Best Offensive and Defensive Coordinator Combos in the NFL for 2026

All five of the duos received numerous head coaching interviews during the last hiring cycle.

Davis Webb was promoted to offensive coordinator and will call the plays this year in Denver. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Many head coaches insist on calling plays, but those who can successfully juggle the extra responsibility surround themselves with assistant coaches who can handle other areas. 

Some coaches show their worth in the film room, through analytics or how they develop players in practice. These are just a few of the many ways coaches can move up the ranks on Sean McVay’s or Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staffs. These two coaches likely won’t relinquish play-calling duties any time soon, but you never know when a brilliant assistant coach comes around who is worthy of the major responsibility. 

That’s what happened with Broncos coach Sean Payton and Davis Webb, who removed himself from head coaching consideration to return to Denver and be the offensive play-caller in 2026. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will also be back to keep the Broncos’ strong coaching staff intact. 

There are other strong coordinator tandems in the league, so I decided to rank the best offensive and defensive coordinator duos for 2026. And we didn’t count the head coaches who call plays. They already get enough attention as it is. (The up-and-comers need more of the spotlight.)

Let’s get to our top five offensive and defensive coordinator combos. 

5. Minnesota Vikings: OC Wes Phillips–DC Brian Flores

2025 offensive rank: 28

2025 defensive rank: 3

I nearly replaced this coaching duo with Carolina’s Brad Idzik and Ejiro Evero, but dinging Minnesota for last year’s poor results with J.J. McCarthy would be unfair to Flores, who has been influential as a defensive coordinator. 

Flores’s aggressive approach and creative ways of generating pressure have been imitated by several coaches throughout the league. What’s more impressive is that Flores, who joined the Vikings in 2023, has done this without having much star power on defense and on a team that has prioritized the offense. He still found pass-rushing production when Danielle Hunter left for Houston and likely will continue doing the same after the Jonathan Greenard trade with Philadelphia. 

Phillips and coach Kevin O’Connell need a bounce-back season, but there’s no question that they’ve been innovative since overseeing the Vikings’ operation. This coaching staff got a career season from Sam Darnold in 2024 when the team won 14 games and a stellar ’22 from Kirk Cousins when he threw for 4,547 passing yards and guided the team to an NFC North title. Perhaps Phillips and O’Connell will get better results with Kyler Murray or guide McCarthy in the right direction in ’26.  

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4. San Francisco 49ers: OC Klay Kubiak–DC Raheem Morris

2025 offensive rank: 7

2025 defensive rank: 20 (with Robert Saleh as DC)

Kubiak already has a popular name because his brother is first-year Raiders coach Klint Kubiak and his father is Gary Kubiak, the former longtime coach, who guided the Broncos to a Super Bowl title in 2015. But expect to hear more about Klay in the coming months if the 49ers successfully incorporate Mike Evans into the offense. Kubiak, who arrived in San Francisco in ’21, quickly helped Shanahan improve the offense after his promotion to OC in ’25 and has been instrumental in Brock Purdy’s development. 

As for Morris, he gets a fresh start in San Francisco after a failed two-year stint as the Falcons’ coach. He didn’t get the results he wanted offensively while in Atlanta, but he drastically improved the defense last season. (The Falcons improved from 18 takeaways in 2024 to 23 a year later.) Morris also had plenty of success as McVay’s defensive coordinator in Los Angeles, helping the team win the Super Bowl in ’21.

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Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski elevated the play of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who led Jacksonville to the playoffs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: OC Grant Udinski–DC Anthony Campanile

2025 offensive rank: 11

2025 defensive rank: 11

Jaguars coach Liam Coen likely wasn’t too upset about his guys missing out on head coaching jobs this offseason. The Jaguars now have the luxury of continuity with their two excellent coordinators returning for a second season. 

Udinski’s lack of experience (he turned 30 this year) probably hurt him in this hiring cycle, but he has a strong résumé, including his role as a valuable asset with O’Connell in Minnesota. The young coach also unlocked another level in Trevor Lawrence’s game last season. He learned to utilize more of his weapons (Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr. and Brenton Strange all recorded at least 500 receiving yards) and became a dark-horse MVP candidate once he found his comfort zone in the new offense, tossing 15 touchdowns with only one interception over the final six regular-season games. 

Campanile quickly gained attention for his aggressive approach, which helped the Jaguars get off to a fast start and accumulate 31 takeaways, the second most in 2025. Coen likely will lose his coordinators if they continue winning in Jacksonville. 

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2. Los Angeles Rams: OC Nate Scheelhaase–DC Chris Shula

2025 offensive rank: 1

2025 defensive rank: 17

This might appear as a coaching duo getting a bump in these rankings for the benefit of having worked under McVay, who’s known for developing future head coaches. But Shula and Scheelhaase received interviews in the latest hiring cycle for reasons other than working under McVay. 

Shula quickly expanded on what Morris did before leaving for Atlanta in 2024, and did that with a front office that didn’t spend much money on that side of the ball. After the team stopped neglecting the defense this offseason, there’s a strong possibility that this becomes the best defense in football after the trades for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie. 

Scheelhaase is only entering his third year as an NFL coach, but he earned plenty of respect for the work he did as the offensive coordinator at Iowa State. He might not call the plays as McVay’s OC, but he showed his worth last season as the pass-game coordinator by taking the Rams’ offense to new heights and helping Matthew Stafford capture his first MVP. 

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1. Denver Broncos: OC Davis Webb–DC Vance Joseph 

2025 offensive rank: 10

2025 defensive rank: 2

It wouldn’t be a surprise if these two coordinators are head coaches in 2027, especially if the Broncos go on another lengthy playoff run. 

Webb is regarded as the league’s next offensive guru, a thought that was validated after Payton promoted him from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator to avoid losing him. Payton handed play-calling duties to Webb, a move that is not easy for any coach. 

As for Joseph, he’s come a long way since struggling as the head coach of the Broncos in 2017 and ’18. Most coaches don’t return to places where they were fired, but Joseph put his pride aside in ’23 and made the most of his opportunity. His defense continues to reach new levels every year and ranked near the top in many statistical categories last season. Denver was second in yards allowed (278.2) and third in points allowed (18.3) per game last season. Let’s also not overlook how much star edge rusher Nik Bonitto has improved under his guidance.

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