2026 NFL Head Coach Tracker: Latest Hirings, Firings, and Interviews

Updated: Tuesday, 2/17 at 7:35am ET

Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL season, it is important for fantasy football players to understand just how important it is to track all the coaching movement we see in the offseason. Not just head coaches, but offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators too. If you know the coaches and their coordinators, as well as the type of scheme they run, you have a much better understanding as to which players have the potential to improve on their production. Let breakout seasons for Caleb Williams and Trevor Lawrence serve as evidence that coaching matters. Ben Johnson and Liam Coen were two of the strongest candidates who earned head coaching jobs last season and the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars – as well as fantasy players who invested in these teams – are significantly better for it. 

This piece will track every NFL team's head coaching and coordinator situation throughout the offseason, keep tabs on the latest rumors and interviews, as well offer some fantasy football advice based on the results.

NFL Head Coach Openings & Status Update

Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Search

Atter three seasons at a combined record of 15-36, the Cardinals decided to part wats with Jonathan Gannon and his staff. There are a lot of questions to be answered about this team and whomever comes in to take the job is going to have to make some tough decisions regarding quarterback Kyler Murray and how this offense is going to be structured. Gannon was a defensive-minded coach so he left much of the offense to then coordinator Drew Petzing. Rumors have Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile as a favorite for the job which means it is going to be crucial that he bring in a high-quality offensive coordinator to create a strong scheme.. Other names being discussed include Bills OC Joe Brady, Broncos DC Vance Joseph and Patriots passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. UPDATE:  After learning current Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak is in-line for the Raiders HC job, the Cardinals turned their attention to and hired former Rams OC Mike LaFleur. Not a bad consolation prize as LaFleur spent the last three seasons working under Sean McVay. Before that, he was the Jets OC for two years where he actually called the plays. Some might criticize LaFleur for not calling plays under McVey, but that is no different than any other coach who worked under him, from Kevin O'Connell to Liam Coen for example. LaFleur's hiring of both an offensive and defensive coordinator should be interesting as he will likely be more hands-on offensively. Will he call the plays? We're not sure yet, but what we do know is the OC hiring process is going to revolve around what the Cardinals do with Kyler Murray. They are committed to roughly $40M to Murray this season and it doesn't sound as if that is money the team wants to eat. Expect a decision to be made on that sooner than later.

Baltimore Ravens Head Coach Search

Replacing John Harbaugh is going to be a daunting task, not to mention the urgency to win before players like Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews completely age out. Whomever comes in needs to have a win-now state of mind and must be willing to create an offense around Jackson's strengths. According to a report from NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady have made it to the second round of interviews and are the leading candidates. UPDATE: The Ravens have officially hired Chargers DC Jesse Minter as their new head coach. Once Minter announces his staff – more importantly, his offensive coordinator, we can evaluate the fantasy value of the players. This is going to be a very important hire for Minter, so we are looking forward to the announcement.

Buffalo Bills Head Coach Search

When Bills owner Terry Pegula spoke out in a press conference on Wednesday, not only was he protecting his GM Brandon Beane, he was also defending his firing of Sean McDermott when threw his entire former coaching staff under the bus, blaming them for not bringing in an alpha wide receiver for Josh Allen and drafting Keon Coleman. It was as awkward as you could imagine and also set the tone for their search for a new head coach. Whomever takes this job needs to be a total “yes-man” with regard to management and personnel decisions and work within the parameters they set. This is another situation where the urgency to bring Buffalo to the Super Bowl is going to turn off a lot of coaching candidates. So far, former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll has been linked to a possible reunion with his old team and both Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski seem to also be in the running. UPDATE: The Bills have promoted OC Joe Brady to the position of head coach and this has me scratching my head in disbelief. McDermott is, and has always been, a defensive-minded head coach, leaving the offense up to his choice of coordinator. If that's the case, was McDermott the right fall guy or should it have been Brady? If Brady ran the offense, it would make sense that he was involved in the personnel decisions as well. Was he not part of the Keon Coleman pick that Terry Pegula hated so much? I have said all season long that Brady's offense does not suit Josh Allen's style of play and now Pegula is giving him the keys to the kingdom? We'll see where this goes, but I am not a fan of the hire.

