Tier 5
11. Arthur Smith
If the Chicago Bears are looking to bring in a head coach with NFL head coaching experience, Arthur Smith could be that guy. He was with Atlanta just a year ago (2023) but the Falcons never won more than seven games. In fact, all three years he was the head coach of the Falcons they finished with a 7-10 record. Most of his success took place in Tennessee under Mike Vrabel. Now, with Pittsburgh, the results have been like a roller coaster but they won 10 games and are in the playoffs. Russell Wilson and even Justin Fields looked better, but not good enough.
I'm being a bit of a hypocrite here putting Smith at the bottom of Tier 5 after I moved Mike Kafka up to the top of Tier 6. Kafka was put ahead of the defensive-minded candidates in Tier 6, but I have Arthur below two defensive-minded candidates in Tier 5. There is just something I don't like about Smith.
10. Brian Flores
I used to be a big proponent of Brian Flores. Back in 2022, when the Chicago Bears were going through their hiring process, I did these rankings too. Brian Flores was interviewed and I had him as the highest defensive-minded head coach at sixth out of 11. By the way, Matt Eberflus was one spot behind him at seven. Flores is a good coach, but it has been reported he is very difficult to work with. This especially bubbled to the top as Tua Tagovailoa was very critical of his former head coach. That said, Flores wins wherever he goes and the Dolphins had two winning seasons in his three years.
Flores' coaching style is not for everyone. He berates his players and calls out when they do things wrong. He allegedly would tell Tagovailoa almost daily that he sucks. Tagovailoa has blossomed further under new coach Mike McDaniel. Is this what we want for Caleb Williams? I think Flores is a great coach but should probably remain a coordinator.
9. Aaron Glenn
A hot name this cycle is Aaron Glenn out of Detroit. Ben Johnson does not deserve all of the credit up north. Glenn has done a great job with the Lions the last couple of seasons. This year, we have seen a number of starters go down for multiple weeks or the full season in Detroit—Aidan Hutchinson, for example. Glenn was able to keep the defense going and deserves credit, but as a defensive-minded coach, I am not putting him high on this list.
Like Johnson, Glenn comes with plenty of promise but also the fear of the unknown. Where Johnson stands out to me more than Glenn, besides looking like an offensive genius, is the consistency of the offense over the last two years. Glenn's defense was nowhere near as good in 2023 as it was in 2024.