With the Buffalo Bills firing of Sean McDermott, ten NFL teams have made coaching changes since the end of the season (Tennessee & the New York Giants fired their coaches midseason), three have already been filled; John Harbaugh to the New York Giant, Kevin Stefanski to the Atlanta Falcons & Jeff Hafley to the Miami Dolphins.

I’m offering my predictions of what coaches end up where. I’m listing the openings in descending order of what I believe are the best openings.

Buffalo Bills

It’s always somewhat surprising when a playoff team parts ways with their head coach, but I can’t say I’m shocked the Bills fired McDermott. The Bills have hit a ceiling under McDermott, perennial contenders that can never get over the hump.

This season they had their best chance yet, with no Kansas City or Baltimore in their path, yet they’re out after the divisional round. It feels, to me and many others, that Buffalo was squandering the prime years of one of the all time great quarterbacks, Josh Allen. Something had to change.

The aforementioned Allen is the reason why I have this as the number one opening. Every and any prospective head coach has to be tripping over themselves to line up an interview. They would inherit an immediate Super Bowl contender. I also have to wonder if Harbaugh & Stefanski are having second thoughts after accepting jobs before this news dropped.

This is a tough opening to predict, partly because it’s so recent and no rumors are circulating, yet, but also because I’m not sure what the Bills will be looking for.

In many ways, this reminds me of when Tampa Bay moved on from Tony Dungy to Jon Gruden. Like the Bills, Tampa had had success under Dungy but couldn’t get over the hump.

When thinking in those terms, it would seem that Buffalo would want a coach with an established track record. The problem is there aren’t many out there.

Harbaugh and Stefanski have taken other jobs, Mike Tomlin seems like he will take at least a year off. Pete Carroll doesn’t make sense. Mike McCarthy could be an option, but I’m lukewarm on that.

There is one possibility with a long track record of success, and I’m just speculating here because it would be enormous and petty at the same time. Bill Belichick in Buffalo would send shockwaves through the NFL.

The other thing to consider is Josh Allen’s preference. Could Buffalo promote from within and make offensive coordinator Joe Brady their next head coach? Allen did win an MVP under Brady’s leadership. Brian Daboll is another name to consider, Daboll played a big role in developing Allen into the superstar he is now. Daboll was a colossal disappointment as the Giants head coach, though.

I have no insight here, I’m just making a prediction. I’m making this prediction solely because I want the stories this would generate.

My Pick:

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore was my preseason pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and I wasn’t alone. The Ravens fell well short, completely missing the playoffs and there seemed to be a disconnect between Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson.

Still, the Baltimore job is right there with Buffalo in desirability. They have a superstar quarterback in his prime and a roster built to contend immediately.

Unlike Buffalo, we’ve had time to hear rumors regarding the Ravens job. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is a hot name, but I question it due to his closeness with the Harbaugh family.

Other names I’ve heard are Seattle offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, though they might have to wait awhile on him, Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, but Buffalo might just promote him, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.

Ultimately, I think this will come down to how well they vibe with Jackson. My prediction is just a gut feeling.

My Pick:

Tennessee Titans

The Titans got a jump start on their coaching search when they fire Brian Callahan back in October. We’ve been able to hear rumors regarding this job for months.

The Titans have a lot of holes in their roster, but they appear to have their franchise quarterback in Cam Ward. This won’t be a quick turnaround, though Tennessee does have plenty of cap space to add talent, but there is a foundation for improvement.

My understanding is that Tennessee is down to three finalists, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Kansas City offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy & Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Because of Titans’ General Manager Mike Borgonzi’s ties to Kansas City, I’ve long thought Nagy was the front runner here. If he learnt from his mistakes as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, this could be a decent hire.

My Pick:

Cleveland Browns

I think the Browns job could be more attractive than many think. They have a ferocious defense and a stellar 2025 rookie class. They also have a plethora of draft capital for this year and next.

The drawbacks with the Cleveland job are twofold. First is the quarterback issue. Is Shedeur Sanders the answer? With a weak quarterback draft, Sanders probably earned himself another season to answer that question. Of course, there is also Deshaun Watson and that albatross contract.

The second drawback is stability. Cleveland has been a picture of instability for years. Kevin Stefanski won Coach of the Year twice with the Browns, but lost his job due in large part to the gigantic swing and miss on Watson, and I’m not entirely sure how much input he had in that decision.

Any prospective coach has to weigh the pros and cons with the Browns. With that strong defense and average quarterback play, Cleveland could contend in a weak AFC North. However, if Sanders or Watson don’t provide that, Cleveland could be an embarrassment, again.

Some names I’m hearing are former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, former Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jacksonville offensive coordinator Grant Udinski & Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.

My gut tells me Udinski could be the front runner if he agrees to keep defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Schwartz agrees to stay as DC. I’m not sure about that, so I think they promote from within and bring in Scheelhaase as OC.

