The NFL coaching scene begins to settle after nine jobs were open at the end of the season.
The New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons have landed the league’s top candidates in John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski to right their respective ships, leaving seven openings remaining.
Other teams have interviewed candidates and started narrowing down their lists. With a wave of hirings on the horizon, here are my predictions for all seven remaining openings with a bit of reasoning. Each prediction comes with potential coordinator pairings as well.
Baltimore Ravens:
- Former head coach: John Harbaugh
- New head coach prediction: Jesse Minter
Minter, who is currently the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, has done an excellent job building up that unit over his time with the organization. Minter followed head coach Jim Harbaugh from Michigan to Los Angeles and is currently one of the of the most sought after candidates of this cycle.
Minter gets to add his flavor to an already loaded Baltimore defense and bring a young offensive mind alongside him in an attempt to transform a struggling offense led by Lamar Jackson. A name to watch for Minter’s offensive coordinator job is former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsburry, who has already interviewed for the Ravens head coach position after being let go by Dan Quinn in Washington.
Tennessee Titans:
- Former head coach: Brian Callahan (Interim: Mike McCoy)
- New head coach prediction: Robert Saleh
The Titans fired Callahan after a slow start to the 2025 season, and were the first head coaching job to be opened up this cycle. However, general manager Mike Borgonzi and the rest of the front office have not taken advantage of an early start to the coaching search, as their two top targets have already filled other head coach openings.
I believe the two finalists for the job will be Matt Nagy and Robert Saleh with the front office deciding to go with the latter. Saleh’s pedigree on the defensive side of the ball trumps Nagy’s offensive pedigree. In addition, Saleh can fill his offensive staff with members of the Kyle Shanahan tree, a connection that Nagy does not have.
A name to watch for Saleh’s offensive coordinator is Bobby Slowik. Slowik was the senior passing game coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2025.
Las Vegas Raiders:
- Former head coach: Pete Carroll
- New head coach prediction: Klint Kubiak
With Tom Brady rumored to be leading the search alongside General Manager John Spytek, the Raiders organization is searching for something different. This time, they decide to go with the young offensive mind to help along the next era of Raiders football, with the face being presumed number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.
A name to watch at defensive coordinator is Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores. Flores is close with Brady, and has been connected to the Raiders all offseason. Flores’ contract with the Vikings expires at the end of the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
- Former head coach: Mike Tomlin
- New head coach prediction: Chris Shula
The Tomlin Era in Pittsburgh is officially over. General Manager Omar Khan has begun conducting interviews following Tomlin’s resignation. The last three Steelers head coaches have all been young, defensive minds and I believe the trend will continue. The Steelers select Shula, who has spent the last few seasons as the Rams defensive coordinator, to lead the franchise going forward.
Shula can poach the McVay coaching staff for a young play caller, adding a more modern offense to a Steelers organization that has lacked an ability to move to the next level. The name to watch at offensive coordinator is Nate Scheelhaase, the Rams passing game coordinator and hot name in this coaching cycle.
Miami Dolphins:
- Former head coach: Mike McDaniel
- New head coach prediction: Jeff Hafley
The Dolphins moved off both their general manager and head coach. Since then, the organization has named Jon-Eric Sullivan the new general manager and the search for a head coach is officially underway.
Sullivan comes from the Packers organization with ties to two top available candidates; defensive coordinator Hafley and former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Age and connections ultimately play a factor and the Dolphins decide to go with the younger Hafley.
Hafley has connections around both the NFL and NCAA football landscape. Two names to watch for offensive coordinator is the Vikings QB coach Josh McCown and McCarthy if he can not land a head coach job elsewhere.
Cleveland Browns:
- Former head coach: Kevin Stefanski
- New head coach prediction: Grant Udinski
After parting ways with their long time head coach, General Manager Andrew Berry has another opportunity to hire the next leader of the Browns. Berry is going to shock the landscape with the hire of 30-year-old Grant Udinski, who would be the youngest head coach hire since Rams’ Sean McVay.
Undinski has spent time under Kevin O’Connell and most recently in Jacksonville under Liam Coen. This hire allows Berry to keep Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz on board and continue to build upon the defense that other teams dread playing against.
Arizona Cardinals:
- Former head coach: Jonathan Gannon
- New head coach prediction: Matt Burke
The Cardinals made the decision to move off Gannon at the end of the season. A team with tons of talent on both sides of the ball and a big question mark at quarterback now is in need of a new head coach.
The Cardinals are now paying three former head coaches to stay out of their facilities which could limit them from going after a big fish on the market.
The Cardinals land one of the best defensive coordinators in football in Matt Burke. The Texans defense continues to turn heads as they are ranked among the leagues’ best in big part due to Burke’s play calling. Burke was the Cardinals defensive line coach in 2022.
One name to watch for the offensive coordinator position is former Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Grizzard coached with Burke on the Dolphins staff in the 2010s and saw success in his partnership with Baker Mayfield in 2025.
