This is the business we’ve chosen.
That reality is crystal clear for NFL head coaches in the early days of every New Year. The vast majority of hired coaches inevitably become fired coaches. Few leave on their own terms, without a pink slip, a push, or a nudge.
They understand it. And they’re compensated accordingly, often with millions still owed to them after they turn in their whistles.
Five days ago, there were two consensus vacancies looming for 2026, on top of the two that already existed. Starting on Sunday night, two became three (Falcons). On Monday, three became six (Raiders, Browns, Cardinals). On Tuesday, six became seven (Ravens). On Thursday, seven became eight (Dolphins).
And that may not be the end of it. Losses by the Packers or the Bills this weekend could (key word: could) spark even more changes. Also, Mike Tomlin could still decide to walk away from the Steelers whenever his latest playoff run ends.
It’s just the way it is. Owners feel compelled to do something to make things better, or at least to make it look like they’re trying. It’s a play to renew season tickets. To create hope, plausible or otherwise, for a more viable future that will keep fans engaged with their wallets, their time, their loyalty.
Adding to the willingness to fire a coach is the fact that, every year, one or more teams with new coaches immediately thrive. This weekend, two of the 12 wild-card coaches will be in their first seasons on the job. Five of the 12 are in their first two years on the job.
Quick fixes are possible. For plenty of teams, however, hiring a new coach won’t fix anything. The dysfunction flows from the top. The owner who hired the coach who was just fired will now have to hire another one. Who will eventually be fired.
Bad teams stay bad for a reason. And most of the jobs that are currently open are open because the organization can’t emerge from a cycle of dysfunction.
Except in Cleveland. Where the team is definitely not dysfunctional. Because the owner says so, despite a mountain of evidence otherwise.
Giants Clips
Nearly four years after the lawsuit was first filed, a key threshold question is moving toward a final answer.
The NFL has filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court as to the question of whether the civil action filed in February 2022 by former Dolphins coach (and current Vikings defensive coordinator) Brian Flores against the NFL, the Dolphins, the Giants, the Broncos, and the Texans will be resolved in court, or in arbitration.
The specific legal question presented to the Supreme Court is this: “Whether an arbitration agreement governing disputes in a professional sports league is categorically unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act because it designates the league commissioner as the default arbitrator and permits the commissioner to develop arbitral procedures.”
The NFL has wisely narrowed the question, given that the reasoning (if applied throughout corporate America) would empower other companies to attempt to rig the in-house arbitration process by putting employment disputes in the hands of the CEO. Still, the league’s position is clear — it wants the Commissioner to retain power over disputes involving the NFL and the various teams that have hired and that handsomely compensate the Commissioner.
The 25-page document is the first step in an effort to persuade the Supreme Court to take up the case. Of the many petitions it receives each year, few are accepted.
More time will pass as the Supreme Court considers whether to take the case. Even more time will pass if the Supreme Court grants the petition.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invalidated the NFL’s arbitration provision, concluding that the procedure lacks independence. (And it does.) The Supreme Court, if it takes the case, will decide once and for all whether it’s legitimate for the NFL (and any sports league) to put its Commissioner in charge of claims made against the NFL.
It’s fundamentally unfair to delegate those powers to someone whose connection to one side of a legal fight is so obvious. Frankly, no Commissioner should want to be expected to set aside their clear self-interests in an effort to dispense justice in an objective way.
But this has been the league’s practice, for years. It desperately wants to run its own business. It desperately hopes to hold the gavel when it comes to deciding whether the legal claims against it are valid.
It’s a bad way to do business. It’s now for the Supreme Court to decide whether it’s a good way, or a bad way, to apply the laws of the United States.
The Giants have met or will meet with Kevin Stefanski, Raheem Morris, and Antonio Pierce this week, and they’re adding another candidate with head coaching experience to the list of candidates for their head coaching vacancy.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Giants have requested an interview with Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi.
Rizzi is in his first season on Denver’s staff, but he worked with Sean Payton in New Orleans before remaining with the Saints when Dennis Allen was their head coach. Rizzi became the interim head coach when Allen was fired during the 2024 season. He went 3-5 in that role.
