Who Are the Top NFL HC Candidates? NFL Insider Dishes On Names to Watch Amid Rumors

There are only five weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, meaning the coaching carousel is about to really get going with two teams having already in the market for someone new.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini cited 11 current assistant coaches who are expected to receive "serious looks" as a head coach in the upcoming cycle.

Here are the names listed to keep an eye on:

• Matt Nagy, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator
• Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator
• Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator
• Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
• Robert Saleh, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator
• Lou Anarumo, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator
• Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator
• Anthony Weaver, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator
• Chris Shula, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator
• Anthony Campanile, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator
• Jeff Hafley, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator

Of the names Russini lists, Matt Nagy, Kliff Kingsbury, Robert Saleh and Vance Joseph have previous head-coaching experience.

Nagy was named Coach of the Year in his first season with the Chicago Bears in 2018 after going 12-4. He went 22-27 over the next three years before getting fired in January 2022.

Saleh, Kingsbury and Joseph were all least nine games under .500 in their first stint as head coaches.

Klint Kubiak could be the big-time offensive coordinator who gets a lot of attention this offseason. His resume is strong having spent the 2023 season as the passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers when Brock Purdy finished fourth in MVP voting before moving to the New Orleans Saints as their offensive coordinator in 2024.

The Saints started that season on a historic offensive pace before injuries started taking a toll on their performance. Kubiak joined the Seahawks as offensive coordinator this season. Sam Darnold currently leads the league in yards per completion (13.2), yards per attempt (9.0) and net yards gained per attempt (8.3).

A sleeper candidate could be Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. He earned high praise for his scheme when the Cincinnati Bengals made it to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2021 and 2022.

Taking over a Colts defense that finished 24th in points allowed last season, Anarumo has them ranked ninth in that category through 13 weeks. Their 35 sacks are one fewer than they had in all of 2024.

The Tennessee Titans and New York Giants are the only teams that have fired their coaches during the season so far. Other teams that could make a change in the next month include the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders.