Before the 2026 coaching carousel exploded from two to 10 vacancies, the thinking was that first-time head coaches would have a hard time getting any of the available jobs.
So far, the four jobs that have been filled have gone to candidates who have previously been head coaches: Giants coach John Harbaugh (18 years with the Ravens), Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski (six years with the Browns), Titans coach Robert Saleh (three-plus years with the Jets), and Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley (four years at Boston College).
Six jobs remain open — Raiders, Browns, Cardinals, Ravens, Steelers, and Bills. Each will need to decide whether the preference is to hire someone who has been a head coach before, or whether to make the projection that a career assistant will be able to step into one of the 32 NFL head-coaching jobs.
It is a fundamentally different assignment. The head coach trades Xs and Os for the big-picture challenge of running a team, of communicating with a full locker room of pro athletes, of dealing with the media, and of properly delegating tasks to people who can be trusted to accomplish them.
Former head coaches who have gotten interviews in the current cycle include Sean McDermott, Mike McCarthy, Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, Jonathan Gannon, Jason Garrett, and Raheem Morris. Although some college coaches were lurking, it’s currently believed none will make the leap to the next level.
With so many jobs open, it’s likely at least one will be a first-time head coach. For now, however, they’re 0-4. It remains to be seen how many of the 10 total positions will be filled by someone who has never before been a head coach.
Falcons Clips
When the Patriots fired Bill Belichick two years ago, most assumed he’d land on his feet with another NFL team.
In the third hiring cycle since his firing by the Patriots, Belichick has been publicly linked to only one job (the Falcons, in 2024).
This year, with 10 total openings, Belichick’s name has not come up. Except, of course, when he brought it up on his own.
In November 2025, Belichick issued a statement declaring he won’t pursue the opening with the Giants “despite circulating rumors.” (None were circulating.) The Giants, as we hear it, weren’t pleased with the pre-emptive announcement, since they had no intention of pursuing him.
If any other team has even kicked the tires on the Tar Heels coach, the interest has been kept tightly under wraps. Nothing has leaked about any inquiries or conversations or even basic background work (like, for example, figuring out the depth of and basis for his lingering animosity toward his former NFL employer) associated with making a potential hire.
The Buffalo job would be the one to watch, given the presence of quarterback Josh Allen and the ongoing rivalry with the Patriots. Belichick is regarded as the greatest game-day coach in league history. Yes, other factors have potentially complicated things, to say the least. Still, given the craziness of the past few weeks in the NFL, it would be foolish to completely rule out anything.
For now, though, the key word as it relates to Belichick’s NFL prospects is “nothing.” In three cycles, he’s had one announced interview. And while he has said he doesn’t want to return to the NFL, few in NFL circles believe it. The more reasonable interpretation would seem to be that it’s his way of dealing with the fact that no NFL team wants him.
Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. And, thanks to plenty of the perennially dysfunctional teams, the league is a current dysfunction mess.
The current hiring cycle, which at one point seemed like it could be quieter than usual, has sparked turnover with 10 teams. Nearly one third of the league. Two jobs have been filled; with Monday’s termination of Bills coach Sean McDermott, the number of vacancies is back to eight.
Here’s how one current NFL head coach put it, in a Monday morning unsolicited text message to PFT: “At this very moment, [this is] the worst collective of 32 owners in league history.”
It’s a strong statement, but the proof is, if anywhere, in the pudding. Bad teams stay bad. They think that they can turn it around by firing the current coach and hiring a new one, because for other teams it happens.
But the cycle of hiring and firing and hiring and firing contributes to the situation. When the owner has an itchy trigger finger, the coach spends way too much time looking over his shoulder and wondering whether the next decision that doesn’t pan out will be his last.
There’s no competence test to pass in order to qualify to own a team. The paths remain simple (if not easy): (1) have enough money to buy a team; or (2) get your name in the right spot in the will.
While some of the currently vacant jobs are open for reasons unrelated to membership in the gang that couldn’t own straight, most trace to owners who feel like they need to do something, so they fire the coach. In plenty of cases, three years or less after firing the last one.
Meanwhile, the teams with capable owners will benefit. Rash decisions aren’t made. Patience is displayed.
Aaron Rodgers recently blamed the media for the presence of certain coaches on the “hot seat.” The blame goes to those who don’t know what to do (because they secretly don’t know what they’re doing), so they do the easiest thing — fire the coach.
Even if the coach isn’t the biggest part of the problem. Of course, for the truly dysfunctional franchises, the biggest part of the problem isn’t subject to a pink slip. Because owners can’t be fired for general incompetence when it comes to the on-field performance of the team.
Financially, they’re all performing well. They’re all winning, even when they’re losing. And those who are losing will feel compelled to keep the fans believing that the future will be brighter (or less bleak) by dumping the current coach, and by moving to the next coach in who inevitably will be the next coach out.
The Falcons will not have a new defensive coordinator in 2026.
Atlanta announced on Monday morning that the club will be keeping Jeff Ulbrich in the same position under new head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Ulbrich has a new three-year contract to stick with the franchise.