Rizzi can have a virtual interview with the Giants this week, but a second, in-person conversation would have to wait until the Broncos are eliminated or for the week between the conference title game and the Super Bowl.
When it comes to finding his next coaching job, John Harbaugh will attack the day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
Starting next week.
The plan to press pause conflicts with the Harbaugh ethic. It’s a strategy, aimed at one apparent thing: Finding out whether the six games to be played this weekend will lead to more openings.
Multiple reports indicate at least nine teams have expressed interest in Harbaugh. With only six non-Ravens openings, that leaves three teams that currently have coaches. And 14 teams still have games to play.
For more than a few of the playoff teams, there’s no way Harbaugh would be a consideration. The Broncos and Seahawks, obviously, will be standing pat. Ditto for the likes of the Patriots, Chargers (that would be a very awkward phone call), Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Bears, and Texans.
As to the rest, is it crazy to think the Steelers are thinking about the possibility of Mike Tomlin choosing to exit after 19 years? Sure, the Steelers typically hire coaches in their 30s and keep them for a long time. (Harbaugh, at 63, is four years older than Chuck Noll when he retired in 1991.) But if Tomlin walks, maybe they’d embrace a guy who seems to be more than ready to go for another decade or longer.
Some are suggesting that the Eagles would consider bringing Harbaugh back to Philly, where he spent 10 years before becoming Baltimore’s head coach. That would be beyond stunning, given what Nick Sirianni has accomplished in his first five seasons. There’s still a lingering sense that the Eagles are supremely talented, and that they fail far too often to get the most out of what they have. (It would still be an all-time “oh shit” move.)
In Carolina, is David Tepper (a former Steelers minority owner who knows very well what Harbaugh can do) thinking about an upgrade? Even though the Panthers won the NFC South, they were 8-9. And Dave Canales is 13-21 in two seasons, a winning percentage of 38.2.
Harbaugh, in 18 years, has won 61.4 percent of his games.
The two to watch most closely — and the two teams that folks around the league are indeed watching the most closely — are the Packers and Bills.
In Green Bay, new team president Ed Policy has already made it clear that a decision will be made after the season as to whether Matt LaFleur will get a new contract. Policy also has made it clear that he doesn’t like lame-duck arrangements, and LaFleur is signed only through 2026.
Less than two weeks ago, Policy saw what a Harbaugh-led team can do at Lambeau Field, when the Ravens steamrolled the Packers in a 41-24 win.
In Buffalo, it can be argued that the window has already closed on the Bills, and that the supreme skills and abilities of quarterback Josh Allen have created the impression that it remains open. An early, ugly exit against a Jaguars team that is, frankly, better than the Bills could be the thing that prompts owner Terry Pegula to make a change.
Regardless, the fact that Harbaugh’s agent initially said seven teams called combined with the decision to wait until next week to interview for any of the vacancies creates the inescapable impression that one or more of the teams playing this weekend could be contemplating a potential coaching change. And folks in the know are eyeballing Green Bay and Buffalo.
If nothing else, the Harbaugh factor adds plenty of spice to an already spicy six pack of first-round playoff games. Especially if Packers-Bears or Bills-Jaguars comes down to a 44-yard field goal that is missed.
The Giants will be speaking with one of their franchise legends about their head coaching vacancy.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Antonio Pierce will interview for the job on Thursday and Friday.
Pierce, 47, was most recently Raiders head coach — taking over the role on an interim basis in 2023 before being hired full-time in 2024. While Las Vegas went 5-4 under Pierce in 2023, the club was just 4-13 in his one full-time season.
Pierce played for the Giants from 2005-2009, helping the club beat the then-undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII to cap the 2007 season.
Critically, when the Giants complete the interview with Pierce, they will be compliant with the Rooney Rule and able to make a hire. The Giants have reportedly been meeting with former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on Wednesday and Thursday.
Multiple reporters on the Giants beat have named former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as the favorite to land the job. By being Rooney Rule compliant, the Giants can get him to the building and convince him not to leave once Harbaugh begins doing interviews next week.
Former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is in New Jersey to meet with the Giants on Thursday.
Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports that Morris is at the team’s facility to interview with the team as part of their head coaching search. Morris also had dinner with members of the organization on Wednesday night.
