It’s safe to say the sports scene isn’t short on attractive athletes. In 2024 alone, the Kelce brothers, the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, and the Bears’ Jonathan Owens were all featured in People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2024 Readers’ Choice Poll. Star players usually steal the spotlight, whether they’re on the field, ice, pitch, or court. But there’s another group that deserves just as much attention…the head coaches.
From masterminding game plans, to motivating their teams to victory, these coaches bring more than just strategy to the table–they’ve got plenty of charm too. But which head coaches from the big four leagues are the most handsome?
To find out, we collected headshots of all 124 head coaches across the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA, and ran them through AI software to assess their conventional attractiveness, scoring each coach out of 10 based on their looks.
The Big Four’s Most Handsome USA Coaches
We’ve highlighted the top five US coaches below but stick around to the end to see how Canada’s most handsome coaches performed, as well as which league has the hottest coaches of them all.
1. JJ Redick – Los Angeles Lakers (8.44/10)
The former NBA shooting guard, JJ Redick has been head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers since June 2024. Despite having no prior professional coaching experience, he’s made a promising start to his career this season.
Better yet, it seems his turn to coaching has kept him young. With an attractiveness score of 8.44 and a predicted age of 34, you’d never know that JJ Redick was actually 40!
2. Jonathan Gannon – Arizona Cardinals (8.04/10)
Jonathan Gannon became Arizona’s head coach in February 2023, after signing a five-year deal. Previously, as the defensive coordinator for the Eagles, the Cleveland native has 16 years of NFL experience and led the Cardinals to an 8-9 record, placing them third in the NFC West for the 2024-25 season.
Despite missing the playoffs this year, Gannon can take pride in his attractiveness score of 8.04 and a perceived age of 33, even though he is actually 42.
3. Mike Macdonald – Seattle Seahawks (7.93/10)
Mike Macdonald has been the head coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks since 2024, replacing Pete Carroll. During the 2024-25 season, Macdonald led the team to a 10–7 record, narrowly missing the playoffs due to a fifth tiebreaker loss to the Rams. However, the team finished on a positive note, with many viewing the season as the start of something special.
As one of the younger coaches in the league, Macdonald has an attractiveness score of 7.93 and a predicted age of 34, which is three years younger than his actual age of 37.
4. Dave Martinez – Washington Nationals (7.91/10)
Former MLB outfielder Dave Martinez has been the manager of the Washington Nationals since the start of the 2018 season. He led the team to its first-ever World Series title in 2019, despite facing public calls for his dismissal following a tough 19-31 start.
Since that championship, the Nationals have struggled and ranked among the worst teams in the MLB, but that hasn’t stopped Martinez from being recognized as one of the top five most handsome coaches, with an attractiveness score of 7.91 and an estimated age of 41.
5. Kyle Shanahan – San Francisco 49ers (7.88/10)
To wrap up our top five, we have Kyle Shanahan, the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers since 2017. Although he’s led the team to two Super Bowl appearances, the 2024-25 season has been tough, marked by a 6-11 record and numerous injuries.
Despite the challenges, Shanahan has maintained his looks, earning an attractiveness score of 7.88 and a predicted age of 36, even though he is actually 45.
Canada’s Most Handsome Head Coaches
Moving on to Canada’s head coaches, take a look below to see if your favourite was deemed most attractive:
1. Kris Knoblauch – Edmonton Oilers (6.64/10)
At the top of our list is Kris Knoblauch, head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. While he led the Oilers to the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, the team has had a strong but somewhat inconsistent season this year.
However, Knoblauch is scoring well off the ice, ranking first on our Canadian list with an attractiveness score of 6.64 and a predicted age of 42–though he’s actually 46!
2. Ryan Huska – Calgary Flames (6.41/10)
Coming in a close second is Ryan Huska, a former professional ice hockey player in Canada who became head coach of the Calgary Flames in 2023 after serving as an assistant coach since 2018.
Despite the Flames’ up-and-down season, Huska can take pride in his attractiveness score of 6.41 (just shy of the top spot) with a predicted age of 43, though he’s actually 49.
3. Scott Arniel – Winnipeg Jets (6.15/10)
Next up is Scott Arniel, who has been the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets since 2024, taking over from Rick Bowness. He is currently leading the Jets to an exceptional season, with the Manitoba locals making the top of the Central Division and extending their record-breaking winning streak.
Things are looking good for Arniel, receiving an attractiveness score of 6.15 and securing the number three spot on our list.
4. Darko Rajaković – Toronto Raptors (6.10/10)
With an attractiveness score of 6.10, Darko Rajaković ranks fourth on our list. He has been the head coach of the Toronto Raptors since 2023 and began his coaching career in his home nation of Serbia, where he played professionally in the Serbian league for a short time.
However, most importantly, the AI tool predicts him to be 36 years old, which shaves over ten years off his actual age of 46.
5. Rick Tocchet – Vancouver Canucks (6.01/10)
Lastly, we have Rick Tocchet. Head coach of the Vancouver Canucks since 2023, Rick Tocchet makes a solid number five on our list in terms of attractiveness, with a score of 6.01 and predicted age of 44.
You’d be surprised then to know he’s 60 years old, having begun as a professional player back in 1984 for the Philadelphia Flyers.
NFL Crowned the Most Handsome League
Now that we’ve ranked the top four head coaches and the most attractive ones from Canada, it’s time to look at the most handsome league of the lot. And according to our stats, it’s the NFL.
Here are the average attractiveness scores across the Big Four:
- NFL = 6.44
- NBA = 5.73
- NHL = 5.83
- MLB = 5.50
With Jonathan Gannc of the Arizona Cardinals receiving an 8.04 attractiveness score he’s added a lot of dashing weight to the list, while Mike Macdonald from the Seattle Seahawks received 7.93 and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers had an impressive 7.88–all of which combined together to outweigh the other three leagues.
But looking at the data, the NBA has made a mark too–with the largest scoring range out of the top four leagues. News-maker JJ Redick sits at the top with 8.44, while Mark Daigneault from the Oklahoma City Thunder received an attractiveness score of 7.00. Good scores all around, even with the variation in range.
Did your favourite coach make our top five? Is attractiveness needed to bring your favourite team to victory? If you think so, why not browse our pick of best sportsbooks in Canada and get some skin in on how their head coaches perform?
Methodology
To determine the most attractive head coaches in the Big Four, we analyzed headshots from all 124 head coaches using the Attractiveness AI Tool.
This AI assesses facial features such as eye shape, nose structure, mouth symmetry, and skin texture, identifying patterns linked to perceived beauty.
Each coach then received a score out of 10, with 10 being the most attractive and 1 being the least, as well as a predicted age based on the AI tool’s assessment.
(Data accurate as of 14th February 2025.)