Ulbrich joined the Falcons last offseason under former head coach Raheem Morris. Atlanta finished the 2025 season at No. 15 in yards allowed and No. 19 in points allowed.
A 49ers linebacker from 2000-2009, Ulbrich previously served as Jets defensive coordinator from 2021-2024 and was New York’s interim head coach after the franchise fired Robert Saleh in 2024. He was also with Atlanta from 2015-2020, serving as linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator in 2020 after the club fired former head coach Dan Quinn.
The Falcons officially have a new head coach.
The team announced the hiring of Kevin Stefanski on Saturday night. The Falcons fired Raheem Morris after back-to-back 8-9 seasons and Stefanski became available after being fired by the Browns. He took Cleveland to the playoffs twice and won coach of the year twice in his first four seasons, but eight wins in the last two seasons led to the end of his tenure.
“We’re thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation,” Falcons president of football Matt Ryan said in a statement. “Coach Stefanski is a team-first leader who puts a premium on accountability for everyone and a player-driven culture. His experience in Cleveland and Minnesota has given him a great understanding of the importance of working in sync with scouting, personnel and the rest of the football staff to maximize talent across the roster and in doing everything possible to put our players in the best position to succeed. Kevin’s style of leadership, combined with the staff and infrastructure in place here in Atlanta, gives us confidence in our shared vision for the team and we are excited to have him as the leader of our football team.”
The Falcons finished in a three-way tie with the Panthers and Buccaneers at 8-9 during the 2025 season, but missed out on the playoffs due to tiebreaker rules. They’ll hope Stefanski has the right touch to make sure they finish free and clear of their divisional rivals in 2026 and beyond.
The Falcons have found their next head coach.
According to multiple reports, the Falcons are finalizing a deal with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski was fired by the Browns after the end of the regular season.
Stefanski was 45-56 in the regular season over six seasons as the Browns’ head coach. They reached the playoffs twice in his first four seasons, but lost their opening game both times and then went 8-26 over the last two seasons.
Poor quarterback play had a lot to do with that record and Stefanski will take over a Falcons team that’s banking on Michael Penix returning from a serious knee injury. Whether it is Penix or someone else, Stefanski will need to get better production from the position if his Falcons tenure is going to be more fruitful.
Curt Cignetti has engineered a remarkable turnaround as head coach of Indiana, with the program set to play for the CFP national championship on Monday night.
But don’t expect Cignetti to potentially do something similar in the pros.
Asked if he would consider an NFL job on Saturday, Cignetti dismissed the idea.
“I’m not an NFL guy,” Cignetti said, via Brett McMurphy of On3.com. “I made that decision a long time ago. I’ve always been a college football guy.”
Cignetti has been a coach at the college level for decades and he’s won everywhere he’s been, most notably at James Madison from 2019-2023 and now at Indiana over the last two years.
While money can talk, it doesn’t seem like Cignetti has any interest in trying to translate his success to the pros.
The Falcons are getting closer to filling their head coaching vacancy.
According to multiple reports, former Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski is interviewing with Atlanta for a second time on Saturday.
Stefanski is the first candidate to have a second interview with the franchise in this coaching cycle.
Via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Stefanski has done research on working with Jeff Ulbrich, who served as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator in 2025. Falcons owner Arthur Blank would like to keep Ulbrich in the role.
Jim Schwartz served as Stefanski’s defensive coordinator on the Browns for the last three seasons. But Schwartz is a head coaching candidate for Cleveland. The club also would like to retain him if it hires an offensive-minded head coach.
Stefanski, a two-time AP coach of the year, led the Browns to a 45-56 regular-season record with a 1-2 postseason record in six seasons with the club.
If Stefanski doesn’t land the Falcons job, he could have several other options, as he’s also interviewed with the Ravens, Raiders, Dolphins, and Titans. He also spoke with the Giants, though they are zeroed in on John Harbaugh.
The Falcons completed an interview with Antonio Pierce for their head coach position, the team announced Friday.
Pierce currently holds a studio analyst role with CBS after having spent the 2024 season as the head coach for the Raiders.
He spent two seasons as the Raiders’ linebackers coach, including a stint as interim head coach in 2023, earning the full-time job. The Raiders fired him after one season as head coach.
Pierce spent four years coaching at Arizona State, serving as the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator (2018-19), associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator (2020) and associate head coach/defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator (2021).
Pierce played linebacker in the NFL for nine seasons with Washington (2001-04) and the Giants (2005-09), winning Super Bowl XLII with the Giants.
The Falcons have also completed head coach interviews with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady will call the team’s plays against the Broncos on Saturday and then he’ll pivot to other matters on Sunday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Brady will interview with the Ravens and the Falcons for their head coaching vacancies. Those are the first reported interviews for Brady in this year’s cycle.
Brady joined the Bills as their quarterbacks coach in 2022 and moved up to the coordinator job after Ken Dorsey was fired during the 2023 season. He was previously the offensive coordinator for the Panthers and was the passing game coordinator for LSU when they won the national title for the 2019 season.
If the Bills win on Saturday, Brady won’t be available for a second interview with either team until after the conference championships.
