Teams looking for new coaches:
- Giants (hired John Harbaugh)
- Ravens (hired Jesse Minter)
- Steelers (hired Mike McCarthy)
- DC: Pat Graham (former Raiders DC)
- Falcons (hired Kevin Stefanski)
- OC: Tommy Rees, former Browns OC
- DC: Jeff Ulbrich, retained as DC
- Dolphins (hired Jeff Hafley, former Packer DC)
- Titans (hired Robert Saleh)
- OC: Brian Daboll
- Bills (hired Joe Brady, Bills OC)
- Browns (hired Todd Monken, Ravens OC)
- Cardinals (hired Mike LaFleur, Rams OC)
- Raiders (Klint Kubiak?)
Available coaches (just fired/or left)
Brian DabollJohn HarbaughMike McDanielKevin StefanskiJonathan Gannon- Mike Tomlin
Raheem Morris- Brian Callahan
- Pete Carroll
- Sean McDermott
Other coaches (coordinators or wasn’t coaching)
- Mike Kafka (OC Giants)
- Kliff Kingsbury (OC Commanders)
- Anthony Weaver (former Dolphins DC)
- Vance Joseph (DC, Broncos)
- Steve Spagnuolo (DC, Chiefs)
- Chris Shula (DC, Rams)
- Lou Anarumo (DC, Colts)
Patrick Graham (DC Raiders)Klint Kubiak (OC, Seahawks)Arthur Smith (OC Steelers–reportedly becoming Ohio State OC)Brian Flores (DC, Vikings)(signed extension with the Vikings)Robert Saleh (DC, 49ers)Jessie Minter (DC, Chargers)Mike McCarthy
Who am I missing?
Some thoughts:
- The Raiders and Browns not only need a good coach, but a coach who has experience and has been a winner. And the organizations would be wise to be patient. For the Raiders and Browns, John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin would fit the bill. However, I tend to think they won’t see improvement in year 1. It could be ugly, so the organizations have to be patient. With the Browns defense, a good defensive HC might be good–like Robert Saleh and Spags, and I mention those two because they’re 4-3 guys (and I’m pretty sure the Browns are mostly a 4-3 team).
- I feel like the Giants, Titans, and Cardinals need a really good experienced coach as well. Kliff Kingsbury for the Giants seems like a decent fit, although I say this because Dart seems like a decent fit for his offense. There’s enough talent on the roster for Tomlin or Harbaugh to have success–so I think those two would be good as well. Stefanski would be another I’d consider. For the Titans, Mike McCarthy or Stefanski might be a nice fit there.
- For the Falcons, because of their offense (and OL’s ability to block the wide zone and Bijan), Klint Kubiak would could hit the ground running. I don’t know if he is good HC material though. If he is, and he could find a good DC, the Falcons could take off.
- I would like to see Arthur Smith and Mike McDaniel as OCs, maybe to the Seahawks if Kubiak leaves.
- Minter, Shula, and maybe Flores to the Ravens or even the Steelers, would make sense, but I don’t know how good they’d be as HCs. (For the Steelers, someone with new defensive ideas, taking them away from the LeBeau roots and philosophy would be a good thing.)
Some DCs for the Cowboys:
Jonathan Gannon (HC for the Cardinals)
Jim Schwartz (DC for the Browns)
Jeff Ulbrich (DC for the Falcons)
Sean McDermott (HC for the Bills) (edit: 1/19/2026)
Christian Parker (secondary coach from the Eagles)
I mention these guys not only because they seem like solid coaches, but I believe they’re all 4-3 guys, so the transition shouldn’t be as difficult. Maybe the Cowboys defensive personnel is well-suited for 3-4 defenses out of the more Mike McDonald approach. If so, then maybe the former DC from the Titans and Dolphins would be a good fit.
Of the list above, I think I like Gannon the best.
Dallas hire Christian Parker as their new DC. I know nothing of this guy nor Jim Leonhard the guy at Denver. Both are called “passing game coordinators”, which at first, I thought was an offensive coach. However, both are really defensive passing game coordinators.
What I like about what the Cowboys have done with their coaches, is go young and supposedly innovative. This is a far different from hiring McCarthy. Not saying it will work, but at least they are not sticking to their old ways of doing things.
I forgot to mention Daronte Jones, another passing game coordinator at Minnesota. He made the second round of interviews with the Cowboys, which says he had a shot. Leonhard was never interviewed formally since the Broncos are still playing in the playoffs. It looks like Dallas really wanted a passing game coordinator, and they didn’t want an existing DC.
