How young OCs like Kellen Moore have fared as first-time NFL head coaches

As I mentioned last week when I did a deep dive into where the NFL’s last 50 head-coaching hires have come from, the “young OC revolution” didn’t exactly start with Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan in 2017. That would be disrespectful to the likes of Paul Brown, Bill Walsh, Don Coryell, Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid, Sean Payton and Kyle’s own father Mike Shanahan, among many others.

But let’s just say the trend went viral after McVay was hired at age 30 and went on to become the NFL's Coach of the Year as a rookie.

And now it looks like the Saints could become the latest team to explore that path with 36-year-old Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore emerging as the front-runner for their head coaching job.

So how, exactly, have all the McVay and Shanahan wannabes fared during the past seven years? Well, I did a deeper deep dive into the 14 hires who fit that same mold from 2018-2024. And the track record is mostly positive.

Of course there is a fair share of mediocre mixed in with the highlights, but there aren’t many true flops.

The one glaring pattern that fascinated me most was how many of those coaches have struggled to find continuity with their defensive coordinators. After McVay paired himself with veteran stalwart Wade Phillips and the 37-year-old Shanahan found success with a young first-time coordinator in Robert Saleh, the DC chemistry of their peers has been a little shakier.

Of the 11 head coaches who have lasted more than one year so far, eight have fired at least one DC during their tenure – and two others had a DC retire. Only the Cardinals’ Kliff Kingsbury retained the same DC, Vance Joseph, throughout his entire stretch.

McVay also wound up firing Phillips after three years. And Shanahan has fired his past two DCs after starting with Saleh and DeMeco Ryans.

In other words, that’s an imperative hire for Moore – with former Chargers head coach and current 49ers assistant Brandon Staley standing out as one possible consideration, since Moore worked under Staley two years ago.

Here’s a look into each of the last 14 NFL hires who fit Moore’s mold, ranked in order from most successful to least successful:

NICK SIRIANNI, EAGLES

Hired: Age 39 in 2021

Regular-season record: 48-20 (.706) in four seasons

Playoff record: 5-3 in four appearances, reached two Super Bowls

First DC: Jonathan Gannon

First OC: Shane Steichen

Sirianni was an OC for the Colts from 2018-2020 under Frank Reich after starting his NFL career with the Chiefs and Chargers. … Arrived in QB Jalen Hurts’ second season and first season as a full-time starter. … Went with two younger coordinators who went on to become head coaches (Gannon had never been a coordinator, Steichen had been the Chargers’ OC). … After both coaches left in 2023, Sirianni wound up firing DC Sean Desai and OC Brian Johnson within a year and replacing them with DC Vic Fangio and OC Moore.

MATT LAFLEUR, PACKERS

Hired: Age 39 in 2019

Regular-season record: 67-33 (.670) in six seasons

Playoff record: 3-5 in five appearances, no Super Bowls

First DC: Mike Pettine

First OC: Nathaniel Hackett

LaFleur was a longtime Shanahan assistant with the Texans, Redskins and Falcons before he became McVay’s OC with the Rams in 2017 and then Mike Vrabel’s OC with the Titans so he could call his own plays. … Inherited a future Hall of Fame QB in Aaron Rodgere before switching to Jordan Love in 2023. … Pettine was a veteran DC and former head coach whom LaFleur had retained from the Packers’ previous staff. LaFleur fired both Pettine and veteran DC Joe Barry before switching to first-time DC Jeff Hafley, who previously served as Boston College’s head coach. … Hackett was relatively young but had been an OC in two previous spots. He later left Green Bay to become the Broncos’ head coach.

KEVIN O’CONNELL, VIKINGS

Hired: Age 36 in 2022

Regular-season record: 34-17 (.667) in three seasons

Playoff record: 0-2

First DC: Ed Donatell

First OC: Wes Phillips

Like Moore, O’Connell was a backup quarterback in the NFL for five seasons from 2008-2012. Then became a private QB coach for two years before working for the Browns, 49ers, Redskins and Rams. Served as an offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden in Washington and McVay in L.A. … Went 13-4 with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback in 2022 and 14-3 with Sam Darnold in 2024. Went 7-10 in 2023 when Cousins tore his Achilles midway through the season. … Donatell was a longtime veteran DC who was fired after one year before being replaced by Brian Flores. … Phillips was a first-time OC who remains to this day.

