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Ranking the head coach-GM combos within each AFC division
In the NFL, it's important for the key decision-makers to be on the same page. That's especially true for a team's head coach and general manager. The GM typically picks the players, who must suit the philosophy and vision of the team's head coach.
Ahead of the opening of training camps in July, Yardbarker NFL writers rank the head coach-GM combos within each AFC division.
AFC East
1. BUFFALO BILLS | HC Sean McDermott, GM Brandon Beane | The Bills have won the AFC East in each of the past five seasons and are 86-45 in regular-season games since Beane and McDermott arrived in 2017. If not for the team’s 0-4 playoff record against Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs, the pair would probably have a Lombardi Trophy by now.
2. MIAMI DOLPHINS | HC Mike McDaniel, GM Chris Grier | The Dolphins disappointed with an 8-9 record last season but have two postseason appearances in three years under McDaniel, something the Jets and Patriots cannot say. Of course, Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2000 season, which should have the coach and GM on the hot seat given the talent on the roster.
3. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | HC Mike Vrabel, GM Eliot Wolf | Wolf is technically executive vice president of player personnel, but the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf is really de facto GM. The Patriots finished 4-13 in his first season in that capacity. Not good. Vrabel enjoyed three Super Bowl championships as a linebacker with the Patriots from 2001-08 and brings a 56-48 record (including playoffs) as head coach of the Titans and an NFL Coach of the Year Award (2021) back to New England.
4. NEW YORK JETS | HC Aaron Glenn, GM Darren Mougey | How successful Mougey and Glenn will be remains to be seen as both will assume new roles and neither was with the team in 2024. Glenn spent eight seasons as a cornerback with the Jets and had success as defensive coordinator with the Lions from 2021-24, but Mougey has much to prove after serving as an intern, scout and executive in 13 seasons with the Denver Broncos. — Bruce Ewing
AFC West
1. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | HC Andy Reid, GM Brett Veach | This one is a no-brainer. In eight seasons under Veach and Reid, the Chiefs have five Super Bowls appearances, winning three.
2. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | HC Jim Harbaugh; GM Joe Hortiz | Harbaugh and Hortiz have only spent one season together, but they’re building a Super Bowl contender in L.A. Last season under their leadership, the Chargers went 11-6 and made their second playoff appearance since the 2018 season.
3. DENVER BRONCOS | HC Sean Payton, GM George Paton | Payton and Paton have helped turn around the Broncos, snapping an eight-year playoff drought in 2024. This duo would rank higher had Paton not traded five draft picks and three players to the Seattle Seahawks for QB Russell Wilson in 2022, one of the worst moves in league history. Wilson had an 11-19 regular-season starting record in two seasons with Denver and was released in March 2024.
4. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | HC Pete Carroll, GM John Spytek | The Raiders hired Spytek and Carroll this offseason, but their résumés should give Vegas reason for optimism. Carroll won a Super Bowl as Seahawks HC, while Spytek helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoist a Lombardi Trophy as a director of player personnel. — Clark Dalton
AFC North
1. BALTIMORE RAVENS | HC John Harbaugh, GM Eric DeCosta | It doesn’t get much better than Harbaugh and DeCosta at this level, as the Ravens are 78-38 over the past seven regular seasons with six playoff appearances. They missed the playoffs in 2021 because Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson filled in for an injured QB Lamar Jackson in eight combined games. Harbaugh is a Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer, and DeCosta does a great job drafting players who fit Baltimore’s system and extending them at the right time.
2. PITTSBURGH STEELERS | HC Mike Tomlin, GM Omar Khan | Consistency is the name of the game in Pittsburgh, as Tomlin has led the Steelers to a record of .500 or better in all of his 18 seasons at the helm (and reached two Super Bowls, winning one in 2008-09). Khan, who was named GM in 2022 after serving with the team in other capacities since 2001, is also a talented roster builder, but the Steelers won’t get back to the contender tier until he finds a long-term solution at QB.
3. CLEVELAND BROWNS | HC Kevin Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry | Handing Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230M contract is an unforgivable offense, but you must give Berry credit for extending DE Myles Garrett after he requested a trade and working the Jaguars for one of the biggest trade hauls in NFL Draft history in 2025. As for Stefanski, he has two Coach of the Year awards and during the 2020 season, he brought Cleveland its first playoff win since 1995.
