There are 64 offensive and defensive coordinator positions in the NFL. More than half of them have turned over this season.
The total count is 35: 21 new offensive coordinators and 14 new defensive coordinators (technically 15 if you count Zak Kuhr getting the title in New England. But that's an exceptional case). The turnover in the league has never been greater, as expectations rise higher and faster than ever before. Produce quickly or make room for the next guy.
It's not hard, as such, to find 10 new coordinators with big questions approaching the 2026 season. Sean Mannion has the fate of quarterback Jalen Hurts in his hands in Philadelphia. Eric Bieniemy needs to bring something -- anything! -- new to the Chiefs' stale offense. Jonathan Gannon has to solve a Packers defense without star edge rusher Micah Parsons long enough to stay in the playoff hunt.
None of them made my list. But the 10 who did have Super Bowl aspirations hanging in the balance of their efforts (OK, maybe not the Browns and the Commanders). Still, the stakes are high for these newcomers, a couple of whom will become the Klint Kubiak or Anthony Campanile of this upcoming season.
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Jim Leonhard, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator
How quickly can the Bills' defense change?
Playcaller stability is famously rare in the modern NFL. More than half of the league will have a new offensive playcaller this season. The longest-tenured offensive coordinator is the Packers' Adam Stenavich, who has held the job (without calling plays) since 2022. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay's head coach and playcaller, is one of only five head coaches who were hired for their current position before 2020, and all five have offensive backgrounds.
Sean McDermott was the lone long-term head coach with a defensive background before Buffalo fired him in January. McDermott had shaped the Bills' defensive identity since his hire in 2017. He didn't always call plays, but the defense was unquestionably his: all nickel packages, a heavy reliance on spot-drop zone and traditional four-man rushes. As the seasons wore on and McDermott's seat warmed, Buffalo experimented with various schematic curveballs, but the defense remained built in McDermott's image.
His seat is now filled by his ex-offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and the defensive side of the ball now belongs to Leonhard. Leonhard has long been considered a rising star. A longtime defensive coordinator at his alma mater Wisconsin, Leonhard was on the cutting edge of the college meta with match coverages and simulated pressures. He has worked with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the past two seasons, studying under one of the league's preeminent blitzers.