My Pick:

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are the epitome of stability and job security for head coaches. They are embarking on just their fourth head coaching search and their last 3 head coaches resigned or retired, they were never fired. As far as having a longer than usual runway for success, there is no better job than Pittsburgh.

With that being said, this is not an easy fix. The Pittsburgh Steelers remind me of the New Orleans Saints at the end of the Sean Payton/ Drew Brees era.

The Steelers had a long stretch of great success, and they’ve stayed competitive since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, but they haven’t been true contenders in a decade.

They’ve eschewed a full tear down and rebuild, kicking the can down the road as they keep posting winning records. The bill, however, is coming due.

The Steelers aren’t in the salary cap trouble the Saints were in when Payton walked away, but they do have quite a bit of aging, expensive veterans, especially on defense, and a lot of needs.

First, and foremost, they need a quarterback. I would be shocked if Aaron Rodgers returns without Mike Tomlin involved and they have no viable path to land a quarterback in the draft. There are a couple veterans they could possibly trade for, but I don’t see them going that route.

The Steelers job is going to be tough, but at least the new head coach can have confidence in knowing they’ll be given a long leash to see it through.

The Steelers history says they’re likely going with a young, under the radar guy. Nobody knew who Tomlin was when he landed the job, nor Bill Cowher before him. They’ve also leaned towards defensive minded head coaches, though that could change this time.

I’m not making a prediction on who the Steelers will hire because, honestly, I doubt I’ve heard of him, yet. If, and this is a big if, they do go with a name coach there are two names I’d keep an eye on.

Mike McCarthy is from Pittsburgh and he’s had a successful run with two franchises. Hiring an offensive minded coach would be beneficial in developing whoever is under center for the Steelers.

The other name is Brian Flores. Flores had a cup of coffee in Pittsburgh as their defensive coordinator and he seems to exude the Steeler mindset.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are the opposite of Pittsburgh as far as job security goes. They’ve been a hot mess for the entirety of the 21st century thus far. No organization has had more head coaches since 2000 than the Raiders, who have had four more than the next closest franchise (Cleveland).

Las Vegas is also notorious for giving their coaches a short leash. They’ve fired several coaches mid season & have also had multiple one year and done coaches.

All that aside, the Raiders have some attraction. They own the number one pick in this year’s draft and they’ll almost certainly take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. They have young superstars in Brock Bowers & Ashton Jeanty and they have a legend in the front office in Tom Brady.

Brady had a hand in hiring Pete Carroll, but I think it was more of a fall back option after they failed to lure Ben Johnson or Liam Coen to Vegas. I think the Raiders have more to offer this year and Brady will use his many contacts throughout the NFL to get his man.

I think Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak could be a strong consideration here, as could former Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott.

I’ve heard one rumor that makes a lot of sense to me because of a previous connection to Brady. That would be Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores with former Giants head coach Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator.

My Pick:

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have seen a lot of coaching turnover over the years as well, though not quite as bad as the Raiders or Browns. What makes this job the least desirable, in my opinion, is they have a quarterback problem,

It seems Arizona has finally come to the realization that they cannot win with Kyler Murray. The problem is they’re probably stuck with him. No other team will be willing to take on that contract and Arizona can’t afford to take the dead cap hit by releasing him. To compound matters, this is a weak quarterback draft and the Cardinals aren’t in a position to get a viable franchise option.

Arizona is not without some attractive pieces, but they also play in the toughest division in the NFL. I think it would be smart, on the Cardinals part, to poach the coaching staff of one of their division rivals. That’s why I think Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh & offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak & Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur & defensive coordinator Chris Shula are strong candidates.

Another name to consider is recently fired Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott.

Ultimately, I think the Cardinals may be the last team to name a new head coach because their guy could be coaching in the Super Bowl.

My Pick:

Grading the Hires

New York Giants

The Giants, more than anything, needed a culture change and they moved quickly to hire former Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh after he was fired by the Ravens. Harbaugh brings a winning culture to the Big Apple and the Giants have a lot to build around including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Malik Nabers, running back Cam Skattebo & edge rusher Abdul Carter.

Great hire by the Giants. My Grade- A

Atlanta Falcons

I love this fit of coach and team. The Falcons have been one of the more underachieving teams over the last several years, while Stefanski has won Coach of the Year twice with the Browns, who have been a hot mess seemingly forever.

Stefanski can build a winner with offensive stars like Bijan Robinson, Drake London & Kyle Pitts (provided they extend him) and an ascending defensive unit, even if he can’t develop Michael Penix Jr into a true franchise quarterback.

The Falcons might already be my favorites to win the NFC South in 2026. My Grade- A

Miami Dolphins

I think the Dolphins made the decision to make a coaching change when John Harbaugh became available, but they never got serious consideration.

Jeff Hafley was one of the hotter names amongst prospective first time head coaches, so it’s a decent fall back option for Miami.

More than anything I think Miami needs a culture change, it’s fair to wonder if Hafley brings that. My Grade- B