It Pays To Call The Shots: The Salaries Of NFL Head Coaches
It's not easy to make it to the top of the NFL coaching chain. Many of the best head coaches in the league start as interns or quality control coaches while spending years working way up the ladder. Others begin their coaching careers after retiring as players. And of course, there are the young geniuses like Sean McVay who show wisdom beyond their years and earn their highest honors in their early 30s. Whatever path a coach takes to become an NFL head coach, they are paid handsomely. Read on to find out just how much each NFL head coach makes!
John Harbaugh - $9 Million
John Harbaugh was a special teams coach before the Baltimore Ravens hired him to be the head coach in 2008. He was actually the team's second choice behind Jason Garrett, but he quickly proved to be the right choice.
Harbaugh went 11-5 in his first season and has only had one losing season in over a decade as the team's leader. In 2012, Harbaugh coached the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship, the second in franchise history.
Andy Reid - $8 Million
The Kansas City Chiefs went all-in on Andy Reid in 2013 when the Philadelphia Eagles declined to renew his contract. The team gave Reid a five-year deal with final say on roster decisions.
One of Reid's first moves was to trade for quarterback Alex Smith. The move made the Chiefs a perennial playoff contender. In 2017, Reid drafted Patrick Mahomes. Three years later, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. Reid has never had a losing record as the head coach of Kansas City.
Sean Payton - $9.8 Million
Hired by the Saints in 2006, Sean Payton has been a fixture in New Orleans ever since. His first year was rough. After the city of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Payton led the Saints to a 3-13 record.
Things quickly turned around for Payton and the city when they signed free-agent quarterback Drew Brees. A few years later, New Orleans would win the Super Bowl. Earning $9.8 million a season, it's safe to assume Payton isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Sean McVay - $8.5 Million
The Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay to be their head coach in 2017. He was 30-years-old and became the youngest head coach ever hired in league history. The huge gamble by the Rams ended up with the highest reward.
In his first season in Los Angeles, the Rams went 11-5. In his second season, McVay led the team to a 13-3 record and an appearance in the Super Bowl. In his short time in Los Angeles, the young coach has proved to be wise beyond his years. In 2021, he led the team back to the promised land, this time beating the Bengals to win it all.
Mike Vrabel - $3 Million
Mike Vrabel had a quick rise from assistant coach to head coach. The Houston Texans hired him in 2014 as the team's linebackers coach. While there, he coached up heavy hitters including JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.
In 2018, the Tennessee Titans hitched their wagon to Vrabel, naming him the team's head coach. In three years, Vrabel has never missed the playoffs, and even reached the AFC Championship Game in 2019, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kyle Shanahan - $3.5 Million
One of the biggest bargains in the NFL, Kyle Shanahan's salary won't stay at $3.5 million for very long. In his third season in San Francisco, he led the team to a 13-3 record and an appearance in the Super Bowl.
After the big game, owner Jed York rewarded Shanahan with a six-year contract extension. The new deal will reportedly pay Shanahan upwards of $9 million a year, although specifics of the contract have not been revealed yet.
Dan Campbell - ?
In early 2021, Saints TE coach Dan Campbell agreed to a six-year contract to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions. The intense presence had a huge rebuild in front of him as the team recently traded away disgruntled QB Matthew Stafford.
With six-years to build the team in his image, Campbell hopes to finally bring success to one of the NFL's most storied, and most beleaguered franchises of all-time.
Nick Sirianni - ?
Very little is known about the contract the Philadelphia Eagles gave Nick Sirianni to be their head coach after the team parted ways with Doug Pederson. Sirianni was a surprise hire by the team, who are looking to revive the career of quarterback Carson Wentz.
Rumor has it that Wentz and Pederson began to clash during the 2020 season, which wasn't helped by the QBs benching. When the season wrapped, the team chose its QB over its head coach.
Zac Taylor - $4.5 Million
The Cincinnati Bengals were hoping they found the next Sean McVay when they hired Zac Taylor as their head coach in 2019. The young rising coaching star was on McVay's staff in Los Angeles, and Bengals' higher-ups were trying to connect the dots.
Taylor's first season in Cincinnati was a disaster. The team went 2-14 after starting the season 0-11. With the first pick in the draft, the Bengals selected Joe Burrow to be the franchise savior. The draft pick also served to buy Taylor more time as he figures out all the facets of head coaching.
Matt LaFleur - $5 Million
It's hard to argue with the early return on investment for young Packers' head coach Matt LaFleur. The complete opposite of previous head coach Mike McCarthy, LaFleur is anything but conservative, and after one season of adjusting his game to Aaron Rodgers, he showed why Green Bay hired him in 2020.
Aaron Rodgers tossed 48 touchdown passes in 2020 against only five interceptions. Reaching the NFC Championship Game for the second straight season, the Packers fell heartbreakingly short of the Super Bowl. Maybe year three will prove to be the charm.
Mike McCarthy - $4 Million
Mike McCarthy spent 13 seasons as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, even winning one Super Bowl before he was sent packing after the 2018 season. The weathered coach took a year away from the game before returning in 2020 as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas is paying McCarthy $4 million a season, and only time will tell who got the better side of the deal. McCarthy's first year was sidetracked by the season-ending injury to franchise quarterback Dak Prescott.
Robert Saleh - $5 Million
The New York Jets spared no expense when it came to getting top head coaching candidate Robert Saleh to sign with them. The architect of San Francisco's Super Bowl defense, Saleh was seen as a head coach in waiting.
After signing a five-year contract worth $5 million a season with Gang Green, Saleh is no longer waiting. Loaded with talent, it now rests on Saleh's shoulders to lead the team to a turn around similar to what Kevin Stefanski was able to pull off in Cleveland.