4. CINCINNATI BENGALS | HC Zac Taylor, GM Duke Tobin | This might be a hotter take than Bengals fans expected, but Taylor and Tobin are wasting QB Joe Burrow’s prime years. Cincinnati is an embarrassing 1-11 in the first two weeks of any season under Taylor, proving he consistently fails to prepare his team early, and the frugal Tobin hasn’t made significant moves to upgrade one of the worst pass-blocking offensive lines in the NFL since Burrow joined the team in 2020. — Jack Dougherty
AFC South
1. HOUSTON TEXANS | HC DeMeco Ryans, GM Nick Caserio | Caserio was hired by Houston in 2021 following two decades in New England, where he was part of six Super Bowl champion teams. One of Caserio’s best moves was hiring Ryans, who went 10-7 and reached the playoffs in each of his first two seasons with the Texans. Caserio also drafted C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, which looks like a brilliant decision.
2. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | HC Shane Steichen, GM Chris Ballard | Steichen is 17-17 in two seasons in Indy and could be on the hot seat. Ballard has been the GM of the Colts since 2017 and appears to have missed big with the pick of QB Anthony Richardson in the 2023 NFL Draft. This combo desperately needs a playoff appearance in 2025.
3. TENNESSEE TITANS | HC Brian Callahan, GM Mike Borgonzi | Callahan went 3-14 in his first season with the Titans, but he has a chance to start fresh with new QB Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Borgonzi spent the last decade-plus working for a Kansas City Chiefs team that won three Super Bowls, so the hope is he will carry that winning culture over to Tennessee. Until we see how Ward performs, it will be difficult to judge Callahan or Borgonzi.
4. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | HC Liam Coen, GM James Gladstone | Neither Coen nor Gladstone has experience in his current role, though both come from respected franchises that have won in recent years. Coen helped revive QB Baker Mayfield’s career as the OC of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jags are hoping he has the same influence on QB Trevor Lawrence. Gladstone worked in scouting for a Los Angeles Rams team that has enjoyed great success in recent drafts. Like in Tennessee, the situation in Jacksonville is very much TBD. — Steve DelVecchio
More must-reads:
- Ranking the head coach-GM combos within each NFC division
- Insider revives rumor linking Bill Belichick with NFC South team
- The 'Season rushing TD leaders by NFL team' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Bill Belichick takes another shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft
It is no secret that the relationship between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft has been strained since Belichick left the New England Patriots. Belichick took an obvious shot at Kraft and the Patriots owner's son, Jonathan, who is the president of the team, during an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday. Belichick is preparing for his first-ever season as a college coach with North Carolina. When asked what he has noticed that is different about coaching in college versus the NFL, Belichick insinuated he has enjoyed not having to answer to any members of the Kraft family while doing his job in Chapel Hill. "It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it," Belichick told Volin. "It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way. "There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son. There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level." Shots fired. There is no way to interpret that other than a criticism of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Had Belichick left it at not having to answer to a team owner, you could make the case that he was speaking generally about the NFL. The fact that he added in "owner's son" makes it obvious he was referring to his old bosses, as both Robert and Jonathan are hands-on with the Patriots. Belichick is almost certainly bitter over the way his tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowls, so he likely felt he should have been given more time to turn things around in the post-Tom Brady era. The Kraft family preferred to move on after a 4-13 campaign. Though Belichick insists he is solely focused on the upcoming UNC season, this is not the first time in recent months that he has gone out of his way to throw a jab at Robert Kraft.
Green Bay Packers: Mike Macdonald’s First Message to Matt LaFleur After Mayhem-Marred Practice
Joint practices in the NFL can be really heated. Just take for example the one involving the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, with fights erupting on the field between players from both sides. Even though it’s just a practice session with nothing significant on the line, the competitive juices of players can get in the way and spark fiery moments on the field. If anything, at least no one appears to have been seriously hurt from the multiple altercations reported. However, Packers right tackle Zach Tom was reportedly tossed out of the field after throwing punches at a couple of Seahawks players. Despite all the chaos that transpired between the Packers and the Seahawks, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald had great things to say about Green Bay. Seahawks head coach sends message to Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that Macdonald started his session with the media after the practice, “by thanking Packers coach Matt LaFleur and the organization for hosting them.” In any case, Macdonald felt good overall about his players. “It’s hard to tell what happened, who said what,” Macdonald shared. “Look, you want your guys to defend their [teammates]. There’s a line. Whether we go past the line, I don’t think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen, and however it gets started … hopefully it’s not our guys, but people are going to react to a certain extent. I think our guys handled it pretty well.” The Packers and the Seahawks will still see each other on the field this offseason, as they are scheduled to play in their 2025 NFL preseason finale on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Browns 'trust' Dillon Gabriel more than Shedeur Sanders for a very good reason
