NFL Head Coach Hiring Predictions: John Harbaugh wins the Ravens divorce, ideal fit for Kevin Stefanski, filling Mike Tomlin’s shoes

Where will each coach land in 2026?

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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It’s week two of the offseason, and we finally know the exact number of head coach openings… right? The Pittsburgh Steelers saw Mike Tomlin off on Monday, a decision made by the veteran coach to step away for the time being. That created the ninth head coach opening in this cycle. In other words, nearly a third of the league is now in search of their next leader. What an insane way to start 2026!

The John Harbaugh sweepstakes are underway, and by all accounts it seems his decision will act as the starting bell of the coaching staff derby. Not only will the remaining eight teams feel the pressure to secure their seat in this game of musical chairs, but also all the prospective coaches who have backchanneled their potential staffs won’t want to lose out on their preferred hires. It’s a complicated song and dance, and this year’s number is a doozy.

So let’s place some coaches in some jobs! Everybody does these each year, and let’s be honest, nobody’s list is ever mostly right. So let’s have some fun and think outside the box on some of these marriages. Here are my official educated guesses on who each team lands as their next head coach:

Predicting where each new head coach lands in 2026

Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh

I’m planting my flag on one guy for each of these teams, but I’ll also be including one “I thought about it” guy as well. You know, so that I can take cheap half-victory laps if those guys hit instead. And for the Titans, there’s a pretty staunch stylistic difference between my official pick Robert Saleh and my runner-up Mike McDaniel. They come from the same background in San Francisco, But they’re on opposite sides of the ball and have very different reputations as leaders. The reason I can’t quit the idea of McDaniel is simply because of how great a pairing he’d be with Cam Ward. His wide zone system with a screen game to unlock playmakers and deep shots down the middle of the field that lean into Ward’s strength and desire to push the ball there… it makes so much sense on paper.

But my initial pick for this job back in the fall was Robert Saleh, and I’m sticking to my guns. I think he’s exactly the kind of guy Tennessee is looking for: a galvanizing leader of men who will help spark the culture into what it needs to become. He also has the experience as both a head coach and as a play caller that they so clearly desire—just look at who is and isn’t on their interview list.

Thought about it: Mike McDaniel

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

At the time of writing this article, John Harbaugh is physically in New Jersey meeting with Giants brass. The expectation early this week was that he had whittled his interview list down to the Giants, Falcons, and Titans.

But depending on when you’re reading this, he may very well already be the leader of the G Men. Everybody’s favorite “People’s Insider” Pretty Rickey returned to the X sewers this morning to reveal that he knows the Harbaugh and New York marriage is pending. They aren’t planning on letting him leave the building. And as much as my gut tells me Harbaugh’s methodical approach to this process will lead him to at least hear the other candidates out, the deluge of supporting posts from “more reputable” national reports that followed Rickey’s post seemed to confirm that a Harbaugh to the Giants announcement is just a matter of time now.

If by some chance things fall apart and the Giants miss on their guy, the other coach I thought about was Packers DC Jeff Hafley. He was the favorite for this job before the postseason firings took place, and I think he has “future NFL head coach” written all over his profile. His geographic ties to the New Jersey region only help.

Thought about it: Jeff Hafley

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Stefanski to the Falcons just feels right. He’s a good ball coach if you ask me, and I wrote about why I feel that way at this link here. He just needs a reset in a more stable organization with some real offensive talent to work with, and the Falcons provide that. Atlanta is undergoing a full organizational reset with only newly-appointed president Matt Ryan in place as they look for a GM and head coach consecutively. It’s unclear whether they’ll hire them in tandem or one at a time, considering they’re (oddly) using two unrelated search firms to identify them. I think Bears executive Ian Cunningham is the likely choice for GM eventually, but this isn’t a GM predictions article!

Matt Ryan said this week that he wasn’t specifically looking for an offensive coach per se, but I think they land on one. Stefanski is going to be selective if he takes a job immediately, knowing his second chance is likely to be his last. I think he’ll be attracted to the young weapons on both sides of the ball on this roster, a respected ownership situation, and the opportunity to marry into a leadership structure that is all brand new. If they go a different direction, I would also keep an eye on Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak.

Thought about it: Klint Kubiak

Cleveland Browns: Grant Udinksi

With so many openings, I highly doubt they’re all going to be the most predictable household names. So I have the Browns going a bit off the board with Jaguars OC Grant Udinski. This is a job that is bottom-two in desirability if you ask me. I don’t envision any major name having this team near the top of their list, and I don’t think any retread is jumping to burn their second chance on them either. I see this as a job for somebody fresh and new, with all of the light still bright behind their eyes. And it sounds like national reporters are hearing this is the directions Cleveland is looking in.

So yes, Udinski is just 30 years old, but he’s worked on three different NFL staffs and has risen rapidly. His reviews are glowing, like this from his old boss Kevin O’Connell: “Interviewing Grant was like interviewing a guy who could build a car from scratch for a job at a car wash.”

