Defense-First Head Coaches Making A Comeback
January 18th, 2026
It’s been seven years since a defense-first head coach has been in the Super Bowl — Bill Belicheat in 2019.
That’s highly likely to change very soon.
Seattle (Mike Macdonald) looks destined for the Big Game after blowing out the 49ers yesterday. Next Sunday, the Seahawks will host the winner of Rams-Bears tonight.
In the AFC, the winner of this afternoon’s Texans-Patriots clash (both defense-first head coaches) will head to Denver next Sunday for the conference championship game. But the Broncos lost their quarterback and will start journeyman Jarrett Stidham. It’ll be Stidham’s fourth career start and first since 2023.
Joe has little doubt the Texans-Patriots winner will be favored to win in Denver.
A full-throttle revival of the defense-first head coach seems imminent.
Joe brings this up only because the man leading the Buccaneers is a defense-first guy — even though his defense stunk this season. It’s often said that NFL owners are obsessed with trends and perhaps Todd Bowles has benefited professionally — and will continue to — from defense making a comeback across the league.
Total scoring per game is down in the NFL over the past four years — compared to where it was in the prior four years (2018-2021). For the 2025 season, scoring was equal to what it was in 2024, but that’s the equivalent of scoring being down because of the juiced up football helping kickers.
Joe already can hear the obsessed Bowles haters screaming while reading this claiming Joe is lobbying for Bowles, carrying his water, and sucking up to the power brokers at One Buc Palace. Nothing could be further from truth, but those freakouts do entertain Joe.
Bowles made his bed and Team Glazer is letting him stay in it. Joe is only noting that being a defense-first head coach might feel a little more comfortable after this season. Six months ago, attitudes around the NFL weren’t quick to go there.