21 of 32 Teams Have New OCs — The Continuity Narrative Is Officially Dead

When the Rams finalize their offensive coordinator hire — likely promoting Shane Waldron — it will mark 21 of 32 NFL teams with a new offensive play-caller heading into the 2026 season. Twenty-one. That's 65 percent of the league. Let that sink in for a moment, then do yourself a favor: stop talking about continuity.

It's the buzzword that won't die. Every offseason, when a team like the Eagles brings in a new coordinator, the hand-wringing starts. How will the quarterback adjust? What about the learning curve? Won't this set the offense back? Meanwhile, nearly every team in football is doing the exact same thing. It's not an Eagles problem. It's not even a problem at all. It's simply how the NFL works in 2026.

The Numbers Don't Lie

This offseason's carousel was fueled by 10 head coaching changes — a massive number in its own right — but the ripple effects doubled the coordinator turnover. Think about the familiar names who landed new gigs: Brian Daboll went to Tennessee, Mike McDaniel to the Chargers, Bobby Slowik interviewed in Philly before heading to Miami, Zach Robinson moved from Atlanta to Tampa Bay. The Eagles grabbed Sean Manion while Washington countered with David Blau.

Both NFC East hires share a fascinating profile: former backup quarterbacks who never made it as players but impressed everyone in the building with their football IQ. That's not a coincidence — it's a league-wide shift toward valuing modern schematic understanding over traditional coaching pedigrees.

The Real Problem Isn't Turnover

Here's the uncomfortable truth that gets lost in the continuity debate: the real impediment to quarterback development isn't coaching changes. It's the CBA. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, coaches can barely work with their quarterbacks during the offseason. The old days of getting your signal-caller in the lab the week after the season ended? Gone. Quality of life provisions — which players rightfully fought for — have fundamentally changed how development works.

Former Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo, who bridged the old era and the new, has talked about this extensively. Whether you won the Super Bowl or lost in the wild card, you were working with your quarterback the next day. Now? Exit meetings, a long break, and hoping the guy stays sharp on his own. That matters far more than whether the coordinator's name on the door changed.

The Head Coach Play-Caller Trap

The only way to truly guarantee continuity is to hire a head coach who calls plays — your Kyle Shanahans, Sean McVays, and Matt LaFleurs. But here's what nobody wants to admit: those guys are consistently bad game managers. For all the schematic brilliance, they repeatedly blow critical moments in big games. Shanahan's Super Bowl collapses are legendary. McVay's teams find creative ways to choke. LaFleur's Packers have been perpetual one-and-done playoff teams.

The alternative — CEO coaches like John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, and Dan Campbell — delegate the play-calling but manage the game, the locker room, and the big picture. Harbaugh has never called plays in his life. He was a special teams coordinator who everyone thought was a bizarre hire. He's been to two Super Bowls and won one. That's not a coincidence either.

What It Means for the Eagles

Philadelphia has been living in this reality for years. Since Howie Roseman took over, the Eagles have essentially had a new offensive coordinator annually, with the exception of Shane Steichen's brief multi-year run. And yet they've been to two Super Bowls and won one in that span. The system works because the talent works. Sean Manion doesn't need to be a genius — he needs to adapt to Jalen Hurts and let the roster do its thing.

The Eagles interviewed a ton of the guys who got coordinator jobs elsewhere. That tells you Roseman was thorough. That he landed on Manion tells you there was something specific they liked. The 2026 Eagles won't succeed or fail because of continuity. They'll succeed or fail because of execution, health, and whether Howie keeps stockpiling talent the way he has for the last half-decade.