The 2024 NFL regular season is complete, and the playoffs are officially upon us. Which means it's the perfect time to assess this year's crop of first-year head coaches. Which leaders prevailed? Which ones are already under pressure for 2025? Here, we're grading each of the eight coaching hires of this season, including both first-timers and veterans making their debuts with new teams:
Jerod Mayo (New England Patriots)
Record: 3-13
Mayo was quickly fired following the final game of his first season, meaning he got exactly one season to prove himself as Bill Belichick's internally designated successor. That speaks to how poorly 2024 went under his watch. While Mayo was a respected player and assistant coach in New England, he struggled to maintain a consistent public and private vision as the face of the franchise. His trademark defense fell off, failing to support young quarterback Drake Maye, and nowhere did his rebuild exceed expectations.
Grade: F
Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans)
Record: 3-14
On paper, the Titans were improved in several categories, making a major leap from 18th to second in total defense. Still, their point differential (-162) regressed in a bad way, they surrendered more scores than all but two clubs, and young quarterback Will Levis was arguably even more reckless under Callahan's eye. In other words, even with an influx of veteran talent like Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley, the new coach didn't exactly appear to have a great handle on the direction of the team.
Grade: D
Antonio Pierce (Las Vegas Raiders)
Record: 4-13
Is it his fault he was left with Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and assorted scraps at quarterback? Not entirely. But he also prolonged the competition under center, predictably waffling between starters, as the Raiders' offense consistently failed to match the scrappiness of his "D." Pierce may be a feisty motivator, which rendered him a solid 2023 interim, but his sketchy situational decision-making served as a stark reminder that he got the top job without much high-level experience on the sidelines.
Grade: D
Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons)
Record: 8-9
Three straight 7-10 finishes under Arthur Smith set a relatively low bar for Morris to clear in his return to Flowery Branch, and he started strong, opening 6-3 with an opportunistic defense and occasionally sharp Kirk Cousins. Issues with clock management and situational decision-making lingered, however, and once Cousins lost his luster, even a very winnable NFC South became too lofty to seize. He's got a promising youngster under center now in Michael Penix Jr., but improving as an overall strategist is a must.
Grade: C-
Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers)
Record: 5-12
The record doesn't necessarily show a dramatic improvement for a team mired in a perpetual rebuild, but Canales did a lot more than up Carolina's 2023 win total by three. He may have unlocked the best version of former No. 1 pick Bryce Young, whose early-season demotion eventually gave way to a hot stretch to close the year, in which Young's sky-high confidence made the Panthers competitive against far superior lineups. If he gets legitimate skill-weapon reinforcements, he should take another sizable leap in 2025.
Grade: C+
Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks)
Record: 10-7
The former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator just pulled the plug on his handpicked offensive play-caller, Ryan Grubb, after one season together, which speaks to the mercurial nature of Seattle's pass-happy Geno Smith attack. This group was always more scrappy than special for Macdonald. And yet he often maximized the club's defensive talent in even matchups, helping Seattle finish just outside the top 10 in points allowed. Simply keeping the Seahawks in the wild-card picture was a solid starting point.
Grade: B-
Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers)
Record: 11-6
Some of Harbaugh's first orders of business alongside general manager Joe Hortiz involved tearing down the overpriced wide receiver corps, and reallocating resources to Justin Herbert's front. While the moves will inevitably require some new perimeter investments come the 2025 offseason, they enabled something of a rejuvenation for Herbert, while bringing an old-school toughness back to the whole program. Unlike at the tail end of the Brandon Staley era, there is simply no sense of panic inside this organization.
Grade: A-
Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders)
Record: 12-5
The former Atlanta Falcons coach has certainly benefited from the star power of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the top draft choice of new general manager Adam Peters. But in tapping Kliff Kingsbury as his play-caller, Quinn has overseen one of the game's most dynamic aerial attacks, while infusing the locker room with a been there, done that type of confidence. Quite simply, he's hired and leaned into his aces, making him the perfect figurehead for the upstart Commanders' current moment.
Grade: A-
