12. Denver Broncos: Sean Payton & Bo Nix
Sean Payton has done such an underrated job with the Denver Broncos in his first two years on the job. With Russell Wilson on the decline, he found a way to turn a 1-6 start into an 8-9 finish for the Broncos, contending for the playoffs until a collapse late in the year from Wilson. He and Bo Nix ended the Broncos’ playoff drought last year and did it with $90 million in dead cap. These two work well together and are capable of rising much higher on this list after 2025.
11. Houston Texans: DeMeco Ryans & CJ Stroud
The duo of DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud has gotten the Texans back to AFC contention rather quickly. They have a firm grip on the AFC South heading into the 2025 season and I don’t know how much of a challenge they’re going to get from any other team in that division. As far ahead of their division rivals as they seem to be, the next step for this duo is going to be figuring out how to join the ranks of the AFC’s elite.
10. Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn & Jayden Daniels
From last place in the NFC East in 2023 to contending with the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in their first year on the job together. You have to tip your cap to Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels, who made it all the way to the NFC Championship game in 2024 and will have massive expectations heaped upon them in 2025. Quinn has been to a Super Bowl as a head coach in the past, and the moment doesn’t seem too big for Daniels. These two should be a great duo for the foreseeable future.
9. Cincinnati Bengals: Zac Taylor & Joe Burrow
The head coach heavily influences some of the duos on this list, but here is an example where we have the quarterback doing some seriously heavy lifting. I’m not saying that Zac Taylor is a bad head coach, but I think he’s a very average head coach (at best) and that Burrow and the rest of the players on this offensive roster are carrying this team. They weren’t able to carry them into the postseason last year, but if anything, that’s an indictment of Taylor more than Burrow.