NFL cradle of coaches: Pennsylvania high schools were home to nine of league's head coaches

By Kevin Askeland Sep 9, 2020, 11:15am

Keystone State a hotbed for producing future gridiron leaders.

The top high school football talent in the country can usually be found in Florida, California and Texas, but the same is not true for current NFL coaches. Pennsylvania, the birthplace of professional football, holds the distinction with nearly 30 percent of pro coaches hailing from the Keystone State.

Of the 32 coaches in the NFL, nine went to high school in Pennsylvania, but according to pafootballhistory.com, it's not an anomaly. The website studied all NFL coaches in the league's 100-year history and found 13 percent went to high school in the state. Past NFL coaches from Pennsylvania include Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Ditka, Chuck Knox, Bill Cowher and Marvin Lewis.

The majority of coaches in the NFL come from the Midwest and Northeast. Michigan and New York are tied with the second-highest total with three each while Illinois has two. As for the football hotbed states, California has three coaches, Texas two and Florida none.
Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Arizona Cardinals: Kliff Kingsbury, New Braunfels (Texas)
Atlanta Falcons: Dan Quinn, Morristown (N.J.)
Baltimore Ravens: John Harbaugh, Pioneer (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Buffalo Bills: Sean McDermott, La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.)
Carolina Panthers: Matt Rhule, State College (Pa.)
Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy, Manheim Central (Manheim, Pa.)
Cincinnati Bengals: Zac Taylor, Norman (Okla.)
Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski, St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Dallas Cowboys: Mike McCarthy, Bishop Boyle (Homestead, Pa.), now closed
Denver Broncos: Vic Fangio, Dunmore (Pa.)
Detroit Lions: Matt Patricia, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (Verona, N.Y.)
Green Bay Packers: Matt LaFleur, Mt. Pleasant (Mich.)
Houston Texas: Bill O'Brien, St. John's Prep (Danvers, Mass.)
Indianapolis Colts: Frank Reich, Cedar Crest (Lebanon, Pa.)
Jacksonville Jaguars: Doug Marrone, Lehman (Bronx, N.Y.)
Kansas City Chiefs: Andy Reid, Marshall (Los Angeles)
Las Vegas Raiders: Jon Gruden, South Bend Clay (Ind.)
Los Angeles Chargers: Anthony Lynn, Celina (Texas)
Los Angeles Rams: Sean McVay, Marist (Atlanta)
Miami Dolphins: Brian Flores, Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Minnesota Vikings: Mike Zimmer, Lockport (Ill.)
New England Patriots: Bill Belichick, Annapolis (Md.)
New Orleans Saints: Sean Payton, Naperville Central (Naperville, Ill.)
New York Giants: Joe Judge, Lansdale Catholic (Lansdale, Pa.)
New York Jets: Adam Gase, Marshall (Mich.)
Philadelphia Eagles: Doug Pederson, Ferndale (Wash.)
Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin, Denbigh (Newport News, Va.)
San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Shanahan, Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.)
Seattle Seahawks: Pete Carroll, Redwood (Larkspur, Calif.)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bruce Arians, William Penn (York, Pa.)
Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel, Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
Washington Football Team: Ron Rivera, Seaside (Calif.)