Morris was fired shortly after the Falcons beat the Saints in Week 18. They were 8-9 this season and 8-9 in Morris’ first season in Atlanta as well. Morris is also expected to meet with the Titans about their head coaching job.
The Giants have also interviewed interim head coach Mike Kafka and former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski this week.
John Harbaugh will take his time before interviewing for his next job.
Harbaugh is not expected to conduct any head-coach interviews until next week, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Ravens fired Harbaugh on Tuesday after 18 years as their head coach. That instantly made him an attractive candidate for other head coaching vacancies, and perhaps for some teams that don’t yet have vacancies but would fire their current coach if Harbaugh wanted to replace him.
Because Harbaugh is viewed as the top candidate in this hiring cycle, he can take his time and be selective about interviews. Other candidates who are eager to get any head-coaching job will jump at the first chance to interview, and assistant coaches on playoff teams have to schedule their interviews in accordance with league rules that dictate when they can interview and when they’re with their current teams. But Harbaugh has the freedom to tell teams that if they want to interview him, they’ll have to do it on his schedule.
If the betting odds are to be believed, Harbaugh is likely to become the next head coach of the Giants, where he’s the -250 favorite to land the job. But it doesn’t appear that he’s in a rush to interview for the Giants or any other job.
As quarterback Russell Wilson prepares for his third trip to free agency in three years, he has made the first agent change of his 14-year career.
Wilson is no longer represented by Mark Rodgers. Wilson has hired David Mulugheta of Athletes First.
We first caught wind of the shift on Monday. At that time, NFLPA records showed that Wilson had no agent. Mulugheta did not respond to a text message seeking confirmation that he would be representing Wilson. Now, as noted by Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, NFLPA records reveal that Wilson is represented by Mulugheta.
By rule, a five-day waiting period applies following the termination of an agent by a player.
The reason for the change is obvious. In the past, Wilson didn’t need a well-connected agent who would affirmatively sell Wilson’s services. Wilson’s interests were better served by Rodgers, a baseball agent who (like Tom Hagen) had only one NFL client. Rodgers could drive a hard bargain at all times for Wilson, without concern as to whether it would impact his broader relationship with a given team as to any other clients.
Now, Wilson will need someone who can beat the bushes and/or call in favors. Even then, it’s going to be a challenge to find anything more than a one-year minimum deal for Wilson. Especially after his strange claim from Monday that he had suffered a previously-undisclosed Grade 2 hamstring tear prior to Week 2.
If Wilson is truly willing to embrace a QB2/QB3 role, he has a chance. It’s unlikely that anyone will make him the Week 1 starter in 2026, unless he’s a short-term placeholder. Like he was for the Giants in 2025.
Brothers Jim and John Harbaugh are famously close, with their relationship put on display when their teams have competed against one another — most notably in Super Bowl XLVII.
So it’s no surprise that in his Wednesday press conference, as the Chargers get ready to play the Patriots, Jim Harbaugh was asked about his brother getting fired from the Ravens this week.
“John Harbaugh is the best coach I know, the best coach I’ve ever seen,” Jim Harbaugh said, via Daniel Popper of TheAthletic.com. “Whatever team he goes to is going to be formidable, and I just hope it’s in the NFC.”
Jim Harbaugh also isn’t holding out hope he’ll be able to add his brother to the Chargers’ staff in 2026.
“He’ll be a head coach next year,” Jim Harbaugh said, via Omar Ruiz of NFL Media.
It stands to reason, however, that Jim Harbaugh could get a little advice from his brother on Los Angeles’ wild card weekend opponent. While the Chargers didn’t take on the Patriots during the regular season this year, the Ravens lost to the Patriots in Week 16.
The Giants had a miserable season, but they were able to finish on a high note by winning their final two games of the year.
Linebacker Bobby Okereke had a hand in their Week 18 victory over the Cowboys. Okereke had six tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in the 34-17 victory.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that Okereke has been named the NFC defensive player of the week.
Okereke finished the season with 143 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery. He remains under contract for the 2026 season and it is the final year of the four-year contract he signed with the team as a free agent.