ZAC TAYLOR, BENGALS

Hired: Age 35 in 2019

Regular-season record: 46-52-1 (.470) in six seasons

Playoff record: 5-2 in two appearances, reached one Super Bowl

First DC: Lou Anarumo

First OC: Brian Callahan

Taylor was arguably the least experienced coach on this entire list aside from Kingsbury, who had been a college head coach. Spent only six total seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins and Rams, only serving as an interim OC in Miami for five games. Was at the University of Cincinnati for a year in 2016 before working for McVay as an assistant WR coach in 2017 and QB coach in 2018. … Started 2-14 and 4-11-1 in his first two seasons, but the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow in 2020 and Ja’Marr Chase in 2021 among others. … Anarumo was a first-time DC but a longtime veteran DB coach in college and the NFL. Anarumo had great success at one point in Cincinnati but was just fired this month. … Callahan was a young first-time OC who stayed until he became the Titans’ head coach last year.

KEVIN STEFANSKI, BROWNS

Hired: Age 37 in 2020

Regular-season record: 40-44 (.476) in five seasons

Playoff record: 1-2

First DC: Joe Woods

First OC: Alex Van Pelt

Stefanski has been named NFL Coach of the Year twice (2020 and 2023) with a losing record in his other three seasons. … After one year at Penn, he spent his entire coaching career with the Vikings from 2006-2019, working his way up from the lowest levels under head coaches Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier and Mike Zimmer before becoming Zimmer’s OC. … Inherited Baker Mayfield as his starting QB for two seasons before going through a car wash since then with Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson among others. … Woods and Van Pelt were both veteran assistants who had served as coordinators before, but Woods was fired after three seasons and Van Pelt fired after four seasons. Stefanski also fired OC Ken Dorsey after just one year. … Longtime veteran DC Jim Schwartz has held the role since Woods.

MIKE MCDANIEL, DOLPHINS

Hired: Age 38 in 2022

Regular-season record: 28-23 (.549) in three seasons

Playoff record: 0-2

First DC: Josh Boyer

First OC: Frank Smith

Worked on that loaded Redskins staff with Kyle Shanahan, McVay and LaFleur before following Shanahan to Atlanta and San Francisco – where he was promoted to OC for the first time in 2021. … Inherited Tua Tagovailoa as his starting QB in Miami and has gone 25-16 with him when healthy but 3-7 without him. … Retained Boyer from Brian Flores’ previous staff in Miami but fired him after one year. Then mutually parted ways with DC Fangio after just one year in 2023 and replaced him with Anthony Weaver in 2024. … Smith was a young first-time OC who remains in the role.

MATT NAGY, BEARS

Hired: Age 39 in 2018

Regular-season record: 34-31 (.523) in four seasons

Playoff record: 0-2

First DC: Vic Fangio

First OC: Mark Helfrich

The NFL’s Coach of the Year after he went 12-4 in his first season, but then fizzled to 8-8, 8-8 and 6-11 after that. … A longtime assistant under Andy Reid with both the Eagles and Chiefs, served as OC for two years in Kansas City before getting the Bears job. … Inherited second-year QB Mitchell Trubisky, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft. Then drafted Justin Fields at No. 11 overall to replace him in 2021. … Retained Fangio from the Bears’ previous staff – but he was too good, earning the Broncos’ head coaching job a year later. Then switched to veteran DC and former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano for two years before he retired, then promoted first-time DC Sean Desai from within the staff. … Hired former Oregon head coach Helfrich, who had never worked in the NFL before. Fired him after two years and replaced him with Bill Lazor.

KLIFF KINGSBURY, CARDINALS

Hired: Age 39 in 2019

Regular-season record: 28-37-1 (.432) in four seasons

Playoff record: 0-1

First DC: Vance Joseph

First OC: None

A bit of a wild card on this list since the former NFL backup QB had only worked in college before getting the Arizona job, including six years as head coach at Texas Tech, where he had coached Patrick Mahomes. But he definitely follows the same trend. … Inherited the No. 10 pick in the 2018 draft, Josh Rosen, at QB. But the Cardinals decided to trade him away and draft Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft instead. … Only one winning season (went 5-10-1, 8-8, 11-6, 4-13). … Joseph was a veteran DC who had just served as the Broncos’ head coach. … Didn’t use a traditional OC but hired veteran Tom Clements as his passing game coordinator/QB coach before Clements retired after two years.

SHANE STEICHEN, COLTS

Hired: Age 37 in 2023

Regular-season record: 17-17 (.500) in two seasons

Playoff record: 0-0

First DC: Gus Bradley

First OC: Jim Bob Cooter

Served as the Chargers’ OC under Anthony Lynn before becoming the Eagles’ OC under Sirianni after a decade as a lower-level assistant with the Chargers and Browns. … The Colts drafted QB Anthony Richardson in his first season, but Richardson has made only 15 starts (going 8-7) while veteran backups Gardner Minshew and Joe Flacco have also shared the role. … Retained veteran DC Gus Bradley from Frank Reich’s previous staff but fired him this month. Cooter was an experienced former OC who remains in the role.

