Where Every NFL Head Coach Played High School Football

The 2026 NFL season is here. Opening night featured a rematch of Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks are led by Mike Macdonald, a former high school football coach and one of three NFL leaders with high school coaching experience.

Carolina head coach Dave Canales started coaching at his alma mater Carson High School in Los Angeles, California. He started as the school's head JV/Freshman coach in 2004 before moving into the college rankings.

During the 2011 NFL lockout Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans decided he wanted to get a taste of coaching, so he volunteered at Bessemer City High School in Alabama.

When it comes to where head coaches played their high school football, California leads the way with six former high schoolers now holding down NFL head coaching jobs. Michigan high school football is next with four NFL head coaches, followed by New Jersey with three. In all, 18 different states are represented.

States with the most former high school football players now head coaches.

2026 NFL Head Coaches, By High School

AFC East

• Buffalo Bills — Joe Brady, Everglades High School (Florida). Brady was a four-year letterwinner as a wide receiver.
• Miami Dolphins — Jeff Hafley, Pascack Hills High School (Montvale, New Jersey). He played multiple positions, including quarterback.
• New England Patriots — Mike Vrabel, Walsh Jesuit High School (Ohio). Vrabel was a three-sport athlete who played defensive end, linebacker and tight end. The school retired his No. 84 in 2024.
• New York Jets — Aaron Glenn, Nimitz High School (Houston, Texas). A three-sport athlete. He was a four-year letterman in football who rushed for over 1,000 yards and intercepted seven passes as a senior.

AFC North

• Baltimore Ravens — Jesse Minter, Yorktown High School (Indiana). Wide receiver and son of longtime college coach Rick Minter.
• Cincinnati Bengals — Zac Taylor, Norman High School (Oklahoma). Record-setting quarterback who earned all-district honors.
• Cleveland Browns — Todd Monken, Wheaton North High School (Illinois). Played quarterback in high school when his dad was an Illinois high school football coach at another school.
• Pittsburgh Steelers — Mike McCarthy, Bishop Boyle High School (Pennsylvania). He was a two-way player in high school.

AFC South

• Houston Texans — DeMeco Ryans, Jess Lanier High School (Alabama). Ryans was an all-state linebacker in high school. He did coach at Bessemer City High School during the 2011 NFL lockout.
• Indianapolis Colts — Shane Steichen, Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills, California). Quarterback who led his team to a Sac-Joaquin Section title and threw for 34 touchdowns as a senior.
• Jacksonville Jaguars — Liam Coen, La Salle Academy (Providence, Rhode Island). Was the Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year who played for his father Tim Coen and set state passing records.
• Tennessee Titans — Robert Saleh, Fordson High School (Michigan). Played tight end at Fordson.

AFC West

• Denver Broncos — Sean Payton, Naperville Central High School (Illinois). All-state quarterback as a senior.
• Kansas City Chiefs — Andy Reid, John Marshall High School (Los Angeles, California). Offensive and defensive lineman plus kicker; four-sport letterman.
• Las Vegas Raiders — Klint Kubiak, Regis Jesuit High School (Colorado). Wide receiver and defensive back; son of former NFL coach Gary Kubiak.
• Los Angeles Chargers — Jim Harbaugh, Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Palo Alto High School (Palo Alto, California). He started at Pioneer with brother John before finishing at Palo Alto after his father Jack Harbaugh took a coaching job at Stanford.

NFC East

• Dallas Cowboys — Brian Schottenheimer, Blue Valley High School (Kansas). Quarterback who led the Tigers to the 1991 Kansas 5A state title.
• New York Giants — John Harbaugh, Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan). Defensive back and three-sport standout while his father coached at Michigan.
• Philadelphia Eagles — Nick Sirianni, Southwestern Central High School (Jamestown/West Ellicott, New York). Wide receiver who played for his father Fran.
• Washington Commanders — Dan Quinn, Morristown High School (New Jersey). Two-year captain as a center and linebacker; all-conference as a senior.

NFC North

• Chicago Bears — Ben Johnson, A.C. Reynolds High School (North Carolina). As the team's quarterback, Johnson won a 4A state title in 2002 and was conference Player of the Year.
• Detroit Lions — Dan Campbell, Glen Rose High School (Texas). Two-way player from the tiny Texas town with a population of about 2,500.
• Green Bay Packers — Matt LaFleur, Mount Pleasant High School (Michigan). LaFleur was an all-state quarterback.
• Minnesota Vikings — Kevin O’Connell, La Costa Canyon High School (California). Dual-threat quarterback and basketball standout.

NFC South

• Atlanta Falcons — Kevin Stefanski, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Catholic League MVP as a quarterback and safety.
• Carolina Panthers — Dave Canales, Carson High School (California). All-league quarterback and defensive back at Carson. He began his coaching career at his alma mater as the JV/Freshman head coach in 2004.
• New Orleans Saints — Kellen Moore, Prosser High School (Washington). A record-setting quarterback at Prosser, who threw 173 career touchdown passes and called his own plays; son of legendary college coach Tom Moore.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Todd Bowles, Elizabeth High School (New Jersey). Two-way player in high school.

NFC West

• Arizona Cardinals — Mike LaFleur, Mount Pleasant High School (Michigan). Quarterback and safety; younger brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
• Los Angeles Rams — Sean McVay, Marist School (Georgia). Option quarterback who won a state title in 2003 and beat future College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson for Georgia 4A Offensive Player of the Year.
• San Francisco 49ers — Kyle Shanahan, Saratoga High School (California) as a freshman, then Cherry Creek High School (Greenwood Village, Colorado). Receiver and occasional quarterback while his father Mike Shanahan coached in the NFL.
• Seattle Seahawks — Mike Macdonald, Centennial High School (Roswell, Georgia). Linebacker and fullback. He began his coaching career at Cedar Shoals while studying at Georgia.