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Search

This is probably the least-coveted of all head coaching jobs, so whomever comes in, they need to be experienced enough to really take control of this team. They are saddled with a seemingly fractured clubhouse and one of the most horrendous quarterback situations of any NFL team. With so much money invested in Deshaun Watson, there will be a ton of question marks as to how the position falls into line. Shedeur Sanders, everyone's favorite Pro Bowl replacement player, and Dillon Gabriel are set to continue their competition, but let's face it…none of them seem promising at this point. Someone is going to have to really step up for this team to actually take shape. The coach and subsequent choice for offensive coordinator could take a while. UPDATE: Hard to believe this was not the last coaching hire of the offseason, but strangely enough, former Ravens OC Todd Monken has taken the job. We expect him to insert his own offensive scheme and hire an OC to simply carry out the orders. Again, the key here is who the Browns have as their starting quarterback. When Monken was the OC in Tampa Bay, he had a solid system in place for a QB with, I don't want to say “limited mobility"; just not someone with the mobility of Lamar Jackson. Monken adapted his scheme and tailored it to Jackson's strengths, so whether it's Watson or Sanders or Gabriel or whomever, we should see an offense that we can look to for fantasy purposes.  

Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Search

The Raiders are casting a very wide net and names like Joe Brady, Klint and Klay Kubiak, and Mike LaFleur have been mentioned. They also just wrapped second interviews with Jesse Minter and Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Whomever takes the job will be tasked with developing expected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, especially after seeing owner Mark Davis on the sideline of the college championship game, Raiders baseball cap clutched in one hand while the other wiped the drool from his chin. This job needs to have a fairly long leash because there's a lot that needs to be fixed from the offensive line to a struggling secondary. UPDATE: Following the Super Bowl, it was announced that former Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak has officially accepted the head coaching offer from the Raiders. Kubiak said that he will handle the play-calling, so don't expect any sort of big names to come crawling out of the woodwork to accept the OC position Right now, the favorite seems to be current Seahawks QB Coach Andrew Janocko. We also expect legendary OL coach Rick Dennison will continue his run with the Kubiak family and join Klint in Las Vegas. As for the defensive coordinator position, names like Joe Woods, Steve Wilks and George Leonard seem to be in the mix as all have some sort of experience working with Kubiak in the past.

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Search

If you thought replacing John Harbaugh in Baltimore was tough, imagine being the guy who took over for Mike Tomlin. The Steelers have had a total of three head coaches over the last 60 years, so there's a great track record for whomever lands the job. Of course, it's not going to be easy as there are still questions surrounding a possible return for Aaron Rodgers and if he doesn't building an offense around either a rookie or a journeyman veteran. Sorry, but Mason Rudolph has proved that he's not “it.”  The two biggest names linked to the Steelers right now are Brian Flores and Mike McCarthy. Both will need to bring in strong offensive coordinators, though McCarthy's archaic style does mesh with Rodgers if they were really considering bringing him back. UDPATE: The Steelers have announced that they are bringing in Mike McCarthy as their new head coach for the 2026 NFL season. This should certainly be an interesting situation to watch now. Does the arrival of McCarthy signify a return to Pittsburgh for Aaron Rodgers?  Will McCarthy jump into his DeLorean, gin it to 88 and come back with Nathaniel Hackett as his OC or does he consider keeping Arthur Smith who is rumored to be in consideration for the Titans OC job? As stated earlier, the Steelers have had three head coaches in a 60-year span, so does this mean McCarthy could have some longevity here? How he rounds out his coaching staff and what he does about his QB situation are going to be VERY hot topics throughout the offseason. 

Top Head Coaching Candidates for 2026

Best Available Former Head Coaches & Coordinators (Retreads)

• Mike Tomlin
• Sean McDermott
• Pete Carroll
• Chip Kelly
• Greg Roman
• Kliff Kingsbury
• Brian Callahan
• Steve Wilks
• Matt Eberflus
• Kevin Patullo

Top Current Coordinators to Watch:

• Klint Kubiak (SE)
• Chris Shula (LAR)
• Vance Joseph (DEN)
• Klay Kubiak (SF)