BRIAN DABOLL, GIANTS

Hired: Age 46 in 2022

Regular-season record: 18-32-1 (.363) in three seasons

Playoff record: 1-1

First DC: Wink Martindale

First OC: Mike Kafka

A tough one to place on this list since he was named NFL Coach of the Year for going 9-7-1 in his first season and went on to win a playoff game over O’Connell’s Vikings – but then fell to 6-11 and 3-14 the last two years. … Also barely qualifies for this list since he was 46 when hired, but still a first-time head coach who had previously served as an OC with the Browns, Dolphins, Chiefs, Alabama (under Nick Saban), and the Bills. Was also a position coach under Bill Belichick in New England. … Inherited former first-round pick Daniel Jones at QB and coached him to his only winning season in 2022, but went downhill after that thanks to both a torn ACL and poor play when healthy. … Martindale was a veteran experienced DC who was heralded at first before being fired after two seasons and replaced with Shane Bowen. … Kafka was a first-time OC who remains in the role, but Daboll has switched play-calling duties multiple times between himself and multiple assistants.

ARTHUR SMITH, FALCONS

Hired: Age 38 in 2021

Regular-season record: 21-30 (.412) in three seasons

Playoff record: 0-0

First DC: Dean Pees

First OC: Dave Ragone

Like Stefanski, spent his entire NFL coaching career with one team – the Titans – for 12 years under head coaches Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey and Mike Vrabel. Spent the last two as Vrabel’s OC. … Went exactly 7-10 in all three seasons while the Falcons underwent a roster rebuild. … Inherited veteran QB Matt Ryan for one season before shuffling among Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. … Pees was a 50-year coaching veteran in high school, college and the pros when he retired after two seasons in Atlanta. Replaced him with first-time DC and former Saints assistant Ryan Nielsen. … Went with a youngish first-time OC in Dave Ragone, a former NFL backup QB.

DAVE CANALES, PANTHERS

Hired: Age 42 in 2024

Regular-season record: 5-12 (.294)

Playoff record: 0-0

First DC: Ejiro Evero

First OC: Brad Idzik

Began his NFL career on Pete Carroll’s Seahawks staff from 2010-2022, working his way up to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, where he drew praise for his work with Geno Smith’s surprising resurgence. Then became the Buccaneers’ OC in 2023 and did the same with QB Baker Mayfield. … Inherited second-year QB Bryce Young, who had been the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft – but temporarily benched him for veteran Andy Dalton midway through the season before switching back. … Finished the season on an upswing with a 4-5 record over the final nine games and Young starting to play his best football. … Retained Evero as DC from the Panthers’ previous staff under Frank Reich. Idzik was a young first-time coordinator who had worked with in both Seattle and Tampa Bay.

BRIAN CALLAHAN, TITANS

Hired: Age 39 in 2024

Regular-season record: 3-14 (.176)

Playoff record: 0-0

First DC: Dennard Wilson

First OC: Nick Holz

Son of longtime former NFL coach Bill Callahan, he spent nearly a decade with the Broncos, Lions and Raiders before getting his first OC job under Taylor with the Bengals from 2019-2023. … Inherited second-year QB Will Levis, who was a second-round pick in 2023. But benched him for veteran Mason Rudolph later in the season. … Both of his coordinators were first-timers who had worked as NFL assistants for about a decade prior to their promotions.

NATHANIEL HACKETT, BRONCOS

Hired: Age 42 in 2022

Regular-season record: 4-11 (.267)

Playoff record: 0-0

First DC: Ejiro Evero

First OC: Justin Outten

Yikes. Didn’t last one season before being fired – despite the Broncos making a mega-trade for veteran QB Russell Wilson after hiring Hackett. … Had been an OC under LaFleur with the Packers and an OC with the Jaguars and Bills under Doug Marrone. … Hired two first-time coordinators. Evero earned praise for the job he did and has been with the Panthers in the same role ever since. Outten had only been a NFL assistant for five seasons with the Falcons and Packers before getting the OC job.

*--THIS LIST DID NOT INCLUDE first-time head coaches Dan Campbell, David Culley and Freddie Kitchens since they were older and had primarily served as position coaches/assistant head coaches instead of play-calling coordinator jobs. … Did not include first-time head coach Frank Reich since the former NFL QB and longtime assistant coach was 56 when he got his first head coaching gig. … Did not include Josh McDaniels, Adam Gase and Pat Shurmur since they had previously served as NFL head coaches.