Fresh Predictions for NFL's Open Head Coach Hires Based on Latest Buzz

A full week has passed since the NFL's regular season ended and the 2026 coaching carousel began spinning. No new hires have been announced yet, but that could change quickly in the coming days.

Many coaching candidates are now entering their second week on the interview trail. Kevin Stefanski, for example, was fired by the Cleveland Browns last Monday and interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens on Friday. Baltimore fired John Harbaugh last Tuesday, while the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that coach Mike Tomlin had stepped down this Tuesday.

With a quarter of the NFL seeking new head coaches, teams will move quickly to put pen to paper with their preferred targets.

How will the landscape look once the carousel comes to a complete stop? Let's dive into the latest buzz and make a few predictions.

Arizona Cardinals: Vance Joseph

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

The Arizona Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon last Monday but retained general manager Monti Ossenfort. That would be a problem for any candidates who would prefer to have personnel control.

Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland reported on Friday that Harbaugh hopes to pick the general manager of his next team. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports called reports of Harbaugh's demands "inaccurate," but it's not hard to envision this year's top candidates shying away from a franchise with an entrenched GM, a bad overall roster, and a big quarterback conundrum—Arizona has to decide whether to move forward with Kyler Murray this offseason.

The Cardinals may have to wait for other dominoes to fall before getting their guy, but that doesn't mean that they can't land a quality candidate. The prediction here is that they end up with a candidate who may not be available soon anyway.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Arizona plans to interview Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Denver, of course, is still in the playoffs as the AFC's No. 1 seed, and it has a championship-caliber defense led by Joseph.

While Cardinals fans might not love the idea of hiring another defensive coach after Gannon, Joseph would check a lot of boxes. He has prior head-coaching experience (Broncos), and he has ties to Arizona.

Joseph served as the Cardinals' defensive coordinator for four seasons under Kliff Kingsbury.

Atlanta Falcons: John Harbaugh

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Harbaugh may not demand the freedom to pick his own general manager, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't prefer to be part of a fresh front-office rebuild. That's one thing the Atlanta Falcons could offer the 63-year-old after firing both coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot.

The GM vacancy could give the Falcons an edge over the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns, who fired coaches but kept their respective general managers.

According to Jones, sources have indicated that "their belief" is that Harbaugh's top choices are New York and Atlanta, "in some order," with the Titans and Browns also being mentioned.

An open GM job isn't all the Falcons can offer, either. They have a strong roster loaded with young playmakers, and they play in arguably the league's most winnable division.

While it remains unclear whether Michael Penix Jr. can be a true franchise quarterback, it's easy to envision Harbaugh instantly leading Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Walter Nolen III, and the rest of Atlanta's stars straight to the top of the NFC South hierarchy.

Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter

AP Photo/Kyusung Gong

Since arriving in Baltimore as the rebranded Browns in 1996, the Ravens have had one of the league's most stable organizations. For the last 18 seasons, that stability involved Harbaugh.

It should surprise no one if the Ravens opt for another young coach who can potentially lead the franchise for the better part of two decades. Given the team's defensive struggles over the past couple of seasons, a coach with a defensive background might also be preferred.

Enter Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, whose team was knocked out of the playoffs on Sunday night.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that Baltimore has requested an interview with Minter.

The Ravens appear to be casting a wide net in their coaching search, and they've already completed interviews with the likes of Stefanski and Joseph. Now that L.A. is out of the playoffs, though, they could quickly zero in on Minter.

The 42-year-old has spent the past two seasons in Los Angeles under Jim Harbaugh, and he's helped forge a defense that pretty much carried the Chargers into the postseason this year. He also has experience in Baltimore, having served as a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach for four years before departing to become Vanderbilt's defensive coordinator.

Minter, it seems, is poised to be a very popular candidate.

"This week I was told that Jesse Minter is a 'star in the making' and that 'he's more than ready to be a head coach,' The Athletic's James Palmer posted on X.

Cleveland Browns: Mike McDaniel

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Cleveland might feel like an unlikely destination for a top candidate like Harbaugh, given the franchise's ongoing dysfunction. However, there's "real and mutual interest" between Harbaugh and the Browns, according to Jones.

Of course, Cleveland isn't going to stay idle while waiting to see if it can even interview Harbaugh. Recently-fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is interviewing with the Browns on Monday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

While McDaniel's time in Miami ended poorly, he would make sense for the Browns for a few reasons. For one, he's been with the organization before, serving as wide receivers coach in 2014.

Cleveland was reportedly interested in bringing back McDaniel even before Stefanski was fired.

"As for McDaniel, the Browns have always admired his brilliant offensive mind, his innovative play calling and his strategic thinking. He's been on their radar for some time, and would likely jump at the chance to interview him if the Dolphins fire him and the Browns part ways with Stefanski," Cabot wrote on December 31.

The Browns are also hoping to keep defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, according to Fox Sports insider Jay Glazer (beginning at the 1:25 mark).

If Cleveland is determined to keep its defense largely unchanged, pairing him with an offensive coach would be logical.

Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File

The Las Vegas Raiders fired Pete Carroll after one disastrous season, but that campaign did net them the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. Presumably, Las Vegas will use that selection on a new quarterback, like Indiana's Fernando Mendoza.

"Finding an offensive mind to pair with the number one pick—who presumably is gonna be a quarterback—is gonna be extremely important," The Athletic's Ted Nguyen told KTNV Las Vegas.

Expect Las Vegas to put the full-court press on Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak whenever he becomes available.

