*Bonus from the former Head Coach group*
Mike McDaniel
Age 42 / Offense Bias
-19 seasons as an NFL coach (4 as a Head Coach, 1 as a coordinator)
Coaching Tree: Kyle Shanahan
Record as a Head Coach: 35-33
PROS
One of the most successful coaching trees in the NFL originated from the Mike Shanahan-led Redskins in the 2010-2013 time period. McDaniel was a part of that staff and essentially followed Kyle Shanahan around the league across three different franchises as an assistant.
His expertise has always revolved around the running game. From 2017-2020, he was the run game coordinator in San Francisco and those were the Niners teams that produced with a crew of no-namers. In Miami, McDaniel had two top four rushing attacks including the best one in the league in 2023 with veteran cast off Raheem Mostert and rookie third rounder Devon Achane behind a shaky offensive line.
In the one season McDaniel had his starting quarterback play all 17 games, his offense finished first in the NFL in yards and second in points scored. He developed Tua Tagovailoa into the league’s leading passer and led Miami to consecutive playoff berths for the first time since 2001.
CONS
Over his tenure in Miami as the Head Coach, McDaniel was 7-20 (4-17 since 2022) against teams with winning records and went 0-2 in the playoffs. He beat up on a lot of bad teams and inflated some of his offensive production against them. He was 2-6 against Buffalo, the primary competition in the division over that span. He was 8-11 in December + January and 2-6 in games with temperatures below 40 degrees.
Over his tenure in Miami, the defense never quite took a leap up. He did benefit from what was leftover from the Brian Flores era but McDaniel had three different coordinators in his first three seasons. Even with Vic Fangio in the picture in 2022, Miami has three finishes of 22nd or worse in points allowed.
“Quirky but inconsistent” was a label a former player put on McDaniel and there were credible questions about his potential to lead an NFL team. The new and different act was out of the norm and it was fun while the team was on the rise scoring points, but how effective he is at pushing a team and being the unquestioned leader is unknown even after four seasons.
In Conclusion:
McDaniel comes from the hottest coaching tree in the game & is a proven genius when it comes to scheming offense. But that may be the end of the road for his ceiling as a Head Coach.
Chris Shula
Age 39 / Defense Bias
-5 seasons as a college coach
-11 seasons as an NFL coach (2 as a coordinator)
Coaching Tree: Sean McVay
Record as coordinator: 22-12
PROS
Shula arrived in Los Angeles with Sean McVay in year one. He’s been through it all. The early success of 24 wins in two years along with a Super Bowl appearance. A regression then the bold move of trading away Jared Goff and picks for Matthew Stafford. A Super Bowl victory then another regression to missing the playoffs. Finding immediate draft success despite a lack of first round picks. And competing in an ultra-competitive division with an aging quarterback and defense forced to re-tool after the retirement of Hall of Famer Aaron Donald. Shula has had a front row seat from position coach to coordinator to a roller coaster that is the NFL.
The grandson of the all-time winningest coach in NFL history Don Shula and son of former Bengals Head Coach Dave Shula, Chris is young but he has been involved in the game from a coaching level forever. A true lifer. One has to imagine there is a strong and reputable network from being “in the fraternity” his entire life.
Both seasons as a coordinator, the Rams defense ranked top five in the NFL in the red zone. Their production increased considerably from year one to year two and this was done with the cheapest defense in the NFL (in 2024 and 2025). The Rams ranked dead last in spending at defensive line and linebacker both seasons.
CONS
The lack of experience will be the biggest detractor from his coaching grade. While we have seen young coaches succeed in the league, many have not panned out and he has just two seasons of running a side of the ball.
Raheem Morris and Brandon Staley were the previous young defensive coordinators who left and took their own Head Coach gigs. Neither were successful notably at building the right offensive support staff and running the entire operation from the roster to responsibilities of media obligations, and personnel involvement. It is a fair argument to say these defensive coaches have benefited from McVay more than some realize.
The glaring negative to the Rams defense under Shula has been a lack of ability to control the trenches in the run game. His units have tended to get pushed around. In 2025, they were 19th in yards per carry, slightly from a bottom tier 26th-rank in 2024.
In Conclusion:
Shula is a unique swing for the fence because of his rah-rah style that can create a lot of production with unproven young players. But struggles against quality offenses and the lack of success defensive coaches have had after leaving Los Angeles creates a lot of unknown around him.
Matt Burke
Age 49 / Defense bias
-6 seasons as a college coach
-22 seasons as an NFL coach (5 as a coordinator)
Coaching tree: Marvin Lewis, Robert Saleh
Record as coordinator: 45-38
PROS
The list of defensive names he has worked under is nothing short of amazing. DeMeco Ryans, Jim Schwartz, Robert Saleh, and Marvin Lewis. Some of those defenses (including right here in 2025) were the best in the NFL and while some others were not productive, they were always physical. He brings a real brand to the defense.
Over his three-year tenure as the Houston Defensive Coordinator, the team went from 14th-to 6th-to 1st in yards allowed. They also went from 16th-to 5th-to 3rd in turnovers forced. And lastly they went from 14th-to 4th-to 7th in sacks. Three metrics that create results in a big way for a defense have improved mightily in cohesion since he took over.