That’s appealing, but from our vantage point, the quality of their coaching are a complete unknown. I think if the coach seemed to be in demand from other teams, that’s a good sign though. (When the Bucs hired Dave Canales to be their OC, that seemed to come out of nowhere. Also, I don’t recall other teams having a lot of interest. Canales was a solid OC, and he seems like a solid HC. I think the situation was similar when the Rams hired Sean McVay. I don’t recall knowing much about him, prior to him going to the Rams.)
I would feel a little uneasy if the Raiders or Seahawks hired a younger, little known assistant. That doesn’t mean that older, well-known coaches would be better, but from out vantage point we at least have an idea of what we’re getting.
Christian Parker is a disciple of Vic Fangio. Reports are that Fangio loved this guy. He was with him in Denver and brought him over to the Eagles. Fangio liked Parker because Parker is a great communicator and Fangio isn’t.
That being said, I’m not a huge Fangio guy. He plays a lot of shell defenses with little blitzing. He tried to get pressure through confusion by having multiple guys on the line of scrimmage, so QBs don’t know where the rush is coming from. He supposed to be known as one of the guys that like to play a zone defense that can change to man depending on the routes run called the “Match Zone”. Hopefully Parker takes the best of Fangio and introduces some new schemes as well.
I think Fangio is a good DC. I don’t think match-zone is unique to him, though, or maybe that’s not what you meant to say.
It seems like two defensive systems, both 3-4s essentially, are in vogue–Fangio (e.g., Brandon Staley) and the Ravens 3-4, maybe credited to Mike Mcdonald.
The good 4-3 guys seems to have adapted the 4-3 to have more of the 3-4 versatility. I would put Robert Saleh, Demeco Ryans, and maybe Jonathan Gannon in this category.
This has nothing to do with Parker, though. I really don’t know much about him.
Yeah, I didn’t think that only Fangio runs the Match Zone defense, but I want to say it isn’t very common outside of his disciples in the NFL. But I could be wrong. Also, I think there is a Man Match coverage which is sort of the opposite of the Match Zone.
Do you think there are any schemes that nobody else runs, either on offense or defense? That would be cool, but I everyone copies everyone so I would seriously doubt it.
I don’t think so. I tend to think there are wrinkles, and maybe different formations. For example, I thought Mike McDaniel had novel ways of handing off the ball, especially from the gun. Also, this year, Kyle Shanahan had the FB in odd positions. I’d see him line up next to the tackle, off the LOS, and sometimes facing the backfield. I’m wondering if I was seeing things, but I think that’s what he did.
Mike McDaniel can coach my team any day. I don’t want Harbaugh or Tomlin. I want McDaniel, but I doubt he’ll take the gig.
I’m curious to hear why you’re so high on McDaniel.
I know you and I are going to differ on this, and I’ve actually been proven wrong by the recent success of the Detroit Lions, but I don’t think Oklahoma drills and biting kneecaps is the way to manage a large group of athletes. I like a young football nerd who relates to his men as people, more the Dick Vermeil type than the Dan Campbell type, I guess, but add youth and creativity like Sean McVay. McDaniel obviously has some flaws, but I think they are the kinds of things that can be overcome with some experience, like (supposedly; I don’t know enough to say based on my own eyes and brains) not responding well when behind a few scores.
McDaniel was on bubble watch throughout the first quarter of the season and look how he handled it. Sure, the Dolphins came up short again, but his team played well even with the coach supposedly a dead man walking. People speculated he lost the locker room, but did it look like that to you in the middle of the season? It didn’t to me.
The only guy I think I’d rather have is Kevin O’Connell, for slightly (but only slightly) different reasons. It’s clear he knows how to coach up a QB. Of course, he’s already got a job. So yeah. Give me McDaniel.
I also wouldn’t mind Kingsbury because that is one handsome man.
I was under the impression you liked Campbell, partly because of the “kneecaps” thing.
I think you would like Mike Macdonald. And I see why you like McDaniel. I must say that in terms of creativity (e.g., different ways of handing off the ball), he’s one of the more creative.
Sean McVay, on the other hand, seems closer to a throw-back then someone super creative. Besides things like jet sweeps, maybe TE screens, his offenses look like something from the late 90s/early 2000s. It’s closer to old school pro-style offense, merging shotgun spread concepts.
Back to McDaniel, I would be open to him as an OC, with the Seahawks, if he was willing to put more emphasis on running the ball, but I wouldn’t feel great if the Raiders hired him as HC. I feel like they need really strong leadership, someone who can establish a winning culture, but also make a big impact, in terms of wins, in year 1. I don’t know if such a coach exists though.
