Bill Callahan will once again work with Kevin Stefanski.
The Falcons announced on Tuesday that Callahan is joining Stefanski’s staff as offensive line coach.
The move was expected after Stefanski agreed to become the club’s head coach over the weekend. Callahan worked as Stefanski’s offensive line coach for the Browns from 2020-2023. Cleveland let Callahan out of his contract to work for his son, Brian, with the Titans.
When Brian Callahan was fired midway through the 2025 season, Bill Callahan also departed the franchise.
Bill Callahan led the Raiders to their last Super Bowl appearance to cap the 2002 season as their head coach. He’s also worked for the Eagles, Jets, Cowboys, and Washington in his long career.
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Curt Cignetti has come a long way, in a short time.
In only two years of big-time college football — at a previously small-time Big Ten program — Cignetti has climbed to the top of the mountain. The question now becomes whether he’ll try to climb the same mountain again, or whether he’ll look for a new mountain.
Cignetti has recently said he’s “not an NFL guy.” There’s nothing like a giant bag of cash to change a guy’s mind, however.
The first question is whether one of the six NFL teams currently looking for a head coach will make the call.
If it doesn’t happen now, it never will. Cignetti is 64. He has no NFL experience. But what he has done in such a short time at Indiana can’t be ignored.
Owners are looking for quick fixes. Has there ever been a quicker fix than what Cignetti did in Bloomington?
It won’t be cheap, either to buy out his contract ($15 million) or to hire him. He’s in line to get upward of $13 million per year in a place where he’ll likely be able to stay as long as he wants. Although it’s far from easy to keep winning national championships, the money is there to be consistently competitive (thanks in part to alumni like Mark Cuban).
Regardless, Cignetti has proven himself time and again. From IUP to Elon to James Madison to Indiana, the former West Virginia quarterback, whose father (Frank Cignetti Sr.) bridged the gap in Morgantown between Bobby Bowden and Don Nehlen, has seen his ship come in. Will an NFL owner now sidle up with a superyacht?
If an NFL team looking for a coach believes Cignetti could be the answer, and if the owner is willing to write the check to make it happen, why not make the call? Plenty of teams could do a lot worse.
Plenty of teams have. And history tells us that, in the current cycle, plenty of teams will.
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.
The Browns kicked off their second round of head coaching interviews on Monday.
Jim Schwartz was the first candidate to meet with the team a second time. Schwartz has been their defensive coordinator since 2023, so they have spent more time getting to know him than the other candidates for the job.
Schwartz also worked for the Browns in the mid-90s and has head coaching experience from his stint with the Lions. He went 29-51 while working in Detroit from 2009-2013.
The Browns are also expected to have second interviews with former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Scheelhaase will not be able to meet with the team until after the NFC Championship Game.
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 Browns are moving into their second round of interviews with head coaching candidates and the list is up to six names.
According to multiple reports, the Browns are set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski a second time. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken are also on the list.
Scheelhaase’s second interview will have to wait at least a week if the Rams beat the Bears on Sunday as coaches for teams in the conference title game are not eligible to interview until after that game has been played. He interviewed with several teams this weekend.
McDaniel is set to interview with the Raiders on Monday and he’s also in the mix for offensive coordinator opportunities. Minter has interviewed with most of the teams that made head coaching changes while Udinski’s only interview thus far has been with Cleveland.
Four years ago, the Browns made the single worst transaction in NFL history, trading for quarterback Deshaun Watson, ripping up his existing deal, and signing him to a five-year, fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract.
The fact that it was such a bad deal for the don’t-call-us-dysfunctional Browns makes it a great deal for a previously dysfunctional Houston franchise that found an exit ramp from a very awkward situation.
In early 2022, Watson had missed a full season of football, not playing in 2021 while the Texans waited for the right opportunity to trade him. (Watson became disenchanted with the Texans after they allegedly ignored his input for coaching and G.M. hires.) He had more than 20 civil lawsuits arising from allegations of misconduct during massage-therapy sessions, with an inevitable suspension on the table. Even with those lawsuits pending and a suspension looming, Texans G.M. Nick Caserio found four teams that were willing to meet Houston’s trade requirements, allowing the Browns, Panthers, Falcons, and Saints to make their cases directly to Watson.
The Browns were the first team out. They responded by making Watson a financial offer he couldn’t refuse. And so Watson went to Cleveland, with the Texans picking up three first-round picks, two third-round picks, and a fourth-round pick from Cleveland.
Caserio moved most of those picks in trades. The Texans ended up collecting at least 10 new players. And while not all of them panned out, three key members of the currently dominant defense arrived with the draft-day ammunition the Texans acquired by moving on from a franchise quarterback who no longer wanted to play for his original franchise: defensive end Will Anderson Jr., cornerback Kamari Lassiter, and safety Calen Bullock.
If all the Texans got from the Watson deal was Anderson, it would have been a resounding win.
The trade isn’t the only reason the Texans got back on track. They hired and fired David Culley after one year before hiring and firing Lovie Smith after one year before getting the right coach in DeMeco Ryans. Still, Caserio’s ability to find a clear path out of the seemingly hopeless Deshaun Watson maze became a key piece in the development of a team that is getting ready to play for a berth in the AFC Championship, while the Browns are trying to replace the two-time coach of the year who took the fall for the disastrous decision to trade for, and to pay big money to, Watson.
Reports last week indicated that Todd Monken is a top candidate to follow John Harbaugh to the Giants and serve as the team’s offensive coordinator, but that’s not the only job possibility for Monken.
Monken interviewed for the Browns’ head coaching vacancy and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that he is scheduled for a second, in-person interview with Cleveland on Tuesday. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is also scheduled for a second interview with the team.
Monken worked as Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator in Baltimore the last three seasons. He has never been an NFL head coach, but he went 13-25 over three seasons as the head coach at Southern Miss.
The Buccaneers also interviewed Monken for their offensive coordinator vacancy this month.
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.
