Ranking the 2025 NFL offensive coordinator hires: Why Cowboys, Seahawks earn high marks

And then there was one.

On Wednesday, the Jaguars filled their offensive coordinator opening, leaving the Saints as the last team remaining in the market. 

With 11 of the 12 spots filled, here’s our ranking of 2025’s offensive coordinator hires.

11. Josh McDaniels (Patriots)

Previous job: Raiders head coach (2022-23)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: 14 seasons (2006-08; 2011-21)

The former Broncos and Raiders head coach’s past success is tied to future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Drake Maye is the best quarterback he’s coached since. Does that mean McDaniels will have a similar experience in his third New England stint? Based on what we’ve seen previously, the answer is no.

10. Tommy Rees (Browns)

Previous job: Browns tight ends coach/pass game specialist (2024)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: Four seasons (2020-23)

The former college offensive coordinator was promoted in Cleveland after 2024 offensive coordinator Kevin Dorsey was fired. The Browns were last in scoring (15.2 points per game) this season. According to Stathead, their three games with at least 20 points were the league’s fewest. 

Since 2012, the 2024 Browns are the only team to fail to score 20 points in at least four games. Cleveland should have cast a wider net before settling on Rees.

9. Declan Doyle (Bears)

Previous job: Broncos tight ends coach (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: None

Doyle, like first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s former boss, Dan Campbell, is a former Saints assistant (2019-22) under Payton, who he followed to Denver in 2023.

Broncos tight ends played a minuscule role in Denver’s 2024 success. Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins and Greg Dulcich, who was waived by the team in November, combined for 51 receptions, 483 yards and five touchdowns.

8. Nick Caley (Texans)

Previous job: Rams pass game coordinator (2024)/tight ends coach (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: None

Caley started his NFL coaching career with the Patriots, where he coached tight ends for six seasons (2017-22) before joining the Rams. He’s done solid work in both stops, but how he’ll fix Houston’s most pressing concern is unclear.

The Texans offensive line was a glaring weakness in 2024. Earlier this week, the team announced it promoted assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich to offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

7. Grant Udinski (Jaguars)

Previous job: Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: None

Udinski’s coaching timeline accelerated in 2024 when journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold became a Pro Bowler after previously being dismissed as an NFL Draft bust. The 28-year-old first-year coordinator will partner with first-year Jags head coach Liam Coen to bring the best out of 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

6. Chip Kelly (Raiders)

Previous job: Ohio State offensive coordinator (2024)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: 11 seasons (1999-2008; 2024)

Fresh off a national championship, Kelly returns to the NFL, where he previously served as head coach for the Eagles (2013-15) and 49ers (2016). This is Kelly’s first stint as an NFL offensive coordinator, having previously served in the post at New Hampshire, Oregon and Ohio State.

Paired with head coach Pete Carroll, the Raiders will likely put a much heavier emphasis on the run game after ranking No. 30 in carries and last in yards in 2024.

5. Tanner Engstrand (Jets)

Previous job: Lions passing game coordinator (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: Eight seasons (2011-17, 2020)

Engstrand was instrumental in Detroit’s explosive pass offense. After his hiring, the Jets noted the Lions had the league’s third-most 20-yard pass plays (62). 

“We’re chasing that every week,” Engstrand, who previously served seven seasons as offensive coordinator at FCS San Diego and during the 2020 XFL season for the DC Defenders, said in June, per Jets.com.

Per Stathead, the Jets ranked 13th in 20-yard pass plays during the regular season (52), with Garrett Wilson notching a team-high 16 for 427 yards. The Aaron Rodgers-Davante Adams connection was also key, but both have uncertain futures with the team.

4. Klayton Adams (Cowboys)

Previous job: Cardinals offensive line coach (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: One season (2018)

Adams should improve the Cowboys’ terrible rush offense, which ranked 27th in yards and 30th in yards per attempt. Arizona was No. 4 and No. 7 in rushing in his two seasons as offensive line coach. The Cardinals averaged five yards per carry in both seasons, making it the only team in the NFL to do so, per Stathead.

Adams served as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Colorado in 2018. That season, former Buffaloes running back Travon McMillian had 201 carries, 1,009 yards and seven touchdowns. No Colorado running back has rushed for 1,000 yards since.

3. Josh Grizzard (Buccaneers)

Previous job: Buccaneers passing game coordinator (2024)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: None

The Bucs are in safe hands. Grizzard was promoted from within after one of the best offensive seasons in Bucs franchise history. Per the Buccaneers team site, Grizzard orchestrated Tampa’s league-leading third-down offense, which had a 50.9 percent conversion rate.

Tampa Bay eclipsed 500 points for the second time ever, with quarterback Baker Mayfield throwing a career-high 41 touchdowns.

2. John Morton (Lions)

Previous job: Broncos passing game coordinator (2023-24)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: Three seasons (2009-10, 2017)

Another Sean Payton disciple, Morton was on the coaching staff of numerous productive Saints offenses. In 2024, he was part of a staff that guided Bo Nix to one of the most prolific seasons by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. His 3,775 passing yards were the eighth-most by a rookie, and only Justin Herbert had more touchdowns (31) than Nix’s 29.

1. Klint Kubiak (Seahawks)

Previous job: Saints offensive coordinator (2024)

Prior offensive coordinator experience: Two seasons (2021, 2024)

The Saints offense cratered after scoring 91 points in the first two weeks, to no fault of Kubiak. New Orleans dealt with numerous injuries, including center Erik McCoy, wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and quarterback Derek Carr.

Kubiak gets a redo with the Seahawks, whose skilled playmakers should thrive in his motion-heavy scheme.