Coaching staffs announced for 76th Senior Bowl Feb. 1 in Mobile

Representatives from teams who own top-3 picks in 2025 NFL Draft will serve as American, National head coaches

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 1/16/25

Thanks to the “Coach Up” initiative, NFL assistant coaches will get an opportunity to serve in a head coaching capacity for the third year when the 76th Reese’s Senior Bowl takes …

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Coaching staffs announced for 76th Senior Bowl Feb. 1 in Mobile

Representatives from teams who own top-3 picks in 2025 NFL Draft will serve as American, National head coaches

Posted

Thanks to the “Coach Up” initiative, NFL assistant coaches will get an opportunity to serve in a head coaching capacity for the third year when the 76th Reese’s Senior Bowl takes over Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile the last weekend of January. The longest continual-running college all-star game is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1.

This season, the teams who own the second and third overall pick in the upcoming draft will get an up close and personal look at the top prospects coming out of college.

Cleveland Browns assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone will lead the American Team and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was named the National Team head coach. The Browns and Giants are currently next in line at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively after the Tennessee Titans, who own the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“We’re excited to be getting two outstanding coaches with such great reputations leading our teams this year,” Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy said in a Jan. 15 release. “I was part of the Patriots scouting staff that drafted Bubba Ventrone back in 2005 so I know how smart and competitive he is. Mike Kafka has already had numerous head coaching interviews over the past couple hiring cycles and many people I’ve talked to around the league believe it’s only a matter of time before he gets one of those jobs. Our players will leave Mobile as better players than when they arrived after spending the week with these two men and their respective staffs.”

The “Coach Up” format chose coaches thanks to nominations from head coaches and general managers of non-playoff teams and Wild Card participants. Head coaches and general managers from all non-playoff teams and Wild Card round participants had the opportunity to nominate assistant coaches.

“Those candidates were then selected by a group comprised of league office executives and representatives from the General Managers Advisory Committee,” the release says. “In total, at least one coach from 13 different teams that submitted nominations was chosen for this year’s game.”

Other assistant coaches will also serve elevated roles as coordinators for the American and National squads.

For the American Team, New York Giants running backs coach Joel Thomas will be offensive coordinator, Indianapolis Colts senior assistant defensive line coach Matt Raich will be defensive coordinator and San Francisco 49ers special teams quality control coach August Mangin will be the special teams coordinator.

For the National Team, Green Bay Packers passing game coordinator Jason Vrable will be offensive coordinator, Cleveland Browns defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire will be defensive coordinator and Tennessee Titans coaching assistant Perry Carter will be the special teams coordinator.

Each of the last four NFL Drafts have featured more than 100 Senior Bowl alumni selected which accounts for over 40% of the entire draft classes. Last year’s total of 110 selections, which included 10 first-round picks and 45 of the first 100 selections, set a record.