Sneaky Coaching Changes That Could Unlock Fantasy Football Gold in 2025

We've seen proof over the years that new offensive coordinators and coaches can transform the fantasy football outcomes of their players and boost them to greater heights. Some teams have a plethora of fantasy-relevant players who are all drafted in the first half of fantasy drafts as well.

The most obvious example of this is probably San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel Sr., Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy, and George Kittle were all fantastic fantasy football contributors in 2023. It didn't work out as well this past season, but that's beside the point.

There are also plenty of teams that had players held back by terrible coaching. Let's break down the most impactful changes and how you should adjust your draft strategy to compensate. And yes, they're not all sneaky, but we will highlight sneaky players you should go after.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings (redraft)
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings
• 2025 NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
• Tight end fantasy football rankings

Jacksonville Jaguars Hire Liam Coen As Head Coach

One of the biggest changes came from Jacksonville. Owner Shad Khan decided that he wanted to have a chance at competing in 2025 and finally fired former head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Taylor was awful as OC.

How can you remotely advocate for Press Taylor to stay? The second we played SF, the word was out on how to stop this offense. Press couldn’t adapt or adjust for shit.

Theres brighter minds out there. You are KILLING Trevor Lawrence.

— The OL Guy (@TheOLineGuy) December 24, 2023

Now, the Jaguars have the architect of the biggest breakout offense of 2024: former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. While the Bucs offensive stars rightfully deserve credit for their performances, generally, if four players from an offense all have fantastic seasons, you should give the OC major credit.

And quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, and running back Bucky Irving all crushed their expectations and put up huge numbers. So, Coen's transition makes you wonder what will happen in Jacksonville.

Follow the value. Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is already valued as a WR1 and mocked in the first round of fantasy drafts. That probably won't change much. And this should help him meet his expectations. But one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 fantasy year could be set to have a big rebound.

Y'all. What Liam Coen is doing in the run game rn is NEXT LEVEL. Split flow to seal the EMOL into trap with the center wrapping backside.

Shades of Ben Johnson with some new wrinkles. pic.twitter.com/hYeUHIMVoq

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 2, 2024

Zag when everyone else zigs. There will be plenty of focus on Thomas, but running backs Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby will benefit massively from Coen's schemes. And fantasy football ADP-wise, the general market doesn't seem to think so.

Etienne had a season from hell in 2024. Horrible offense, horrible OC, horrible offensive line, and horrible injury luck derailed his third year in the league. Coen presents an immediate upgrade -- his schemes can help the OL overachieve with run blocking, just like it did in Tampa Bay.

Etienne in the Irving role and Bigsby in the Rachaad White role are players you should have your eye on. They will probably be gigantic steals in 2025 fantasy drafts. I will be reaching down one or two rounds for Etienne, depending on where he's ranked. You should, too.

Seattle Seahawks Hire Klint Kubiak As Offensive Coordinator

The first two games of the New Orleans Saints season were like fever dreams, both at the time and in hindsight. The explosive new offense run by former Saints OC Klint Kubiak scored 44 and 47 points in its first two games, obliterating the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers in the process.

They averaged over 400 yards of offense per game and racked up massive plays along the way. This happened despite a very weak Saints roster that had a remarkably poor offensive line. Once they suffered one key injury along the OL, it collapsed because they couldn't block.

#Saints exposing the blueprint on the #Cowboys 👀
pic.twitter.com/vOMIaVlhwa

— The Swoop Scoops (@TheSwoopScoops) September 15, 2024

His ability to scheme up creative ways to make huge plays was incredible. He engineered a breakout season for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, which was unfortunately cut short by a knee injury. And running back Alvin Kamara had a resurgent season, racking up 1,493 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns.

The run game for the Seattle Seahawks was extremely inconsistent this season. The poor offensive line was part of the blame as general manager John Schneider doesn't like having a good OL. He loves to cheap out on it.

But Kubiak will commit to the run game unlike their old OC, Ryan Grubb. This should help the consistency of running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Grubb abandoned the run far too often in games before it had a chance of being established.

RASHID THE NEED FOR SPEED SHAHEED

70 YARD BOMB

THE MOST ELECTRIC PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE pic.twitter.com/6V4ZPgRgsV

— Trizzy Trace (@tracegirouard48) September 15, 2024

From a value proposition, both Walker and Charb had great moments last season, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a true breakout. It was DK Metcalf who disappointed us, and he will probably be drafted a few rounds later this year. Kubiak could unlock his elite speed, though.