So why not give him a job building that car from scratch, Cleveland? Or you could give it to Rams Passing Game Coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, who has been a very hot young name in this cycle too.

Thought about it: Nate Scheelhaase

Arizona Cardinals: Klint Kubiak

Speaking of jobs I find extremely unattractive, the Arizona Cardinals! They have a suspect ownership situation, their future at QB is completely up in the air, and there isn’t a very straightforward path to remedying that anytime soon. I do think this roster is actually not far off from competing outside of QB, but I don’t have to remind you what division they’re in either.

I’m predicting that the Cardinals look north in the NFC West and hire a coach they’ve become familiar with this past season: Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak. I could see them shifting from defense to offense with this hire, trying to spark something fresh for the weapons they do have in place on that side of the ball. Another name that comes to mind is Broncos DC Vance Joseph, who would bring with him both head coaching experience as well as familiarity from coordinating in Arizona during the Kingsbury era.

Thought about it: Vance Joseph

Las Vegas Raiders: Jesse Minter

The Raiders are set up for a hard reset. They’re expected to draft their QB of the future with the first overall pick, and they have a ton of cap space to play with. They also have some attractive offensive pieces in Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. I think GM John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady are the buddies atop the leadership structure here, and whoever is hired is going to be the odd-man-out in the equation. So while I don’t hate the opening on paper, the history of franchise dysfunction and lower peg on the totem poll give me pause.

I think newcomer Jesse Minter becomes the head coach here, traveling all the way from his DC job with the Los Angeles Chargers to the desert to take over the Raiders. He’s been requested by the entire field for interviews, and he’s being talked about like a shoe-in to get one of these jobs. I also thought about Robert Saleh, who was reportedly offered the head job as an in-waiting defensive coordinator to Pete Carroll last season, which he turned down. Would that offer have endeared me to the team, or left a sour taste in my mouth? I can’t decide.

Thought about it: Robert Saleh

Baltimore Ravens: Matt Nagy

I said let’s have some fun with this thing! I have the Ravens hiring Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, one of the interview requests they’ve already made. I’m taking the approach that all of the suspiciously agent-driven PR rehab work being done for Matt Nagy as he tackles his next chapter is working, or at least has a firm basis within league circles. Andy Reid has more than once called him the best head coaching candidate he’s ever had on his staff, and a review of his time in Chicago shows a resume that’s aged gracefully.

The Ravens are obviously an extremely attractive opening, but they strike me as a franchise willing to march to the beat of their own drum on this hire. When Owner Steve Bisciotti said this at his press conference, my wheels started turning:

Is he talking about Saleh? Smith? McDaniel? Nagy!

This would be a real shake-up of the landscape, where people currently don’t seem to understand his newfound hype and interest around the league. The consensus thinks he’s headed to the Titans, which may very well happen, but my gut still tells me they decide they can’t hire him.

The other reason I think he actually might fit here is because Lamar Jackson is reportedly being allowed significant access to the hiring process, and the apparent divide between him and Harbaugh (and his staff) seemed to be an aversion to hard-nosed disciplinarian tactics. I don’t think he responds well to criticism, and when Nick Suss at the Tennesseean wrote this about a former player of Nagy’s calling him more of a brotherly presence than a fatherly one, that clicked for me in this spot.

The other name that comes to mind along those lines is Chargers DC Jesse Minter, who has a documented bond with Jackson from their time together early in the QB’s NFL career.

Thought about it: Jesse Minter

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley

I think the Dolphins and new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan swing in the opposite direction of Mike McDaniel and go for Packers DC Jeff Hafley. Hafley’s background as the head coach of Boston College and now DC in Green Bay, in conjunction with what I hear people say about having worked with him, reads exactly like a future NFL head coach.

He would bring a much more serious, no-nonsense energy than McDaniel had. And I think that aligns with what Sullivan will be looking for, from what I’ve been told. I also wouldn’t count out Kevin Stefanski here, if he could be sold on this being a better opportunity than the Tua outlook forebodes.

Thought about it: Kevin Stefanski

Pittsburgh Steelers: Brian Flores

Finally, the latest job to join the fray is the team who has had less head coaches since their inception than there have been Popes. This job is defined by extremes: the best security you could ever ask for, coupled with a major rebuild project and no plan at QB.

I think a retread who passed through Pittsburgh recently is who will be the fifth head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that’s Vikings DC Brian Flores. He did a year as an assistant under Tomlin after his time in Miami came to a rather newsworthy end, and he left a serious impression on the franchise.

His active lawsuit against the league complicates things more for some teams than others, but I don’t think that will stop the Steelers from bringing him back into the building. His resolve and experience feels like the perfect fit for all the Yinzers out there. It also sounds like Rams DC Chris Shula is firmly in the mix for this gig too.

Thought about it: Chris Shula

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