys who didn't taste much success in Detroit, outside of Clark, Fontes and Campbell. No question these are the three coaches that the Lions have held on to for any real length of time.
TITANS (16): Wally Lemm, Ed Hughes, Bill Peterson, Sid Gillman, Bum Phillips, Ed Biles, Hugh Campbell, Jerry Glanville, Jack Pardee, Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey, Mike Vrabel, Brian Callahan, vacant: The Titans ... then Oilers ... didn't keep coaches around very long. Lemm's second stint was five years long, but Hughes (one), Peterson (two) and Gillman (two) had short tenures. Phillips' time in Houston was the best days of the Oilers (Luv Ya Blue!) but the franchise went back to temporary fixes after he was fired in 1980. Fisher's 17 years kept stability in the franchise during its relocation from Houston to Memphis to Nashville and becoming the Tennessee Titans. Since Fisher left, the franchise has been very fickle with its head coaches, including shockingly firing Vrabel in 2023. His replacement only made it 23 games before he was fired.
BILLS (17): Joe Collier, Harvey Johnson, John Rauch, Lou Saban, Jim Ringo, Chuck Knox, Kay Stephenson, Hank Bullough, Marv Levy, Wade Phillips, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone, Rex Ryan, Sean McDermott: The Bills have had a weird history with head coaches. For starters, Harvey Johnson was hired twice to be the Bills head coach. So was Lou Saban (his first stint in Buffalo was pre-Super Bowl). No head coach in Buffalo had a stint longer than five seasons before Marv Levy took over in 1986. His 12 years saw the best era of Bills football with four straight Super Bowl appearances. After that? Nearly every coach was out after two or three seasons ... with the exception of Jauron (four years) and current coach McDermott (nine).
CARDINALS (17): Charley Winner, Bob Hollway, Don Coryell, Bud Wilkinson, Jim Hanifan, Gene Stallings, Joe Bugel, Buddy Ryan, Vince Tobin, Dave McGinnis, Dennis Green, Ken Whisenhunt, Bruce Arians, Steve Wilks, Kliff Kingsbury, Jonathan Gannon, vacant: This list is filled with names who did more somewhere else. Coryell was known for his career in San Diego -- his 2nd NFL job. Wilkinson was a legendary coach at the University of Oklahoma, while Stallings also had a great college coaching career. Ryan and Green were known for their previous NFL efforts while Arians won a Super Bowl with the Bucs. As you are seeing, the list begins to start getting into the less successful franchises.
HONESTLY, THE TEAMS WHO YOU THOUGHT WOULD BE HERE
BROWNS (18): Blanton Collier, Nick Skorich, Forrest Gregg, Sam Rutigliano, Marty Schottenheimer, Bud Carson, Bill Belichick, Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmer, Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, Hugh Jackson, Freddie Kitchens, Kevin Stefanski, vacant: A nice 18 head coaches for the Browns, despite them missing three seasons when the franchise was on hold. There are some big names on this list who did well at other places, and some who flamed out spectacularly. Stefanski coached Cleveland in more games than anyone in the Super Bowl era.
JETS (18): Weeb Ewbank, Charley Winner, Lou Holtz, Walt Michaels, Joe Walton, Bruce Coslet, Pete Carroll, Rich Kotite, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Al Groh, Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan, Todd Bowles, Adam Gase, Robert Saleh, Aaron Glenn: As you look at these coaches, it is quite a list. First off, yes, I am including Belichick in this list because he was named the head coach ... even if that lasted for just a day. It is a wild list with Lou Holtz (not even a full season), Pete Carroll (one season), Belichick (one day) and even Parcells only coached three years. After Ewbank, Walton has coached the most games with the Jets.
RAIDERS (19): John Rauch, John Madden, Tom Flores, Mike Shanahan, Art Shell, Mike White, Joe Bugel, John Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable, Hue Jackson, Dennis Allen, Jack Del Rio, Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce, Pete Carroll, vacant: As you can see, this has been a mess. Not only have they had 19 different head coaches, they hired Shell and Gruden a second time (so really 21 coaching changes). It is amazing because that run of Madden and Flores for 19 years was a magical time for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Since then it has been madness. Countless young coaches that couldn't please the impatient Al Davis (now Mark Davis). Shanahan, who would go on to win two Super Bowls with the rival Broncos, lasted two seasons. Bugel, Jackson, Carroll and Shell's second stint lasted just one year. Ten of these coaches coached 25 games or less for the Raiders. The turnaround is ridiculous for one of the most well known franchises in the NFL.
SO WHAT DOES THIS SHOW?
Well, if you look at the list you will see a franchise trend. Of the eight teams in the last two categories, only the Raiders and Jets have won a Super Bowl. The Jets won that Super Bowl 57 years ago and the Raiders last title was 42 years ago. Those three Raiders Super Bowls were won by John Madden and Tom Flores, who held the job for a combined 19 consecutive seasons. The Jets title was won by the coach with (by far) the longest tenure in team history.
The other six teams and the Jets have combined for just eight Super Bowl appearances ... and half of those were made by the 1990-1993 Bills.
Obviously if you aren't very good, you don't have on to the coach. But if you hire the right coach, you will be good. Both are true but other factors like impatient ownership and bad roster building can undermine anyone you hire. For the most part, ownership has changed all of these franchises in some form ... including several due to inheritance. Not all owners are the same.
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