NFL Coaches That Played In The NFL

Dennis Allen is the NFL head coach 2023 for New Orleans Saints. As a player, he was a squad member for Buffalo Bills in 1996. Allen is Texas born native who started as a defense coach in NFL. 

Allen was also part of the New Orleans Saints when they won Super Bowl in 2010 against the Indianapolis Colts. He spent two years in the club as a secondary coach before joining Denver Broncos as Defensive coordinator.

In his career as a player, he attended Texas A&M University and played as a safety. He played in 21 games in his collegiate career and signed with Buffalo Bills. 

At present, he is the head coach of New Orleans Saints, he joined Orleans as the secondary coach and was promoted twice before achieving the position of head coach. 

Todd Bowles is the NFL player-coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Todd played for Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers as starting cornerback. 

Bowles's career highlight as an athlete is his Super Bowl Championship ring in XXII where Redskins defeated Denver Broncos. He retired from football in 1993 after playing seven years in NFL. 

The 59-year-old coach also has notable experience in his coaching career. He was part of multiple NFL teams like the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Eagles, Cardinals, and Buccaneers. 

In total, he has won a super bowl ring three times as a player, executive, and coach. He became the head coach of Tampa Bay in 2022 where they make it into the playoffs of the NFL. 

Dan Campbell is among the elite NFL coaches, as a player he played for the Giants, Cowboys, Lions, and Saints. Campbell is now the head coach of the Detroit Lions since 2021.

Texas-origin player turned coach's career started as an athlete from his high school where he played tailback and tight end.  

Dan's later career as a player was plagued with injuries. In 2009, he joined New Orleans as a free agent thus he remained as an injury reserve but his teammates were able to win the Super Bowl ring.

Moreover, his coaching career started with Miami Dolphins in 2010 where he joined as a coaching intern and later climbed up to an Interim position

At present, he is the proud coach of Detroit Loins whose performance has improved since the 2021 season.

Kliff Kingsbury is one of the youngest among the NFL head coaches by age. Kingsbury is 43 years old, he became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019-22 season. 

In his collegiate career, he joined Texas Tech and as an NFL athlete, he played for the Patriots, Saints, Broncos, Jets, Centurions, Bills, Alouettes, and Bombers. 

Kingsbury collected multiple personal and team awards including Super Bowl championship XXXVIII and AP National Offensive Player of the Year award. 

Kiliff's coaching career began in Houston where he became offensive quality control coach and was later promoted to offensive coordinator & quarterback. 

In addition, after serving as head coach for Texas Tech, he was called up to serve as Arizona Cardinals' head coach from 2019-2022. 

Kevin O'Connell is a former NFL player who is now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings since 2022.  Connell played for San Diego State in his collegiate career.

In NFL he played for Patriots, Lions, Jets, Dolphins, Jets, and Chargers. He had a short NFL stint as a player which lasted from 2008-2012. Kevin was also named second-team All-MW player in 2007. 

Kevin also had a successful career, he became Super Bowl Champion LVI with Los Angeles Rams after defeating Cincinnati Bengals. He performed the duties of offensive coordinator during the 2020-2021 season. 

This Knoxville native coach joined the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 as a head mentor. He guided his team to the NFL playoffs but lost the wild-card round to New York Giants. 

Doug Pederson is a head NFL coach and former quarterback. He is currently mentoring Jaguars since 2022. He also coached the 2023 Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Pederson had one of the best careers as an NFL athlete, he played for Dolphins, Knights, Panthers, Rhein Fire, Packers, Eagles, and Brown. 

Unfortunately, he had a short stint in every club that he joined as a player. Doug rejoined the Dolphins three times in his career. In regard to his NFL coaching career, he has been with the Eagles, Chiefs, and Jaguars.

He led the Jacksonville team to the playoffs in 2022 and defeated Los Angeles Charges. However, they failed short in 2023 as they suffered a loss against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs. 

Frank Reich is the current National League head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He also played as a quarterback for the Bills, Panthers, Jets, and Lions. 

Reich played for the Maryland College and was picked #57 in the round 3, 1985 draft. He was also part of the 1993 Bills that went to the Super Bowl finals.

They were up against Dallas Cowboys but suffered a loss in the finals thus being the runner-up for the championship. 

Frank had a short career as a player but he has a long list of experience in terms of his professional coaching. He joined as Coaching Inter for Colts and assumed the responsibility of wide receiver coach in 2011. 

After being the offensive coordinator for the Eagles for a year, he the joined Colts as head coach and served two years with the team. Likewise, the Panthers offered him the position of head coach in 2023 thus he switched teams to join the Cats. 

Ron Rivera is from a state with multiple NFL teams aka California, he played for Chicago Bears in the position of linebacker.

Currently, he has taken over the duties of the Washington Football Team or Commanders since 2020. 

Rivera was instrumental to the Bear's success in the Super Bowl XLI. He was also the first American Puerto Rican player to play in the NFL. Ron played nine seasons in 137 games and achieved 392 tackles, 9 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries, and 7.5 sacks. 

In terms of his coaching career, he started as a Linebackers coach for the Eagles, Bears, and Chargers, eventually assuming the position of head coach with the Panthers and Washington Commanders. 

Ron was named 2x NFL Coach of the Year 2013-15 and received George Halas Award in 2022 along with PFWA Assistant Coach of the Year (2005). 

Zac Taylor is one of the youngest coaches in the chronicle of the NFL. Taylor went undrafted and played a few games with the Buccaneers and Blue Bombers in 2007 as an NFL athlete. 

Taylor did not have a promising career as a National League prospect. After a very short stint, he turned to coaching by joining Texas A&M as a graduate assistant in 2008. 

He climbed the ranks of the coaching staff by becoming offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach for the Dolphins. He served as wide receiver coach for Los Angeles Rams in 2017. 

In 2019, Taylor was appointed as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. They are among the NFL teams who are yet to win Super Bowl.

Zac led the team to the NFL playoffs in 2021-22 and 2023 after thirty-one years. The team has constantly improved its record and is becoming the powerhouse in the conference championship. 

Bill Belichick is among the football coaches who never played. He started his career as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975 after graduating from Wesleyan College. 

Belichick first became head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991-1995. The accolades of Belichick are as follows;

• 8 Super Bowl Champion wins (NY Giants 2x, New England Patriots 5x, Philadelphia Eagles)
• 3x AP NFL Coach of the Year

He achieved the most Super Bowl wins with a total of eight wins, he won six rings as head coach. Bill also has the most appearances 12 and nine of them are as head coach. 

This 71-year-old NFL mentor has the most playoff wins 31, playoff appearances 19, and divisional championships 17. He served as head coach of one of the richest NFL teams in history.