There are 5 first-time NFL head coaches this season and they each face distinct challenges

Associated Press

3 days ago

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Glenn has been mapping out exactly how he wants to lead an NFL team for a few years.
Before he was hired as the New York Jets' head coach in January, Glenn spent four seasons as the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator and was empowered by coach Dan Campbell to make some crucial calls for the team off the field.
'He allowed me to actually act in the position of being the head coach,' Glenn said. 'To be able to do the calendar for the offseason, plan training camp out, be able to make decisions that he was supposed to make.
'But he allowed me to make those decisions to get me ready to be in this position.'
Glenn, a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback during a 15-year playing career, is charged with trying to turn around the fortunes of a Jets franchise that has the NFL's longest playoff drought at 14 seasons.
He opened training camp this week as one of five first-time head coaches in the league, joining Jacksonville's Liam Coen, Chicago's Ben Johnson, New Orleans' Kellen Moore and Dallas' Brian Schottenheimer.
All five are long-time assistants who now each face distinct challenges and must balance the responsibilities of managing an entire roster and staff instead of focusing on one particular side of the football.
Aaron Glenn, Jets
Age: 53
Background: Jets' first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in 1994 out of Texas A&M. Played eight seasons for New York before three with Houston, two with Dallas and one each with Jacksonville and New Orleans. After retiring from playing, Glenn served as the general manager of the Houston Stallions of the indoor Texas Lone Star Football League in 2012 before being hired as a personnel scout with the Jets later that year. He then had stints as an assistant with Cleveland, New Orleans and Detroit.
Task: He and new GM Darren Mougey focused on making the Jets' roster younger, parting ways with veterans such as QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams, LB C.J. Mosley, K Greg Zuerlein and P Thomas Morstead. Glenn, who considers his former coach Bill Parcells a mentor, spoke often during the offseason about changing the Jets' culture. Ending their long postseason drought will help and there's key foundational talent — WR Garrett Wilson, CB Sauce Gardner, RB Breece Hall, DT Quinnen Williams, edge rusher Jermaine Johnson — but the youth movement could temper some first-year expectations.
Liam Coen, Jaguars
Age: 39
Background: Played quarterback at UMass. Spent last season as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator before being hired by Jacksonville in January to replace the fired Doug Pederson. Coen had two stints with the Los Angeles Rams, including serving as Sean McVay's offensive coordinator in 2022. He also had college stops as an assistant at Brown, Rhode Island, UMass, Maine and Kentucky.
Task: His awkward Jaguars intro — 'Duuuval' — went viral, but Coen was hired for his offensive prowess after he helped Baker Mayfield to the best season of his career with the Buccaneers. Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, has not yet fully lived up to expectations and that will be the focus for Coen, who'll call the plays, and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. Adding versatile No. 2 pick Travis Hunter to the offense (and defense) should help Lawrence and a franchise that has just one playoff appearance in the past seven seasons.
Ben Johnson, Bears
Age: 39
Background: A former backup QB at North Carolina, Johnson was Detroit's offensive coordinator the past three years and helped Jared Goff and the Lions lead the league in scoring last season. Johnson's path to the NFL began as an assistant at Boston College before seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He joined the Lions in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach and was retained by Campbell when he took over as coach in 2020, serving as the tight ends coach and then passing game coordinator before becoming the OC in 2022.
Task: The Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft and Chicago is hoping Johnson will be able to develop the quarterback into a playmaking star. Williams showed promise while starting all 17 games, throwing for a franchise rookie-record 3,541 yard with 20 touchdown passes and six interceptions, but his 68 sacks led the league. Getting Williams to get rid of the ball faster and improve on his accuracy should help, so should GM Ryan Poles' trade acquisitions of guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson to bolster the offensive line.
Kellen Moore, Saints
Age: 37
Background: A former backup quarterback with Detroit and Dallas over six NFL seasons, Moore was long considered a head coaching candidate during his stops as an offensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Chargers and Eagles. In his only season in Philadelphia, he guided a high-scoring offense that powered the Eagles to the Super Bowl behind quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley.
Task: Moore doesn't have the talent-rich roster he had last season. He also isn't quite sure who his quarterback will be after Derek Carr unexpectedly retired in May with a shoulder injury. The Saints drafted Tyler Shough in the second round and also have Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, who each started games last season. The offense has some talent with WR Chris Olave and RB Alvin Kamara, but the defense needs to improve after allowing the second-most yards rushing in the NFL.
Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys
Age: 51
Background: The son of the late Marty Schottenheimer was a bit of a surprise pick by Jerry Jones to replace Mike McCarthy as Dallas' coach. But the younger Schottenheimer has a lengthy resume in both the pros and at the college level, with stints as an offensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams and Jets among them.
Task: Schottenheimer will need to build an even better rapport with quarterback Dak Prescott, who played in only eight games last season because of a hamstring injury. The coach also made some headlines during the offseason when he said Prescott is still 'in the developmental phase' of his career and the team is tweaking some things with him. With Philadelphia still among the NFL's elite teams and Washington one of the league's most promising squads, Schottenheimer and the Cowboys will have a tough road to make the playoffs out of the NFC East. That's despite Jones saying he's 'excited about our team's ability to compete right now.'
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