Top Eight Candidates To Be The New York Jets Head Coach In 2025

Who could be the next head coach of the New York Jets? Mike Fanelli dives into the team's top eight candidates.

The New York Jets had Super Bowl expectations entering the 2024 season. Unfortunately, they fell well short of those goals. New York ended the year with a 5-12 record, finishing third in the AFC East division.

They started the season with a 2-3 record over their first five games. The Jets decided to fire Robert Saleh after the slow start and named Jeff Ulbrich their interim head coach. He went 3-9 as the interim head coach, losing six of their final eight games.

While Ulbrich will get a chance to be the team’s permanent head coach, no one expects him to be in the running for the full-time job. Meanwhile, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has no interest in the job. So, let’s look at the eight most likely candidates to be the Jets’ next head coach.

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Joe Brady

The Buffalo Bills offense has played well under Joe Brady. He took over at the mid-way point of the 2022 season after the team fired Ken Dorsey. Buffalo has had one of the top offenses in the NFL over the past year and a half despite a lack of big-name playmakers in the passing game.

Having Josh Allen under center will make any offensive coordinator look good. However, Brady has had success at other stops in his coaching career. He was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the 2019 LSU team that won the Nation Championship. The Jets have requested an interview with Brady. He could potentially turn around a struggling offensive unit.

Source: The #Jets have requested to interview #Bills OC Joe Brady for their vacant HC job.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 6, 2025

Ron Rivera

After a solid nine-year career in the NFL as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears, Rivera has become a respected head coach in the league. He got his first head coaching gig in 2011 with the Carolina Panthers. Rivera spent nine years with the franchise, finishing with a 76-63-1 record, making the Super Bowl during the 2015 season.

Despite getting fired during the 2019 season, Rivera was hired as the Washington Commanders’ head coach the following year. He spent four seasons with the Commanders, going 26-40-1, finishing with a losing record in three of four years with the team, including 4-13 in 2023. While Rivera is a respected coach, he hasn’t had much success.

Matt Nagy

Nagy has spent the past three years as part of the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff. He started as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach before becoming the offensive coordinator in 2023. Nagy has spent much of his NFL coaching career with Andy Reid, whether in Kansas City or the Philadelphia Eagles.

However, he spent four seasons as the Chicago Bears’ head coach from 2018-2021. While fans have little respect for Nagy, several NFL teams, including the Jets, have set up or completed interviews with the offensive coordinator. Some will argue Nagy deserves another head coaching opportunity despite his past failures.

We have completed an interview with Matt Nagy for our Head Coach position.

— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 8, 2025

Mike Vrabel

Many believe Vrabel will land the New England Patriots or Las Vegas Raiders open head coaching job. The former linebacker spent most of his career with the Patriots, winning multiple Super Bowls. Reportedly, he wants to be their next head coach. However, Vrabel played with Tom Brady, a minority owner of the Raiders, and will have a massive role in the decision-making process.

Don’t be surprised if that friendship can get Vrabel to join Las Vegas. More importantly, the Jets were never a real option for Vrabel despite taking an interview with the team. Many believe the former linebacker used the interview as a bluff to get New England to fire Jerod Mayo, opening up the job he really wants.

Rex Ryan

The ESPN analyst hasn’t been an NFL coach since the 2016 season. Ryan started his professional coaching career in 1999 with the Baltimore Ravens. After spending five years as the defensive line coach, he became the defensive coordinator in 2005 for four seasons. Ryan then got hired as the Jets’ head coach.

While he lasted six years with New York, Ryan led the team to the playoffs in his first two seasons, making the AFC Championship both years. Unfortunately, he finished his time with the Jets with a 46-50 record, including three losing seasons. Yet, Ryan has completed an interview with the team and could return to New York.

We have completed an interview with Rex Ryan for our Head Coach position.

— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 7, 2025

Steve Spagnuolo

Spagnuolo is arguably the league’s top defensive coordinator. He has been in coaching since 1981, starting as a graduate assistant at the University of Massachusetts. However, his two biggest impact jobs were with the New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs. He was the defensive coordinator for the Giants during their 2008 Super Bowl victory against Tom Brady.

More importantly, Spagnuolo has been the Chiefs defensive coordinator for the past six years, winning three Super Bowls with the team. He had a massive role in the team, winning back-to-back titles. Surprisingly, Spagnuolo has only three years of experience as a full-time NFL head coach. It’s time for him to have another head coaching opportunity.

Vance Joseph

Despite coaching for six teams over the past 20 years, Joseph is one of the most respected defensive coaches in the NFL. He has spent the past two seasons as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator, leading one of the top units in the league. Joseph was also the team’s head coach from 2017 through 2018.

Unfortunately, he was fired after two years with the team but quickly became one of the top defensive coordinators in the league. Joseph spent four years with the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-2022. The Jets have requested permission to interview the Broncos defensive coordinator. He could be a finalist for New York’s heading coach job.

The New York Jets put in a request to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for their head coach job, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2025

Brian Flores

Flores has never been a college coach. He began coaching in 2008 with the New England Patriots, starting as a special teams assistant. After three years as a special teams coach, Flores became a defensive coach in 2011. He spent eight seasons as a defensive positional coach for New England before the Miami Dolphins hired him as their head coach in a move many questioned at the time.

However, Flores had a solid career in Miami, finishing with a 24-25 record, including back-to-back winning seasons before getting fired in 2021. After taking off the 2022 season, he has spent the past two years with the Minnesota Vikings as their defensive coordinator. Flores has had one of the top units in the league the past two seasons, leading to multiple interview requests over the past few days.

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