According to ESPN's Peter Schrager, the Raiders had one interview with Kubiak on Friday. Seattle, though, is still in the postseason as the NFC's No. 1 seed, so the 38-year-old may not be ready to fully dive into the interview process for several more weeks.

The Raiders should be willing to wait until they have Kubiak's full attention because he's an ideal candidate for their situation.

Kubiak is one of the league's most creative young offensive play-callers, who has worked wonders with Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold this season. Seattle's passing attack ranked second in net yards per pass attempt during the regular season.

Las Vegas will be intrigued by the possibility of Kubiak coaching up a rookie quarterback while drawing up plays for stars like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers. It should also be interested in adding a younger coach who can potentially steer the ship for multiple decades.

Miami Dolphins: Chris Shula

AP Photo/Samantha Chow, File

The Dolphins fired McDaniel on Thursday, a day before they announced the hiring of new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan.

Sullivan has spent his entire NFL career with the Green Bay Packers, most recently serving as the franchise's vice president of player personnel. This makes it easy to draw a connection to Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Haffley, who was recently added to Miami's interview list.

The prediction here, though, is that the Dolphins go with another defensive candidate in Los Angeles Rams' coordinator Chris Shula.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Miami has requested an interview with the 39-year-old.

Shula is the grandson of legendary Dolphins head coach Don Shula, which would make his landing in Miami a bit of a feel-good story. However, that's only part of the reason why Shula would make a ton of sense for the Dolphins.

After firing an offensive coach in McDaniel, the Dolphins may prefer a coach who can get more out of their defense. Shula, who has been with the Rams since 2017, has shown an ability to coach up young defenders.

Shula was L.A.'s linebackers coach when the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, but he's spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator. During that time, he has taken emerging talents like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Cobie Durant, and Quentin Lake and forged one of the league's more impressive young defenses.

Theoretically, Shula could help the Dolphins lead with their defense while they sort out a quarterback situation that may or may not include Tua Tagovailoa for the long-term.

New York Giants: Kevin Stefanski

AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel

While the Browns apparently didn't like the direction in which Stefanski was taking them, others seem very intrigued by the 43-year-old's ability to coach a young quarterback and lead a franchise.

Longtime Giants star Tiki Barber believes that Stefanski would be an idea fit for his former team.

"There's something I like about Kevin Stefanski when it comes to continuing to develop Jaxson Dart and continuing to build a staff that is going to get great defensive production," Barber said on WFAN last week (beginning at the 34-second mark).

While Stefanski didn't get great results with rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this past season, he was also working with an injury plagued offensive line and one of the league's worst receiving corps. The two-time Coach of the Year would probably have much more success with Dart and New York's supporting cast.

Stefanski has already interviewed for the Giants' job, and things reportedly went well, even if New York isn't close to making a decision.

"It went very well,'' a source said, per Paul Schwartz of The New York Post. "Meeting everybody and talking it through. I think it's going to be a long process, I really do.''

The Giants will probably make their run at Harbaugh, who has had more consistent success than Stefanski, plus a Super Bowl on his resume. The prediction here, though, is that they circle back to Stafanski in an effort to get the most out of Dart and a young offensive group.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Brian Flores

AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File

Tomlin's decision to step away from Pittsburgh didn't come as a total surprise, though ESPN's Adam Schefter reported just before Monday's wild-card loss that it didn't "seem like" the longtime coach was likely to walk away.

Now, Pittsburgh has the unenviable task of trying to replace a coach who delivered 19 straight years without a losing season. In replacing Tomlin, it would make a ton of sense for the Steelers to try to replicate history.

Tomlin was the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator before he was hired to take over the Steelers. Current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is now drawing interest for his second stint as a head coach.

The Ravens announced on Tuesday that they had interviewed Flores for their head-coach vacancy.

Snagging Flores before Baltimore can sign him would be a brilliant move for the Steelers. The 44-year-old has previous head-coaching experience, having led the Dolphins for three seasons. He also has experience in Pittsburgh, having served as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022.

Flores, who began his coaching career with the New England Patriots in 2008, knows exactly what it takes to have sustained success in the regular season and what's needed to win in the postseason. He's also familiar with the organization, and he's young enough to be the sort of long-term leader that Pittsburgh previously had in Tomlin, Bill Cowher, and Chuck Noll.

Tennessee Titans: Matt Nagy

AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File

The Tennessee Titans may not have a great overall roster, but they do have a promising young quarterback in last year's first overall pick, Cam Ward. His presence makes Tennessee a more appealing destination than one might assume.

"They're actually high up on a lot of these coaches' lists because they have a quarterback, they like the GM down there, as well," Glazer said on Fox (beginning at the 37-second mark).

Tennessee fired coach Brian Callahan during the season but kept general manager Mike Borgonzi, who was hired in 2025 after spending four seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs' assistant general manager. The Chiefs, of course, are coming off a lengthy run as the AFC's most dominant force.

While the Titans will reportedly draw the interest of Harbaugh and have already interviewed Stefanski, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy looms as a logical target.

Nagy has prior head-coaching experience, having led the Chicago Bears for four seasons. While his overall tenure in Chicago left something to be desired, Nagy did deliver two playoff berths. He also coached Mitch Trubisky during the only Pro Bowl campaign of his career.

Kansas City welcomed Nagy back almost immediately after he was fired in Chicago, and he was on the Chiefs' staff during their three most recent runs to the Super Bowl.

The Titans have already interviewed Nagy, along with a host of other candidates. While Tennessee will weigh all options, the Kansas City connection between Nagy and Borgonzi may be more than enough to seal this particular pairing.