The 2025 NFL coaching carousel is now in full swing, with five teams looking to hire a new head coach.
And for aspiring head coaches, this year’s hiring cycle is another chance to join an exclusive club. According to USA TODAY Sports research, only 269 men have worked as a full-time head coach for an NFL team since 1970, the first season after the NFL-AFL merger. Some are former players who turned to coaching after their on-field careers came to an end. Others followed a father, brother or uncle into the business.
While their beginnings and paths vary significantly, USA TODAY Sports found that a third of NFL head coaches were born in one of three states: California, Ohio or Pennsylvania.
More NFL head coaches have been born in California (33) than any other state, which might not come as a surprise given California is also the most populous state in the U.S.
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Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Hall of Famers Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil are among the most prominent Californian head coaches of the past 55 years. All told, the list includes five current coaches and a whopping eight Super Bowl winners − also more than any other state.
Pennsylvania (31) and Ohio (25) rank second and third, respectively, and by a significant margin. Texas, despite its cultural ties to football, is a distant fourth with 15 head coaches.
Nine states − including Arizona, Nevada and Utah − have yet to produce an NFL head coach.
Of the coaching candidates who would be first-time head coaches in the NFL, many hail from traditional football hotbeds such as Texas and Georgia.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, however, would be the first NFL head coach to be born in Rhode Island if he were to land a job. And Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter would join legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer as the only NFL head coaches born in Arkansas.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is arguably the most sought-after candidate in this cycle, would also be in historic company if he were to be hired. He would join Art Shell as the only NFL head coaches born in Charleston, South Carolina.
According to USA TODAY Sports research, there are two schools that count seven NFL head coaches as former students: Oregon and Miami (Ohio).
Even more surprising than the Redhawks’ inclusion atop this list is that a whopping three Miami (Ohio) products have won a Super Bowl: John Harbaugh, Sean McVay and Weeb Ewbank.
Alabama, Michigan State and Texas A&M rank second with six NFL head coaches apiece − and if Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is hired this cycle, he will move the Aggies level with Miami (Ohio) and Oregon at the top.
The data surrounding NFL head coaches’ birthplaces and college attendance is, at least in part, coincidental. And the data surrounding their first names is even more so.
Yet since 1970, a whopping 1 of every 12 NFL head coaches have shared the same first name: Mike. That includes four sitting head coaches: MacDonald, McCarthy, McDaniel and Tomlin.