The Cleveland Browns seemed to say plenty regarding their feelings about rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders when they repeatedly listed Gabriel above Sanders on unofficial depth charts throughout August. Sanders played well in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8 when Gabriel was recovering from a hamstring injury. Gabriel then received his opportunity to shine in the Aug. 16 preseason matchup at the Philadelphia Eagles when Sanders was dealing with an oblique issue. For a piece published on Thursday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic suggested that the stats from those contests show "the Browns trust Gabriel more than they do Sanders" heading into their Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. "The Browns used pre-snap motion 45 percent of the time with Gabriel against the Philadelphia Eagles," Lloyd wrote. "They used it 31 percent of the time in Sanders’ game against the Carolina Panthers, according to TruMedia data. On third downs, that increased to 63 percent for Gabriel and plummeted to 18 percent for Sanders." The Browns selected Gabriel in the third round of this year's draft before they made a trade to take a flier on Sanders at overall pick No. 144. Against the Panthers, Sanders completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. To compare, Gabriel connected on 13-of-18 passes for 143 yards with a pick-six against the Eagles. He was also credited with a lost fumble. "Gabriel was three of four on [tight-window throws] against the Eagles, according to NextGen Stats, and two of those turned third downs into first downs," Lloyd added. "Sanders was zero for four on tight-window throws against the Panthers." It's worth noting that none of this matters as of publication. Veteran Joe Flacco will serve as Cleveland's Week 1 starter, and the Browns seem serious about having Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders and backup Kenny Pickett on the active roster through at least a portion of the upcoming season. The trade deadline will arrive on Nov. 4. Lloyd mentioned that "a fear that Sanders may develop elsewhere" is a reason the Browns are holding onto the former Colorado star when they prefer Gabriel. As of now, Sanders is on track to continue his development while working in the Browns film room as an unused quarterback throughout the fall.
Steelers have unexpected solution as exciting new trade target emerges
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver room had excited the fan base with the thought of DK Metcalf and George Pickens. However, Pittsburgh made the stunning decision to trade Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, deciding that the headaches surrounding his attitude and maturity were no longer worth the talent he brought on the field. While the move shocked Steeler Nation, it left the offense in a new position. Now, all eyes are on Aaron Rodgers and Metcalf to form a lethal duo. A report has emerged detailing Rodgers' "different" type of impact on the Steelers offense, but questions remain about the depth behind them and whether Pittsburgh has enough reliable playmakers to balance the passing attack. Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson will be tasked with stepping into larger roles in 2025, but their consistency will be tested against elite AFC defenses. Austin has flashed big-play ability, yet durability and reliability have been concerns. Wilson, meanwhile, has impressed in early practices with his speed and precise route running, but as a “redshirt” second-year player, expectations must be tempered. Pittsburgh has long relied on developing homegrown wideouts, but with the team’s Super Bowl window tied to Rodgers’ short tenure, the urgency to add proven production is greater than ever. That’s why many Steelers insiders believe general manager Omar Khan may not be finished building this roster. On social media, Steelers media personality Chris Mueller revealed that Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce could be available. He believes he actually is available already, which could be a huge win for Khan and the Steelers. "Indy's Alec Pierce is evidently available," Mueller shared to his social media following on Thursday. "I'm absolutely picking up the phone if I'm Omar Khan. Led NFL in YPC last year. Very similar skill set to Pickens. Big downfield threat. I think could turn into a good WR2 long-term." At just 25 years old, Pierce is an intriguing target with size, athleticism, and untapped potential. Mueller has urged Khan and the Steelers to pick up the phone and call the Colts, noting that Pierce could immediately bolster depth and provide another trustworthy option for Rodgers, who just received a public apology from one of his teammates. With preseason battles heating up and the AFC loaded with firepower, the idea of adding Pierce to a Metcalf-led receiver room is something that would certainly energize Steelers fans once again. The idea of Khan pulling off a trade to land Pierce is certainly an exciting thought. He’s not yet a household name in the NFL, but over his three seasons in the league, Pierce has shown impressive downfield ability and the skill to stretch defenses. While he isn't as talented as Pickens was overall, he does bring a similar vertical presence that forces opponents to respect the deep ball. Steelers seriously should try to land Alec Pierce Pierce is coming off a 2024 season where he caught 37 passes for 824 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns. What stands out the most from that campaign is his remarkable 22.3 yards per catch, which led the league and shoes how dangerous he can be when stretching the field. Over his three seasons in the league, Pierce has managed to average 17.6 yards per catch, consistently ranking among the league’s best deep threats. Statistically speaking, he is very similar to Pickens in that regard, making him an intriguing replacement candidate who could give the Steelers the kind of explosive element they lost when they dealt away their young star receiver.
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