What’s new this NFL season? Glad you asked. Frank Schwab takes you through the info you need to know.
A quarter of NFL teams will have a new head coach on the sideline this season.
It’s less than that if you don’t count Antonio Pierce, who took over the Las Vegas Raiders‘ head coaching job on an interim basis last season after Josh McDaniels was fired. Pierce went 5-4 and was hired for the job on a permanent basis in January.
With or without Pierce, the turnover speaks to the growing impatience of NFL team owners. The new coaches all should know that if they don’t win in the first couple seasons, their seat will be plenty hot.
Here’s a look at all eight new head coaches for the 2024 NFL season, and what will be new for each of those teams.
Callahan is likely to change just about everything we have known about the Titans. A run-first team under Mike Vrabel, and for years before that too, Tennessee will pass it a lot more under Callahan. He has made that clear. The Titans invested in the passing game this offseason, most notably signing Calvin Ridley. Callahan is mostly an unknown as a first-time head coach who wasn’t a play-calling offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. He’ll bring new ideas to the Titans.
Canales had a major role in Baker Mayfield‘s career revival last season as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now the Panthers hope Canales can have a similar effect on Bryce Young. Young struggled last season with a poor supporting cast. An in-season coaching change didn’t help. Canales will bring some new offensive ideas. He’ll still want to use the run game prominently, then pivot to play-action passing off that. He wants Young to get rid of the ball fast, which can’t hurt after he was sacked 62 times last season. Getting Young on the right track will determine if Canales succeeds or not.
The biggest change for the Chargers might be that people care about them again. Mostly anonymous in Los Angeles since a poorly thought-out move from San Diego, the Chargers hired a coach whose idiosyncratic ways always generate headlines. Harbaugh always wins, too. Schematically, expect a more run-heavy offense that will try to control possession. We’ll see if having talented quarterback Justin Herbert changes Harbaugh’s approach, but having future top-10 NFL pick J.J. McCarthy didn’t affect his play-calling at Michigan last season.
The Seahawks went from the oldest coach in the NFL, Pete Carroll, to the youngest. At age 37, Macdonald already has a growing reputation as a defensive guru, with many of his assistants from his days with the Baltimore Ravens in high demand too. Macdonald brings his respected defensive scheme. Perhaps the bigger change will be on offense, where Macdonald hired new coordinator Ryan Grubb from the University of Washington without any NFL experience. It’ll be plenty of play-action, running backs involved in the passing game and getting the ball out quickly to the skill-position players. Carroll had a great run with the Seahawks, but perhaps some new ideas will be good for the franchise.
It was hard to play for Bill Belichick. Even players with multiple Super Bowl rings admit that it wasn’t always easy. Mayo is considered more of a players’ coach, which will be a big change. Mayo played linebacker for Belichick, so plenty of the same schematic principles will carry over. It’s hard to say exactly what Mayo will be as a head coach, considering he has never even been a coordinator, but after 24 seasons under Belichick having a new coach will be a shock to Patriots fans.
Morris is getting another shot at being a head coach, and his defensive acumen is again a big reason why. Morris had a great three-season run as the Los Angeles Rams‘ defensive coordinator. The Falcons hope he can help a defense that hasn’t been good in a while. He’ll deploy multiple schemes and coverages in a complicated approach. Changing coaches should also affect the offense, where new coordinator Zac Robinson takes over for Arthur Smith, who failed as a head coach in large part because of a sometimes outdated offensive approach that ignored his best players. There’s a reason there’s a renewed excitement in Atlanta.
We’ve seen what Pierce will look like as Raiders head coach. Players responded to his leadership style. The Raiders played hard last season and carried themselves with renewed confidence. Las Vegas went 5-4 with Pierce. The defense played better. There’s no guarantee Pierce works out as the Raiders’ permanent coach. It was only nine games. But the Raiders were correct to see if some of that momentum carries over.
Quinn has an NFC championship as a head coach with the Atlanta Falcons and is coming off a very good stint as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator. Takeaways was the hallmark of his Cowboys defense. No NFL team forced more turnovers than the Cowboys over the past three seasons. That’s a great thing for the Commanders, who had an NFL-worst -14 in turnover margin last season. Quinn wants to call blitzes and create chaos, leading to mistakes. The offense will be different simply due to new rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, but defensive improvement could be a welcomed change for Washington too.
