NFL Announces Head Coaches for 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl

The National Football League announced today the head coaches for the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl, Bubba Ventrone of the Cleveland Browns and Mike Kafka of the New York Giants.  

“This is an opportunity for two excellent coaches, Bubba Ventrone of the Cleveland Browns and Mike Kafka of the New York Giants, to take the reins as head coaches in leading their staffs and top football athletes in the Senior Bowl’s week-long evaluation of NFL prospects" said Troy Vincent Sr., executive vice president of football operations for the NFL. “The Senior Bowl is not only a showcase for top football student-athletes, but also a wonderful opportunity for coaches that are nominated by their NFL clubs to further develop their skills and learn from one another"

Raymond "Bubba" Ventrone re-joined the Browns in 2023 after playing for the team from 2009-12. A veteran of 19 years of experience as an NFL player and coach, he spent five seasons (2018-22) as the Indianapolis Colts special team’s coordinator and beginning his coaching career as an assistant special teams coach with New England from 2015-17. As a player, he helped the Patriots to a Super Bowl XLII appearance and as a coach, helped the Patriots win Super Bowl LI.

Kafka completed his third season as the Giants’ offensive coordinator and has eight years of NFL coaching experience. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Andy Reid’s staff with the Kansas City Chiefs, the last two as the team’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. In 2016, Kafka served as an offensive graduate assistant at his alma mater, Northwestern University. Prior to coaching, he had a six-year NFL playing career.

“We’re excited to be getting two outstanding coaches with such great reputations leading our teams this year,” said Jim Nagy Reese’s Senior Bowl Executive Director. “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 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.”

This is the third year the Senior Bowl is implementing a “Coach Up” format in which NFL coordinators and assistant coaches are placed into elevated or different roles from the ones they currently hold with their respective clubs. Head coaches and general managers from all non-playoff teams and Wild Card round participants had the opportunity to nominate assistant coaches. Ventrone and Kafka were then selected by a group composed of league office executives and representatives from the General Managers Advisory Committee.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl, widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process, is the longest continuously running all-star game and has taken place in Mobile, Ala., for the previous years. The 75th anniversary Senior Bowl will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 3, from the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be televised on NFL Network.