Best NFL coaches 2025
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Who is the best head coach in the NFL? We seem to be in a golden era of NFL head coaches, with multiple future Hall of Famers and several who are quickly building legendary resumes. When you stack up the best NFL coaches right now, it quickly becomes clear just how deep the pool of coaching talent is right now.
Let’s dive into our rankings of the best NFL coaches in 2025. Our evaluation factors in last season’s success, overall track record and the supporting cast each head coach is working with.
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
Best NFL coaches 2025
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Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is the best NFL coach right now. A three-time Super Bowl champion with seven consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances, Reid also has 10 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins. Heading into 2025, the 67-year-old head coach ranks fourth all-time in career wins (301) and he’ll have a shot at passing George Halas (324 wins) by the end of the 2026 NFL season.
Related: Insider sheds light on the future of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line
2. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
Following the 2022 NFL season, there was legitimate buzz that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay might retire and move into broadcasting. Fortunately for the football world, he decided to stick around. Already regarded as one of the best offensive minds in football, McVay overhauled the Rams’ rushing attack ahead of the 2024 season and made it work. He’s finding ways to maximize Matthew Stafford into his late-30s even when injuries strike the offensive line and receiving corps. As for his overall resume through eight seasons, McVay has as many titles (one) as Don Shula and George Halas and a better winning percentage than Bill Belichick through their first eight seasons.
Read More: Best NFL coaches ever
3. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Best NFL coaches 2025
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The Detroit Lions were the butt of jokes when first-year head coach Dan Campbell’s introductory press conference included him talking about biting kneecaps off. After he posted a 9-26-1 (.250) record through his first 36 games, there were plenty of calls for him to be fired. The Lions enter the 2025 season with a 35-11 mark (.761) since Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season. Campbell not only built a culture in Detroit, but he also played a critical role in the development of head coaches Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. As a head coach, he perfectly blends a mix of using analytics, trusting his gut and maximizing his players. While Campbell might not be recognized as a brilliant play-caller or defensive mind, he’s an outstanding culture builder and leader. The Lions are one of the best teams in football because of Campbell.
Read More: NFL defense rankings, updated weekly
4. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Best NFL coaches 2025
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Ranking Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh among the best NFL coaches has become a bit more difficult in recent seasons. He’s a Super Bowl winner with the most road playoff wins (eight) in NFL history, but his teams have really come up short as of late in the NFL playoffs. What’s alarming is that it’s mental errors that often prevent Baltimore from reaching the ceiling that its talented roster offers. What Harbaugh deserves credit for is being there when this team changed everything to build around Lamar Jackson, something no other club seemed willing to do.
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5. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Best NFL coaches 2025
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The fact that Mike Tomlin has 18 consecutive non-losing seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers coach is absurd. He’s done that with quarterbacks like Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett and even a broken-down Ben Roethlisberger. Taking a team to the playoffs 12 times in 18 years is remarkable. With all that said, Tomlin is barely clinging to the fifth spot on this list. He hasn’t won a playoff game since January 15, 2017. He’s also been heavily involved in roster building in recent years. If we’re putting the best NFL coaches right now into tiers, Tomlin is distinctly below the top four and he could slip even further down after the 2025 season.
Read More: Winners, Losers of Aaron Rodgers signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Best NFL coaches 2025
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After three consecutive seasons with double-digit wins and two Super Bowl appearances from 2019-2023, Kyle Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers had only their second 10-loss season over the last six years. Even with injuries decimating the 49ers’ roster, San Francisco still averaged the fourth-most total yards per game (376.3). Furthermore, from 2021-’24, the 49ers’ offense ranks third in EPA per Play (0.102), with the only other offenses that have a .100-plus OPA quarterbacked by Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. The history of his team’s falling short on the biggest stage is a fair knock on Shanahan, but he’s still one of the best NFL coaches in 2025.
7. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
Best NFL coaches 2025
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Ranking Nick Sirianni seventh among the best NFL coaches right now certainly might seem controversial coming off a 14-3 season capped off with the Lombardi Trophy. However, let’s also remember that the Philadelphia Eagles nearly fired him after the 2023 season. He remained after agreeing to make the coordinator hires that general manager Howie Roseman wanted. Furthermore, Roseman supplied him with by far the best NFL roster in 2024. Sirianni has proven to be a very good coach and he’s clearly well-liked in the locker room again, but he is also the beneficiary of having the best supporting cast of any head coach in the NFL.
Read More: NFL power rankings 2025, updated weekly
8. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers
Best NFL coaches 2025
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Heading into the 2025 season, Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has the seventh-highest career winning percentage (.685) among NFL coaches with five-plus seasons of experience. Remarkably, he only has a single season with fewer than 10 wins (8-8 in 2014) to date. Los Angeles landed its culture builder last offseason and Harbaugh is now starting to imprint his vision on the roster. The Chargers experienced a six-win improvement in Harbaugh’s first season and while they might only win 10-11 games in 2025, he’ll make them a perennial contender moving forward.
Related: Los Angeles Chargers News, Rumors
9. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
Best NFL coaches 2025
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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton absolutely answered some doubts we had about him entering the 2024 season. Payton’s hiring of coordinator Vance Joseph has led to one of the most stable and effective defenses in the NFL. He also played a central role in delivering Denver’s first season with double-digit wins since 2015. Most importantly, though, Payton proved everyone wrong with Bo Nix. The Broncos have all of the makings of a Super Bowl contender in 2025 and Payton may be even higher on our list a year from now.
10. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
"Best NFL coaches"
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If we’re ranking the best NFL coaches in 2025 off who we’d want for the next decade-plus, Kevin O’Connell would only rank behind Sean McVay and Dan Campbell. The 40-year-old is the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, coming off a 14-3 season where he made Sam Darnold look like an MVP candidate for most of the season. O’Connell also struck gold a few years ago with the hiring of defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who might be staying long-term. The Minnesota Vikings now have a Super Bowl-caliber and if O’Connell can get J.J. McCarthy to outperform Darnold, it might not be long before O’Connell is coaching in the Super Bowl.
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