So, it seems like he might be the best value pick to pounce on. He's at slot 43 in FantasyPros' PPR rankings for 2025. If you can swing him in the late fourth or early fifth, he could be a steal. The other players are more appropriately valued already. JSN is a risky pick since he benefited from Grubb's higher pass rate, anyway.

New England Patriots Hire Mike Vrabel As Head Coach

It's easier to keep this section short. Quarterback Drake Maye should have a better season with Vrabel at the helm, but the team needs to get him a real offensive line and some real wide receivers. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson should bounce back at least somewhat after a terrible year.

Mike Vrabel is outstanding

1. he rushes in 46 late (12th man on D)
2. 33 is WTF
3. penalty for 12men
4. Vrabel fakes upset & brings 46 off

WHY?

-penalty stops clock
-time > yds
-knows HOU will score

Result:

- w :04 left, TEN scores tying TD
- move saved 40 seconds & won game pic.twitter.com/wikWKtGuJD

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 19, 2020

The team as a whole should be better because he's a very good coach. This will boost morale as well, which matters. Stevenson's stock has plummeted in PPR rankings to around the 90s. This is a massive overcorrection. He will be a great value player in 2025.

Mike Onwenu and the inside/right continue to be the North star of the #Patriots downhill scheme. Vederian Lowe has also flashed potential as a down blocker, and he had some positive reps beside Layden Robinson

These are the runs where Rhamondre Stevenson is at his best pic.twitter.com/8IyXTMDv7Q

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) December 11, 2024

Poor coaching can destroy an offense. Great coaching can elevate it. Stevenson in the sixth round is a very good pick, and in the seventh, he's probably a steal. The Patriots have much bigger needs than RB, so it's unlikely they draft someone who will threaten 'Mondre's touches.

Ben Johnson Hired As Bears Head Coach

Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and now Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson led one of the best offenses two years in a row in Detroit. He's taking his talents to a team sorely in need of juice. The Bears may have chosen the sixth-best QB in the 2024 NFL Draft with the first overall pick.

Johnson will be tasked with correcting many of quarterback Caleb Williams' bad habits, implementing good blocking schemes, and fixing a broken run game that lacked consistency this year. It's certainly doable. Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been carried by the talent around him and coaching his whole career, and his awful meltdown games expose his massive flaws.

When you watch Ben Johnson’s offense one item that always sticks out is how he deploys motion to help create explosives in the run game.

Switch motion concept with Gibbs & St. Brown to get a matchup advantage on the short side here. pic.twitter.com/DNI0vRgqhY

— AngeloFF (@angelo_fantasy) January 2, 2025

As stated in the post above, expect plenty of motion from the Bears' upcoming offense to get defenders out of position or create plus matchups between his skill-position players and opposing defenders. As far as specific players go, it matters what Chicago does with the roster.

BJ loves his slot receivers, and if WR Rome Odunze takes over that role next season, he could break out. But if Keenan Allen stays, it's much less certain what will happen. The team could also use an upgrade at the RB position. Look for them to address that in the draft and get someone to pair with RB D'Andre Swift.

Swift is ranked in the 80s and could see his stock fall even more if the team adds another back, making him a good value pick. DJ Moore is in the 30s, however, so there's not much value to be had there unless he becomes the dominant WR1. And targets are more likely to be spread around.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown fighting off two defenders as he releases upfield and he still gets open enough to haul this one in from Jared Goff. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/VmJDGciH4B

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) January 9, 2025

Odunze was touted as a great route runner with elite strength coming out of the draft. While that didn't pan out in 2024, Johnson can make that change. We see the second-year pro as the best value pick from Chicago for 2025.

Dallas Cowboys Hire Brian Schottenheimer As Head Coach

Slight downgrade for all the Cowboys players because Schotty isn't a serious hire.

Las Vegas Raiders Hire Head Coach Pete Carroll

Oh god, Carroll made tight end Jimmy Graham an afterthought when he was sent to Seattle. TE Brock Bowers is elite, but his stock has been massively elevated and it's always risky picking a TE early. I already don't recommend doing that anyway.

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