Super Bowl LX Lessons: Hiring the Right Head Coach Will Change Organizations Overnight

Look no further than the Super Bowl LX matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots for the rationale behind a frantic offseason and a congested coaching carousel.

The Seahawks went from 9-8 to 14-3 and a Super Bowl appearance in just two years with their head coach, Mike MacDonald. The Patriots did even better, swapping out a 4-13 record for 14-3 and winning the AFC in Mike Vrabel’s first season wearing the headset.

Is this the modern NFL? Do coaches have a shorter runway than at any point in NFL history? If teams are turning to the Super Bowl competitors for inspiration, then the answers to both questions are a resounding “Yes.”

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NFL Coaching Carousel Update and Analysis

10 NFL teams fired or moved on from their head coaches this year. All but one of those positions has been filled, and the majority of the new hires are younger than the individuals they replaced.

Here’s an updated look at the NFL coaching carousel tracker:

The “fired” coaches were with their respective teams for an average of 6.8 years. Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh inflated the average and won Super Bowls with their previous teams, while Pete Caroll’s one year with the Raiders was the low mark.

Many of the “hired” coaches were younger guys with supposed schematic upside due to their innovative nature. LaFleur, 38, is a perfect example, since he’s coming from a Los Angeles Rams team on which he didn’t even call the plays.

NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat

Rapid transformations are becoming more of a trend in both professional and college football.

Granted, college football has the excuses of the transfer portal and NIL. The NFL doesn’t have the same inner workings, but franchises are becoming similarly impatient.

Of the 10 coaches that were fired, six were with their teams for four years or fewer: Carroll (one), Callahan (two), Morris (two), Gannon (three), Daboll (four), and McDaniel (four). 

While that’s not exactly comforting for future head coaching candidates and current head coaches, it’s representative of the times. 

In addition to the Patriots’ and Seahawks’ turnarounds that ended with them reaching the Super Bowl within two years of firing their coach, the Washington Commanders went from 4-13 to 12-5 and an NFC Championship Game appearance in year one of the Dan Quinn era in 2024; the Detroit Lions went from 5-11 to 12-5 and a conference championship appearance of their own after three years under Dan Campbell; and the Los Angeles Chargers went from 5-12 to back-to-back 11-6 seasons after hiring Jim Harbaugh.

Despite the litany of changes, several coaches may already be on the hot seat heading into next season. That includes Quinn (Commanders), Zach Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals), Aaron Glenn (New York Jets), Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota Vikings), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles), just to name a few. 

If the Super Bowl has one teaching point, it’s that nailing the head coaching hire can change NFL teams’ fortunes practically overnight.

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