Burke is a unique personality who has a lot of respect for his sheer intelligence league wide. The Ivy-League graduate obviously brings the defensive bias to the table but the reports about how different he is from traditional defense-only coaches has been discussed by many who have worked with him.
CONS
It is hard to dispute the defensive turnaround in Houston is largely on the back of Head Coach DeMeco Ryans, a defensive coach who was hired for just this reason. Burke’s success in the league has never reached the level of what is happening in Houston so it is credible to question how much of this has been a result of him.
Burke has never been a Head Coach. High school, college, and the NFL have all been spots where he was solely focused on one side of the ball.
A common thread to the better defenses Burke has been a part of is the fact they were vanilla, plain schemes that were simply loaded with talent. While sound fundamentals and proper communication are keys to success, there has not been a lot of diversity needed in the Houston scheme specifically.
In Conclusion:
Burke may be a “right place, right time” kind of coach but there is no denying he has been around some of the best defensive minds the NFL has had to offer over the last two decades. His unique personality could interview well with someone looking for “different” but there is a lot of unknown to his capabilities at the moment.
Lou Anarumo
Age 59 / Defense bias
-23 seasons as a college coach
-14 seasons as an NFL coach (7 as a coordinator Plus an interim for 12 games)
Coaching tree: Zac Taylor
Record as coordinator: 60-61-1
PROS
Was called a “Mad Scientist” during his tenure with Cincinnati, a team he started off with in 2019 with a 6-24-1 squad over his first two seasons. A season later they were in the Super Bowl before finishing top six in yards allowed two straight years. It was a classic ascent that took time but the results were strong.
Anarumo has a 5-2 career record as a Defensive Coordinator in the postseason. His defenses forced 13 turnovers in those 7 games. Over that stretch his defenses forced multiple turnovers against both Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford with a no-touchdown game against Josh Allen. The former defensive back coach knows how to gameplan and confuse passers.
Anarumo’s tenure in Cincinnati has several examples of developing young talent in addition to revitalizing the careers of veterans. His ability to connect with different kinds of players (on both sides of the ball) screams Head Coach and leader in the room.
CONS
While he has taken bottom-drawer defenses to league average, Anarumo’s defenses have never reached an elite level and his career as a coordinator has been filled with inconsistencies. In his seven full seasons as the lead guy on defense, his units have ranked in the bottom half of the league in points allowed six times.
The two seasons of success (the only postseason teams Anarumo has been a part of in the NFL) were largely a result of Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense.
Even with more talent being added to the Colts defense in the 2025 midseason period, Anarumo’s defense could not step up when needed. During the seven-game losing streak post-bye, they allowed 29.4 points per game and they allowed the second most passing yards in the league on the year.
In Conclusion:
Anarumo fits the “good guy” role very well; one that everyone in the room likes but the coach who spent the majority of his career in college has not taken the bull by the horn at any stop and there are doubts if he can be the right personality to run an entire team.
Jesse Minter
Age 42 / Defense bias
-14 seasons as a college coach
-6 seasons as an NFL Coach (2 as a coordinator)
-Coaching tree: Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh
Record as a coordinator: 22-12
PROS
Minter has worked for two NFL organizations under two different Head Coaches. The Baltimore Ravens with John Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers with Jim Harbaugh. Otherwise his entire career has been spent at the college level. Those are two of the most respected names in coaching and the fact the two brothers shared him speaks to how much they truly endorse his ability to call a defense.
Minter arrived at the University of Michigan and put their defense over the top. They won a National Championship on the backs of his unit, the number one-ranked defense in the nation. He often discusses his time in Baltimore as redefining how he views that side of the ball and the fact he could tweak his system says a lot about his adaptability.
The Chargers defense ranked 20th or worse in both yards and points allowed three straight seasons prior to Minter’s arrival (under a defensive Head Coach). In his first season as the Defensive Coordinator, they allowed less points than everyone and in 2025 they were top ten in both yards and points allowed. He quickly turned them into a top-shelf unit despite injuries and a similar level of talent to work with via a hybrid defensive scheme with a lot of disguises and variety.
CONS
Not only would Minter be one of the youngest coaches in the game, it is incredibly rare to find someone with just six seasons in the NFL get a Head Coach job. His network at the pro level would not be nearly as high as some others and building the right support staff underneath him could be difficult and borderline unlikely.
As respectable as it is to work under the Harbaugh brothers with success, there is some caution that needs to be considered when it comes to him potentially being an add-on to their great coaching rather than a catalyst. They both have had equal (or better) success in the NFL without Minter around and several of the assistants who have worked underneath them have not panned out as a Head Coaches (although Mike Macdonald is doing his best to squash that concept)
Minter’s run defenses in Los Angeles have not been good. In 2024, they were 27th in yards per attempt allowed and 18th in 2025. For the EPA/play crowd, they ranked 21st and 13th. Minter is known for his schemes against the pass much more so than the run and based on the situation he’s in, that could prevent him from coaching his defense to its highest level notably in the postseason, where he is 0-2 as a coordinator with over 300 yards allowed on the ground.
In Conclusion:
Minter has the respect of the Harbaugh brothers and both have singled him out as a future successful Head Coach. The rise of Mike Macdonald (who also worked for both brothers) certainly helps his case but there is an inexperience-factor in addition to poor run defense and postseason performances that question whether or not he is ready.