I was charmed by the Lions’ success and Campbell’s sincerity, after being utterly turned off by him when he coached the Dolphins. I liked him for the Lions; I wouldn’t want him for a team I actually root for. Also, I think that wears off quickly, despite its quick success. See also Billy Martin and Jim Harbaugh — not the same kinds of coaches, but just obvious early success followed by everyone getting tired of them.
OK, got it.
The Bills just fired Sean McDermott, which seems justified to me. I think Kevin Stefanski would have been a solid replacement, but the Falcons have hired him. To me, the Bills need an HC who can help integrate the run and pass game a lot better. Also, working more with Allen to get him a little more under control. Finally, someone who can come up with schemes/adjustments during the playoffs. HCs like Andy Reid or even Bruce Arians are the type of coaches I have in mind.
Kliff Kingsbury would be interesting. Maybe Brian Daboll. Tomlin would be interesting, especially if he hired one of those guys as OC; or if he brought Arthur Smith, perhaps. Mike McCarthy might be a solid hire (although I’m not a fan of his offense).
Another coach that would be interesting: Bill Belichick. (If he could have brought along Josh McDaniels as his OC, that would have been a good fit.)
Do you think Stefanski and Harbaugh woke up this morning sad they didn’t wait a little longer before signing?
Yeah–I mean, how could they not.
Well there’s living in the New York Metro area vs. Buffalo, for one thing. And the excitement of developing a young, talented QB with an exciteing young RB for another.
I would put the location low on the list. I think Josh Allen would be more attractive. He’s realized his potential, whereas less Dart and Penix have not. They could become as good, but they migth not as well. Plus, I feel like the Bills have a good roster right now. James Cook and the Bills OL are no slouches, either. If you’re a really good coach, you could win a Super Bowl with the Bills next year. I can say that as strongly for the Giants or Falcons.
There are some OC openings that could affect HC positions. Here are some OC openings (
not counting ones for new HCs):Eagles
Lions (hired Drew Petzing)
Chargers (hired Mike McDaniel)
Buccaneers (hired Zac Robinson, former Falcons OC)
Commanders (hired David Blough)
Dolphins (hired Bobby Slowik)
Titans (hired Brian Daboll)
Ravens
Giants
If Arthur Smith doesn’t get an HC offer, I think he’ll have a great shot for OC on one of these teams. All of them seem like good fits for them. I want to say something similar about Mike McDaniel, but I have doubts about his commitment to the run game. Maybe the Eagles and Lions wouldn’t care as much if he weren’t that committed. (I wonder if Vic Fangio would be OK working with McDaniel, though.)
Brian Daboll might be in a good position for one of these as well.
Edit:
Lions hired Drew Petzing as their new OC. I liked what I saw from Petzing, and I would have been interested in him if Kubiak left the Seahawks.
Chargers hired Mike McDaniel as their new OC. I’m pretty sure Greg Roman wasn’t a West Coast offensive guy, so this is going to be a transition. To me, Drew Petzing would have been a better fit (based on the power-running that I think the Cardinals seemed to like). Will McDaniel be willing to run the ball a lot? Or maybe Harbaugh has become more of a pass-first guy?
I would have been curious to see McDaniel in Washington, with Jayden Daniels.
I like the Titans hiring of Saleh. He seems like a good guy who got into a terrible situation (Jets). I wouldn’t have minded seeing him to go Vegas as a second choice after McDaniel.
EDIT: Do the Dolphins think they are better today than they were a week ago? I don’t see how. Mike McDaniel can coach my team any day.
If Cam Ward is the real deal, then Saleh going there makes sense. The Titans seem like a bad organization, though.
With Stefanski and Harbaugh off the table, I don’t think so. But I think if Tomlin could be an improvement….The thing is, with coaches like Tomlin and John Harbaugh, I think they need really need a good front office and roster. They strike me as good leaders/managers, but not necessarily great Xs and Os guys that can elevate a team via scheme and playcalling. For example, if Tomlin goes the Raiders, the Raiders could end up having another bad season in year 1.
McDaniel seems like a creative Xs and Os guy, but I don’t know how good of a leader he is. When Vic Fangio bailed left, I thought that was not a good sign.
More random thoughts:
The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as HC.
Some thoughts:
I was talking to a die-hard Steeler fan. He was completely against the McCarthy hire as well. However, he listened to McCarthy’s first interview, and he said he really changed his stance and now is in support of the McCarthy hire. It sounded like he was originally against McCarthy because of scheme and coaching ability. But after the interview, he felt that McCarthy being a Pittsburgh native, having a good understanding of football culture there, and McCarthy’s desire to do well in Pittsburgh, changed his stance. My interpretation of what this fan was telling me, “His head still might be against McCarthy, but his heart is completely behind the new coach.”
DC positions:
Falcons (kept Jeff Ulbrich, which seems like a solid move)
Commanders (hired Daronte Jones, from the Vikings)
Cowboys (hired Christian Parker from the Eagles)
Packers (hired Jonathan Gannon former Cardinals HC)
49ers (hired Raheem Morris)
Noteworthy available DCs:
Sean McDermott
Jim Schwartz
The Bills promoted Joe Brady to be their HC.
To me, this is a head scratcher, as I personally think the offense was a problem, specifically marrying the run and passing games. The move would make sense if a) they believe McDermott prevented that, which I find hard to believe–if anything he’d want this; b) the Bills want to build an offense like the Bengals (and McDermott didn’t want this, but Brady did/does).
The Browns hire Todd Monken.
I’m a little skeptical about this hire as well. Monken had success with an offense built around Lamar Jackson, and the offense was originally designed by Greg Roman. Is Monken going to bring the same offense? I’m skeptical the QBs on the roster will fit in that offense. What will the offense look like if Monken goes in a different direction? No idea.
I don’t know if Jim Schwartz is a great HC, but hiring him would have brought continuity with a very good defense.
Re: the Raiders
They’re going to interview Klint Kubiak a second time. I have really mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I want Kubiak to stay, because I really want to see Seahawks in year 2 of his offense. I think they will be even better. However, if Klint is going to be another Gary Kubiak, I’d love for the Raiders to get him…but that’s also assuming the Spytek, Brady, Davis know what they’re doing, if they’re not a messed up organization as well. Because if the organization is messed up, I don’t think Kubiak is going to have a lot of success, even if he’s as good as his father. And I have some doubts that he is at that level or even if he’s ready to be an HC (based on his press conferences).
Re Bills:
I’ve said it before, but I feel like the Bills have played well (and overall looked like a well-coached team) in the playoffs, despite never going to a Super Bowl under McDermott. That being said, McDermott costs the Bills the game by being super aggressive at the end of the first half leading to that Bronco field goal off the Allen turnover. I think it wasn’t the reason for McDermott’s firing, but it definitely made it more palatable to his supporters.
I don’t know if Reid would agree, but I thought the Bills run game was great or close to great. The only team’s run game that I can recall that I liked more is the Falcons. The Bills should have been running it more for sure, and even then the Bills led the league in rushing. They were gashing a pretty good Bronco defense, and I’ve seen the Bills do that all year in spurts. The real issue with the Bills this year is they got very little talent. They have no receiving threat, and their defense is pretty spotty all over the place (ie: pass rush, db’s, against the run). Honestly, I think the Bills over achieved this year when looking at who they were putting on the field every week.
I sort of like the Brady hire for the Bills. Maybe Reid’s right and Brady’s offense isn’t a good mixing up the plays as other coaches, but Bills offense has definitely looked better since Brady took over. This could be due to the emergence of Cook, but the Bills was way more one dimensional (maybe due to Diggs as well) prior. To me it’s the defense that has been gradually deteriorating in the past few years.
I don’t know about the regular season, because I didn’t watch a lot of their games, but I totally agree about running more against the Broncos. Whether they have a great run game or not, they’re good–good enough to build an offense around.
But they just couldn’t do that very well. I feel like either Allen doesn’t like operating from under center and/or he’s not amendable to throwing the ball less than 30 times a game (i.e., handing the ball off a lot).
I feel like the Bills tried to be more pass-centric several years ago, and then in the last two years or so, they tried to have more balance. Yes, I think that was an improvement, but they’ve struggled to marry the run and pass in my view.
Maybe with Brady, they’ve decided to give up on that and build an offense like the Chiefs or Bengals. We should know by early next season.
(Side note: One reason I supported moving on from McDermott was that he and his staff just seemed outclassed by Andy Reid and his crew. The roster is critical you also need coaching that can match the best coaches out there. Speaking of which, while he may not be a great coach per se, I feel like Bruce Arians can match-up against the best defensive coaches. And I think he would be a good fit for the Bills.)
I was surprised Klink Kubiak could “officially” be hired prior to the end of Seattle’s season, but I guess since the NFL is in sort of a break it can be official. It’s just Kubiak cannot sign an official contract, and it’s put the Raiders a little behind in hiring coordinators and other coaches. I will be surprised if the Raiders are able to build a coaching staff prior to the end of the Super Bowl.
Mitchell,
You like the hire? I get all the Kubiaks mixed up. For a while, I thought the OC for Seattle was a former head coach, because I must have been mixing him up with his dad Gary.